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Chapter 47.
The old woman I’d brought before had agreed to take care of the baby.
I carried the child myself to the annex where she was staying.
“Please take good care of her, grandmother.”
“…You’re quite a peculiar young lady.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. You’re a noblewoman, yet you speak politely even to a commoner like me—and you even took in a poor orphan.”
The old woman seemed genuinely pleased to take the baby.
“Well then, since I owe you for this kindness, do you have any worries lately? I’m quite good at giving advice, you know.”
Normally, I would’ve laughed and said I had no such thing before leaving immediately.
But perhaps because finding an abandoned infant had shaken me, a single sentence slipped out.
“Other people worry about how to live—but I don’t understand why I’m the only one who has to worry about dying.”
“That’s because this world isn’t equal for everyone. To some, it’s merciful—but to others, it’s cruel.”
Was she comparing the easy life of a noble like me to her own hard life as a commoner?
Even if she was, her words rang true.
“But even in such a world, there are cracks. If you keep knocking, they’ll break.”
Her tone carried surprising strength as she looked straight into my eyes.
“So don’t waver. Don’t give up. Keep going. The path you’re walking is the right one.”
She couldn’t have known my circumstances, yet strangely, her words brought comfort.
Perhaps because she was someone outside my weary story—it was easier to accept her words.
If the crown prince or Merina had said such things, I’d have thought it a trap to make a fool of me.
“When a single screw comes loose, everything will change.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, just an old memory. Hehe. Anyway, what’s the baby’s name?”
“Her name?”
The old woman nodded, urging me to name the child.
First the silver fox, and now a newborn baby—naming things wasn’t easy.
Nothing came to mind, so I gazed at the baby’s bright little face.
Her downy hair was soft as cotton, and her brown eyes seemed full of goodness.
The fact that she happened to be lying along the path I took after picking apples, and that I ended up bringing her here—was it fate?
“Nidana…”
“Nidana?”
“Yes. It’s a word from the East—it means connection, or fate.”
“Fate, huh? That’s a lovely name.”
The old woman smiled, clearly pleased.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m Rosia Levian. May I ask your name, grandmother?”
“Me?”
The old woman burst into hearty laughter as if she’d just heard a very amusing story.
After laughing for quite a while, she adjusted the baby in her arms and answered.
“Long ago, I was called Clotho. Clotho, the spinner of threads. But there aren’t many left who remember that name anymore.”
“Then I’ll remember it, so don’t worry.”
Though I wasn’t sure for how long.
“Well, that’s kind of you. Do remember it. You’ll find it useful someday.”
“Then please rest well. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Leaving behind her curious words, I departed from the annex.
“Did you hear that, Lachesis? Or should I say, Nidana?”
Left alone with the baby, the old woman spoke as if she had known her all along.
“I never thought you would come ‘outside’ too. And in the form of a baby, no less.”
“To catch that girl’s attention, I had no choice but to take this form.”
The baby’s small lips moved coldly—she clearly knew the old woman as well.
“Hmph. You laughed at me when I said I was leaving Delphi, yet now you’re here just to get Rosia’s attention?”
“But Clotho, among all the humans I’ve seen born under the dawn, she’s the fifth one who hasn’t given up—and the first in this world.”
The baby’s eyes drifted toward the air, filled with a faraway light.
“I didn’t expect her to endure all the way to the 49th cycle. Usually they go mad long before that.”
“That’s true. When you’re forced to relive a life you never wanted, most just give up.
But that girl—she’s trying to change it with her own will.”
The old woman chuckled softly.
“And I’ve always liked that sort of human.”
“No wonder you were giving her all those hints.”
The baby muttered irritably.
“There are cracks even in this world—if you keep knocking, they’ll break.”
“So don’t waver. Don’t give up. The path you’re walking is the right one.”
Those few simple words were the very clues Rosia needed to escape the fate that bound her.
“You even made sure she wouldn’t doubt you—spoke as if you were the ‘voice of god,’ didn’t you?”
“She’s pitiful, isn’t she? To die so cruelly over and over again. Helping her that much seemed fair.”
The baby pursed her lips and sighed, half exasperated.
“So that means only Atropos remains in Delphi?”
“Yes. The ill-tempered sister is all that’s left.
Once she meets Atropos, that girl who refuses to surrender will finally reach the end.”
“But Atropos isn’t easy to deal with. She won’t let things end so simply. What should we do?”
At Clotho’s murmur, the baby’s expression turned pitying—as if for Rosia, though she wasn’t even there.
Of the three goddesses of fate—who create worlds by the thousands and weave every mortal’s destiny—the youngest, Atropos, was the most spiteful.
Four before Rosia had found the center of the world and stood upon it.
But two had been deceived by Atropos’s final trial, unable to break free from their endless cycle.
They still wandered mad, reliving their lives again and again.
“Even if she reaches the finish line, Atropos will surely test her cruelly… and then that child might give up her dream.”
“That would be her fate—just like your new name, Nidana.”
Clotho’s calm answer made Lachesis frown.
Ordinarily, when Lachesis scowled, it was terrifying.
But as a baby, her scowl only looked amusing.
“Honestly, it’s not even her fault she ended up with such a fate. Can’t we skip the trial this time?”
“I told her the same thing. But Atropos didn’t listen.”
“She probably just brushed you off.”
“You know me too well, little sister.”
She’d said she liked humans who defied fate, but clearly, Clotho had only come out because she was bored.
“Good grief…”
The baby shook her tiny head in resignation.
“Here, please sign here.”
Across from me, the jewelers each picked up their pens at Count Stein’s words.
They were the artisans introduced by Count Stein to cut and polish the blue and red diamonds discovered in the Levian estate.
“Would you like to rest today and depart tomorrow, or will you head to the estate right away?”
When the count asked, they replied that they would leave immediately.
They could speak the Imperial tongue, but apparently, their customs forbade them from speaking directly to a noble lady.
So Count Stein conveyed everything between us.
Before they departed, I also made sure a message was sent to replace the maidservant accompanying the knights with a male attendant.
“Now that the jewelers are off, shall we take a little break?”
“That sounds nice.”
Our dealings with the Eastern jewelers had gone smoothly; both the count and I were satisfied with the results.
“I look forward to working with you, Lady Levian.”
“And I with you.”
Having become business partners, the count and I shared a relaxed smile.
“Ugh, look at you two smiling while I’m suffocating over here.”
Stella, attending as her family’s representative, grumbled.
She had come to meet the Eastern artisans to discuss her own family’s pearl work.
The jewelers had already gone down to the family workshop, and now Stella, Count Stein, and I gathered in the rear garden.
With the warm spring sunlight and such comfortable company, I finally felt a rare sense of peace.
“By the way, have you heard, Roa?”
After finishing a bunch of grapes, Stella’s eyes gleamed as she spoke.
“Merina Ikel has been banned from entering the imperial palace.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard of such a thing, so I asked calmly:
“An order from His Majesty?”
“No, from the crown prince.”
I had just taken a sip of tea—and nearly choked on it.
