Chapter 48: Invitation – 2

Chapter 48: Invitation – 2

“…Unexpected. You can make such an expression?”

“You must have seen wrong.”

“I’m quite sure I saw it, though.”

Silence followed those words.

Neither I nor my father spoke for a while.

To be precise… my father seemed to want to say something, but he ultimately closed his mouth, and I had no intention of speaking further.

However, I didn’t know for sure, but the words lingering on my father’s lips were certainly not good ones.

As a high-ranking noble and a leader, my father always spoke of acting without personal emotions, so he probably wouldn’t approve of this matter either.

After all, inviting Lucia to the Duke’s residence involved my personal feelings.

…In my childhood, I tried my best to follow my father’s words. Because I wanted to be acknowledged by him.

So, I acted ‘perfect’ according to everything my father said.

Looking back now, I think I tried to reach the realm of a machine, not a human, to become the most ideal Duke.

It might have been stubbornness. Stubbornness to be acknowledged by a father who never truly saw me and always told me how I should live.

That’s why I never revealed any other personal emotions, and I quickly obtained the quite high-ranking position of Defense Commander, faster than any noble in history.

Even though in that process, all my hobbies and tastes were hidden, and all my remaining relationships became purely professional.

And… at the same time, it might have been fear. Fear that if I wasn’t a proper ‘Duke,’ my father would turn away from me.

My mother had passed away, and my collateral relatives were all hungry wolves eyeing my father’s position.

Therefore, for my young self, the only trustworthy person, the only one I could rely on as family, was my father.

…Because of that, I was afraid. If I couldn’t maintain the ‘perfection’ my father spoke of, it felt like there would be no one left by my side.

It felt like I would be left alone in the world, with no one to trust, no one to rely on.

Of course, my father never directly said these things.

He merely… took a very long time, repeatedly telling me how I should ideally behave.

Cruelly, my father had never once acknowledged me or praised me greatly.

Perhaps my father himself, following the ‘perfection’ he spoke of, saw me not as a daughter, but merely as his successor.

That’s why my meetings with my father were always cold, despite my desire for his acknowledgment and the thought that he was the only person and family I could rely on.

I only spoke of official matters, and my father only showed official reactions.

Even when I said something I thought was quite remarkable, he would only talk about the future benefits of such an act and the mistakes made while achieving it.

Even today, I cleared out an ‘organization’ branch, something no previous Defense Commander had ever done, but there was no particular reaction.

And… in response to such reactions, like a complete idiot, I sought my father’s acknowledgment even more, and I still burn with the thought that someday I will achieve a result that will astonish him.

Anyway…… my father is the only person I can rely on.

…

……

No, I should correct that. Recently, another person has appeared.

A girl who likes me for who I am, unlike my father, who I must show a perfect image to and whose acknowledgment is my goal.

A girl with a cute face who casually makes ‘potions,’ mysterious concoctions.

And… because of that, Lucia, who I’m interested in, keep seeking out, and sometimes even coquettishly wags her tail.

Perhaps thanks to Lucia, I’ve shed a little of the fear that my father would be disappointed in me if I didn’t show a perfect image.

Because there’s someone who likes me no matter what I’m like, I’m no longer afraid of not being able to show a perfect image as much as before.

That’s why…… I might be writing an invitation, something I would never normally do.

“You have a thoughtful expression.”

“…It’s nothing. I just found a minion of the ‘organization,’ so I was just thinking about how to attack their headquarters.”

“Your expression has become clearer than before.”

At those words, I felt my whole body stiffen.

…It was the first time my father had said something like that directly.

“……Is that so?”

“Well, it’s not that it wasn’t completely revealed before, but I feel it’s become more definite.”

One strange thing was that… my father’s tone wasn’t as stiff as usual.

It was a little different from how he always spoke in a flat voice, saying that as a leader, one should always hide their thoughts.

‘Is he intentionally testing me?’

Even though I thought my father wouldn’t possibly do that, it seemed rationally possible.

He was always the kind of father who said that even the most trusted person should sometimes be tested and wary of.

If he would test even the most trusted person, it wasn’t so strange for him to test me, who was clearly not yet a truly trustworthy child.

“…If there’s nothing urgent, please return. I’m quite busy right now. I’ll see you again at lunch tomorrow.”

“……Is that so.”

As I said that, consciously hardening my voice and expression, my father surprisingly left the room without much reaction.

The thought that I had passed the test well, and at the same time… the sight of my father leaving the room, looking somewhat lonely and lingering, must have been my imagination.

My father would never be that kind of person.

***

A morning filled with warm sunlight.

……Unfortunately, it was not a warm morning for me at all.

“…My head feels like it’s going to split….”

Perhaps a side effect of mana depletion, a sudden headache surged as soon as I woke from unconsciousness.

…Moreover, my stomach was churning and my eyes hurt, so it seemed to be that hopeless migraine.

I didn’t know what the hell mana use had to do with a headache and an upset stomach, but it hurt like hell.

*…You don’t look so good, do you?*

“Of course not…. I really feel like I’ve gone back to my old body for the first time in ages.”

Of course, saying my head hurt, but the rest of my body was perfectly fine and even overflowing with strength, meant there was a contradiction in saying I’d gone back to my old body… but anyway, it was the clearest way to express that I was in pain.

……But, isn’t there a potion that eliminates this phenomenon?

“Would I feel better if I made and drank a mana potion….”

*If you upgrade the mana potion one step, it might help with these ‘mana exhaustion’ symptoms? Of course, the ingredient cost is…*

“I don’t even want to know. Still… it’s encouraging that I have two more potions I can use.”

Saying that, I contentedly examined the potions I had made yesterday and tossed onto the desk.

…One was half-burnt, and the other was sparking with electricity; they looked dangerous at a glance.

*In that sense, I have one good piece of news and one bad piece of news. Which do you want to hear first?*

“…The bad news first. That way, the good news will be a little more comforting.”

*The bad news is… a ‘branch’ in your life is approaching. Your future will fluctuate greatly depending on your actions.*

“In short, it means peace is out of the question for a while?”

*Correct. You’ll be swept into that event immediately.*

……It seems I’ve never truly enjoyed leisure or peace since coming to this world.

Something always happens, or I’m trying to get potion ingredients, or I get entangled with the main characters…

What the hell, where did my healing life go?

……Of course, the System neatly ignored my grumbling and began to finish what it was saying.

*And the good news is… Christie sent you an invitation.*

“…Christie? No, seriously?”

*It wasn’t something that happened in the original story, but… well, it seems your influence on Christie was greater than expected. Congratulations. You’ve been invited to the Duke’s castle to visit.*

“That’s not good news!!”

Christie treating me specially? Of course, that’s good.

Becoming more human and less stiff than before? That’s also good.

But…… being invited to the Duke’s residence is a completely different matter.

Because there’s a Duke in the Duke’s residence… and I know nothing about the Duke.

In the novel, it only says that when the Duke died, Christie became extremely enraged and hunted down criminal organizations, even creating a rumor that blood flowed instead of water in the capital’s sewers.

……For the first time, it’s a meeting with a character about whom I have no information.

And what’s more, a dangerous individual whose death is confirmed, who will be assassinated soon.

……Both Christie, who dies in the story, and Elena, who I feel might be assassinated if I make a mistake… it seems I’m destined to get entangled with dangerous individuals.