You Can't Catch the Wind (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 4

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Naturally, those who possessed such power became the founding royal family.

Thereafter, for generations, those with power inherited the throne, and being a successor of the Golden Rule became proof of noble blood.

But as time passed, that power weakened. Moreover, as technology began surpassing the power of the Golden Rule, the methods of using it were quickly forgotten.

Naturally, the renown of the Golden Rule also lost its former strength.

Yet there were still people obsessed with the mere fact of possessing that power.

They were precisely the nobles of Denertum—and Ael’s father was among them, unusually fixated on the Golden Rule.

Until the previous generation, the Aradis viscountcy had still produced heirs with a faint trace of the Golden Rule. But by Ael’s grandfather’s time, that power vanished entirely—and from then on, the family rapidly declined.

Of course, the reason for their decline was that both her grandfather and then her father were incompetent men addicted to gambling.

Naturally, unwilling to admit his own incompetence, Ael’s father believed the family’s downfall stemmed from the absence of a Golden Rule successor.

That belief soon turned into obsession. He thought that if the Golden Rule once again flowed through the viscount’s bloodline, the family would surely rise again.

There was only one way to restore the Golden Rule’s power to his house: marry someone possessing strong Golden Rule power and produce an heir.

But across the entire continent, the Golden Rule had long since waned. Recently, even most royals were born without it.

The few remaining strong holders of the Golden Rule belonged to families far beyond Viscount Aradis’s reach.

Yet Viscount Aradis refused to give up.

After relentless searching, he finally found exactly the person he wanted: a woman from a poorer noble family who possessed the Golden Rule.

Normally, such a woman would be discreetly offered money by a great noble house and taken in as a second or third wife for one of their sons.

But this woman had a fatal weakness: her body was so frail she could barely bear children.

〈It’s not entirely impossible. I don’t need many—just one child would be enough.〉

Viscount Aradis sold off his remaining estates, handed the money to the woman’s father, and married her.

A year later, Ael was born.

Though it wasn’t a boy, the viscount rejoiced at having a child at last and commissioned the Academy to test how much Golden Rule power the child possessed.

〈None.〉

“What do you mean? That’s impossible! My wife had strong power—how could her child…!”

〈You know well, my lord, that even children born to Golden Rule bearers aren’t guaranteed to inherit the power. In any case, this child is not a Golden Rule successor. Of course, manifestation timing varies, so we’ll monitor until age three—but historically, there have been only about three cases of manifestation after that age. So please don’t raise your hopes too high.〉

Viscount Aradis turned away as if he couldn’t bear to look at the Academy representative any longer. He was deeply disappointed.

‘After spending so much money, all I got was a failure!’

He had even boasted loudly about it at gatherings with other nobles before the child was born.

Because of that, the child had already been entered into the noble registry under the name Aelfrida—the name of the most powerful successor in myth—before even being born.

And now, she wasn’t a Golden Rule successor at all.

But the matter didn’t end there. Shortly after giving birth, his wife passed away.

The viscount flew into a furious rage.

“Ungrateful wench! If she had any shame, she should’ve borne at least one Golden Rule child!”

He wanted nothing more than to cast the child out—but he couldn’t.

If a child already registered in the noble registry died before reaching adulthood, the parents would be punished. Besides, there was still a chance the Golden Rule might manifest just before her third birthday.

Viscount Aradis entrusted the child to a hastily hired wet nurse and waited three years. Yet each glimmer of hope ended only in disappointment.

In the end, Ael failed to manifest the Golden Rule’s power by age three.

That same year, Viscount Aradis visited the rural estate of a lesser noble with whom he gambled, fell instantly in love with a woman there, and took her as his new viscountess. She became Ael’s stepmother.

Ael grew up miserably under a father who regarded her as a disgrace and a stepmother who saw her as the enemy responsible for squandering her husband’s fortune.

The only reason Ael received even minimal treatment was because her name was already on the noble registry.

After all, as a noblewoman, she could be married off to bring in a substantial dowry.

‘Though they probably never expected she’d be this hard to sell.’

Recalling her reputation in society, Ael shook her head and absentmindedly ran her fingers over the spine of a book labeled “Golden Rule.”

“Please move aside.”

Just then, a librarian’s voice, laced with irritation, came from behind. Ael must have been blocking their way while they organized books.

“I’m sorry.”

Ael bowed her head deeply and stepped aside, worried the person might recognize her.

Thanks to Viscount Aradis’s incessant boasting, society already knew why Ael had been born.

If anyone found out she was interested in books about the Golden Rule, they’d only mock her for clinging to futile hopes.

Fortunately, the staff member paid her no further attention, pulled out the book they wanted, and left. Ael turned her gaze away from the Golden Rule book and browsed others, eventually pulling out a small volume and falling into thought.

It was a very thin, tiny book.

Trending

But when she flipped the cover, dense text and complex formulas filled the pages—as if warning her not to judge by appearances.

Ael checked the author’s name. Just as she’d suspected—the same name stood clearly printed as on the book she’d struggled so long to understand last time.

After a moment more of hesitation, Ael made up her mind and tucked the book into her chest.

She didn’t know when she’d next get to visit the library. So it was best to choose a book she could read for as long as possible.

That way, she’d have less time to feel bored before her next visit.

‘Thank goodness the loan period is long.’

No matter how difficult it was for her to sneak out with her father’s identification, she’d surely find a chance to return it within the several-month loan period.

After all, returning books didn’t even require showing identification.

After that, Ael wandered through the shelves and picked out a few more books. Once she’d chosen ten, she quickly turned around—it was truly time to leave now.

Ael headed toward the checkout desk. Suddenly, she remembered the first book she’d seen—the thick volume on the Golden Rule.

‘Should I borrow it?’

Hesitating, Ael shook her head. She felt ashamed of herself. It wasn’t her father who couldn’t let go of the Golden Rule—despite being twenty-seven, not three, it was she herself who still clung to it.

[This is the timeline separator]

Rushing home in a fluster, Ael slipped in through the back door as quietly as possible. Heading toward the kitchen connected to the back entrance, she was met by Jena, who despite being told to rest had stubbornly returned to work.

“My lady!”

“Shh. Are Mother and Father awake?”

“No, they’re still asleep.”

Relieved by Jena’s answer, Ael finally let out a sigh.

“Did you go to the library?”

“Yeah. I’ll put my books down and come right back.”

Grunting under the weight, Ael carried her bag upstairs.

Typically, a mansion’s resident family kept their rooms on the second or third floor. But Ael stayed on the fourth floor—the attic level designated for servants.

She used to have a room on the third floor.

But Elise, who shared the third floor with her, had claimed her wardrobe space was insufficient and sent Ael upstairs, turning Ael’s old room into her own dressing room.

Once inside her room, Ael immediately shoved the bag of books under her bed and changed clothes. Then, holding her father’s identification, she headed to his study.

Just as she stepped into the hallway after safely returning the ID to its place, footsteps sounded around the corner. Before Ael could descend, their owner appeared.

“What is it?”

The person who appeared frowned the moment they saw Ael—as if spotting an insect.

“E-Elise…”

It was Elise, her younger sister by three years.

“Oh, it’s you, Rida?”

Refusing even to call her “older sister,” Elise addressed Ael with clear irritation, speaking to her as if she were a maid—not as Ael, but as Rida.

Ael’s registered noble name was Aelfrida—the name of the strongest Golden Rule successor from myth, carelessly chosen by her father.

Though it was usually shortened to Ael for convenience and to avoid embarrassment, Elise alone insisted on calling her Rida instead.

Given the name Aelfrida, either Ael or Rida could reasonably serve as a nickname.

But Ael remembered: long ago, the viscount had spent a fortune buying a rare-breed puppy—and its name had been Rida.

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