Chapter 1…
“Didn’t you say we shouldn’t see each other again? Then what’s this—coming to find me first?”
“I wanted that too, but I didn’t expect things to turn out like this.”
How many people would be happy to face their ex?
Especially when the breakup was bad.
I wanted to settle things quickly, so I got straight to the point.
“Anyway, I won’t take much of your time. I came to tell you to give up custody. If you just sign the papers, I’ll take Artea and never appear before you again…”
“I can’t do that.”
As expected, it wasn’t going to be easy.
“Artea is my niece.”
“She’s my niece too.”
Here we go again.
I thought he’d give up easily because of what he said last time, but of course…
“Wait a moment.”
“What?”
“There’s a way for you, me—and even Artea—to all be satisfied.”
Erios clearly had something prepared.
A strange smile played on his pale face.
“Bellona. Marry me.”
“…What?”
“Wouldn’t that be the best way for both of us to raise Artea together?”
So much for a simple custody discussion.
“If you don’t like that, then you’re the one who should disappear—and leave Artea behind.”
This crazy ex of mine was using my niece as a hostage to propose marriage!
* * *
I am Bellona Sortis.
Things I like: money.
Things I dislike: troublesome work.
My business was going smoothly, and I had no complaints about life.
Pretty normal thoughts for a normal person, I’d say.
But apparently, other people think I’m a bit different.
“What, a weirdo lady? The Witch of Sortis?”
Apparently, being a twenty-three-year-old noblewoman who’s still unmarried is strange.
“If you’re human—especially a noble—you should obviously get married. You should at least be engaged by your early twenties!”
Maybe it’s because I faintly remember my past life, where marriage was a choice, not a duty.
This country’s values—where marriage and childbirth are seen as sacred obligations—never really suited me.
“Even if it were someone I loved, I’d still hesitate. So why should I bother with that headache?”
People always came at me with reasons—family alliances, heirs, duty—but none of it ever resonated.
I don’t even care much about life after death, but in any case, I had other blood relatives besides potential children.
“I can just leave my inheritance to my niece.”
I hate anything troublesome.
Which means there are very few people I truly care about.
But my niece, Artea Killiet, is one of those few.
Her mother, Licia, was my only family.
Even in this life, as in my previous one, I wasn’t blessed with good parents.
The one who saved me from a miserable noble’s downfall was my sister.
Even if I remembered my past life, those were only fragments.
The person who raised and loved my young self was my sister.
“I’m human too. How could I not care about my orphaned niece?”
My brother-in-law died in a monster subjugation.
My sister died shortly after in a carriage accident.
Artea had been in the same carriage, but thanks to my sister shielding her with her entire body, she only injured her leg and survived.
Even I, an adult, sank into despair after losing my sister.
How much worse must it have been for a child who lost both parents in succession?
“I wonder if she’s doing okay. It’d be nice if I could at least see her face once in a while.”
She’s been living at the Killiet ducal estate, but I haven’t seen her since.
And really, how could I?
“The one raising my niece is my ex-boyfriend.”
After my brother-in-law’s death, his younger brother, Erios Killiet, inherited the ducal title.
They call him the Knight of Dawn, the Master of the Holy Sword, a hero surpassing his brother.
To me, he’s just the man I broke up with on very bad terms.
“And that’s why you don’t mix family and romance. Well… since we didn’t actually marry, maybe it doesn’t count.”
Either way, my sister was the Duchess of Killiet,
and my ex was the new Duke.
So yes—kind of family.
We were ex-lovers and in-laws.
Meaning, Artea is both my niece and Erios’s niece.
“But it’s not like I’m avoiding Artea because of my personal feelings!”
Normally, Artea should have been the next duchess.
But she was just a baby who could barely walk.
Erios, as the Duke’s brother and a war hero, naturally became the next Duke.
“I’ll raise Artea as my heir,”
he said to everyone.
But would a man really give the dukedom to his niece when he could have his own children someday?
People doubted it—and so did I.
“Part of why I work so hard in business is because Artea owns a large share of it.”
When my sister married into the Killiet family, she was looked down on for her smaller dowry.
So I wanted to make sure her daughter would never suffer the same way.
And most importantly… if Artea were ever cast aside, she’d need somewhere to return to.
“At first, I thought that stubborn Erios would keep his word. But what happens if he marries and has a child of his own?”
To Erios, Artea is family.
But to a future duchess, she’d be a stranger.
Would a woman truly accept another’s child becoming heir over her own?
So I deliberately avoided asking to visit.
I didn’t want to seem like the ex-girlfriend using the niece as an excuse to sneak around the Duke’s estate.
“What if the future Duchess resents Artea—thinks I’m using her to hang around Erios?”
Still… just because I didn’t visit didn’t mean I ignored her.
I am, after all, a renowned magical device artisan.
From time to time, I’d make magical toys with Artea in mind.
“You’re using a precious magical artifact… as a toy?”
“Lady Bellona, with your talent, why waste it on children’s playthings?”
People were shocked, but that was my way of caring.
I never got direct feedback, of course.
Just secondhand messages saying, “The young lady is enjoying herself.”
Now, though, things were a bit different.
Artea was six this year—old enough to read and write.
“Hmm, maybe this year she’ll send me a card she wrote herself?”
I set down the magical device I was working on.
I couldn’t concentrate.
“I wonder if she’ll like this one. I wish I knew her taste.”
The last time I saw her, she was just a baby.
Now, as a little girl, who knows what she likes?
And Erios—when the hell was he going to get married?
Even I, who ignore marriage norms, find it ridiculous. He’s a duke!
“Honestly, if that man would just marry and have a kid, I could visit Artea freely without awkwardness!”
How many years had it been since I last saw her?
“At this rate, she’ll grow up before I even get the chance to see her face again.”
Bang! Bang!
My thoughts shattered with the sound of urgent knocking.
“What is it? Didn’t I say not to bother me while I’m working—”
“L-Lady Bellona! You must come downstairs immediately!”
I had never seen my old, composed butler this flustered.
“Officers from the Imperial Guard are here!”
What in the world?
In all my years, I’d never had dealings with law enforcement.
A dozen possible crimes I didn’t commit flashed through my head.
“Did something go wrong with one of my devices? Or am I being accused of something again because of my face?”
I hurried downstairs to find my staff facing off against armed guards.
“Are you Lady Bellona Sortis?”
“I am. What’s this about?”
I wasn’t the only one feeling the tension.
The entire estate felt heavy with unease.
The Imperial Guard were skilled—but so were my bodyguards.
If something went wrong, they’d act instantly.
“If things get weird, I’ll signal them.”
The only reason I’ve survived despite being both admired and hated is simple—
I have power.
And money.
My mind raced through backup plans.
But the officer’s next words caught me completely off guard.
“There’s a young lady asking for you. We’re here to escort her.”
“…What?”
As everyone in the hall froze, a small figure peeked out from between the guards’ legs.
A… child?
She stepped forward and straightened her little shoulders confidently.
“So, you’re Bellona Sortis?”
One glance was enough.
I knew immediately—she was my niece.
That shining silver hair unique to House Killiet.
Those refined features inherited from her famously handsome father.
And, most of all…
“Raise me.”
“…What?”
“I said, raise me!”
Her catlike eyes sparkled with pride—
the same violet hue as mine,
and as my late sister’s.
“Because you’re my aunt!”
Her voice was so bold and commanding it practically rattled my soul.
