【After returning with your new identity, whether he truly loves you or not—perhaps, you can finally find the real answer to that question.】
Selis’ words echoed in Aixi’s mind, her heart pounding faster, as a long-suppressed yearning surged up from deep within, impossible to restrain.
Did her father… truly love her?
This question had arisen countless times when she was a child, yet, without exception, every answer left her bitterly disappointed.
So, gradually, she buried those doubts in the deepest part of her heart, and arrived at a cold, cruel conclusion—her father did not love her at all.
But this time, after so many years away, returning to the Manor, her heart wavered once more.
Yet… there was no one left to give her the answer.
Her gaze dimmed, and the heat in her chest slowly turned to ice.
Biting her lip, she stared in a daze at the kite hanging on the wall.
“By the way, I heard your father, Owen, had a Collection Room?”
“Collection Room?”
Aixi remembered.
Her father did indeed have a Collection Room, where he kept his greatest masterpieces.
She used to pass by that room before she turned seven, and was always stunned by the dazzling array of Magic Equipment.
But after it was discovered that she possessed no Magic Talent, she never went inside again.
It became a place of heartbreak for her.
But now, things were different.
She had discovered her own talents, and understood that Magic wasn’t the only thing in this world.
No matter how many Magic Equipment there were, they could no longer shake her.
“Come on, I’ll take you there!”
Holding Selis’s hand, Aixi led her to the third floor of the Villa.
Owen’s Collection Room was in a corner of the third floor, its door protected by a barrier of Magic.
Aside from Owen himself, only the Butler and Aixi could open it.
“The treasures in here could astound the entire Empire. Every Magic Equipment here is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, never for sale. I heard the Empire’s royal family even tried to negotiate a price, but my father refused them all.”
“I just don’t know what will happen to all these treasures now that my father is gone.”
Reaching out, her hand resting on the cold doorknob, Aixi slowly opened the door.
Sunlight streamed in through the glass, illuminating her eyes, but what she saw was entirely different from what she’d imagined.
There was no dazzling display of Magic Equipment in the Collection Room—only a desk placed in the center.
Aixi froze, then walked toward the desk, where she saw a family photo displayed on top.
With trembling hands, she picked up the family photo.
In the photo, a pale yet smiling man stood on the left, a blissful woman in a lacy dress on the right, and in the middle, a golden-haired girl of four or five.
That girl was Aixi, and the man and woman were her parents.
Why? Why was the only thing in the Collection Room their family photo?
Putting down the picture, Aixi noticed another object on the desk—a beautifully crafted wooden box.
She opened the wooden box carefully, discovering inside an exquisitely beautiful Longsword emanating a faint aura of magic.
The Longsword was not thick; one glance told her it was made for a lady.
Not only that, on the blade near the hilt, Aixi noticed an Inscription—For my dearest daughter, Aixi Phillips.
This was a gift her father had left for her?!
“Why…”
Her voice suddenly grew hoarse.
She knew. She knew very well. Her father didn’t love her.
A man who revered magic above all else despised the Longsword, which only poor knights would use.
So how could he have personally forged a Longsword for her?
It was absurd—so absurd it felt like a joke.
Yet the icy touch of the sword in her fingers was so real.
Each stroke of the Inscription bore a conviction that could not be doubted.
A thought she’d long buried herself broke through her defenses and surged out once more…
Could it be… he truly loved her?
Had he always, always loved her?
This thought brought not joy, but a tidal wave of confusion and pain: shock, grievance, elation, regret……
Countless emotions crashed over her, swallowing her whole.
All she could do was clutch the Longsword tightly as tears blurred her vision.
At that moment, the Butler approached from behind and said,
“Master Owen always loved you, Young Miss. After Madam passed away, he simply didn’t know how to show his love, so he appeared distant.”
“…Liar!” Aixi suddenly looked up, tears in her eyes, and protested, “If he really loved me, why didn’t he ever comfort me when I was hurt?”
“Because Master Owen… wanted you to grow up strong, as soon as possible.”
With a faint cough, the Butler’s voice was weighted with years of hardship.
“When he was young, Master Owen served the Empire and suffered many grievous wounds, which left him with a lingering illness. After Madam passed, he knew his own days were numbered, so he wished for you to grow up quickly.”
He sighed.
“Everything you endured, he saw and felt keenly. You may blame him for being cold-hearted, but please, do not truly resent him.”
“When you were seven, the reason he immersed himself in Magic research day and night was to forge the very Longsword in your hands before he passed away.”
“This Longsword holds Master Owen’s lifelong devotion. In the entire Empire, only legendary Artifacts can compare to it. Master Owen left it unnamed, because he wanted you—his only daughter—to give it its true name.”
The Butler’s voice grew heavier and heavier, each word striking Aixi’s already overwhelmed heart like a hammer:
“And, Young Miss, before he left, Master Owen asked me to pass on one message—”
“You are his greatest and most proud Masterpiece in this life.”
The Butler’s words were like a heavy blow, completely shattering the ice in Aixi’s heart that was called “my father doesn’t love me.”
Yet the shards pierced her soul, making her weep so hard she could barely breathe.
It turned out the indifference she had felt was his hope for her to grow up quickly.
The recognition she’d longed for had already been prepared for her, embodied in the forging of this Longsword.
Her father had always loved her. She had never been abandoned by him…
Kneeling before the desk, she could hold back no longer, clutching the Longsword as she sobbed.
Selis didn’t disturb her.
She turned away and, together with the Butler, left the Collection Room, leaving this moment of peace and release for her alone.
Reaching the first-floor Garden, watching the flowers in full bloom, tears slid down the Butler’s wrinkled cheeks.
He took out a Handkerchief to wipe them away, apologizing softly:
“Forgive me, Saintess, in old age, one’s heart grows much softer…”
“It’s alright, I can pretend I didn’t see anything.”
The Saintess’s playful tone made the Butler chuckle, easing the tension he felt facing such an important person.
Looking at the moon, he moved his lips, thanking her:
“Master Owen loved his daughter too subtly, too clumsily. It’s all thanks to you. If you hadn’t devised this plan, perhaps Aixi would never have learned how deeply Master Owen loved her…”