Chapter 390: I Will Carry a Piece of the Sky
When Lixia exited, she saw Janis waiting for her at the entrance. Janis beckoned Lixia over and then led her into the study. Lixia walked in, plopped herself down in a seat, and casually asked, “Did you need me for something?”
“What were you staring at them in the room for?” Janis didn’t answer, instead asking a question back. Hearing this, Lixia immediately burst out laughing. “Ah, that matter… I was just watching them.”
“Watching what?”
“What if they accidentally got pregnant? That would be bad.” Lixia said without reservation. “Her Majesty the Queen hasn’t officially been crowned yet. Following proper etiquette, it should be next summer at the earliest, by which time her belly will be big. That definitely wouldn’t be seemly.”
“Your concern makes sense… but what are you afraid of? Isn’t Lily watching them inside?” Janis sighed helplessly. “Worry about it when you see Lily being kicked out.”
“Huh?” Lixia retorted. “Isn’t Lily that kid’s personal maid? I remember she was the one who initiated him… wasn’t he thirteen or fourteen at the time?”
Upon hearing this, Janis froze. “There’s such a thing? Impossible.”
“She said so herself. It seems to be some kind of tradition, but I’m just a village girl, I don’t understand it.” Lixia shrugged. “I knew that those big families in Avalon were quite chaotic, but I didn’t expect personal maids to have such a tradition…”
“…Tradition?” Janis repeated. Her expression immediately turned strange. Lixia noticed her expression and asked somewhat confusedly, “What’s wrong?”
Janis countered, “Did she tell you that personal maids initiate young noble lords to prevent them from falling in love outside and having illegitimate children?”
“…That’s what she said, is there a problem?” Lixia realized. Janis let out a chuckle and slapped Lixia on the shoulder.
“I was the one who told her that,” Janis said with a smile, her eyes curving. “But I made it up.”
“Ah?” Lixia was taken aback.
“Use your brain,” Janis couldn’t help but say. “If Avalon truly had such a tradition, where did Lily herself come from? Do you think the Dross Family lacks maids?”
“…Not necessarily.” Lixia crossed her arms, tapping her elbow with her finger to argue, “Maybe he just has that kind of preference?”
“But not everyone can have that preference, can they? If there were such a rule, wouldn’t the eldest son who inherits the family business and the title of Knight be more in need of a maid? Having an illegitimate child would be even less seemly for them than for someone who already has no claim to inheritance!
In truth, this is a tradition of the Star Antimony people. Nobles there don’t have just one servant like those in Avalon, nor just one personal maid. Nobles there can have male servants as well as female servants.
And tracing its origins, this comes from research by scholars during the Imperial era — they hadn’t yet understood the principles of Path impulsiveness, viewing it as a curse of illegitimate children. They believed that illegitimate children were more prone to ‘going mad,’ so a maid would bear the child, and then the child would be killed to remove the curse.
Later scholars understood that there was no ‘curse of illegitimate children.’ However, Star Antimony and Iris Kingdom still inherited some of this tradition. Nobles in Star Antimony have numerous maids, and the most illegitimate children are born to them, also to vent Path impulsiveness. This is because political marriages are common in Star Antimony, and couples are basically unions of interest with no emotional foundation.
In the Iris Kingdom, they aren’t even called ‘maids’ but ‘guardian knights.’ Even noble ladies occasionally like to recruit their own ‘knights,’ who are essentially lovers. This situation sometimes occurs in Avalon, but it’s certainly not common. Otherwise, how would Lily dare to introduce herself as Eivass’s personal maid when she was at school?”
Janis smiled and rubbed Lixia’s small, round head. “Besides, that’s the Moriarty Family. What are they afraid of illegitimate children?”
“…Right.” Lixia suddenly realized.
There was no such thing as illegitimate children in the Moriarty Family—according to the Moriarty Family’s rules, even biological children who married and had children could not inherit the family business or surname. Only adopted sons, raised to adulthood, could inherit the family. So, the issue of illegitimate children was irrelevant.
“You ninety-something-year-old virgin definitely wouldn’t understand this.” Janis said with a mischievous smile. “Which do you think has a stronger desire, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old, or a seventeen or eighteen-year-old? After tasting meat at thirteen, is it possible to stop eating meat at eighteen?”
“I’m not ninety years old, I’m less than one year old,” Lixia responded subconsciously, but as soon as she spoke, she suddenly realized, “How do you know Eivass hasn’t? Could it be…”
“I watch him every night. Elves don’t necessarily have to sleep,” Janis said righteously.
“Why were you peeking at a little boy sleeping?!”
“To protect his safety,” Janis said solemnly. “Eivass has been sneak-attacked more than once while sleeping, hasn’t he? Oswald isn’t here, and if I weren’t vigilant, you wouldn’t even know if he were killed one day. You don’t think the Shadow Demon’s protection is truly safe, do you? He wouldn’t have survived Graham’s incident alone.”
“…That’s acceptable. No, Janis—why did you lie back then?” Lixia asked discontentedly.
Janis was also righteous. “That was the first time Eivass met Isabel! I had to test him, see if he was a playboy? Didn’t you also find out about his string of romantic entanglements?”
“They call them romantic entanglements, but it seems to have little to do with him.”
“It does.” Janis commented. “His own attitude isn’t important, but as long as he has so many admirers, it will definitely cause trouble for Isabel. Back then, I wanted Princess Isabel to stay away from him. She couldn’t handle a man like that.
Because when facing this topic, whether explained or not, it would definitely deduct points from Isabel. It might have made her calm down—for two people who haven’t met or interacted to develop feelings for each other just by meeting at the Ascension Ritual is too outrageous. If you were in my position, you would have stopped it too.”
“That’s true,” Lixia nodded slowly. “Indeed… and now I also feel that Isabel may not be able to handle that kid.”
Janis crossed her arms and added, “Also, Lixia. Lily has learned the Night Rabbit Grimoire, do you know? This is the inheritance of the Daffodil Duchy. Only virgins can transform into primal werewolves who can eat and drink normally—this is a restriction from the Path of Love. The Children of the Moon also have similar taboos. This is enough to prove she was lying back then.”
Lixia clicked her tongue. “Tsk…”
“What are you clicking your tongue for?” Janis said unceremoniously. “Lily isn’t the type to lie for pride’s sake; it must have been that little fox who instigated her to lie. Rather than saying I did something, it’s more like *you* did something.”
“I didn’t do anything…” Lixia made a young sound, innocently complaining. She couldn’t recall what she had said at the time. It seemed like she was urging them to get married? Anyway, it was all instinctive conversation at the time, and she didn’t think it through, so she couldn’t remember.
“But since Lily lied so smoothly that she even fooled you.” Janis narrowed her eyes slightly. “I think she probably likes Eivass too. But it’s not surprising, that little fox is likable. Not to mention the time they’ve spent together. Lily’s relationship with him is indeed very close, after all, she was his personal maid who bathed him when he was young. When Eivass was inconvenient to move around before, Lily must have been bathing him then, too. But perhaps it’s precisely because they are too familiar that she could act so casually.”
“…It’s bad.” Lixia slapped her hand, looking a bit flustered. “I told Isabel about this at the time!”
“How did you say it?” Janis pressed.
“I just said it directly…” Lixia jumped up from her chair anxiously, circling Janis. “Am I spreading rumors now? Should I explain to Isabel?”
“…No, there’s no need to rush.” Janis thought for a moment, then reached out and held Lixia down. “It might not be a bad thing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Don’t let Isabel’s seemingly gentle appearance fool you; our little queen has very strong subconscious aggression. She cares deeply about things she values and absolutely must obtain them. And the closer she gets to losing something, the more persistent she becomes. It’s just that she’s used to failing… If she’s not rushed, she’ll delay her actions, only acting when she’s 100% sure she can win.
The reason I wanted her to fail once before was for this very reason. She has an outwardly gentle and inwardly strong personality. Once cornered, she awakens.” The elven painter analyzed her student. “But the current situation is different. Eivass used Lily to deflect your marriage pressure, indicating he doesn’t have that many thoughts yet. This means Isabel likes Eivass, but Eivass doesn’t like her that much yet.
If she continues to hesitate at this time, waiting for Eivass to start liking her before confessing… there might be trouble. After all, that little fox can be considered a heartthrob. Having Lily to put pressure on her will make Isabel anxious—she needs to be anxious to a certain degree before she dares to act.
Rather than losing something completely, experiencing heartbreak to truly grow and become mature. It’s better to continue like this for now. If she feels she has won for sure, she might become indecisive again.”
Janis concluded, “In short, don’t tell Isabel yet.”
Lixia sighed. “Fine, I don’t have much of a brain anyway, so I’ll listen to you for now. This is my fault too… Just don’t mess this up.”
On the other side, Eivass looked at Isabel, who was sitting on his blanket and clumsily handling not-too-difficult political affairs. He sighed silently.
“Alright, I’ll teach her slowly like this. Avalon isn’t in such a hurry now anyway. Although she’s still young, it’s better than the ‘Queen of Flowers Isabel’ who truly grows up and becomes maturely rational only after losing everything. The spirit that endures suffering is commendable, and a queen who rises from suffering is respected. But suffering itself is not to be praised. Suffering is suffering.
Since Eivass has come to this world, he cannot have done so in vain. Not for justice, nor to save the world. But simply because, within his reach and capacity, as someone whose heart is not that hardened, he cannot bear to see so much wailing and misery. That kind of bloody growth is best avoided. He can only carry a piece of the sky.”
Update complete!
I will slowly adjust the update time back!
