Chapter 08
Ah, it stings. It burns.
In my fresh stomach, only five years old, a tingling cramp twisted.
All because of the fiery stares of two men who’d seriously misunderstood the situation.
“Betrayal the moment we became allies? Should I steam this grain-sized creature alive? Or fry it?”
…Well, maybe not exactly that. But something along those lines.
I understood, though.
If you see me sitting sweetly on the Chairman’s lap—the mortal enemy of their enemies—you’d probably think I’d switched sides too.
But I swear I’m innocent!
“No! Not me! It’s this old man! Hurry up and explain!”
I wanted so badly to tug at the Chairman’s long beard, but for now I stayed quiet.
After all, how often do you get to witness a power struggle like this up close?
“Forgive me if I startled you. We only brought the young lady here for a moment to let her meet the elders she’s heard so much about.”
“Of course, Chairman. The young lady is adorable. How fortunate we are to have found her, even belatedly.”
“Haha, didn’t I say she would appear?”
The Chairman’s sycophants all began to speak up one after another.
The secretary’s face twisted, and the Duke simply watched me in silence.
He still wasn’t sure if I was truly on his side.
The elder Chairman, aware of this, had a playful smile on his wrinkled lips.
“I hear it was thanks to this precious little one that the culprits were caught? Of course, she must have known nothing about it.”
Thank goodness.
He was looking down on me so much that he was quick to clarify I wasn’t personally involved.
The Duke still looked sharp and cold, but the secretary’s eyes softened a little.
“See? Not me!”
The Duke spoke.
“You’re well informed. Is that why you’ve rushed here?”
At his icy tone, the elders stirred.
Listening carefully, I began to understand why the Chairman had kept up that playful attitude.
It was apparently very rare for the Duke to speak at all in the Elder Council, much less rebut them.
But why had this scarecrow-like Duke suddenly changed?
Was it because the butler who’d always taken the lead had disappeared?
“Your Grace, naturally. Rumors abound that the cold-blooded lord of the territory dismissed dozens of retainers.”
“…”
At his shameless speech, the Duke said nothing.
But the Chairman made his intentions perfectly clear.
“Which is why, please release Butler Bernard. Wasn’t he the one who served you and upheld the late Duke Clave’s will?”
At that, the secretary quietly sneered.
He probably felt the same as I did.
This was nothing more than them demanding the return of their most valuable asset, the butler.
Naturally, the Duke refused.
“I cannot do that.”
“Haha, Your Grace, do be lenient. The man single-handedly managed everything from estate affairs to administration. He’s only human; mistakes happen.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. The butler wasn’t arrested for this incident.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I caught him abusing the young lady right before my eyes.”
“…”
The hall rippled with murmurs again.
It seemed no one here knew why the butler had actually been detained.
They’d simply assumed it was related to the current incident.
Now the elders were splitting between those who refused to believe it and those condemning the butler for laying hands on the Duke’s bloodline.
I shifted uncomfortably, wanting to escape this tense atmosphere.
But the Chairman, as if to show my role wasn’t over yet, placed a hand on my shoulder to hold me still.
“My, my… this little one.”
Though his face looked kindly, his touch made my skin crawl.
Murderer.
I’d learned of his involvement in the disappearance case thanks to a letter to the butler.
The busy butler would write letters even during my lessons, and I’d once glimpsed one.
[ Marquis Pascal. The plan succeeded. The Duchess is dead. ]
Of course, having met the Duchess in my past life, I now knew that wasn’t true.
But the words had been exact. My knack for disguise wasn’t the only reason I’d made a name as a con artist—my memory was extraordinary too.
So there was no doubt these men were behind it.
Duke Dain looked the Chairman in the eye and said,
“Send the young lady out first.”
As the secretary moved to approach me at the Duke’s signal, the Chairman deliberately muttered aloud:
“…Was she abused as a noble, or disciplined as a commoner?”
Cold sweat broke out.
The way he looked down at me—like an object—was chillingly devoid of emotion.
Finally, Secretary Logan couldn’t hold back.
“How dare you speak such nonsense before the young lady! Weren’t you the one clamoring for the heir? And now you quibble about legitimacy?”
“No, no. You of all people shouldn’t say that.”
“What on earth have you been—!”
“How long did it take for His Grace here to be recognized as legitimate? Surely you, of all people, know best.”
Grit…
The sound of clenched teeth came from Logan as he swallowed his rage.
The Duke’s face remained expressionless.
“So?”
“Then, by the precedent of those who served the will of the late Duke, let the young lady prove her legitimacy. How fortunate that the Guard Grave falls in a week.”
I didn’t know exactly what the Duke had gone through to prove his legitimacy.
But I did know the Guard Grave.
It was the day the family performed a grand memorial at the tomb of the five ancestors born with magical power.
“What on earth is there to prove in a tomb full of corpses?”
Just then, the Duke spoke.
“It’s impossible for a child to open the door. So the Chairman must mean he’d like flowers placed at the grave.”
Phew… so it’s just laying flowers at a tomb?
Thank goodness.
I wasn’t really five, so a grave didn’t scare me.
But as I relaxed, the secretary’s face went pale.
I soon heard why from the Chairman himself.
“It’s not difficult for the young lady. The tomb lies in the boundary between man and god, where the air is thin enough to kill an ordinary person. But the blood of Everhardt will manage just fine.”
“…?”
What? No oxygen? Is he trying to kill me? This old geezer!
I trembled all over.
If I’d lost my composure even a little, I might’ve yanked out that damned beard right then.
He leisurely stroked his beard as he added:
“Before punishing the butler, I request undeniable proof. All of us here do.”
Dun-dun!
“Say no, Duke! In my past life you never once demanded such a proof!”
“Very well.”
Screeeam!
Before I knew it, I’d grabbed the elder’s beard and ripped it.
For the first time, the Chairman’s brows furrowed in pain as he pried my hands off.
“Ouch… The young lady has quite the grip…”
“If the young lady’s legitimacy is proven, there will be much to do, Chairman.”
“Indeed. We must inform His Majesty of her presence and send her to the capital…”
“No. Not that. The dissolution of this treacherous Elder Council. And breaking the knee of the retainer who dared seat the young lady without permission.”
“…”
At that terrifying threat, he finally let go of me.
I darted straight to the secretary, triumphantly waving the tufts of beard I’d torn off.
The Duke’s office.
Bang! The secretary slammed his fist on the desk.
“Are you insane? Cancel it at once!”
“Why?”
“Why? How can such a young child survive in a tomb? With just a little more time we could catch them with this evidence—why!”
“Yes! He’s insane! Cancel it, Duke!”
Clinging to Logan’s leg like a small animal, I nodded furiously.
The Duke sighed briefly.
“Do you really think you can catch the Marquis with just that?”
“…!”
Come to think of it, he was right.
Even if we got past this incident, there were countless ways they could prove I was fake.
And with the ledgers in the mansion, sending assassins to steal them was always an option.
So this was the most gentlemanly way for them, and the best chance for the Duke to turn the tables.
“…But that’s only if I’m actually the real young lady! No way! No!”
Repaying kindness was never this hard.
Tears welled up.
How could you do this to me, Duke?
In my past life you never once asked me to prove I was the young lady.
I helped so much this time—why!
One-sided affection was so bitter.
“…I’m not the young lady… not…” Sob!
Collapsing on the floor, I cried.
The secretary jumped up.
“If you insist on this, I resign. Even my sister wouldn’t forgive this!”
Bang!
No! Fake uncle, don’t leave!
You liked it when I called you uncle—was that all a lie?
This was the worst.
No one left to protect me.
Was the Duke always this cold?
“That rainy night, when you stared at me—was I imagining it? Were you actually just counting down? ‘3, 2, 1. If I see you again, you’re dead.’ Was that it?”
Then—
“Don’t worry.”
It was as if he’d been waiting for the secretary to leave. The Duke opened a drawer and pulled something out.
A small jewelry box.
“It’s the ancestral Duke’s ring. A holy relic—its wearer can breathe normally even inside the tomb.”
“I believed in you, Duke. Hehe.”
“Seems you didn’t.”
His eyes narrowed as he opened the box.
Inside should’ve been the ring he’d given me in the past.
It looked plain but held sacred energy, with the family crest engraved inside a large amber stone.
“So it was a relic. No wonder it felt so good!”
I was practically dancing as I stared at the box.
But… huh? It’s not the ring I know.
Suddenly, a memory of a conversation with a fence flashed through my mind:
‘Karim, you’re saying this blue gem you’re hiding is one of only five relics in existence?’
‘Exactly. Slept beneath the sea for ten thousand years before coming to me, haha.’
‘Ten thousand years? Are you sure? It looks brand new.’
‘Idiot. Ancient texts say relics live in God’s time—they never age.’
The Everhardt Duke’s ring—the only thing I’d never sold.
“That was definitely…”
It had been tied around my neck when I died.
“This isn’t that ring. Then… God’s time? If the ring changed because my return didn’t affect it, could it be I’m at the place where I died?”
My head swam with speculation until the Duke’s gaze snapped me back.
What mattered now was simple: this ring wasn’t real.
I was doomed.
“A-ah no! I don’t wanna die! I-I mean! I’m scared of the dark! I’m not going there!”
But the Duke was unmoved.
He only spoke a single, indifferent line, as if it were persuasion.
“Airi, as soon as it closes, I’ll open it again. Just endure a little.”
A little?
My ears perked slightly.
“…How long?”
“The barrier takes about two to three minutes to reset.”
Oh… really?
At most three minutes… I could… maybe…
Splash! Bubble bubble bubble.
The maid Roshi, who was helping me bathe, rushed over.
“Oh my! Y-young lady! What are you doing again? Turn my back for a moment and you’re dunking your face in a basin, or floating butt-first in the tub!”
“Puh! Let go! I gotta endure! Gotta train! Huff huff!”
One week left.
To survive, I had to do one thing: build up my lung capacity no matter what!
