🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 21~
But I was an exile, forbidden from entering the territory.
We had a plan. I hid myself inside a box on the supply wagon, and Keia showed the soldiers at the gate a delivery order and merchant association registration before going inside.
It was a secret infiltration mission.
Because we’d already delivered goods to the marquis’s house before, we got through easily.
“Ah, I guess there are a lot of orders because so many nobles and relatives have gathered here.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Hiding in the box, I listened to their conversation. The Belmour family had gathered? Was it because of the disasters? When we came in, I saw the estate didn’t look good. The usually noisy market was quiet, the people looked poor, and skinny children were on the streets. I heard the current disaster was a drought.
Because of one disaster after another, money wasn’t flowing and the economy was stuck. Taxes went up, and everyone became poorer.
“I want to see the marquis. We’re supposed to talk about mercenary support.”
Keia spoke in a serious voice. Since Keia was a mercenary, the marquis probably called him for help. There wasn’t enough money to hire knights or mages from other regions. The Belmour estate’s Spirit Castle was large, but they couldn’t get enough water spirits or water mages to fix the drought.
Suddenly, the box I was hiding in was picked up and carried somewhere. I peeked through the crack and saw Edell on the supply wagon, waving at me.
After a while, I heard a door open, and
Thud!
Keia set the box down. Through the gap, I saw it was the marquis’s office.
Could this really work—delivering an exile straight to the marquis’s office?
“And what is in that box?”
It was the marquis’s familiar cold voice. My heart dropped.
“Ciella, you can come out now.”
Keia called me gently, as if to reassure me.
Now? Suddenly? I wasn’t ready. I tried to hide my nerves as I stuck my head out.
The marquis looked just as shocked as I was. He glared at me and pointed.
“Are you out of your mind? How could you bring a cursed exile into Spirit Castle?”
“Why am I cursed, uncle?”
I climbed out of the box and answered calmly.
“You’re the one who did something wrong. Not me and not my mother.”
“What are you saying? Get out of my land right now!”
Was it really necessary to reject me so harshly, just because I didn’t look like the others or didn’t have powers?
“No, I won’t.”
Even with his angry order, I stood my ground. He pulled the bell cord—probably to call the guards and throw me out.
“I awakened as a spiritist.”
I raised my voice, speaking clearly. The marquis’s face froze.
I quickly continued:
“I didn’t come here to be accepted as your daughter or to live with the family. Everything was perfect without me, right? I just want to stop being an exile. And I want you to honestly apologize to me and my late mother.”
He didn’t answer, just stared.
“That’s all. Then we can live our own lives. I don’t want your help or support.”
“What trick are you playing? Are you trying to deceive me with magic, just like your mother did? If you know what’s good for you, leave now.”
It felt like talking to a wall. Worse, the guards came in, swords pointed at me.
“Marquis, there’s no need to point swords at someone who isn’t armed.”
Keia gave the guards a cold look, and they hesitated and stepped back.
“Even so, how could you bring this filthy exile in front of me…?”
Before he finished, someone rushed in and grabbed my shoulder.
“Marciela? Honeybee, is that you?”
“Uncle Alec?”
It was my uncle, Count Alec Noyer, who used to call me “honeybee” and dote on me when I was little.
“You look like you’ve been through a lot, but I’m glad you’re safe.”
He was away at war when I was exiled, so we hadn’t met in years. If he’d been here then, would he have helped me? Maybe I didn’t try to find him because I thought everyone abandoned me.
“…Yes.”
I couldn’t hide my hurt feelings and answered with a sigh.
“You’re here because you awakened as a spiritist, right?”
“Yes.”
“I knew it. My brother was mistaken after all.”
The marquis’s face grew even more sour.
“Alec, nothing is certain yet. It’s not impossible to fake being a spiritist by working with a black mage in Udes. If I don’t send her away, the angry Spirit King could bring disaster.”
“Brother, that’s not a sure thing either. Besides, the light of Arnes’s figure means a new candidate for the Spirit King’s follower has appeared—”
“Stop, Alec. Don’t talk about such things for an unclean outcast.”
The marquis cut him off. Why was Uncle Alec taking my side now? The “figure of Arnes” responded when the Spirit King chose a new head of the family. Was he expecting something from me? But if he found out my spirits were low-level, he might change, too.
“I’m not asking for anything else, Uncle. Just restore my status. You can check my power in front of Arnes’s figure. If I’m lying, the Spirit King will punish me.”
I repeated my request.
Even if my spirits were weak, they still chose me when I had nothing. That was enough for me.
Honestly, it was more embarrassing to have a family who insulted and ignored me. Keia wasn’t looking at me with pity or sadness, just staring ahead like a knight. That actually made me feel calmer. I just wanted to finish quickly and leave.
I was about to call Dusik and Kkami to show them, but Uncle Alec stepped up again.
“Brother, today is the test for the children’s spirit powers and the Spirit King’s ceremony, right? As lord of Spirit Castle, please give Marciela a chance to prove herself.”
So that’s why all the relatives were here—because of changes with Arnes’s figure. It probably had nothing to do with me.
Keia finally spoke.
“I didn’t expect the marquis to be so stubborn and short-sighted. It’s disappointing. Maybe we should call off all our future deals and mercenary contracts.”
Now the marquis looked uncertain.
“You’ve become a fickle merchant. Are you just making excuses to raise your price?”
“If you show openness and fairness, we can talk again.”
The marquis’s forehead pulsed with anger, but he didn’t scold Keia. Maybe the estate’s troubles were worse than I thought—or Keia knew some secrets.
I quickly remembered everything I’d learned while living at Spirit Castle and from Grandpa Jean de Pantsu.
“I heard not just the family, but also important nobles are here today.”
I looked the marquis straight in the eye.
“I know a lot. You know people don’t really care about the truth behind rumors, right?”
I knew about the drop in spirit stone mining, the drought, and the water being polluted by magic. The marquis’s eyebrow twitched, but he didn’t want to cause trouble.
“Fine. We’ll check if you really awakened as a spiritist.”
It was the day the nobles who lent money to the estate were visiting. If I ruined the event, things would get messy for the marquis.
“But if you’re lying—”
He glared at me.
“If you worked with a black mage to trick me, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison.”
Prison? This was too much—I was tired of all these threats and arguments.
“If it turns out I’m telling the truth, what will you do for me? Whoever’s wrong should get punished or pay compensation, right?”
He scowled and waved his hand at me, telling me to leave.
At least I won the argument, right?
“Marciela.”
Uncle Alec took my hand and smiled kindly.
“See you later. I’m sorry I didn’t take care of you because I was always away at war.”
When he apologized first, I felt both touched and a little strange.
