Chapter 30

“Is this all you want to do with my authority?”

Aria nodded her head.

He thought she would regret it even a little bit, but she looked like she had no regrets at all.

“Haa..”

She’s not interested in anything like that, let alone taking a share of the authority she’s been given.

Rather, she was using it to help someone who has nothing to do with her.

It only made the impression that she didn’t fit in at all with Valentine.

‘You don’t seem interested in money, fame, or power.’

The most difficult thing to deal with in this world was a human being who could not move with money, honor, and power.

Because he doesn’t know what they want.

‘Let’s try to push what the alternative purpose is.’

But she’s already done it.

Aria only said nonsense saying that ‘being patted felt good’.

Still, it felt strangely incompatible to be just a little child who just wanted to be loved.

No wonder he didn’t feel good. He didn’t know exactly what it was.

The feeling of saving Lloyd from the threat of life several times continued to warn.

He shouldn’t be next to her.

‘As expected, I’ll have to get you out.”

Lloyd made an even more firm resolve.

Knowing that Grand Duke Valentine is aging, that won’t stop him from going out on his own feet.

He looked at Vincent for a moment and said.

“You… we’ll talk next time.”

“Yes, brother.”

Vincent still had no strength in his body, but he smiled as if he was trying hard.

Lloyd sighed for a moment at the sight of the boy, and then he passed by indifferently.

So, only Aria and Vincent were left.

Aria tried to follow Lloyd away, but she stopped her steps as if she had suddenly remembered.

And she rummaged through her old bag.

[I understand. Why did you have to say and act like that.]

Of course, it didn’t seem to be overboard, but Vincent was quite desperate.

In order not to be ignored somehow.

To shake off the shadow of one’s origin that seems to be impossible to escape no matter how hard he tries.

He desperately wanted to show the world that he was a genius.

Wasn’t it some sort of defense mechanism?

[I know you said it in good faith that you listened to my performance and recommended Valentine’s support.]

Because that’s your way of survival.

She swallowed her words.

[I think it’s cute to hear you brag that you’re a genius.. But don’t cross the line. Unless you want to fulfill the myth that geniuses are short-lived.]

“…..”

‘Is this consolation or intimidation?’

Vincent was confused.

Aria patted his head as if petting him.

It was an innocent touch.

He can’t feel even a single drop of affection.

But Vincent stiffened and fiddled with his own hair.

Until she turns her back and walks away.

***

Vincent was silent for a while.

‘Is this a big shock?’

As time passed, Aria had a slightly different thought.

If his mother had been the prey of gutter rats and kept going in and out of the gutter, the Grand Duke would have known someday, no matter how long it took.

‘Then what happened?’

She suddenly wondered.

After Vincent was driven out of his past life, the Grand Duke, who later learned all the truth, found him again.

‘I don’t know right now.’

After Vincent was evicted, she heard that he died miserably in the gutter. He can’t find someone who’s already dead.

That was then.

She suddenly heard a knock on the desk.

Aria slowly raised her head.

“It’s been a while, sister-in-law.”

It was Vincent.

He took a seat in front of Aria, putting down the documents he had brought to the library to study.

This time it wasn’t the law code.

“His Highness and brother took my mother out of the gutter and moved her to a safe place.”

And he suddenly brought this up.

“I think you might be curious.”

Supposedly.

After Aria heard those words, she somehow had a thought.

A few years later, Tristan and Lloyd, who later learned all the truth, must have found Vincent.

Although what they found was a cold corpse.

‘Was this a little, little, a step to prevent the Valentine’s Incident?’

She does not know.

But Aria thought she would keep running while doing everything she could possibly do until then.

“Why did you help me?”

Vincent asked as if waking her from her thoughts.

Aria tilted her head.

And she replied as if he was asking again when she had already told him.

[I said I would protect my person.]

“Am I sister-in-law’s person too?”

[No, you are Lloyd’s younger brother.]

“…”

Her answer was very firm.

Vincent was silent for a moment with a puzzled look, and then he let out a faint smile.

“You mean you helped me because I was brother’s younger brother?”

Aria nodded her head.

She didn’t hesitate for a second.

As if there was only Lloyd in her line.

“Um, is there no chance that I will become sister-in-law’s person?”

[Hmm.]

“Even 1%?”

[Hmm.]

“… even 0.1%?”

The question is persistent.

The boy’s face, who had been hesitating, became hardened.

‘Anyway, I said that I helped you because you were Lloyd’s younger brother, so why are you getting so serious about it?’

Aria sighed and wrote a new card.

[Try that.]

An effort to be 0.1%.

Vincent grumbled about whether he was being discriminated severely against, but then he smirked and laughed.

“I’m confident in trying.”

***

“Therefore….”

Tristan looked down at Aria, who looked up at him with her eyes wide open.

And he looked away.

Standing next to her was Carlin, who continued to stare at her and smirk.

“You said you gave me the relics you brought?”

Then the shaman responded dryly with a soulless voice.

“Yes… because the Miss keeps asking for it…”

Even a passing dog knew that there were no relics in Valentine’s estate.

Because this place isn’t called the Devil’s Land for nothing.

‘So the only conclusion I can come to is that I got it from outside the territory.’

Aria finds out that she has gone all the way to Garcia, so naturally, she blames the relics as Carlin’s.

It was because she heard that his hobby was to disappear from time to time and to travel all over the world.

‘If it’s Carlin, it wouldn’t be strange at all if he was hiding at least one relic he found by chance.’

Thanks to this, Carlin’s situation became very embarrassing.

“Hmm, are you making a fuss?”

Hearing that, his employer seemed very displeased.

“I never said that I needed anything trivial, so you’re the one who makes me buy and donate things first.”

“Is, is that so.”

“But I can’t believe you’re whining. You?”

He doesn’t know why those words sounded like ‘something like you?’

Carlin was at a loss for words for a moment.

Aren’t holy relics enough to whine about?

‘Why are you so jealous of that?’

The shaman unknowingly glanced at Dwayne, the Grand Duke’s assistant.

‘You are already serious.’

He shook his head as if he understood a hundred times.

Carlin changed his words to avoid sparks splattered at him.

“Um, come to think of it, I asked politely rather than make a fuss.”

“Ask politely?”

“…..”

Look at me and tell me what to do!

Tristan seemed unwilling to listen to what Carlin had to say.

Only Aria, who was able to move through this flexibly because of his sacrifice, smiled brightly.

***

“Isn’t this necklace a holy relic?”

Carlin said, carefully examining the necklace Aria held out.

At first glance, the transparent crystal crafted in the shape of water droplets looked just like an

ordinary jewel necklace.

It was an item she obtained as a bonus along with the holy relics when she went to the Holy Empire.

“It is common for holy relics to contain a lot of divine power, but it doesn’t feel any energy. Of course, the Miss knew it.”

Aria nodded her head.

“It seems to be something that sucks life force.”

“Sucks life force?”

“Yes. It’s usually like a magic sword type.”

A magic sword?

Aria was familiar with that notoriety.

It is said that just raising the sword sucks energy to the limit, and ordinary people simply die.

And it also absorbs energy through human blood.

Instead, it is said that the power is enormous as it absorbs a huge amount of energy.

“There are quite a few gems like this necklace. They’re usually called cursed hems, and they kill all the owners.”

“…”

It’s brutal.

Aria stared intently at the necklace in Carlin’s hand.

‘So does it mean that Veronica wore a cursed necklace that killed even its owner?’

TL Note:

So Carlin was previously translated as just ‘Carl’? but I think the name is Carlin, so I’ll be keeping the name ‘Carlin’ from now on 🙂

And since I’m also backreading this as I go, please bear with me if there are slight mistakes~

Thank you for waiting!