Ricardo swung his sword with his left hand again, smiling an incomprehensible smile. A chill ran down my spine.

“W-What? You were left-handed?”

“No.”

Ricardo extended his sword towards Harold while keeping his gaze on me. Harold gulped and stepped back as the sword stopped just in front of his neck.

“I’m ambidextrous.”

“Why…?”

“Does being ambidextrous need a reason?”

As if to prove his words, he adjusted his stance. Was it my imagination that he looked even more perfect than when he held the sword in his right hand?

“Are you trying to break my wrist so I can’t paint?”

“I-I’m not trying to break it!”

Ricardo laughed out loud. The unexpectedly clear laughter made my throat constrict. But I rubbed my face hard to regain my composure. In just two days, Count Pennel and Justin would return to the mansion.

“If I lose and can’t use both hands, you’ll have to take care of all my needs.”

Ricardo smiled brightly and pointed his sword at Harold again. Harold, who had been watching the two of us without understanding the situation, finally came to his senses and took an offensive stance.

“Of course, I won’t lose.”

This time, Ricardo was different from before. It was as if he had mastered all of Harold’s swordsmanship in that short time; his movements were much faster and more precise.

“Ack!”

Harold fell on his bottom ungracefully, pushed back by Ricardo’s strike. When I shot him a look of reproach, he began to make excuses.

“I-I’ve never fought against someone who uses a sword with their left hand.”

Don’t even bother. Earlier, you were going on about how I could do such a thing to a child.

Even to me, Ricardo’s swordsmanship was impressive. But I couldn’t back down just because his skills surpassed his teacher’s after just one duel. I went to where the wooden swords were laid out earlier. And I chose the one made of the darkest wood.

“Oh? That’s…!”

Harold seemed to shout something, but I couldn’t hear anything.

I closed my eyes tightly and swung the sword recklessly. Ricardo began to only defend without attacking.

“Hey! Since you already know my intentions, you might as well just let me hit you.”

“I’d rather not.”

He raised one corner of his mouth in a mischievous smile. I didn’t know Ricardo could smile like that.

I shook my head again to clear my thoughts and focused on the hand holding the sword. Then I heard Harold shouting from beside me.

“Please handle it gently. That’s a sword made from the wood of the Black Forest!”

“So what?”

“It’s a very expensive sword!”

Is that so? Then it must be really strong. I took about three steps back and then charged towards Ricardo. I could see him smirking, but there was nowhere to retreat. Anyway, this time he would voluntarily let himself be hit by the sword I swung. I felt certain of it.

But then.

“Uh, huh?”

My foot caught on something. Ah, damn. I realized I had tripped over my own foot just as my body fell forward. In that moment, Ricardo threw away the sword he was holding and stretched out his arms to catch me.

“Thwack!”

With the full force of falling, I struck something hard enough to strain my wrist. When I opened my eyes wide, I saw that my wooden sword had hit him squarely on the forehead.

I met Ricardo’s pitch-black eyes head-on.

“I-It wasn’t intentional.”

As I made my excuse, a blinding white light flashed across the entire world with a ‘pop’. After that, darkness spread out, making it impossible to see even an inch in front of me.

‘What… is this?’

“Rica? Where are you?”

As I reached out to find him, a heat like being engulfed in flames spread throughout my body.

‘H-Hot.’

As fear rushed over me, another flash of light burst before my eyes. Only then did I realize with all my senses what was happening now.

Ah… So this is it.

Manifestation.

The first demonstration of the ability possessed only by the imperial family and the three ducal houses of the Dermeier Empire.

At that moment, words from a dream I had years ago repeated in my ears.

With a whoosh, as the words ended, Ricardo’s entire body was engulfed in bright flames. Not the red light rising from inside a fireplace, but a heavenly light so white it could blind you.

Only Ricardo and his surroundings became a streak of light in a world of darkness. Far away, the midday sun that had been hidden behind the moon began to reveal itself again.

As I watched the sun shine brightly on the earth again in a sky where even the dark clouds had disappeared, I suddenly realized something else.

Ah, I’m ruined. Completely ruined.

That was my last thought as I lost consciousness, overwhelmed by the immense power.

* * *

Except for the Rochesters, the heirs of other ducal families suddenly manifest their abilities one day. Afterwards, they awaken that power according to their ancestors’ instructions and eventually become the head of the family.

However, for the imperial family and all ducal houses to exercise their authority, they must always pay a price commensurate with that power.

The ability is naturally given to only one bloodline in childhood, and over time, they come to wield that power freely.

But the Rochesters were different.

The Rochester’s manifestation and awakening occur only through a saint.

The saint and companion of the Rochesters. It seemed somewhat irreverent to call the woman who would become the mistress of a ducal house, not an empress, a saint, but there was no other name to call her.

Sometimes the woman who would become empress was also decided by divine revelation, but this wasn’t always the case.

Only the companion of the Rochesters was determined by God from birth.

I didn’t regain consciousness after Ricardo’s manifestation.

Having encountered such an enormous power right in front of me, it was fortunate that I didn’t die. While I was unconscious and unable to wake up, I had an incredibly long and tedious dream.

A strange and sad dream of meeting Ricardo, parting, meeting again, and parting again.

And so, even in my dream, I loved Ricardo. As if I had been born just to love him.

“Lienne?”

The first thing I heard as I gradually came to my senses was Sabrina’s voice. I nodded at her call.

“Are you conscious?”

“Yes.”

A sigh of relief was heard at my quiet response.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“About a fortnight.”

It felt like I had traversed a lifetime, though only fifteen days had passed. I came to my senses and sat on the edge of the bed. My body wasn’t as heavy as I expected.

“What on earth happened? The physician says there’s nothing wrong, but you wouldn’t wake up.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Who’s asking for an apology? I’m just saying I was worried. Everyone said it wasn’t normal to sleep this long. They said you might already be dead, and I… do you know how scared I was?”

Tears welled up in Sabrina’s eyes.

“I know. You and Jonathan were worried about me. That’s why I’m sorry. For making you worry.”

Sabrina said that only she and Jonathan had stayed by my side for fifteen days. Without any adult help, she must have been very afraid and at a loss during that time.

“What… happened?”

Without specifying who, Sabrina immediately understood that I was asking about Ricardo.

“Did you know that the eastern kid was a Rochester?”

“…No.”

“Hah.”

Sabrina exhaled deeply and began to explain what had happened. The fact that Ricardo was actually the only son of the Gardarelli Rochester family, and how the news of his manifestation quickly reached the royal palace of the principality. And that not long after, people from the ducal house came to take him away.

Perhaps even in the imperial lands, they immediately noticed his manifestation. The entire sky had turned pitch black, after all.

“I met the eastern kid yesterday, and he really didn’t recognize me.”

Even though I knew this fact, my throat tightened, and I couldn’t respond. Why did he erase his memories so quickly? Have I already forgotten everything too?

“I’ve heard that when a Rochester manifests, they gradually lose their memories, but seeing it in person was a bit… unsettling.”

It was essential for the nobles of the Lesotia Principality, which was little more than a vassal state of the Empire, to learn about the Empire’s history from childhood.

Both imperial and principality people knew that the ducal houses had authority, but they didn’t know exactly what those abilities were.

“When did he leave?”

“Not yet, they said he’s about to leave soon.”

“What?”

Only after hearing that Ricardo was still in this mansion did I notice the commotion outside. Sabrina opened the window, but there was no way we could see the main building’s garden from the east wing.

I immediately got up from the bed.

“Don’t get up yet.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than my head spun, but I couldn’t stop.

“I want to go see. I want to see him before he leaves.”

“The atmosphere in the mansion is not normal right now. The entire estate is surrounded by knights from the Rochester family.”

“Still, just one last time, just to see his face.”

Sabrina and Jonathan, being young, were still able to move around the mansion to some extent. I too, being a child, might be able to see his carriage passing behind the mansion if I could avoid the knights’ eyes.

“Alright. The knights don’t pay much attention to the east wing anyway.”

Bending low to slip out through the back garden and up the gently sloping path leading to a low hill, I could see the ducal carriage already leaving the mansion in the distance.

It was an unusually clear day, ill-fitting for the rainy season in the desert.

The jet-black double-horse carriage drawn by black horses gleamed in the sunlight. The family crest symbolizing the Rochesters seemed to glare at me like a living beast. The carriage carrying Ricardo looked so heartless and enormous.

As the carriage turned completely to the right, I could see his face. Although there was some distance, it wasn’t so far that I couldn’t recognize who it was.

‘Did his hair grow a bit longer in the fortnight?’

While I was lost in this irrelevant thought, my eyes met Ricardo’s. No, I wasn’t certain that our eyes had met. There wasn’t a hint of recognition in his eyes, as if looking at someone he knew.