TL: Zimming
Gwang!!
The Duke of Vallua threw a glass at his wife, who returned to the mansion. The Duchess, who narrowly avoided the glass, covered her mouth with a pale face.
âHo, honeyâ¦â
âUseless girl!â
She ran to her angry husband and hung on him.
âIâve been hit too. Why does a swindler suddenly target a good-natured person like me? Dubbled must be targeting you, Iâ¦! Argh!â
The Duke of Vallua grabbed his wifeâs shoulders.
âWhat does the art dealer say? Heâs from the Dubbled?!â
ââ¦â¦â
When the Duchess of Vallua could not answer and avoided looking at him, the Duke pushed her roughly.
Dubbledâs second son, Henry Dubbled, who came on behalf of his younger sister before, had a scary side that was not like a boy his age.
âGo in the morning and pack your luggage!â
âWh, whatââ
Back then, he despised himself with insults and words that he had heard from Theodore Dubbled.
When he recalled Theodore in his youth, he remembered the first time in his life when he was humiliated.
It was a garden where nobles gathered, his sword was on the grass, as Theodore Dubbledâs sword pointed to him.
A voice murmured,
âTheo, stop.â
The thin back that was blocking him and the hair that was shining brightly.
William Vallua had a woman he could not have in his life.
The manâs rough hands that embraced the woman.
At the moment, the face of the child of fate and the woman, who was laughing beside Theodore Dubbled, overlapped.
The Duke of Vallua clenched his fist tightly.
âTaliman!â
When the Duke of Vallua shouted, a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and gloves came in.
âPlease give me your orders.â
âBring âthemâ from underground.â
âYes.â
The man bowed his head. The eyes of the Duke of Vallua shone.
âYouâll lose her again.â
The dazzling glory will be his. He will be left with regret for not keeping what is precious in his life.
***
The prize will be presented at the Imperial Palace dinner in four days.
I replied to the invitation from the palace as soon as I returned to the mansion.
And today, me and my family left for the palace.
At the dinner table were the children of two families who had entered the finals and their families.
We gave each other greeting and soon after, the emperor, the first prince, Andre, and Empress Yvonne came in.
Normally, the person with the highest position among those invited will be the one who start the greeting.
However, it was up to me, the winner of the virtual battle, to start the greeting today.
âGod bless the sun of the Empire. Enjoy the glory of eternity.â
I said with a polite bow.
âWhat do you think? Perfect?â
I learned it from Camilla and the chairman.
Dad, brother, and aunt had a proud expression, followed by their greeting to show courtesy to the emperor.
âEnjoy the glory of eternity.â
âEnjoy the glory of eternity.â
The emperor smiled happily and nodded.
âWelcome to the palace. Sit down.â
After sitting down, everyone in the dining room started eating. There was a small conversation, and the atmosphere was amicable all the time.
I was a little worried that Shuheil, my opponent in the finals, might act rashly because of jealousy, but it seems like he already forgot his defeat in the final.
âThis is delicious,â he said as he offered me a pie.
âThank you.â
âEat a lot and grow taller. That way, no oneâs going to think youâre small next time.â
â¦he didnât forget the defeat.
Isaac snorted and put a different kind of pie on top of the pie Shuheil gave.
âWhy? Do you think youâre being ridiculed by my sister?â
âWeâre in the presence of his majesty. Watch your words.â
Edgar Shuheil frowned and said that.
The two of them were said to be at odds with each other at the academy, they must really be on bad terms.
I chewed the pie Isaac cut for me, thinking I should remember the fact next time.
âBy the way what about the prize? The prize!â
I am in a hurry to find out about the summoner in Duke of Valluaâs secret warehouse.
Originally, I tried to investigate it. But they said summoners are very rare. In the first place, it was difficult to even find anyone who knew them.
Empress Yvonne, who was having a meal and talking to the wifes of the families, tapped her mouth with a napkin.
âYour Majesty, I think they waited enough for you, so Iâll give the prize of virtual battle.â
The emperor nodded as my eyes twinkled.
âIt would be best to see Boone again. Or the 56th pillar devil. Because Boone said that devil is kind.â
When the emperor raised his hand, the servants came in.
They gave envelopes on the finalists. This was because there was a small amount of prize money for the finalists.
They gave me a thick envelope and a jewel in a transparent box.
âThis is nogakâ¦â
It is a slightly oval, yellowish jewel. Unlike a bright yellow colour, the color is a little murky.
I looked at the emperor and he nodded.
âIt is a jewel in ancient records. You can take a closer look.â
I quickly opened the box and saw the jewel.
âWowâ¦â
I knew it as soon as I touched it. Nogak is the one Iâve been looking for. There is a slight whirl of force inside.
âBoone please come.â
Back then, on Booneâs mineral, a very friendly energy was felt. I felt like I was submerged in warm water.
However, this energy is similar to Pymon which is a bit tough.
âNo, itâs a lot tougher than Pymonâs.â
A powerful devil?
ââ¦.need to.â
ââ¦â¦â
âLady?â
âYes?!â
I was so looking closely into the jewel that I missed the emperorâs words.
âOh no, my concentrationâ¦â
It is difficult to maintain my adult thinking because I used my divine power to drive out monsters during the virtual battle and were tired in many ways while dealing with the Duchess of Vallua.
âWhat does lady think? Which one is it, the first or the second prince?â
I glanced at my family. Either way they seemed to be unpleasant.
Empress Yvonne was smiling very affectionately.
âBecause Vallua becomes useless, this time she wanted to use the Dubbled?â
I snorted inwardly.
I hate it.
Emperor Yvonne and the first prince were as dangerous as the church. In my first life, Empress Yvonne was eager to make the child of fate as a bride for the first prince.
There was a widespread opinion that I was fake, so she was not interested, and was very interested in Mina.
The empress made all kinds of schemes to connect Mina with the first prince. I was involved and suffered because of it.
âThe answer is already fixed.â
âI chose Adrian the Second Prince!â
The empressâ face hardened. She, who squeezed the napkin, tried to hide her expression and asked.
âWhy Adrian? Youâve never met Adrian, have you?â
âI saw ah, no, met him at godmotherâs mansion. He gave me an honor to be his friend!â
The emperor nodded his head.
âSo itâs like thatâ¦â
It would be a good thing for the emperor.
It was at a time when Empress Yvonneâs power grew so large that he needed something to hold her back.
But Adrian doesnât have a proper support.
The mere presence of me on the second princeâs back would have stopped Empress Yvonneâs a bit.
He might want to stop the collusion between Dubbled and Empress Yvonne.
My aunt also nodded as if Adrian was the best choice.
But my dad and brothers didnât look good. Especially Johannâs expression.
He grabbed my hand and asked, âWhy?â stealthily.
âDid you forget?â
ââ¦â¦?â
âYou with meâ¦â¦never mind.â
I looked at him.
Isaac murmured, narrowing his forehead.
âThatâs weird.â
Henry asked in a small voice.
âWhat?â
âIâm so frustrated because I think Iâm going to lose something thatâs very precious.â
âWatch your mouth. Weâre in the palace.â
âThey canât hear me.â
***
My dad and brothers were in a bad mood even after the dinner. I held my auntâs hand and walked while looking at my family.
âShould I choose the first prince?â
âNo. You made the right choice.â
âIs that so?â
But why are they this gloomy?
I thought so and saw them?
âThis is not the time. Iâll go back and summon the devil in this jewelâ¦â
And it was just around the time I left the palace, The wind blew heavily.
âItâs spring now. What kind of wind is this?â
Isaac shouted.
Henry looked at me and asked me affectionately, âDid you get any dust in your eyes?â and my dad gave his coat to me.
While my family was doing that, I was looking into the air with a stiff face.
âThatâ¦â
âHuh?â
âHuh?â
âWhatâs going on?â
âChild?â
âBlaine?â
I looked at my family with shaky eyes.
âCanât you see that?â
That guy in the air.
That man who is looking at us with a fierce gaze.
âWhat are you talking about?â
When Isaac asked, I shouted.
âGet out of here!â
In the manâs hand, the spark condensed into a big circle and flew toward us!