How to Live as the Terminally Ill Younger Sister of the Villain - Chapter 87
Angelina was confused. Her furrowed expression clearly revealed her mood.
“Laura.”
“Yes, young miss.”
“Do you know what the Flaubert family heirloom is?”
“If you mean the family heirloom, isn’t it the sculpture made from carved cornelian? Though I’ve never seen it myself, I know it’s supposed to be egg-shaped with a somewhat rough surface.”
“I’ve never seen it myself either. I only heard about it when studying the family history.”
Like in any family, heirlooms are more symbolic than practical, kept safely in the most secure part of the vault, rarely taken out to be viewed.
When Angelina studied it, she merely thought ‘Oh, so that exists’ and moved on, never being particularly curious about it.
But today, that changed.
“This rough egg shape… could it perhaps look like a heart at first glance?”
“A heart?”
Laura asked back with a puzzled voice, and Angelina’s brow furrowed deeper.
“Do you know the name of that heirloom?”
“Does it have a specific name?”
“Every family’s heirloom has a name. Like the Kadenhart duchy’s Artoas.”
“Then the Marquis’s heirloom must have a name, too. I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it.”
As Laura was bowing apologetically, Haley, who was standing nearby, raised her hand enthusiastically.
“I know! The name of the Marquis family’s heirloom!”
“Really?”
“Yes! It’s ‘Zeplictus’!”
“……”
At Haley’s confident answer, Angelina squeezed her eyes shut.
She placed her hands over her eyes and pressed her temples to hide her grimacing expression.
Not understanding why Angelina reacted that way, Haley added cheerfully.
“I’m certain. Our Magic Tower was very interested in the Marquis family’s heirloom.”
“Interested?”
“Yes, there’s been a long-standing theory in the Magic Tower that an enormous amount of magical power is sealed within Zeplictus. Since it’s related to magical power, naturally, everyone was curious about it.”
“Your Magic Tower?”
“Ah, I mean, before I was expelled from the Magic Tower…. Hehe.”
When Angelina opened her eyes and asked, Haley laughed awkwardly.
Angelina didn’t press further.
Ever since learning that Ante was the Magic Tower Master, she had doubted whether Haley was really expelled from the Magic Tower.
No matter how she thought about it, it seemed more likely that her brother, seeing her talent, had brought her to the Marquis household to keep her close and watch over her.
But that aside…
“Yes, that’s right.”
Angelina lowered her gaze to the book.
“Zeplictus is our family heirloom’s name.”
[Zeplictus.
These are dragon’s wings.]
But why would that name appear in such a worn folklore book?
‘Am I reading too much into what might be just an old tale?’
Come to think of it, since heirlooms are objects passed down through families from ancient times, they could be classified as ‘artifacts.’
‘No, even for an old tale, having the name printed this clearly is strange to anyone.’
However, it felt unsettling to dismiss it as a mere coincidence.
Especially because of the winged man she saw in the vision at the tomb.
‘Could that winged man I saw be the same man in the book who commanded a million divine beasts?’
If so, does that mean both that hazy vision and this folklore-like story are all true…?
If that’s the case, it means she had glimpsed a past older than the empire’s history through that sacred object, but could that even be possible?
If she had read this folklore first and then seen that vision, she would have dismissed it as her imagination creating an overly realistic scene.
But with the order reversed, she had no choice but to seriously consider both.
‘Could this be the information that was said to be in the Grand Library?’
The vision she saw when she obtained the sacred object.
The winged man she saw in the vision.
The folklore featuring the winged man.
The Marquis family’s heirloom mentioned in the folklore.
Moreover, the man in the story was described as the owner of Zeplictus.
So if everything was true, it would mean that the man who commanded divine beasts was an ancestor of the Flaubert family.
‘Are you saying the Flaubert Marquis family are descendants of dragons, or what?’
“Good grief. What nonsense am I thinking?”
Having reached such an absurd conclusion in her thoughts, Angelina laughed at herself.
That’s when it happened.
“What thoughts are making you click your tongue like that?”
A familiar voice came from behind her.
Angelina turned her head in surprise.
“Duke.”
As expected, there stood the handsome man with black hair.
His blue eyes looked refreshing in the sunlight streaming through the glass ceiling.
“Did you know that it takes two days just to make one round through the Capital’s Grand Library?”
Though his complaint meant ‘wasn’t ‘Grand Library in two weeks’ too vague?’, his voice and expression didn’t match the grievance at all.
“Ah… I’m sorry. I could only write that much on such a small piece of paper. Don’t tell me you’ve been wandering aimlessly around the entire library looking for me?”
Not quite catching his amused expression, Angelina asked worriedly with wide eyes, and Blake developed a playfulness he’d never shown before.
“If that were the case, would you compensate me?”
“Ah… Well, I can’t compensate for your time, but I could treat you to a meal as an apology.”
Though he had meant it as a joke, Angelina responded so seriously that Blake couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’ll be the one paying for the meal. I’ve only been receiving until now.”
“But then there’s no meaning to my apology.”
“Having you join me for the meal is enough.”
“But…”
“Someone once said that the recipient determines the value of compensation.”
At those words, Angelina was left speechless. She never expected her own excuse to return like a boomerang.
“So I’ll be more than happy just to have Miss Flaubert spare some time to keep me company during the meal.”
Angelina let out a small laugh at his brazenly calm demeanor.
“Who said such things? My, what logic that leaves one speechless.”
“Indeed.”
As he subtly indicated that he too had felt the same way before while teasing her, Angelina’s expression softened.
“I was worried that unilaterally informing you of the time and place might have been rude, but I’m glad you came.”
“Not at all. I’m grateful. I was actually wondering if I should return to the villa or send a message that day.”
“I really didn’t expect my brother to appear suddenly. And the Crown Prince, too. It was quite troublesome.”
Her apologetic smile while sighing filled Blake’s field of vision.
The flowers blooming in the garden behind her seemed to dye her silver hair in various colors, creating an illusion.
Somehow, his heartbeat felt a bit loud, so he pressed firmly near his heart.
When it still wouldn’t quiet down, Blake shifted his gaze to his surroundings and changed the subject.
“By the way, the little one isn’t here today.”
“Pudding? They said animals aren’t allowed in the library, even guard animals.”
“He must have thrown quite a tantrum about wanting to come along.”
“Yes. He absolutely refused to stay in the room, so I had no choice but to send him with Sir Jake.”
Blake let out a small laugh. He could clearly imagine Jake’s suffering.
He could think this because he knew that while Pudding was affectionate in front of Angelina, he was cold and fierce everywhere else.
“But is it alright to leave him like that? I heard there have been many monster incidents in the capital.”
To his question about whether there might be trouble with Pudding being mistaken for a monster, Angelina shook her head.
“We registered and verified him at the capital’s entrance. No one will interfere carelessly.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
“More importantly, you’ve heard about these monster problems too, Duke?”
“Yes. I heard they haven’t managed to catch a single one yet due to their elusive nature… Security is strict everywhere.”
“Did you also hear the details about why they can’t catch these monsters?”
“Well. All I heard was that by the time the guards arrive at the scene, the monsters have already fled.”
Blake wore a worried expression.
“Monsters aren’t usually that clever, so at this point, I think they might be magical beasts rather than monsters. Not all magical beasts are as friendly as Pudding, so I’m concerned about the capital’s safety.”
“You really are kind-hearted, Duke. Most people first criticize the incompetence of the capital’s guards, but you think of the citizens’ safety first.”
“Well…”
He couldn’t bring himself to say that criticizing the guards’ incompetence wouldn’t change anything since he wasn’t going to help anyway.
Meanwhile, Angelina continued speaking.
“But there’s another secret to why the monsters retreat.”
