Isn’t it a bit dishonest to say they don’t want to use violent methods? Looking at the two men who seemed violent to anyone’s eyes, I nodded while considering what to do.

“Alright. I’ll come quietly, so please wait here for a moment. I’ll just pack some things.”

The Countess, thinking my spirit had been broken upon seeing the mercenaries she had hired, sneered at me once more and nodded.

Lily, who had come out after preparing lunch due to the commotion, was looking at me worriedly. After reassuring her not to worry, I took out two artifacts from the living room drawer.

Then I went straight to the backyard, picked up a bucket full of soil, and headed for the front door.

The two people standing in front of the door were still badmouthing me.

“Where did you learn the manners of leaving people outside… Kyaaak!”

I wonder where the Countess learned the manners of badmouthing people to their face.

I splashed the contents of the bucket towards the two people who had no idea what was about to happen. Theo and the Countess, covered in soil, shrieked and shook their bodies ridiculously, which was quite a sight to see.

“Ugh, the smell! What on earth did you splash on us, Ravenne!”

“It’s fertilizer.”

“What?”

She asked back sharply with an irritated voice.

“They say humans grow wiser with age, but it seems your empty pea pod of a brain has no intention of filling up. So I gave you some fertilizer.”

“Sister! Isn’t this going too far?”

You’re the ones who’ve gone too far.

“Oh, and take these. You too, Theo.”

I threw an artifact to each of the two heated individuals. As they caught the objects in bewilderment, their faces showed both annoyance and confusion.

Like mother, like son, how can their reactions be so identical?

“They’re teleportation artifacts. The coordinates are set to the middle of the capital.”

I started to explain to resolve the confusion of the mother and son, but unfortunately, they disappeared before I could finish my explanation.

Well, by now they should have realized what kind of artifacts those were.

Now for the remaining people…

“What will you two do? Your employer have disappeared, haven’t they?”

As I looked at the two men standing dumbfounded, they backed away with frightened expressions and then fled back the way they came.

“What? They gave up faster than I thought.”

It was a quick retreat for what I expected to be a more persistent situation. Feeling a bit strange, I turned around to see Spinel poking his head out of the window. Along with smoke dissipating from his fingertips.

“Were those your family from earlier?”

“Well, something like that.”

As I was dusting off my hands and picking up the bucket, a raindrop fell from the sky with a plop.

The rain that started with single drops soon turned into a downpour. Listening to the sound of rain hitting the windows, I sat down facing Spinel.

“I’ve told you about my family before, haven’t I?”

Spinel nodded.

“Yes. You said they were dead.”

“It wasn’t exactly a lie.”

I hadn’t intended to keep it a secret, but it wasn’t exactly a story that could be easily accepted either, so I had been reticent about it to those around me.

But well, now that I’ve left the mansion, I guess there’s no reason to hide it anymore.

“I don’t know what you’ll think, Spinel, but I’m not originally from this world. This body isn’t mine either. Simply put, another person’s soul has entered this body.”

“And that soul is you?”

“That’s right. It’s a bit hard to believe, isn’t it?”

Spinel, who had been listening with his chin resting on his hand, shrugged.

“Well. What reason would you have to lie to me?”

Spinel’s reaction was so nonchalant that I was rather taken aback. Is this kind of story not surprising to dragons?

“Then who are those people from earlier?”

“They’re the family of the original owner of this body.”

“Is that why you don’t get along?”

I shook my head in response to Spinel’s question.

“I don’t think the bad relationship has anything to do with me. It seems they didn’t get along from the beginning.”

“Then what about your family?”

“My story probably won’t be very interesting.”

“It’s fine. Your stories have never been boring.”

I tried to dodge the question, but it was no use. Spinel’s interest seemed to be in my past, not the Rischefeld people who had just disappeared.

As I pondered how to start, I slowly brought out the story I had buried deep in my memories.

“Um, I had a grandmother. She was my only family.”

It was the first time I was opening up to someone about a story I had kept buried in my heart for so long. I never imagined the listener would be a dragon.

Whether it was because she wasn’t human, or because we had experienced similar pain, I’m not sure of the reason, but contrary to my worries, I felt quite calm.

As I shared fragments of small memories, the story finally led to the day my grandmother passed away. The memory of that day was still painful, and just recalling it made me feel suffocated.

“In the end, I couldn’t do anything and had to let my grandmother go. When I think about what happened then, I still regret it.”

Spinel, who had been silently watching me for a while, asked in a quiet voice.

“Is that why you tried to save Ilion? Afraid of having the same regret again?”

No matter how little she understood humans, it seems the years she had lived couldn’t be ignored. Feeling as if my innermost thoughts had been completely exposed by Spinel’s question, I nodded.

Spinel fell silent again, and the atmosphere in the living room became as gloomy as the overcast sky.

“Everyone, lunch is… Oh my, why is the atmosphere like this suddenly? Did something happen?”

Lily, who had come to announce that lunch was ready, asked in confusion at the dark atmosphere in the living room.

“D-Did you two have a fight?”

***

Another week passed after that. These days, my daily routine started with tending to the plants in the vegetable garden.

“They’ve grown a lot. We’ll be able to harvest soon.”

It seems my efforts weren’t in vain, as the leaves had grown lush.

It was admirable how the plants had managed to sprout new buds even in this cold weather.

“What are you going to do with the harvest?”

Spinel, my farming partner, asked while poking at the leaves.

“I’ll use some in cooking, and sell the rest at the market.”

“You seemed down these past few days, but you look quite excited now.”

“Wh-When was I? I’ve never felt better than these days?”

When I denied it, saying there was no such thing, Spinel nodded and said, “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“It’s really amazing, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“At first, they were so small, but now they’ve grown this much.”

“I see. It’s such a natural thing that I’ve never thought about it.”

Come to think of it, this probably wasn’t a very interesting sight for Spinel. He must have seen it countless times over more than a thousand years. I felt a bit embarrassed for getting excited on my own.

“Next spring, let’s plant some fruit-bearing plants. Like apple trees, or tomatoes. Oh, blueberries would be good too. I’m sure they’ll be delicious.”

Spinel chuckled at my words and asked,

“Why is it all food?”

“What’s wrong with that? We’re doing all this to eat and live anyway.”

“What about a handsome man?”

This again? I was being teased over and over for one careless remark.

“That, I don’t think it’ll be easy. I’m not confident I can raise one well either.”

To begin with, Ilion had become the standard for handsomeness, so where in the world would you find a man more handsome than him? The premise of a handsome man was flawed from the start.

As I was sprinkling water while having this pointless conversation, Lily called out to me.

“Miss, a guest has come to see you.”

“Who is it?”

Could it be the Countess again, not giving up? I don’t even have any fertilizer to spray this time.

As I was contemplating whether to spray water instead, as a substitute, Lily answered cautiously,

“It’s the Saintess.”

I quickly dusted off the soil and entered the house to find Artia standing in the living room.

“It’s been a while, Ravenne.”

“It’s been a while. By the way, what brings you here?”

It wasn’t exactly a place she shouldn’t come to, but it was a bit strange for her to visit an area so far from the capital. Artia looked at me with a slightly tense face and opened her mouth.

“I have something to tell you.”

Judging by her expression, it didn’t seem to be a simple conversation, so I offered her tea and sat down on the sofa.

“It must have been tiring to come here. It’s such a remote location.”

I tried to lighten the stiff atmosphere a bit, but Artia’s expression showed no signs of relaxing. Did she have a fight with Ilion or something?

“…Um, Ravenne.”

“Yes?”

“There’s something you should know.”

Artia began with the solemnity of a warrior charging into enemy territory.

Even though she had just uttered the first words, why did I feel so reluctant to hear it? There was an ominous smell in the air, as if listening would only bring me harm.

“About what?”

“About His Grace.”

As I expected. As I was contemplating whether to listen further, Spinel reacted first.

“If you’re going to say something useless, then leave.”

“No. I must tell her.”

Spinel glared at Artia as if to pierce her, slamming the table, and Artia faced Spinel without backing down an inch.

“Can you take responsibility for what you’re about to say?”

“The judgment is not for me to make, but for Miss Ravenne.”

“Don’t push it onto Ravenne without a plan.”

“I’m not pushing it. Do you really think keeping everything a secret like this is for her benefit?”

What on earth could they be talking about to cause such a commotion? From the situation, it seemed Spinel knew what Artia was going to say.

“Hey, both of you, calm down for now. Let’s hear what this is about.”

I pulled on Spinel’s arm, which had become quite sensitive, trying to stop her.

Spinel maintained a firm attitude, saying there was no need to listen, but unfortunately, I couldn’t just let it go after hearing that it was about Ilion’s secret. It was also infuriating to be the only one not knowing something everyone else seemed to know.

“Let’s hear it for now.”