Under the weak glow of the furnace fire, Liya paced back and forth through the room with one hand on her chin.
Her eyes looked distant, as if immersed in memories of the past.
The fire crackled softly. In the quiet room, besides Liya's voice, there was only the sound of burning wood splitting apart.
"Mm... that's basically the situation."
Liya's words echoed through the room, as if trying to draw out some kind of response.
Cocotte and Vinia looked at each other.
Expressions of "so that's how it is" appeared on their faces, as if silently sharing the same thought.
Unexpectedly, Viktor and Miss Liya's mother were not the same person.
That fact made the two elves blink and open their mouths as if wanting to speak.
But in the end, Vinia was the first to break the silence.
"But if you've never met your own mother, and you've never met Lord Viktor's mother either,"
Vinia's voice carried a trace of doubt, "How are you so sure your mothers weren't the same person?"
Cocotte nodded strongly from the side in agreement.
Liya spread her hands, sighed, lowered her brows, and helplessly said, "Of course my family told me."
She only remembered that her father had been very strict since she was little.
But that strictness came in two completely different forms.
Although her father was strict, he was rather casual when disciplining Viktor, simply because Viktor had shown extraordinary talent from a young age.
Liya still remembered that difference in treatment.
Her father's strictness toward Viktor came from the high expectations he had for him, hoping he would become an outstanding mage.
Viktor was extremely gifted. Learning magic came easily to him, so their father rarely interfered with his studies.
As for Liya, their father's attitude was completely different.
She remembered clearly how strict he was with her when she was young.
"Because I dirtied my brother's magic book, he gave me a harsh scolding."
Liya closed her eyes, as if those words of criticism still echoed in her ears, ('Do not casually enter Viktor's room, don't disturb him, and don't trouble your brother.')
Back then, not only had her father scolded her, even Viktor had harshly lectured her and made her stand outside in the freezing snow as punishment.
But she did not cry.
Looking back now, Liya felt that she had really been stupid back then.
At the time, Liya only had one simple thought in her heart, ('If my brother can learn magic, why can't I?')
She had secretly slipped into Viktor's room just to take a look at the mysterious magic book lying on his desk.
However, by accident, she knocked over a vase, and the book was soaked with water.
What followed was a double round of blame.
"So after that, I never learned magic again, nor did I think about becoming a mage."
Liya shrugged, a relaxed smile passing across her lips.
As if those childhood memories had already settled deep inside her heart and no longer mattered.
Cocotte sat to the side listening to Liya's memories and suddenly suggested, "If you still want to learn magic, I can teach you."
She paused, then added somewhat hesitantly, "Mm... although it might be a bit late to start now."
The best time to learn magic was usually when people were still young.
At that age, it was easier to develop interest in magic and build memory.
Only after laying a solid foundation in magical theory could one begin practice.
At least, that was the teaching standard at the Royal Magic Academy.
And now, for Liya, who was already an adult and even a twenty-four-year-old older single woman.
Starting to learn magic now was definitely too late.
She didn't have the long lifespan of an elf.
Liya tilted her head slightly and fell into brief thought. Then a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Forget it. I lost interest in that a long time ago."
When she was little, her feelings toward magic had only been a natural curiosity, not true interest.
Although she had not become a mage like Viktor, however...
Liya slowly raised her gloved right hand.
The firelight illuminated the room and fell upon the glove covered in colorful gems, making it dazzling.
The differently colored gems released bright colors, rainbow-like light reflecting throughout the room.
Cocotte and Vinia stared at the rays of colorful light and narrowed their eyes while examining the glove in Liya's hand.
Cocotte could clearly feel the magic power stored within the glove.
"I got a better compensation instead."
When the two elves had both become slightly dazed from looking at it, Liya slowly withdrew her hand.
She looked very happy, smiling as she stared at the two elves and said, "After that, my father also told me why he didn't want me learning magic too."
Liya raised her head and stared at the flickering campfire, as if seeing her father's appearance from back then.
———
[Past]
"Your older brother, Viktor, has magical talent beyond ordinary people. He is destined to become a mage."
"But Liya, you're different."
"Neither I nor your mother gave you any special talent."
Simply put, Liya was just an ordinary person.
At the time, Liya still didn't quite understand why.
Later, when her father told her that their mothers were not the same person.
Only then did Liya finally understand.
Of course, Liya was not jealous that Viktor could become a mage while she could not.
Because Viktor was studying magic and had no time to manage many affairs within the territory.
But the Clavenna family would eventually need someone to step forward in the future.
So Liya volunteered herself.
———
[Present]
"Thinking about it now, it's pretty funny. My original motivation for making money was actually to let Viktor focus more easily on studying magic.", Liya sighed while laughing.
The two elves looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
At that moment, Liya spoke again, "Oh honestly, we got so caught up chatting that we forgot the important matter."
"You didn't come here today just to chat about family matters with me, right?"
Vinia snapped back to attention and quickly said, "Of course not."
She had come to the Clavenna house mainly to ask whether they had found any trace of Cocotte.
After a period of recovery, many new elves had been born in the Forest of Elves.
Now the elves urgently needed to gradually understand the outside world and break through the prison hidden within the mist.
So establishing diplomatic relations with the Empire had become especially important.
The elves had long prepared everything, only waiting for Cocotte, in her role as queen, to formally establish friendship between the Empire and the newborn city-state that was the Forest of Elves.
But at this critical moment, Cocotte disappeared, and once she vanished, she was gone for half a month.
Then when they finally saw Cocotte again this time, the Divine Tree had withered, while Cocotte had absorbed all of the Divine Tree's energy.
This deeply shocked Vinia, to the point that she forgot why she came in the first place.
Meanwhile, Liya looked at Cocotte with teasing eyes and said to Vinia in an annoyed tone, "Then you'll have to ask what your elf queen has been doing."
"She slept in my garden for half a month straight and nearly turned it into a forest."
Hearing Liya say that, Cocotte guiltily turned her head away.
A strained smile hung on her face.
Vinia leaned backward in shock, eyes wide and mouth open, "Y-you... are you a pig?"
'Even pigs couldn't sleep that much...'
So Liya lightly laughed from the side, "Winter is coming. It's time to prepare for hibernation. That's understandable."
The two of them made Cocotte's face turn red. She could only weakly try finding excuses from the side.
Using a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, she said, "Well, I didn't want to sleep that long either, but..."
At that point, her already weak voice suddenly stopped.
She seemed to realize something.
Henny, and that lazy little white dog.
She clearly remembered that little dog brought back by Henny making a deal with her when she most wanted to sleep.
In exchange for a sleep where absolutely nobody could wake her, Cocotte gave away her cloud.
Of course, the terms of the deal were that after Cocotte woke up, the other party would return the cloud to her.
Cocotte still remembered that very clearly.
She seemed to recall that little dog.
Those cloudy, lazy eyes carried a kind of tempting magic.
As if they could see through the deepest desires in her heart.
'Using deals... to obtain desires...'
Suddenly, Cocotte sat upright and widened her eyes.
'Wasn't that exactly a "demon"!?'
She remembered that some time ago, a group of demon hunters had invaded the Clavenna house.
At the time, she had wondered why demon hunters would target the Clavenna family.
Now, she seemed to have some clues.
While she kept thinking, Liya, who had been waiting for Cocotte to continue, could not help asking, "So, what exactly are you trying to say?"
"Uh..."
Cocotte raised her face and looked at Liya, somewhat conflicted.
Liya probably didn't know about this.
It definitely wouldn't be appropriate to tell her. She should wait until Viktor returned and explain it to him properly.
But right now, she needed to quickly think of a reason to fool Liya.
Her brain rapidly spun. Suddenly, she saw a huge figure entering the room from outside.
After seeing the tall figure clearly, Cocotte realized it was the Clavenna family's butler.
At that moment, the other party was carrying a crimson suit of armor in his arms while dragging a huge treasure chest in the other hand as he passed by the doorway.
The armor and treasure chest were covered in dust and dirt, giving off the damp smell of age.
Cocotte sniffed. This smell was old soil, and ordinary damp earth did not have such a sharp odor.
She blankly watched the bear-man walk past. A question rose in her mind, and she hesitantly asked Liya, "Did your family's butler... rob a grave?"