Chapter 8

This is the second post today. I posted episodes 6 and 7 in the morning.

In the rain that falls once it starts, even with Liam's enchanted umbrella, it doesn't stop.

The rain, which was initially a gentle drizzle, has turned into a heavy downpour by evening, and ominous thunderclouds rumble as if to disrupt the ball.

It would be almost impossible to enter the palace's covered entrance without getting wet in this sideways rain.

The centripetal force of this country lies in the goddess's blessing of "fertility" held by the royal family. It is because of this blessing that the nobles and the people recognize the king, allowing him to remain the king.

Following the harvest festival, it rains heavily on the sunny day of the triumphal celebration. Undoubtedly, many will feel that this is a harbinger of misfortune.

The rain that Eleana brought is creating a small crack in the solid authority of the royal family.

Eleana, who has no time to consider such adult matters, is crying loudly. She cries and cries, her eyelids swollen to the point of bursting, making it clear to everyone that something has happened.

"Eleana, maybe you've grown so much that he didn't recognize you? Oh, don't cry. When you cry, my heart aches too."

Liam tries his best to comfort her, but Eleana's tears don't stop.

"Sniff... But I made eye contact with Father, clearly, from close by. How could he not recognize me?"

"Hmm... It seems like it could be, and it couldn't be...?"

As Liam stumbles over his words, Eleana's crying grows louder.

"Father must have forgotten about me... sniff..."

Eleana's eyes are blue. The silver light in them is a unique color that appears in those who bear the dragon god's blessing of the Barley family.

While her stepmother, who married just before the deployment, might not know, Eleana's father, as the acting head, certainly knew. Moreover, her flaxen hair is inherited from her father, and she bears a resemblance to her mother.

No matter how much she grows, Eleana thought, he should recognize her the moment they meet.

"The only thing that can prove who you are is that gold pocket watch."

Eleana sniffles and shakes her head, gently stroking the pouch containing the pocket watch.

"But the fact that he forgot me doesn't change. And anyone with this could claim to be Father's child. I can't accept that."

"You're right..."

Liam, now in his young adult form, pats Eleana's head.

He had outgrown his boyish appearance, and in a few months, he would turn sixteen, an age when some noble girls start to marry.

Eleana wipes her tears and blows her nose.

"Well, in that case..."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe I'll live on my own."

"You're not alone because I'm with you."

"That's true. But you're like a second self to me."

"Right. Well, do as you please. I'm on your side."

"If I say I'm going abroad, will you come with me? Ah, but maybe I can't leave this country?"

"That's not true. The sky continues, and you're free to go wherever you want."

"But Her Majesty..."

Nobles need the queen's permission to live abroad. Officially, it's to prevent the outflow of talented people, but the real purpose is to keep the divine blessing within the country. As evidence, while other nobles are easily approved and many noble daughters marry abroad, no applications from the two families with the blessing have ever been approved.

"That's just the royal family's issue. They conveniently bind people with titles and money. If they really needed you, they should have granted you a dukedom."

"You're right. Why was I only a countess?"

"Granting a dukedom to someone with the blessing would be troublesome if they rebelled. A title that's neither too high nor too low. A territory that's not too small, not too rich, but not inconvenient. They don't want the Barley family to grow strong or be discontent."

"Everyone is so selfish."

"Right."

As Eleana talks with Liam, she calms down.

Everyone is living as they please, forgetting about her. So, she decides to live freely. After being confined in her territory for so long, she wants to see more of the outside world.

"Alright, I'm going abroad!"

When Eleana declares her decision, Liam smiles happily, saying, "You're finally back to your old self."

At dinner, Eva and Betty rush over with cold towels, surprised.

"What happened, Ellie! Did you break up with someone?"

Eleana, applying the cold towel to her swollen eyelids, can't help but chuckle at Eva's off-the-mark guess.

"Here, eat mine too. You need to eat properly when you're down. Once your stomach is full, your spirit will return."

Betty shares her grilled chicken from her plate.

The Zagary household is warm. Tears well up in Eleana's eyes again.

When she tells them that she met her father by chance but he didn't recognize her, they get angry on her behalf, saying, "How could a parent forget their child's face!"

"Well, I've been in an orphanage since birth. I don't know what my parents look like, and I never dreamed of a family. Expectations make you sad. Ellie, love has nothing to do with blood ties."

Betty grew up in a border orphanage. She was picked up by Zagary, who happened to be passing through the border, and got her current job as a maid. Perhaps because of this, Betty doesn't care much about people or places. She remains unfazed even after breaking up with a lover, saying, "It just wasn't meant to be."

Eleana finds solace in her.

(I wonder if this is what it's like to have a sister.)

Thinking back, she has never had a proper conversation with her half-sister, who is two years younger. She feels they were intentionally kept apart by her stepmother, and she moved to a separate house soon after her father left.

Although she couldn't become a family with them, there are people like Betty and Aunt Eva who treat her like family. Eleana decides to stop being bound by the Barley family, as Betty says.

When her mind is clear, the next steps become apparent. Eleana is quick to change her mindset. She couldn't have survived in that separate house of the count's residence if she dwelled on things.

"Hey, Liam, which country do you think is best—east, west, south, or north?"

After a long bath, Eleana dries her hair with a towel and asks Liam.

The west is still in turmoil after the war, the south is warm and relaxing, and the north is cold, but she wants to see the snow.

As she ponders, Liam, in his young adult form, grins.

"You're really carefree, aren't you?"

Several foreign language books are thrust into her hands.

"What's this!?"

Eleana is exasperated, knowing that Liam's strict education is starting again.