The True Head of the Family Was Me — Chapter : 11
The very first thing that caught his eye was long, black hair as dark as ebony.
It was long enough to fall below her waist, and it looked incredibly beautiful.
Her small, white face was adorned with delicate and distinct features.
The most striking part was her vividly blue, water-colored eyes beneath fine black eyelashes.
They were so radiant and beautiful, as though they had been fashioned from jewels, that Mihael found his gaze drawn to them.
The line of her neck visible above her gray dress was slender.
“I think I removed the curse. I tried to get rid of it completely, but I’m not sure whether I succeeded.”
Riarte approached Mihael again when he did not answer.
“Mihael?”
When she brought her face closer, Mihael’s ears flushed bright red.
Until now, the man had shown no reaction even when their eyes met, but the moment he averted his gaze, Riarte realized.
There was only one layer of the curse left.
“Your eyesight has returned.”
“I can see things up close as I normally would, but things in the distance are still blurry.”
From the way Mihael answered, it seemed that he still could not recognize who Riarte was.
‘Come to think of it, I was often told that we didn’t look alike.’
Rian and Riarte had the same coloring and similar features, but they did not look like twins.
Rian, who had been revered like the sun from the moment he was born, and Riarte, who had been confined and raised in isolation because she was believed to be an unawakened, could not possibly have had the same life.
Perhaps the difference in their lives had also created a difference in their overall atmosphere.
“Can you see in front of you, Mihael?”
Mihael could smell the scent of water emanating from Riarte.
“I can.”
His throat became dry from thirst, and his mouth burned sweetly.
Without even realizing that his voice was trembling, Mihael smiled.
“I can see very well.”
Even after seeing countless beautiful women, Mihael had never felt particularly moved.
Now, however, he found it difficult to control his strangely trembling heart as their gazes met.
“I’m glad that the first thing I saw when my eyesight returned was you.”
Mihael let his unfiltered sincerity slip out.
“And thank you.”
Mihael kissed the back of Riarte’s hand.
The joy of finally being able to truly meet her was coursing through his entire body.
“Thank you for restoring my eyesight as you promised. Virche never forgets a debt of gratitude. Since you restored the eyes of Virche’s heir, all of Virche will treat you as our benefactor.”
Riarte thought the sensation of his hot lips touching the cool skin on the back of her hand felt unfamiliar.
“There’s still one final layer of the curse left out of the seven. You need to remove this one for me to completely regain my eyesight.”
The owner of the voice that Mihael had pursued all this time, believing it to be like a light in the darkness.
At last, he had properly reached her.
“Yes. I believe you’ll completely restore my eyesight soon. So now, tell me what you want.”
Mihael had promised her that if she removed his curse, he would give her anything.
“I’ll grant everything. Whatever it is.”
Now it was time to keep that promise.
It was also the moment Riarte had been waiting for.
“Mihael.”
Having gathered her thoughts, Riarte looked directly at Mihael.
“I’ll tell you my name now.”
She had been prepared for this ever since she decided to take Virche’s hand and change the future.
Elheim would never let Riarte go easily.
Even before her regression, they had confined Riarte to the family because they wanted to hide their one and only blemish.
If they learned that she was an Awakened, they would try even harder to hold on to her.
But this time, Riarte intended to leave the family even if it meant making the Imperial Family, Elheim’s backing, her enemy.
“I’m Riarte Elheim.”
The disgrace of the Elheim Ducal Family.
The halfwit who was the only one born unawakened.
The half-Elheim.
Those were the words she had heard throughout her entire life while living in humiliation. It was only after she was executed and breathed her last that she had finally let go of her emotions.
Riarte looked up at Mihael.
The light of dawn filtered through the open window.
“My wish is to leave Elheim.”
If she could escape this family, she did not care if she died afterward.
She had lived her life after regression with only one purpose and desire: to leave the Elheim Ducal Family.
“So help me. Make it possible for me to leave Elheim completely.”
Although Mihael must have known the stories about Elheim’s unawakened daughter, there was no change in his expression.
“You said your name was Riarte?”
Then he smiled happily.
“That’s a very pretty name.”
In the ancient language, the blue rose that bloomed for only one week during summer was called Riarte.
Holding one of Riarte’s hands, Mihael spoke.
“I think it suits you perfectly.”
The name of the benefactor he had wanted so badly.
Mihael knew that from now on, he would come to love flowers that gave off a blue hue beneath the summer sunlight.
Wrapping her delicate hand in his own, Mihael whispered sweetly.
“Yes, Riarte. Everything will happen according to your wishes.”
The shabby gray clothes he had failed to notice while being captivated by her appearance, and the wounds hidden beneath her sleeves.
“I’ll make absolutely certain that you can escape from Elheim.”
An eerie murderous intent that Riarte failed to notice swirled within Mihael’s red eyes.
Dawn came.
Mihael, sitting beside the sofa, spoke.
“I’m Mihael Virche. As you know, I’m Virche’s heir, and I have one father. Until recently, I also had a grandfather.”
He was so different from the people of Elheim, who were bound by their family, their status as Awakened, and their abilities.
He did not even ask why Riarte, who was known to be unawakened, could use the water ability.
Riarte found Mihael’s reaction comforting.
“I’m Riarte.”
Not Elheim, not an unawakened person—just Riarte.
After wondering what else she should say, Riarte added,
“I think I probably like animals.”
Because she had spent her entire life imprisoned, there were many things she did not know. Riarte did not even know what she liked or disliked.
She had never had the experiences necessary to discover such things.
She had only a vague memory of liking animals when she was young.
“Do you like birds? Small, white ones.”
“I don’t know.”
The expressionless look on Riarte’s face softened slightly.
“Maybe I do.”
She remembered seeing birds flying through the sky while she lived confined behind bars.
“Then what do you think of these, Riarte?”
Birds flew toward Mihael’s hand.
“They’re birds that Virche raises and takes care of.”
They were tiny enough to perch on a finger.
They were white and fluffy, looking almost like little balls. Their two black eyes looked particularly adorable.
Because there was no room left on Mihael’s hand, one of the birds landed on Riarte’s finger.
“What a small and pretty bird.”
Riarte whispered affectionately to the bird.
Mihael stared blankly at Riarte’s face, forgetting even to answer.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
Small notes were attached to the birds’ ankles.
Despite their appearance, these birds flew incredibly fast, so Virche primarily used them as messenger birds.
Mihael removed one of the notes and unfolded the small letter.
“It’s from my father.”
It was the story of the Duke of Virche, whom Riarte had only heard about by name.
“I sent word that there was someone in Elheim helping me. Since my father said he owes you a debt, he told me to respect your wishes completely.”
Mihael quickly wrote a reply and tied it to the bird’s ankle.
The bird fluttered out the window.
“When are you thinking of leaving Elheim? If you want, we can leave right away.”
Mihael remembered that Riarte was Rian’s twin.
She was over sixteen but had not yet held her coming-of-age ceremony, and although she still had six months until she turned seventeen, that was not a problem.
As for Elheim coming after them, it would not be bad to crush them while they were at it and go to war.
“I’m still a minor, Mihael.”
Riarte answered calmly.
“If I leave now, Elheim will mobilize even the Imperial Family to try to capture me. I might end up making the entire Empire my enemy.”
From Mihael’s calculations, that was a viable option.
There had been countless wars throughout history that had arisen from fear of Virche’s death ability.
Therefore, he could not simply tell her that fighting the Empire for several years would be a clean and convenient solution.
Unlike Mihael, who was indifferent to killing, Riarte was normal.
“You’ll become an adult in six months, right?”
“That’s right.”
Riarte recalled the time before her regression.
“If the twins’ coming-of-age ceremony is held early, it might be a little sooner.”
Because Riarte’s condition had been poor, Rian’s ability had remained unstable for some time after the assassin incident.
She vaguely remembered the Duke of Elheim blaming her, saying that the coming-of-age ceremony had to be postponed because of her.
“Then I’ll plan for you to leave on the day of your coming-of-age ceremony, or on your seventeenth birthday.”
Mihael answered as he calculated.
He did not want to leave Riarte behind in the Elheim Ducal Family.
But the amount of time she could remain here was now only two weeks.
A few days after the hunting competition ended, Mihael would leave.
The hunting competition was coming soon.
The water ability was becoming increasingly stable.
The members of Elheim’s bloodline said it was because of the Spirit Stone.
Today, Riarte had enough strength to use the water ability without even needing to visit her.
But Rian came to Riarte’s room again.
Even he did not know why.
Whenever Riarte looked at him with that emotionless face, he continued to feel an inexplicable impulse and stubborn desire.
When Rian arrived at Riarte’s room, he opened the door using his water ability.
Riarte was standing in front of the bright window covered with bars.
And a tiny bird was perched on her white finger.
Her smiling eyes, curved as she smiled, were exactly like the Riarte Rian knew.
He could see her whispering something affectionately to the bird.
A small sense of anticipation and hope caught in Rian’s throat.
Soon, Riarte noticed Rian.
The emotions disappeared from the face that had been smiling somewhat gently.
Before long, an expressionless gaze, containing neither emotion nor expectation, was directed at Rian.
For some reason, the sight came as a shock to him.
