Father narrowed his eyes and stared at me.
“Are you saying you can resolve this matter?”
“It’s a Monster attack. Do you think I, the Resurrected One, would be unable to handle it?”
Father did not answer.
And from that reaction, I could tell he did not trust in the slightest the ‘divine power’ bestowed upon me.
Even though my severed head had reattached itself and I had been resurrected.
It was a kind of habit. Anyone from Roam was like that. A habit of trying to find some plausible, understandable interest in every relationship and phenomenon.
Father asked.
“Come to think of it, you also dealt with the Dullahan from the imperial palace. Have you gained some formidable power?”
“If I had such power, it would have shown itself long ago. This is merely an inexplicable ‘divinity.’”
If I had formidable power, there would have been no reason to suffer while being pursued by the chase party.
That is likely what Father was thinking. That if I had power, I would not be tossed about like this by the imperial family or Roam.
That the symbolism of being the Resurrected One was all I possessed, and that much was enough for Roam to wield and exploit. Naturally, the unrealistic ‘divinity’ that defied explanation would have no place in that calculation.
I had no intention of resolving Father’s doubts. Therefore, I shifted the topic with a tone of nonchalance.
“Surely you didn’t mean for me to go and put on a bit of a convincing performance?”
“…….”
It seemed that was indeed what he had meant.
Father, who had been silent with an ambiguous expression, spoke in a softened voice.
“It’s just that I’m still not accustomed to you being the goddess’s Resurrected One.”
Father saying that felt as if he regarded me as a stranger.
It was somewhat amusing to see Father, who was always like a wall to me, so flustered by my existence.
Pretending not to notice Father’s feelings, I averted my gaze and said.
“As it happens, a mage from the Magic Tower is staying at the imperial palace, so we should be able to seek their assistance. Given that this attack is suspected to be magic, wouldn’t they also cooperate actively to clear themselves of suspicion?”
In the past, the Magic Tower might have ignored this matter. Or, as in the previous case of Dekin, they might have drawn a line, calling it the transgression of a single individual, and withdrawn.
But this time, Xenon would step forward. He told me I could obtain the ‘guarantee of the Magic Tower.’
I did not think Xenon would have made such an uncertain promise.
I continued.
“Since things have come to this, I want to make it definitive. As someone who is to become the minor duke of Roam, I cannot leave behind suspicions that I might be a fraud.”
“I am pleased to see you properly understand the position of minor duke.”
Listening to Father’s dry praise, I smiled faintly.
“Of course. Although I am not in a position to have studied long as the heir like my sister, I too have lived long as a direct descendant of Roam.”
So, wasn’t it only natural for me?
“I know all too well.”
What brings disgrace upon this family.
* * *
The Resurrected One, who had been in seclusion for some time, revealed herself once more.
The imperial citizens, who knew nothing, believed that just as she had saved the imperial palace, she now revealed herself to subdue the Monsters of the Lindea River.
However, among the nobility, a rumor spread quietly that the Resurrected One had been abducted by someone and barely managed to escape.
They whispered that if the incident of the Monster attack had not occurred, she would have been imprisoned somewhere forever, and they secretly listed among themselves the families who coveted the Resurrected One.
The first, without a doubt, was Roam. The place with the audacity to dare spirit away the Resurrected One from the imperial palace, and the place most desperate to bring the Resurrected One into their own family.
As if lending credence to their speculations, Duke Roam announced that the Resurrected One was staying at Roam.
The Duke expressed it indirectly, saying he had gained an opportunity to look after his own daughter, but no one took his words at face value.
“Looking after his own daughter? ‘That’ Roam?”
“Even a passing dog would laugh.”
The noblewomen tittered, and the family heads fell silent.
The news that the Phrygian had practically eloped only made it worse.
“My, what a streak of bad luck.”
“They say it’s a proud noble family, but I really wouldn’t want to be on the same level.”
The nobles sneered with familiarity. Just as they always had. It was what they did best, and what they greatly enjoyed.
The family that had never once been the subject of ridicule thus began to be earnestly discussed on people’s lips.
* * *
Father had two more audiences with the Emperor to discuss matters concerning my safety.
There seemed to have been some disagreements during the process, for each time Father returned from the imperial palace, his face was filled with weariness.
Upon returning, Father also had a long conversation with Mother, which also did not proceed smoothly, and he concluded it with a displeased expression.
Minte, who had been sitting on the lush tree branches draped outside the study window, listening to Father and Mother’s argument, relayed their conversation to me in its entirety, without missing a word.
‘Has Mother decided to push for Sayri to become the minor duke?’
It was a clash of opinions between Father, who wanted to present me as the minor duke, and Mother, who wanted to keep me merely as a member of Roam.
I could not be certain if Mother had decided to accept Lilia’s proposal. But at the very least, it was correct to assume she had changed her mind regarding smoothly elevating me to the position of minor duke.
There would be various reasons. The rumors currently circulating in high society were likely one of them.
‘Whatever the case, she wants to show that Roam is a noble family that does not cling to something like the Resurrected One, is that it?’
She seemed to want to give the impression that Roam was not so desperate as to resort to abduction to bring the Resurrected One into the family.
“Second Young Lady, it is time to depart.”
A cautious call reached my ear as I was lost in thought.
Having finished my preparations to go out some time ago, I rose calmly.
Today was the day I would reveal myself again before the Emperor.
And… it was also the day I would meet with the representatives from the Magic Tower who would guarantee that the attack on the Lindea River was the work of Monsters.
“To think the day would come when the Magic Tower guarantees the words of a holy knight.”
Letting Father’s words, tinged with complex emotions, go in one ear and out the other, I turned my gaze outside the carriage.
As I had never officially gone to see the Monsters, I could not receive the guarantee. Instead, Samuel would step forward.
Thus, he had left the Roam residence a few days early. Since he was a guard accepted on the condition that he would be sent away if he began to feel too settled within the family, it was not difficult to send him back out.
「Will you be alright?」
Immediately after I said I would send him away, he asked that.
He usually did not show much change in expression, but at that moment, worry was unusually evident all over his face.
「If you do your part at the imperial palace, it will be fine.」
「But here…….」
「You cannot remain here indefinitely, concealing your identity.」
Pallides, having no ties to any human on this earth, was of no concern, but Samuel was a publicly known figure.
For the moment, it was fine since I had been secluded in the Roam residence, but once I revealed myself before people again, surely some faithful soul would recognize Samuel’s voice or physique.
Fortunately, Samuel did not seem inclined to argue with me at length.
「I will see you at the imperial palace.」
It was a relief he did not persist. If he had stubbornly insisted on something unreasonable again, I would have struggled to find an excuse to send him away.
I spoke to Father.
“Once I receive the Magic Tower’s guarantee, I plan to go to the Lindea River immediately.”
“……Will you be alright without knights?”
“It’s better to go quietly. If I rashly lead troops there and provoke the Monsters, causing a greater disturbance, wouldn’t that be a disaster?”
What Father desired from me was to elevate the prestige of Roam, not to get entangled in unnecessary trouble.
“I will assign a few Roam knights as your escort.”
I was about to say it was fine and decline, but I soon gave up. Refusing even this might arouse suspicion.
Glancing at Father, who took my silence as affirmation, I shifted my gaze a little further.
In the carriage, besides me, were Mother, Lilia, and Sayri. Lilia, who had not left her room for days, looked thoroughly haggard, as if to prove she had been ill.
Seeing her insist on going to the imperial palace in such a state, it seemed Fressian’s death had been quite a shock to her.
Did she sense my gaze? Lilia turned her head. Meeting my eyes, she spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
“Do you really think there are Monsters in the Lindea River?”
Lilia likely knew that Fressian had died while tailing me.
I answered with a crooked smile.
“Yes. Because even after Her Majesty the Empress was attacked, there have been others who suffered misfortune at the hands of Monsters.”
“You think they… were attacked by Monsters?”
“Of course, the investigation says those are different from the Monsters that attacked Her Majesty the Empress. But they are Monsters nonetheless.”
Staring intently at Lilia’s pale face, I spoke nonchalantly.
“Who knows. Maybe a real Dullahan has appeared.”
My words probably sounded sarcastic.
Father pressed his forehead and clicked his tongue briefly.
“The Temple made an unnecessary announcement.”
The Temple’s announcement had thrown the imperial citizens into anxiety, which soon led to frenzied praise directed at the Resurrected One.
My value, resurrected to stem the rampant evil, soared sky-high. This meant I could act even more arbitrarily than now.
It also meant that Mother would find such a me disagreeable.
‘To make Roam’s what is Roam’s?’
If I were to swell to a size Roam could not handle, could she truly say she would reclaim me as Roam’s?
A gem too precious to handle would only bring misfortune if one forcibly takes it.
Would the proud Mother truly desire a me she could not wield as she wished?
I glanced at Sayri, who was sitting pressed close to Mother, merely rolling her eyes.
‘Especially when she has a perfect final bastion right at hand.’
Even if she doesn’t want to send me outside Roam, she probably doesn’t particularly want to establish me as the minor duke either.
Thinking so, I lowered my head.