Chapter 8
I stood still for a moment, mulling over the Lord’s words.
A rightful decision without a single unnecessary word.
With just one sentence, he cleared up the ambiguity of my position in an instant.
And the reason behind it was so legitimate, it made my earlier worries about not being acknowledged as an heir seem laughable.
The vague fear I had of Lord Tiberius vanished completely—like it had been washed away.
No matter who I am, he will always make fair and just decisions.
So, there’s no need to try to appease him or plead for fairness.
That means there’s no need to hide my true self to win his favor, either.
“Miss, Miss!”
“Yes?”
“The meeting’s over now, so let’s go back to your room.”
“Huh…?”
At some point, the meeting had ended, and people were scattering.
As I watched the Lord walk away among the crowd, I thought to myself:
Tiberius…
You brought Ignitus to the peak of prestige during a time of great upheaval, but in the end, you left without figuring out how to protect it.
If I could get close to you—could I change all that?
After experiencing the family meeting, I started to get a sense of how the household was operating.
It was early July, and with the elections for regional administrators coming up, the entire Kingdom of Eterna was in chaos.
Candidates from influential families were busy solidifying their support bases.
Lord Tiberius, who was running for the position of Chief Legal Officer, was no exception. Dozens of visitors came and went from the Ignitus estate every day.
Because of that, everyone in the house—including the Lord—was having an extremely hectic time, with no room to breathe.
If it got out that there was a child without magic living here, it would create a huge scandal.
So I could understand why they were keeping me locked in my room—for now—to prevent word from getting out.
“I get it, but still…”
I muttered as I flopped around in my room, tired of being cooped up.
I was so bored!
Even naps had lost their charm.
I heard the lady of the house position was vacant, and the nanny they had prepared in advance was sent away because she might not be able to handle my secret.
So I was left being occasionally checked in on by the faithful servants who had served the Lord for years.
I passed the time watching the busy people moving outside my window.
They don’t even need to work that hard. He’s going to win by a landslide anyway.
Still, changes were happening.
When I saw people leaving through the distant main gate, I immediately left my room. The door had been left open.
“Did the guests leave?”
I whispered toward the closed inner door. A servant stationed in the hallway quickly responded.
“Yes, they just left.”
“Can I go out now?”
Under the condition that I accompany the Lord’s attendants, I was allowed to roam freely around the estate when there were no guests.
“Ah, Miss… unfortunately, more guests are arriving soon.”
Another visit? Two noble families had already been here today.
“…Got it…”
“You must be bored. I wish we had something for you to play with. I’ll go check if we have any toys.”
“Okay!”
A little later—
“Um, Miss…”
“Yes?”
“I asked around, but… they said all the children’s toys were burned up…”
Figures.
“Then can I have something to write with?”
I had nothing to do, so I figured I might as well start organizing future events.
“A pen is too sharp—you might get hurt. Ah, wait a moment.”
The maid came back with a small lump of clay, about the size of a fist.
“Play with this instead. But absolutely do not eat it.”
“Okay! I did that when I was little and got a stomachache.”
“And don’t put it in your nose or ears either!”
“I almost died doing that as a baby. Scary—I won’t do it again.”
I gladly accepted the clay and returned to my room.
It wasn’t for playing with textures or anything like that.
I could write on it!
“Hmm. Problem.”
No matter how thin I spread it, there wasn’t enough space to even write one full line.
“Hmmm…”
After thinking for a bit, I decided to write a congratulatory message for the Lord’s election.
I wanted to personally mark this proud moment of raising the name of Ignitus high.
What should I write?
[Congratulations, Lord Tiberius.]
His name was too long—there wasn’t enough space.
[Congratulations, Lord.]
That was neutral enough…
Then I remembered what he had said during the meeting a few days ago:
“This child is legally my daughter, so she shall have the corresponding rights—”
Since I was his daughter legally, that meant Lord Tiberius was my father.
In that case, wouldn’t it be fine to write “Father” in the message?
Even by soul standards, he was my many-times-great-grandfather.
I easily scrawled the word “Congratulations” with my finger, but before I could decide on a title to put before it, the clay kept drying, and I had to keep asking the maid for more.
A week later, Tiberius Ignitus was elected as the kingdom’s Chief Legal Officer.
When the news came in, everyone in the household couldn’t contain their joy.
“Miss, are you sleeping?”
“Mm…”
“There’s a celebration in the house because of the good news. I brought you some snacks, so eat them when you wake up.”
As the maid set down the treats and turned to leave, her eyes caught something next to the sleeping young lady.
It was a thin slab with crooked handwriting etched into it. The maid smiled and immediately took it to the Lord.
“Lord, one more congratulatory letter has arrived.”
A letter—not written on paper or cloth, but on a tiny slab of stone.
Tiberius found it strange as he took it from her.
[Father, congratulations.]
The handwriting was clumsy and childlike.
“He became an official… while I was asleep…”
Lord Tiberius had been appointed, a festival was held, and the letter I had carefully etched into clay was stolen!
But who would take something so useless?
Did the servants throw it away while cleaning?
It would’ve been better if I’d given it to him directly.
I wandered the garden, feeling disappointed.
Now that the big event was over, the estate had finally returned to peace.
The guests had all gone home, and the Lord and his close aides were out.
Only the slaves, enjoying a rare moment of rest, and the scholars who always stayed in the lab, remained in the quiet house.
This is nice.
The warm sunlight made my eyes close naturally.
If only it could stay like this forever…
I mentally calculated how long this peace would last.
According to The Ignitus Records, Lord Tiberius rose through the ranks quickly, became a Consul during a brief suspension of the monarchy, and died during his term due to a plague.
Since he just became Chief Legal Officer now… doing the math…
…Five years.
There were only about five years left until the plague outbreak would take his life.
There’s no time to relax!
“…What do I do… what do I do…”
Troubled, I wandered the garden in circles for a long time.
Even if I used the full five years, I’d only be nine years old.
No matter how clever I was, a nine-year-old couldn’t do much.
Besides, unlike the future I came from 500 years ahead, the current kingdom ran on a rigid system.
Without going through proper channels, you couldn’t get involved in major events.
That meant I’d either have to rely on strategy and work behind the scenes—or settle for influencing things in secret.
If I recklessly involved myself just because of my family background, not only would I screw everything up, but I could bring disgrace to our house.
That must be avoided. I came here with the mission to protect the family.
There’s no answer!
As I stood there agonizing alone, I spotted Lord Abelus walking across the garden.
First time seeing him since the family meeting. Been a while.
He became the next head of the family before he even reached adulthood.
Even with powerful magical ability, carrying the weight of a great family at such a young age must have been incredibly difficult.
Suddenly, I felt that his past—carrying the fate of the family alone at such a young age—was tragically harsh.
How much burden will he have to bear alone in this timeline?
“Lord Abelus!”
I called out and ran up to him.
“Go away.”
As always, he coldly pushed me away.
This ancestor of mine, seriously…
