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Chapter 9
The moment Julia finished speaking, a light knock was heard.
At the same time, both Julia and Sylvia turned toward the door.
“The Duke of Werner has arrived.”
A maid announced the duke’s arrival from outside the room.
The two women stood up, and soon the Duke of Werner entered.
“Julia, Vivian! You were already here. Did you sleep well?”
The duke asked in a delighted voice.
“Father, you’re here?”
“Good morning, Duke. Thanks to your concern, I slept very well.”
Only after the Duke of Werner sat down did Julia and Sylvia return to their seats.
The meal immediately began.
Just like yesterday, the head chef came out personally and explained in detail where the ingredients had been obtained and how each dish had been prepared.
While Sylvia was listening carefully to the chef, Julia suddenly spoke.
“But Father, you don’t look very well.”
Julia examined the Duke of Werner’s face as she spoke.
He should have been overjoyed after finally finding his daughter Vivian, yet his face looked filled with worry.
The duke forced himself to smile reassuringly at Julia before slowly speaking.
“Actually, a letter arrived from His Majesty the Emperor this morning.”
“From His Majesty? Is it perhaps because of Vivian?”
As if she already had some idea, Julia lowered her voice while asking.
After a brief silence, the Duke of Werner nodded.
“Yes. Somehow, His Majesty has already heard that Vivian has returned. He says he wishes to meet her tomorrow.”
“But how could he possibly know already? Vivian only returned less than a day ago. We did make quite a scene visiting the café yesterday, but there was nothing that should have revealed our purpose… Unless perhaps the café manager—”
“No, I don’t think it was him.”
Sylvia listened anxiously to the conversation between Julia and the Duke of Werner.
“No matter how he learned about it, it’s only natural that His Majesty would want to see Vivian. After all, Vivian is the prophesied Saint of Water.”
Both the duke’s and Julia’s eyes turned toward Sylvia.
Instinctively, Sylvia bit her lower lip.
The Emperor wished to meet Vivian Werner, the prophesied Saint of Water.
Those words from the Duke of Werner made Sylvia uneasy.
She understood exactly what they implied.
Ever since the disappearance of Vivian, the Saint of Water, the Empire had suffered through a long drought.
Julia had been carrying out Vivian’s role in her place, but Julia’s power alone was not enough to bring rain across the vast Empire.
That was why the people desperately hoped either for Vivian’s safe return or for someone capable of replacing her.
Under such circumstances, it was only natural that the Emperor would welcome Vivian Werner’s return.
Because Sylvia understood this so clearly, she could not calm her anxiety.
To begin with, it was still uncertain whether she truly was Vivian.
So she questioned whether it was really alright for her to meet the Emperor.
“Do I really have to meet His Majesty?”
Hoping there might be some way to refuse, Sylvia carefully asked.
The Duke of Werner shook his head with a troubled expression.
“When His Majesty summons someone, it is difficult to refuse unless there is a very special reason.”
His voice grew noticeably heavier with concern as he added those words.
“I understand. But I don’t know anything. I can’t even use the power of water… Is it really alright for someone like me to stand before His Majesty?”
Understanding Sylvia’s worries, the duke smiled gently as if trying to reassure her.
Since he already fully believed Sylvia was Vivian, he did not seem particularly concerned about the matter.
“Still, regardless of anything else, you will be meeting His Majesty tomorrow, so I think you should begin studying etiquette immediately. I plan to assign you an etiquette teacher starting today. Would that be alright?”
“Yes, that’s perfectly fine with me.”
In fact, this was exactly what Sylvia had wanted.
Since she did not know how long she would remain in the estate, learning as quickly as possible would benefit her as well.
“Good. Thank you for agreeing.”
Even after breakfast began, Sylvia could not enjoy the meal comfortably like yesterday.
She was already worried about what would happen tomorrow.
* * *
After breakfast, Sylvia became busy in many ways.
“Like this?”
“You learn very quickly. Excellent. Then let’s move on to the next lesson.”
The person temporarily assigned to teach Sylvia etiquette was Mrs. Barein, the head maid of the Werner Ducal Family.
Normally, a separate tutor would have been hired for noble education, but because the schedule was so rushed, Mrs. Barein had stepped in instead.
And Julia’s role was to supervise the lessons.
That did not mean Julia directly interfered with Sylvia’s education.
Rather, she quietly observed Sylvia’s lessons nearby and occasionally offered verbal guidance.
“Lady Julia.”
While following Mrs. Barein’s instructions, Sylvia carefully called out to Julia.
“What is it?”
The short reply perfectly reflected Julia’s personality.
“Is there anything I should be especially careful about when meeting His Majesty the Emperor?”
Julia lowered her gaze as if considering the question.
When no answer came immediately, Sylvia nervously looked back toward her.
“There is one thing.”
“Could you tell me what it is?”
Julia nodded once before continuing.
“Do not mention the late Empress.”
“That’s all?”
To begin with, Sylvia had no intention of bringing up the Empress before the Emperor.
She would already be lucky if she managed not to tremble from nervousness in front of him. She had no spare energy to discuss other topics.
“Yes.”
Julia’s simple answer secretly relieved Sylvia.
At least the Emperor did not seem like an excessively difficult person.
After letting out a long breath, Sylvia suddenly remembered something else.
She briefly asked Mrs. Barein for permission before turning fully toward Julia.
“Come to think of it, Lady Julia, yesterday you said that once we go to the temple, we’ll know whether I can truly use the power of water, right?”
Instead of answering verbally, Julia nodded.
“Do you know when we’ll be going to the temple?”
“Originally, I wanted to go today and confirm it immediately. But because our schedule became like this, we’ll go the day after tomorrow.”
Sylvia repeated the schedule silently in her mind.
An entire day of etiquette lessons today.
Meeting the Emperor tomorrow.
And then visiting the temple the day after that.
She had always known they would eventually have to test her power over water, but everything was happening much sooner than she expected.
“Are you anxious?”
At Julia’s question, Sylvia awkwardly nodded.
“Yes… I am.”
“You’re afraid that you might not be Vivian?”
“……”
Julia’s words struck directly at the center of Sylvia’s fears, leaving her speechless.
Unable to look Julia directly in the eyes, Sylvia lowered her gaze.
Julia let out a small sigh before continuing.
“Do you remember when I first met you yesterday and held your hand while sending my power into you?”
“Yes, I remember.”
Sylvia could never forget that strange sensation.
The cold and refreshing energy flowing through her hand.
It had been the first time she ever experienced something so mysterious.
At the time, it had startled her greatly, but thinking back on it now, it had not actually felt unpleasant.
Rather, it had felt cool and refreshing, like being submerged in cold water.
“What we do at the temple won’t be much different from that. And I already confirmed whether the power of water exists inside you.”
“Then…”
Sylvia recalled the conversation they had shared back at the café.
Julia had definitely said back then that she sensed the power of water within Sylvia.
While Sylvia hesitated after momentarily forgetting that fact, Julia crossed her arms and continued speaking.
“For whatever reason, your power isn’t active right now. But that doesn’t mean you have no ability.”
As Sylvia let out a relieved breath, Julia gave a faint smile.
“Even if you are not Vivian, as long as you can use the power of water, we would never abandon you. So you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Sylvia sincerely thanked Julia.
Julia smiled faintly as though it were nothing important, then quietly turned her gaze away once more.
