TSOJI CH 14

Chapter 14

I Will Accept a Lifetime Contract (10)

Now things were starting to make sense.

‘So that’s why she sold magic tools on the street, just to scrape together enough money for daily living. She must have been hiding her true ability on purpose. Otherwise, with that much magic power, there’s no way nobody would’ve noticed her!’

The more Lynette thought about it, the more that theory made sense.
It was almost impossible to believe someone with such talent had gone completely unnoticed—unless they were hiding.

‘Maybe even that cute face, and that clumsy behavior… maybe it’s all an act.’

If she really had that much skill, changing her appearance would be child’s play.
It made sense—she was probably keeping a young and harmless look so no one would suspect her real power.

‘She’s much more calculating than she seems.’

With that thought, Lynette suddenly saw Elsie in a completely new light—not as a scatterbrained girl, but as someone hiding incredible depth.
Maybe even Lynette herself had fallen for that harmless disguise.

‘Either way, one thing is certain—she’s not ordinary. After all, I first saw her sneaking into my brother’s office, remember?’

That memory came back vividly now.

‘Why was Teacher trying to sneak into my brother’s office that night anyway?’

Yes. That strange night when Lynette had first seen Elsie hiding on the roof.

When she thought about it now, that whole night had been strange.

The sky had been unusually dark, the moon swallowed by shadows.
And then, close to midnight, something even stranger happened: a glowing purple butterfly suddenly appeared outside Lynette’s window.

“Huh? A butterfly?”

She walked closer and stared as it floated across the night sky, shimmering faintly.
The butterfly’s destination was clear—straight toward Eclipse’s office.

“What…?”

Why was it going there? Lynette watched, wide-eyed, as it slipped smoothly through the window.

Moments later, the lights inside Eclipse’s office went out all at once.

“What? Why did the lights suddenly go out?”

From her room, she couldn’t see inside clearly, but one thing was obvious: something had happened to Eclipse.

‘What on earth is going on?’

Alarmed, Lynette started to climb out her window. Just then, she saw movement on the roof to the left.

Out popped a small figure with dull pink hair—riding a broom.

“A… broom?”

The figure glided smoothly through the air and slipped in through Eclipse’s window.

“Wait… a witch?”

A chill ran down Lynette’s spine.
A witch, sneaking around at night. A strange butterfly. The lights suddenly going out.

All of it pointed to one conclusion:

‘Brother is in danger!’

Throwing a cloak over her nightgown, Lynette grabbed a dagger from her drawer and bolted out of her room.

‘Could this be assassins sent by the Wiegand family?’

Those enemies had never liked Eclipse. Maybe they had finally made their move.
Lynette’s face hardened into pure fury.

“They won’t get away with this.”

How dare they lay a hand on the only family I have left?!

Grinding her teeth, she ran with all her strength.

By the time she reached the office corridor—

Ding—dong. Ding—dong.

The distant sound of a clock rang out, and suddenly, a blinding light poured down over her.

“……!”

Lynette shielded her eyes, crouching against the brilliance.

She didn’t know how long it lasted, but soon, instead of silence, she began to hear laughter—bright, happy laughter.

‘What is this sound?’

Opening her eyes, she lowered her hand… and froze.

She was no longer in the dark corridor. She stood in a sunlit garden, warm light falling all around.

“What… is this?”

There, she saw a crowd of vassals.
The sight filled her with sudden rage.

“These people never cared about our house, and now they dare show up here?”

Just as she was about to march toward them, the voices reached her:

“Congratulations, Your Grace! At last, the true head of the Ledaire family has been chosen!”
“Glory to Archduke Eclipse d’Ledaire!”

“What…?”

Lynette froze in shock.

And then she saw—
her brother Eclipse, smiling more joyfully than she had ever seen him, with a young woman in his arms.

The woman’s hair was a dark shade of pink.
The same as that witch she had seen earlier.

“Elsie d’Ledaire.”

The unshakable, emotionless Eclipse was speaking words of love to her.

Lynette knew instantly: this was a divine revelation.
The very kind the priests always talked about.

“A revelation…?”

She could hardly believe it.

Even though she had been born the Saintess, Lynette had never truly believed in God.

But if this was real…

If God truly existed, shouldn’t He grant opportunities not to the privileged like her, but to someone like Eclipse, who had built his place through effort despite endless prejudice?

Yet it never happened.
Eclipse had always been belittled, while others kept trying to push Lynette forward instead.

“The Archduke’s successor can only be you, Lady Lynette.”
“Yes, of course. Who else could lead but you?”

She had grown to despise those words, despise those people who tried to force her onto that pedestal.

And now, this vision had come.

“Revelations always show the future,” she whispered.

She had always wished for Eclipse to be recognized as the true Archduke.
Birthright didn’t matter.
Skill and merit did.

And now, at last, she was being shown that very future.

“Brother will really become head of the family.”

Her entire family had died when she was young.
The only one who had ever reached out a hand to her was Eclipse—no blood relation, yet her only family.

For him, she would do anything.

“If this truly is God’s will, then I’ll believe—for the first time in my life, I’ll believe.”

For the sake of fulfilling that vision, she chose faith.

The light faded, and suddenly, she was back in the dark corridor.

‘I have to catch that witch!’

Even if she really was an assassin, it didn’t matter. Assassins only worked for money. And Lynette was willing to pay any price to make her switch sides.

‘If she gets caught now, I’ll overlook everything. I’ll even give her a pardon. Please, just let me catch her!’

Calculating frantically what funds she could access, Lynette sprinted to the office door and burst inside.

“Stop right there—!”

But her words stuck in her throat.

The window was wide open, night air drifting in.
She was too late.

‘Did she escape?’

She clenched her fists. No, she had to find that witch—because the vision had shown her how important she was.

Then she saw him.

Eclipse. Lying slumped over his desk.

Her heart nearly stopped.

“Brother!”

She rushed to him, checking his condition.

“Brother, are you alright? Wake up, please!”

His face looked peaceful, no sign of injury. Something about it struck her as strange.

“Wait… is he… sleeping?”

His breathing was calm and steady.
For the first time ever, Lynette saw her brother sleeping so peacefully.