The Real Head of House Was Me — Chapter : 7
“Yeah. I’ll treat you so that it won’t hurt.”
Liarte lifted Michael’s head.
Under the moonlight, his red eyes, covered by the curse, glimmered faintly.
“This time, I’m going to erase one layer of the curse beneath the letters. Don’t close your eyes and wait.”
Michael seemed to have already forgotten that he had been leaning against her shoulder.
Because of her regular physical contact with Rian, Liarte was relatively unfazed even when other people touched her.
Soon, the power of Water flowed into Michael’s eyes.
I have to be careful to erase only one.
Liarte moved the Water cautiously so that she would not touch the other layers of the curse.
The Seven Veils was one of the most difficult curses to dispel among black magic.
If she accidentally touched another layer while trying to remove just one, his condition could worsen beyond recovery.
Even after experiencing it again, this is still powerful.
Michael silently marveled at her strength.
“Michael, does it hurt?”
“No. It doesn’t hurt at all because you’re being considerate.”
What interested Michael was not the other person’s powerful ability.
He liked the fact that she genuinely worried about someone from the infamous Birche family and treated him with careful consideration.
He liked the kindness mixed into her indifferent attitude.
Michael thought.
Ah, I really want to see her with my own eyes.
What expression would she be making at this very moment as their gazes met?
She was close enough that he could sense her breathing, yet he did not even know what she looked like.
He wanted to know her name.
Of course, Michael deliberately did not try to figure out her identity.
There had to be a reason why an Awakened of Water of this caliber was unknown.
Moreover, she had been able to help Michael while avoiding the eyes of the Duke of Elheim.
I should stop.
If he kept making guesses, he might figure out who she was.
Michael owed her a debt. His benefactor had not told him her name.
He was not shameless enough to pry into an identity she clearly wanted to keep hidden.
“I’ll definitely repay this debt once my eyes are healed. Then, someday, will I be able to hear your name?”
A faint light appeared where the darkness had thinned.
One layer of the curse had been removed, and he could finally see at least a little.
Liarte slowly withdrew the power of Water.
He doesn’t know who I am.
She had assumed he would have already investigated her.
“I won’t try to find out anything on my own unless you tell me.”
Michael gently reached out his hand so that the other person would not leave.
His lips touching the back of Liarte’s hand were warm and respectful.
“So tell me your name yourself. But if it’s difficult, you don’t have to tell me.”
“You’re kind, Michael.”
Liarte left her hand quietly in Michael’s grasp.
“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard anyone say that.”
There were dozens of people who would be horrified just by seeing Michael behave this way toward a woman.
Especially the servants of Birche.
“I’ll tell you my name before your eyes are completely healed. Michael.”
Liarte made a promise.
Unlike the memories she had from before her regression, Michael Birche was a kind person.
It was a conclusion she could make only because she did not know that Michael’s gentle attitude was reserved exclusively for her.
“I like you. Thank you for treating me kindly, Michael.”
At that moment, Michael flinched.
Liarte’s voice was so dry that there was no way to misunderstand what she meant by liking him.
Anyone would know that it was simply an expression of familiarity, yet his heart sank heavily.
“I’ll come back in two days this time.”
“Why? Is something happening?”
“After removing one layer of the curse, I need to let your eyes rest for at least a day. So I’ll come back the day after tomorrow.”
Dawn was approaching.
As Liarte moved farther away, the refreshing scent gradually faded.
“See you in two days.”
“Yeah. Sleep well.”
When Michael answered, he heard the door open along with light footsteps.
Left alone, Michael recalled the sensation that remained in his now-empty hand.
Somehow, I feel disappointed.
It was a night when the two days he would have to wait for her seemed unusually long.
Click.
The locking mechanism attached to Liarte’s door rattled.
What’s going on?
Liarte opened her eyes and listened carefully to the sounds coming from outside.
The room where Liarte stayed was designed so that it could be locked from the outside.
A lock and a metal bolt had been installed to imprison someone without an ability.
An Awakened of Water could move a stream of water to open the locking mechanism without making a sound.
So the person opening the door right now must be a servant.
With a dull sound, the lock opened, and the iron bolt slid back with a screech.
When the door opened, bright light illuminated the room.
“Are you awake?”
The person who entered was Rian’s maid.
“What is it?”
“The young master ordered that the lock be left open during the day for the time being.”
Until she heard the maid’s words, Liarte had forgotten about Rian.
She had been too occupied thinking about Michael to have room to think about anyone else, but she had also failed to take Rian’s words seriously.
Most of the promises made by Elheim’s blood relatives were empty promises.
They were words like letting her leave the room or giving her something, gestures of charity offered on a whim.
They were words casually thrown out depending on their mood, and not once had such promises actually been kept.
Before her regression, she had repeated the cycle of hoping and being disappointed countless times.
Now, she felt nothing.
Come to think of it, he told me to walk around freely during the day.
It was something Rian had said after suddenly entering her room and stiffening his expression.
It was surprising that he had kept his word, but it made sense if she simply considered it another whim of his.
Good.
At least it meant she could walk around the mansion today.
As long as she did not catch the attention of Elheim’s blood relatives, there was no reason for her to be imprisoned again.
I should go to the library and look for books about the power of Water.
If Michael’s eyes had been badly damaged by the curse, he would need treatment.
Even when she had been an unawakened person, she had read books about the power of Water, so no one should suspect her now.
Liarte stepped through the open door.
Rian’s maid was still standing by the doorway.
“You may leave now.”
It was a short and dry dismissal.
Because Liarte seemed like a completely different person compared to a few days ago, the maid stared strangely at her back.
The library was exactly as Liarte remembered it.
The library building, constructed from white marble, was located far from the main building of the ducal residence.
It was close to the room where Liarte had been staying.
There was a saying that it had been built in such an isolated place because if an accident occurred involving an Awakened of Water, the books could become wet and be ruined.
I used to come here often.
When she was young, Liarte had sought out the library to hide.
It was because of the Elheim blood relatives, who hated seeing an unawakened person.
The time Liarte spent hiding behind the bookshelves was the only time she could truly rest.
When did I stop coming here?
It seemed to have been after the Duke caught her and dragged her out from behind the bookshelf.
After that, the frequency of her visits to the library had decreased.
Liarte headed toward the bookshelf containing books about Awakened of Water.
It was the only bookshelf among the countless shelves that was made of blue stone.
To find proper materials, she would have had to go upstairs to the second floor, which only direct descendants of Elheim were allowed to enter, but Liarte was currently forbidden from entering.
Still, these materials would be sufficient.
Liarte pulled out a book and turned the cover while remaining standing.
That was when she sensed the power of Water coming from the staircase leading to the second floor.
Awakened normally did not hide their power.
They were proud of having awakened and gained an ability.
“Who is it?”
“L-Liarte.”
When she raised her head, she saw a young man with delicate features.
His pale gray hair and sky-blue eyes were characteristics of the direct line of Elheim. His face, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, looked younger than it had in her previous life.
The third son, Hwiamin.
Liarte’s expression turned cold as soon as she recognized him.
The twins had three brothers older than them.
The eldest, Ainrias. The second, Danterion. The third, Hwiamin.
Because there was a large age gap between her and the two older brothers, Liarte had little contact with them. But she had occasionally played with Hwiamin, who was around her age.
Unlike the rest of his family, Hwiamin was timid and fond of books.
Liarte, who hid in the library to avoid her family.
The two of them used to read books together on the second floor of the library, where only direct descendants of Elheim were allowed.
That was how things were until Hwiamin began collecting forbidden books.
It had happened when they were young, but Liarte still remembered the day she saw the ancient books for the first time.
There was a hidden bookshelf behind a wall of the library.
“Liarte. Come here. Do you want to see this?”
On the day young Hwiamin unusually pulled at her clothes with an excited expression, Liarte saw the hidden bookshelf for the first time.
Countless forbidden books that Hwiamin had secretly collected to avoid the eyes of the Duke of Elheim were lined up there.
Ancient books about ancient powers such as magic, occult arts, and black magic.
Liarte did not know that those books were forbidden.
“Brother, what is this?”
“This is very useful knowledge that was forgotten long ago.”
Hwiamin’s eyes sparkled as he said it.
Without knowing anything, Liarte followed Hwiamin and read the forbidden books placed on the hidden bookshelf.
As time passed, Liarte became capable of understanding the contents of the books.
Later, because she wanted to help her family even without the power of Water, she memorized the forbidden books.
It was thanks to those ancient books that she had been able to recognize Michael’s curse.
All secrets were bound to be revealed someday.
Hwiamin’s secret was no exception.
The hidden library was not protected by a secret mechanism.
