Chapter 8
“Her name?”
“Yes. That would be better for you as well, Princess.”
Erkina tilted her head slightly, sensing a hint of meaning in his expression.
But Jerthermion didn’t explain further, only offering a smile that gave nothing away.
A little later, as they passed through the corridor, the person Erkina had been waiting for finally appeared.
“Mother?”
“Erkina, are your lessons finished?”
“Yes! Teacher taught so wonderfully and made it so much fun!”
“Is that so?”
Her face was softer than Erkina had expected. Considering how she had reacted to Jerthermion yesterday, Erkina thought they might be at odds again today.
However, her gaze hardened the moment she spotted the silver-haired boy beside Erkina.
“And who is this? Surely… the son of the Tower Master?”
Did she misunderstand because of his silver hair?
“Well… um, Teacher found him in the forest.”
“In the forest?”
“Yes! He’s going to study with me from now on!”
Mernelia’s narrowed eyes showed no intention of softening.
She alternated her glare between the innocent boy and Jerthermion, suppressing her emotions as she spoke.
“Erkina, go ahead to the dining hall first.”
Then Mernelia turned to Jerthermion, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on him.
“I have something to discuss with you, Teacher.”
Jerthermion sat on the plush sofa, waiting for the woman looking at him with a displeased expression to speak.
Apparently, she had no intention of opening her mouth first, so he kept his own tightly shut, staring directly at her.
Mernelia, inwardly cursing the infuriatingly closed-off man, sat opposite him with her legs crossed.
“What is your scheme?”
“…….”
“You accepted becoming Erkina’s teacher yesterday, then immediately went to see Pailrode, didn’t you?”
“I don’t see what the problem is.”
Brazen. Too brazen.
Or perhaps he simply had no social awareness and didn’t understand how the world worked? No sense of politics?
Unable to restrain herself any longer, Mernelia reached across the table toward Jerthermion.
“Are you trying to use Erkina to approach me, acting as a spy? Was this arranged by Pailrode?”
Like that time before?
Mernelia recalled that night she could never forgive, gripping his white robe with her long fingers.
Their faces were dangerously close.
Neither blinked; neither exhaled on the other’s cheek. A tense silence passed before Jerthermion spoke first.
“If the Princess witnessed the Princess Royal’s posture now, she would be embarrassed.”
He pushed Mernelia’s hand aside with one of his own.
“Don’t say such absurd things all of a sudden.”
“You wouldn’t be trying to tempt me physically, would you?”
“I would never do such a crude thing.”
“Then perhaps you should start by lowering your skirt.”
Mernelia had tried to climb halfway onto the table to grab his collar, causing her skirt to ride up to her thighs.
Flustered, she quickly pulled it back down as she returned to her sofa.
“The First Prince is a patron of my Tower. Since you came to the palace, reporting the progress of magical research to a patron is only natural.”
Jerthermion, as if unaware of her exposed skin, adjusted his robe calmly and replied.
“And this person will be teaching my daughter, the political opponent of Pailrode?”
“I distinguish between public and private matters. Even if the Princess Royal has rejected him, I have no intention of taking it out on her daughter.”
Jerthermion’s blue eyes opened lazily.
That same empty gaze, utterly devoid of sincerity as before, again scraped at Mernelia’s nerves.
“Then what do you want? Why appear before me again all of a sudden? That noble title you sang about was given by Pailrode, so you shouldn’t have any business with me.”
“Merely a baronet, after all.”
For someone from the slums, even a baronetcy was far more than deserved.
“So when His Majesty requested you personally to teach Erkina, you held out until you got what you wanted?”
Mernelia clenched her teeth, recalling how he had reluctantly accepted after the Emperor promised him the rank above count.
“The rank isn’t important. I took the role to verify something. I needed to see closely to confirm it.”
His once-empty eyes focused on her, growing a deeper, lake-like blue.
Mernelia’s unease only intensified at the sight.
“You aren’t going to say that thing again, are you?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I need to confirm that the Princess is truly my daughter.”
Mernelia clicked her tongue in disbelief and leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs.
“How many times do I have to answer? Didn’t you hear yesterday? Erkina’s father is a noble from the southern continent.”
“You said that noble wasn’t a magician, right?”
“Yes, he was the eldest son of an old knightly family. Muscular, tall, and healthy.”
“Strange.”
“Strange indeed. Is there a single thing about my daughter that resembles you? Hair, eyes, even personality—nothing. She’s entirely different from your gloomy nature.”
As Mernelia said, Erkina and Jerthermion bore no resemblance.
Erkina had golden eyes and the same vibrant, curly red hair as her mother, complete with double eyelids, dimples, and even the shape of her toes—every detail mirrored Mernelia.
Jerthermion, with his straight silver hair and blue eyes, shared no similarities at all.
Yet there was one thing Erkina had that Mernelia didn’t.
Something inexplicable, connected to Jerthermion.
“Then where exactly does the Princess’s magical power come from?”
Jerthermion saw Mernelia’s eyes falter for a moment.
But like a cat challenging its owner after causing trouble, she narrowed them and replied, defiant.
“You may not know Imperial history, but Emperor Prilius III was a competent magician. His blood runs in her, so it’s about time the royal family produced a magician.”
“An impressively memorized answer.”
“Moreover, your family’s origin was mistaken from the start.”
Mernelia’s sarcastic voice carried contempt, her twisted lips and narrowed eyes brimming with loathing toward Jerthermion.
His face hardened. He knew well what she intended to say.
“Nothing happened that night. You got drunk and made a scene, yes. I told you to live with gratitude that I didn’t punish you for mocking the royal family—did you forget?”
Jerthermion’s face grew cold again.
His fists trembled as he flexed and unflexed them, yet he did not speak easily.
“I remember clearly.”
“I remember clearly too. Days later, you obtained the palace’s permission to conduct magic research with Pailrode’s support.”
“That’s—!”
“And that research plan was exactly what I had recommended to you.”
Mernelia’s eyes were filled with simmering disdain.
Though she tried to remain composed, her voice trembled with anger and resentment.
“Yes… thinking of that time makes me angry again.”
“Princess Royal.”
“And yet, you dared to step forward claiming you’d teach my daughter? What—thinking Erkina is your daughter? No, if you truly consider yourself her father, you should not interfere for her future. Right?”
Her face red, she shouted and then suddenly let out a deep sigh.
The true reason she felt betrayed remained unspoken.
It was a memory shameful and painful, one she wished to erase and pretend never happened.
“You still intend to use me, and leave betrayal unfinished?”
