Vol 2: Chapter 29
As soon as the escort meeting was over, we immediately returned to the mansion. Because we were called back by the Earl with an express messenger.
I was wondering why Lord Ethan’s escort waved at me, but as soon as the meeting ended, she also immediately left, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to her.
When we returned to the mansion, I saw the Earl, with a serious look on his face.
「Captain Maxim, Reiji-san. Thank you for your hard work.」
「I just carried out my duty.」
Maxim-san knelt in front of the Earl, whereas I stood as usual. Although I am employed, I have not pledged allegiance, after all.
When I reported on today’s meeting, Maxim-san was told to leave the room. Unusually, the chief butler was not here today.
「Reij-san, there are two important things I need to talk about today.」
「Important? Is it regarding the awarding ceremony?」
「No. It is related to that, but not directly.」
「?」
As I stood there with a blank look, the Earl’s eyes shone as he activated the “Magic Eyes of Inquiry”.
「Reiji-san, how much do you know about these eyes?」
「It’s a pupil that exerts a special power when mana flows through, isn’t it? It is inherited from parent to child, and it may manifest itself if an ancestor had it even if the parent does not have it. But there are also some that do not manifest itself if the parent doesn’t have it, like the holy royal family’s “Holy Blue”.」
「That’s correct. I have told you about Eva’s magic eyes, right?」
「Yes. It’s “Magic Eye of Inspire”.」
A magic eye that inspires the urge to fight in those who meet her eyes. I haven’t seen it actually being used, so even【World Ruler】can’t tell how effective it would be.
However, if it’s the young lady, I think she can inspire men’s desire to fight even without using such magic eyes, with just her looks when she grows up to be a beautiful woman in a few years.
「So, what about that magic eye?」
「It was activated earlier.」
「But, she was able to do that before, right?」
「She was able to do it, but the effect was weak, and it consumed a lot of mana. Because I asked a renowned sealer to seal her magic eyes.」
「Seal her magic eyes?」
What does that mean? It’s the first I’m hearing of it. I’ve seen the young lady’s eyes many times, so【World Ruler】should’ve been able to distinguish the seal.
No, maybe the sealing technique was not cast on her eyes. If it was cast on the mana supplying part in the body,【World Ruler】wouldn’t be able to tell unless I look very carefully.
「…I’ve never talked to you about Eva’s mother.」the Earl said, in a heavy tone.
Honestly, I didn’t want to hear the story of the young lady’s mother at this time. However, it must be necessary. The Earl decided that I had to know about the young lady’s mother at this time, after all.
「Eva’s mana quantity is extremely large compared to the general human race.」
「Eh?」
I never felt that way. But of course, I have never seen the young lady using magic.
Even so, those who are veteran mages who belong to the Holy King’s Knights Order, or battle-hardened mages who are in the Adventurer’s Guild, have enough mana which leaks out of their body, which can be clearly sensed with【World Ruler】.
「That mana was enough to activate Eva’s magic eyes as soon as she was born. The result of uncontrollable mana flowing into her magic eyes was – she inspired the closest human to her to fight.」
No way. That means…
I didn’t even want to guess. Because I already knew that this story would lead to a bitter ending.
「…Her mother?」
The Earl nodded. I’ve talked to the Earl many times during our “reporting session”, so I’ve seen the Earl nod many times. But today, he was as exhausted as I have ever seen, unbearably angry and inexpressibly sad.
「Adele… My wife was so disordered by the “Magic Eye of Inspire” that she hit the doctor who came for a medical examination. At that time, she even tossed away baby Eva. Fortunately, the doctor only suffered minor injuries, but Eva broke her arm.」
「That was… an unfortunate accident.」
「Yes. It was an accident. No one was in the wrong. A person with magic eyes, like me, is not affected by another magic eye. And Eva was in a deep sleep because she used up her mana. But… my wife was distraught when she came to her senses.」
The Earl paused for a while, and then, he confessed everything, as though letting it all out at once.
「My wife was an honourable woman. She wasn’t able to forgive herself and left the mansion.」
「Earl… Did you not call her back?」
「I called her back many times. Even though I told her that Eva’s magic eyes were stabilized by a seal, she never came back.」
「Why don’t you call her for this awarding ceremony?」
「…I wish I could do that.」
Ah, so that’s what it is.
The Earl shook his head feebly, so I understood.
She was no longer in this world.
「…My wife, who returned to her parents’ house, seems to have fallen sick after childbirth. Three years later, she died. It seems that she regretted what she did to Eva until the very end. I should have used my influence as a noble to forcibly bring her back — but, everything is too late now.」
「Was she from a lower-ranking noble house?」
「No, she was a commoner.」
I was taken by surprise. To think that an ideal noble like the Earl had a commoner as his wife.
「I wanted to avoid the unnecessary confusion caused by sending noble personnels to a commoner’s house, and encouraged Adele to return voluntarily. But that was a failure. I have never told Eva about her mother’s status. So, when she said, “A society where both commoners and nobles can live equally,” my heart almost stopped beating. I keep thinking, if it truly was such a society, perhaps I could have saved Adele. But, of course, it’s useless thinking about that now, hahahaha.」
The Earl laughed. I had never heard such a lonely laugh.
