♣ Side Story: A Nobleman’s Daughter
I, Licorice Avide, am the youngest daughter of House Avide. I have four older brothers and, being the only girl, I was consequently rather spoiled as a child. I developed my passion for alchemy when my third brother began attending alchemy school.
In nobility, any son after the second was obligated to leave the family upon his coming of age. At worst, if he couldn’t find a fiancée, he’d have to discard his noble status. So, with his eyes fixed on his desired future, my third brother decided to take to the city and learn a vocation.
For a sheltered daughter like me, alchemy was a bolt from the blue. At a time when I was fussed over at every turn and my every need was tended to, an art where my actions led to instant, tangible results was an appealing prospect.
My first creation was just a simple salve. Then I experimented with harder creations, gradually shifting into complex recipes. All De Marl nobles were required to learn the technique of mana recovery; I proved to be quite adept at it.
Yet my parents still insisted a young lady like me should broaden her horizons and steered me away from the field of alchemy. It was truly, honestly, frustrating! Especially after having been pampered for so long.
When I entered the Lords and Ladies Academy, I became engaged to a knight who’d gained fame during the war with Edesa Kura. His name was Rondered Grephis. He was seen as an upstart commoner who climbed up from the gutters to obtain a noble title. But the reality was that he had bootstrapped his way up through sheer martial merit. And his first order of business as an up-and-coming noble was to marry his way into one of the old, legacy houses.
Hence, his marrying me. But I didn’t mind. I was sure that, if my father put so much stock in him, Rondered would guarantee me a stable future. At the time, my father captained the Crimson Knights and he was receptive to having an up-and-coming knight marry into the family.
I honestly wasn’t interested in marriage, but I remember being surprised by what a stunning man he was—well, it was mostly his face that was stunning me. My father was all about looks himself, so I have a feeling he was hopeful he could get cute grandkids out of marrying this handsome man to his pretty daughter.
Our engagement went off without a hitch, and we decided we’d marry soon after my graduation. Back then, I really was happy. The idea of a bright future with this successful, handsome man excited me.
While I was attending the Academy, Rondered had, upon my father’s recommendation, become the Crimson Knights’ vice-captain. My father then retired, handing his lieutenant his captain’s seat, and set Rondered on the road to work in the general staff division. In other words: a promotion.
But more importantly, it made me discover knighthood.
It felt like a divine revelation. I knew my family was bound to oppose the idea, hence why I never consulted them. As soon as I graduated, I became a knight and joined the Ebony Knights, who fight using alchemy.
My parents and brothers all complained, shouted, and cried, trying to dissuade me from what they thought was a reckless decision. But I persisted for nearly a decade. They’d taken away alchemy, the thing I loved most. But that only made my admiration for it grow all the more.
When I entered the Ebony Knights, I cut my hair and immersed myself in alchemy research. I shunned sleep and neglected meals. I read every book on the basics and tried, failed, and retried every experiment possible until I was successful.
And I was having the time of my life…!
Since I’d married Rondered soon after graduating and then threw myself into my career as a knight, our relationship gradually grew…distant. He hadn’t wanted a wife who’d fight side-by-side with him on the battlefield, but an obedient one who lovingly awaited her husband at home. Despite knowing this, I still submerged myself in alchemy research. Being denied alchemy for so long had made my relapse into it all the stronger.
But even so, the love I’d harbored for Rondered in my student days did grow stronger after our marriage. This, too, was likely the result of being denied my aspirations. My family loved and pampered me. But they’d tried to keep me away from my life’s work and joining the Ebony Knights. That made me sad, and I turned to Rondered for approval.
But when it came time to go to the frontlines and test my research against the enemy, Rondered grew cold and distant. That made me even sadder, and I drowned my sorrows in alcohol. When Rondered wasn’t kind to me, my colleagues were; I ended up turning to them for encouragement.
The friendliest of all were the Azure Knights’ captain Dirbleu and his vice-captain, Marcus. Both were like Rondered: mere commoners who’d come to the big city and became knights. They’d both married civilian women; that is to say, they didn’t marry for political reasons. They also never mocked me over my noble background. They just saw me as another knight, a colleague, and a comrade. It made me happy. It felt…good.
There was no underhanded fishing for my weaknesses, like with other nobles. They simply saw me for who I was. It made me feel at ease. Like I was home.
One day, while experimenting on a new weapon, an explosion burned half my face off. Dirbleu, Marcus, and the others either told me to wear a helmet and that I was lucky to still be alive, or they patted me sarcastically on the back and asked me what I was thinking, getting injured off of the battlefield.
My family said much the same. “You’re lucky to be alive! No more crazy experiments. At least be safe when you work…” and on and on.
In a way, a noblewoman with a disfigured face was basically done for. Yet even so, my family, Dirbleu, Marcus, and my colleagues all still treated me like a person.
Maybe that was why I never really minded all the vicious gossip about my face. How I’d lost all value as a woman. And while I didn’t care what everyone else thought, I was heartbroken when I learned Rondered was completely unattracted to me after the accident.
My own husband! Of all people!
It’s not like my injury was anyone else’s fault, least of all his. I got what I deserved. But still…
Having come back from fighting abroad, he’d never once visited my sickbed. My brothers told me that instead, Rondered partied constantly. This made all my brothers suspicious of him and they shared their apprehensions with our father.
Rondered had only married me for pedigree, of course. And by now, he had it. He’d solidified his position as vice-captain of the Crimson Knights. A position he’d earned through my father’s help, in exchange for marrying me. He had his own estate, a presence in national politics, and a guaranteed spot as the Crimson Knights’ next captain. Through sheer effort, he’d clawed his way up to success. If he had one failure in life, it was that I was his wife.
Thus, on the day I was discharged from the hospital, he divorced me.
“They say his next wife will be the current wife of the Azure Knights’ vice-captain, Marcus. They’ll probably divorce before long, too. You have bad luck with men…”
“Elysis…”
On that day, I was visited by Elysis, my alchemy teacher—at least, that’s how I thought of her. But I don’t know if she saw me as her apprentice. Like Rondered, she was a commoner who climbed up to her status as a state alchemist through merit. But her efforts were genuine.
Unlike him, she was a strange woman who refused the nation’s offer to grant her a noble title. To her, titles meant nothing. All she needed was for De Marl to give her ingredients and a place to work. She didn’t care for needless duties or attachments. The only thing on her mind was brewing potions.