At the end of summer, when the heat was beginning to wane, a formal invitation arrived from the imperial palace.

The gist was simple.

The crown prince would invite me and Eciel to the palace to befriend us, and other qualified children would also be present.

After the official who delivered the royal order left, leaving just my family behind, Eciel, who had been pondering something, asked me.

“So, does that mean we’ll be playing with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Yes.”

“Who else will be there?”

“Lady Sisana. And other children from families participating in the Great Council who match the age and gender criteria.”

Normally, people would just accept this explanation, but Eciel knew me well.

Her green eyes narrowed.

‘… she noticed.’

“So, who exactly are these children?”

… she seemed to have realized that I was being vague on purpose. I gave up trying to be evasive.

“There is one child that comes to mind, but there’s a good chance other children might come too.”

Eciel tilted her head in confusion. She glanced at our parents, then back at me with her green eyes.

“Then tell me who you’re thinking of first.”

Narrowing down the candidates was simple.

Lady Sisana, Eciel, and I—these confirmed attendees were all girls.

But the crown prince, Callen, was a boy.

‘So, they’ll probably invite one or two boys who match the age and status criteria.’

Considering age, gender, and belonging to a family in the Great Council, there was only one obvious candidate.

“Artair Jaein Wilfram Tenelier, son of Marquess Levantas.”

Even hearing the name, Eciel seemed puzzled. It wasn’t because she didn’t know the Marquess of Levantas, but for another reason.

“There are eleven families in the Great Council. Why just him?”

“Based on age and gender.”

“Then why would another child come?”

Because the current Marquess of Levantas was part of the Great Council, but his son wouldn’t inherit the title.

I swallowed the blunt truth.

There were eleven families in the Great Council. Only one family had been consistently attending from the beginning until now.

<Unchanging glory>—the Yerim.

‘Any family other than the imperial family can change.’

Even an Astariol family once left the council when they were part of the Great Temple.

Although rare, the composition of the council could change depending on the rise and fall of families.

And the Levantas family… would soon disappear from the Great Council.

As I hesitated to answer, Eciel’s green eyes widened.

“Claire?”

But I remained silent.

The Marquess of Levantas was originally a family rooted in the East.

However, because their territory bordered another country, they were granted a certain degree of independence and military power.

But for this reason, the expulsion of the Marquess of Levantas had been predicted for centuries.

‘Because the neighboring kingdom burned down due to Fermata.’

A <Marquess> has meaning only at the border.

How could they maintain their previous power when there were no longer borders?

Now, the Levantas family barely maintained their power by relying on the honor of being part of the Great Council.

And the current Marquess of Levantas…

A wise person would not cling to the council as his last lifeline.

A loving parent would rather take care of it themselves than leave their child with the humiliation of being expelled from the council.

As I glanced at my father, he simply smiled.

His purple eyes revealed a deep-seated coldness.

‘… it seems the current Marquess of Levantas is neither.’

Then, the boy would have to bear the disgrace that had been postponed for centuries when he inherited the title.

It had nothing to do with me, but my heart felt heavy.

How could one not feel uncomfortable talking about a child who would bear the burden for something that wasn’t his fault?

‘… what does the emperor think of him?’

The decision rested with the emperor.

A child who would inevitably not be part of the Great Council. But currently, he belonged to a family in the council.

Did this child have the qualifications?

If not, which child would they invite instead?

If another child were invited, it would surely be from a family preselected for the next council. What family would that be?

I didn’t know what the emperor would decide.

But I didn’t want to explain this boy’s inevitable tragedy to Eciel, who didn’t know the details.

In my silence, my mother whispered to us.

“Eciel. That boy might not want to come, so another child might come instead.”

“But it’s the position of the crown prince’s friend? Wouldn’t he like to meet new people?”

Despite Eciel’s innocent but borderline impertinent words, my mother didn’t flinch and responded.

“You know that, but he doesn’t. He might not have met him before.”

Thinking it made sense, Eciel nodded without further suspicion about my prolonged silence.

“Then I’ll meet him and become friends.”

“Yes. Let’s see together.”

My father agreed peacefully.

At the end of the invitation, it said that the empress would be present on the first day, so parents or guardians should accompany us.

Would my father go with us?

‘Well, there’s no way Dad would send Mom back to the palace…’

Just as things were wrapping up, my mother shook her head.

“No, I’ll go.”

“… you?”

Dad sounded unintentionally surprised.

I, too, was shocked and looked at my mother.

‘… Mom will go?’

Dad glanced at Eciel and me, then whispered to Mom.

“… I’ll go.”

Mom’s green eyes transparently looked at Dad.

He repeated once more.

“I’ll go, Charlotte.”

He even seemed anxious, which was rare.

Just as my father had, my mother’s green eyes scanned Eciel and me before returning to him.

Calm and serene.

With eyes like new shoots sprouting from an old tree that had weathered many storms, she quietly looked at Dad.

Then she softly called us.

“Eciel. We planned to study for your test tomorrow, right? Sorry, but could you wait a moment while I talk to your father?”

“Where?”

“In your study. I organized some things there. Read them first, and I’ll be there soon.”

Eciel nodded readily but hesitated and asked.

“Alone?”

Smiling, my mother turned her gaze to me.

“Claire. Eciel has a theology test tomorrow. Could you help her for a bit?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Thank you.”

I agreed without a second thought, stood up, and took my sister’s hand.

“Eciel, come on. Let’s go together.”

I didn’t know exactly what part of theology it was, but I at least knew the basics.

I was confident.

‘And I also want to be as far away from this conversation as possible.’

The warm, soft hand of my sister.

As I crossed to the doorway, her hand helped calm my complicated thoughts.

I knew why Dad was stopping Mom.

The recommendation for <parents or guardians to accompany> meant that others’ parents or guardians would be there too.

And Lady Sisana would be there, so…

‘Her guardian would be the Duke of Sisana.’

Mom and Duke Sisana.

The perpetrators Mom identified were the Pope, Cardinals, Lady Declamen, and the Duke of Sisana.

Although it was just my guess… those people participated in the Holy Trial.

So, what about Duke Sisana?

‘… probably involved in the same way.’

Thinking that far, I quickly erased the conjecture from my mind.

My back was drenched with sweat.

 

* * *

 

After the children left, a knife-like silence filled the room.

As time, thin as a flower petal, slowly accumulated and suffocated, Charlotte finally spoke.

“Is Duke Sisana coming?”

“Don’t say the obvious.”

“If she’s here, we’ll meet eventually.”

Her voice was cold and realistic.

The man’s response was equally indifferent.

“There’s no reason to meet her unnecessarily.”

“Go ahead, say everything. It’s better to let it all out.”

After a moment of silence, the man spoke faster and more sharply.

“She’s treated you like nothing for fifteen years. Why would his attitude change now?”

“That’s why I have to go.”

“That’s not the logic I know.”

Charlotte responded irritably to the sarcastic comment.

“Ashel. Calm down and clear your head. The duke will definitely show interest in Claire, right?”

The man’s silence meant he agreed.

Duke Sisana was a typical Astariol, but Claire… was different.

A nine-year-old Astariol.

A child who didn’t know her own origins and couldn’t control her powers.

The duke wouldn’t ignore such a child.

“I don’t want him to show interest in Claire.”

“Neither do I.”

Ashel’s voice lowered.

“That’s why I’m going. Ashel, what would you say to her?”

The man couldn’t refute.

“I understand why, but… you’ve done too many wrongs to the duke, and she’s shown too much one-sided leniency.”

“…”

“The guilty can’t argue. Shouldn’t argue. Right?”

“… yes.”

“That’s why I have to go. She did a great wrong to me.”

Charlotte’s voice was as calm as if she were soothing the man’s deepest wounds.