Although I decided to completely destroy Creed Eleonore, my current strength has its limits.
I’m not simply trying to discuss how powerful I am.
To be frank, if I set my mind to it, secretly beheading him wouldn’t be that difficult.
I have no intention of making excuses like, “I can’t kill my loved one’s father with my own hands.”
But that alone is not enough.
If that’s all, Creed Eleonore’s true face would remain hidden from the world, and he would be remembered simply as an unfortunate person who was killed by an assassin without knowing the reason.
That cannot happen.
Of course, it may be a sad thing for Sylvia, but ultimately, the only way to truly free her is to reveal his true nature to the world.
She still believes in her heart that her father hasn’t abandoned her, and to give her true freedom, there is no other way.
However, in the process, someone needs to fill the gap left in the Eleonore family and later take care of her.
As I pondered who might be such a person, a name came to mind.
Primo.
Yes, master! Why did you call?
I immediately called Primo to check.
Fortunately, he responded quickly, as if he had some free time.
Did you see any women in their 40s who appeared to be nobles in the castle?
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone like that. I’ve seen a little girl and some women carrying laundry, though.
The little girl is probably the one Sylvia mentioned as her younger sister, Rene.
The rest would likely be servants.
It seems it’s still hard to find her. After all, she mentioned that she’s usually in bed due to her frail health.
Even if Primo had found her, it probably wouldn’t have meant much.
Ultimately, talking to the person directly would be the best approach.
Of course, I would need to prepare thoroughly before that.
Knock.
While I was deep in thought, I suddenly heard a knock on the door.
Looking at the clock, I realized that lunch time was approaching.
It seemed that Alf had come to deliver a message.
“Is that you, Alf? If it’s about the meal, I’ll have it later, so you can… “
Lord Lyard, it’s me.
“…Princess?”
I absentmindedly replied, assuming it was Alf, but when I heard Sylvia’s voice, my eyes widened.
I quickly stood up and approached the door, pulling the doorknob, and Sylvia, smiling with her hands neatly folded, appeared.
“I heard that lunch was ready, so I came to let you know.”
“You could have had a servant do that.”
“Hehe, but since it’s a rare occasion, wouldn’t it be better if we went together?”
She’s certainly a young lady with a peculiar side.
In fact, I had wanted to skip lunch, but now that Sylvia had come to fetch me, I couldn’t refuse.
I would feel bad for Sylvia, and if I did, she’d surely give me a long speech about how I should eat.
There’s no need to make things more troublesome.
“By the way, you’ve been staying in your room since yesterday. You should at least get some sun… “
“I’m not one to enjoy wandering outside.”
“Still, I’d be happy to keep you company. How about coming out for a little walk each day?”
“I’ll consider it.”
“Tch.”
She clicked her tongue at my indifferent response, but even that looked cute to me.
Anyway, seeing Sylvia’s face while planning to completely bring down Creed Eleonore gave me mixed feelings.
I felt like I was committing a sin somewhere she didn’t know.
“Princess.”
“Yes, Lord Lyard.”
I tried to shake off the feeling as I subtly spoke to Sylvia.
As always, she tilted her head and replied, turning only slightly toward me.
“Though this may be unexpected, what kind of person is your mother? I know her name vaguely, but…”
“That’s really unexpected.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I wasn’t looking for an apology, so don’t worry about it. But as for what kind of person my mother is…”
It seems difficult to sum up someone’s character with just a few words, so Sylvia hesitated as she spoke about her mother.
“She’s gentle, yet firm. As I mentioned yesterday, until her health declined, she always protested against my father and tried to get me out.”
“When did her health start to decline?”
“I heard it was just before she gave birth to Rene. In fact, she was on the verge of death when she gave birth to her.”
“That must have been hard for her.”
Since Sylvia mentioned that her younger sister is eight years younger, that would make her about seven now.
That means around 8-9 years ago, her mother, Marian Eleonore, started living in seclusion due to her health, and during that time, her father, Creed, made contact with the Eyes of Dawn.
The reason he made contact with the Eyes of Dawn was, of course, due to the cursed eye in Sylvia’s right eye.
I can more or less understand that.
However, no matter how much I think about it, there’s one thing I don’t understand, and that’s Creed Eleonore’s true purpose.
‘Why?’
Why did he decide to join forces with the Eyes of Dawn?
The story with the Drake family is different.
According to Vermilion, the Drake family has been part of the Eyes of Dawn since the grandfather, Albert Drake, meaning their family has long been connected to their base.
But if my assumption is correct, Creed Eleanor must have joined forces with them for some reason in his generation.
Still, I don’t understand why he would bear such a burden to ally with them.
Is the Eleonore family so weak that they need the power of others to stay afloat? No, that’s not it.
Did he simply want to expand the family by using the power of the Eyes of Dawn? That’s also strange.
If it were revealed that he had allied with the Eyes of Dawn, everything he’s built so far would crumble, so why would he take on such a risk?
“Now that you mention it, my mother and father also started having issues around that time.”
At the time when doubts kept arising, I felt a strange sense of discomfort at Sylvia’s murmured words.
That’s odd. Weren’t the two of them already at odds because of their dispute over Sylvia’s treatment?
“This might be rude to say, but weren’t the lady’s parents originally not on good terms…?”
“That’s not the case. Rather, my father was quite devoted to my mother. That’s why they had Rine.”
“That makes sense.”
Indeed, if they had a child late in life, it meant their relationship was at least somewhat affectionate.
Moreover, as Sylvia had consistently mentioned, before Lady Marianne began her reclusive life, she had fiercely opposed Sylvia’s treatment.
Thanks to that, Sylvia was able to leave her room to some extent.
Just considering that fact, it was certain that Creed Eleonore was quite weak when it came to his wife.
Even just the attitude he showed in front of me made it seem like he no longer considered Sylvia his daughter.
Perhaps he had thought that way ever since she was born with the Evil Eye.
Even so, if he was willing to accommodate his wife’s opinion to some extent, his love for her must have been surprisingly deep.
“…!”
The moment my thoughts reached that point, a sharp sensation ran through my mind, and something quickly flashed past.
Wait a minute, if all of this is true, doesn’t the story strangely fit together?
Suppressing my suspicion, I forced a nonchalant expression and spoke directly to Sylvia.
“My lady, this is sudden, but may I ask you for a favor?”
“Of course. What kind of favor?”
Seeing her nod so readily without even hearing the request, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
At the same time, I felt grateful and immediately continued.
“I would like to meet Lady Eleonore at least once.”
A sudden thought occurred to me—perhaps she held the key to understanding everything.
Knock, knock.
At the sudden sound of knocking, the woman lying peacefully on the bed opened her eyes.
At a glance, her hair resembled that of the daughter she had given birth to, though it was a bit lighter and weaker, making “white” a more fitting description than “silver.”
“Who is it?”
Her voice, echoing softly in the room, was quite weak.
Even so, the person beyond the door responded quietly upon hearing it.
—My lady, it’s Rel.
“I see, Rel. What is it?”
It was none other than her personal maid, Rel.
However, what made Marianne feel that something was unusual was Rel’s behavior.
Since her health was poor, meals were usually brought into her room without a word, and when she needed to bathe, Rel would silently bring warm water and help her wash.
But today, she was speaking to her through the door, making Marianne wonder if there was some other matter.
—The young lady is returning soon. However…
“However, what?”
Even though she couldn’t see her daughter’s face, the news of her return was enough to bring a faint smile to her lips.
But something about Rel’s hesitant tone made her furrow her brows slightly.
—The young lady’s companion, Prince Kyle of House Lyard, has requested a meeting with you.
“He wants to meet me?”
—It seems so.
“That’s unusual. It’s been so long since I’ve had a visitor.”
Though the unexpected request surprised her a little, she also felt a rare sense of delight at having an external visitor after years of solitude.
Besides, Kyle Lyard was a name she had heard a few times recently.
Mostly in a negative sense.
‘I heard he negotiated with my husband to take my daughter away.’
Based on that alone, he sounded like nothing more than a despicable scoundrel.
However, Marianne tried not to judge too quickly.
After all, thanks to him, her daughter had escaped from her cage.
And from what she had heard, she was now living well, enjoying all kinds of new experiences.
“Alright. Tell him I will meet him.”
With that, Marianne nodded, feeling a strange sense of anticipation fill her chest.
She would have to meet him in person to determine whether the man who had approached her daughter was truly a beast, or a prince from a fairy tale who had come to save her.
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