Emojis
ForTestingPurposeWhat surprised me a little was not that Mrs. Eleonore had seen through my inner thoughts.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe position of the matron of the Eleonore family was not something obtained through mere flattery, and anyone who has risen to such a position would naturally possess a certain sharpness, so I was not particularly surprised.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhat truly surprised me was that her demeanor was far more composed and gentle than I had imagined.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt would have been understandable for her to feel uncomfortable facing a stranger who was hiding his intentions and requesting a meeting, yet she showed no sign of displeasure whatsoever.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“You knew, didn’t you?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“How could I not? You kept checking your watch as if time was running out.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I apologize for unintentionally deceiving you.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“No, don’t worry about it. I’m just happy to have a conversation with a young friend after such a long time.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeSaying this lightly, Mrs. Eleonore’s gaze became calm.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe small talk had reached its point, and she gave a signal as if urging me to begin the conversation.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Actually, there are a few things I wanted to ask you.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Is it about your daughter?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Somewhat, but not exactly. What I really want to ask about is the relationship between you, your husband, and Lady Eleonore.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“So you’re asking for more than just the word ‘family’?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes, that’s correct.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAs soon as I specifically mentioned only the three of them, excluding the youngest daughter, Mrs. Eleonore’s eyes narrowed slightly.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was as if she had a sense of what I was about to say.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThis expression might be a little rude, but was the thief feeling guilty, so to speak?
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I heard from your daughter that your husband treated her quite harshly.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“That’s true. It’s an embarrassing story, but he couldn’t even bear to look at the child, who was just one year old. He didn’t even want her in his sight, so that says it all.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“And you strongly opposed that, of course.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes, she’s my daughter, after all. How could I cast her aside just because she was born with cursed eyes? I wanted to cherish her even more because of that.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAlthough she said it nonchalantly, hearing it made me feel quite strange.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI never imagined that the relationship between a couple could be so extreme.
EmojisForTestingPurposeA husband who tried to abandon a child born with cursed eyes, and a wife who wanted to love the child even more because of that.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI realized that the reason why Sylvia was able to endure without turning bitter must have been largely due to the influence of the person in front of me, and I continued my conversation.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“But I also heard that your husband eventually stopped persecuting your daughter when he couldn’t bear the pressure from you.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes. It’s a bit embarrassing, but my husband is quite a soft-hearted man. He would always do whatever I said, so no matter how much he might have disliked the child, he couldn’t do that in front of me.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Interesting.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeThis was the part that surprised me the most.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAt least the Creed Eleonore I had encountered seemed like a very stubborn person.
EmojisForTestingPurposeTo be more precise, he was pig-headed.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThere are some people like that. They have to push their own way and, if something doesn’t benefit them, they easily reject others’ suggestions.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat’s why, when I took Sylvia’s ownership from Creed Eleonore, I deliberately took such an extreme measure.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI realized right away that if I didn’t, he would never give in.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“But once you fell ill and started living in semi-isolation, it must have become even harder for him to continue.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“That’s right. My health rapidly deteriorated before and after giving birth to Rine, and that’s when his bad behavior started again.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeThe fact that she could confidently call her husband’s actions “evil” is, in some sense, impressive.
EmojisForTestingPurposeNormally, people would have tried to soften the expression.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut it must have seemed like an unforgivable act in Mrs. Eleonore’s eyes, considering that he was persecuting their daughter.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I heard that he even put your daughter into the room that was originally used by the servants.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes, that’s right.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeI see. No wonder Sylvia’s room seemed a little isolated from the other rooms, it was originally a servant’s room.
EmojisForTestingPurposeCome to think of it, I also remember that the room was a bit smaller.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIn such a large castle, the rooms for family members would usually be on the upper floors, but Sylvia’s room was on a particularly low floor.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“I protested when I heard about that, but it was weak. After all, I couldn’t even share a room with my husband, and we barely saw each other, so my protests carried no weight.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“It must have been heartbreaking.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Indeed. I didn’t care what happened to me, but I felt like the sky was falling when I thought about how I couldn’t protect my daughter, and she was being persecuted because of me.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeFor the first time, sadness appeared in her usually emotionless gaze.
EmojisForTestingPurposeShe had tried not to show it in front of the guest, but it was clear that the person who must have been the most heartbroken was none other than Mrs. Eleonore herself.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt’s a truly sad story.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHowever, this is not the time to feel sympathy.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt is my duty to straighten out this twisted relationship.
EmojisForTestingPurposeSo, I suppressed the rising emotions and cautiously opened my mouth toward Mrs. Eleonore.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIf anything, this could be considered the main point of the conversation.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Then, Mrs. Eleonore, have you heard any news about your husband looking for someone to fix your daughter’s eyes?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“What? No. I’ve never heard anything like that…”
EmojisForTestingPurposeMrs. Eleonore looked surprised and opened her eyes wide, as if she had never heard such a thing before, at my question.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAs expected, that was the case.
EmojisForTestingPurposeSomehow, ever since I met Sylvia earlier, the conversation seemed oddly misaligned.
EmojisForTestingPurposeSylvia clearly said, “Father urgently called for me, so I tried to come as quickly as possible, but it didn’t go well.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeThen Lady Eleonore responded, “I don’t know what’s so urgent that your father keeps calling people over.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeIf Lady Eleonore had already heard this news, her reaction should have been different.
EmojisForTestingPurposeMoreover, if Creed Eleonore had such great news, he would have informed his wife first.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThere’s no way he wouldn’t know that the person who would be happiest about this news wasn’t even Sylvia, but his own wife.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd yet, for some reason, Creed Eleonore didn’t inform the person he should have told first.
EmojisForTestingPurposeInstead, he secretly called for Sylvia alone.
EmojisForTestingPurposeDoesn’t that already smell suspicious?
EmojisForTestingPurpose“You must remember what your daughter said earlier. ‘Father called for me, so I tried to come as quickly as possible.'”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Yes, that’s right. So when I heard that, I thought, ‘That’s not like my husband at all.’ I wondered what was going on…”
EmojisForTestingPurposeOf course, that makes sense.
EmojisForTestingPurposeCreed Eleonore always treated Sylvia like an annoying burden.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIf anything, he would rather she never returned to the castle than urge her to hurry back.
EmojisForTestingPurposeDid Lady Eleonore also feel something was off?
EmojisForTestingPurposeUnintentionally, I ended up providing more credibility to my own words.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…..”
EmojisForTestingPurposeLady Eleonore lowered her head slightly, deep in thought, as if mulling over my words.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWatching her quietly, my gaze gradually narrowed.
EmojisForTestingPurposeFinally, deciding this was the right moment, I spoke.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“…Madam, you look as if something has come to mind.”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“……!”
EmojisForTestingPurposeDid she think my remark was particularly sharp?
EmojisForTestingPurposeJust a moment ago, she had been maintaining a composed expression quite skillfully.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut the moment she heard my words, she widened her eyes in shock and looked straight at me.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAs if silently asking how I knew.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIt was obvious.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIn fact, I had harbored suspicions about their relationships ever since Sylvia told me about the three of them.
EmojisForTestingPurposeCreed Eleonore, as mentioned before, was incredibly stubborn and rarely backed down from his own assertions.
EmojisForTestingPurposeYet, for some reason, he always listened to his wife and followed her words flawlessly.
EmojisForTestingPurposeEven though they must have argued countless times over Sylvia, they still had a child together later in life.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat could only mean that the most important person to him was still his wife, Marianne Eleonore.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut realizing that led to another question.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIf Marianne Eleonore was so precious to him, how could he just stand by and watch as she grew weaker?
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat didn’t make sense.
EmojisForTestingPurposeHe would have done everything in his power to heal her.
EmojisForTestingPurposeEven if it meant making a deal with a demon, he would have sought a way to save her.
EmojisForTestingPurposeJust as Sylvia is that kind of existence for me.
EmojisForTestingPurposeFollowing that train of thought, another mystery was solved.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWhy did Creed Eleonore want to ally with “Dawn’s Eye”?
EmojisForTestingPurposeAt first, I assumed it was simple greed for power or an obsession with strength.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut in reality, it wasn’t that.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd the person who held the answer was right in front of me.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Madam, has your husband recently brought home any special medicine or introduced someone who claimed they could heal you?”
EmojisForTestingPurpose“How… how do you know that…?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeSo I was right.
EmojisForTestingPurposeI had already suspected something when Lady Eleonore said, “I’ve been feeling much better lately, so a light stroll is no problem.”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd from my memory, I knew that Dawn’s Eye operated in that exact way.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThey grant power to the powerless.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThey give authority to the weak.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThey approach those who lack something and offer it to them, luring them into their grasp.
EmojisForTestingPurposeThat’s their method.
EmojisForTestingPurposeAnd without a doubt, Creed Eleonore was just another innocent lamb caught in their snare.
EmojisForTestingPurpose“Madam, have you ever heard of an organization called ‘Dawn’s Eye’?”
EmojisForTestingPurposeAs I cautiously voiced my conclusion, I could see the pieces of the puzzle coming together.
EmojisForTestingPurposeWatching the way Lady Eleonore’s expression changed by the second was almost pitiful.
EmojisForTestingPurposeBut I couldn’t stop now.
EmojisForTestingPurposeIf Marianne Eleonore was the jewel Creed Eleanor would give everything to protect, then Sylvia Eleonore was that kind of existence for me.
EmojisForTestingPurposeTo protect her, I didn’t hesitate to expose another’s secrets.
EmojisForTestingPurposeEven if it meant watching someone else suffer because of it.