/
It was the middle of winter. As I was wet with cold water, I knew I would shiver soon.
The aide who came with Grandfather walked straight towards me. He took off his jacket and put it on my shoulders.
“What’s going on?”
“That’s…”
Looking at the Duke, the flustered Baron Moro laughed awkwardly.
“I heard about what happened in the Main Castle. When I heard that she had cheated, she passed out while screaming. Even if she didn’t, I thought she needed to reflect on herself, but she even quarreled with another child.”
“What did you say?”
“Please don’t worry. Since at this point, she should have reflected on herself, such a thing won’t happen agai—”
“What nonsense are you talking about?!”
The aide raised his voice.
With a flustered look, Baron Moro looked at me and Grandfather in turn.
“Due to cheating, today she returned home late….”
“The reason why the lady was late to return was because she had manifested her Blessing!”
“…Pardon?”
Grandfather looked at me.
“Your words were right. The area where the dragon’s bones were buried was really the former Myrten Plain.”
I thought it would take a long time, but it seemed they had already found it.
Well, searching wouldn’t have been difficult if they used a Blessing.
Baron Moro turned pale.
He seemed to have slowly grasped the situation.
His hands trembled.
‘Of course he’d be like that.’
The thing Grandfather hated the most was the mutiny.
Even though I looked like this, I was still the granddaughter of the Duke of Astra.
Even if he treated me as an invisible person before, now that I had proven my value, I was clearly one of the small masters of Astra.
Baron Moro opened his blue lips to make excuses.
“T-this is… So…!”
“I’ll ask once.”
It was Grandfather’s words.
Even though it was only a few words, goosebumps spiked up from the tip of my toes.
Even the sound of wind was engulfed by the darkness of the night.
The moonlight flowing from the window broke along the outline of his silhouette.
As he walked, the sound of his low-pitched heels echoed. Baron Moro collapsed.
Grandfather asked.
“What are you?”
There was no change of tone in his voice.
When he glanced down, only the glint of the Duke’s dark blue wrath lingered in his eyes.
Baron Moro swallowed and said.
“I-I’m the Moro Family’s 16th generation—”
“No.”
Grandfather raised Moro’s chin with the end of his cane.
“You’re a dog.”
“….”
“Dogs bark when asked to bark, and bite when asked to bite.”
The tip of the cane trailed down from Baron Moro’s chin until it reached his adam’s apple.
“And because the dog failed to recognize its owner.”
Baron Moro could barely speak using his voice.
“Ple– Please save me.”
“….”
“Pl— Please— Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save me. Please save—!”
“So you do know how to bark.”
After leaving those words, he turned his back on Baron Moro.
The aide took care of me and followed Grandfather.
It was only when the aide put me down that Baron Moro finally let out a breath.
What touched my ears at that moment was.
Crack
…It was a strange cracking sound.
“Cou-cough…. Co, cou, cough…!”
My body turned stiff. I slowly turned my head like a broken machine but,
“Please do not look back.”
The aide stood close and covered the sight from my eyes.
It wasn’t difficult to predict what Baron Moro’s state was.
***
I was moved to the main castle.
When I packed up my luggage and came out, the teachers and children who had already heard the news were waiting.
The teachers saw me off from the hallway.
“Class with the Young Miss was really fun.”
“Even if you go to the castle, please stay strong.”
“Since you’re wise, you’ll be good at anything. If by any chance, you need anything, please contact me.”
The teachers were really nice to me.
They even gave me a lot of candy, and even gave me milk.
“Thanw you, tweachers. If you invesht in Sabon Banw, you’w mwake a woth of money.” [Thank you, Teachers. And if you invest in Sabon Bank, you’ll make a lot of money.]
The teachers took out their notebooks in tears.
“Yes, Young Miss. You have to be well. But, is it Sabong? Or is it Sabon?”
“I will never forget the two years I spent with the Young Miss… The ink isn’t coming out. Can you lend a pen to me? Did you say Sabon Bank?”
We had a tearful farewell.
The teachers saw me off in front of the carriage, and as I got in the carriage, I waved goodbye.
Subsequently, the aide in the carriage looked at the teachers, who were stroking their notebooks while crying loudly, with a strange expression.
“Isn’t that Sir Annward and Sir Simoric?”
“Yesh. It’s the tweachers’ nwames.” [Yes. It’s the teachers’ names.]
“Aren’t they each the heads of the eastern and western academies?”
The aide murmured, “Why didn’t such talented people take the bureaucratic exam, and become teachers instead—”
It was because…
The teachers were actually talented enough to get their names mentioned in [IPTVG].
The reason why people like them were my teachers right now was because—
‘Of course it’s because they had no money.’
The smart ones knew.
Even if you became an official, you would only end up rolling yourself to death without any money and backing.
That’s why, they become the teachers of the 12th Tower.
Even if it housed only the indirect descendants, they could still establish ties with the nobles of Astra.
‘And that’s how they were going to get their backing, right?’
But the children were so young that it would have taken decades to bring them to their side.
At that time, I appeared.
The granddaughter of the Duke of Astra (backing), and a child who possessed amazing information (money).
In other words, a treasure that would allow them to get both backing and money.
‘The teachers think I only gave them investment information, but that wasn’t true.’
I was investing.
Just in case, it was to create a talent who would be my strength if I entered the Astra Castle.
The teachers were still crying and waving at me.
I kept waving my hands too.
‘Quickly make capital and become the Main Castle’s officials, Teachers!’
After a while, the carriage began to move.
I looked at the aide in surprise.
“There’s no Gwandfather!” [There’s no Grandfather!]
She was asking if they could depart even when the Duke wasn’t on the ride.
“The Duke wanted to stop by another place for a while, while he was out. You’re going with me together to the Main Castle.”
“Ywesh.” [Yes.]
I said, obediently folding my hands neatly.
The aide smiled brightly.
He was a friendly man who did not seem like the aide of the terrifying Duke.
‘Even his face is handsome.’
Soft brown hair and yellow eyes.
He was a handsome man with a gentle image.
He even had the charm of making people feel comfortable, so the trip to the castle wasn’t uncomfortable.
When the carriage arrived at the castle, it stopped. The aide hugged me and carried me down.
“Then, I will guide you to where you will stay for the time being.”
I got to stay on the third floor of the annex.
He opened the door and said.
“The servants will unpack the luggage. Please rest.”
I quickly grabbed the end of his jacket and he turned back.
He lowered himself and asked.
“Is there anything that you need?”
“Nwame, I wanth to know yow nwame.” [Name, I want to know your name.]
At my words, he hesitated for a moment.
“As expected, you’re unique.”
“…?”
“Ah…. I don’t mean it in a bad way. It was simply because none of the direct descendants wanted to know the name of an employed person.”
“Ywesh.” [Yes.]
“It’s Conrad Marshal.”
He smiled with his eyes, and then rose from his bending position.
“I hope you have a pleasant dream.”
Then he left.
I looked at his back without even thinking of closing the door.
‘Conrad?’
Did he say Conrad Marshal?
I covered my mouth with my two small hands. It’s because I almost screamed…!
‘If it’s Conrad Marshal, then it’s that man.’
There were many words that described Conrad in the novel.
The Commander of the Blackout.
The Youngest Person who Passed the Bureaucratic Test.
And also… the Traitor.
‘Since he stabbed Grandfather and fled.’
After that, he appeared as the Head of the Information Guild.
***
The next day.
It was the morning. The birds were chirping and the wind was cool, but I was not refreshed at all.
‘So Conrad comes out from here.’
Conrad played the role of a helper for Dahlia, the protagonist of [IPTVG].
He was targeted by the Duke of Astra his entire life because he betrayed the Duke.
It was Dahlia, who was loved by Grandfather, who interfered and mediated their relationship.
In fact, Conrad, who was tired of Astra’s pursuit, became her person.
Until then, there was no problem.
‘The problem is that after being attacked by Conrad, Grandfather was in a coma for some time.’
When Grandfather falls into a coma, this place will become a battlefield.
Astra’s direct descendants were like beasts. And they weren’t the tamed kind either.
Right now, they were bound by the leash called Grandfather, but if that disappeared, it would surely be chaos.
‘Then, I, who has no one to protect me….’
It felt like my heart was being ripped off.
I was thinking like that, when a knock interrupted.
“May I help you get ready?”
“Ywes.” [Yes.]
After I answered, the maids came in with a basin full of water.
The maid wet a towel and used it ro remove my eye boogers and wipe my face.
She also brushed my hair, but somehow it didn’t hurt at all, even for me who had very curly hair.
“Which ribbon do you want to use? I think this yellow lace ribbon will look good on you.”
“Yesh.” [Yes.]
“Young Miss is very well-mannered. It was easy to help you get ready.”
“Ywesh!” [Yes!]
The maids laughed as if I was cute for answering well.
After everything was finished, they showed me myself in the mirror.
“Do you like it?”
My eyes opened wide as I looked in the mirror.
I couldn’t believe it. To think that my hair which was like a bundle of hay had become so neat?!
Indeed, they were the maids of the Main Castle.
‘Right. Erylotte’s setting was the world’s best beauty.’
Since my hair wasn’t managed, I looked like a sick poodle and because of that, I forgot about it.
After being well managed, even the first impression was different.
It was a very cute face.
After I finished preparing, I had breakfast.
It was cream soup with light beef and fresh vegetables that was cut into small pieces.
It was delicious because it was savory and soft.
When I was about to eat the garnish with it, I paused when I saw the bell peppers.
Then I stealthily looked at the maids.
‘I hate bell peppers.’
I didn’t eat bell peppers. Bell peppers were a child’s enemy.
If I were in the 12th Tower, I would have quietly buried it in another vegetable, but now the maids of the castle were looking at me.
Every move I made would be reported above and would undoubtedly reach the ears of Grandfather.
I really don’t like bell peppers, but Grandfather must like children who eat bell peppers, right?
I pierced the bell peppers with a fork and I swallowed.
Then with a rustle, I bit a piece off but I immediately became teary.
The maids, who were looking at my war against bell peppers with an exciting look, laughed.
Fortunately, the employees seemed friendly to the young me.
‘In order to continue being as carefree as this, Grandfather is important.’
Even if he was in a coma, the house must not fall into chaos.
I made up my mind.
Since I don’t have any other choice, I’ll protect Grandfather.
***
After eating, I played with the maids for the rest of the morning.
Playing with the maids was fun.
“Kyaa, please look here.”
“Come over here, Young Miss. There you go. You did a very good job.”
…Rather than me, it looked like the maids were having fun.
As a matter of fact, what kind of fun would there be to work inside the terrifying Duke’s Castle on the surface and also in reality?
‘Poor Older Sisters.’
I played passionately with the Older Sisters.
In the afternoon, there was a summons, so I went to Grandfather’s study.
Several scholars and vassals were present in the study.
As I learned from the maid in the morning, I put my hands on my belly button and bent down flatly.
“Hewwo.” [Hello.]
The vassals opened their eyes widely.
“Aah, yes. I am called Debussy. It’s an honor to meet you.”
He said in a bewildered voice.
Because they had only seen direct descendants who would easily beat people up from a young age, it seemed that I, who was polite, looked rather peculiar.
Viscount Debussy smiled.
“Thanks to the Young Miss, we were able to discover the dragon’s bones.”
“Ywes.” [Yes.]
“Turns out, the Blessing of reading ancient languages is very useful. So, can you read another part of the history book?”
“….”
“Today, we invited the Young Miss to check how much you can read and understand.”
“….”
“Because using a Blessing is a hard thing to do, we know you can’t read that much in a day.”
“….”
“Please read comfortably. You can stop if it hurts your body.”
The servant brought me a book.
When I opened the book cover, the adults nodded as if asking me to read it now.
Grandfather, who was sitting at the highest seat of the big table, also focused on me.
I began to read the book from the first sentence.
“Fwom the begiwwing, Despwair cweated a wowd.” [From the beginning, Despair created a world.]
“Hm. As expected, the limit is one sentence—”
“The fwirst worwd is a wand wuled by siwence and daknwess. We caww this Vain.” [The first world is a land ruled by silence and darkness. We call this Vain.]
“One paragraph is also fine—”
“Lwife was born fwom Vain.” [Life was born from Vain].
“One page…?”
I read a series of texts in a row.
At first, the vassals watched while nodding their heads, but then their expressions gradually changed.
1 page.
2 pages.
.
.
13 pages.
“…!!!”
The vassals screamed. Even the scholars and executives looked at me with their mouths open.
“H-how long has it been since she started reading the book?”
“It’s 30 minutes.”
“Is it possible to use a Blessing for 30 minutes at that age?”
That’s because it’s just Korean.
It wasn’t that I was really using a Blessing. So, reading a book was not difficult.
But my throat was a bit dry.
“Vain fewt sowwy for the fwagile Lwife and gave them Bwessing. To mwaintwain a stwong Bwessing, a lwand of gwace was bestowed and—” [Vain felt sorry for the fragile Life and gave it Blessing. To maintain a strong Blessing, a land of grace was bestowed and—]
“A land of grace?”
[A land of grace was bestowed to maintain a strong Blessing.]
—At that part, people’s eyes opened wide.
“Are you saying that there is that kind of land?”
Of course, there was a fuss.
“Where is it? Is there a location?!”
“No.” [No.]
“There must be a hint in the book. Oh my God!”
It felt like I was in the middle of a festival.
***
The Duke looked at Erylotte with a strange look.
It had already been about an hour since she started reading the book.
That kid didn’t seem to know the word tired.
She also didn’t know how to complain.
‘But she does resent the tower’s matters.’
The vassals screamed and after that, they were in a mood to dance at the tremendous content that came out from the book.
Erylotte, who had been reading for a long time, coughed.
The vassals and scholars hurriedly looked at that kid.
“It’d be better to stop here today.”
It was a look that said they were worried that her precious Blessing would go bad.
The Duke nodded.
“Officers, organize the contents of the book. Let’s call it a day.”
The Duke got up from his seat.
He left the room with the elder, Viscount Debussy.
“The Young Miss is amazing.”
Even Viscount Debussy, who was cold-hearted in evaluations, could not hide his surprise.
“How’s the progress of the dragon bone excavation?”
“It’s going smoothly. To the point where the fruit flies are already twisting after hearing rumors.”
Boing.
(t/n: In the raws, it was actually written as 뽀짝 [bbojjak]. It’s a slang word that means that someone looks very cute with their little movements or gestures.)
“Even the Imperial Family was looking forward to grabbing it.”
“Surely we can’t give it to them easily.”
Boing.
“Go to the Capital of the Empire yourself and find out those bastards’ weaknesses. It’s not because their drooling isn’t annoying.”
“Yes, I’ll manage the officials right away—”
Boing.
‘…Boing?’
He felt a sound of constant worry behind his back.
Glancing back, there was Erylotte, who held a rabbit doll’s ear, running.