Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Translated by Gina
Edited by Gina

I, a mere descendant of a Baron, became the Duke’s only child overnight.

Honestly, I wasn’t happy.

The time when I needed my father in my life had already passed, and only the times where my mother struggled and suffered stayed.

Raising a child without proper help could never be easy.

There were more days when I grieved than when I laughed, and there were more days when I was starving than days when I was full.

During those tough times, I can’t tell how many times I cursed my trashy biological father.

But now, all of a sudden, it was all a mistake, and the Duke had loved my mother all along.

It made no sense to me, and I couldn’t believe it. And yet…

“I’m sorry, Lilly. I made you suffer so much because of my mistake.”

My mother sobbed in the Duke’s arms, suffering from guilt that wasn’t hers.

Of course, he was baffled, claiming it was not her fault but his, and attempting to lift the heavy load from her shoulders.

Those little words brought comfort to my mom and I couldn’t say anything at all.

I was worried that if I vented my frustration at the Duke, it would make my mother feel guilty, and seeing her weep was unusual for me.

The person in front of me, who had never openly sobbed before, had given up all responsibility and leaned on someone.

Looking at it closely, it was true love and trust. 

That was all.

Whether I accepted it or not, the issues between the two had already been solved.

I couldn’t reject the man my mother loved before becoming his biological daughter.

It took some time for me to acknowledge the Duke as my biological father.

In many ways, though, things didn’t go smoothly.

The servants who didn’t speak behind my back were strange, and their honest demeanor was also exhausting.

It didn’t make me feel any better to notice how radically the environment and the people around had changed.

And honestly, I couldn’t afford to feel that my life had improved.

“Duke Rihan is crazy.”

I muttered blankly, laying on the floor in the center of the training field.

The journey to the north was hectic, but the schedule that followed was even worse.

After I acknowledged him as my father, the first thing Duke Rihan said was,

“Good. Then we can proceed with the succession class from today onward.”

“Pardon?”

“Starting tomorrow, come to the training field, Andora Grinell will guide you.”

If I thought about it rationally, it was natural, since the Duke had no other children, but it wasn’t easy to grasp the idea.

‘Are you out of your mind? Duke’s succession? Young Duke?’

I, who had failed the Imperial Administration Exam, could not do such a heavy task successfully, no matter how self-taught I was.

Even if I had to learn other things, swordsmanship was just out of the question.

Even in a genuine knight household, the sword was supposed to be taught around the age of 10 at the most.

If one begins training while the body is flexible and takes mana properly, they would have a good chance of becoming a proper knight. But despite my logical rebuttal, he replied,

“Don’t be worried. Whether you start at 20 or 200, you will master the sword if you train for the next three years as if you had 300 years of training.”

Maybe it was his lifelong desire to destroy the family?

It was a valid response that lacked sincerity.

After hearing that, there was no time to rest.

I learned to duel at dawn, and had succession lessons in the morning; I trained with the sword in the afternoon, and reviewed my lessons in the evening.

I took a test at night and fell asleep as if fainting till next dawn.

I was proud of myself for putting up with the insane schedule, but it didn’t appear to be enough for the Duke.

“Now that you have learned the basics for three days, you can do a match.”

On the fourth day, as if he had no notion of an intermediate stage, I began having duels with the knights.

They feigned to go easy on me at first, but once the Duke threatened them, even that faded.

After a month like that, the desire to resist arose, no matter how terrifying the opponent in front of me was.

And this morning, I had the guts to stop in the middle of training and throw away the wooden sword.

“You two have a nice marriage; why don’t you make a younger sibling instead of clinging to and torturing me?”

“Nonsense. Iz is too frail to have a child. Why take the risk again when I already have a successor?”

“But I’m sure Your Excellency wouldn’t like another incompetent like the Duke of Rihan.”

“Incompetent?”

Although I picked the words that seemed to work best for the Duke, his laughter was ominous.

“Poor thing, you’ve had plenty of time to worry thus far. It is my fault for not training your mind adequately to prevent such ideas from occurring.”

Having said so, the Duke forced the knight to back down and become my opponent.

And he didn’t stop until something strange, whether it was mana or my soul, came out of my body.

Crazy man.

Crazy Rihan.

Crazy biological father.

Absurdly, after 20 years, finding a lost child.

Yeah, I was like the accessory that came along with my mother.

Had my mother not been happy, my life goal would have been to assassinate the Duke.

“It’s time to go to class, Young Lady.”

Time flew by as I cursed inside. I stood up and answered.

“Yes, I’m on my way.”

There was no place in my back and legs that didn’t hurt.

‘No matter how much I think about it, I think it would be faster to become a corpse than a knight. Why are you so eager to torture me?’

I lost my balance and staggered once, and the knight, Sir Grinell, supported me.

“It’s been a month since you picked up a sword.”

“Right.”

“Is it really a month?”

Strictly speaking, it was 34 days, but she wasn’t asking that.

“It was difficult for me when I lived in the capital. Not as much as magic, but it costs a lot of money to learn a sword.”

“Then, you say it’s really pure talent?”

‘Do you have to be talented to be beaten to a pulp?’

There was a brief resentment, but I didn’t dare to contradict that remark.

Over the last month, I had grown tired of realizing that the people of Whitefall had strange fantasies about me being a Rihan.

Whatever I said, they would only hear what they wanted to hear.

I walked over with a small shrug.

* * * * 

“That’s it for today’s class. You don’t have to come tomorrow.”

Viscountess Kartan, who taught me history, closed the book.

It was sudden, yet not surprising. Because that wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

Politics, etiquette, dancing, and socializing professors had all stated the same thing to me and then left.

Viscountess Kartan was the last one. So far, I’d just let them go despite my confusion, but since it was the last time, I wanted to know the reason.

“All of the other teachers say the same thing. Did I make a mistake? Or is there a reason you can’t continue with the class?”

“It implies that no more improvement is required. All of the planned goals have been met.”

Again, for the same reason. The very same irrational reason.

‘The succession classes ended in just a month?’

Rather, it was realistic to say that they weren’t satisfied with my poor improvement and my role as the successor, and they refused to keep teaching me.

I couldn’t even think of it as a possibility. They were usually cautious around me and showed any signs of displeasure.

However, I wasn’t that stupid; if ten professors didn’t like me, I had to notice it at least once.

‘However, why?’

Perhaps the priority in the North was on swordsmanship rather than academics. As it was a region that was frequently infected with magical beasts, it was acceptable if the level of study necessary was low.

“It’s not that the northern teaching methods are short, but the level of learning of the Young Lady is high.”

I’d barely come up with a reasonable excuse, but the Viscountess flatly rejected it.

“I just thought it was a difference in the environment, but I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just… I failed the Imperial Administration Exam. I know I’m not very smart.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Young Lady. The corruption in the Imperial Palace doesn’t last for a day or two.”

“That’s…”

“What’s the point of writing ‘Glorious honor’ in Hibrates, a language that’s already been dead hundreds of years ago?”

I flinched at her words.

What she said was one of the questions from the recent Imperial Exam I had seen.

Viscountess Kartan was Rihan’s vassal, so it was possible for her to access the Imperial Exam’s answers.

I was trying to convince myself that it was also possible for families who weren’t powerful enough.

But knowing with my head and feeling it in my heart were different things.

Even though I already knew it, the truth that I had been ignoring since it was the only way for me to improve my life, filled my thoughts.

I would have never passed the Imperial Exam, no matter if I came to Whitefall or not.

I had a bitter taste in my mouth.

After class, Viscountess Kartan got up and I followed to see her off. Just before leaving the room, she hesitated a little before opening her mouth.

“If you’re not trying to become a scholar, then what you need to increase is not knowledge, but self-esteem.”

“…Pardon?”

“The lady is the Young Lord of the north. On behalf of the northerners, I dare to ask you to cherish yourself with the thought that you are the most precious person in the world.”

As she bowed deeply, I couldn’t say anything.

* * * * 

After a long time, I finally had my freedom since half of the classes had ended.

Nonetheless, there was nothing exciting to do.

I hadn’t picked up any new hobbies since moving to the north, and I lacked the motivation to do so.

I strolled back into the room. As I walked in, something on the desk caught my eye.

It was a neatly folded handkerchief.

“Why is this here…? Ah, Cesio Deibrik.”

I belatedly remembered since my only recollection of that day was my messy, soaked, and sobbing appearance.

On the way out to the Marquis’ mansion after being ditched by Jemon, I received a handkerchief from his older brother, Cesio.

“It was still there.”

I forgot about it as I became busy with my everyday life, but it seemed that someone washed it.

Without realizing it, my mind looped back to my old lover as I glanced at the handkerchief.

He matched the words I had heard from Viscountess Kartan.

Jemon Deibrik.

Initially, I wasn’t in an environment that encouraged me to have high self-esteem, but Jemon was the main cause in bringing it down to mud.

Strictly speaking, it was appropriate to say it was because of the relationship itself.

I met him in the spring two years ago.

My first meeting with Jemon was at the library where I was studying for my administration exam, and he was quite interested in me.

I had previously failed the exam once and was feeling tired by all my life’s hardships at the time. A day when I suppressed my emotions, fearful that my mother would be worried, although my entire heart was corroded by darkness and loneliness.

Jemon’s warmth seemed to engulf me.

I readily gave him my heart, almost to the point of embarrassment.

Knowing he was the Marquis’ son, I had a pretentious desire as well.

Perhaps the unhappiness up to that point was fertilizer for future happiness.

I was just young, ignorant, and foolish.

It didn’t take long for the harsh reality to show.