“It has been some time, but you seem unchanged.”
“Y-Yes.”
The one I summoned to the mansion was Countess Mirandalinda Faltan. She was twenty-one years old, two years older than Heinz.
Miss Faltan, who tended to keep her head bowed during conversation, had long, dark brown hair that took on a bluish tint in sunlight. Her sky blue eyes, hidden behind long bangs like the ones Heinz sported, glanced restlessly toward me, though she avoided direct eye contact. Dark circles were visible beneath her eyes.
Miss Faltan had received the blessing of the sacred beast Drogolena around the age of nine. While the sacred beast Drogolena was the only one to have bestowed blessings upon the Asche family’s relatives, like all those before her, Miss Faltan had apparently never gotten to see the beast’s form.
Every single person blessed by this sacred beast had originally possessed an arrogant and aggressive personality, but after receiving the blessing, they tended to become introverted and withdraw from society. Then the blessing faded, and the next person was blessed.
The reason was obvious, even without wondering why only those connected to the Asche family were affected: It stemmed from the former queen consort, Sriarde, who had brought down Princess Beljeanne with her own son.
A righteous crown prince and a compassionate queen consort? That was laughable. Every one of their lauded achievements were in actuality Princess Beljeanne’s. Few outside the royal family and the heads of the Four Great Ducal Houses knew that their fame was stolen from another’s achievements.
Originally a daughter of the Asche family, Sriarde had exploited the previous king’s indifference toward his own daughter, the princess, to wield power behind the scenes. She had eventually even incited her father, the then head of the Asche family, to plot her husband’s murder.
It seemed my great-grandfather, then head of the Asche family, had intended to place his grandson on the throne and, as the king’s maternal uncle, rule the kingdom through him. When I’d learned this truth, upon assuming leadership of the family, the sheer gravity of the sin had drained the blood from my face.
To make matters worse, the crown prince during the previous king’s reign, consumed by years of jealousy and envy toward Princess Beljeanne—a true genius mage and his half sister—had summoned a demon. It was none other than Princess Beljeanne herself who had protected the Kingdom of Rovenia at the cost of her own life.
All this tragedy and sin stemmed from the Asche family. If our descendants remained arrogant, it was understandable that a sacred beast would seek to crush them. Even so, the fact that this sacred beast still granted protection likely stemmed from its love and devotion to Princess Beljeanne.
Miss Faltan was no exception; she had gradually become more withdrawn. By the time she reached her third year at the Royal Academy, she finally took a leave of absence. If this continued for a few more years, she would be considered withdrawn from the Academy according to its regulations.
Our nation’s policy was that, to maintain the reputation of those who had received divine protection, it was required that they should graduate. As such, those granted divine protection could receive some form of assistance from the nation if they wished. In return, they were encouraged to contribute to the nation within the limits permitted by their sacred beast.
Since Miss Faltan and her birth family were already receiving aid, the main branch, the Asche family, had also notified them that they had to fulfill their obligations. Beyond financial support, though it had since been dissolved, becoming the fiancée of my former son at age ten had been at Miss Faltan’s own insistence.
Heinz... Well, he had been quite reluctant. He couldn’t tolerate the youthful arrogance of Miss Faltan, two years his senior, even if it was age appropriate. Especially in the years immediately before receiving the sacred beast’s blessing, her personality was anything but introverted; she was aggressive and arrogant.
Frankly, as head of the Asche family, I had judged her character so severely that I couldn’t allow her to bear the Asche name if her attitude remained unchanged. Naturally, I conveyed this through her father, Count Faltan. Such a young lady and my former son were never meant to get along, and back then, their strong-willed natures often led to heated arguments.
Then one day, an incident of violence she caused at a tea party she was invited to triggered a change in her personality. She lost all confidence and became withdrawn, spending so much time in her room that her enrollment in the Academy was in jeopardy.
Still, her parents must have been insistent. Though she often skipped classes, she’d managed to advance to third year. That was only possible because of Heinz’s efforts. Even before he reached school age himself, Heinz had been escorting Miss Faltan to and from the Academy whenever possible. Naturally, he continued doing so after he enrolled.
By this time, Miss Faltan’s personality had mellowed. Heinz’s perception of her shifted from an incompatible fiancée to someone he comforted during depressing arguments or encouraged like a friend. This change likely improved their engagement. But then, sometime after Heinz met the former foster daughter of the Duke of Robur at a tea party, the relationship between the two engaged partners had crumbled. Miss Faltan had proposed breaking off the engagement.
From what I could gather using the Asche family’s connections, Heinz himself seemed to have fulfilled his duty toward Miss Faltan, who’d been intended for a political marriage. But this engagement was one that could only have been made possible by the blessing of the sacred beast, and Miss Faltan’s own resolve had played a significant role too. As a woman, too, perhaps it grew more painful for her with each passing year.
“Before we confirm your obligations,” I said to Miss Faltan, “tell me about this nightmare you keep having.”
“Okay...” Her voice was as faint as the buzz of a mosquito. It had been years since we last met. Seeing her once again wrapped in this dark, stagnant air made me realize that the protection of the sacred beast Drogolena must be quite extreme.
Since Princess Beljeanne’s passing, the only one to contract with a sacred beast had been Lady Robur. It could be considered a joyous occasion, yet His Majesty forbade any discussion of it.
The reason had never been explained. Even so, after the incident with the magic curse in the Academy’s boys’ dormitory, and the conversation with the lady in the captain’s room, I instinctively felt it best not to pursue her further.
Then there was Heinz’s notebook, which the lady somehow possessed. The first illustrations drawn for a novel had been released several months ago... I caught myself unconsciously wondering what kind of illustrations I would have drawn, then stopped. It was because I felt an inexplicable dread, a sense that something unknown was closing in on me, causing me to tremble without reason.
“There’s screams—high-pitched and low-pitched, indistinguishable as male or female—that I hear quite frequently when I sleep,” Miss Faltan replied in a thin voice, trembling as she spoke. She seemed to be gripped by terror just recalling it. “There are voices that make me feel every ounce of malice, voices that drive me to flee, voices that fill me with such agony...” She trailed off, bowing her head and pressing her lips together.
“I see. Tell me what they’re screaming. Could it be curses?” Considering the crimes committed by the royal family and the Four Dukes, it was a possibility. But if they were screaming specific curses, I would have to silence the young lady.
“No, nothing specific... Just ‘oh yeah’ or ‘baby’—utterly incomprehensible things, mostly ‘mortis’ or something.”
“I see.” Though meaningless, hearing the content of this nightmare confirmed that the sacred beast Drogolena had protected the villagers from the volcanic eruption.
Miss Faltan suddenly spoke up then. “Um, was Lord Heinz truly disinherited? I heard...well, that Lady Robur caused Lord Heinz to be removed from the family registry. Is it true? Lord Heinz is so kind and he’s always had such a strong sense of justice. So, um...I just can’t believe it. And everybody knows the rumors about Lady Robur, so...”
Her voice was timid. Of all people, she had to ask about Lady Robur.
“Stop letting yourself be swayed by rumors that belittle a lady of the Four Great Ducal Houses just because you have the protection of the sacred beast,” I told her. “That boy was the same. He lacked the awareness required of someone aspiring to be a knight. He grew arrogant, unaware of the privileges granted solely by his bloodline, and spent years belittling the lady and harming those around him. It was only natural.” I deliberately avoided using names, as a warning. While it was true Lady Robur had been involved in Heinz’s expulsion, there was no need to reveal everything.
“Well...would you consider betrothing me once more...and revoking Lord Heinz’s removal from the family registry?” Of all the things I expected her to say, to have such an outrageous request was...
“Miss Faltan.” I cut her off with a voice and gaze that demanded she remember her place, and Miss Faltan stiffened. “That boy will never bear the name Asche again. And you, even if only by blood, are of the Asche family’s collateral line. Your birth family holds only a count’s title. Do you still fail to grasp that even then, it wasn’t our wish, and that the disparity in status meant we should never have been united? Yet we conceded to your every whim, from the engagement to its dissolution. Merely possessing the sacred beast’s blessing doesn’t mean any wish you make will come true. To begin with, it is problematic for a young lady like you—one crushed by that blessing and confined to your chambers—to even speak of overturning the decision of another house’s head. Have you forgotten that the Faltan family considers the Asche house the main branch? Not to mention, at your age you should have graduated from the Academy and entered society. As a noble, refrain from making remarks that show contempt for your house henceforth.”
She trembled, bowing her head. “I’m sorry.”
Though I felt some pity for the young lady, I sensed an arrogance in her that still failed to grasp her proper place.