﹡ ⊹ ⊰ Chapter 246 ⊱ ⊹ ﹡
An old woman, a young man, and a woman. Three people who did not blend with the surroundings were slowly stepping through the banquet hall in Lombardy's garden.
They wore clothes completely different from the ones the Imperial nobles wore at the banquet.
The unique thing was their clothes which mainly used intense colors of red, blue, and yellow had beautiful lines and embroidered borders, and their long skirts were touching the ground.
In addition, they wore accessories made of wood, not jewelry, which caught people's attention in an instant.
However, as if they weren't aware of the curious gazes, they walked leisurely like out on a tour and looked around the banquet hall and the nobles.
"Wow, this is incredible." Said the man with dark skin and unusually red hair.
"Because the Empire is completely different from our place. It's really different to see in person than in books!" The red-headed man exclaimed after admiring the white cloth covering the table, the beautiful evergreen trees by the garden, and the curvy mustache of the man who was passing by. Then he spoke to the elderly woman who was walking ahead of him.
"Chief, how is your body?"
Although he said it in a passing tone, his eyes were filled with concern when he looked at the old woman who was called 'Chief'.
"I'm fine."
"You can't just keep saying you're fine. I'm one of the chief's representatives. If anything happens, how will I look at the faces of the tribe's members?"
The man picked up a glass of fruit juice from a nearby table. Afterward, a subtle light, which was not visible to the eye, moved to stir the juice, creating a whirlpool in the middle of the glass, and then it suddenly stopped.
"There, it's safe to drink now, Chief."
"Thanks, Onta."
While the old woman was drinking juice, the young woman standing behind her constantly looked around with just her eyes.
The silent woman with an expressionless face and no unnecessary body movement reminded anyone of an upright tree.
"You're right, Onta."
"What are you talking about, Chief?"
"The Empire is very different from our tribe."
"Right? I don't understand."
Onta frowned dreadfully, glancing at the colorful nobles passing by.
"What's the point of being so greedy? I'd rather be happy to share my wealth with everyone else."
"Each one has their own way to live."
"But look Chief. How many of those people here are truly happy?"
As Onta spoke discontentedly while pointing to the surrounding nobles, the old woman lifted her wrinkled eyes and carefully examined them.
It was a common outdoor banquet hall, but it was as if she could see something invisible to others.
The old woman looked at them for a long time.
"You're right again, Onta."
"Look at it."
Onta, who answered in a grumpy way, said.
"It's nice to see the Empire, but I don't think it's a place that will be there for that long. Let's finish our business here and go back to the village, Chief."
"This journey is not determined by your choices, Onta."
Eventually, scolded by the woman who was escorting them, Onta replied with his lips pouting.
"I know, Ana. However, staying in such a place for a long time is not good for the Chief's health."
"...."
Ana, who has always maintained impassivity, was shaken by the word 'health'.
"We've already informed a man called a butler that we're here, so wait a moment and we'll know."
"Ha, I'll just gonna walk around the neighborhood a little—"
"You don't have to." The Chief said, pointing to the side of the large building.
"She's coming from over there."
Ana and Onta's heads turned in the direction the old woman pointed at the same time.
A woman in a red dress strode along with her fluttering brown hair.
"It's Shan's child." She said as her wrinkled lips smiled.
***
"Suddenly, my grandmother...."
I could feel my heart beating fast as I walked to the place the butler mentioned earlier.
Does Dad know?
Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind. However, I quickly assumed that it would not be the case.
If he knew, he would have told me in advance.
"He said she was in the garden."
I stepped out of the main building and walked toward the garden. It was a direction that needed to cross a large outdoor banquet hall.
"Head Lombardy!"
"Good afternoon, Madam!"
"Congratulations!"
I was distracted by the nobles greeting me and letting out pleasantries, but I nodded and briefly replied here and there then continued walking.
"Ah."
And when I got to the end of the banquet hall, I could see three people in the distance.
There was no time to wonder if they were them. Because they had an extraordinary presence.
My eyes met with my grandmother, an old woman with long gray hair tied together in braids.
Without taking my gaze off, I stood in front of her.
"Hello, nice to meet you." I bowed my head slowly and said my greetings first in a respectable manner.
Then a voice imbued with a friendly tone returned my greetings.
"Nice to meet you, Shan's child."
'Shan's child.'
What she said was true, but it was a bit unique to hear.
But that's what I liked about it.
In particular, the Family Head was even more likable to her grandmother that has a confident attitude, was carefree, and with eyes that did not avoid anyone's gaze.
"Let's have a little chat." My grandmother said as she took the lead and walked into the evergreen forest as if no more greetings were necessary.
You're quite a unique one.
I thought so and quietly followed suit.
At some point, when my grandmother and I reached the middle of the forest, the other two didn't follow.
When there was only the sound of the dirt under our feet, grandmother opened her mouth first.
"Shan's child. Your name... is Firentia?"
"Yes, that's right. May I know Grandma's name?"
When I called her "Grandma", she seemed a little surprised, and soon laughed in a lighthearted way.
"My name is Saura. It means 'eye' in the language of our tribe."
"Tribe...?"
"The Chara Tribe I lead was located in the woods that borders the sea at the very southern end of this Empire. Do you know about us?"
"Ah... By any chance..."
It was from a book called 'People of the South', which I read as soon as I returned here in the past.
The solace that a scholar named Ropilli discovered.
"I didn't know that my mother was a member of that tribe."
"We don't talk about our tribe outside the village anymore. There are troublesome things that happened." Grandma said with a light smile.
"Then you must know that we have extraordinary abilities."
"I remember reading in a book that there's this power called magic."
"Oh, yes. You must have read a book written by Ropilli. Right, it's an ability that's only obtained through blood."
However, while listening to the explanation in person, doubts rose in the corner of my mind.
That kind of power really does exist?
"You're a funny child. You knew full well and yet you doubt it."
"... What?"
"Haven't you already experienced the power of magic once? Firentia is living in the past again."
I got goosebumps.
"That...how.."
"That's the power I have."
Her blurry eyes looked at me and said.
"I see things that others cannot see. Sometimes it's the past, sometimes it's someone's thoughts. Very occasionally, I see the future through dreams."
I couldn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.
When I didn't know how to act in front of someone who knows that I have returned, my mind turned blank.
My grandmother stared at me before saying as if it was no big deal.
"Everyone from the tribe has at least one special power. Onta over there has the ability to heal people and make medicine out of water."
My grandmother pointed to the man waiting at a distance.
"And Ana moves like the wind. She also has the strength of ten people."
"Then what you're saying is... My ability..."
"Maybe you had the ability to turn back time."
That's a superhero kind of ability!
"Well then, what about Mom?"
"Shan's ability was to see the future. From the color of the flower that one will pick tomorrow, to the flood that will kill many people. She was able to see everything in advance. Shan's ability was so powerful that everyone thought she would succeed me as the Chief."
My head went blank when I heard some sort of my birth secret. Then my grandmother said to me.
"But you're only a half-blood. Rather, only half of the blood of the Chara tribe flows within you."
"What?"
It was a word I heard too often in my previous life.
Half-blood
A mockery that no matter how hard I try, I can only be half Lombardy. Even if it's been a long time since I heard it, it feels sad.
When I didn't say anything, Grandma smiled again.
"Don't feel bad. It's rather a good thing."
"A good thing?"
"The Chara tribe's ability comes with a price."
Grandma pointed at the man once again.
"Onta has the magic to save the dying people, but he cannot feel joy."
Next, she pointed to Ana.
"Ana is faster and stronger than anyone, but she doesn't feel pain. Even if many people were hurt, she, herself, wouldn't know until she bled to death. And she couldn't sympathize with the pain of others, so she has committed the crime of injuring many people since childhood."
"Then, is Grandma okay?"
"I..."
Grandmother smiled bitterly.
"As you can see, I can barely see. And I lost the most precious thing to me."
If it was the most precious thing to my grandmother...
"The price for the eyes that can see everything was my daughter, Shan. The stronger the ability, the more precious you lose."
Grandma said a little while ago that Mom's ability was a very powerful one.
"Then my mother...."
"Life. The price Shan had to pay was her own life."
Grandma, who answered like that, approached and looked up at me with hazy eyes and said.
"So, Firentia. Don't be sad that you're a half-blood. Because of that, you appear to be out of the chains of Chara."
Ineffable loneliness flashed across the face of my grandmother who said so.
"Then, fortunately..."
I was about to sigh in relief when one question arose in my head.
Can I ask this one thing?
As I was hesitant, my grandmother said.
"You must have a lot of questions. Ask, child."
"I'm sorry. I don't quite understand. Didn't you say a while ago that my mom can see the future?"
"Yes, that was Shan's ability."
"But then...I'm sure she already knows so why did she give birth to me?"
My mother gave birth to me and died about a hundred days later.
If she had seen her own future like that, then why?
"Shan knew her future. Of course, she also knew of your presence, Firentia."
"That means..."
"Shan chose to give birth to you, Firentia. She left her tribe, her family in the woods, and left for the Empire with Ropilli, who had completed her research. Then she came to the Lombardy estate to meet your father."
Grandma's hazy eyes became even more blurry.
"Even though she knew she was going to die."
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April 03, 2022
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