Chapter: 16
She had only meant to close her eyes for a moment, but when she opened them again, quite a bit of time had passed.
Perhaps riding in the carriage for so long without rest had taken its toll—fatigue continued to wash over her in waves.
Seria rubbed her dry, aching eyes.
“I’ll get up in just a little while…”
She laid her head down properly and turned onto her side.
“…!”
Not long after closing her eyes again, she heard multiple voices nearby.
They had said they would block anyone from coming in—but of course.
Her drowsiness vanished instantly. Seria pushed herself up and moved closer to the door.
“Are we really allowed to be here?”
“You worry too much.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I checked everything.”
Three maids were chatting excitedly among themselves.
Did it not occur to them that someone might be listening from inside the room?
Seria placed her hand on the doorknob.
“Is she really the young lady?”
“I’m telling you, she is! And even if they were adopting a daughter, why choose some lowly Argenta—”
“Birds of a feather, don’t you think? You should’ve seen her when she first came in. She looked far too familiar, if you ask me.”
Lowly?
That was a word she had never once heard while living in the monastery.
Why were Argenta people treated as something base and inferior?
The aversion Antithesians showed wasn’t simply discomfort toward foreigners.
This was outright hatred.
Seria’s grip tightened around the doorknob.
“What do you think you’re doing here?”
A familiar voice sounded from beyond the door.
At that moment, the maids’ chatter came to an abrupt halt.
“I’m certain I told you not to let anyone come near.”
It was Theodore.
Seria’s hand fell limply from the doorknob.
After the maids’ hurried footsteps faded away, the door opened and Theodore appeared.
“Seria.”
“……”
Without answering, Seria walked over and sat down on the sofa.
Theodore checked once more to make sure no one was outside, then closed the door.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No. It’s fine.”
“…Did you hear what they were saying?”
“And if I did?”
Seria spoke with her head lowered.
She knew she should be able to brush off words like that—but she couldn’t.
If this was how she, an adopted daughter, was treated, then it was easy to imagine how other Argenta people were treated.
Thinking about them made anger surge up inside her.
“Hah…”
She suppressed the emotions threatening to burst and lifted her head.
Theodore, sitting across from her, looked as indifferent and calm as ever.
Except for the bloodstain on his collar.
“What’s that blood on your clothes?”
“It’s not mine.”
“Haha… So in Antithesia, parents and children meet over bloodshed, do they?”
Her tone was sharp, barbed with sarcasm.
Theodore stared directly into her eyes.
“Don’t read into it.”
“That’s not it.”
Shaking his head, Theodore placed a small case on the table.
“What’s this?”
Seria eyed both Theodore and the case warily.
“Open it.”
He gestured toward the case.
Reluctantly, Seria reached out and opened it.
Inside was a seal engraved with the Velvat family’s creeping rose emblem—along with Seria’s name.
A family seal usually symbolized authority.
To give her this meant granting her the official right to wield the family’s power.
What was his intention?
“What does this mean?”
“Let’s say it’s for your convenience. Use it freely whenever you need to.”
In truth, it wouldn’t be easy for Seria to use it freely.
She wasn’t of Velvat blood—just an adopted Argenta daughter. How could she possibly exercise real authority?
This was nothing more than a formality. Theodore must have known that too.
Seria closed the case and set it back on the table.
“That aside—when do I meet the Duke of Velvat?”
“Not right now. He might try to see you while I’m away.”
“I don’t really care about that. What matters is proving my usefulness.”
When she stood before the Duke of Velvat, she couldn’t afford to appear weak.
She needed to look like a capable tool—something worth using.
“Father will observe you slowly. He’s not the type to step in until he’s certain.”
“And who knows how long that certainty will take?”
“Exactly. Which is why we have to draw him out first.”
Theodore stood and pulled back the curtains. Sunlight streamed into the dim room.
When she had first entered, it was too dark to see clearly—but now she noticed how old the room was.
The furniture, the wallpaper—everything looked like it hadn’t been touched in years.
“If there’s something important to discuss from now on, we’ll do it here. No one comes into this room, except in situations like earlier.”
“Is there something special about this place?”
Seria scoffed lightly.
Theodore, who had been looking out the window, paused briefly before answering.
“Not really. I just hate it when people touch my room.”
“…This place is your room?”
“More precisely, it was my room in the past.”
This hardly seemed suitable for the only heir of the Velvat family.
Treatment beneath his station. The servants’ hostile gazes.
And the maid’s words earlier—birds of a feather.
Theodore, too, was being treated as something base.
She could roughly guess what it meant.
“Why that look?”
Theodore asked, noticing Seria’s unusually serious expression.
“I was thinking. Ever since I entered this mansion, the servants’ looks and attitudes toward you… none of it shows respect for the heir of the family.”
“It’s natural to be wary of Velvat. Servants are no exception.”
“But even then, people don’t usually disrespect someone above them.”
At her point, Theodore fell silent for a moment.
It was an ambiguous reaction—neither offended nor indifferent.
“You’re not wrong. But they have their own pride. The pride of serving a great house like Velvat.”
He spoke with a faint laugh.
The lightness of his tone felt deliberate—almost forced.
“So a successor born of a lowly gypsy woman doesn’t quite meet their expectations.”
So that was it.
There was a reason the mistress of the house seemed entirely absent.
The heir of the Velvat family, born through the womb of a gypsy.
One could call it a shocking birth secret—but since even the servants knew, it must already be an open secret.
Seria looked quietly at Theodore.
“Why do you just let it be? You know exactly what the servants think.”
“It’s a waste of time. I’m too busy to concern myself with every single servant.”
“You gave up early. You’re just used to it now.”
“……”
Theodore didn’t respond. She took it as confirmation.
So the man who always acted so flawless had a weakness like this.
Seria let out a silent, bitter laugh.
In the end, the true power in this mansion belonged to the Duke of Velvat. Even Theodore couldn’t act freely.
Which meant that for Seria to wield even the slightest authority, she would need the Duke’s approval.
“Either way, I have one more reason to earn the Duke’s recognition as soon as possible. His power here is absolute.”
“…Yes.”
Theodore nodded without protest.
Seeing him acknowledge his weakness so easily made Seria’s eyes widen slightly.
Perhaps his air of perfection had always been an effort to hide his own complexes.
Why am I feeling sympathy right now?
Thinking that, Seria turned her gaze silently toward the sky outside the window.
The clouds were thick—it looked like snow would fall soon.
“Do you have any clever plan to move Father?”
“No, not yet.”
The Duke of Velvat had surely heard about her ability to control wind.
The surest way to earn his recognition would be to show her power directly—but the Duke rarely left his bedroom unless absolutely necessary.
“Father has delegated full authority to me, but as you said, within this mansion, he’s absolute. There are people everywhere acting as his eyes.”
As he spoke, Theodore glanced outside the window.
One of Ivan’s loyal subordinates was already lurking nearby, watching this place.
Clicking his tongue softly, Theodore drew the curtain closed again.
“Then…”
“They’ll deliver the news on their own.”
In other words, she was to throw out bait.
Ivan still doubted Seria’s usefulness—she only needed to show a single possibility.
Her course of action became clear.
A small, confident smile curved at Seria’s lips.
