Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 294

294. The Unraveling Truth

My heart, momentarily weakened by the elusive answer, steeled itself once more that afternoon. The cause was a small book, discovered by chance inside a massive fireplace in one of the halls. Bound in fine leather, the book was only partially burned. I instantly recognized it as a scripture of the Demon God, seemingly intended for children.

「Yulia」

Inside the cover, three words were neatly inscribed: Yulia. It wasn’t hard to recall who bore that familiar name—the third daughter of Count Vanon. It seemed the heartless father had even used his own daughter’s book as kindling. *Tsk tsk*. But what followed on the next page truly caught my attention.

My God. My Master. My Father.

I love you, Lord Kanos.

I eagerly await the day I enter the glorious temple.

May you alone receive glory.

Your servant, Yulia, prays.

“Hmm….”

Though the end of the page was burned away, cutting off the content, it was clearly a carefully written prayer. Each word conveyed a deep affection for the Demon God. It seemed the third daughter’s desire to become a priestess was genuine.

Hearing about it was one thing, but confirming such a sincere prayer made something sink heavily in my chest. Perhaps it was because I had a personal connection with Kanos. The determination to unearth the truth hidden here became even stronger. Whether it was true or not, I needed proof either way. I felt I would never escape this nagging feeling unless I reached some kind of conclusion.

‘First, should I meet this girl named Yulia and talk to her?’

Observing her directly might give me some insight. Asking for a private meeting outright would seem suspicious, so I’d have to arrange a chance encounter. I’d have to carefully consider how to approach her. Just as I solidified my resolve and began formulating a plan…

“Oh, it’s you, mister.”

Turning towards the cheerful voice, I saw a boy in servant’s attire. It was the boy I had run into before. I instinctively concealed the scripture in my arms. He might get in trouble if he knew I had taken the half-burned book from the fireplace.

“Hello, we meet again.”

“Hi. What are you doing?”

“Oh, just wandering around with nothing to do. What about you?”

“I’m moving art supplies. The youngest lady wants to paint.”

“……Is that so?”

As he said, the boy was carrying a load of various art supplies, including paper and brushes. Since he was going to the youngest daughter, it was perfect. It was a good opportunity to run into her naturally without seeming obvious. I hid a triumphant smile and approached the boy.

“Looks like you have a lot to carry alone. I’ll help you.”

“You’re going to help again? It’s not too heavy, so I can manage on my own.”

“I don’t have much to do right now anyway.”

Perhaps because I had helped him once before, the boy readily shared the load without much suspicion. I guess this is why people should do good deeds. It felt a bit strange, like I was setting the stage for something I was going to exploit. But I wasn’t planning on doing anything bad. There shouldn’t be any problems. Probably.

“Hannah, I brought the art supplies….”

The boy and I chatted lightly as we arrived at our destination. But as we were about to enter the room, a strange situation unfolded. A woman burst out as soon as the door opened, waving her hands.

“Hannah?”

“Shh!”

The woman, called Hannah, whispered to the boy, who was staring in surprise. The reason for her urging silence was soon apparent, thanks to the sound leaking through the door.

“Waaaaah!”

It was the sound of a child sobbing sorrowfully. It was undoubtedly the room’s owner, Yulia. The boy also looked flustered at the sound.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go back. As you can see, the situation isn’t good.”

The woman didn’t even look at us properly before closing the door. The boy stared blankly at the door slamming shut in front of him, then gave an awkward smile.

“It seems something’s wrong with the young lady.”

“……Hmm.”

It didn’t take long to make a decision. Without hesitation, I used the Memory of Water—Eyes of the Spirit [a spell allowing one to see through the eyes of spirits]—on the spot. Borrowing the vision of the spirits beyond the door, it felt as if everything around me became transparent at once. Inside the clearly visible room, I saw a small girl lying face down on the bed, crying. The woman called Hannah was sitting next to her, trying to comfort her.

“Young lady, please stop crying. You’ll exhaust yourself.”

“Hic! Waaah!”

“You know it can’t be helped that you couldn’t meet the madam. She’s been having severe morning sickness lately. She’s not avoiding you on purpose.”

It seemed her meeting with the Countess had been canceled. I wondered if that was something to cry about, but I reminded myself that the girl was only nine years old. As a child, she probably felt the disappointment more keenly.

“But! My sisters can visit Mother’s room! And Mother often visits their rooms! They even have tea time together!”

“Well, that’s… the two young ladies are at the age when they’ll be debuting in society [being formally presented to high society]. Especially Miss Melina, who will soon be going to school in the capital. That’s why the madam is paying special attention to them.”

“Liar! Mother hates me! Is it because I’m a daughter? She was expecting a son, but when she had me, it was a daughter! That’s why she even tried to kill me! I know everything!”

“Oh my, young lady! Who on earth told you that!”

The voice of horror rose. Even I was taken aback by the content. She tried to kill her because she was a daughter. Was the Countess so obsessed with the gender of her children? Come to think of it, she did say she hoped the child she was currently carrying would be a son. The nuance was that she would like to have at least one son, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, but considering the atmosphere of this empire, it might not have been a light matter.

In the Swalt Empire, noble titles were primarily inherited by sons. Daughters sometimes received them, but it was rare. If there were no sons in the direct family, they would even adopt a cousin’s child.

The Count didn’t seem to care much, but from the Countess’s perspective, the pressure regarding an heir would have been immense, even if no one was urging her. Especially since it was a Count’s family, she would have been anxious.

“Young lady, the madam wasn’t in her right mind back then. She immediately came to her senses and regretted it so much. She’s always felt sorry ever since. She feels so sorry that she can’t bear to look at your face.”

“See! She *is* avoiding me!”

“Th, that’s… Oh dear, I misspoke. No, young lady, I didn’t mean that the madam really feels that way, it’s just what I thought. The madam is…!”

“I don’t care! I hate everyone!”

The crying grew louder than before. The attempt to comfort her only reaffirmed her sorrow. I clicked my tongue lightly and cut off the connection. I didn’t come here to hear this story, but it wasn’t bad to get some unexpected information.

“Mister, I’m sorry. You helped me all the way here.”

“It’s okay, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. Should we go put this back where it belongs? Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

After comforting the boy, who looked at a loss, we retraced our steps. The boy sighed as he trotted along beside me.

“Today was really unlucky. Miss Agnes is usually very cheerful. She doesn’t cry or whine much, so I don’t know why she suddenly got upset. The timing was just bad.”

“Well, it could be… But Agnes?”

“Oh, that’s the youngest lady’s name.”

“……Hmm?”

My steps involuntarily halted. The boy looked at me with a puzzled expression as I stopped abruptly.

“Mister, what’s wrong?”

“Wait, did you just say the youngest lady’s name is Agnes? Not Yulia?”

“Yulia? Who’s that?”

I was the one who was dumbfounded by the nonchalant reply. His face was so calm that I almost doubted I had misheard. I asked with a slightly bewildered feeling.

“The third young lady’s name is Yulia, didn’t you say that before?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. The third young lady’s name is Yulia.”

“……The youngest is Agnes?”

“Yes, the youngest young lady’s name is Agnes.”

“Isn’t the third the youngest?”

“That’s right. Because the Count only has three daughters.”

“Then who is Yulia?”

“Who is Yulia?”

“…….”

This is getting weird.

The conversation was veering in a very perplexing direction, but the boy didn’t seem to realize it at all. Judging by his clear, straight eyes, he didn’t seem to be joking. I felt a chill run down my spine. The sensation of the children’s scripture in my arms felt new.

*Your servant, Yulia.*

And the words filled with affection.

I calmly took a breath and said to the boy, who was standing there blankly.

“Hey, I don’t know any of the young ladies’ names here. Can you tell me them in order?”

“The young ladies’ names? Hmm, the first young lady is Melina, the second young lady is Amila. The third young lady is Yulia, and the youngest young lady is Agnes.”

“……Count Vanon has four daughters?”

“No, he has three?”

“Hmm, okay. I understand that there’s something wrong with your memory. I’ll just have to ask in a different way.”

“Yes?”

“……Did Yulia have the Demon God’s mark?”

The boy’s eyes widened the moment he heard the question. I had to bite my lip at his following answer.

“How did you know that?”

* * *

My steps felt heavy as I returned after finishing my necessary business. I usually walked, but this time I didn’t feel like it, so I used a spell right away. When I teleported and arrived, the people in the room looked surprised at my sudden appearance.

“El?”

“E, Lord El?”

Inside, Sibelius and Asel were in the middle of a magic lesson. Lapis was lying on the bed behind them, reading a book.

“What’s wrong? You usually don’t use teleportation, why suddenly….”

Sibelius, who had been greeting me, suddenly hardened his face.

“Why do you look like that? What happened?”

Seeing him worry right away, my expression must be quite a mess. Sibelius, who had rushed over, began to examine me busily. I shook my head to indicate that I was okay, but even I thought I looked weak. Perhaps it made him more anxious, as Sibelius’s expression darkened further. “But you can also teleport….” Asel’s timid muttering was drowned out. Meanwhile, Lapis closed the book he was reading. Watching him slowly raise his upper body from the bed, I forced my reluctant mouth open.

“Lapis. Explain properly again what we were talking about before.”

“……I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The dark magic that amplifies the blood of the Demon God’s priest, that’s what I mean. What is it?”

“…….”

The red eyes that had been staring indifferently sank. Sibelius’s gaze, which had been examining me, also stopped. I could feel the two of them looking at me with confusion.

“Miss Yulia, the Demon God’s mark appeared on her right arm. Isn’t that amazing?”

“The Count said he’s going to send a letter to the temple soon. The madam told him not to tell anyone until then, but how did you know, mister?”

“……But what did I just say?”

The boy’s chattering voice echoed in my ears. And the empty eyes that looked back at me at the last moment.

I couldn’t believe it at all. With a feeling of disbelief, I approached other people in the mansion and asked the same questions. Then everyone gave the same response.

Everyone knew Yulia, but at the same time, no one knew her.

Everything that had been obscuring my vision became clear. An unimaginable thing had happened, and my mind couldn’t process it properly. My heart felt crushed. With a feeling of nausea, I clenched my fist tightly. I felt like I would cause a big accident if I didn’t endure it. I needed a place to vent this stifling frustration. The reason I came back to the room was to find that place properly.

“Looks like you found something out?”

Lapis asked with a calm face. He had already fully risen from the bed he had been sitting on. Watching him move to the sofa, I took a slight deep breath.

“It seems the Count had another daughter.”

“Hmm.”

“But no one remembers her. The traces are there, but no one really knows her. It’s like a part of their memory has been cut out.”

“…….”