Ch. 223

“Yes, everyone who saw her said she was a genius. After receiving the official letter recommending her to the Royal Academy… I was proud, but I also worried. I thought she hated people, so I feared she wouldn’t adapt. I lost so much sleep over it.”

“But every teacher sent letters saying Geenie was more of a troublemaker than ever before. She never caused any trouble at home. I was so surprised. I thought they meant someone else.”

They kept talking excitedly about me. Ash listened with great interest. I felt embarrassed, but they seemed to enjoy that too.

What are they doing, bragging about the person sitting right here? If they weren’t my parents, I would’ve flipped the table or changed the subject already.

“It felt like she couldn’t connect with us. But she was close with her brothers.”

“I remember. I remember the day you were born. I’ll never forget it. It was raining so hard… and you cried louder than the rain. You cried so sadly.”

“No matter how much we tried to soothe her, she wouldn’t stop. We wondered if we’d done something wrong or if she was sick. We were depressed for a while. She wasn’t our first child, but we couldn’t calm her. We felt so sorry we cried with her.”

“She was the daughter we’d longed for, but she never smiled at us.”

“She would startle whenever we held her.”

Yes, I was the culprit. But I don’t remember any of this.

“But she became very calm when her brothers held her. Everyone fell in love with you.”

“Especially the eldest. He cherished you so much he wouldn’t even sleep and stayed by your side. Everyone was so absorbed in waiting for you to smile just once. It was so lovely.”

“Those were good times. Now they’ve all grown up, and I miss those days.”

Their eyes—parents looking at a child they thought lost—were wet enough to drench the entire room. It wouldn’t be strange if one of them started crying immediately.

“…Did my brothers come back? What are those idiots doing that they haven’t returned home?”

“Your eldest brother is talented with the sword. And the middle one is clever.”

“The youngest takes after me and can fix almost anything. He’s been making weapons recently! He’s even studying jewelry-making, saying he’ll craft you a gift someday.”

“So… they haven’t come home yet?”

Honestly, they didn’t seem worried about their sons at all. Was it just my imagination?

“We received a letter a month ago. They said they were heading to some snowy mountain where Dragons live.”

“A snowy mountain… that’s Akirael in the north! That’s the opposite side of the continent! Aren’t you worried?”

“They’re men.”

“I know Dragons aren’t easy to encounter. But I wanted them to become independent, so it’s a good thing.”

“That’s right. We told them to see the world. And… well, we were too busy worrying about you to think much about it.”

If parents’ love is biased, the other children usually get jealous, but my brothers were equally trapped in affection. No escape.

The fact that I’m used to followers is their fault too.

“Besides that, there were many other worries. I don’t know if you know, but many people came to the territory to mourn you. For a while, people couldn’t even step inside the village.”

“We were given the title of Count and land around it… so we let them stay there. Then they wanted to build a Memorial Hall for you as thanks. We allowed it, and before we knew it, people started praying there. It’s basically a temple now, a religion centered on you. We don’t know what to do.”

“Let’s destroy it.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes. I’m alive. Why would I need a Memorial Hall? If you won’t let me tear it down, at least change its purpose. It’s disgusting.”

“I thought you’d say that…”

Judging by their troubled expressions, it wouldn’t be easy to dismantle. I’ll have Rai destroy it secretly later.

“Besides that… there’s one more thing we want to discuss.”

“What is it?”

“Since it became known you’re alive, suitors have been lining up.”

“Gasp…”

I think Ash just made a weird noise behind me.

“Look, these are all the marriage proposals. The Crowell family keeps getting invited to parties and receive letters requesting visits. Most of the people who want to come in person are those planning to propose.”

I expected they’d have business, but not this kind.

What do these people know about me to propose?

I stared in disgust at the pile of papers my father placed on the table and refused to touch them.

“We wanted your opinion… it’s an important matter. We couldn’t handle it without you.”

“This is only about a third of them. We removed anyone more than ten years older or those wanting you as a second wife.”

“Can you believe there was even a three-year-old suitor? Since we didn’t reply, they keep coming. It’s troublesome. Ah, Geenie—do you know Prince Rashamu Fedri?”

How could I forget the name Fedri?

I know the family because of Rovenin, but I also know Rashamu—the pitiful second son.

“I know him. Why him?”

“He’s the most ardent suitor.”

“Oh, really.”

“He personally traveled to the Crowell territory to propose and said he’d get our permission. He’s very serious. Four people from his family have already visited. He’s the most active.”

“He’s also the one with the best background. I would approve if it makes Geenie happy…”

“Honey? We need to ask Geenie first. Geenie? We replied that you were absent and shouldn’t be visited… but we wondered if you knew him. What should we do?”

If it’s Rashamu, he’s indeed a top-tier groom. Any noble with a daughter would leap at the chance. Second son of the illustrious Fedri family, talented, with a bright future.

These days, the eldest son is infamous for being a violent troublemaker, so Rashamu is suddenly being viewed as the likely successor. Perfect on paper.

My only link with him is that I trapped him with the water ball made by Undine instead of dancing with him at a party. Also, we fought once ten years ago, and I won.

He’s handsome… but Ash is more handsome.

If it’s about family, Ash is better. If it’s about servitude, Bright is better.

Why Rashamu? And he’s Rovenin’s younger brother?

Disqualified. But if he knew I considered him for two seconds, he’d probably cry tears of joy.

“Please formally reject him. Rashamu and everyone else.”

“All of them?”

“Geenie, you haven’t even looked at the list.”

“I came back from the dead. Why would I want to get married? I want to enjoy my life. There’s still so much I haven’t done, and I want to keep doing more. Marriage right now… no. I’m not interested. Reject them all.”

“…Alright.”

“Okay…”

I expected more resistance, but they agreed surprisingly easily and began packing up the proposals with gloomy looks.

At nineteen, I was already late for a noble marriage. Much too late to force anything.

“Don’t you want me to get married?”

“No… we just wanted to see you like someone…”

“We only wish for you to be happy. If you don’t want to marry, that must be your happiness.”

“That’s right.”

Unexpectedly, it wasn’t my mother who said it softly while looking at me with calm eyes—it was my father.

I thought he’d be the one pushing for marriage.

“It’s always been like that since the moment you were born. We never knew what you wanted, so we wanted it even more desperately.”

My father’s light green eyes were different from mine. My eldest brother had inherited those eyes. He resembled our father in both personality and appearance, and whenever he looked at me, he had that same expression—overflowing with affection.

“You never wanted even the smallest thing from us. So we wanted to be helpful. Even when you chose to study at the academy instead of coming home… if that’s what you wanted… we thought waiting was right.”

“We did regret it, though.”

“Should we have forced you to come home… should we have told you not to study so much? We regretted it.”

They meant the kidnapping incident. If I told them I stayed at the academy simply because I was awkward around them, not because I loved studying, they would be crushed.

They thought I was a model student.

I practically lived at the academy, and the headmaster showered me with praise. He said I’d become the pride of Drike Academy. And that has, unfortunately, come true.

“Geenie? It’s our small wish. Won’t you come home sometimes?”

“It’s not a demand. All we can do is wait… believe in you and watch over you.”

“You’ve grown up so much before we even realized it…”

If I reached out, I could hear their thoughts.

I had the ring. It wasn’t hard to read a parent’s heart.

—She’s too smart. Maybe she doesn’t need parents.
—I want to say so much, but if I say too much, she’ll see how little I know. I don’t want her to know that her father can barely read. She’s such an educated child.
—Actually… I know. This child won’t come back to our arms.

But even hearing someone’s heart doesn’t give all the answers.

I didn’t know what to say. When someone loves you unconditionally… the weight of knowing the truth is too heavy to simply accept and be annoyed by.

The ring told me their hearts expected nothing in return. That alone forced words out of me.

I moved my lips several times, my throat tight, until finally:

“Father, Mother.”

“…Geenie.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

It was hard to say. It was all I could manage.

And the moment the words left my mouth, they began crying in unison.

Ah… hugging time again.

(T/N : Damnnit! Im not crying! You are!)

—

That day, I was supposed to have lunch with my parents.

I bathed early, cleaned up, and purified myself. I found my cleanest clothes, combed my hair properly for the first time in ages, and polished my shoes. My leather boots, caked in dried mud, turned out to be dark gray—not brown.

I wore my ring and bracelet again and left the room. I walked lightly down the hallway, checked the men’s room first, found it empty, then headed to the dining hall. As expected, they were there.

Enk and Gale were nowhere in sight, but Ash and Chad were present. Chad was having a late breakfast, and Ash was leisurely reading. Sensing me, Ash lifted his head.

“Geenie.”

“Yo, where are you going?” Chad asked, holding up a piece of bread. I naturally took it and ate it.

The basket was full, but nothing tastes better than someone else’s food. To be honest, taking it makes it even tastier.

“I’m going to meet my parents.”

“Ah, Ash told me yesterday. You meet a lot of familiar people here, huh? I guess it’s true—everyone on the continent is gathering in Helikke now.”

“I was supposed to have lunch with them, but I overslept.”

I took another piece of Chad’s bread. It didn’t bother him—he was used to it.

Chad’s simplicity shone at times like this. The fact that I was a rumored Saintess and the Count and Countess were here meant nothing to him.

He was shocked for only a few minutes when he learned my identity, then returned to normal.

His recovery was so fast I wondered if his memory was goldfish-level.

“Have a good time. Don’t be nervous. I’m sure everything will go well.”

“Ash.”

“It’s been a long time since the weather has been this pleasant.”

“You’re going too.”

“…I don’t remember agreeing, but… I suppose I am.”

He closed his book with resigned acceptance.

“The three of us—my parents and I—will be walking together. Do you think flies will gather or not?”

“They’ll gather plenty.”

It was suicide for a noble to walk around without guards outside their territory. Lox would foam at the mouth if he knew I treated Ash like a bodyguard, but he wasn’t here.

So I didn’t have to watch him faint.

“I can’t kill anyone in front of my parents, can I? So you’re coming with me.”