107. Independence? What nonsense is this?

Ssshhhh-.

Silence enveloped the room, suffocating and oppressive.

Dagger-like stares were directed at me.

‘Why, why isn’t anyone saying anything…?’

My words weren’t spoken lightly, and the tension in the room made my fists tighten with anxiety.

Three pairs of ominous eyes staring at me, and another pair closing in a sigh. Unable to bear the silence any longer, I opened my mouth.

“Now that I’m an adult and can take care of myself, I’ll leave the mansion. -”

“Wait.”

My words were cut short by Duke Perdia. He looked straight into my eyes and asked,

“Independence? What nonsense is this?”

“Huh?”

Then Jansi chuckled and asked.

“Lili, who’s the guy who’s put these ideas into your head?”

“Huh? What ideas…?”

It was as if they were certain that someone had been whispering notions of independence into my ear, causing me to declare it.

Finally, even Carlot, with a stern expression, chimed in.

“Sister, you don’t plan on running away by any chance, do you?”

“Run away……?”

Carlot was completely ignoring my declaration of independence and treating it as if I were planning to run away.

I was taken aback.

‘My family is against independence……?’

I knew it wouldn’t be easy to get their approval in one go, but I never expected this kind of reaction. The feeling of having all three of their eyes on me was overwhelming.

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***

“I’m going to be independent.”

The moment Elodie said those words, Themis Perdia thought.

‘Finally, the time has come.’

From the day she had heard Elodie say that the reason she had saved her money was to be independent, Themis had known this day would come.

It was bound to come when Elodie, who had been causing trouble as if she wanted to be recognized, stopped getting into trouble and appeared stopped making trouble and showed up with eyes that didn’t expect anything. Perhaps his lingering affection for Perdia has disappeared to the point that he has even given up on receiving attention.

Despite her belated realization that something was wrong, Themis had made several efforts to make her feel like a part of the family.

She had tried going out together for family meals and spent more time together than before.

‘Maybe it’s just my own delusion that we’ve grown closer lately.’

She had been waiting for the moment when she would finally call her “Mother,” and the timing of her declaration of independence had caught her off guard.

All royalties for the antidotes created so far were paid, but even together, it was not enough funds to become independent.

For Elodie, who had lived off the wealth of the Perdia nobility all her life, the money needed for a day’s expenses was substantial.

Themis glanced sideways at her husband.

While others might think he was looking at her with a cold, stern expression out of anger, she, who had been looking at that face for a long time, knew better.

‘He must be surprised.’

The great Sylvester Perdia, the Duke of Perdia, was taken aback by his daughter’s unexpected declaration of independence.

“By independence, do you mean you’re going to move out of the mansion?”

“Yes.”

“Nonsense. You’re still too young to live on your own, Elodie.”

“Young, yes, but I’m an adult now, Father.”

Elodie was not as young as he thought, to the point where her age would not be a reason to oppose her independence. Among her peers, many noble girls had already married, and those from less fortunate backgrounds had found homes by working as maids for nobles even higher in rank than their own. So, being “young” was not a valid argument.

The Duke of Perdia regained his composure.

He regarded Elodie’s declaration of independence as a mere ploy or whim.

He thought she´s already past puberty. He asked his daughter in a rather bleak tone.

“Being independent means no longer receiving support from the family. You know, right?”

Of course, the pressure was only verbal.

There is no way that Elodie, who has grown up under his shadow all her life, will ever be able to become truly independent.

Elodie calmly responded, as if she had already foreseen this.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about the support. I’ve saved up some money separately, so you don’t need to worry. Ah, it’s not related to the family; it’s a fund I’ve saved on my own.”

“…….”

Their words came to a halt.

Both the Duke of Perdia and Jansi, even Carlot, were left speechless.

This was serious.

It was not a joke. Especially, Jansi lost his smile, and the question of why she had taken on a different identity and invested under a different status to secretly gather funds for her independence finally became clear.

Carlot, who had been biting his lip, slammed the table with his fist and exclaimed in a fit.

“Ah, the assassin, what are you going to do? Sister, have you forgotten that we were attacked last time? There’s no law that says we can’t be attacked again!”

“It’s fine. I’ll hire mercenaries.”

“No matter how strong a mercenary he is, would he be as good as a family soldier? It’s too dangerous. Stop it.”

While it seemed to make sense, Elodie calmly countered.

“Even though you’re considered one of the strongest in Perdia, those assassins you had to deal with were too much to handle, and there’s no guarantee of safety just because I’m at the mansion.”

“Th-that…….”

Carlot’s pupils, who remembered the moment when he had lost Elodie, trembled slightly.

“I’m not afraid for my life. I’ll pay special attention to my security. I might even request the temple to send a paladin for protection.”

“…….”

“Since I’m known as Ishtar’s chosen savior, they might provide some escort from the temple.”

Elodie mumbled nonchalantly. As the military strength of Ishtar’s paladins and Perdia’s soldiers were comparable, there was no longer an excuse to argue about safety.

Carlot had nothing more to say, but he groaned one last time.

“I can train harder… I’ll protect you.”

“I appreciate your feelings, Carlot.”

Elodie gently declined his offer with a smile, causing Carlot’s eyebrows to furrow even more.

Still wearing a stern expression, Jansi asked.

“Lili, are you serious?”

“Yes.”

In her brief response, Elodie’s determination was evident.

Jansi clenched his teeth.

Concealing his emotions with a smile had always been easier for him. That’s how he had lived his life. But lately, it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

It was difficult to maintain composure when he was observing his sister, who concerned him.

Paradoxically, although everything seemed to be laid bare, he couldn’t understand anything.

This situation was no different.

He initially thought assumed that the mercenary Ian had been talking nonsense beside her, but it wasn’t such a simple issue.

What Jansi was curious about was Elodie’s true intention.

“What’s the real reason for wanting independence?”

“As I mentioned earlier, I’m now-”

“Enough of that. Can you tell me the ‘real’ reason?”

He wore a face that was convinced there was another reason.

Elodie started to respond calmly once again.

“There’s nothing like that. I just… can’t stay here forever……..”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t fit in with Perdia, and……..”

Her voice gradually grew quieter and eventually…

Thud.

“Eh……?”

Thud, thud……. Large tears fell onto her hand.

“I’m s-sorry…”

A bewildered Elodie wiped her face with her bare hands.

She herself didn’t understand why she was crying.

But the pouring tears showed no sign of stopping, shocking everyone in the room.

Elodie, who cried silently with only tears rolling down her cheeks, left everyone there stunned.

“I’ll stop soon. Please wait a moment.”

But the pouring tears showed no sign of stopping, shocking everyone in the room. Themis, who was quietly watching the pitiful scene, handed Elodie a handkerchief.

“Lili. You can go upstairs first. We can discuss this later.

“……Then I’ll go first.”

As Elodie left the dining room, there was complete silence inside. Even the servants, who were like shadows lurking in the corners, tried their best to stay hidden, not making a sound.

“……?!”

Just then, a servant, completely oblivious to what was going on inside, pulled a trolley out to serve dessert and was interrupted.

“What?”

“Can’t you see the atmosphere? Just get back in there for now.”

After hearing the murmurs of the servants, Jansi raised his hand, summoning them. They hastily set up the desserts and left the dining room.

However, no one touched the desserts.

Jansi gazed at the melting ice cream for a moment before shifting his gaze to his mother.

“I see you’re not surprised, mother. You knew about this already. This time, too.”

“As expected, you’re quick to catch on, Jansi. Yes, I knew.”

“Why did you keep it a secret?”

Before Themis could respond, Carlot interjected angrily.

“You should have stopped her if you knew!”

“Why would I go against her wishes?”

Themis sighed and took a sip of her tea.

Last summer, when she had teatime with Elodie for the first time, the image of the child emptying the iced tea without any hesitation came to mind.

Even though her companion was the most renowned poisoner on the continent, Elodie had shown no concern.

If anyone has teatime with her, they just pretend to lift the teacup in front of her. Was it trust in her own power, or was it trust in a person called Themis Perdia? Themis smiled bitterly and continued.

“Can you imagine? Excruciating pain that feels like every organ in your body is being slowly roasted, a mind-numbing headache that doesn’t let up. I carelessly gave her dozens of vials of poison, and she brought me the antidote every time.”

“…….”

“The story goes that she drank it dozens of times. Drinking it that many times means she experienced pain so excruciating that she wanted to die. You all know how effective my poison is.”

While no one said it out loud, they all shared the same thought.

Elodie was willing to endure such pain just to escape Perdia.

“When she first learned that she had to poison herself to make the antidote, she did it for this. To raise funds for her independence.”

Jansi muttered; his eyes filled with regret.

“Lili. I guess she didn’t want to take any of Perdia’s belongings with her.”

From the beginning, Elodie Perdia was an outcast.

From the time she was an infant, she was raised by a nanny in a separate building.

Sylvester thought he was fulfilling his responsibilities by raising her, Jansi was affectionate but pretentious, and Carlot repressed his desire to be close to her and hated her.

Themis had kept her promise with her husband. And this was the result. Elodie grew up as a child who couldn’t even cry properly.

‘I haven’t done anything right either.’

Themis mocked herself and stared straight at her husband. It was interesting to see that he didn’t know what to say and just had a stiff expression on his face.

“I’m sure I’ve told your Grace. You’ll regret it.”

I said, knowing this day would come, but hoping it wouldn’t. It was the day Elodie gifted magic tools to the two people.

 “Be more honest, Your Grace.”

 “…….”

“You’re going to regret it.”

What he said back then.

“I’d like us to stop talking about this.”

Sylvester spoke as if he was annoyed. Today’s declaration of independence was that karma.

“We have no right to prevent that child from becoming independent.”

Themis spoke firmly.

“So, do something.”

Get down on your knees, plead your case, or hang on for dear life. It was already too late, but better late than never.