Chapter 9
As soon as Julia finished speaking, a light knock was heard. At the same time, both Julia and Sylvia turned their eyes toward the door.
“The Duke of Werner has arrived.”
A maid announced his arrival from outside the door.
The two stood up from their seats, and soon the Duke of Werner entered the room.
“Julia, Vivian! You were already here. Did you sleep well?”
The Duke asked in a cheerful voice.
“Father, you’re here?”
“Good morning, Duke. Thanks to your concern, I slept well.”
After the Duke sat down, Julia and Sylvia also took their seats.
The meal began right away. Just like the day before, the head chef came out and explained in detail where the ingredients were from and how the dishes were prepared.
While Sylvia was listening carefully, Julia spoke.
“Father, you don’t look well.”
She looked at the Duke’s face as she spoke.
Even though he had found his daughter Vivian, his expression seemed full of worry.
The Duke forced a smile to reassure her and slowly spoke.
“This morning, I received a letter from His Majesty the Emperor.”
“From the Emperor? Is it about Vivian?”
Julia lowered her voice as she asked, as if she already had an idea.
After a brief silence, the Duke nodded.
“Yes. I don’t know how he heard the news, but he wants to meet Vivian tomorrow.”
“But how did he find out? It hasn’t even been a day since she returned. Yes, we made a bit of a scene at the café yesterday, but there was nothing that would clearly reveal the reason… Unless the café manager—”
“No, I don’t think that’s it.”
Sylvia listened anxiously to their conversation.
“No matter how he found out, it’s not strange that His Majesty wants to see Vivian. After all, Vivian is the prophesied Saint of Water.”
Both the Duke and Julia looked at Sylvia.
Without thinking, Sylvia bit her lower lip.
The Emperor wants to meet Vivian Werner, the Saint of Water.
This made Sylvia uneasy.
She knew what that meant.
Since Vivian disappeared, the empire had suffered from a long drought.
Julia had been doing her best to take her place, but her power alone was not enough to bring rain to the entire empire.
Because of that, the people had been waiting for Vivian’s return—or at least someone who could replace her.
So from the Emperor’s point of view, Vivian’s return was very important.
Knowing all this, Sylvia could not calm her anxiety.
She wasn’t even sure if she was truly Vivian. Was it really okay for her to meet the Emperor?
“Do I have to meet His Majesty?”
She asked, hoping there might be a way to refuse.
The Duke shook his head with a troubled expression.
“If His Majesty summons you, you must go unless there is a special reason.”
His voice sounded even heavier with concern.
“I see… But I don’t know anything. I can’t even use this so-called water power… Is it really okay for someone like me to meet the Emperor?”
Understanding her worries, the Duke smiled gently to reassure her.
Since he already believed she was Vivian, he didn’t seem too concerned about that.
“Still, since you will meet His Majesty tomorrow, you need to learn proper etiquette quickly. Would it be alright if we assign you a tutor starting today?”
“Yes, that’s fine with me.”
In fact, it was something Sylvia wanted.
She didn’t know how long she would stay here, so it was better to learn as quickly as possible.
“Good. Thank you for agreeing.”
Although the meal continued, Sylvia couldn’t enjoy it like before.
She was already worried about what would happen tomorrow.
* * *
After the meal, Sylvia became very busy.
“Like this? Is it correct?”
“You’re learning quickly. Good. Let’s move on to the next step.”
For now, Sylvia’s etiquette teacher was Mrs. Varein, the head maid of the Duke’s household.
Normally, they would hire a proper tutor, but since time was short, Mrs. Varein had to teach her.
Julia supervised the training.
However, she didn’t directly interfere much.
Instead, she quietly watched nearby and occasionally gave advice.
“Julia…”
While following Mrs. Varein’s instructions, Sylvia carefully called out to her.
“What?”
Julia replied shortly.
“Is there anything I should be careful about when meeting the Emperor?”
Julia lowered her gaze as if thinking.
When no answer came, Sylvia turned to look at her nervously.
“There is one thing.”
“What is it?”
Julia nodded once and said,
“Do not mention the late Empress.”
“That’s all?”
Sylvia had no intention of bringing up the Empress anyway.
She would already be nervous just standing in front of the Emperor.
“Yes.”
Julia’s simple answer made Sylvia feel relieved.
It seemed the Emperor wasn’t too difficult to deal with.
Sylvia let out a long breath, then suddenly remembered something.
After asking Mrs. Varein for a moment, she turned fully toward Julia.
“You said earlier that when we go to the temple, I’ll find out whether I can use water power, right?”
Julia nodded.
“Do you know when we’ll go to the temple?”
“I wanted to go today, but because of the schedule, we’ll go the day after tomorrow.”
Sylvia thought about it.
Training all day today, meeting the Emperor tomorrow, and going to the temple the next day.
She always knew she would have to check her power someday, but everything was happening so fast.
“Are you nervous?”
Julia asked.
Sylvia nodded awkwardly.
“Yes… a little.”
“Because you might not be Vivian?”
“……”
Sylvia closed her mouth.
She couldn’t look Julia in the eyes and lowered her gaze.
Julia let out a small sigh and continued.
“Do you remember when I held your hand yesterday and sent my power into you?”
“Yes, I remember.”
Sylvia could not forget that strange feeling.
A cool, refreshing energy had flowed into her.
It was the first time she experienced something like that.
It had surprised her, but it didn’t feel unpleasant.
It felt like being inside cool water.
“What the temple does won’t be much different. And I already confirmed it—whether you have water power or not.”
“Then…”
Sylvia recalled their conversation at the café.
Julia had clearly said she felt water power from her.
As Sylvia hesitated, Julia crossed her arms and continued.
“I don’t know why, but your power isn’t active right now. Still, you don’t need to worry about not having it.”
Sylvia let out a small sigh of relief.
Julia smirked slightly.
“Even if you’re not Vivian, if you can use water power, we won’t abandon you. So don’t worry about that.”
“Thank you… for saying that.”
Sylvia spoke sincerely.
Julia gave a faint smile as if it was nothing, then quietly turned her gaze away.
