My body was heavy.

  But I struggled to lift my eyelids.

  The sight I started to see was, fortunately, my bedroom.

  And I could feel the big hand holding my left hand tightly.

  "……Perez."

  It was Perez who was sleeping on my bed with a bandage all over his body.

  "Are you wake up?"

  "Oh, Estira."

  I was happy to see Estira after a long time and tried to laugh, but even that didn’t go my way.

  I was so tired as if I had been working all night.

  "You’re very heavy, aren’t you? It’s a symptom that occurs when the tidi poison is detoxified."

  Estira told me as if she had read my mind.

  "He’s…… Why is Perez here?"

  He’s more serious patient than me.

  "His Highness has been here since waking up a few hours ago. No matter how much I say him to lay down in his room, he didn’t listen."

  Estira explained with a bitter smile.

  "Is Perez…… Is he okay?"

  “There was a lot of bleeding, but luckily the sword didn’t hit the critical point. The resilience of Aura users is incomparable to that of ordinary people, so he will get well soon. Maybe he will recover faster than Lady Florentia.”


  "……I just cut my finger a little."

  "Because His Highness is a person who has surpassed human limits in many ways."

  Well.

  A person like him treats mana like his own hands, who can’t even feel its existence.

  Sometimes I forget how great Perez is.

  I looked up at the ceiling, looking away from Perez, who was sleeping faintly.

  It was to organize my thoughts.

  "The Empress must be behind it."

  The most important thing is who is the one who attacked us at the forefront.

  There was a clear corner.

  "The Lord of Sussew."

  Currently, among those who deal with swords near the Capital, he is the only one who can compete with Perez.

  When I thought about the behavior that gave Perez a strange time without attacking immediately, Chanton Sussew was right.

  Considering his behavior of even giving Perez an odd time without attacking immediately, that must be Chanton Sussew right.

  "And the men following him must be the watchmen sent by the Empress."

  To see if the Lord of Sussew does his job properly or not.

  And for a solid finish using poison.

  Then Estira came up and wiped my face with a wet cloth and said.

  "As Lady Florentia said, it was fortunate that we had made antidote to various poisons."

  "Thank you, Estira."

  "This kind of thing…… You were expecting it, weren’t you?"

  To Estira, who had a sad voice, I smiled instead of answering.

  I prepared it just in case because the Empress likes to use poison.

  "……I’ll make a rarer and stronger antidote to poison in the future. That’s all I can do for you."

  Then the door to the bedroom opened carefully.

  "Dad."

  "……Tia."

  My father seemed a little surprised to see me up.

  And my father’s gaze quietly captured Perez, who was asleep holding my hand.

  "Can we talk for a minute, Tia?"

  My father smiled helplessly and asked me.

  * * *

  Estira took Perez out.

  Normally, he would have already read the signs of my father coming in and opened his eyes.

  It was Perez who could only move after shaking his body a few times to wake him up.

  I smiled and waved at the guy who looked back at me until the door closed.

  "How are you feeling?"

  After only the two of us were left in the bedroom, my father said the first word.

  "It’s all right, although I’m tired."

  Father sat where Perez was lying on his stomach a little while ago.

  And he said in a voice that seemed to go off anytime soon.

  "Dad thought there was something wrong happen to you."

  "Dad……"

  "I thought my heart stopped when Tia was lying down."

  My father swept his face nervously.

  "I’m fine now. Estira says I’ll get better soon with a little rest."

  "……Well, I don’t know, Tia. I don’t know if you’re really gonna be okay."

  I could tell right away.

  My father was no longer talking about this.

  "I’m sorry, Dad."

  All I could say was this.

  My father looked into my face like that and said,

  "You don’t have to go this far, Tia."

  My father was in agony.

  "You’re engaged because of your family, and because of that, you’re in this accident today…… "

  My father already knew exactly why it happened today.

  "For now, I’ve taken steps to make sure that today’s accident doesn’t go into my father’s ears. But it won’t last long. An assassin sent by the Empress broke into Lombardy’s land."

  My father’s voice also subsided low.

  "But even if it is Lombardy’s territory, the Empress is desperate enough to do this. Now that this attempt failed, she’ll do something else. It’s going to get more and worse. She would do anything to make her son the Emperor."

  My father knew exactly what Empress Rabini was like.

  "Tia."

  My father’s good eyes were colored with worry.

  "Let’s go to Cheshire."

  "……Yeah?"

  "Cheshire is developing day by day. The port is now settled and still has a lot of potential for development. Tia, you’re gonna love it."

  "Are you talking about leaving Lombardy now?"

  My father smiled bitterly at my question.

  "Lombardy is a great family."

  My father looked up at the world tree that gracefully decorated the ceiling and said.

  "But that greatness does erode the members of the family. The family loses ties, and couples don’t know love."

  My father’s green eyes caught me again.

  “Dad wants Tia to live a happy life. Not the manure sacrificed for the growth of this world tree, but your own roots.”


  "Dad……"

  "Let’s go together to Cheshire, Tia."

  I’ve never seen my father like this before.

  He was afraid.

  "Dad can’t live if I lose you."

  Looking at my father’s face, I hesitated about my decision for the first time since my regression.

  I wanted to hold my father’s hand who was fearing that I would be in danger.

  And shall we settle down in a safe and peaceful place?

  Such an impulse arose.

  However, when I looked up at the world tree on the ceiling that my father had captured, I recalled the memory that I had forgotten for a while.

  The iron gate of the mansion, which was closed in the hands of Imperial Soldiers in my previous life.

  I was so helpless in front of it.

  The anger of the half who couldn’t protect the family.

  I took my eyes off the world tree and looked at my father.

  And said.

  "Dad, I’m going to be the Matriarch of Lombardy."

  My father’s green eyes, which resemble me, shook greatly.

  "I’m going to succeed my grandfather."

  "Tia, that’s……"

  "Aunt Shannanet has repeatedly obstinately said she has no intention of taking over the householder of the family. It’s a choice for twins’ lives. Just like my dad is for me now."

  My father’s mouth, which had been slightly open, was closed again.

  "But Dad can’t take over Lombardy. Because my dad has Cheshire."

  My father did not deny it.

  Unlike Lombardy, it’s like a child who just started walking.

  My father was so busy just taking care of and growing up Cheshire.

  "Then all that’s left is uncle Viese."

  I can’t see that.

  "I’m sorry, Dad. I will be the Matriarch of Lombardy."

  I said it again and again.

  My father was not surprised.

  "I vaguely thought that Tia would have made up her mind……"

  My father looked at me with sad eyes for a long time.

  And at some point laughed helplessly.

  It seemed he realized that no words could quell my desire.

  "Yes, my daughter had that dream."

  My father muttered in a low voice.

  And looked at me and said.

  "You could be a great Matriarch, Tia. My daughter can lead Lombardy better than anyone else."1

  Thump! Thump!

  My heart skipped a beat at my father’s words.

  It was the first time anyone had ever said that to me.

  You’ll be able to lead Lombardy well.

  It sounded sweeter to my ears than any other word in the world.

  I couldn’t resist the smile from the bottom of my heart.

  "Thank you, Dad."

  I said to my father with a big smile.

  "Thank you for trusting me."

  My father patted me on the head lying down.

  It was the same warm touch as when I was a child.

  * * *

  The room next to Lord of Lombardy’s office.

  The conference room was full of people after a long time.

  A meeting was held where all Lombardy’s family members gathered.

  Several people were sitting together, but it was quiet in the conference room.

  Lulak opened his mouth to the household lords who sat around the long table and looked at him.

  "Thank you all for coming while we’re busy."

  Lulak slowly watched the familiar faces one by one.

  From a young man to an old man full of wrinkles.

  These were the people who made Lombardy into Lombardy now.

  Lulak said in a loud voice.

  "Today, I want to hear honest opinions about the succession of the household, so I’m calling you here."