CH 9

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you ask me anything?”

It was strange. He must be curious about the reason she came to her mother’s house with a lot of effort to follow the grandfather she had never seen before. Seeing that her clothes have been changed, the scars on her right arm must have been revealed. In addition, in reality, she was hanged, but in the eyes of others, the great magician kidnapped a child and brought it there. And that child was Eldeer’s only heir.

Conflict with the Duke of Eldeer was natural, and it was a serious problem that could escalate into a territory war if done wrong. So there must be a lot of things he needed to know to figure out the situation. Naturally, as soon as she woke up, she assumed that he would ask her about her situation.

‘He lept me stay as long as I wanted without asking anything. This is too… It’s bad.’

The Marquis looked back at Ariadne. He looked at her small hands gripping her blanket and said in a very soft voice.

“Dearie, you are very tired and you need to rest. There is no need to bring up the hard memories already. Tell me when you want to talk. I can wait as long as you want.”

Until the Marquis left the room, Ariadne couldn’t say anything. The calculations she had piled up in her head were disorganized. How could it be so easy?

‘In the novel, the Archmage and the Marquis Weaver were obviously indifferent.’

The only thing that has changed from the novel is that he hung on to be taken. There was nothing else she did different. Was it possible to change so easily with just that? Because it’s family? Because they were blood related?

‘For just that reason, you’re doing me a favor without asking for anything in return?’

In her previous life she had no parents. It was her grandmother who raised her. But her grandmother didn’t like her very much. There were several times when she tried to abandon her little one in the bazaar or in the main street. Each time she clung to the hem of her grandmother’s skirt. Thanks to her having memorized the address in advance, she was taken back to her house by the police. She thought that she would not be abandoned if she was helpful somehow, so she did her chores without being asked to do them. Her grandmother, seeing her like that, said that her child was not like a child and that she was gross because she was clever. She was the one who got angry at the child for studying and asking where she was going to be used. She begged, begged, and won a full scholarship to go to college. Then, not long after, her grandmother collapsed. She paid for her grandmother’s hospital bills by tutoring, working her part-time job, and reducing her food bills. She took a leave of absence from school and, when not working, kept her grandmother’s bed. No matter how hard she tried, her grandmother never said a nice word to her until she passed away.

<Didn’t I raise you who was abandoned by your parents? But can you do only this? Shouldn’t you pay me for feeding and clothing you?>

<What an ungrateful girl. Because you’re such a kid, your parents abandoned you too. I would have been healthy if I hadn’t raised you, but it hurts because I worked hard to raise you. Oh my, oh my.>

She died after saying that all along. She had never been told that she was loved, even in empty words. There were few mourners at her grandmother’s funeral home. No one who shared their blood came, only a few of those who did not share blood came to visit.

The only ones who cried with her were those who did not share a drop of her blood. So she didn’t believe in blood ties. Even in her present life, her father did not love her even though he was her biological father. Although his words clattered that he loved her.

Her family’s affection was an illusion. Because they were family, they would love you unconditionally. That was a vain belief.

So the changeback didn’t make sense. If that was the case with their own children or granddaughters, what kind of affection would they feel for a niece or nephew they saw for the first time?

‘It’s just that I look pitiful, so they are kind.’

She was a poor abused child. If her alter-ego saw her scars and realized that, she would sympathize with her too, so she somehow understood their behavior.

‘It’s okay if you’re giving me sympathy. No, I’m rather grateful.’

She would be relieved if she was being sympathized with. Because it means she was safe for the time being.

‘But their sympathy alone won’t last long. The Duke won’t let me go easily.’

Their pity was a cheap feeling. It arises easily and disappears easily. When a person had no room in their heart, the conscience was the first thing to be discarded. Conscience was heavy, and sympathy cheap.

‘If the friction with Eldeer intensifies, the Marquis will probably give up on me.’

Elixir cannot be completed with other test subjects. Because of this, the Duke couldn’t give up on her.

‘Ariadne Eldeer’ was a genius in the original work, certified spiritualist, with many modifiers such as unprecedented, strongest in history, and bestowed by God.

‘In the novel, though, she died without ever becoming a spiritualist.’

Originally, the age to start spiritism was around 16 to 18 years old. In principle, it was impossible for children younger than that to use elemental magic. Attempting spiritism as a child was close to committing suicide. Therefore, Ariadne, who died at the age of 16 in the original work, had never used spiritism herself. 

Instead of her, the item made of her as a material, Glamus, proved her natural talent. Formulated with the original talent of Ariadne. All of her numerous compliments were directed towards the item. Sentences that explain how useful, rare, and amazing the item that the main character, Axel, had was. At the same time, such sentences emphasized the ability of the main character to handle such items well.

‘Anyway, it means my talent is real.’

To manage to absorb the unfinished elixir, to instinctively use what was absorbed to drive out the pollution, if it wasn’t Ariadne’s level, it was impossible. Other test subjects couldn’t survive the incomplete elixir, let alone contamination.

‘Maybe at first he will look for a test subject that can replace me. Then he’ll realize it’s useless and try to get me back somehow.’

The Margrave who was only a sympathizer and a Duke who would risk fighting the territory to get back the unique test subject. Even the Archmage would have been a light sympathizer, so it was a battle in which the Duke had no choice but to win.

‘I have to close the deal before sympathy cools down.’

It should be better to keep her, but they would not abandon her. At least Ariadne thought so. He said not to worry about anything? Did he want her to believe that ‘her maternal uncle’ would protect her so that no one could hurt her? That was easy to say, even the Duke could speak kindly.

<Your dad will do something dangerous for you.>

<Dad loves you very much>

Her father had said so, stroking her cheek and injecting her with saline water.

‘I can not believe it. I can’t believe it.’

Ariadne forcibly shook off the warmth left by the bartender patting her. That was a novel in which the main character was often betrayed. In the end, even the ability to return betrayed the main character.

‘I have to be cold to survive in a place like this.’

If you didn’t expect it, you wouldn’t get hurt.

She made up her mind. Then, even though she was covered with a blanket in a warm room, she felt strangely cold. She pulled the blanket over herself. As if running away with her eyes closed, she called her name.

“Pi.”

The darkness inside her closed eyes erased and she saw a familiar landscape. A glass room, a golden bookshelf, and a white-haired kid sitting in front of it looking at an open book the size of his body.

“Aria!”

The little boy looked at her with her big smile. Putting down the book he was looking at, he ran over to her and hugged her back.

“Come on!”

This child at first just copied her words, and while he didn’t know what a name was, he was able to read books. The fact that he was able to say what he wanted to say so quickly seemed to be thanks to his self-learning by reading the books in the library.

“Impressive, waiting, looking forward to learning, longing…”

She didn’t know if it’s just a side effect of such learning, or if it’s because he was not a human but a library spirit, but he had a strange habit of listing words rather than speaking properly.

“Welcome, joy, nice to meet you, greetings…”

The more his heart rushed, the worse this habit would become. Pi poured out the words in an excited tone. Ariadne hugged the little boy with her open arms. There was no need to be nervous or doubtful in this fantasy.

“You waited a long time? It’s been a while, are you happy?”

“Uh”

With his big nod, Pi clung to her and studied her complexion.

“Pain? It’s tough? An experiment today?”

“No, I didn’t come today because I was sick.”

Whenever she was in pain, she ran away there, and she seemed to know that this time too. The little boy’s face lit up as she shook her head.

“Aria, it doesn’t hurt. Glad, happy, relieved. Good mood.”

Lovely and pure favor. She smiled comfortably.

“Thank you.”

When she laughed, Pi laughed too. Ariadne stroked the little boy’s hair and said.

“Do you have the things I entrusted to you before?”

“Bright yellow, dark red, in storage. Safety. Need?”

“Yes, bring it.”

Pi ran to the bookshelf, and she returned with small glass jars placed between the books. It was a bottle containing an unfinished elixir and a bottle with a magic circle drawn on it. The things she secretly stole from the study room. It was by accident that she discovered that things could be stored in the Illusion Library.

While she was eating, she suddenly had aftereffects, and after struggling and calling Pi, she came to the fantasy library, and the spoon she was holding moved with it. She left the spoon on her bookshelf, and in reality the spoon was gone. After that, she experimented with several methods, and she came to the conclusion. The fantasy library was more useful than she expected.

She could get into the Illusion Library by herself, but calling Pi made it a little easier for her to move around. She felt as if Pi would respond when his name was called.

When Pi helped out, she took what’s in her hand and it was possible to get in. All she had to do was take it in her hand and return to reality.

‘Looking at this, Pi must be a spirit born in the illusion library.’