Chapter 10
Chapter 10: If You Can Live Freely (Otou-sama’s POV)
“I know why you don’t want her to debut . It’s because she’ll be targeted, right?” Stan looked at Lei, but his words irritated me .
“I’d get engagement proposals from everywhere . Do you think I would let other people get ahold of our violet eyes? Hmph . ”
“But, do you think that the Albans House is in good hands because you have Luke, who is known for being brilliant? Actually, there are some who think that a dispute would happen because two people have inherited this trait . And, there are some who would like the possibility of having light violet eyes in their lineage, even if it’s just small possibility . ”
I clicked my tongue . Everyone in Kingdom had a massive celebration on a child’s first birthday . For nobles, this celebration became the child’s debut into noble society . But Leila didn’t have a debut for her birthday . Why? Because of the incident that had happened just before her first birthday .
We, nobles, have magic power from the time we are born, but it was very unstable when we are small; our magic grew more extensive and more stable the older we get .
Therefore, it wasn’t possible to start practising because it was challenging to handle magic until one was 10 .
But, Sebas had been waiting for me when I came back from the castle at this time .
“Leilsama put magic into the magic stones used for light,” he informed me .
“Lei what-! Is she alright?!” I asked because I felt like the blood was draining from my face . Although the magic stones that were used for light were small, it absorbed quite a bit of magic . Even children who start their magic circulation training start learning with half-used magic stones used for lights . Some people collapse if they use empty magic stones .
“She is fine . And, please have a look at this . ”
What Sebas had presented to me was a magic stone which had been splendidly filled with magic .
“Lei filled this up by herself?”
Sponsored Content
“Yes . And she looked as if she could fill another 2 or 3 stones . ”
“Impossible!”
If people knew that she also had this much power on top of being cute then greedy people would definitely flock around her . I heard that lower ranking nobles were getting kidnapped lately so I made my decision .
“I’m cancelling her debut . ”
“Is this okay with you? It’s better for her not to have contact with the outside as much as possible . ”
Sebas also nodded . She’s my beloved daughter . I decided that there was no need to show her to others just before her first birthday .
Nevertheless, Stan’s point was sickening .
“Assuming that-”
“What would you do if the violet eyes get out if she becomes a bride? Instead of wealth and status, she’d be forced into a lifetime of servitude . Also, I’m sure that you, as a noble, know why we high-ranking nobles are so short-lived . ”
“So you’re saying we should do something that will benefit our houses?”
“So we’re getting a tiny share of that?”
Sponsored Content
My first wife was like that . We only got married to balance our family status, and not because we liked each other . She got a stable position after Luke was born, even if she was a neglectful mother . We ended up getting divorced because we didn’t get along . Even so, she won’t experience any difficulty for the rest of her life .
“Forget about Diana . Her marriage wouldn’t have gone well no matter who she married . ”
“I haven’t thought about her until now . On a different subject, what happened to your father’s bastard?”
Stan shook his head . Stan, from the Lisburn House, was one of my few best friends from the academy, but he had a nasty family situation .
“This wasn’t something he should have confessed on his deathbed . ”
He shrugged his shoulders as if it were a hassle . About two years ago just before his father died, he finally confessed that he had an illegitimate child with the summery-blue eyes of the Lisburn House .
“We haven’t found him yet . Maybe he’s already left Kingdom since we haven’t found any clues to his whereabouts . ”
“Don’t tell me… To Frontier!?”
Stan nodded slowly, “There are multiple reasons why we suspect this . It’s called Frontier, but it’s divided into many different regions, and their population is several times greater than ours . ”
“But- . ”
“Oh trust me, I’ve heard that it’s tough to live here in Kingdom . But, they’re able to produce magic stones in Frontier because of the lifestyle needed to live there and one could even argue that they could maintain the barrier . ”
I understood even if he didn’t say it .
Sponsored Content
In this world, besides humans and normal living things, there are amorphous creatures known as Hollows . These creatures have hindered human prosperity since time immemorial . They can take the form of any race, but they mostly prefer humans . However, they think and live differently from humans and can maintain their appearance by sucking the life out of any other living thing .
Their bodies didn’t have meat even if you cut it up . They can only be slashed by a special metal, and their corpses shrink into magic stones . Energy was produced when people channelled their magic power into the stones, and it was used to power things .
Humans and Hollows have begrudgingly coexisted for a long time as pesky neighbours, even if the Hollows occasionally killed humans because they made life more convenient . However, at one point in time, the Hollows began to gradually increase their numbers and became a threat to humanity . Thus, humans developed a barrier to keep away the Hollows .
That barrier used the magic stones obtained from the Hollow’s corpses . They had an unpleasant relationship, but about 100 years after the development of the small barrier, humans finally succeeded in creating a barrier that covered the whole kingdom . However, even a tiny barrier needed a large amount of magic power .
“But that needs a large amount of magic power . Only the Royal Family, the Four Marquis Houses and those of noble rank have that much power . ”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, it’s about those who can’t enter the barrier and can only live on the outer edge of it . Also, how we still have to keep killing Hollows if we want to maintain the city’s facilities . ”
It was a never-ending conflict . In addition to creating the barrier, the magic stones were too deeply ingrained in our lives . We didn’t just kill Hollows to protect ourselves, but also to live . That was how deep it went .
“I’ve never heard of Hollows having feelings or making communities . That is just a moving phenomenon . This has been clearly explained . ”
“I guess so . ”
At any rate, we, who live in the barrier, have never seen Hollows before .
Women and children, whom we should protect, and engineers lived inside the barrier and those with the power to hunt Hollows fought outside of the barrier . Then the world changed, and those who could maintain the barrier became the privileged and those without were chased out to the outer edges .
“History is interpreted favourably for those in power . I still doubt whether people should be given preferential treatment because they have magic power, but I also think it’s just as foolish to assume that this was alright in the olden days, Dean . ”
“I know . ”
I know . But there was no reason to believe that one would be happy just because they’re bound to the Royal Capital to protect the barrier .
“If possible, I want Luke and Lei to live their lives freely . ”
“This country won’t ever let them go . Not my kids, nor my brother . ”
Stan looked up at the sky which was covered by the invisible barrier .
“He’ll be happier if we don’t find him . ”
“He’s a lot younger than your father’s grandson, Gille . Your father was really loose with women . ”
“I’ve been taking care of everything as his son . But the one who inherited the Lisburn’s eyes is still missing . ”
“His mother was probably smart . ”
“She might have been . She did get away from my father after all . ”
Stan and I watched our sons as they played with Lei in the garden . I’ve never had any attachments to life since I was born into a Marquis House . But now, I wish this scene would last forever .