FYWAM CH 6

Chapter 6

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Negotiations (2)

But Solita couldn't trust the marquess who was looking for his ex-wife and her child whom he had abandoned all this time. Rather, if Ethiel were alive, Solita would have felt reassured, but she couldn't leave this child alone.

Young Calliope looked at her with determined, sunken eyes. Eyes she had never seen before while taking care of her with Ethiel.

Solita, who had been taking care of her with her mother Ethiel since the child was very young, easily understood the child's intentions. Solita held her breath, her face distorted as if she were about to cry. In a voice tinged with sadness, she murmured softly.

"You've already made up your mind. That's how it is."

After Ethiel’s funeral, she had never cried even once for Calliope but today, she was now shedding tears. The tears of an adult can be a deadly source of anxiety for children, so Solita, who quietly smiled even when things were tough for her, cried today for the sake of the child.

"You can always come back anytime. Don't forget that."

Calliope smiled brightly at the kind woman who spoke the same words in the past. Then, she leaned down and whispered so only she could hear.

"No."

Thank you, dear Solita.

“Don't wait for me.”

Calliope had no doubt that this was the right path for her. Knowing her fate to be shaken and broken like a ship in a storm.

“Please tell Dora I said goodbye.”

Whispering her last words, Calliope left Solita with a straight face as if she hadn't said anything and stood in front of Jack.

“Well, shall we go then? I don't want to drag things out.”

“Understood.”

Unaware of the conversation that had passed between the two of them, Jack opened the carriage door for her. Given the unexpectedness of the situation, he decided it would be best to take her to the marquess himself.

Calliope boldly climbed into the carriage on her own and held out her hand to Jack as if she had forgotten something. Jack let out a short, sarcastic laugh. A child who hadn't lived the life of a noble probably saw it somewhere before.

“Come aboard, my lady.” As Jack reached out his hand as if to escort Calliope, her small hand arbitrarily plucked a silver button from his sleeve.

“No, wait.”

Ignoring his bewildered expression, she shoved the silver button back into Solita's hand. It was a pity that it wasn’t a gold button.

“Let’s go now.”

Calliope left him frozen and boarded the carriage alone. Jack, clicked his tongue, looking back and forth at Solita, who was still crying, and the silver button clutched in her hand before getting into the carriage. It seems she has grown quite attached to the child, but he believed that commoners and nobles could never live together in the first place.

When Jack closed the door and gave the signal, the coachman started the carriage without hesitation. While observing the child, it would be natural to be amazed by the interior of the luxurious carriage but she was just sitting quietly with her head down as is the carriage was nothing special.

“Anyway, once you’re reinstated to the marquessate, it would seem trivial for you to be able to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a couple of mansions and some land.”

“So?”

“Pardon?”

“Would that be completely my money?”

The child, who had smiled quite prettily in front of the commoner woman, spoke in a cold tone with a biting chill in front of him. Jack instinctively glanced sideways to see if the carriage window was open.

"Why does that distinction matter?"

"Sir Jack Beacomb."

Calliope furrowed her brow in a way that conveyed her annoyance, making sure he could see it.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't say things that weren't asked."

In the cold command disguised as a request, Jack eventually fell silent. According to his master's will, the child will definitely become the marquess' daughter. If she’s going to be his master anyway, there's no point in trying to make a bad impression. He awkwardly fidgeted with the spot where Calliope had torn off the button.

While he was missing the button that had been torn off, Calliope rested her elbow on the window sill and fell into thought. She had to return to the family and secure her position. That was essential to help Isaac, who was the second son of the count but was treated worse than an illegitimate child.

She was lucky to have returned to her childhood. The younger he is, the easier it is for him to make him know only about her.

Calliope smiled involuntarily. Jack, sitting in front of her, flinched for a moment at her smile.

“Is something uncomfortable?”

“No.”

At her answer, Calliope turned her attention to the window.

I already have a way to get rid of Detron Anastas, so that's fine, but...

The problem was fitting in with the rest of the family.

I've got most of their personalities figured out, so it shouldn't be too hard. I just need to be recognized as a direct descendant and receive the support that comes with it.

Everything she's trying to accomplish in the family is just a stepping stone to a single purpose.

To make sure that he, who had abandoned he, could not even think of abandoning her in this life. Her straightforward, clingy, and foolish self was now filled with the desire to reclaim what had slipped from her grasp.’

Mother, you told me to survive, and I intend to.

But she had no intention of just surviving by breathing. She needed the strength to protect him, to keep him from betraying her. That was her priority right now.

Of course, the biggest problem is that prophecy. The prophecy of the hero who will defeat the demon lord.

Calliope returned and began to slowly organize the thoughts she had been haphazardly thinking about for a year. The quiet carriage that shook intermittently was a good space for her to immerse herself in thought.

The demon lord's resurrection is seven years later, and Isaac will be leaving with the Saintess a year after that.

The saintess of the empire, who received a prophecy that the Demon King would be resurrected, follows the will of the gods and finds records from five hundred years ago to choose three heroes. There was no detailed information about this.

Only the temples and saints of the empire know the detailed prophecies and records.

She tapped her chin with her finger and then shifted her gaze.

The fact that the saintess found the records after the oracle must be because the contents of the oracle were not detailed. After all, most oracles are abstract.

Calliope bit the tip of her fingernail that was tapping her chin. Her teeth clicked, making a dull noise.

It’s impossible to access those records. The records held by the temple are only visible to the royal family and the high priests of the imperial temple. But if I just knew what was in it, I might be able to prevent Isaac from being chosen.

Of all the warriors who participated in the subjugation of the demon king, only Isaac lost his life.

Then, it’s possible that Isaac, might not be really a hero. Perhaps he was the only one who died because he wasn’t one of the chosen heroes.

But that was just her wishful thinking. It was almost close to a delusion.

After announcing the oracle that the demon king would be resurrected, the saintess came straight to this country and met Isaac at a welcoming party for them. In Calliope’s opinion, there wasn’t anything particularly unusual about their first meeting.

But the saintess began to show interest in Isaac.

It was clear that the saintess saw in Isaac the characteristics of a warrior that were conveyed in the oracle and records.

If I knew what it was, I might be able to avoid the saintess’ eyes…

But even so, there was a big problem. The resurrection of the demon king would be a disaster, and the saintess’ defeat meant the destruction of the world. The absence of Isaac, the hero, would bring about the destruction of the world.

Will I be able to find a way to stop the Demon King and a way to save him?

Calliope exhaled slowly and quietly placed the finger she was biting on her knee.

And a way for him and I to be together somehow.

But right now, there was too little information. She thought it would be best to get a foothold after being adopted into the marquess family and then look for books on the prophecy and the Demon King in the Empire.

“…Never, I won’t give up.”

As she spoke quietly, Jack, who was sitting across from her, responded in a trembling voice.

"I’ll make sure to convey to the marquess that the young lady has a profound interest in property..."

“Be quiet before I tear off another one.” T/N: Tear off another button.

“...Yes.”

Sighing at Jack's misunderstanding, Calliope looked out the carriage window and saw a white cloud floating in the sky, which reminded her of the man who had left her and died.

She imagined the small shoulders of the young man she didn't recognize.

It doesn't make sense that you, the one who made me who I am and broke me, would stay in someone else’s side other than me.

Her red eyes flashed with a blue hue, and whispered silently.

I have turned my back on the world I hate and crossed time, so it is right that you should become mine this time. It has to be.

Calliope thought his name over and over in her mind, then gritted her teeth as if grinding them.

If there’s a reason I opened my eyes again, it must be you.

Because it must be that God, who was not on her side, has responded to her damned obsession.

Act 2

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They Said To Live Like a Commoner

The carriage carrying Jack and Calliope drew attention wherever it went. Although it wasn't the most affluent family in the kingdom, the marquess' carriage, which ranked just below, shone brightly even on rainy day.

The day before arriving at the capital, Jack jumped out of the carriage in the largest nearby village as if he had urgent business. He sighed heavily as soon as his feet touched the ground.

The atmosphere in the room with the little girl was similar to the air seconds before his master would get angry. It was suffocating.

“Sir Beacomb.”

After finishing the deep breaths under the pretense as sighs, Calliope, who was standing in front of the carriage door, called out to him and extended her hand. Jack, with a puzzled expression, held out his hand that didn't have a button missing.

Was she planning on ripping the button off again?

Seeing his puzzled gaze, Calliope snorted briefly and firmly grabbed his outstretched hand from the back and got out of the carriage. Jack’s face turned slightly red.

“Well, this is my fault. I won’t say anything.”

She was a young lady who had not received any education, but was clearly a noblewoman who would be officially adopted into the family, so it was natural for him to escort her when she got out of the carriage.

However, the memory of her tearing off a button when she first reached out to him was so vivid that he unconsciously thought of the button first.

Calliope stared at the tip of his ear, which was slightly reddened as if embarrassed; turned her head away.

Chapter 5

Chapter List

Chapter 7