Chapter 35

Due to sleeping too long, a slight headache came and I let out a short groan. How long has it been since I could sleep this long? Because of the daily assassin attacks, I’ve reached a point where even the rustling of a single piece of paper wakes me up. As I groggily woke up, an unfamiliar hazy scene entered my eyes.

Clearly, the place I had fallen asleep was a modest single room, but the place I opened my eyes to was a dazzling room decorated with luxurious furniture and expensive artworks.

“Awake?”

I turned my head at the familiar voice. Werner was no longer in the shabby outfit from yesterday but was instead wearing a high-quality black robe embroidered with golden lions. Unlike yesterday, it truly felt like he was a royal mage. Just as I was marveling at how a single outfit could change the atmosphere, a solemn voice came from outside.

“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”

The Empress? I quickly got up and straightened my clothes and hair. But even though the Empress was coming, Werner sighed with an annoyed expression and replied.

“Let her in.”

Soon, the door opened, and Her Majesty the Empress entered with many maids in tow. The dignity and majesty emanating from her appearance made me instinctively kneel.

“I humbly greet the most noble lady of the Empire.”

I greeted her properly as my father had taught me. But Werner just sighed again and barely nodded. It was a scene that could have gotten him beheaded for disrespect, but the Empress instead smiled and responded to his greeting, then approached me.

“Who is this beautiful young lady?”

“I… I am Glacia Winterheart, the eldest daughter of the Winterheart Ducal family…”

“Oh, then you’re a distant relative of His Majesty. No need to be so formal.”

“But…”

Not knowing what to do, I glanced at Werner for help. He finally approached me.

“Don’t be so nervous. Even if you commit a grave offense, I’ll handle it.”

“Don’t be too nervous.”

Even so, I couldn’t easily shake off the tension. The Empress, who had been looking back and forth between me and Werner, asked him a question.

“By the way, this is quite unusual. A young lady who can enter Lord Werner’s office.”

“My office only allows beautiful women besides myself.”

At Werner’s joke, the Empress covered her mouth with a fan and laughed. Then, she gestured for the people around her to leave. Though I couldn’t understand the reason, I seemed to be included, so I tried to leave the office. But Werner stopped me before I could.

“Don’t go.”

“But…”

“I hate repeating myself.”

Reluctantly, I sat on a nearby sofa and tried to stay as quiet as possible. The Empress turned her attention away from me and spoke to Werner.

“I heard that my uncle was rude to you yesterday.”

“Well… there was an incident.”

“As a member of the royal family and his niece… I offer my sincere apologies.”

For a moment, my head spun. Yesterday, I heard that Werner had burned the clothes of a royal relative and hung them on the castle wall. But instead of reprimanding Werner, the Empress came to apologize. It was rare for a royal to apologize to someone.

Werner awkwardly accepted the apology.

“Well, I didn’t handle it well either. By the way, I have a request, Your Majesty.”

“If it’s something I can help with, I’ll do anything.”

“Please don’t say anything to my brothers and sisters.”

“If that’s your wish, I’ll comply.”

The Empress then took out a pouch from her pocket. It was a silk pouch, about the size of an egg, bulging slightly. She smiled as she handed it over.

“This is to commend your efforts and as an apology for the recent incident.”

“What is this?”

“It’s an egg of the Snow Hawk. One egg is worth dozens of gold bars, isn’t it?”

I had heard of it. The Snow Hawk, a mythical bird that lays its eggs on trees too high for humans to reach. Their numbers are few, and their whereabouts unknown, making their eggs priceless.

“Well, I’m not particularly fond of birds… but if it’s a gift from Your Majesty, I’ll accept it gratefully.”

“I’m glad. Then, I have other matters to attend to…”

“Farewell.”

As the Empress grabbed the door handle, I also held up my skirt and bowed.

“It was an honor to meet the most noble lady of the Empire.”

The Empress even waved her hand at me in response.

“I hope to see you again, Lady Glacia.”

After the Empress left, Werner approached me with an annoyed expression and sat on the opposite side of the sofa.

“She just gave me this to shut up, but she made it sound so grand. Damn it, it’s so annoying…”

“Huh?”

His words could have been considered treason, but Werner didn’t care and continued to vent his frustration. His face was completely different from when he was with Media yesterday. Instead of a playful expression, it was one of pure irritation.

I cautiously asked about the incident.

“Um… what did Her Majesty’s uncle do? I heard you burned his clothes and hung them on the castle wall…”

“That bastard insulted an old man for no reason, so I went to confront him.”

“And then?”

“And then, do you know what that jerk muttered? ‘He must feel some kinship with other commoners since he’s from a common background.’ He probably thought he was muttering to himself, but my hearing is pretty sharp.”

Then it all started to make sense.

“So I smashed his carriage, beat him up, burned his clothes with fire magic, and hung him on the castle wall.”

“If you had explained the situation to the others, they would have understood.”

Everyone is kind, so they would have understood Werner’s actions. But Werner deliberately hid the truth. I couldn’t understand why he did that.

“Understand? They would have gone and beaten him up themselves.”

“Then why…”

“Because I didn’t want to.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“If I had told the truth and my brothers and sisters had beaten that bastard to a pulp, everyone would have been too scared to even breathe in my direction.”

“Then no one would dare ignore you… Ah…”

I could understand because I had a similar experience. People who insulted me for being half-vampire were purged by my father and mother. But even then, I couldn’t shake off the unease. Because what they feared wasn’t me, but my parents.

“So even though this happened, I just told my brothers and sisters that I caused trouble. It’s easier that way.”

“But even Her Majesty came to apologize, so she must think highly of you.”

“Ha! That woman thinks highly of me?”

Werner snorted and started spinning his index finger. Around his finger, various magic crystals began to form.

A flame crystal.

A wood crystal.

A steel crystal.

A water crystal.

A light crystal.

A lightning crystal.

A darkness crystal.

An ice crystal.

An earth crystal.

A wind crystal.

Soon, the crystals merged into a single mass of magical energy, glowing brightly before disappearing like a candle being blown out.

“Without this, I’m just a worthless orphan.”

“Lord Werner, how can you say you’re worthless…”

“If I didn’t have this talent… would my brothers and sisters have taken me in? They would’ve sent me to some fancy orphanage.”

“Without the influence of my brothers and sisters, would I have ever seen the light of day?”

“If it weren’t for magic, I would’ve been begging in some alley and died alone. I wouldn’t even have the right to talk to a noble lady like you.”

Werner’s eyes were filled with sadness. It was the first time I had seen him like this, and it made me feel pity and sorrow. He looked like a shivering fox cub in the cold, making me want to embrace him.

“The youngest of the heroes and the Archmage Werner, that’s what everyone calls me… but in the end, all they see is ‘the youngest of the heroes’ and ‘the Archmage.’ No one sees Werner Altan as a person.”

Because he had the talent of an Archmage, the heroes took him in, and because the heroes took him in, everyone revered him. But in the end, no one saw him as a person.

“It’s the same for me. In the end, because I’m the daughter of a Duke, the daughter of the Vampire Queen, people are polite…”

“But to your father and mother, you’re just their beautiful daughter.”

That was true. Even if my parents weren’t nobles, they would have loved me. But Werner was different. He had no family to love him for who he was.

Even though he seemed surrounded by many people, when the sun set and everyone went home, he was alone. Every night, he spent alone, and compared to me, who had received my parents’ love, he was an incredibly lonely person.

Werner smiled awkwardly.

“Why am I saying all this to a kid…”

Then he handed me the Snow Hawk egg he had received from the Empress.

“Hey, your birthday’s coming up, right? Take it. It’s a gift from me.”

“But this is something Her Majesty gave to you…”

“It’s a bribe to keep my brothers and sisters quiet, so I can do whatever I want with it.”

I gently cradled the Snow Hawk egg he gave me. It was the first gift he had ever given me.

“Lord Werner.”

“What now?”

“Someday, I’ll bring someone who sees you for who you are.”

I didn’t specify who that person was. He didn’t realize it was me and laughed as if it were amusing.

“Sure, bring them someday. If she’s a pretty girl, I might even marry her.”

=======================================================

Winterheart family’s villa.

My mother, seeing me cherishing the egg Werner gave me, spoke.

“Our daughter, do you like that egg so much?”

“Yes, Mother, I really like it.”

“Really? Then what will you name the hawk when it hatches?”

I suddenly remembered how he always added a lot of sugar to his cocoa.

“Hmm, I want to name it Sugar.”

“…Oh, is that so…?”

My father, seeing this, smiled and came over to pat my head. I hadn’t realized it before, but after meeting Werner, I learned that this happiness wasn’t something to be taken for granted.

“Father.”

“What is it, our daughter?”

“Starting tomorrow, please teach me swordsmanship.”

“Why swordsmanship?”

To become someone worthy of the Archmage, I needed some level of martial skill. And I didn’t want to be swayed by others anymore. I wanted to change myself.

“I’m not a child anymore.”

“Our daughter has grown up… This father is so happy he could cry…”

My mother comforted my father, who was genuinely crying.

“And there’s something I want.”

For the first time in my life, I decided to throw a tantrum to get something from my parents.

“Our daughter wants something? Really?”

“Anything, I’ll even bring you a dragon’s head.”

“That’s right, Mother will have her servants fetch any treasure.”

My parents made grand promises, and for the first time, I voiced what I wanted.

“I want Lord Werner.”