Chapter 18

The day after my fruitless meeting with Himong, visitors lined up at the Titanoa ducal residence from early morning.

The first was a servant from the Sidonia household.

He set down five boxes wrapped in distinctly luxurious paper and bowed politely.

“These are gifts from Count Sidonia for Lady Ayrbet.”

“All of these?”

“Yes, my lady. She said she didn’t know what you might like, so she prepared everything.”

The servant from House Sidonia relayed Cheryl’s words with a proud smile.

After asking him to convey my thanks and sending him off, I stared at the pile of gift boxes with a troubled face.

She said she would repay the kindness no matter what, but I didn’t expect a gift barrage the very next day.

It was very much like fiery Cheryl, I thought, when Father came down after hearing that Sidonia had sent gifts.

He looked at the stacked boxes, puzzled.

“You were acquainted with Count Sidonia?”

“We met yesterday and became close.”

I kept my answer to the facts, but Father only looked more bewildered.

Count Sidonia… Cheryl, publicly declared neutrality and never interacted with any family.

Even setting aside politics, Cheryl was notorious for her unpredictable personality and was considered ill-suited for friendships.

Father’s confusion gradually turned into worry, so I deliberately fussed as I reached for a box.

“Oh my, Cheryl, why did you send so much~”

There were five boxes, so I didn’t expect much when I opened the first one.

But instead of a teddy bear or a book, the first box revealed a dazzling ruby necklace.

Then came fine fabrics that even I, who knew nothing about clothing, could tell were expensive, lace so intricate Ruby gasped at it, a fan dripping with jewels, and even ornate porcelain.

If she tried to repay kindness twice, she’d bankrupt us.

Both I and all the maids, including Ruby, were speechless, and Father asked again, his face now dumbfounded.

“Ayrbet, what exactly is your relationship with Count Sidonia?”

“We… became very, very close.”

I smiled awkwardly, doing the best I could.

While I inwardly blamed Cheryl’s lack of moderation and laughed weakly, the second visitor arrived at the Titanoa residence.

This time, it was a servant from the Toned household.

The maid received a letter from him and handed the envelope to me.

“Young lady, this is a letter from Lady Toned.”

“Larienne sent a letter?”

I opened it, only to find another unexpected message.

Seeing me tilt my head at the contents, Father’s expression darkened.

Our pro-imperial family and the anti-imperial leader House Toned were practically political enemies, so a sudden letter from them worried him.

“What does Lady Toned want with you? What does it say?”

“She says she wants to visit our home today.”

“You formed a connection with Lady Toned as well?”

“Yes. At yesterday’s banquet…”

“What exactly happened at yesterday’s banquet?”

“I just socialized a bit…”

I trailed off again, doing my best to answer.

I couldn’t tell him the truth, but Father, many things happened. A social gathering with action and adventure opened up inside a dungeon.

But even I didn’t know why these people were acting like this.

Larienne’s letter was especially surprising.

She said she had something to discuss yesterday, but coming to our house the very next day?

For Larienne, getting involved with our family should’ve been a burden.

And of course, in the original story, Larienne never made personal contact with House Titanoa. This was an event that wasn’t supposed to happen.

While I was worrying whether this would affect the original storyline, another maid entered the room.

“Young lady, a letter from Duke Piction has arrived.”

Before I could react, Father pressed his palm to his forehead.

“Now it’s Duke Piction.”

At Father’s weary mutter, I quietly accepted the envelope from the maid.

The content was just as I expected, a request to share a meal.

“What does the duke say?”

“He wants to have a meal together…”

“Hmm…”

Father fell silent, lost in thought.

It was understandable. His daughter, who had only just awakened after ten years, was suddenly receiving invitations from the hottest figures in Dioretta’s social sphere.

And Father had once warned me not to get too close to Linus, so this probably worried him even more.

Fiddling with the edge of Linus’s letter, I asked,

“Should I refuse?”

Father hesitated for a moment, then placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head.

“No. You’ve spent so long bedridden. Do whatever you wish to do.”

“Really?”

“Just take care of your health. And if anything happens, you must tell your father.”

“I will. Don’t worry.”

“How could I not worry? You are my daughter.”

Father patted my shoulder with a soft laugh, and suddenly my nose stung.

It was the first time I’d heard something like that.

A person who naturally worried about me.

In my previous life, it was normal not to have a father, but… so this is what a father was like.

I wasn’t the type to get emotional over a few words, but somehow, the father I’d met only a month ago managed to hit the heart of a former girl-head-of-household right on the mark.

Not knowing how to respond to affection I’d never received, I sat there blankly, and Father patted my shoulder a few more times before leaving the room.

The feeling was strange, different from when Linus confessed to me.

Back then, I’d lived my entire life solo until the moment I died, but living as Ayrbet might turn out very different.

I began to like being Ayrbet Titanoa more.

And I began to like this world more too.

Even though I didn’t know when I might get dragged into another dungeon, I still thought… I’m glad I ended up here.

* * *

That afternoon, Larienne came to see me alone, without even a single attendant.

Her expression had been dark from the moment she stepped into the Titanoa ducal residence, and even after we sat facing each other in the drawing room, her face remained clouded.

I waited for Larienne to speak, but growing tired of the silence, I spoke first.

“Lady Toned?”

“Please call me Larienne.”

“All right, Larienne. Then please call me Ayrbet as well. So, what was it you wanted to say to me?”

“It’s about what happened yesterday… in that strange place. Ayrbet, if I’ve misunderstood something, then I’m sorry. I’m apologizing in advance.”

The moment I heard her words, cold sweat shot down my back.

If she had misunderstood something about what happened in the dungeon, it could only be about my identity.

I couldn’t begin to guess what she thought she’d discovered, so I swallowed dryly and asked,

“Misunderstood… what do you mean?”

“Perhaps…”

Larienne opened her mouth in a very low voice but then stopped mid-sentence, making my nerves fray.

She had said she would look into the black hole. Did she figure out it appeared because of me?

If that was the case, the ending of this possession was the gallows.

Behind Larienne, I imagined a 50-percent-transparent execution ground fading into view, and the enraged voices of the crowd shouting, “Kill the outsider!” echoed in surround sound.

My mind was slowly turning white when Larienne carefully asked,

“Do you have an ancestor from the Am Sparrow family?”

“Am… Sparrow?”

Am Sparrow… that was the prophet family that had been wiped out long ago.

At least she wasn’t talking about awakened people, transmigrators, or foreign substances, so that was a relief… but what kind of out-of-nowhere question was this?

I truly had no idea what she was talking about, and I didn’t know how to answer.

“Well… I’m not sure…?”

“I understand that it may be difficult to tell me the truth. No, you don’t have to tell me the truth at all. But if that’s the case, Ayrbet, you must act more carefully. Make sure no one notices. Be cautious.”

Larienne emphasized caution so seriously that it felt heavy.

It was true I was someone who needed to hide things, but I had absolutely no idea what Larienne was talking about.

“Larienne, I really don’t understand what you mean.”

“The truth is… yesterday, in that strange place, I saw you use your ability.”

“A…ability? Wh-what ability?”

I was so shocked that I stuttered, and Larienne’s expression darkened even further.