IWAPUF 25

She slowly bent down to look me in the eyes. “That’s why he prepared us. For you.”
Back then, I had no inkling of the truth. All my grandfather left me, or so I thought, was a modest
parcel of land, a handful of jewels, and some cash. For an ordinary commoner, it might have been
enough to live a life of leisure without a care, but compared to the immense wealth of the Pison
family, it was a mere drop in the bucket.
If what she said was true—if everything my grandfather had left me truly encompassed all that
belonged to the Pison family—then I could finally trace the source of my wealth, that endless
stream that seemed to flow like water from a bottomless well.
“Why are you only telling me this now?” I asked.
“It had to be kept hidden,” she replied. “Officially, we couldn’t protect you completely.”
Her answer unlocked a flood of understanding within me. Then and now, I was the Crown Prince’s
fiancée. Though the Emperor stood firmly behind him, the existence of opposing factions meant
danger was a constant shadow at my heels. The First Prince’s faction still regarded me as a thorn
in their side. If they’d had their way, they would have snuffed out my life before I could marry the
Crown Prince and bolster his position. Should it become official that the entirety of the Pison
family’s fortune had passed to me, they would likely stop at nothing to eliminate me, even now.
I gazed at her, my hands clasped in hers. *Unlike now, why didn’t she tell me this back then, even
if it was late?* It couldn’t be mere chance that she’d chosen this moment to unburden herself. She
must have been weighing the right time to speak long before now. So what had changed between
the her of then and the her of now?
She had told me she resented me for claiming all of my grandfather’s attention. Yet she also said I
was lovely because I resembled him. And in the end, she thanked me for giving her El. “…I see,” I
murmured to myself. Somehow, it clicked. Both then and now, she bore a love-hate bond with
me—a tangled knot of hating yet being unable to fully hate, finding me lovely yet withholding
love.
Back then, rather than revealing the truth, she must have poured everything she could into
supporting me. My wealth, which never dried up no matter how freely I spent it, stood as proof of
that. She had repaid my grandfather’s kindness and, in her own way, avenged a lost child. That
must have been the best she could offer.
I squeezed Anasha’s hand in return. She gave me a faint smile, the traces of tears still etched
across her face.
Evan, who had been silently observing Anasha and me, pressed his right hand to his chest. Still
kneeling, he spoke. “I swear on my heart and soul. Eternal loyalty to my master!” Though the
words were simple, they rang with the unmistakable weight of a knight’s oath.
### Act 7. Coming of Age Ceremony
Three days had passed since that encounter with Anasha and Evan. Today, I was to meet the
Crown Prince.
To step into the inner sanctum of the imperial palace, everyone save the royal family required an
attendant’s guidance. I lingered at the boundary between the outer and inner palaces, waiting for
the servant who would lead me, my fingers idly toying with the ring I wore.
The ring had been nestled in a box Anasha handed me, alongside keepsakes the Marchioness had
used in her childhood. Engraved with three delicate flowers and five four-leaf clovers, it was so
intricately detailed it seemed almost alive. The carved design made it slightly thicker than most
rings, yet it was unmistakably crafted for a woman’s hand.
The Count Pison family bore a hawk clutching a shield as their crest. Every merchant group under
their banner carried that same symbol. All but one, that is—Luiasha. Instead of the hawk and
shield, they embraced a different mark. *Clover.* That was the emblem of Luiasha.
The imperial family and noble houses alike each claimed symbols to represent their lineage. The
imperial crest was a golden lion, the Eliont Marquisate wielded two crossed swords, and the Count
Pison family flew the hawk with its shield. The designs were as varied as the families themselves,
each one distinct.
A family’s crest doubled as the seal of its head. Only the leader of the house could wield it as
such—no one else dared. Nobles, upon reaching their sixteenth birthday and passing their
coming-of-age ceremony, received their own seals. Some inherited them from their parents; others
forged new ones. A seal was a person’s proxy, often standing in place of a signature.
At my own sixteenth birthday ceremony, I became the Crown Princess. The seal of the Crown
Princess became mine, and I had no need for a separate one of my own.
Anasha had told me this clover-etched ring was something my grandfather made for me. Crafted
right after my birth, destined for the day I turned sixteen, this seal now rested in my palm.
She said my grandfather began preparing everything the moment I came into the world. For the
sake of my happiness and to shield me from dangers that might one day arise, he sought out and
trained talented souls to stand by my side, or so Anasha claimed.
Anasha and Evan were the foremost among those he’d chosen. Ever meticulous, my grandfather
had even split his chosen representatives into two, a precaution against unforeseen calamity.
He had raised Anasha to be my aide and Evan to be my knight. Anasha’s marriage to him—my
grandfather—had been a calculated step to ease her path to me. As she spoke those words, her face
clouded with sorrow. She had truly loved him, loved him enough to follow his will even knowing
he saw her as a piece in his grand design.
“When you first mentioned the child,” she said, “I thought you were mocking me.” On the day we
first met, I had urged her to take care of herself for the child’s sake.
“I was with him only once,” Anasha said, her smile tinged with melancholy. Yet she didn’t seem
wholly sad—there was a fullness in her expression, a quiet contentment.
“I told him I’d live my life for you, and begged him to hold me just once.” A flush crept over her
cheeks as she lowered her eyes, embarrassment softening her voice.
“It was shameless, humiliating even, but I’m glad I found the courage. Because it gave me El, that
child.” Her grip tightened on my hand as she spoke.
“His only command to us was to protect you.”
What had driven my grandfather to such lengths? For something meant merely to safeguard his
cherished granddaughter, it felt like overkill. The grandfather I remembered was frail and sickly, a
man who seemed perpetually at a loss for how to express his guilt toward me. I couldn’t picture
him as the bold, calculating figure who’d orchestrated all this. For more than four years, he’d been
nothing but gentle and warm to me. Having prepared so much on my behalf, what could he have
felt so tender and remorseful about? His love for me, then and now, remained unchanged. Anasha
and Evan, whatever their own hearts might have whispered, must have acted for my sake back
then, bound by his wishes. And it was I who had turned away from it all.
Following my grandfather’s passing, as if in the wake of the Marchioness, Anasha came to see me
multiple times. Yet, I turned her away without so much as a glance. Perhaps she couldn’t tell me
the truth because I refused to meet her. Or maybe she chose not to, deliberately. After all, it was
true that I had given her cause to resent me over the inheritance.
Now, the reasons behind her actions back then no longer mattered. There was no way to know for
sure anyway. What mattered were the things my grandfather had left me.
The ring, engraved with the seal, felt heavy. It sat on my finger like a shackle. I knew that
everything was a testament to my grandfather’s love for me. His love was warm, vast, and
endlessly deep. The more I felt it, the more grateful I became, yet my heart grew heavier with each
passing moment. It pained me that I could never repay him for such love.
“I apologize for the delay, Lady Eliont.”
What pulled me from my reverie was an unfamiliar servant. Usually, it was a servant from the
Crown Prince’s palace who came to meet me. The Crown Prince always sent the same one.
I frowned at the sight of this new servant sent to greet me.
“You’re a face I’ve never seen before.”
“It’s my first time meeting you, Lady Eliont. I am Sieg, a servant from the Hiber palace.”
“What business does a servant from the Empress’s palace have with me?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is currently away. Her Majesty the Empress, concerned that you
might make a wasted trip, sent me to inform you.”
He bowed respectfully.
In that moment, I mentally hurled a torrent of curses at the Crown Prince. If he was going
somewhere, the least he could do was send word so I wouldn’t waste my time. I had dragged
myself here, swallowing my reluctance, only to be met with this. Clenching my fists, I swallowed
my anger to avoid taking it out on the servant.
“So I’ve come all this way for nothing.”
“Lady, please wait a moment!”
As I turned to leave, the servant called out to me in a panic. I glanced back over my shoulder, still
facing away. He was visibly flustered, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
“Her Majesty the Empress is waiting for you.”
“The Empress wants to see me?”
“Yes, she is waiting for you, my lady.”
I couldn’t help but furrow my brow. There was no reason for the Empress to summon me.
Moreover, as the servant said, the Crown Prince wasn’t even in the palace. Why would the
Empress call for me while he was away?
“My lady?”
The servant called out to me cautiously. He seemed restless, fidgeting nervously. It was suspicious,
but his uniform clearly marked him as belonging to the Empress’s palace.
If he truly was sent by the Empress, refusing would cause issues. No matter how much of a
figurehead she was, she was still officially the highest-ranking woman in the empire, and I was
just a marquess’s daughter.
“Lead the way.”
The servant let out a sigh of relief and took the lead.
I followed behind him, picturing the current Empress in my mind. The Empress I remembered was
frail, her face perpetually etched with timidity.
The position of Empress, left vacant due to the power struggle between the Crown Prince’s faction
and the First Prince’s faction, was filled by her, a woman from a modest viscount family. She
lacked both the strength and the influence to displace the concubines who had already secured
their places in the palace. Coming from a humble background with no powerful backing, she was
Empress in name but not in true authority.
“Your Majesty, Lady Eliont has arrived.”
“Let her in.”
With the response, the door opened. I stepped through the threshold. Inside the Empress’s
reception room, the Empress and the First Imperial Consort sat side by side. I bowed deeply to the
Empress.
“Beonne Rossa Eliont pays her respects to the Moon of the Empire.”
“Welcome, Lady Eliont.”
I straightened my back and turned to face the First Imperial Consort. She was gazing at me, her
mouth concealed behind a fan adorned with peacock feathers.
“Beonne Rossa Eliont pays her respects to Your Highness, the First Imperial Consort.”
“Welcome, my lady.”
The First Imperial Consort fluttered her fan as she acknowledged my greeting. It was hard to
believe she had a son over thirty; she looked astonishingly youthful. Once hailed as the empire’s
greatest beauty, she still retained her dazzling appearance despite her age.
“Please, have a seat, my lady.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I took the seat the Empress had indicated, directly across from the First Imperial Consort. She
smiled at me, faint wrinkles creasing the corners of her eyes.
“When I heard that Her Majesty was summoning you, I shamelessly asked to join as well. You
don’t mind my presence, do you?”
“Of course not, Your Highness.”
I smiled back at the First Imperial Consort. Her presence here spoke volumes. It wasn’t the
Empress who had called for me. The one who had used the Empress’s name to bring me here was
the First Imperial Consort, who now regarded me with a smile on her lips but ice in her gaze.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
She fluttered her fan once more. With each wave, a heavy scent of musk rode the breeze toward
me. I forced an even brighter smile to keep from grimacing.
“This is tea from Dentrk.”
The Empress signaled a maid to place the tea before me. Through the cloying musk, a delicate tea
fragrance brushed my nose. I thanked the Empress and lifted the cup, inhaling the scent deeply.
“The aroma is truly delightful, Your Majesty.”
“Is it? I’m glad it pleases you, my lady.”
The Embraced smiled at me, though her smile was awkward and somewhat forced. Her eyes kept
darting toward the First Imperial Consort. She was constantly gauging the Consort’s reactions.
The Empress looked exceedingly timid, both in her appearance and the aura she exuded. Side by
side, the First Imperial Consort seemed far more fitting for the role of Empress. Even back when I
was the Crown Princess, the Empress never dared to speak loudly in my presence.
“Your Majesty, may I ask why you have summoned me?”
The Empress’s smile grew even more awkward as she glanced at the First Imperial Consort. As I
suspected, it was the Consort who had truly summoned me.