No sooner had Liliana teleported out of her new chambers than she made her way toward her old ones. It was late enough that she didn’t encounter a single person along the way.
Rekke.
After using a spell to confirm the chambers were empty, she reached for the familiar door. It opened without resistance, revealing one of the manor’s brighter rooms—at least during the day. She didn’t remember much of her childhood spent here, but the interior had changed, and her belongings had clearly been relocated. No one else appeared to have moved in.
Mother sure was thorough. It’s as if I never lived here.
Liliana didn’t miss her confiscated garments or jewelry—she had taken her favorites to her estate on the outskirts of Hudore. Still, it amazed her how the transformation of a single room could make her feel so unwanted.
I thought she’d at least use it herself, since it gets so much sunlight... Liliana mused as she wandered about. She thought maybe her mother had turned it into a wardrobe room, but there were no signs of clothes. It doesn’t look like my grandparents are going to use it either.
If they truly were due to arrive tomorrow, as Marianne had said, there wouldn’t be enough time to prepare the chambers for them. The bed, chairs, table, and couch were all new, yet nothing suggested the space was meant for guests. Most likely, her mother simply wanted to put as much distance as possible between herself and the daughter she considered an eyesore.
If she hates me that much, why invite me to the banquet? I suppose father wouldn’t have tolerated my absence.
Although they seldom interacted, Liliana knew her father’s conceitedness all too well. If she—a candidate to become the crown princess—were missing from the heir’s banquet, rumors would spread, and the famously shrewd premier of Slivegrandia would never permit that. She may not have made her noble debut yet, but she still carried the weight of the Cerulean Flame.
Duke Clarke was flawless, seemingly immune even to pressure from the neighboring Empire of Yunatian. But his success left him with exceptionally high expectations for those around him. Anyone who fell short was met with his cold, merciless gaze. The memory alone made Liliana shudder.
I wonder what’s scarier—one of the game’s bad endings, or father. It’s hard to say.
Before long, Liliana finished searching her old chambers.
There’s nothing of interest here. Perhaps I should check father’s office and chambers next.
He had yet to arrive at the estate, making tonight the perfect opportunity. Slipping out of her old chambers, Liliana pressed deeper into the hallway. The duke’s office and chambers lay right next to each other.
Now that I think about it, I’ve rarely seen father and mother in the same room together.
For as long as she could remember, her parents had shown no affection toward one another. Her father resided in the family home in central Hudore, while her mother never left Fortier. Management of the duchy had long since been entrusted to Philip, and the office had become more his workroom than the duke’s.
Inside, Liliana found a substantial walnut-colored desk piled high with papers. Filed documents pertained to the administration of Fortier, and she took a few from the top of the stack.
Invoices. There’s even one for the presents I received for my birthday. Let’s see... A draft for the promotion of land policies, a proposal of regulations for managing industrial infrastructure, and...a draft of policies for the distribution of goods? There’s so much of everything here.
Philip was far too involved in running the duchy for a mere butler, having taken on many of the duke’s duties in addition to his own. Most nobles would assign the roles to separate people, but perhaps Liliana’s father cared more for efficiency than convention.
Oh, look—documents on the hiring of servants. And a report on income and expenditures. Mother has been quite the spendthrift.
From what Liliana could see, her mother had been purchasing jewelry in abundance, despite appearing so rarely in high society. The indulgence made little sense, though the expense was trifling compared to the income of a ducal family. The real problem lay with the servants. The documents confirmed what Liliana had suspected when she glimpsed the cookhouse from her chambers: They had been hired on a temporary basis for the banquet, yet in numbers far greater than reasonably necessary.
There are no individual contracts, and the servants are being made to work for meager wages—a textbook example of a duke exploiting his authority over his people. I haven’t the slightest idea why, though. It’s also strange that such large groups were hired from the same places.
The workers were from two villages so remote that Liliana didn’t recognize their names. Surely, somewhere in the estate, there would be correspondence to explain why those particular locations had been chosen.
There might be letters in father’s chambers.
Philip was the most likely to know something, since he managed the estate, but searching his chambers was out of the question. He was surely using them at this hour.
I’ll save that for another time. For now, I should focus on father’s and grandfather’s chambers.
After putting the documents back where she’d found them, Liliana passed through the door connecting the office to her father’s bedroom.
Duke Clarke’s bedroom was plain in design, but the furnishings were unmistakably high-class. A moose head was proudly mounted on the wall, and two spears crossed above the headboard. By the window, chairs flanked a small table bearing a marble-and-jade chessboard. Shelves were lined with books on business administration, history, and strategy. Liliana had seen similar volumes in her own estate—albeit considerably more advanced—and mostly remembered their contents.
For all its grandeur, the room didn’t feel very lived-in. Perhaps the duke kept most of his belongings at his house in Hudore.
How very like him, I suppose. Though I didn’t expect the books on strategy.
In truth, Liliana saw her father so rarely that she couldn’t be certain how accurate her impression of him truly was. As a premier, he was a civil official rather than a military officer. Whereas the previous king had heaped praise on those skilled in military arts, her father looked down on the military entirely—making his choice of books all the more jarring.
Oh...?
As Liliana studied the bookshelf, she noticed three volumes missing from a series that chronicled events from ancient times to the present. The books went into great detail on every era, covering not just historical facts but also legends and unconventional theories. Liliana read their titles.
The missing volumes cover the end of the Middle Ages—the three demonic centuries.
The dark era known as the “three demonic centuries” began with a grim civil war that plunged much of the country into endless conflict. Eventually, the strongest warlord emerged, conquering the others one by one. This warlord was the Demon King, the ruthless commander of a demon army feared for his treatment of those under his rule. Only when three heroes rose against him, overthrew his tyranny, and sealed him away was a new kingdom able to rise—Slivegrandia, the land Liliana now called home.
The royal family and two of the three main ducal families trace their lineage to those heroes. House Clarke is the exception, though it’s said to be second only to the heroes in distinction.
The story of the heroes who ended the three demonic centuries had become a legend known throughout the kingdom. Naturally, the royal family and the two ducal houses descended from the country’s saviors enjoyed tremendous support from both nobles and the masses. Their lineage also explained Slivegrandia’s high regard for skilled soldiers and capable officers—a tendency reinforced by the previous king, celebrated for his wise rule.
Liliana gazed through the glass door leading to the balcony, taking in the sweeping view of the courtyard. Beside it stood her father’s bed, and on the bedside table rested three items of interest.
There they are.
Though the rest of the room was perfectly organized, the books missing from the shelf sat in a messy stack, showing signs of heavier use than the others.
Does father enjoy tales of heroism, I wonder?
Liliana grew more puzzled as her impression of the duke continued to shift. She couldn’t be sure how he viewed the three heroes, yet it was clear that the volumes on the three demonic centuries were getting special treatment.
I don’t see any correspondence. I should check grandfather’s chambers next.
It was getting late. As she left her father’s bedroom, Liliana reminded herself how important it was to know when to give up.
Liliana’s final stop of the night were the chambers belonging to her grandfather, the previous duke. He and his wife spent most of their time at a secondary residence on Fortier’s southern edge and rarely ventured elsewhere. Liliana had seen them even less than she had seen her parents and brother, so she barely even remembered them. From snippets of conversation she’d overheard from the servants, she had inferred they were as strict as most nobles.
Yet when Liliana actually stepped into the chambers, what she saw left her speechless.
After all the talk of their strictness, I assumed they wouldn’t keep many belongings here. But there are far more than in father’s bedroom.
Liliana’s grandparents visited so rarely that it wouldn’t have been strange for them to keep their things elsewhere. Still, she could see now that they were nobles in the truest sense. The chambers, spacious enough to dance in, were filled with historical documents her grandfather seemed particularly fond of. They were also adorned with jewels that must have belonged to her grandmother—not wearable jewelry but cut and polished precious stones. The sight made Liliana’s head spin.
Since when did this manor turn into a museum?
She couldn’t begin to fathom the collection’s value. The stone that caught her eye most was a colorless, highly transparent sixty-carat diamond, flawless and free of inclusions—worthy of being a national treasure. Yet Liliana had little interest in jewels and quickly turned her attention to the historical documents, neatly organized by date, country, and region.
Nearly everything here is a valuable historical resource. There’s even a wealth of material on foreign magic.
A smile played on Liliana’s lips as she leafed through the papers. Among her grandfather’s vast collection, the most common subjects were the end of the Middle Ages—the three demonic centuries—and the three heroes who founded the Kingdom of Slivegrandia.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.