Chapter: 25
Anyway, it was time to return. Leopold would have to finish tidying up the scene as well.
I gave a brief farewell to Leopold and also bowed slightly to Baron Forman.
“Baron Forman, it’s been an honor to meet you.”
Baron Forman held my hand firmly. Then, locking his sparkling eyes on mine, he said,
“When all this chaos is over, please do come to the West.”
He added earnestly,
“I will host a banquet for you in Forman.”
“I’ll be waiting for the invitation,” I replied gracefully.
With that, our simple farewell concluded.
Just as I was about to wave to Leopold one last time and turn away, he spoke in a low voice,
“Don’t worry. Those who are after your life are also enemies of Nozen.”
“It’ll all be fine,” he said.
I nodded briefly.
As I headed toward the warp, I could feel his gaze from behind.
‘Did I do well?’ I blinked, thinking.
‘Was it natural?’
Whenever I spoke with Leopold, I always worried.
‘Did I seem normal…? Just like I do with others?’
My heart raced.
I felt I should calm myself by quickly going back and eating some bread.
Soon, my memory drifted back five years—to the time of my engagement ceremony.
My engagement was celebrated lavishly.
It was the first engagement in a long time among the Five Great Families, so all members from the empire’s influential families were present at the ceremony.
The empire had five founding families:
The Dukes of Divostan in the East.
The Grand Dukes of Nozen in the West.
The Marquises of Naysar in the South.
The Dukes of Bakahn in the North.
And the Marquises of Sears in the Central region.
My fiancé also belonged to one of the Five Great Families.
The ceremony was so extravagant that most of the prominent members from the Five Great Families attended.
In fact, there was one more family like the Sears, which was a high-ranking noble in name only.
The Dukes of Bakahn completely lost their influence a year after the engagement.
Still, regardless of how much their current status differed, all five families shared a long history with the empire.
“Hahaha, it’s been so long since we’ve all gathered like this,”
my father, Marquis Sears, was thoroughly drunk that day.
“It really feels like we’re reliving the old glory of our ancestors!”
His face was already flushed, yet he kept emptying his wine glass. At some point, it seemed like he might collapse at the feet of his ancestors.
The Five Great Families had contributed remarkably to the founding of the empire through their extraordinary abilities.
But to this day, only two families had maintained abilities through direct lineage.
The Dukes of Divostan in the East, whose <Null> could nullify curses or abnormal states.
The Grand Dukes of Nozen in the West, whose <Air Cleaver> could split the air to deliver physical attacks.
The rest had vanished over time.
The Sears family’s ability was said to be <Taming>. Though no one knew exactly when it had disappeared from the lineage, it had vanished without a trace.
By now, no one even remembered precisely what it was.
“Brisa,”
my mother whispered beside me.
“Hold your back straighter.”
At seven years old, I did my best to straighten my posture.
Mother had put immense effort into securing this engagement. She had pulled in countless resources behind the scenes to ensure my reputation reached my fiancé’s family.
The last daughter of the Riënte kingdom. Intelligent from a young age, beautiful and gentle…
Such rumors spread throughout the empire.
And one more thing:
“The Marchioness of Sears is not insane. Those are just baseless rumors spread by people who counted their wealth.”
“Since she’s the last bloodline of Riënte, how could they not want to belittle her?”
This was to suppress rumors about my mother’s alleged madness.
Mother had effectively ‘bought’ people’s words.
Even my father, who had previously scoffed and dismissed it all as nonsense, was rendered speechless once the engagement date was set.
“Really? Is it really true? That the engagement is happening?”
The ceremony was held on the shores of Lake Beas. It was land temporarily lent by the emperor for the first engagement among the Five Great Families.
A cruise ship was provided so everyone could enjoy a boat ride and reinforce bonds. Since there were many children, a boat outing was a better schedule than a formal banquet.
After the luncheon, everyone boarded the ship.
“Brisa,”
my mother said gently.
“If you feel seasick, tell me. I brought a sleeping potion. There’s no better remedy for seasickness than a good nap.”
“Yes,” I replied.
Having grown up in the central region, I had never been on a boat before. This was the first time I had seen such a vast lake.
The boat slid into the water.
“Wow!”
“It’s so beautiful. Oh, look at those birds over there.”
People gathered in small groups along the railing, enjoying the view. I was no exception.
My father entered the cabin with some other nobles to play cards.
Mother whispered softly beside me.
“Brisa, everything’s fine, but…”
She was about to point out something not so good.
“‘Delphoven’ is a place in the West. So you should lengthen the ‘po’ sound when saying it.”
“Yes, I’ll pay attention.”
“And when you’re with people from the South, you must unfold your napkin to the right.”
“I’m sorry, I just remembered.”
Still, it was a good day. Mother and father both seemed in good spirits.
The maids were all happy about this engagement.
Even though it was the first time meeting my fiancé’s family and the fiancé himself, and we didn’t converse much…
The food was delicious, the sky was clear, and the sunlight was perfect.
“Everyone, gather on deck in ten minutes,”
a voice announced through magical amplification.
Seeing the sunlight sparkling on the waves, mother smiled elegantly.
“This will be fun, won’t it, Brisa?”
“Yes,” I nodded, taking out the ticket I had received at lunch.
“I hope I get a doll.”
“How cute,”
mother’s green eyes softened warmly.
Today, mother was perfect.
It had been a long time since she attended a social event, yet her gestures and speech were flawless. Everyone joked, saying, “As expected of the Princess of Riënte.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you often, Marchioness. If you are so elegant, I’d like my daughter to learn from you.”
“Yes, indeed. Why don’t you attend more social events? Next time, you must come visit the East.”
All my earlier nervousness had disappeared.
The maids had been anxious for days, but reassured me, saying, “It’s fine, since it’s not night.”
“The symptoms usually appear at night… Since the Princess left the Riënte Kingdom at night and took that ship, you keep returning to that night,”
“Yes. So as long as it’s not night, there’s nothing to worry about. You were always fine during the day, weren’t you?”
Sure enough, everything felt natural.
The maids stayed at a distance where they could come if called. They had been tense too, but now there was no doubt they were relieved.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve taken a boat,”
mother murmured, gazing at the distant waves.
“Indeed, a very long time…”
As far as I knew, mother had not been on a boat since she married. We usually stayed within the Marquis’s residence.
I quietly admired the lake’s scenery and saw a large bird catching a fish.
“Oh my, how amazing!”
I shouted, then quickly covered my mouth. My voice had been too loud—I was certain mother would scold me.
“Is something the matter?”
At that moment, a black-haired boy passing by raised his eyebrows and approached.
The nine-year-old boy was Leopold Nozen.
