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There was a saying about how a stone that gathers moss will be knocked out of its place by a rolling one, but this had never applied to the twenty-year-old Ciel Lionheart. After all, she was a noble lady of the prestigious Lionheart Family. When she was thirteen, Eugene was adopted, but he didn’t drive anyone out. And, of course, Ciel herself wasn’t the kind of stone to be displaced just like that.
She was born to be loved by the members of the main house. Cyan felt threatened by Eugene, but to the young Ciel, her brother looked ridiculous. She had been cute and lovely since she was born, and she knew how to efficiently use the weapons she was born with. Her stupid, slow brother didn’t have that kind of ability, so he was often harshly scolded by their mother. Meanwhile, Ciel did not get scolded at all. She knew what kinds of actions would result in a scolding, and when she had to do something that warranted it, she knew how to avoid getting scolded. That didn’t change even after she grew up; moreover, she also began to work hard in areas that she hadn’t worked on when she was a child.
Ciel had no intention of becoming a pretty, cute flower. The Lionheart clan was a prestigious warrior clan, and in order to be recognized by them, a cute and lovely smile wasn’t enough; she needed proper skills to become a real Lionheart. Thus, she grabbed a sword and started to swing it. Seeing that she did it all on her own, her parents loved her even when she wasn’t acting cute in the slightest, while the knights of the main family all made time to help her train.
‘I wasn’t wrong.’ Ciel gritted her teeth.
Ever since she was little, she had been quick-witted. She was aware of how her mother secretly desired a cute, lovely daughter. She also knew that her mother wanted to spend time like an ordinary noble mother and daughter—holding teacups instead of swords and wearing cute dresses rather than ceremonial or martial art suits.
She knew it, but she didn’t fulfill it. It wasn’t that she was ignoring her mother’s wish, but that she knew that such yearning was impulsive and fleeting. Ancilla, the mother she knew, wanted a strong and beautiful lion who could live up to the Lionheart’s name, not a flower.
‘I wasn’t wrong… but this is unfair,’
Ciel’s fists trembled in anger as she looked forward.
She could see a ten-year-old girl sitting on Ancilla’s lap. When she was that girl’s age, she also used to sit on Ancilla’s lap, but after she had gone through the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony, she had stopped doing that. Completing the ceremony meant that she was recognized as a Lionheart. From that moment forward, she had to give up childhood and become a young lion.
It was Ancilla who taught her that.
‘That’s my seat…!’
Until a few years ago, it really had been. Proper protocol had stopped her from sitting there, but she knew that she could do it whenever she desired to. In the Lionheart family, Ancilla’s lap was only for Ciel.
At least that was what Ciel had thought. But now, some girl had taken her spot. The way Ancilla looked at Mer made Ciel more shocked. Her eyes were filled with love and joy, as if they were looking at her young daughter.
‘I can…understand. Mother must have been lonely.’
But still, how could she look at the girl like that when her own daughter was right here?!
For the first time in a long time, Ciel felt jealous. She immediately wanted to shove the girl away and sit on Ancilla’s lap instead.
“Isn’t she cute?” There was no way Ancilla could've felt Ciel's simmering rage, but she spoke with impeccable timing.
“She reminds me of you when you were little, Ciel.”
“…Wasn’t I cuter?” Ciel asked as she stared at the girl, smiling. Her way of speaking was quite provocative.
“Today is the first time for me to meet you, but I heard so many stories about you from Lady Ancilla, Lady Ciel,” Mer answered as she nibbled on a cookie. “She told me she has a very beautiful daughter who looks just like her…”
“Oh my, Mer… Don’t tell her that, you are making me blush.”
“But it’s the truth. Lady Ciel is really beautiful!” Mer beamed, putting down the cookie she was munching on.
To Ciel, Mer’s smile felt like a strong punch in her chest. She unconsciously took deep breaths and tucked her chin.
‘I can see why Mother is fascinated by her…’ Ciel bitterly thought.
As she grew older by each year, one thing she had to give up on was her innocence as a child. The girl before Ciel had the innocence that Ciel had long given up. Most importantly, she wasn’t a Lionheart—she had no ambition to become a lion instead of a flower. That was why she could stir up Ancilla’s maternal love in such an innocent manner.
Just like Ancilla wished, Mer wore pretty clothes and ate sweets without minding how they would affect her body. Those were all the things Ciel had refrained from enjoying.
‘…What am I doing? I am being jealous of a child.’ She sipped on her tea, belatedly calming herself.
‘…Huh?’ Ciel realized something a moment later.
—Wasn’t I cuter?
A while ago, Ciel had provoked her, but Mer hadn’t played into her provocation. She had said Ciel was ‘beautiful,’ not ‘cute.’ Being cute was different from being beautiful, they couldn’t compete. The word ‘beautiful’ did not suit a ten-year-old girl.
‘No way.’
After coming to the conclusion that she was overthinking, Ciel put down her teacup, maintaining her smile. Mer, who was sitting across from her, picked up a new cookie and put it in Ancilla’s mouth.
‘That’s not possible.’
No, she wasn’t wrong. It was just for a moment, but Ciel and Mer’s eyes met. When Ciel saw Mer smiling at her, she realized Mer was just as sly as her.
Ciel Lionheart was twenty, so she wasn’t a girl anymore. That was why she had lost to a girl—it wasn’t even a competition.
“…Hmm.” She didn’t want to admit her defeat. Therefore, she sprang up from her seat and sat beside Ancilla. Naturally linking her arms with Ancilla’s, Ciel leaned against Ancilla’s shoulder.
“I missed you, Mother,” she said with puppy eyes.
“Oh my…”
“Lady Ancilla, try this too. It’s so delicious!” Mer offered.
“Wow…wow…” Ancilla exclaimed, trembling with overwhelming excitement.
She felt that being a mother was the most fulfilling thing.
“You are pretty good,” Ciel said with an impressed look on her face.
After the tea party was over, she left the room with Mer.
“I didn’t expect you to charm my mother that well just over a couple of days.”
“I didn’t charm anyone.” Mer smiled, looking up at Ciel. “It’s just that Lady Ancilla adores me.”
Mer spent hundreds of years in Akron. The only visitors she received were old, boring wizards, and they just treated her as a well-made familiar, not a cute little girl although she looked like one. Therefore, she never had the chance to consider herself cute.
However, she had all the chances in the world after leaving Akron. The outside was full of wonders that she had yet to encounter.
“…So you were made hundreds of years ago, although you look like a child.”
“But my mind isn’t that old. My personality is fixed as the childhood personality of Lady Sienna, the Wise. ”
“What does that have to do with anything? Your mind ages after hundreds of years, even if you were built that way.”
“I didn’t age voluntarily. Besides, isn’t someone’s mental age decided by their experience and physical age in the first place? I have existed for hundreds of years, but I have not experienced as much as you. And, of course, my body didn’t age either.”
“I also haven’t experienced much, you know?” Ciel said with a snort.
“Why are you guys fighting?” Eugene interrupted them as he entered the hallway.
He had just left the room after finishing his discussion with Carmen. He tilted his head in confusion as he watched Ciel and Mer standing on guard against each other in the middle of the hallway.
“Sir Eugene!” Mer called out Eugene’s name. As if she had been waiting for him to come, she ran to Eugene, smiling. As Ciel watched Mer hopping and clinging to Eugene, she felt jealous in a complicated way.
“Fight? What fight? What reason do I have to fight with a kid?”
She strode and stopped in front of Eugene. After looking at Mer derisively, she naturally stood beside Eugene.
In an equal spot as Eugene, she met his eyes and furtively linked her arms with Eugene.
“You are gonna go to the Black Lion Castle, right?”
“What is up with you?”
“Has your arm gotten more muscular? Are you still doing that brainlessly hard self-cultivation?” She looked at Eugene—no, Mer as she smiled with her eyes. And once again, she realized it.
Mer wasn’t jealous of Ciel in any way. Mer was a little girl. Unlike Ciel, she wasn’t conscious of Eugene.
‘Uh…’ She felt so embarrassed after realizing that. Linking her arms with Eugene was nothing to be embarrassed about, but she felt like she was being played by that little kid.
“…Ehem, hm.” Ciel cleared her throat. After releasing Eugene’s arm, she took a step back.
“There is no need for you to drag your feet, is there? Considering your temper, you wouldn’t have refused…By the way, was the trip with Auxiliary Bishop Kristina fun?” She casually asked.
“You could call it that.”
“Really? It was fun to wander around some rugged backwoods, just the two of you? Just. You. Two? Pray tell, how was that fun?” Ciel squinted as she stared at Eugene. “Samar Rainforest doesn’t even have a village, let alone a city, right? Just trees and dirt everywhere. How did you sleep? Of course, you must have camped outside. No way… did you use the same tent as her?”
“Stop fucking around.” Eugene lightly pushed Ciel’s forehead as she was retorting. “Besides, why are you prying, Ciel?”
“I’m your sister, so I have a duty to know about my brother’s flighty rulebreaking.” The corner of Ciel’s mouth twitched. On the other hand, Eugene’s face crumpled up.
“You haven’t become a flighty rulebreaker by any chance, have you?”
“I’m…I’m sorry. I was wrong, so don’t say that.” Eugene stuttered.
“Whyyy? You are the one who taught me this disgusting wordplay.”
“That is why I am sorry,” Eugene grumbled and turned away.
Ciel followed Eugene as he hurriedly walked away as if he was running away. “Where are you going? Are you going to the warp gate?”
“Won’t the hunt begin in fifteen days? Why would I go already?”
“So you are going, huh?”
“Yeah.”
The Council Head could try to assassinate Eugene. If he considered that risk, it was better for him to not go and coop himself up in the main house instead. However, he would never find out the truth if he did that.
‘Besides, there is Genos,’ Eugene thought.
The Black Lion Knights were also participating in the hunt. The Council of Elders could not be trusted, but Genos could be trusted.
“Since you are here now, relax and spend some days with Lady Ancilla. I heard you left right away after you were done with your business last time.”
As he was complaining, Eugene looked at the strangely-shaped sword hanging on Ciel’s waist. The sword was Vermouth’s weapon, Phantom Rain Sword Javel. Eugene secretly wanted it, but couldn’t get his hands on it.
“Isn’t this cool?” Ciel asked since she could feel Eugene looking at Javel. Beaming, she tapped on Javel’s handle.
“I can’t handle it properly yet, but I got pretty used to it.”
“That sword is hard to handle in the first place.”
“How do you know that?”
“Ehem… I can tell from its look. The shape alone looks like a pain in the ass.”
Javel was technically a sword, but it was actually more like a whip. When Ciel swung the sword, it broke into hundreds of pieces that sprayed her opponents with an overwhelming wave of death.
“How is Cyan?”
“He is fine, though he looks tired.”
Cyan hadn’t returned from the Black Lion Castle.
“He is getting trained by the captains every day. Even today, he was being harassed by Sir Genos. Oh, he told me to deliver a message.” Ciel recalled.
“What did he say?”
“He says he’s going to kill you if you don’t participate in the hunt.”
“He can’t kill me even if he tries to.”
“He’s just saying that.”
Ciel giggled and glued herself to Eugene. Mer, who was clinging to Eugene’s arm, wriggled and climbed into Eugene’s cloak.
‘What is she doing?’
She scowled, unable to understand what Mer was doing. A moment later, Mer completely disappeared inside the cloak. Ciel lifted Eugene’s cloak in shock.
“Where did she…” she trailed off.
“I’m here,” Mer answered, only sticking her head out of the cloak. “Would you like to come in, Lady Ciel?”
“She can’t go in there,” Eugene commented.
“It’s really comfy here.” Mer cheekily smiled.
Ciel frowned and put the cloak over Mer’s head.
“You heard about Eward coming to the hunt, right?” Ciel’s face turned serious.
“I see he somehow managed to get permission.” Eugene smiled bitterly. “He didn’t even get to have a Coming-Of-Age ceremony.”
“The Patriarch had one hell of a time persuading people,” she answered with a sigh. “Eward has been cooped up in the house of Lady Tanis’ parents for three years already. The Patriarch thinks Eward did enough self-reflection….and couldn’t leave his first son like that.”
“It’s funny because he’s being so obvious. ”
“Yeah, I think so too. Cyan also thinks the same.”
The next Patriarch was Cyan. Eward could conclude his introspection and return to the Lionheart clan; however, the Patriarch successor would never change. Eward’s right of succession was forfeited.
“Many collateral descendants also participate in the hunt. The Elders want to make it clear who the next Patriarch is. Something along the lines of ‘although he did something so crazy that his rights to become a Patriarch got forfeited, Eward has more legitimacy as an heir.’ It seems that he has been practicing magic even after he was sent away to think about his problems. But…you know how he is better than anyone else, right?”
“He can bust his ass all he wants for three years, but he won’t be able to beat Cyan,” Eugene answered without any hesitation.
“Of course, he won’t. You are an adopted son and your ability is well-known…but not Eward. He is the first son and his ability is unknown. That’s why Cyan needs to prove to them that Eward is an overwhelmingly worse candidate than Cyan.”
“Eward was the one who said he will participate in the hunt.”
“You don’t seriously think Eward really wanted to do that, do you? He is sooo timid. Lady Tanis must have forced him.”
Eugene also agreed with Ciel.
Seven years ago, he had met Eward for the first time. The fifteen-year-old Eward was…weak. He was a boy who had fallen deeply in love with magic. His eyes used to twinkle as he watched Lovellian use magic.
Three years ago, Eugene had seen how pathetic Eward was in Aroth’s Bolero Street.
He was nineteen at the time, two years older than Eugene.
“Although I think three years is enough to change a person…” Eugene shook his head, clucking. “Eward isn’t someone who will change, and his surroundings don't help him one bit.”
“Lady Tanis is overzealous,” Ciel said bitterly.
“Yes, for Eward to really change, he has to get out from behind Lady Tanis' skirt. But he couldn’t, could he? On top of all that, Eward has been controlled by Tanis in her parents’ house for three years.”
Tanis’ ferocious look came to Ciel’s mind, and it made her shudder. “Horrible.”
If Ancilla hadn’t witnessed what happened to Eward, she might have had become the same kind of mother as Tanis.
“But where are you going?” Ciel asked as she saw Eugene turning away.
“Forest.”
“Why?”
“It’s time for me to train,” Eugene answered casually.
Ciel’s mouth fell open.“Are you not going to play with me?”
“We can play while we train.”
Shaking her head in disbelief, she followed Eugene.
* * *
“You don’t have to worry too much.”
His mother was full of love.
“I decided on my own. Yes, I know. They won’t like me.”
He understood that it was natural for a mother to love her son. The son was pathetic, but the mother loved him still.
“That gives me more reason to prove myself.”
Beaming, Eward put down his tableware.
His mother, Tanis, was tenderly smiling as she was sitting across from him. Eward liked his mother’s tender smile. At some point in his childhood, his mother had stopped smiling like that.
She always watched him with a dissatisfied look. Instead of smiling, the corner of her mouth twitched in anger. She didn’t whisper any praise or loving words to her son; instead, she kept talking about a future her son never wanted and scolding him for not being up to standard.
Everything happened because Eward was incompetent and did something wrong. After realizing that, everything had become simple. If he changed himself of his own volition, he could easily change the way his mother looked at him.
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“You are going to do well in the hunt.”
Listening to his mother, Eward nodded.
“You are my son. My lovely son, Eward, you are the first son in the Lionheart family.”
“Yes, I’m your son, Mother.”
“You aren’t able to become a Patriarch, but you are still my son.”
“Yes, you are right. That’s a given from the start. I’m sorry, Mother. If I hadn’t made any mistakes, I would have become a Patriarch, just like you wanted me to be.”
“Eward, please don’t call that a mistake. It’s all my fault that you ended up doing something like that. If I had loved you more and tried to understand you more…”
“I’m fine.” Eward shook his head, smiling. “Your scolding made me who I am today.”
“Ah…thank you so much…for putting it that way…”
“You didn’t treat me like that because you hated me. Your every action was out of love for me, too much love.”
“You will do well.”
“Yes, I will.”
“You are a great child, Eward.”
Edward could feel his mother’s love from her words. Keeping his bright smile on his face, he stood up. Warm, beautiful sunlight from outside the window warmed up the table. He smiled at the chirping birds outside.
Today was a good day.
“I will get going now,” Eward said as he drew the curtain. Although he liked sunlight, his mother didn’t. “Don’t see me off.”
“Are you sure you don’t need me to come with you?”
“Yes, of course. Please stay here and cheer for me.”
“My love will be with you.”
When he exited after leaving the dining table, he could see servants standing in the hallway.
“Isn’t today the day, Master Eward?”
“You will do well, Master Eward.”
Passing the cheering servants, he exited the mansion alone. His grandfather, Count Bossar, was standing outside.
“Oh, Eward. Are you going now?” Count Bossar asked.
“Grandfather…you didn’t have to see me off.”
“Haha! How could I not?! My lovely grandson is finally going back to the world!”
Although Eward looked embarrassed, he approached Count Bossar and hugged him.
“Thank you, grandfather.”
“What does it matter even if you don’t become a Patriarch of the Lionhearts? What matters is what you want to do, Eward. I completely respect your decision.”
“Thank you so much, so much.”
After leaving his grandfather's arms, Eward stood in front of the closed gate. He stared at it for a moment and turned back.
Even though he had told her not to see him off, his mother was standing beside his grandfather, smiling at Eward. Dozens of servants working in the mansion had stopped what they were doing and came out to cheer for Eward.
“See you later,” Eward said as he wiped away his tears, feeling touched.