Theorban felt dizzy and hunched his body tightly.
'What, what is this?'
He was confused, not fully comprehending what was unfolding before his eyes.
Then, gradually, he realized that he had been moved right in front of the mansion's main gate.
"Lark...!"
Theorban trembled in rage, his cheeks quivering.
Lark might have a powerful authority, but as long as he had a clear weakness like the anesthetic herb, he shouldn't have dared to treat Theorban like this.
Grinding his teeth, Theorban called for a carriage.
"I've tolerated as much as I can. I can't take it anymore!"
He planned to exchange a large amount of harvested anesthetic herbs for compensation today.
But right now, the compensation wasn't the issue.
As soon as Theorban arrived home, he spoke to the butler who came to meet him.
"Did you keep the declaration from the collateral nobles?"
"Yes. It's stored in the safe."
He had secured declarations from the vassals of Eseled and distant living collateral relatives when he sent the letter about the heir to the Empress.
"Hmph. If the head of the family is unmarried and childless by thirty, the child of a direct blood relative should be the successor."
That was an old family law, now largely obsolete.
Theorban had discovered this old law, almost forgotten by everyone, as he sought every way to make his daughter the heir to Eseled.
"Just you wait and see!"
Lark had many disqualifications. There was ample evidence that he had not properly taken care of the family.
He planned to impeach the head of the family once his daughter was in place as the heir.
***
"Are you awake?"
Navia slightly jerked her eyelids and turned her head to the side at the sound of the worried voice.
Blink.
Her blurry vision caught a mix of colors.
White, brown, mint.
Quickly recognizing what it was, Navia unknowingly smiled faintly.
The three people who had been anxiously waiting for Navia to wake up felt their hearts melt at the tender smile she gave as soon as she opened her eyes.
How could she be so adorable?
"Why are all of you here?"
Her sleepy voice flowed out lazily, and her little fist rubbed her eyes.
Margaret could sense the joy in Navia's voice. She gently stroked the girl's silvery hair.
"It's almost lunchtime."
"Lunch..."
They watched Navia blink hard, struggling to focus, and looked at her with encouraging eyes, their brows furrowed.
Suddenly, Navia wondered why she was in bed.
'Now that I think about it, the room seems different...'
"It's never quiet here."
Suddenly!
"Don't get up so quickly, it's dangerous!"
Navia held her spinning head and frowned.
"Lord Duke, no... What happened to Wood Agnes?"
"Don't worry. Everything was resolved yesterday."
At Margaret's words, Navia asked with a dazed expression.
"Yesterday, you say?"
"You've been asleep for a whole day. It's natural after staying up all night."
Suleiman added guiltily from the side.
"I never thought they would send an assassin after you. I should have paid more attention to your quarters."
Navia quickly shook her head.
"No. It's my fault for not realizing Count Alvin would go to such cruel lengths."
Then Minerva quickly interjected.
"No, no! That's the fault of that count!"
"Minerva is right."
As Margaret said this, Suleiman smiled awkwardly, and Navia refrained from blaming herself further.
Waking up to such a fluffy feeling, this situation almost seemed like a dream.
Navia hadn't had much chance to look around the Duke's residence. So, she didn't know exactly what this place looked like.
But she could guess that this room was one of the most splendid in Eseled.
What kind of room was this, to be so extravagant?
"This doesn’t seem to be the room I was using... Where am I?"
Then, Suleiman spoke with a peculiarly joyful expression.
"This is the third floor. It's the room traditionally used by the heirs of Eseled."
'The third floor? A room for the heir?'
Navia's eyes widened in surprise.
"But why am I...?"
At that question, Suleiman smiled awkwardly.
"Well, according to our lord, you were moved here because too many incidents were happening on the second floor."
As he explained, Suleiman thought it was rather mean of his lord to not put it more kindly, that he was just worried and brought her up.
Margaret shook her head as she listened to Suleiman's frank explanation without any sugarcoating.
Even if the lord spoke nonsensically, to relay it just as nonsensically...
'Seriously, he's so tactless.'
In the midst of this, Navia was still lost in thought with a confused expression.
'Why did he bring me to the third floor after telling me not to be bothersome on the night the assassin appeared? I can't understand this man, Lark, at all.'
'How will I manage here with such a capricious and self-willed person?'
She almost sighed out loud.
'Then how exactly did Prince Creed become the adopted son of the duke? He doesn't seem like someone who panders to others...'
Then Suleiman cleared his throat as if he had something to say and gently spoke to Navia.
"There's another piece of news for you."
As Navia looked up in curiosity, Suleiman spoke in a slightly lowered voice, seriously.
"I don't know whether to congratulate you or console you, but as of yesterday, Miss Navia has been disowned by the Agnes family."
"Ah... That was easier than I thought."
Navia had been planning to get disowned by the Agnes family anyway.
'But I thought it would be difficult right away.'
Nikan had assumed that Navia would be disowned only after a careful arrangement was made, assessing her treatment here and the possibility of becoming an adopted daughter.
'What exactly happened yesterday that led to such a sudden disownment?'
"Yesterday, our lord said he would cover up the wrongdoing of young Agnes by disowning you."
Navia couldn't quite contain her expression in response to Lark's unusual actions.
Thinking about Lark made her head start to ache.
"I really don't understand what the duke is thinking..."
As Navia murmured, Suleiman nodded in agreement.
"Honestly, I don't know either."
Minerva also nodded.
"Me neither..."
Only Margaret chuckled.
"Can I hear more about what happened yesterday?"
* * *
Navia then learned about the events that unfolded after she fainted yesterday.
Suleiman, while explaining, tried to circumvent the indecorous speech and actions Lark had mentioned.
Even with his roundabout explanations, Navia was so shocked she was at a loss for words.
'Whether it's Nikan or Theorban, they must have been deeply wounded in their pride.'
Still, in Nikan's case, since Wood had clearly committed a wrongdoing, it didn't seem likely he would seek immediate revenge.
The concern was how Theorban would react.
'He's already tried to forcibly make his daughter the heir. That means there must be a sure way to enforce it.'
"Is there a way for Count Alvin to forcibly make his daughter the heir?"
Suleiman and Margaret, as retainers recruited by Lark at the age of seven, did not know the ancient laws of Eseled.
"I think you'll have to ask our lord about that."
Navia looked troubled.
Having to ask Lark was not particularly welcome news.
After all, Lark had clearly been annoyed by her presence.
Hadn't Suleiman said it? He brought her to the third floor because she was bothersome.
Rather than outright expelling her for being a nuisance, why he had given her the heir's room was unclear, but it wasn't something to be optimistic about.
'I'd actually feel more at ease on the second floor.'
Just because Navia was using the third floor didn't mean troublesome matters would disappear.
On the contrary, if Theorban learned of this, he would surely create more chaos.
But could Lark have not taken that into account?
'I don't think so.'
Read ahead by supporting me on Ko-fi. Access 5 advance chapters with the Agnes of Water Tier ($10) or 10 advance chapters with Duffman of Dominion Tier ($18) For every $15 collected on Ko-fi, I will release an extra chapter. Choose your tier by clicking the 'Support me' button! Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones. Happy reading!
