TYMFPSA 13

Chapter 13

[The Water Elemental King ‘■■■■’ explains that it is a very special partner.]

Ah, so it means partner!

Now that I finally understood, I moved on to the next part.

Normally, an awakened person can hide their Bijou.

It only appears when they lose control, like when they are emotional. But in truth, there is only one situation where an awakened person loses control outside of battle.

Because of this, the Bijou is considered a secret symbol of love that is only shown to one’s partner.

Allowing someone to touch your Bijou is a great sign of trust and love, and touching it carelessly is very rude.

It is not common, but sometimes when dealing with non-awakened people, they purposely reveal their Bijou to add authority to their words.

“Eeeh, why doesn’t it say what that one situation is?!”

I really want to know when someone loses control!

This book is very unfriendly to children.

I puffed my cheeks.

But this time, the Elemental Kings were quiet too.

Since no one explained it, I had no choice but to move on.

‘I’ll ask Admiral later!’

The Bijou is so beautiful that it can captivate people in an instant.

There are many shapes of jewels. Some of the well-known ones are:

Sun.
Crescent moon.
Star.
Circle.
Diamond.
X.
Question mark.
Upside-down question mark.
Water drop.
Swirl.
Heart.
Clover.
Music note.
Treble clef.

Sometimes, an entire family shares a similar Bijou shape.

In those cases, the color, size, or small details are slightly different.

Since every awakened person has a different Bijou, new shapes may still appear in the future.

‘Then what shape are Admiral’s and Elzen oppa’s Bijou?’

What about me? I also have a Bijou spot.

‘Who is my partner?’

I became so curious that I rolled around and lay down.

[The Water Elemental King ‘■■■■’ whispers that if I grow well, I will find out who my partner is.]

“To grow… how many nights do I have to sleep?”

[The Water Elemental King ‘■■■■’ laughs.]

[About a hundred nights, a hundred times.]

I stretched out my fingers.

I can count to one hundred.

Ten fingers, ten times.

‘But a hundred, a hundred times…?’

That’s too hard.

I held my head, struggled for a bit, and then gave up.

“Then… I might not meet my partner?”

[The Water Elemental King ‘■■■■’ nods.]

“If I don’t meet them… that would be sad…”

I want to meet them.

My destined partner.

I’m really curious what kind of person they are.

“Then… who decides the partner?”

[The ◇◇ Elemental King ‘■■■■■■’ quietly joins in.]

[The Elemental King of Fate decides it together with the manager of causality and the gods.]

Oh, from the way they said that, the ◇◇ Elemental King is not the Elemental King of Fate.

I got a small clue and kept it in my mind.

Then I returned to the book.

In the royal family and the four great duke families, if a Bijou does not appear, sometimes the child is not even treated as their child.

In territory wars, awakened people are very important.

But even if they have many children, not all of them become awakened.

Because of this, some families adopt awakened children.

‘I know this.’

That’s why I became Admiral’s daughter.

Research says that if awakened partners connected by Bijou marry and have a child, the first child will most likely be awakened.

For the second or third child, the chances become lower.

A baby… a baby…

I rubbed my chin seriously.

‘Admiral had three children.’

First, Micard.

Second, Elzen.

Then what about the third?

What is their name?

‘Well, I am the fourth.’

But strangely, no one talked about the third child.

“Rina.”

While thinking, I called Rina, who came in to organize clothes.

“Yes, miss. Do you need something?”

“Yes! Where is the family portrait? You said there is one. Is sister in it too?”

Clatter—thud!

The basket fell from Rina’s hands.

“W-where did you hear that…?!”

Is it something surprising?

I blinked and told the truth.

“I went to the library today and met Elzen oppa. He said there is a family portrait. But I’ve never seen it…”

“Ah…”

Rina looked troubled.

“I’m sorry, miss. I can’t speak freely about it. I can tell you where it is, but…”

“Yes.”

“It’s not forbidden to enter… but the Admiral does not like people going there.”

But I can’t finish my task if I don’t go.

“I want to go. I’m curious about sister.”

“Ah…”

“What is sister’s name?”

Again, a troubled expression.

“That name is considered taboo…”

“I see.”

“I’ll tell you where the portrait is. But you must only look for a short time and come back. Okay?”

Rina sounded very worried.

I also understood a little.

‘Maybe oppa’s mother went far away. And sister too.’

Then the Admiral lost his partner.

‘He must have been very, very sad.’

My teacher taught me—when someone is hurt, you should comfort them.

There are wounds you can see, but also wounds in the heart.

Maybe the Admiral’s heart hurts because he lost his partner.

‘That’s why he doesn’t smile much.’

As I quietly opened my door, I thought—

I wish I could open the door to the Admiral’s heart too.

The Pashayen mansion was long and wide.

Family portraits are usually in the hall of records, but the one I was looking for wasn’t there.

‘Next to the Admiral’s bedroom. In an empty room.’

And this was it.

No one was guarding the door.

It felt like I could enter freely.

“Hello.”

I politely greeted and gently opened the door. A sweet scent came out, and I sniffed.

‘What is this?’

It smells like sweet flowers.

“Wow.”

The room was very bright.

Warm sunlight came through the slightly open window. The soft green couch looked very cozy.

Next to it were flower pots with fresh green leaves.

It felt like someone still lived here.

‘It’s so clean…’

Not a single speck of dust.

There were bouquets everywhere.

‘Lily of the valley, ranunculus, and roses!’

The water in the vase looked fresh, like it had just been changed this morning.

[The Earth Elemental King ‘■’ likes the room.]

[The ◇◇ Elemental King ‘■■■■■■’ points at the table.]

Following that, I walked to the table and widened my eyes.

“A gift?”

It looked like it was for the owner of the room… but why was it unopened?

It still had a ribbon!

Out of curiosity, I slightly lifted the pink ribbon.

Suddenly, a wind blew from somewhere.

“Ah!”

Tap.

A card fell at my feet.

I picked it up and read carefully.

My Owl.

Our 13th wedding anniversary without you.

With unbearable longing,
Egon.

So this was sent from someone named Egon to someone called Owl.

“Egon…? Diegon?”

That’s the Admiral’s name.

“Then all of this…”

Did the Admiral send these to his partner?

[The Flame Elemental King ‘■■■■■’ looks sad.]

[The Earth Elemental King ‘■’ says most death simply returns to the soil.]

[The Water Elemental King ‘■■■■’ says some deaths return to the sea.]

Ignoring their chatter, I counted the gifts one by one.

‘Seven.’

Even though the person who should receive them is gone, the Admiral kept preparing gifts.

‘So this is what a partner is like.’

It felt like I touched something I shouldn’t.

I carefully placed the card back on the table.

And right at that moment