“What, what-.”

Cough, cough!

The startled Emperor inhaled sharply and began to cough roughly.

Richard calmly asked while pouring water and handing it to the Emperor.

“Do you know my Elodie well?”

“Ahem, of course I do……”

How could he not know?

Elodie Perdia was the former fiancée of his son, Adenmir.

Not only that.

She was the center of all the talk that had recently stirred up Wallentian.

Elodie, who was known only as Perdia’s illegitimate child with a striking appearance and not much else, suddenly became a different person at some point, causing incidents wherever she went.

And with him, the Emperor……

‘We’ve become quite an awkward relationship.’

When he was on his deathbed, and Elodie was still his son’s fiancée, he had called her in and revealed his intention to use her for political purposes.

The clever Elodie immediately grasped his intention.

Despite being told she would be used as a tool, Elodie willingly provided the antidote for the Emperor.

Absurdly, he owed his life to Elodie.

Even now.

“That child, she’s truly an audacious one.”

“She is my daughter.”

“Huh……?”

“Due to circumstances, she just grew up in the Perdia household.”

The Emperor quietly observed Richard’s face as he calmly revealed this tremendous fact.

Looking at him, Elodie Perdia was a spitting image of Richard Severes. To the point where it was puzzling how he hadn’t noticed before.

To think Elodie was Richard’s daughter.

‘I see. Then the antidote was also Severes’ power.’

It might be the materialistic and selfish thoughts of a father, but he felt that breaking off the engagement with Elodie was a mistake.

While the Perdias had a dubious side that made them dangerous as in-laws, the Severes were not like that.

As the current Duke, Richard Severes was a steadfast and upright head of the family, and he could have played a significant role in solidifying Adenmir’s position.

‘What a pity.’

However, the already strained relationship couldn’t be reversed.

Trying to restore the relationship out of regret could potentially cause even greater problems.

The Emperor put aside his personal desires and looked at Richard again.

“But, don’t you have a rather strained relationship with Duke Perdia? How did you come to entrust your daughter to him?”

“It wasn’t my will.”

“It seems there are circumstances. Then, what about your daughter’s birth mother?”

Children don’t just fall from the sky, so there must be a birth mother.

Richard’s impenetrable nature was famous in social circles. An unmarried head of one of the four great families, how desirable a match he was.

But he never gave even a glance to any woman.

Interestingly, only now, after 20 years, did he learn that there was a woman who had captured the heart of the wooden Richard.

Under the Emperor’s persistent gaze, Richard smiled bitterly and answered.

“……She was an ordinary person.”

From his answer alone, the Emperor could grasp the general situation.

“The vassals must have opposed.”

The Severes vassals were known for their high-handedness and pride, so they must have opposed for the reason that she didn’t meet their standards.

“Where is the birth mother now?”

At the Emperor’s question, Richard smiled painfully as if recalling her.

“She left.”

“……I’m sorry to hear that.”

There seemed to be complicated circumstances that couldn’t be spoken of. The Emperor didn’t ask anymore about Elodie’s birth mother.

“I plan to first announce Elodie’s existence at a family council, and then officially declare her as the heir of Severes.”

“It won’t be easy to gather the vassals’ consent, will it be alright?”

“No one can deny that she is my daughter.”

“Of course, she does resemble you……”

If seen side by side, no one could deny they were father and daughter.

Some vulgar rumors were going around about mistresses and such, but those rumors would be quickly dispelled.

“I request your permission to soon register my daughter into the Severes family.”

“Of course, that should be done. Though a verification process will be necessary.”

“I will prepare for it.”

The Emperor looked at Richard Severes, whom he was seeing after 20 years, with fresh eyes.

Has only he aged? Richard looked so youthful and handsome that it was hard to believe he had a daughter who had come of age.

“Duke Severes. You’re going to have a hard time. I wish you strength.”

The Emperor sincerely encouraged Richard’s future.

Though he had no daughter himself, considering the feelings of a parent, Richard’s path ahead was nothing but thorny.

If one became close to Elodie, wouldn’t it mean gaining connections to both Perdia and Severes at the same time?

Even without that, many people were targeting Elodie, and now with additional flies swarming around, as a real father, he would need to be on high alert.

Especially……

“I request the reinstatement of Vietan.”

Raeyan Vietan.

The Emperor recalled the red-eyed young man who had secretly visited him not long ago.

***

The library of the Perdia mansion was famous for its large size and the vast collection of books, but Severes was no less impressive.

I let out an exclamation of admiration as I looked at the towering bookshelves.

“Wow……”

“The master has ordered us to take special care of the young lady. If there’s any book you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

The librarian who had been guiding me through the library said kindly. It seemed Dad had given them a heads-up when I said I wanted to go to the library.

Well, this library was a place that only the Severes family members and their vassals could enter. It’s probably because there are sensitive materials that shouldn’t be leaked, given that it’s the family library.

“Yes. I’ll look around slowly.”

The librarian who had greeted me withdrew. As I was looking around at the books that seemed to have everything, Greed, unable to bear the boredom, grumbled.

[Books boring. How about going outside to play?]

‘That won’t do.’

[Tch.]

Not to be outdone, Sloth chimed in. Sloth muttered about k*lling the retreating librarian.

[……Let’s kill that human. Let’s kill him…… Huh?]

‘You know, when I went to the market last time, there were a lot of people looking for donkeys. I wonder what they want to do with donkeys? Aren’t you curious?’

[……]

When I soothed it with kind and pretty words, Sloth immediately quieted down.

I’ve gotten used to dealing with these two sins, but they were still a bit annoying and troublesome. I should return Sloth to Duke Kreundel as soon as possible.

On my way back to the bedroom with a few books I had chosen.

A man I had never seen before was walking towards me from the opposite direction.

He looked to be in his early twenties. He seemed like a young master who had grown up quite prettily. If there was anything unusual, it was that he was short, with his eye level about the same as mine.

While staying at the Severes mansion, I often encountered vassals or their children, but each time I just walked past pretending not to see them.

I was going to do the same this time, but I couldn’t.

“Hey.”

The man stopped me abruptly.

‘What’s this? Starting with informal speech right away?’

To reveal his aggressive intentions with just one syllable, he was quite something.

As per his intention, I stopped in my tracks and looked up at him, and he frowned fiercely.

“This library is a place only Severes or vassals can enter, you know?”

“And?”

“I’m saying it’s not a place where a Perdia person can dare to come and go.”

Judging by his mention of Perdia, he seemed to know who I was. Of course, it was a face I was seeing for the first time in my life.

‘Being too popular is tiring, I tell you.’

Sigh. As I sighed, the man’s face twisted even more unattractively.

“Are you ignoring me?”

“Yeah.”

“Ha! Are you crazy? You Perdia wench!”

‘Oh my……?’

I stared up at the man who was shouting outright. Using Greed’s ability, the man’s information appeared above him.

[Pavo Dorus. The first son of Baron Dorus, a vassal of Duke Severes.]

I stopped reading there. Below that, all of that person’s childhood secrets were listed.

‘Ugh.’

I didn’t want to know such useless information.

So he was the son of Baron Dorus, a vassal.

Given that Dad had marked me as the sole heir, this pathetic fellow before me was destined to become my subordinate in the future.

Tsk tsk…… Why does my future underling have such bad manners?

Even if the head of the family had been asleep for 20 years, the discipline of Severes had become far too lax.

Even though they hadn’t yet announced that I was Duke Severes’ daughter, they shouldn’t treat me, known as the daughter of Duke Perdia, so carelessly.

It showed how strong the hostility towards Perdia was within the Severes family.

Of course, I had no intention of considering that at all.

I tilted my head askew and looked up at Pavo Dorus.

“I got permission from the head of the family to access the library, you know?”

“Do you have proof?”

“I don’t. But why should I prove that to you?”

“That’s because I’m a branch family member of Severes! I have more than enough right!”

“Oh, you’re even a branch family member?”

My head throbbed. If he were just a simple vassal, I could chase him away, but a branch family member was a bit troublesome.

After all, since they have Severes blood mixed in, no matter how hopeless a person they are, they can’t be easily dismissed.

I was going to just ignore him and walk past, but I changed my mind. I felt a strong need to correct Pavo Dorus’s manners.

“Seeing a Perdia like you crawl in here, it seems you’re trying to steal some information, but it’s useless, you know? It’d be better for you to get lost soon. Perdia wench. Especially if you think you can get away with things because of your pretty face-.”

“Oh my!”

Bang! I clenched my fist and struck Pavo Dorus’s crown with all my might.

[sc name=”add_image” image_url=”https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPmoLPBlKSor8ggaf4nv67tgnQp1flexhXWlgJO4gs6aCC_doLO7-zQovkQkDGc83Z-3Tqb67rFCZAmpMQzZxqecpWIM7eg2bVlB_-9W3_juze7IhE=w2400″][/sc]

“Wha- what are you-.”

Bang, bang!

I was so indignant that I hit him two more times.

Pavo Dorus, who had suddenly been hit on the head three times, opened his eyes wide and clutched his head.

“How dare you, hi- hit me?!”

“So what? Go tell on me if you want.”

Coincidentally, there was no one else in the corridor right now except for us. That meant there were no witnesses other than that guy and me.

[I’m here!]

[Let’s kill him……]

Well, there were witnessing sins.

Of course, even if this guy went and told the vassals, it wouldn’t matter much.

The vassals were bound to look at me unfavorably anyway, so what difference would one more flaw make to my already flawed image?

‘This is tiresome. I should just leave it at this and go.’

I looked at Pavo Dorus indifferently and was about to turn and head back to my bedroom.

“You hit me? I’ll kill you.”

But he glared at me with crazed eyes and raised his fist.

Having anticipated even that, I wasn’t surprised at all and just watched the approaching fist.

Of course, it was because I had something to rely on.

‘I have the defensive magic artifact that Isis gave me.’

It was a very expensive artifact that could block not only magical attacks but also physical ones.

But the artifact didn’t activate.

“Stop right there.”

“……!”

Pavo Dorus froze in place at the familiar voice.

When I turned my head, Dad and the vassals of Severes were gathered behind me.

Coincidentally, it seemed they had witnessed the scene of Pavo about to hit me.

‘……This is my chance!’

My eyes sparkled.

“She, she hit me first-!”

He tried to make excuses hurriedly while lowering his fist, but I was faster in gathering my emotions.

“Sob……”

I lowered my head and whimpered pitifully.