Chapter 83
“Are you saying they’re criminals?”
“No, but we have to keep it secret. Their father is a very, very bad man.”
“Hm…”
For an instant, the image of Young Lord Skya flashed through Count Feyrunt’s mind — the face he had seen once before at the temple.
Many people avoided twins, calling them ill-omened by their very existence. It made sense, then, that Lady Erzébet would hide the children.
Nodding slowly, Count Feyrunt turned to Asil.
“Let’s go, then. A little time spent won’t hurt.”
“But it has to be a secret. Promise.”
“Very well.”
He hooked his pinky around Asil’s tiny one — and then, together with Bashian, followed Asil toward House Erzébet.
Brieden and Lilibet stood in their room, faces taut with unease.
A stranger had claimed to be looking for them through a keepsake of their mother — how could they not be anxious?
Asil introduced them to Count Feyrunt.
“These are the brother and sister who have the pendant. And this is Count Feyrunt.”
“Young Lord Skya?”
The count’s eyes widened — he recognized Briden at once.
But Briden, whose eyesight had still been poor back then, did not recognize him.
With suspicion clouding his gaze, Count Feyrunt turned to Asil.
“These two children truly… possess the pendant?”
“Yes. Brother, show him the pendant from yesterday.”
“Ah, yes…”
Briden hesitated — showing his mother’s keepsake to a stranger felt wrong — but because it was Asil’s request, he reluctantly drew it out.
The moment the count saw the half-pendant, his eyes flew wide.
“That is—!”
With trembling hands, he reached into his breast pocket and withdrew his own piece — the missing half.
He fit the two halves together.
Click.
Just like the one Lady Ailpecia had shown at the banquet, the pieces aligned perfectly.
Except this time, something was different.
A faint hum rippled through the air — and then, a melody began to pour out of the pendant.
A woman’s voice, soft and tender:
“Sleep well, my baby…”
It was a Rullaby.
Unlike the counterfeit pendant at the banquet, this one responded with life.
Lilibet’s eyes went round with shock.
“That’s… Mother’s voice!”
“Across the Milky Way… upon a little silver boat, our baby’s rainbow dreams are gently carried away…”
“…”
“Rocking, swaying, across the sky they go… Sleep well, my darling child…”
Then — silence.
The Rullaby cut off.
Not a sound followed; even the fall of a pin could have been heard in that stillness.
Count Feyrunt said nothing.
Instead, Basian — eyes shimmering — burst out, “So it was you! You’re the children our lady has been searching for!”
“Wh-what?”
“Huh?”
Brieden and Lilibet froze, bewildered.
Asil’s nose tingled; she clapped her hands together.
So that’s why the pendant at the banquet didn’t work — it was a fake! But now they’ve found their real family! How wonderful!
Count Feyrunt, still stiff with emotion, took out his handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes.
“At long last… we’ve found you. My wife will be overjoyed.”
Basian added quickly, “Why not return home with the children? From what I’ve heard, their current situation in the household isn’t good. It would be safest for them to come with us.”
“Of course—yes, of course!”
The count nodded vigorously, his tactician’s son already speaking what he himself had been thinking.
Briden looked between them, still lost.
“I… I don’t understand any of this.”
Basian’s voice softened.
“We’ve been searching for you for a very long time. Your grandmother — your mother’s dear friend — left her dying wish: please, find my lost grandchildren.”
“But… our mother wasn’t a noble…”
“She once was. Circumstances forced her to renounce her title for a time. By the time we went to bring her back, it was already too late.”
“The only clue we had left… was this pendant,” Count Feyrunt said, wiping his eyes again.
“It was something your mother shared with your grandmother.”
Basian turned, his face damp with tears, to Asil.
“Thank you. House Feyrunt will never forget this kindness.”
“You can repay it threefold,” Asil said briskly, holding up three fingers.
Three baskets of strawberries, for example. Or maybe three baskets of strawberries. Or perhaps… three baskets of strawberries.
“Threefold? Nay — fivefold! Tenfold!”
Count Feyrunt laughed heartily, the release of long-held sorrow brightening his whole face.
Tenfold! Asil’s eyes went wide. Then how many baskets of strawberries is that?
She spread all ten fingers and stared at them in awe.
Just then, Rain — who had arrived late after hearing the news — entered. He had come to comfort his father, expecting another fruitless search.
But Basian turned toward him, his face alight.
“Rain! We’ve found them!”
“What?”
Rain, a knight of the Imperial Order, froze as he looked at the children — recognizing at once the features of Duke Skaya’s bloodline.
“T-these children?!”
“Yes,” Basian said, “they carry Rella’s pendant.”
“Rella? That’s our mother’s name…” Lilibet murmured in disbelief.
Rain’s eyes widened — then he scooped her up and spun her around.
“Kyaaa!”
“Now that I see you up close… you really do look just like her. Exactly like Rella.”
“Thanks to Lady Erzébet, we were able to find them,” Basian added.
Rain turned to her and bowed deeply.
“Thank you. I will never forget this debt.”
“My father has already promised to repay it tenfold,”
Count Feyrunt said with a laugh.
Basian and Rain both joined in, laughter spilling from them — the first genuine joy in years.
Watching them, a thought sparked in Asil’s mind — something she’d overheard during a vassal meeting:
“If only we had a knight like Rain Feyrunt…”
“Or a strategist as brilliant as Basian Fairent…”
She hadn’t forgotten those wistful words.
Strawberries could be won from her future husband — but capable men like these? You couldn’t buy them anywhere.
If House Monlepe grew stronger, then her own reputation as its little “chief” would rise too.
Wouldn’t it be great if these people helped my husband?
With that thought, she looked up sharply at the count.
“Then… could you also help the Duke of Monlepe?”
“The Duke of Monlepe?”
“Yes. He said he needs an experienced knight and a skilled strategist.”
“Hm…”
The count’s expression turned curious — Why is Lady Erzébet young daughter so concerned with the Duke of Monlepe?
Basian answered in his stead.
“Father, you might not know — there are rumors that Duke Monlepe and Lady Erzébet are soon to be engaged.”
“Oh-ho! So she’s already looking after her future fiancé, is she?”
The count’s face softened immediately.
Once you found someone endearing, everything about them became endearing. He chuckled, finding the little girl’s thoughtfulness utterly charming.
“I’d wondered about Duke Monlepe, actually. Dylan spoke so highly of him that I grew curious. Especially after that incident with the draconic familiar — he said the man changed greatly since then.”
“It wasn’t a lizard, it was a black dragon,”
Asil corrected solemnly.
“Haha! If our young lady cares this much, then Duke Monlepe must be a good man indeed. Perhaps we should meet him ourselves.”
Basian, intrigued, nodded.
“I’ve become curious about Edenber myself, thanks to Asil.”
At that, Rain frowned slightly, as if remembering something unpleasant.
“To be honest… I’ve lost much respect for His Highness the Crown Prince. Even if he wanted to keep us indebted, forging a false pendant? That’s crossing the line.”
“Thank the heavens the pendant was a magic artifact,”
Basian muttered darkly.
“Otherwise, we might have missed the real children even with them right before us.”
Count Feyrunt’s expression hardened as well.
After a long moment of thought, Rain turned to his father.
“Father, I’m resigning from the Imperial Knights. No matter how honorable the title, I can’t serve a man like that.”
“Do as you wish,”
Count Feyrunt said at once, without hesitation.
“I’ll speak to your mother. Though honestly, once she hears what happened, I doubt she’ll need much convincing.”
