#Prologue

Shriveled, brown hair filled my vision. The sight of my mother collapsing on the hill full of green leaves, like a tree, was an unbelievable scene incomparable to when my father died.

I barely managed to call out to my mother with my parched throat. Thinking it couldn’t be true, thinking I was seeing things wrong, I crawled towards her and reached out my hand.

“Mother…”

The light faded from her beautiful green eyes. The vitality drained from her pupils told the cruel reality.

That mother had died.

The mother who held my hand and smiled with me had left this world.

You are now… alone.

“Urgh… Ugh. Ahhh!”

A scream like a shriek poured out from between my teeth.

Even when my father passed away and I was driven out from the ducal residence where I had lived my whole life, even when my younger brother Louis was pointed at and accused of not being my father’s child. Even on all those days, I had never felt such deep sorrow and despair. It was all okay. As long as mother, who hid me behind her slender back, was there. As long as there were those eyes above that small face, worrying about me. No matter how much the world pointed fingers, it was okay.

“Uncle Bruno…”

I saw the face of Uncle Bruno, who appeared startled by the scene. Along with little mother Jessica, who turned her head away while tightly gripping Bruno’s arm.

No…

No matter how much you hate us, Uncle wouldn’t do such a thing. Right?

“Doc…doctor… Uncle…”

Bruno’s lips moved and he turned his head to the side. They were silent towards me embracing mother’s body that had turned into a sea of blood.

Ah…

“Tsk. My gloves got stained with filthy blood.”

It was all planned.

The glove that fell in front of my eyes with a thud covered mother’s face. When I brushed it aside with trembling fingers, the man who had slashed mother dusted off his sleeves.

“That… child too… Will you cut?”

Bruno glanced down and asked the man wearing a hood.

“Well? Are you thinking of letting the child live after seeing all this?”

“Ah, no. Just… Jessica, go inside.”

Bruno waved his hands and pushed Jessica towards the door.

“The sword has been discarded, and the remaining scabbard must also be disposed of.”

Sword… Is that a metaphor for father?

The shadow of death approached. The ducal reception room where I had lived just a few years ago. As I raised my head, the light from the familiar chandelier shone on the hood. At the same time, the raised sword glinted with a sharp light.

Ah, if there is a god.

If there really is a god…

Tears flowed down as I closed my eyes.

And with a sharp pain in my chest, my upper body toppled over. When I opened my eyes with my faintly remaining consciousness…

I only saw three very small dots imprinted on the bare hand of the man holding the sword.

“Burn the gloves along with them.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Mother is…

I barely twitched my finger, but that was it.

In front of the lifeless mother and daughter, the hood completely turned its back.

#Chapter 1. A Trophy, Not a Daughter

A woman is a man’s trophy.

“Among the trophies that will adorn the duke’s display case, you will be the finest.”

Even at the moment of placing the white veil on my head, those words that I had heard so often from my father’s mouth that they stuck in my ears like earwax came out. Trophy. The finest among them. The highest praise father gave to Eriel.

But perhaps it was because I had heard it since I was young.

Eriel shyly smiled and nodded at her father’s words. If I were to be the prettiest, the finest trophy in my husband’s display case, that would be nice. How proud he would be, how joyful my husband’s face would become because of me, I looked forward to those things.

“Waaah. Waaah.”

Until I gave birth to a daughter.

The hot temperature and face of the baby girl crying loudly in my arms. The palpable pulse that made it evident she was alive. The moment I embraced my daughter with the midwife’s sympathetic frown, an undefined sense of fear washed over Eriel.

Trophy. A trophy, not a daughter.

At first she cries like this, but before long she must forget how to cry, and also forget how to laugh brightly. A lady must not open her mouth wide or appeal to emotions. She must always respect her husband…

My heart pounded loudly. The moment Eriel projected her life, which she prided herself on never having complaints about, onto her daughter, nausea rose up.

Why? For what reason?

Why the nausea?

I married the empire’s most reputable groom as the finest trophy. Why? There’s not a single person who doesn’t envy me, so why am I…

As Eriel’s face turned pale, the midwife quickly smoothed her expression and comforted her.

“Oh my, Madam. You’ve been through a lot. It would be more reassuring to have a son as the firstborn. But they say it’s suitable to first raise a daughter these days. They say it’s okay to have a daughter as the firstborn now. If the youngest is a son, the eldest daughter can take good care of him as an older sister.”

Upon hearing those words that even her mother had heard, Eriel raised her head. The midwife’s expression was not clearly visible. Her vision was completely blurred. The pulse of the daughter in her arms felt burdensome, so Eriel quickly ordered the midwife to take the baby.

However, even as she rested her weary body against the pillow, Eriel’s eyes did not leave her daughter.

“No. Give my child back to me.”

“Oh dear. Madam. In your current state, how can you. You must rest now, Madam. When the Duke returns, you need to give birth to a son next time.”

“…Give me the child.”

In the end, Eriel, who held her daughter in her arms, grinned. Yes, at least my daughter.

*

Eriel’s husband Damian was busy. As a duke, many people sought him out, and he was also the empire’s sword, so it was perhaps only natural. In the several years of married life, the number of times he had fully rested at the ducal residence could be counted on one hand.

He did not witness the series of events of the child being born, rolling over, walking on her own, and calling “Mama”. After returning to the ducal residence at the end of several years of war, he had barely rested for a few days before leaving due to a rebellion somewhere across the sea, staying on the battlefield for half a year before returning.

His face showed clear signs of fatigue, and his sun-scorched skin had deepened compared to before.

“Papa?”

Upon hearing that word from the child’s mouth, Eriel flinched and shrugged her shoulders. The tightly held small hand wriggled and moved. It felt like the child was trying hard to hold back the urge to run out right away. The existence of a father she had rarely seen would be difficult to embrace right away.

“Damian. You must be tired from the long journey. Go and rest.”

However, Eriel was not much different from her daughter. The intimacy with her husband who had returned after several months was not particularly greater just because she was his wife. He respected Eriel as the duchess, but his usual personality was taciturn and difficult to deal with. Although she had welcomed him during their newlywed days, he did not seem to like it very much. Rather, it felt like he wanted to wash up right away, lie down in the bedroom, and rest his exhausted body.

Among that, what he sought was about Eriel’s body.

If that was fortunate, it was fortunate. Thanks to that, her daughter was born, and to Eriel, her daughter became a bigger existence than her own life.

“Lucy.”

Eriel’s voice calling the child was affectionate. The child’s sparkling green eyes looking up at Eriel glimmered. People said the firstborn daughter takes after her father’s appearance a lot, and upon seeing Lucy, they called her a little Damian. But these eyes were the same green as Eriel’s.

“Mama.”

When Eriel spread her arms wide, the child came into her embrace. A bright smile immediately rose on Eriel’s face. As she turned her body while holding up the child, Damian called out to Eriel from behind.

“Eriel. Come to the bedroom.”

“…Pardon? Yes.”

Eriel, who unknowingly frowned, tightly hugged Lucy. Did he have to say that in front of the child? Although she is still young and won’t understand such words, still…

“And Eriel.”

It was when Eriel quickly smoothed her expression upon Damian calling again.

“I heard there is no tutor for the child.”

Eriel flinched and hugged Lucy even tighter. Anxiety constricted her throat, making Eriel’s fingertips tremble.

Lucy, sensing her mother’s unease, very quietly looked at her father standing across from them. It seemed like she knew who made her mother anxious even without being told.

“Damian. I will raise the child. As you know, Lucy is still young, and I can sufficiently take care of her even without a suitable tutor.”

“There are rumors in social circles. That the Zenova ducal residence is raising a child without a single tutor. The social circles that should have been under the Zenova duchess’ hand, you abandon them saying you are raising a child, and seclude yourself only in the ducal residence. Do you think it’s right for the Zenova ducal residence to become a laughingstock outside because of you alone?”

“Damian. I’m sorry. But…”

“Leave the child to the nanny and do what you ought to do.”

Why does my heart ache as if it will be torn apart when there’s not a single wrong word? The answer was set, but my lips wouldn’t part. I barely nodded and gave him a compliant answer.

“…Papa, bad. Bully, Mama.”

It was when Eriel heard a panting voice.

Lucy, who tightly hugged Eriel’s neck, stared straight at Damian and reprimanded him with her small lips.

“…Raising her without a tutor, she has no manners.”

Eriel, who gaped at Damian’s words, fiercely frowned.

What does a mere 7-year-old daughter know? No manners. Eriel quickly covered one of Lucy’s ears. She was going to immediately put the child down in the room and tell Damian to be mindful of his words, at least regarding this. However, Lucy’s voice was much faster than Eriel’s urgent steps.

“Papa too! Didn’t even say hello to Mama and me who you met after a long time! No manners! S-s-stone! Stone Papa!”

Eriel, who only now realized how good Lucy’s voice was, stiffened. In the meantime, she was a little proud of her way of expressing her opinions clearly. The metaphor was fitting too. Stone. Come to think of it, he seemed similar in texture to a stone. Hard and taciturn.

But now was not the time to show signs of praise. Still, saying Papa has no manners. It seemed she had learned another word from Damian’s speech in that time. Her comprehension was fast too, my daughter. No. This wasn’t the time to be happy.

“Damian. Let’s talk later.”

Eriel’s voice rang out in the silence that had fallen still, even the servants stiffening.

*

Eriel, who returned to Lucy’s room, carefully put down the daughter held in her arms. Then, gently holding her shoulders, she looked at the child’s face and called her name. She was going to teach her that using such words to Papa was impolite.

“Lucy.”

However, tears welled up in the child’s large eyes that pursed her lips.

“Lucy waited for Papa. But Papa…”

At the words different from what she had thought, Eriel’s eyes squeezed shut. How deeply hurt must the child have been, waiting for the father who only seemed scary when he returned? The child was clumsy at expressing herself, so she must have attacked Papa with her hurt feelings.

Eriel, who unknowingly hugged the child, patted Lucy’s back.

“Papa likes Lucy too. But Papa just returned from the ship today? So he’s very tired and exhausted, that’s why.”

“Is that really so? But Lucy said bad things to Papa.”

“Yes. Mama will talk to him well about that. But Lucy, you mustn’t say such things to Papa either. Understand?”

“…Yes. I will make sure to hold back next time.”

Seeing her nodding daughter, tears welled up in Eriel’s eyes too. Why is our daughter so sensitive and smart? Even if she wailed and cried that she was hurt, she understood Mama’s heart so well that it was serious.

“Mama.”

“Yes?”

“You know. Benjamin from the Orsini marquis family said this. When Papa returns, a younger sibling is born.”

At Lucy’s sudden words, Eriel’s lips closed.

“I want a younger sibling too, so now that Papa has returned, will I get one too? When will I get one? Will there be one tomorrow?”

“Well, a younger sibling is, um, when Mama and Papa pray sincerely to the heavens in the room, the heavens bestow one. Perhaps Benjamin meant that. So no one knows when one will come. Because the heavens bestow them.”

“Then did I come from the heavens too?”

“Of course. You are the little angel the heavens bestowed upon Mama who truly wished and wished for you.”

“Wow. I see!”

Lucy smiled with tears still brimming in her eyes. Eriel wiped her daughter’s tears and smiled together with her.

“Mama. Then can’t I pray together too? I will pray really hard.”

“…Ah, no! Only Mama and Papa can pray for a younger sibling. If someone is near in the middle of it, the heavens will be angered and something terrible will happen. So if Lucy sleeps soundly, Mama can comfortably offer sincere prayers to the heavens, right?”

“Oh. Then I will quickly lie down and sleep. But what if Papa gets angry because of Lucy and says he won’t pray with Mama?”

Although Eriel thought such a thing would not happen, she racked her brain. That she would try to persuade him. Wouldn’t it work if she said that?

“No. Papa greatly enjoys praying with Mama, so it will be fine.”

At the voice heard from behind, Eriel almost screamed.

“Damian…?”

Eriel found it difficult to understand why a wry smile was contained on her husband’s face as he looked at the mother and daughter.