IRMN | 001

Episode 001

“My sister, who ran away from home a year ago, has finally returned with an illegitimate child in tow. Entrusting the future of the Count’s family to such a sister is absolutely unacceptable!”

Bloodshot eyes, blazing red.

A shout filled with venomous malice.

The younger sister Eleanor hadn’t seen in so long had changed drastically.

Once, her sister had been considered a promising candidate for the next Saintess.

Eleanor, too, had never doubted that her sister would become the Saintess.

That’s why she deliberately left the family estate and enrolled in the Imperial Academy.

She believed that physically separating herself was the top priority to avoid playing the role of the villainous older sister who torments the kind and lovely heroine, Charlotte Winston.

“Look at her! She’s raising a child all by herself without a husband.”

Charlotte pointed a finger at the child Eleanor was holding.

The bright blonde child flinched.

Young children quickly sense who loves them and who despises them.

Terrified, the child burrowed deeper into Eleanor’s embrace.

The child clung so tightly to Eleanor’s dress that their tiny, fern-like hands turned white.

“Who knows what kind of filthy blood runs through that child? It’s a small mercy if she hasn’t been through something unspeakable.”

“Theo, don’t listen.”

Eleanor covered Theodore’s small ears with both hands.

She didn’t want him to hear Charlotte’s nonsense.

Theodore wasn’t Eleanor’s biological child, but she had raised him with love.

As fragile as a flame that might flicker out if not shielded, or burst if held too tightly.

She had always strived to show him only good things, let him hear only kind words, and cherished him dearly.

To her, her nephew Theodore was utterly lovable.

But Charlotte, on the other hand…

“Charlotte, stop it.”

Eleanor spoke in a calm, measured tone.

“Don’t do something you’ll regret. What are you doing right now?”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t be acting like this, sister.”

Charlotte’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“While I was training to strengthen my holy power, you were supposed to take care of our aging parents. But instead, you ran away and abandoned them.”

“Holy power training? You’re saying I ran away?”

“Yes! Judging by the fact that you have a child, it seems you’ve set up a household somewhere. So why have you come back now? Because our parents passed away, and you want to claim your share?”

All that remained in her was venom as she spat out her accusations.

She glared at Eleanor and Theodore with a look of disgust.

Eleanor felt a hollow sense of disbelief.

‘You’ve truly decided to abandon your own child.’

No, Charlotte had already abandoned her child long ago.

A year ago, when she left the newborn Theodore at the Winston estate and ran off with a man.

There was no chance Charlotte didn’t recognize Theodore.

Theodore resembled Charlotte.

Though he shared some traits with his aunt, Eleanor, he looked far more like his mother, Charlotte.

His radiant, pale blonde hair was rare, even in the Empire.

Squeeze.

Theodore squirmed and clung tightly to Eleanor.

Eleanor tightened her hold on him.

The onlookers began to whisper among themselves.

“He really must be her son.”

“Whose child is he? I can’t think of anyone who looks similar.”

“By the way, didn’t Miss Eleanor go to the Magic Tower after graduating from the Academy? There were rumors that she disappeared because she joined the Tower.”

“Goodness, wasn’t she taken by His Majesty the Emperor?”

“I heard she was treated lavishly in a neighboring kingdom.”

“It seems all those rumors were false.”

Curious gazes scanned Eleanor and Theodore.

Hidden behind their intrigued eyes was a hint of mockery.

Eleanor had made a name for herself as a genius from her first year at the Academy.

She had effortlessly solved a problem that no one had cracked in the past hundred years.

Every professor at the Academy coveted her talent.

Even before her graduation, rumors abounded that she had received offers from various nations.

And yet, a year ago, after graduating, Eleanor had suddenly vanished.

Now, she had abruptly returned to the capital with an illegitimate child in tow!

The spectacle was quite entertaining for the onlookers.

“Hic.”

Theodore whimpered, sounding anxious.

Eleanor hugged him tightly.

If she revealed the truth about Theodore’s birth here, the false accusation that she had borne an illegitimate child would be cleared.

She had heard that the Magic Tower had a magical device that could test bloodlines.

Renting it might be difficult, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.

If the device proved the truth, Charlotte would face punishment for her lies.

She would be punished for abandoning her newborn child and denying his existence.

Her reputation would be dragged through the mud.

But Eleanor couldn’t expose the truth.

The reason was all too clear: if she dodged the arrow, it would inevitably strike elsewhere.

‘Theodore would get hurt.’

He was only one year old, yet he would become fodder for gossip.

It was one thing for a child to simply lack a father, but it was another entirely for his own mother to disown him and slander him as illegitimate.

Especially when both his parents were very much alive.

Malicious rumors, driven by curiosity, would cling to him like filth.

They would persist, refusing to die, and torment Theodore’s future relentlessly.

Eleanor couldn’t bear to see that happen.

“…”

Eleanor stood tall, still holding the child.

Curious gazes fixed on her.

She was afraid, but she had already decided long ago what she would do.

“Theodore is my…”

As she looked directly at Charlotte and began to speak—

“Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”

A man appeared, cutting Eleanor off.

“His Grace, Duke Hilliard?”

Charlotte’s eyes widened in shock.

The man who had suddenly appeared was Matthias Hilliard, the most famous and wealthy duke in the capital.

However, he had been reclusive for the past few years.

Word was that he was busy with family matters.

And yet, here he was, showing up at a place like this.

“Matthias.”

Eleanor, too, seemed surprised by the duke’s appearance.

Her lips parted slightly.

The duke shook his head subtly.

Eleanor’s eyes wavered.

‘What’s going on?’

Charlotte sensed an odd atmosphere.

‘How dare she call His Grace by his name? And it’s almost as if they know each other.’

“It’s been a while, Your Grace.”

Charlotte composed her expression and greeted him sweetly.

After all, the duke was a man who had once courted her with affection.

If she hadn’t run off with Alexis, she might have married the duke and lived as a duchess.

‘This might actually work out well.’

She could use the duke to corner Eleanor further.

Perhaps she could even seduce him again.

With a wicked plan forming, Charlotte smiled as prettily as a saintess.

“You’re as kind as ever. Surely, Your Grace’s chivalrous spirit couldn’t bear to see a lady in distress and stepped in to mediate this commotion? But now doesn’t seem like the right time to show compassion.”

Matthias raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice, “Why not?”

“Because this is a family matter between me and my sister.”

“If that’s the case, then I have every right to be here. This is my family matter too.”

“Pardon?”

Matthias pulled Eleanor into his arms.

The woman, who had been enduring countless gazes, was now shielded in his embrace.

The child was no longer visible.

Only the faint sound of a small, calmed breath could be heard from within the broad, protective embrace.

His lowered gaze pierced Charlotte like ice.

“I, Matthias Hilliard, am Eleanor’s husband and Theodore’s father.”

Gasps of shock erupted from the crowd.

Charlotte’s pretty smile froze.

And Eleanor, holding her nephew, widened her eyes in disbelief.

“So, I won’t forgive any further insults.”

It all began one year ago.