Episode 88
“Sarah! Aunt Rosalyne!”
“Your Highness!”
Elonia, returning to the Imperial Palace, spotted Sarah and Lady Asta at the entrance.
They embraced her tightly as she jumped out of the carriage.
“Welcome back, Your Highness.”
“I’m home, Aunt Rosalyne.”
“I heard the news, Your Highness. Congratulations on getting the highest score! You’re so brilliant!”
Sarah cupped Elonia’s cheeks in her hands, her eyes filled with love and pride.
Elonia, pushing aside the unpleasant memories of the academy, smiled brightly.
She could barely breathe in their tight embrace, but she felt happy and relieved to be home.
“Mother, we’re here too.”
Llewellyn grumbled, trying to get their attention.
Lady Asta, finally noticing her sons, embraced them as well.
“Welcome home, both of you.”
“Heehee, Mother.”
“We’re back, Mother.”
Llewellyn and Alberich smiled, hugging their mother tightly.
Elonia, watching them, asked Sarah,
“Where’s Dad?”
“Ah, His Majesty is—”
“Elonia!”
There was no need for Sarah to answer.
Artius came running towards them.
Elonia pouted.
“What took you so long? Were you lying about missing me?”
“We weren’t supposed to meet here…”
“Ah.”
That was true.
She had been planning to go straight to the Imperial Princess’s Palace, and he had been waiting for her there. But Lady Asta and Sarah had been waiting for her at the entrance, and Elonia, unable to ignore them, had stopped to greet them.
And Artius, having heard about her arrival, had rushed from the Imperial Princess’s Palace to the entrance. Considering the distance, he had actually arrived quite quickly.
Elonia, speechless, quickly changed the subject, pulling out her report card.
“See? I kept my promise.”
“I’m happier that you’re home, but… congratulations. I’m proud of you, my daughter.”
“Right? By the way, where’s Aaron?”
“He’s on vacation today. He went to pick up Lady Bereta.”
Oh, Aaron. He was quite the doting uncle.
But Elonia had more pressing matters to discuss.
Artius held out his hand, ready to escort her back to the Imperial Princess’s Palace.
As soon as Elonia took his hand, he remarked, his face filled with surprise,
“You’ve grown taller.”
“Rica and Ethan said the same thing. But I didn’t notice.”
“You never do.”
That was true. Even as Chelon, she hadn’t noticed how much Olivia and Simon had grown until after returning from a long campaign.
And when she had met them again at the academy after nine years, she had almost failed to recognize them.
The reunited father and daughter exchanged stories about their lives.
Then, the conversation lulled, and an awkward silence fell between them.
Elonia finally brought up the topic she had been avoiding.
“You heard from Professor Caroline, right?”
“…Yes.”
“I saved it for when we could talk face-to-face, so tell me everything later.”
Artius hesitated.
He was about to protest, but seeing Elonia’s glare, he reluctantly nodded.
Elonia, satisfied, turned to Lady Asta and Sarah and waved.
It was their first family dinner together in a while.
“I’m home…”
Garnethia, arriving at the Bereta estate, quietly entered the study and greeted her mother.
Marchioness Bereta glanced at her, then returned her attention to the documents on her desk, asking abruptly,
“Second place, I presume?”
“Yes, Mother…”
Marchioness Bereta took off her glasses and looked directly at Garnethia.
The room seemed to freeze.
She held up Garnethia’s report card, her voice cold and sharp.
“This score is unacceptable. Such a large gap between first and second place. I had assumed you deliberately lost to the princess, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“…I apologize, Mother.”
“You know that the future heads of our family have always graduated from the Lucid Academy Academic Department as the top student. And yet, you secretly enrolled in the Magic Department and returned with this score. It seems like you weren’t even trying. Am I wrong?”
“W-well, the truth is…”
“Don’t bother making excuses about the exam being difficult or blaming Professor Caroline. The princess, who is much younger than you, achieved a far higher score.”
“B-but Mother, I…”
“Who said you could talk back?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
Garnethia lowered her head, her hands clenching her robe tightly.
She had been expecting this, but her eyes and nose were already red, her vision blurring with tears.
Her display of weakness only angered her mother further.
“Why are you crying? Stop it.”
“Y-yes…!”
“And stop stuttering. I thought you would learn something from the princess, but you haven’t changed at all. How can I trust you with the future of our family—”
“Salome!”
Aaron, interrupting her, flung open the door.
He frowned, seeing the situation, and strode towards Marchioness Bereta, shielding Garnethia.
“Garnethia just returned home. You should be comforting her, not berating her.”
“Stay out of this, Aaron. You’re the one who encouraged her to join the Magic Department behind my back. You have no right to lecture me.”
“Garnethia wanted to join the Magic Department from the start.”
“And she returned with this score? It’s as if she wasn’t even trying. She has to transfer departments immediately.”
“The choice is hers. Please, just stop.”
“She’s my daughter. If you want to criticize someone’s parenting, go find your own child.”
“Salome!”
Their argument escalated.
Garnethia, fidgeting nervously, watched them, her heart sinking.
She hated herself.
It was her fault that her uncle and mother were always fighting.
‘Why am I so useless? Why can’t I be a daughter my mother can be proud of?’
Her vision swam, her stomach churning.
Aaron, noticing her distress, gestured for her to leave.
But Garnethia, as if rooted to the spot, couldn’t move.
She finally managed to leave after her mother dismissed her with a sigh and a dismissive wave of her hand.
Garnethia returned to her room, her heart heavy, and curled up under her bed.
‘I disappointed her again.’
She pulled out her report card.
Her scores for Caroline’s classes were low, dragged down by the difficult written exams and her poor performance in the practical exercises, but her other grades were excellent.
Her gaze lingered on a particular section of the report card.
‘At least I got first place in Magic Tool Crafting…’
She had wanted to tell her mother, but she hadn’t been able to.
She might be lacking in practical magic, but she excelled in Magic Tool Crafting.
She had hoped her mother would notice, but her other poor scores had overshadowed her achievement.
The number “1,” which had brought her so much joy, had been completely ignored by her mother.
‘I’m so envious of Elonia.’
With her perfect score and top ranking, there would surely be a celebration at the palace.
Garnethia buried her face in her lap and sighed.
Just then, she heard a gentle knock.
“Garnethia, may I come in?”
“Ah…!”
Garnethia quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve.
She pressed her cold palms against her cheeks, trying to cool down her flushed face, then replied,
“Come in, Uncle…!”
“Excuse me.”
Aaron cautiously entered her room.
He smiled sadly, seeing her curled up under the bed.
“Why are you sitting on the floor? There’s a sofa.”
“I-I…”
“Anyway, good work this semester. I heard you got second place and you have a talent for Magic Tool Crafting. I’m proud of you.”
“…Uncle.”
Garnethia choked back a sob.
Her mother had said she was a grown-up now, at thirteen.
So she couldn’t cry.
But tears welled up in her eyes, her lips trembling.
Aaron sat down beside her, patting her shoulder gently.
“…I apologize for your mother’s words. Don’t take them to heart.”
“It’s okay, Uncle… I should have done better…”
“Garnethia, you’re already doing great.”
“But…”
“I mean it.”
Garnethia wanted to say something, but she held back her tears.
She simply lowered her head.
Aaron, not wanting to pressure her, gently stroked her red hair.
“…You must be tired. I’ll leave you to rest. You’ve had a long journey.”
Garnethia nodded.
After Aaron left, she composed herself, determined not to disappoint her kind uncle.
She had to work harder.
And then, one day, her mother would finally acknowledge her.
“I can’t accept this.”
The family dinner with Elonia, Artius, the Asta family, and Sarah had been pleasant.
They had chatted and laughed, sharing stories about the academy, starting with Elonia stealing the Asta brothers’ garnishes.
But Elonia was now angry.
According to Caroline and Artius, this was the situation:
When they had expelled Dianne, someone had questioned whether that was truly Dianne Rossi. And upon further investigation, they had discovered that Dianne was actually Noah, a Heilan spy from Delan.
And they had been observing her, hoping to catch Heilan red-handed when they tried to deal with the exposed spy.
So Elonia had said she wanted to help resolve the situation, to abolish the hostage system.
And Artius, of course, had refused.
“Why? Because I’m too young? Because you think I’ll collapse again after using magic once?”
Elonia asked, trying to remain calm, and Artius, his face creased with guilt, replied,
“Elonia, this is an adult matter. You don’t have to get involved. Just focus on staying healthy.”
Artius was right.
She was still too young to handle such matters.
But her desire to abolish the hostage system, to protect her siblings, clouded her judgment.
“Stay healthy? So you’re telling me to ignore the situation?”
“It would be best if you forgot about it entirely.”
“How can you say that?”
Elonia’s voice rose in anger.
But Artius remained firm.
“It will all be resolved by the time you become Empress. You don’t have to worry about it.”
He had said it for her own good, to reassure her, but it was the wrong approach.
Elonia already doubted her worthiness of the throne because of her past life.
And after Caroline’s offer to skip a grade, she had been thinking about what kind of Empress she wanted to be.
She hadn’t reached a conclusion yet, but she knew she didn’t want to be a ruler who delegated all important matters to her father and lived a life of peace and comfort.
So she finally voiced the words she had been unable to say before, the words she had kept bottled up inside because of her childhood trauma.
“If that’s the kind of irresponsible Empress I have to be, then I don’t want to be Empress.”