Chapter 11
Behind the bustling district of Olderin, deep in a forest where few people ever set foot.
There, among dense trees that surrounded it like a curtain, lay a lake as still as a mirror.
Fish swam in it.
Birds came to drink from the water.
Right beside that lake stood a building—the Edelhaide ducal family's villa.
In the past, it was said that Duke Edelhaide had built it for a woman he loved.
So large that calling it a villa felt modest, its jewel-box brilliance seemed to flaunt the duke's devotion to that woman.
Yet that overwhelming splendor only deepened the strange stillness.
The vast space, more than enough for nobles to hold banquets, was occupied by only a handful of people.
At a glance, it looked less like a mansion than a prison.
So that there would be nowhere to escape.
So that no one could come near.
The current master of that beautiful prison.
Renoa Edelhaide, the Edelhaide ducal family's second daughter and the second prisoner trapped inside that enormous jewel box.
Renoa leaned against the window and stared blankly at the lake's shimmer.
From the room, the lake came into view at a glance. The room's placement and structure seemed designed for nothing else.
Even though anyone would call the view beautiful, Renoa's gaze was dull.
After spending years staring at nothing but this all day long, it was, in a way, only natural.
“I heard you went to the arena with Sir Jain.”
The one speaking to Renoa was Bibi, her personal maid.
She had served Renoa since she was five, and even now, nine years later, she still followed only her.
To Renoa, she was someone she had spent more time with than either parent.
“Yes.”
“I mean the part where I was away on work. When I wasn't there. Leaving me out. Just the two of you, without me.”
“Yes.”
Bibi grumbled, unable to hide the thorns in her words.
Renoa didn't budge. She answered while staring out the window.
“And apparently you're even sponsoring a slave.”
“Yes.”
When she heard that, even the usually composed Bibi was quite shocked.
Bibi had served Renoa since she was five. It was the first time she had ever seen Renoa take interest in anyone else.
“Was he especially skilled?”
“Not really.”
“Did he show any talent?”
“Hard to say.”
And yet the very person who had shocked everyone simply kept repeating indifferent answers.
After thinking for a moment, Bibi asked again.
“Or did you take a liking to his looks?”
“…….”
Then, silence.
Renoa turned her head.
She glared at Bibi with sharp eyes.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I asked because it was surprising that the young lady would support another person, especially a mere slave. Is that not it?”
“Absolutely not.”
“I see. My apologies. Then for what reason are you supporting him?”
“Do I need to report everything to you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why do you keep prying?”
“Well, because I'm curious?”
Bibi tilted her head with an innocent expression, as if that were the only reason.
At that brazen attitude, it was only Renoa's brows that tightened. Then she soon let out a sigh.
Because Bibi acting a little off wasn't anything new.
“Just because. He was annoying to look at.”
“What part of him?”
“I don't know.”
As if trying to brush it off, Renoa seemed to think for a moment.
“Love?”
She casually threw out that answer.
Renoa's expression crumpled at once.
“Looks like our relationship ends here. I'll contact the family. Tell them Bibi wants to go home.”
“I'm joking.”
“Ha.”
At that absurdly brazen answer, a dry laugh slipped out of Renoa's mouth. It was so ridiculous she couldn't even get angry.
‘Love?’
Even thinking about it again, it was absurd.
Even if she had been cast out by her family, she was still, in name, a duke's daughter. And love with nothing more than a slave?
It wasn't even funny.
Not even usable as a joke.
There was no chance of that, not even one in ten thousand. Why else was she trapped in a place like this?
If, by any chance, that ever happened, she'd bite her tongue and die.
“Honestly, how on earth does the head maid train the maids?”
A mere maid playing word games against a noble, of all people.
Normally, she'd be dealt with on the spot.
Even setting aside the offense of disrespect, Renoa herself wasn't exactly known for being merciful.
But Renoa took no action.
Though Bibi was a hopeless maid, as a conversation partner there was no one more capable.
If Bibi disappeared too in this mansion where the only thing to do was look at the lake, she'd die of boredom.
That was mercy she couldn't help but grant.
As they exchanged such trivial jokes, a knock sounded.
“Young Lady. The duchess will be arriving soon.”
“She's quite a leisurely person, coming all this way.”
“Wouldn't you like to go out and greet her….”
“If she waits, she'll come on her own. Why should I?”
“However…….”
Though the maid's voice was full of unease, Renoa ignored it.
She sat still and waited. Soon, a carriage drawn by two horses entered the garden.
The carriage bore an owl-shaped emblem. It sat atop a book, with seven stars stretched behind it in a semicircle.
The crest of a renowned mage house.
The emblem of the Edelhaide ducal family.
From it stepped a blonde woman in a dress, along with a girl who looked much like her.
The woman looked around, then turned her head toward the room where Renoa was. Their eyes met.
She frowned and strode toward the mansion.
“Haa….”
Renoa let out a sigh and shook her head. Fatigue was already rushing over her.
-Thud, thud, thud, thud.
A pounding sound came from the hallway.
An impatient rhythm. Plenty of anger bled through the sound of those footsteps.
It drew closer and closer, then the door was thrown open as though it would break.
-BANG!
“You! I came all this way, and you didn't even come out to greet me—what are you doing?!”
A sharp shout swept through the quiet room.
The one who burst in was Florencia, the Duchess of Edelhaide, a woman with her blonde hair swept high.
Behind her stood her half-sister, Silvia, with matching blonde hair swaying and a sly smile on her lips.
The strong perfume from their lavish dresses stabbed at Renoa's nose.
But Renoa didn't even lift her chin from the windowsill, only slowly shifting her gaze.
“You've come again.”
“Don't change the subject. Answer me. Why didn't you come out to greet me?”
“My legs hurt. Unfortunately.”
“So even though I came all the way here, you're still sitting there so insolently?”
“Ah.”
A single exclamation, as if she'd just remembered something she'd forgotten. Renoa stood up.
“Now I'm fine.”
-Crunch.
The sound of teeth grinding together rang out.
Florencia strode over.
Florencia looked down at the much younger Renoa. Renoa, too, lifted her head to look back at her.
Their gazes clashed sharply in midair.
The arrogant fury of the one looking down and the clear indifference of the one looking up.
Within that dreadful dissonance, Florencia's eyes trembled.
-SLAP——!
The sharp crack of flesh against flesh tore through the silence. Renoa's head tilted weakly to the side.
A red handprint bloomed on her white cheek like a brand, along with a heat that seemed to sear there.
“Those eyes! I told you over and over not to look at me like that!”
Florencia's shriek-like yell burst out. Her shoulders heaved with anger.
“…….”
Renoa said nothing.
Even though her cheek burned with stinging heat, her expression didn't move at all.
She merely held her head straight and looked at Florencia.
Green eyes, exposed through her tousled black hair. Green as deep as the forest itself, eerily still.
A colorless gaze that held neither tears nor grievance nor anger turned toward Florencia again.
“Ngh…!”
If anything, it was Florencia who had her breath taken away.
What was she thinking.
What emotions were in there.
The things that ought to be reflected in a person's eyes were absent from Renoa's pupils.
An emptiness that made it seem as if the one looking in would be swallowed first. Florencia instinctively took a step back.
“It's always been that way. Those gloomy, cursed eyes. Your lowborn mother had exactly the same eyes. Bringing only disaster to our peaceful family, and still having no shame……!”
Florencia poured out her abuse as though squeezing it out of herself. Renoa, as always, spoke calmly with an indifferent expression.
“What business does someone so noble have in a place where disaster lives?”
“I heard you've been going out whenever you please lately. And on top of that, you're sponsoring some slave?”
“Your ears are certainly sharp. Did you come all this way just to say that?”
“You don't seem to understand your situation. Stay as quiet as a mouse. One more report that gets on my nerves, and I'll make sure you can't take a single step outside this room.”
Florencia turned away, her dress hem whipping harshly.
Before leaving the room, she looked back at Renoa.
“……Disgusting.”
She said it with a look of revulsion and left. Silvia grinned and waved.
“Sis, see you next time~”
The two sounds of their shoes echoing through the corridor soon faded away.
Silence settled over the room once more.
“……Young Lady.”
Bibi opened her mouth in a cautious voice.
“Young Lady, are you all right…….”
“Get out.”
A curt word.
A voice cold as frost.
“But your wound….”
“Get out, I said.”
At the stern order, Bibi finally closed her mouth.
“My apologies.”
She bowed politely and left the room.
Left alone, Renoa let out a shallow sigh, then returned to her window seat and sat down.
She looked at the lake as usual.
A view she'd seen every day, familiar to the point of boredom. Sunlight shattered across the ripples, and green leaves stretched long over the water.
The scene that had always been clear was strangely blurred. The boundary between colors dissolved, as though paint had been mixed into water.
As if rain had fallen. The outlines blurred like mist over the water, and she couldn't focus on them properly.
Renoa didn't blink. If she blinked, it felt as though the entire view would wash away.
She simply kept gazing quietly at the lake she could barely see.