Ch.241241. The Ancestor’s Test (4)

“Huh…?”

“Sion, I don’t really feel like talking with you right now. We both don’t want to see each other’s faces. Would you mind quietly passing by this time?”

“Tch, really…”

Sion clicked his tongue at Sione’s unexpected response.

Caught off guard, he couldn’t hide his inner thoughts as all his emotions showed plainly on his face.

A rotten complexion. Irritation from being insulted by the blood relative he had ignored.

“Why are you just standing there staring?”

But Sione no longer cowered at Sion’s attitude like she had in the past.

She merely snorted and responded nonchalantly.

“Fine, whatever. You finally came out of your room for an outing. I suppose you’ll have to go back soon to play house with that nanny who takes your side.”

“You talk too much.”

“…I shouldn’t take up too much of your time, should I?”

Thud.

Sion bumped Sione’s shoulder with his own as he walked past.

Sione watched as he quickly brushed off his shoulder as if even that brief contact had been unpleasant, then let out a short sigh.

Not long after, Herel came out carrying some clothes.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Lady Sione.”

As Herel came back into view, Sione pushed aside her complicated feelings.

She shook her head.

“Not at all. Sion just came and went.”

“…Lord Sion, you say?”

“Now that we have the clothes, we should get moving.”

The destination was the place where she had always started her days running with Ray in the early morning hours.

Her steps were unwavering.

This was a path she had already traveled last year, a path she had overcome.

She was confident that she could slowly rebuild this broken body once again.

As she walked forward with determination, a voice from behind caught her attention.

“You don’t need to take Lord Sion’s words to heart.”

Hypocrite.

You say this, but in the end, you were just the same.

“Lord Sion may know that you’ve been practicing spear techniques and magic, but he doesn’t understand the weight of your struggles and efforts through it all.”

Sione could no longer silently listen to Herel’s words, so she quietly stopped in her tracks.

“Lady Sione?”

“Let’s continue quietly. After all, this place is full of people who are used to seeing me in this sorry state. My story doesn’t need to echo so loudly here.”

“Ah—”

Only then did Herel press her lips shut and look around.

The mansion’s servants were beginning to appear one by one.

They either ignored Sione Sianella as if she didn’t exist or quietly watched her from a distance. One thing was certain—none of them held a positive image or good feelings toward her.

Herel could also spot familiar servants who were staring at her as she defended Sione.

“…Yes.”

She quickly cast a shadow over the surface and agreed with Sione’s words.

In the suddenly quiet atmosphere, the other servants finally began talking among themselves again.

Eventually, they passed by the familiar servants Herel had spotted.

“…”

Herel walked past them with her head bowed so low it looked like she might bury it in the ground, holding her breath as she passed by.

Sione quietly observed this unfamiliar side of Herel from the corner of her eye, etching it into her memory.

* * *

Word spread quickly throughout the mansion that Sione Sianella, the hopeless second daughter of the County of Sianella, had begun showing a completely different attitude.

For years, she had been someone who wasted her time shut up in her room, someone whose face was rarely seen. But for the past two months, she had been coming out of her room every single day to exercise.

Furthermore, despite her less-than-impressive physical abilities, she had somehow learned archery and was now at the shooting range every day, firing arrows alongside other archers. It was impossible for rumors about her not to spread.

Her relationship with the youngest, Sion Sianella, and the eldest daughter, Siabel Sianella, remained unchanged. However, she never avoided them when they approached her. Though the head of the family, Ainel Sianella, had already decided who would succeed her, and the second daughter had long been distrusted by the family head—their relationship still poor—Sione nevertheless stood straight before her without hesitation, looking her directly in the eyes.

And today, about a month after she had begun to change, was no different. Summoned by Ainel, Sione had come to her office. She sat confidently across from Ainel at the desk, waiting for her to speak.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

It was Ainel’s habit to tap the desk in a steady rhythm when organizing her thoughts.

Tap—

As the tapping sound ended, her tightly closed lips finally opened.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been changing lately. In a rather positive way, at that.”

Ainel slowly folded her arms and gave Sione a sharp look.

“Moreover, seeing that you no longer cower before me, it seems you have indeed changed.”

This was praise that couldn’t be heard even during family dinner gatherings.

However, as Ainel’s atmosphere began to shift, Sione couldn’t add a word.

“But a mere month out of the years you’ve spent with your rotten attitude can hardly cover for the misdeeds you’ve committed until now.”

Because her past self had done so many things.

“Without Herel by your side, and without Herel’s mediation, you always tried to crush the servants who took care of you with petty tantrums and inappropriate behavior. Isn’t that right?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“Your consistent misconduct showed no signs of abating. Even when we assigned servants to you under better contract terms than others received, they inevitably couldn’t last even a month. The only one who remained with you was Herel. Only Herel.”

“…”

“But lately, even Herel seems to be wearing down from the arduous labor she handles alone. So I’ve been considering how to resolve this.”

Ainel tilted her head, having crossed her legs at some point.

“You need a new servant, but rumors have spread so far that there’s not a single person left who would volunteer to be your servant.”

“Since you’ve started going outside… as my daughter and the second daughter of a Count’s family, you’ll need at least one guard. However, there isn’t a single soldier or knight who would willingly serve you with sincerity, given that there’s nothing righteous about you.”

“So I thought about where I could find someone who wouldn’t run away despite facing your unpredictable anger, who would fulfill their role, and who wouldn’t cause major scandals.”

At Ainel’s words, Sione’s eyes began to light up.

Her words were enough to fill Sione with intense anticipation, enough to make her heart race.

“As I was thinking, I realized that slave traders in our territory have just brought in some excellent slaves. And it happens to be almost your nineteenth birthday.”

Sione held her breath, waiting for Ainel’s next words.

“Therefore, I wish to give you a slave as your servant.”

Then Ainel gently closed her eyes, tucked her hair behind her ear, and articulated clearly.

“Today is the day you will show yourself in public again. Prepare quickly to go outside the lord’s castle, into the streets of the territory.”

At those words, Sione quietly bowed her head.

“As you wish.”

With a deep smile.

* * *

“Haah…”

It had been a long time since she’d left the mansion.

The carriage was running through the streets of the territory.

Thanks to Ainel Sianella’s consideration—or perhaps because she didn’t want to share a carriage with her—they were in separate carriages, allowing Sione to sigh deeply with ease.

‘…Where on earth is the Demon?’

The condition for success in the trial left by her ancestor.

She had been diligently trying to find the Demon, using all her senses and moving around separately, but there wasn’t even a hair or hint of the supposedly hidden Demon to be found.

‘It’s already been a month. I need to hurry.’

While in this world, memory loss and assimilation could occur.

She needed to find the Demon quickly before losing her sense of purpose, but the situation was frustratingly difficult to grasp.

The good news was that her memories didn’t seem to have been tampered with yet. She was still clearly aware of everything. Taking comfort in that, Sione was enjoying the view of her family’s territory, which she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“We’ve arrived!”

After the carriage traveled a bit further, it finally stopped in front of a barracks full of slaves. Together with Ainel and the knight Diolia, who had accompanied them as guards, she entered a building where the slaves for sale were being held.

“Important guests have arrived! Stop lazing around and do something!”

“Who’s coming that you’re making such a fuss? My ears are ringing.”

“People from the Sianella family are here!”

The merchants were flustered by the sudden visit from the lord and two members of the Count’s family.

Ainel Sianella glided gracefully through them and began slowly examining the slaves. As Sione followed behind her mother, she was finally able to smile deeply as she traced her mother’s gaze and voice when she suddenly stopped.

“This slave. What’s his name?”

“Do you perhaps like this slave?”

“I don’t need unnecessary commentary, just a simple explanation.”

“This is Ray, the slave our traders cherish the most. He’s been receiving training to become a male knight in this seventh iron cage.”

“A male knight?”

“Our Ray is a man who has awakened Mana, you see.”

A male slave who had awakened Mana, Ray.

And despite his disheveled appearance, his face was unmistakable.

“Found you.”

At my voice, he muttered in an unknown language.

“…What kind of situation is this now.”

The language with an accent now familiar to my ears.

He was indeed the Ray I knew.