Riersha sat nestled against Pernoa, her arms looped awkwardly around his neck.
When she felt the prickling weight of stares from every direction, she buried her face deep into his shoulder.
It was only natural that everyone’s eyes would drift toward them — they were, after all, the two most talked-about people in the ducal castle. Still, Riersha wasn’t used to being the center of attention, and the scrutiny made her squirm with discomfort.
The little round pink head showed no signs of resurfacing.
“You’re quite shy, aren’t you. Do you always take time to warm up to people?”
“A wittle bit.”
“…”
“But where’s Sona?”
They had already left the grand assembly hall, yet Sona was nowhere to be seen. Riersha’s eyes began to sweep quietly across her surroundings.
“Sona left a while ago.”
“…Why?”
“Because I’m here.”
Riersha fidgeted for a moment, then gave a small nod.
A gentle breeze stirred. Her pink hair floated and swayed in the air, carrying with it the faint sweet scent that belonged only to young children.
“…You still have that baby-sweet smell.”
“Pardon?”
Riersha hadn’t caught his words and tilted her head in question. Pernoa simply shook his head and said it was nothing.
As time passed, the tension gradually left Riersha’s small body, and she leaned into him completely.
She tried to guess where he was taking her, but the answer eluded her, and in the end she opened her mouth.
“Where awe we going?”
“Hmm. I cancelled my schedule just now, so I’m not sure. Is there somewhere you’d like to go?”
“Umm, then… over there?”
Riersha raised one arm and pointed toward a spot in the distance.
It was the lakeside within the castle grounds.
A great tree stood beside the water, casting a wide pool of shade — a perfect place to rest beneath its branches.
“Do you like the lake?”
“Yes. Me and Sona pack a wunch and come here to play. We feed the carp too.”
“I didn’t know Sona had a talent for childcare.”
Sona was counted among the elite of the Arachrene household.
She had graduated from the academy at the top of her class, and had passed the branch family promotion examination on her first attempt without a single failure.
That examination, as a matter of course, assessed combat ability and magical aptitude.
Packing lunches was not a category that appeared anywhere on the test.
“Oh, we’re here.”
Riersha gazed out at the lake spread before her and breathed a quiet note of wonder. She had never looked down at a lake from such a height before.
After standing before the water for a while in silence, Pernoa broke the stillness.
“Risideon will be returning soon. You may not remember him, but he’s your eldest brother.”
“…My eldest brother?”
Riersha turned to look at Pernoa.
She couldn’t understand why he had suddenly brought up Risideon.
“Yes. I’ve sent word for him to return quickly, so you should be able to meet him before long.”
“…”
“And when summer comes, it will be the first time the whole family has gathered together for a birthday celebration.”
A birthday celebration.
At those words, Riersha sat upright with a startled jolt.
They were going to hold a birthday party?
Riersha had been born around the time summer arrived.
And on that very same day, the lady of the Arachrene household had drawn her last breath.
To be celebrated on a day when everyone should be grieving — it was something she had never once allowed herself to imagine.
That can’t be right.
Riersha pressed her lips tightly together.
In all the years she had been alive, not a single person had ever told her congratulations on being born.
Naturally, she had never received a birthday gift from anyone either.
She had assumed, without question, that this life would be no different.
And yet—
“Am I… allowed to be celebrated?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I am…”
A worthless child who devoured the mistress to enter this world.
It was something the maids had said long, long ago.
“The nerve of her, walking around with her head held high after eating the mistress alive to get herself born.”
“Look at her, drawing pictures all by herself without even knowing what day it is. It gives me the chills.”
At the time, Riersha had been too young to understand what the maids were saying.
But as years passed and she grew old enough to sit with her own thoughts, Riersha finally came to grasp the meaning of those words.
She understood, at last, that her mother had died because of her birth.
From that day forward, Riersha felt no joy when her birthday came around.
She never celebrated it alone, either.
I don’t deserve to.
That was what she had always believed.
Pernoa’s expression hardened when he saw the look on Riersha’s face — the face of a child on the verge of tears. He could already guess at what was running through her mind.
“Riersha.”
“…Yes.”
“Being born is something that deserves to be celebrated. That much is the truth. So don’t let what others have said weigh on you.”
“Really?”
Riersha asked in a voice that came out smaller than she intended.
Was it truly all right not to let it weigh on her?
Even though her mother had died when she was born?
Even though her father, her grandfather, her brothers — all of them — had been robbed of their mother forever because of her?
Even though she had been born that way, and then failed to awaken her ability, and had even put the family itself in danger?
That’s why, even though I came all the way to the main estate, even Ricador hasn’t shown himself.
Because surely, deep down, he couldn’t stand the sight of her.
“Hng—”
Riersha’s breathing began to come in ragged, desperate pulls.
The moment her breath turned unsteady, Pernoa quickly reached up and began patting her back.
“Hh—!”
“Riersha, focus and breathe.”
And he kept whispering to her, steady and low.
“Being born was a blessing, Riersha. That I can promise you.”
“Hh… Papa.”
“The whole family was waiting — just for you to come into the world.”
Tears spilled from Riersha’s eyes and ran down her cheeks.
It didn’t matter whether his words were true or not. She simply wanted to believe them. Because no one had ever said anything like this to her before.
She thought of all the birthdays that had come and gone — each one carrying the heavy, muted sorrow of the castle, and her bearing it alone without a word.
“Shh.”
Pernoa drew his hand in slow, steady strokes down Riersha’s back and waited, patient, until her breathing evened out.
His expression had gone cold and still.
Someone had spoken carelessly in front of this child. That much he now knew for certain.
“Papa, I’m okay now.”
“Good.”
Pernoa laid his hand atop Riersha’s head.
As his hand came to rest there, Riersha’s lashes gave a faint, trembling flutter. Without her noticing, the jagged rhythm of her breathing had smoothed itself into something calm.
How long they stayed like that, she couldn’t say. At last, Pernoa spoke lightly to shift the mood.
“Now that I think of it, I forgot to say something.”
“…Say something?”
“Yes. You did very well, Riersha.”
At the sudden praise, Riersha blinked slowly.
She couldn’t think of anything she had done to deserve it.
“You made it back to the main estate on your own, and in time. That took courage.”
“…”
“I’m very proud of you.”
In that moment, the heat rushed into the corners of Riersha’s eyes. It was the first time a member of her family had welcomed her home.
The truth of it settled deep into her chest — that someone had been waiting, all this time, for Riersha to return.
“…Yes.”
Riersha rubbed her eyes firmly and gave a small nod.
The knot that had remained in the corner of her heart — the one that even Sona’s comfort had failed to reach — melted away entirely.
⁂
“What? You want me to show you how to control your magical power?”
“Mm-hm. Sona can do it too!”
“…Hmm, but wouldn’t it be better to ask the Duke or the young lord about something like this, rather than me?”
Riersha shook her head as if that were entirely out of the question.
She wanted to practice in secret and surprise the two of them when the time came.
And besides, she needed to be able to use her ability freely as soon as possible — a day sooner meant everything.
That was the only way she could restore order to the unsettled atmosphere that had taken hold of the Arachrene household.
I can’t afford to be a weakness.
She also needed to earn her grandfather’s recognition without delay.
Riersha had not yet been formally acknowledged as the official heir by Arcmund.
Because of that, she was still living in the outer annex.
The greatest goal she held right now was to be named heir as quickly as possible and be granted a residence within the main castle.
The moment she was recognized as heir, the authority granted to her would be incomparable to what she held now.
Authority that answered to no one, regardless of age — that would be placed in her hands.
Then the number of people I can command will grow. I’ll be able to choose who remains loyal to me.
Rather than someone assigning people to watch over Riersha, she would be the one choosing her own people.
I have to build my strength and lay the groundwork for the future.
Her eyes flashed with quiet, fierce resolve.
And to do that—
She first needed to win Sona over.
“Sona, will you teach me?”
