chapter 171
“Wow! Mom, are we really going to the royal palace?”
“Yes. Stay seated; it’s dangerous.”
“That’s right, Sylvia. It’s dangerous.”
Despite Anais and Silian repeatedly warning her, Sylvia couldn’t calm her excitement and kept looking out the window.
When she kept trying to stand on her chair, Silian, unable to watch any longer, grabbed her hand firmly and sat her back down.
“I told you it’s dangerous.”
“Sorry, big brother.”
“Our Silian, taking care of your little sister so well. Aren’t you proud of yourself?”
“It’s only natural.”
Even at eight years old, Silian had a maturity beyond her age. Watching Silian, Sylvia turned her gaze to Anais.
Part of her inability to stay still was due to excitement about going to the palace, but the main reason was that she wanted to catch Anais’s attention.
‘She did say she thought she might have found her daughter…’
Before coming to the capital, when she was still in the marquisate, Sylvia had accidentally overheard a conversation between Anais and Arnold.
On the surface, they were coming to the capital on palace business, but their true objective was to find Anais’s biological daughter.
If Anais did find her real daughter, Sylvia thought she would be thrown out of the marquis’s residence. Having been adopted only a year ago, her anxiety was understandable.
When Anais’s expression began to darken with sadness, Sylvia immediately spoke up.
“I wish big brother Sylvester could have come too. Right, Mom?”
“Oh? Yes, but he caught a bad cold, so I was really worried. You wanted to go to the palace so badly.”
“We can come again once he’s better.”
“But he’ll be very disappointed. Maybe we should buy him a gift for when we return?”
“Mom! I’ll choose it!”
“All right, all right. Now, sit down quickly—it’s dangerous.”
Clunk! Clunk!
As Anais tried to calm Sylvia with a smile while she stood on the chair, the carriage suddenly jolted violently.
Anais and Silian grabbed onto whatever they could in alarm, but Sylvia, standing on the chair, lost her balance and tipped forward.
Anais quickly spread her arms and caught her in a protective embrace.
Screech—! Neigh!
The loud sound of carriage wheels and horses echoed sharply. Outside, the coachman could be heard shouting at someone.
Sylvia’s eyes widened in fear.
‘I almost died.’
If Anais hadn’t caught her, she would have been seriously hurt.
“Sweetheart! Are you okay?”
A desperate voice called from above. Looking up, Anais’s pale face mirrored Sylvia’s as she checked on her.
Sylvia, who had instinctively wanted to say she was fine, froze at Anais’s worried gaze.
Until now, Sylvia had always acted like a happy child to gain love and secure her brilliant future.
She never took others’ affectionate words at face value, instead using them to her advantage.
But in that moment, for the first time, Sylvia deeply felt that Anais genuinely cared about her.
“…Yes.”
Sylvia’s dazed reply brought a smile of relief to Anais.
The heart of a girl who had trusted no one and lived in her own world began to slowly open.
“Silian! Did you get hurt anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Sigh. “What on earth is happening?”
Anais breathed a sigh of relief and peered out the window to see what had occurred.
Outside, a woman with long red hair held a small child in her arms. Judging from the coachman’s curses, the child had almost been hit by the carriage.
“Do you know who’s in here…!”
“Enough.”
Anais stopped the coachman, who looked flustered.
“What? B-but ma’am!”
“No one was hurt, right? And it looks like the other child almost got seriously hurt too.”
The coachman muttered unhappily.
“Don’t make things worse; just go straight to the palace.”
“…Yes, understood.”
After closing the window, the coachman shouted insults at the woman one last time as the carriage moved again.
Anais held Sylvia tightly and glanced outside.
Though her face couldn’t be seen, it seemed that the woman also had a daughter Sylvia’s age.
“She must have been very scared too.”
“Mom? What did you say?”
“Nothing. It’s just fortunate that no one was hurt, but let’s have the palace doctor check everyone just in case.”
After the brief commotion, the three arrived safely at the palace. Sylvia spent a joyful time meeting Crown Prince Ardan.
Aside from the carriage incident on the first day, every day in the capital was fun.
Though the news of finding Anais’s daughter wasn’t true, Sylvester, who had been sick, had recovered and the family enjoyed a final outing together before leaving the capital.
Sylvia held Arnold’s hand as they explored the city.
As expected of the capital, the streets were filled with all the latest trends and astonishingly beautiful shops.
The marquis and his wife bought everything the children wanted, enjoying their shopping trip.
It was during a visit to a blacksmith to see Silian and Sylvester’s swords that Sylvia, uninterested in weapons, impatiently stamped her feet waiting for them to finish.
[“Sylvia—”]
Someone called her. Sylvia snapped her head up and looked around.
“Did I hear wrong?”
She adjusted her ears, but the voice called again.
[“Sylvia—come here.”]
The buzzing voice felt familiar. Sylvia quickly realized it was the one who had brought her to this moment: Noxius.
Sylvia hesitated, seeing the marquis and his wife distracted by Silian and Sylvester.
‘If I just go and come back quickly, it should be fine.’
Since shopping might take a while, a brief detour wouldn’t hurt.
Sylvia carefully left the blacksmith and headed toward the voice.
The call led her to a narrow, dark alley between buildings.
As she went deeper, the presence of vagrants made it increasingly dangerous.
Sylvia, who had entered casually, became tense and vigilant.
Grab!
“Eek!”
Someone grabbed Sylvia’s wrist. She screamed and turned to see an old man grinning with a filthy face.
“What’s a noble girl doing here?”
“I-I…”
Heh heh. “Don’t you know this place is dangerous?”
“P-please let go!”
“Didn’t you know what this place was? You should have expected this.”
More people appeared behind the old man. Sylvia, only six, couldn’t fend them off.
Step—
A heavy shadow fell over her.
“Who are you?”
The old man and his group scowled at the mysterious figure.
Dressed entirely in black, with black hair and pitch-dark eyes, the man looked down at them.
The sheer pressure made them hesitate and step back.
“Leave.”
The moment they heard his voice, primal fear overtook them. Like prey before a predator, they trembled and retreated.
Sylvia watched the fleeing vagrants, then turned her head.
When her eyes met his pitch-black gaze, she recognized him.
“…Noxius?”
“Your face has grown calmer since the first time we met.”
Sylvia’s face brightened at the confirmation.
“Why didn’t you appear all this time? I called so many times!”
“Do I have to come just because you call? I’m not yours.”
“That’s not what I meant! Why do you always twist things?”
Sylvia pouted, and Nox snorted.
“You’ve also lost much of the venom I saw the first time. You’ve improved compared to back then.”
“What? How is that better?”
“I mean internally, not externally. Though… you still have some venom left, so not bad.”
Sylvia could not understand a word he meant.
“Are you satisfied with your fate now?”
“Of course I am.”
Sylvia smiled, and Nox’s lips curved slightly.
“There must be people who dislike you suddenly becoming a marquis’s daughter?”
“There are some, but most are crawling to please me. Since Mom and Dad treat me well, everyone seems desperate to get close to me.”
“Then there are few who truly want to be your friend.”
“True friendship? I don’t believe in it.”
“Ho-ho—”
“All they say is all just pretension. As long as I can hold my place, it doesn’t matter who approaches me.”
“Even if someone tries to use you?”
“Well, it’s the same the other way around, isn’t it?”
Nox smirked and laughed loudly.
“I chose well. Remember that mindset forever. If you ever falter and ruin my plans, I won’t forgive you.”
“Hmph. Don’t worry, that won’t happen. But what exactly do you want? You mentioned a contract but haven’t told me anything.”
Nox was silent. The ruthless man she had thought unyielding now seemed lonely.
“I… just want things to return to the way they were.”
“The way they were? You’re a god. Can’t you turn back time?”
“Turning back time isn’t that simple. I just want to be with him again as before…”
Trailing off, Nox returned to his cold demeanor.
“Your family is looking for you. You didn’t sneak away without telling anyone, did you?”
“Oh, right!”
Sylvia’s face paled as she remembered. Stomping her feet, Nox closed his eyes.
A light breeze brushed her cheek, and when she turned, the Nox who had been beside her was gone.
“Where did he go now?”
“Here.”
A voice called from below. Looking down, she saw a white cat.
“…No way, Noxius, is that you?”
“Yes. My task is done, so I’ll stay with you until everything is settled.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So take care of me properly. And by the way, I don’t eat ordinary food, so prepare the finest.”
“…A cat and already picky.”
Sylvia grumbled but couldn’t hide her smile as she lifted Noxius, now in white cat form.
“But if I suddenly bring a cat home, they might object. What should I do?”
“Say it’s a familiar.”
“A familiar?”
“Yes. Say someone kidnapped you, and when you came to, a cat appeared beside you. They’ll understand.”
Though skeptical, Sylvia told her parents exactly as Noxius instructed. Surprisingly, they believed it without question.
Thus ended the brief commotion of Sylvia’s “kidnapping,” and from that day on, Sylvia and Noxius were together.
“I told you not to grow weak, but seeing you now…”
Nox scanned Sylvia from head to toe, clicking his tongue.
“You’re pathetic. At this rate, that girl will steal your destiny.”
Sylvia paled.
“Wake up. You’re a clown wearing a mask. If you take it off, you could be tossed aside instantly.”
“…Don’t talk like that.”
Sylvia bit her lip, glaring at Nox. He chuckled.
“Am I wrong? The one you should be wary of isn’t me—it’s that girl, Selina! Stay sharp!”
Despite Nox’s shouting, Sylvia didn’t waver. Curious, he tilted his head and read her heart.
“Could it be… you feel sorry for her? Or did you truly see her as a friend?”
“That is…”
Sylvia hesitated. Nox laughed.
“Hahaha! Ridiculous. You said you don’t trust sincerity, yet here you are, sincere toward that girl. Hilarious! A tearful friendship indeed.”
Nox’s chilling laughter mocked her.
“Still, the fact remains—you’ve stolen that girl’s destiny. If she finds out, will she stay by your side?”
Sylvia’s gaze faltered.
“If you don’t want to lose a true friend, you better be careful.”
Nox’s voice softened, his warning sincere.
