Chapter 5
“This too sh— no, no. This too shall pass.”
I made sure to pronounce each syllable carefully as I read the ancient words before me.
At once, everyone in the room turned to stare.
It wasn’t common for a child my age to be able to read a whole sentence in the ancient tongue.
Except for Father, Sharie.
“Could it be… the young lady has manifested an ability at six years old, just like Lord Sharie?”
“Then it must be hereditary—an ability passed down through generations!”
“Wouldn’t that be a great blessing for the House of Essier?”
“But if that’s the case…”
The retainers whispered among themselves while the teachers’ eyes turned toward Sylvia.
If the servants were right and I truly had manifested an ability, that would mean these teachers had completely failed their duty.
Not only had they failed to notice my awakening, they had even dared to claim that I was unfit to be the successor!
Their faces turned ashen with dread.
But despite all the nervous glances, Sylvia still looked utterly baffled.
“How could this be…”
Of course she couldn’t understand.
She had never even taught me the Empire’s common tongue properly, much less the ancient language—yet here I was reading it aloud.
No wonder she was shocked senseless.
When she finally raised her dazed eyes—
“The test isn’t over until you translate the meaning, is it not?”
My grandfather’s voice cut through the silence, his gaze now resting on me.
Though his expression was as indifferent as ever—as if this were all a tiresome bore—the faint glimmer of interest in his blue eyes told me I had at least managed to catch his attention.
Good. Time to drive the nail in.
“It means: ‘Good things and bad things alike shall all pass, so do not cling to them. Be humble in fortune and don’t brood over misfortune! Acting rashly will only make you pay for it!’”
“Cough!”
The last line—acting rashly will only make you pay for it—was aimed directly at Grandfather, of course.
Sylvia, realizing too late what I’d done, dropped her head.
“Surely… surely you saw the test question beforehand?”
I glanced up at Chandler—his expression had stiffened awkwardly.
As expected.
No wonder he’d answered so smoothly earlier.
He must have secretly shown Sylvia the test questions on our way here.
How predictable.
I shook my head at Sylvia’s pitiful suspicion.
“No.”
But even so, she clearly didn’t believe me.
“Lying is wrong, young lady. I understand you must be embarrassed in front of the lord, but cheating—”
“Then I’ll just solve another one!”
“…What?”
“Maybe teacher doesn’t know, but Lesha studied really, really hard!”
My bold tone made Margo glance sharply toward Sylvia.
But Sylvia, realizing the trap she had set was falling apart, fumbled to summon another question with her magical device.
“This one, then.”
“‘While there is life, there is hope.’”
“And this?”
“‘The one who shapes fate is none other than oneself.’”
I continued to read and translate several more ancient sentences—
“Enough.”
Margo’s hand rose.
“That’s sufficient proof, wouldn’t you say, teacher?”
“B-but—”
“It seems you have not been monitoring Leticia’s studies for quite some time. Otherwise, how could you call such a child incompetent, dull, and unfit to inherit?”
“T-that’s…”
Sylvia dabbed the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, lifting her head only to lower it again.
“This… this can’t be…”
Her trembling hands clenched together.
She wanted to make an excuse—but none came.
She needed to deny it somehow—but couldn’t.
“Lord!” she called out desperately.
But Margo’s gaze had already passed her by.
“Bennet.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Dismiss the teachers, and summon the second lady.”
He meant Lady Velia Essier, my second aunt—the one who managed the household affairs.
“M-my lord!”
Sylvia’s face went pale. She knew all too well what it meant for Velia to be called.
But Margo no longer looked at her.
Realizing the meaning of that silence, the other teachers quietly began to edge away from Sylvia, slipping out of the study one by one.
Sylvia glared at them venomously for their cowardice.
But there was one thing none of them knew—
Grandfather wasn’t calling in Aunt Velia just to dismiss Sylvia.
He’s going to replace every single one of them.
Even when he looked indifferent, Grandfather heard everything—the whispering of the servants, the mockery of the teachers behind his back.
That was what it meant to be the Head of House Essier—
to see all, even without looking.
But then… why did he choose Uncle Andrea as successor?
He knew Uncle’s capabilities better than anyone.
Why?
“…Has an ability manifested?”
His sudden question snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Pardon?”
“His Grace asked if you’ve awakened an ability.”
“Um… I don’t know.”
I shook my head.
I didn’t have any supernatural power like Father or the few gifted nobles.
But I did have the accumulated knowledge and intellect of an adult Korean in this child’s body.
If that counted as an ability, then… maybe.
“But I can read the letters.”
“…”
“Is that an ability?”
It wasn’t the kind they wanted, but for my age, it was certainly exceptional.
“How much can you read?”
“Hmm.”
I tapped my chin and swayed side to side, pretending to think.
What should I say I can read?
As I pondered, my eyes fell on the towering bookshelf behind Grandfather.
Books crammed from floor to ceiling—
and among them, one I had been desperately searching for.
I darted forward before anyone could stop me.
“Young lady!”
Bennet tried to grab me, but Grandfather raised a hand.
“Let her be.”
Grinning, I reached up to the dusty spine of a thick volume and pulled it free.
It was the book that would both prove my ability and answer my long search.
“The History of Essier?”
“Yes! Volume One!”
As I clutched the heavy tome with my small hands, Grandfather’s eyes narrowed, glancing between me and the book.
It was a tedious, ancient record of our house’s earliest days—
written in both the imperial tongue and the old language.
Even most lords never managed to read it in full.
Volume One, in particular, was said to contain so much untranslated script that it was nearly unreadable.
“Can you read it?”
“Yup.”
I plopped down on the floor and quickly flipped through the pages until I found that one passage—
Grandfather’s favorite, though I pretended not to know.
“Retumu noni omnia fintit.”
“What does it mean?”
“‘Death is not the end.’”
“…”
“The First Lord said that death does not mean the end of everything. Ita virta.”
“That is life.”
“Yes.”
When he echoed my translation, I nodded earnestly.
For the first time, Grandfather smiled gently and reached out to pat my head.
His rough but affectionate touch startled me, making my body stiffen.
It felt as though my body itself was rejecting the gesture.
It was the first time I’d ever been touched so kindly.
You have to get used to it, Lesha.
I exhaled slowly, steadying myself.
After a moment, Grandfather withdrew his hand and turned to Bennet.
“Bennet—”
But just then—
“My lord, it’s Philip.”
A knock sounded, and the head butler stepped in.
His silver-black hair was slicked back neatly, but his face looked unusually tense, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.
What’s wrong? Ah—!
A memory from my previous life flashed before my eyes, and I leapt to my feet.
If it was that incident—
“What is it?”
My heart pounded as I clasped my hands over my chest.
If it’s that, I have to stop him!
I took a few steps closer to Grandfather, pretending to catch my breath.
Bennet’s gaze flicked toward me briefly, then away again—
probably thinking I was just startled by the interruption.
“What is it?” Grandfather repeated.
“The palace has sent envoys.”
As expected.
“For what reason?”
“That is…”
Philip hesitated, drawing in a deep breath before speaking.
“They say they have come to ensure that Your Grace is faithfully observing your house arrest.”
“…”
And in that moment—
CRACK!
Thunder split the sky outside.
A bolt from the blue—
the very definition of a lightning strike out of a clear sky.
