Chapter 21
The next day.
This afternoon was Aren’s magic theory class.
Last week, Aren had told Elicia that they’d meet again.
But contrary to that promise, there was no next time for Aren and Elicia.
“I suppose I should write a letter of condolence to Aren’s family.”
An hour before lunch, and two hours before Aren’s class.
Elicia had just heard the news from Rachel at dawn that Aren had died.
They said he died just like the others who had fallen ill with mana sickness.
As usual, Aren had returned home after going about his classes with a pale face and went to sleep — and never woke up again.
He had been born a commoner and lived with his family.
If one could call it any consolation amidst the misfortune, at least his final moments were spent with his family.
Had he died suddenly while out and about…
“No kind of death is any better than the other.”
Elicia offered Aren a quiet apology in her heart.
It was an apology for the disrespect she’d once felt — for even briefly thinking he was better off than Isabella.
“And also… my lady.”
“Hm?”
As Elicia picked up pen and paper to write a condolence letter to Aren’s family, Rachel spoke again, hesitantly, as if there was more she needed to say.
“The Duke has asked you to join him for lunch today.”
“……”
At those words, Elicia’s hand, which had been writing diligently, froze unnaturally mid-stroke.
It was like hearing a sudden death sentence out of nowhere.
All at once, countless thoughts collided in Elicia’s mind.
‘Why is he suddenly calling me?’
It had been a long time since she was last invited to lunch like this.
‘Is he finally going to ask why I dismissed the head maid a week ago?’
No, that couldn’t be it.
The Duke of Partine she knew would never do that.
‘Or… could he have found out I’ve been going to Eden’s annex?’
Did he actually visit the annex?
She had thought he wouldn’t set foot there for at least a year — had she been wrong?
Elicia blinked rapidly, anxious.
No, that too was a ridiculous thought.
If that had been the case, Lizbeth would’ve told her long ago.
Having something to feel guilty about made every possibility spiral in her head.
And that uneasiness showed clearly in her unnatural demeanor.
“My lady…”
Noticing Elicia’s frozen state, Rachel called out to her in a trembling voice, almost as if pitying her.
Elicia, who rarely showed emotion on her face, now couldn’t even control her expression — a sign that she was nearing her emotional limit.
In Rachel’s eyes, it wouldn’t be surprising if Elicia collapsed at any moment.
And now, on top of everything, she had to dine with the Duke of Partine?
‘I should prepare some digestive medicine.’
Whenever Elicia had to eat with the Duke — even if only occasionally — she always ended up with indigestion.
And today would probably be no different.
“…Alright. Tell him I won’t be late.”
“Yes, my lady.”
As if that brief moment of unease had been a lie, Elicia’s expression quickly returned to normal.
All she could do was silently curse her fate of having to sit through a meal with a man she couldn’t stand.
The Duke’s estate had two dining rooms: one for the Duke alone, and another shared by Elicia and Ariel.
Originally, there had only been one.
The second had been created solely because of Elicia and Ariel — thanks to a single statement from the Duke of Partine:
He simply didn’t want to dine face-to-face with his daughters.
Because of that, unless they were explicitly invited, Elicia and Ariel were not allowed to step foot in the Duke’s dining room.
In fact, Ariel had never set foot in it even once.
“You’re early.”
As the door opened, a low, deep voice echoed chillingly through the room.
To Elicia, it was a thoroughly unwelcome voice.
“Yes. Since it’s been a while since you called for me, I couldn’t possibly be late.”
Elicia responded with a bright smile, skillfully masking the burning bitterness inside.
Perhaps her words weren’t too displeasing, because the Duke finally lifted his mouth from his wine glass and spoke.
“Sit.”
His slightly raised chin looked more arrogant than usual.
Elicia gave a small bow in reply and took her seat at the place where the utensils were neatly set.
Soon, the servants began bringing in the food.
In the meantime, Elicia kept glancing sideways at the Duke of Partine.
Sleek black hair trimmed neatly down to the nape, piercing red eyes that looked more icy than fiery — there was no doubt he was the father of both Elicia and Ariel.
And that face — a striking resemblance to Ariel, almost excessively so.
But what lay inside that face was so different, it was hard to believe they shared the same blood.
‘Die.’
Elicia stabbed her fork through a piece of salad and steak drenched in sweet dressing, whispering silently in her heart.
No matter how much he resembled Ariel, there was no room in her for familial affection toward the Duke of Partine.
“Elicia.”
‘I just took one bite.’
Suppressing the urge to let her face crack, Elicia swallowed the bite and calmly responded.
“Yes, Father.”
The dressing was so sweet it almost numbed her tongue.
Meanwhile, the Duke didn’t touch any other dish — only toyed with his wine glass using his elegant, statue-like fingers.
Clearly, he had never intended for this to be a pleasant, family meal.
“How long do you think this war will last?”
He launched straight into the topic without warning.
“……”
The question was unexpected.
Not about the head maid, nor about Eden — but about the war?
It was impossible to guess why he was asking her about the duration of a war that had only been going on for half a year.
He likely didn’t know, but ironically, Elicia — who had never stepped foot on the battlefield — knew more than anyone when the war would end.
Not the knights or mages risking their lives in the piles of corpses.
Unconsciously, her lips parted.
But not knowing what kind of answer he was expecting, she couldn’t speak rashly.
“You can answer honestly.”
His tone made it sound like he was testing her.
Elicia swallowed dryly.
“…I don’t think it’ll end soon.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I read in the newspaper that His Highness the Crown Prince will be dispatched to the front next year.”
The Crown Prince was only about four years older than Elicia.
He may have been the heir, but he was still a barely-matured young man.
“I don’t think there’s any real reason to send him into this war.”
The presence of the servants made her wary.
As she hesitated, the Duke pointed toward the door with his index finger.
As if on cue, the servants promptly exited the room.
The air, already cold, grew even colder.
“Continue.”
Pressed by the Duke, Elicia opened her mouth again.
“It’s just based on what I read in the papers, so I may be wrong, but… the number of knights and mages deployed seems far too few for an empire of this size.”
Using barely half the Empire’s troops, and now sending in the Crown Prince?
To Elicia, the Emperor’s passive attitude seemed almost intentional — like he was trying to create a façade of parity with the enemy.
As if he were looking for an excuse to send the Crown Prince into a deadly situation.
“I was confused at first too, but when I heard that His Highness was being deployed, I understood.”
The Emperor was playing a dangerous game.
He wanted the Crown Prince to die in the war.
“Can an emperor who cannot see, be trusted to lead an empire?”
Putting down her fork, Elicia casually waved her now-empty hand as she uttered her treasonous thought aloud.
“……”
But the Duke of Partine did not scold her for her insolence.
In fact, he set his wine glass down without a sound, as if telling her to go on.
“Most people probably think the same.”
It was a way of distancing herself from her own statement.
Not long after ascending the throne, the Emperor began to lose his vision.
First one eye, then the other — not due to magic or poisoning, but simply due to tragic misfortune.
Since losing his sight, the Emperor had sunk into a pit of self-pity and depression.
On the surface, he seemed fine — but inside, he was long rotten.
A flawed monarch.
Not only did others see it — the Emperor himself believed it.
“He must have thought that with peace shattered for the first time in centuries, this was the perfect moment.”
“Perfect moment?”
“To kill His Highness the Crown Prince.”
The second male lead of this novel — and the one the villainess Elicia had loved.
Heonis Belvion.
The blinded Emperor had grown wary of his flawless, gifted son.
Afraid that people might start to think he should abdicate sooner than any ruler before him.
If anyone dared to compare the Emperor to Heonis, they’d lose their tongue on the spot.
“There’s no other reason to send him to the battlefield, especially without giving him proper military support, just six months into a war.”
She said it like speculation — but Elicia knew with certainty.
She had read it in the novel, and the Emperor’s hostility toward Heonis was so well-known that even she, never having left her estate, was aware.
“Hoo…”
The Duke’s eyes glittered with interest.
He actually looked satisfied.
“Depending on how you look at it, one might think it’s an effort to make the Crown Prince into a war hero… but I doubt it.”
That Emperor?
Elicia scoffed and took a sip of water.
“There must be plenty of nobles opposing it too. I mean, he’s the only Crown Prince, after all.”
“They can always have another child.”
As long as the Emperor gets to enjoy his power long enough.
The Duke’s cold voice momentarily froze Elicia’s brain.
There was no rise or fall in his tone — not a shred of guilt in his words.
