~Chapter 29~
“…Huh?”
“From today, you are the successor of the Egbert family.”
‘Did my ears just go bad?’
Esther stuck her finger in her ear without grace, then shook her head.
“This is what you wanted, right?”
“…Huh?”
Esther, unusually, widened her eyes and only opened and closed her lips.
She had been sitting in the library reading since morning when Ernheart Egbert came in late in the afternoon, sat next to her, and said something absurd.
“I didn’t know you were that cunning. I thought I was raising a chick, but it turns out I was raising a tiger.”
“…??”
Her mind still hadn’t caught up, so Esther just kept moving her eyes around with her mouth open.
“If you ask me what’s most valuable to me, other than her, it’s this family.”
No, I’d be fine with just a house outside.
And a little money.
“Without her, this family meant nothing to me.”
He spoke with a slightly tired look.
Hey, don’t get tired on your own.
“Soon, you’ll start training as the successor. I accepted you as successor to keep my promise, but earning her approval is your job.”
Yeah, I don’t like that.
I don’t want her approval.
Why should I become the successor of a human family and do their brain-hurting studies?!
“…And soon, your name will be in the Egbert family registry. It’ll take some time because we need imperial approval.”
“Harabuji, I…”
“I never imagined Ernheart Egbert would get such a big hit to the back of the head like this.”
He leaned back on the sofa, looking relaxed.
‘Why are you acting like you got hit when I didn’t even touch you?!’
I couldn’t even speak from frustration.
“I… I’m dumb… I don’t… know successor stuff…”
Esther spoke slowly, with the dumbest, most foolish face she could make.
“You called yourself a genius before, and now you say this? And I already knew this family was going in the wrong direction.”
But because she was everything to me, I closed my eyes and ignored it all.
“It’s actually easier this way.”
Don’t go acting sentimental like you figured something out!
“Seeing Mari lying there every day without opening her eyes made me realize—no matter how much pride or honor I had, without her, I was nothing.”
Hey, Grandpa.
Dumping the work on me and then looking all sentimental doesn’t solve anything.
“You were right, and I was wrong. If she were alive, I could at least apologize and bow my head, but if she were dead, I couldn’t even do that.”
He looked more at ease now, confessing like this.
“…Truth is, even if we didn’t follow that rule, no one would dare blame us. Maybe we’ve been blind to what’s really important for too long.”
The problem was, only Ernheart Egbert felt relieved.
‘Why do you throw the mess at me and feel better yourself…?’
“You gave me back the most valuable thing, so I should give you mine in return.”
Ernheart Egbert said,
“I kept my promise.”
No, you kept it in a weird way.
“From here on, it’s your job. Now that she’s awake, she’ll likely take control of the family. Earning her recognition is your task. It’s something I can’t help you with. But I have to tell you this one thing.”
“…”
“Thank you, child.”
Suddenly, he went down on one knee, spread his arms, and pulled the child into a tight hug.
Esther’s eyes went wide at the unexpected move.
She flinched at the strong squeeze, but Ernheart Egbert stayed like that for a long time.
At that moment, a parchment appeared in front of Esther’s eyes.
**[Perfect Resolution!
Ernheart Egbert’s worries have been completely resolved.
For the first time, you have touched someone’s heart and received sincere gratitude.
Your curse weakens.
As a bonus, you receive ‘Language Master!’]**
Sincere gratitude?
Esther bit her lip at the unexpected words. She had never seen this before.
Up until now, she had helped in nearly twenty different big and small ways, but no one had ever triggered such a message.
It proved how much he treasured his wife—enough to devote his whole life to her.
For some reason, her heart pounded hard. She could immediately feel her magic increase greatly.
‘I’ll check later.’
After a long while, Ernheart Egbert let go and stepped back.
“Ahem…”
It seemed his action was impulsive even for him. He coughed lightly, looking embarrassed.
“By the way, you’re still reading? Even now, it’s hard to believe you can read ancient language.”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Huh? Her pronunciation wasn’t strange. Both Esther and Ernheart’s eyes widened at the same time.
“Your… pronunciation…”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right.”
Her speech was suddenly perfect—so perfect it was strange no one found it odd.
[As a bonus, you receive ‘Language Master!’]
Was it because of that bonus?
She never expected there to even be a bonus reward.
Still, it was nice—she wasn’t used to speaking awkwardly anyway.
“…Unbelievable.”
The problem was Ernheart’s completely wrong assumption.
He looked at her with shock and betrayal.
“You… you little thing, you were hiding your real skills all along!”
It seemed he thought she had been faking her bad speech.
“You cunning little thing!”
“No…”
That’s not it, Grandpa.
“Well, this is absurd.”
No, it’s not that.
“Still, since the Egbert family is blessed, maybe having a saint as head isn’t so bad.”
No, I serve a god, but it’s a demon god.
His strange misunderstanding only deepened.
‘If I say I only woke Grandma up for a moment, I might get dragged off by the inquisitors.’
I need to find the complete cure quickly. Esther glanced away.
That evening, the mansion was thrown into chaos.
It was shocking enough that the lady of the house, who had been unconscious for so long, had woken up…
But also, the long-unsettled successor had been chosen—and it was someone no one considered worthy.
“…”
“…”
“…”
With the main figures of the Egbert family gathered in the drawing room, Esther sat in the center of the sofa, facing a sharp-looking lady.
Her hair was neatly tied up, her back perfectly straight, and her appearance flawless—this was Mari Egbert.
Of course, behind Esther stood a very angry Kaelos Egbert.
“They say you seduced our Ern.”
“…What?”
Dangerous choice of words.
Seduced? Really?
“The last time I saw you, you were just a newborn, but you’ve grown a lot.”
Her voice was sharp, full of strength.
It was so full of hostility that Esther was momentarily speechless.
‘Well, it’s not like anyone here likes me.’
No matter where she was, she had to survive on her own.
‘Hmm, I’m used to this…’
Still, if this woman was the head of the house, it would be better to earn some points.
‘Maybe I should help a little to earn them?’
Esther focused her magic and looked above Mari Egbert’s head.
She thought there would be at least one exclamation mark.
And there was—black, no less.
‘Jackpot.’
Esther’s eyes lit up.
But there was a problem. It wasn’t like the usual exclamation marks she’d seen.
This one had a lock crossing through it.
‘What’s with that lock?’
She tilted her head, trying to read it.
As usual, a parchment appeared before her eyes, but the contents were short.
[You cannot view the contents.]
She couldn’t see the contents.
‘What?!’
In the middle of the parchment was a large lock symbol, with one big sentence.
Why can’t I see it?
This had never happened before.
As she frowned, trying to figure it out, new words appeared.
**[She dislikes you very, very, extremely much—no matter what words you use, it won’t be enough.
She dislikes you so much that even if you solve her problems, she will still dislike you.
If you want to eavesdrop on someone who dislikes you, you must raise your closeness so they no longer dislike you.]**
Esther’s mouth dropped open.
