Chapter 2
While brewing tea, Silvia kept glancing toward the café hall again and again.
Ed usually visited the café around five in the afternoon. So there was no need to feel so anxious since morning, but her restless heart wouldn’t let her stay calm.
Clink, the door opened.
Silvia slightly peeked out from the kitchen and checked the customer. The ones who entered were a well-dressed noblewoman and man, along with servants who seemed to be with them.
The first thing that caught her eye was a woman with blue hair.
Among nobles, the only woman with such vivid blue hair was Julia Werner, the daughter of the Duke of Werner and the older sister of the missing saint.
Feeling disappointed that it wasn’t Ed, Silvia turned her head and prepared new tea utensils.
Then—
“Silvia, a customer is looking for you.”
“…Me?”
The manager, who had hurried into the kitchen, nodded.
Though puzzled, Silvia agreed and took off her apron.
This kind of thing happened sometimes.
Customers would ask to see her because the tea she brewed was excellent.
Ed was also someone she met that way.
Led by the manager, Silvia arrived at Room No. 10 on the second floor of the café.
Servants from a noble family were standing in front of it.
They politely greeted her.
Startled, Silvia awkwardly bowed her head in return.
Knock, knock. The butler knocked on the door and spoke inside.
“Your Grace, she has arrived.”
“Let her in.”
From inside came the slightly excited voice of a middle-aged man.
With permission given, the butler opened the door.
At the same time, the people inside came into her view.
The one who had called her was the Duke of Werner, who had just arrived at the café.
Silvia tilted her head in confusion.
She hadn’t even served them tea yet—so why were they looking for her?
She couldn’t guess the reason at all.
“Please go in.”
“…Yes.”
Feeling confused, Silvia stepped inside and awkwardly looked at them.
It wasn’t her first time standing before nobles, but before, she had known their purpose, so she hadn’t felt this uneasy.
But now, it was different.
“Are you Silvia Franche?”
It wasn’t only Silvia who was being cautious.
The man presumed to be the Duke of Werner also seemed careful.
“Yes, I am Silvia Franche. Forgive me, but are you the Duke of Werner?”
“Yes, that’s right. Sit down first.”
At his offer, Silvia carefully sat down without making noise.
Seeing this, the Duke turned to the blue-haired woman beside him.
“What do you think, Julia? Can you confirm it?”
“I can’t tell just by looking. I need to hold her hand to check.”
As Julia finished speaking, everyone in the room looked at Silvia.
They didn’t directly ask for her hand, but it was clear they wanted her to offer it first.
Though scared, Silvia couldn’t go against a noble’s will, so she hesitantly stretched out her arm.
Julia immediately grabbed her hand.
“It won’t hurt, but it might surprise you. It’ll be over quickly, so can you endure it for a moment?”
“…Yes.”
As soon as Silvia gave her consent, something cold and refreshing began to flow through her hand.
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden sensation, Silvia instinctively tried to pull her arm back.
But Julia didn’t let go.
Silvia looked around urgently.
The manager, the Duke of Werner, and the servants—
But none of them tried to help her.
Just as Silvia was about to forcefully pull away, the cold sensation suddenly disappeared.
Only then did Julia release her.
Silvia quickly held her right hand with her left, but the cold feeling still lingered.
“Did I scare you? I’m sorry.”
Julia apologized softly.
After calming her racing heart, Silvia shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. But… what did you just do?”
“I checked whether you are Vivian.”
“…What? Who?”
Vivian Werner?
While Silvia was confused, the Duke looked at Julia. After a moment of hesitation, Julia nodded.
“The power of water is clear, just as expected.”
“What does that mean?”
“I think she is Vivian.”
“What!”
The Duke’s breathing became uneven.
With every breath he took, emotion filled his eyes.
Silvia couldn’t understand what was happening at all.
“What are you saying? I’m Vivian Werner?”
“That’s right.”
The Duke’s face twisted as if he might cry.
Silvia widened her eyes and recalled what she knew about Vivian Werner.
She was the Saint of Water from prophecy, and the second daughter of the Duke of Werner.
But she had gone missing at the age of twelve due to an incident, and her whereabouts had been unknown ever since.
Because of that, the position of the Saint of Water remained empty, and the empire continued to suffer from drought.
Her older sister, Julia Werner, had been taking her place, but her power alone wasn’t enough.
It had already been ten years since Vivian disappeared.
Most people believed she was dead.
Only the Werner family continued searching for her.
And now… they were saying that she was that Vivian?
“That can’t be true.”
Silvia gave an awkward smile and denied it.
It was true that she matched some conditions.
She had been abandoned in front of the Meriel Temple at the age of twelve and then sent to an orphanage.
That timing matched Vivian’s disappearance.
And she had no memories from before the age of twelve.
Because of that, Silvia had once dreamed that she might be Vivian Werner.
But that dream ended quickly when Vivian’s appearance was revealed.
“As you can see, I have platinum blonde hair.”
Vivian Werner was said to have beautiful blue hair like the sky, and deep navy eyes like the sea.
But Silvia didn’t.
She had common platinum blonde hair and blue eyes.
At most, the only similarity was that their eye colors were in the same category.
And that wasn’t all.
Vivian had strong water powers. It was said that when she cried deeply, rain would fall across the empire all day.
But Silvia?
She was just an ordinary woman.
No matter how much she cried during her hard life in the orphanage, not once had dark clouds filled the sky.
Because of all this, Silvia couldn’t understand why the Duke and Julia were calling her Vivian Werner.
“Yes. That is why we couldn’t find you until now. Baltrex must have interfered so that we couldn’t!”
“……”
“Vivian, I understand that you cannot believe us. Even we can hardly believe that we’ve found you. But time will prove everything.”
The Duke paused for a moment and looked at her with sorrowful eyes.
Then, with visible anxiety, he spoke again.
“So… will you come with us?”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone’s eyes turned to Silvia, waiting for her answer.
Feeling pressured, she quickly looked around.
It felt like a dream.
A prestigious noble family had come and told her she was their lost daughter.
When she was younger, she had imagined things like this.
That she wasn’t abandoned, but separated from her family for some reason…
Or that she was an orphan, but a distant relative left her a great inheritance…
But now that it was real, she couldn’t easily decide to go with them.
What if I am not the real one?
What if this is all a misunderstanding?
And if they find the real Vivian…
What will happen to me then?
