Chapter 41: Lineage Part 2

Ellie asked the other four about their birthdays, and surprisingly, each of them was born in a different season: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Spring was Stella.

Summer was Philia.

Autumn was Clea.

And winter was Isabel.

“Huh? So when’s Clea’s birthday then?”

“October 30th.”

“Oh, that’s only about ten days away? Then we should talk about what to do for Clea’s birthday first, since it’s before mine.”

“Huh…?”

“Well, that’s a relief. If it had already passed, I would’ve felt bad. Where should we go? Oh, the 30th is a weekday. Should we prepare something the weekend before?”

It was obvious to anyone watching.

Ellie was avoiding the topic.

The same Ellie who had been about to reveal a big secret without hesitation just moments ago.

“…Yeah. What should we do?”

Clea played along with Ellie, and so did Stella, Philia, and Isabel.

In the end, that day passed without any further mention of Ellie’s birthday or where she was born.

***

If a group has a central figure, even when only some members gather, the conversation naturally revolves around that center.

If it’s a hobby, they talk about the hobby.

If it’s a profession, they talk about the profession.

And if it’s a person, they talk about that person.

When the four friends who formed a group centered around Ellie gathered without her, it was only natural that they began talking about her.

“So, what do you think?”

Philia broke the ice.

“About which part? Ellie’s magical language? Or her birthday?”

“The latter. As for the magical language, it’s almost like we stopped her from telling us by refusing to listen.”

Isabel shrunk back, feeling guilty, but Clea comforted her.

“You don’t have to feel guilty. We all feel the same way.”

“Oh, really?”

Philia hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“So, what should we do? Should we ask her more, or should we just drop it?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to ask. At least until we hear a clear ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ from Ellie.”

It was such a Philia-like response.

Clea countered.

“Didn’t Ellie’s attitude yesterday already make it clear that she doesn’t want to talk about it?”

“I’m not going to just throw questions at her out of nowhere.”

“Then?”

“First, I’ll tell her. ‘Ellie, I don’t know what you’re ashamed of, but no matter what it is, we’ll always be your friends.’”

She meant it.

They didn’t know what Ellie was hiding.

It could be a mistake from her past, or maybe she was born into something society frowns upon.

But it didn’t matter.

Ellie was Ellie.

Their precious friend.

Stella cautiously asked, “Do you… think Ellie is hiding something?”

Isabel responded as if it were obvious.

“Huh? What do you mean ‘something’? Ellie’s hiding a lot of things.”

The other three turned their gaze toward the youngest member of the group, both physically and mentally.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Everyone knows Ellie has a few big secrets.”

“…Really?”

Now that they thought about it, it did seem that way.

‘But why was it Isabel who pointed it out? Why hadn’t they noticed until she said something?’

They weren’t ignoring their friend, but the three felt a slight sting to their pride.

…To be honest, it would be a lie to say they hadn’t ignored her at all.

‘But come to think of it, wasn’t Isabel second in the entire school during midterms? Maybe she’s actually really smart?’

Meanwhile, Isabel tilted her head and continued.

“From what I’ve seen, there are about three or four important ones? Maybe I’m wrong… but does it really matter?”

Isabel spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“No matter what Ellie’s hiding or revealing, we’re not going to stop being her friends. That goes for me, and for all of you too.”

It was the same thing Philia had said earlier, and it reflected all of their thoughts.

“…That’s true.”

“…You’re right.”

“…Indeed.”

That’s how it was.

So it wasn’t a big deal.

For the four girls, the most important thing was whether they could stay with Ellie or not.

Everything else was relatively trivial.

Of course, they knew that even friends could drift apart if their paths diverged.

They weren’t at an age where they fully understood that, but they were old enough to grasp it intellectually.

But if possible…

From now on…

“…Sigh.”

Stella suddenly let out a sigh.

“Secrets, huh.”

***

At that moment, the subject of their conversation opened the door and walked in.

“Huh? What were you guys talking about?”

“Ellie.”

The girl who would one day become the next heir to the Blaze royal family blurted out, “I’m still scared of sleeping alone in a dark room.”

Ellie blinked at the sudden statement.

Stella continued.

“But I am destined to ascend to the throne. I must always be dignified, and I cannot even fear death. I couldn’t possibly admit that I’m scared to sleep alone.”

Stella felt ashamed.

Yet, she continued speaking.

“When it was confirmed that I would be admitted to the academy, the thing that made me happiest was the thought that I could now keep the lights on all night in my room. But when I actually got here, I found out there’s a lights-out time, and I almost cried.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

Even without saying it, Stella’s cheeks were burning red, but the girl deliberately put her feelings into words.

“However, even if I told my friends here about this, I don’t think it would lower my standing in your hearts.”

So.

“You too.”

“Yeah.”

Ellie nodded her head.

Her lips curled into a small smile.

She was grateful for the courage her friend had shown her, and the gratitude she felt naturally brought out the smile.

Ellie also conveyed the feeling that had already been understood without words.

“Thank you.”

Then, Ellie made a suggestion to her friends.

“Shall we go to the capital together this weekend?”

Everyone quietly nodded.

Ellie’s suggestion wasn’t meant to change the subject but to answer it.

The capital is vast.

When the first emperor established it as the capital, it was just a medium-sized castle surrounded by farmland.

But now, hundreds of years later, it has become the city where the emperor and the royal family reside.

During that time, the capital flourished and prospered.

Generally, cities are divided into dirty and clean areas, but even the originally dirty places can be cleaned up and refined.

The weekend Ellie brought her friends to the capital was to one of those refined and clean corners of the city.

“This street used to be a red-light district.”

In fact, Ellie had already discovered this a few weeks ago when she visited the capital alone.

She had found the doctor who performed the cesarean section on her mother.

‘If asked why she went out of her way to find the doctor and what she wanted to talk about, even now, she wasn’t sure.’

But she definitely wanted to express her gratitude, so she thanked him.

The doctor, now entering middle age, waved his hands, saying he hadn’t done anything particularly deserving of thanks.

Ellie decided that she would reward him when she became emperor.

Anyway, during their conversation, she learned something.

This area used to be a red-light district, and Ellie’s mother had worked here as a woman of the night.

Ellie confessed to her friends on this ordinary, refined street.

“And my mother was a woman who worked in that red-light district. She passed away giving birth to me.”

A woman of the red-light district.

Work.

The girls’ eyes widened one by one as they processed the information.

Ellie was glad that the kids knew what prostitution was.

It would have been awkward to explain such a thing in the middle of the street.

Then, Ellie watched her friends’ eyes.

She observed whether their feelings toward her changed, stayed the same, or were added to as their shock subsided and their eyes returned to normal.

She already knew the answer.

The way the girls looked at her, the way her friends looked at her, was no different from before.

Ellie’s lips curved into a soft arc.

Out of gratitude.

And feeling oddly embarrassed, Ellie decided to play a little prank.

“By the way, about my father.”

If the customer of a prostitute was her father, it was natural not to know his identity.

“Actually, I know who he is.”

Watching the four girls gasp in shock, Ellie added at the perfect moment to maximize their astonishment.

“And you all know him too.”

“Cough!?”

“Whaat!?”

“Wh-who, who is it?”

“Uh, uh… uh…”

‘Well, it’s His Majesty the Emperor, of course.’

“But most of you probably haven’t met him. Or have you? I really don’t know. Maybe you’ve all met him at least once?”

She said this while thinking of Clea, who had seen him from the side, but upon reflection, it wouldn’t be strange if noble children had seen the current emperor at least once.

Watching her friends rack their brains over the riddle, Ellie giggled.

“I’ll tell you someday.”

“If your view of me hasn’t changed even after hearing about my mother, then it’ll be the same when you hear about my father.”

“But not now. There’s a reason for that, so please wait. I’m counting on you.”

Then, Ellie’s friends nodded one by one.

Okay, sure, they said.

“Thank you.”

Ellie looked back once more.

“Then let’s just prepare for Clea’s birthday today and head back.”

***

Before leaving, Ellie imagined what this street might have looked like when it was a red-light district.

Sensually glowing red lights, women in revealing clothes soliciting customers, men leering as they wandered the streets.

No, in this world, women aren’t excluded from power and money.

In about half of the district, the genders of the solicitors and the leering ones might have been reversed.

Either way, it wasn’t a pleasant thought, so Ellie stopped there.

‘But.’

Once she had vividly imagined it, a question arose.

‘Did the emperor really wander these streets as a customer just for lust?’

‘Why?’

He’s literally the emperor.

‘If he wanted to take a beautiful woman with no money as his concubine, there would be no shortage of applicants. Haven’t countless monarchs in history done just that?’

‘Did he really go out of his way to meet women on the streets?’

The fact that Ellie’s mother was a prostitute had already been cross-verified multiple times. So then.

‘Was my mother not just an ordinary prostitute…?’

For the first time, Ellie became curious about the identity of her mother, whose name she still didn’t know.