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How should I put it?
Since it was an unexpected question, an answer didn't come easily.
I stared blankly at my father for a moment before stammering a response.
“The Atrux Empire was founded, and it has been 31 years since the current Emperor ascended the throne, um...”
“Not such superficial information.”
“Other than that... ‘One Flower’ that you told me about, Father, I don't know much else.”
Father looked straight into my eyes, as if trying to discern whether my words were true.
His calloused hand slid down my forearm and gripped my hand tightly.
“...Have you met any strangers recently?”
“Um...”
“A young man, or perhaps an older woman.”
For a moment, I nearly choked.
If he hadn't added the part about the 'older woman,' I would have thought Father had already seen right through my shallow plan.
Trying my best to ignore the chill running down my spine, I forced a slight smile.
“Honestly... Father. What kind of young man would be crazy enough to approach me?”
“Yevgenia.”
“Unless they have an extraordinary amount of nerve, it's hard for anyone to even step within ten feet of me. You know that.”
The person who knew 'Yevgenia's' madness better than anyone was, in fact, my father.
If it had simply been a matter of acting out, Father wouldn't have needed to step in, but the scale of the accidents 'Yevgenia' caused always exceeded imagination, so Father naturally ended up taking over all the cleanup.
There was no need to bring up a specific child from a specific house on a specific day.
A simple 'You know that' was enough.
As expected, Father let out a small sigh, released his grip on my shoulder, and straightened his posture.
“Right. For now... I will look into how this happened. Until then, it would be best to keep this matter quiet.”
“...What?! Why—no, how? Are you planning to visit the Divine Temple?”
I snapped my head up, startled by his words.
A name isn't a tattoo; how on earth was he going to investigate the fact that it had vanished overnight—though the meaning of 'overnight' differed in this case—anyway, how?
Surely Father couldn't possibly know about Yulan's ability, given how secretively she had lived her life hiding her identity...
'No, I can't be sure. Maybe he'll try to find out by listening to rumors circulating in the back alleys.'
I decided I should contact Yulan immediately after finishing the meal.
While my mind was racing, Father gently stroked my hair and answered.
“If necessary, I would seek out the Divine, not just the Divine Temple.”
What was contained in those words was an excessively heavy amount of affection and worry.
I felt a tingling sensation of warmth rising from my fingertips.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek and gripped Father's hand tightly.
“Father, I'm worried this might unnecessarily blow up. There will be many people who will blame me for the reason the name disappeared...”
“Oh, Zhenya.”
“I'm not trying to justify the things I've done. I truly did things that deserve punishment.”
“....”
“That's why I want to settle this as quietly as possible.”
With my eyes slightly cast down, I continued in a soft, low voice.
“After canceling the engagement, I will go down to the duchy and devote myself entirely to studying as the successor. I don't care who the son-in-law is. It's just that I feel too sorry for Raymond, so I simply can't...”
I wondered if Father noticed my trembling eyelashes.
I wanted to show him just how sincere I was...
“Of course, declaring the cancellation of the engagement so arbitrarily would be a nuisance to the Larson Ducal Family. However, for the sake of Raymond's happiness, they will surely understand.”
“....”
“This morning, I couldn't accept this reality, so I tried to redraw it with a quill, but it left a scar... but that pain woke me up. It allowed me to face the reality that Raymond's destiny is not me.”
My tongue felt sore from piling on all these flowery phrases to hide the fact that my primary goal was avoiding marriage to Raymond.
If Father had looked closely at the scar, he would have easily noticed that it was a fairly deep wound that had already been healed for some time.
However, Father didn't seem to doubt the story I had fabricated at all.
The disappearance of the name was shocking enough, and the time Father spent checking my name was very brief; moreover, since the scar was hidden beneath the name, it would be impossible to see properly unless he had superhuman dynamic visual acuity.
'And my father is a civil servant to the bone; he said he started wearing glasses as soon as he became an adult.'
Now that my perfect counter-argument(?) was complete, all that remained was to wait for the verdict from Father, the judge.
Just as I was trying to hide my anxiety and keeping my expression vague and longing.
“Yevgenia. Answer me just one thing.”
“Yes? What is it...”
“Before your name disappeared, are you absolutely sure you didn't meet a single stranger?”
“...Of course, Father.”
Despite my firm answer, Father's expression remained complicated.
What on earth did Father know?
I became curious about the secret behind those gentle blue eyes, but it was clearly something I wasn't meant to know.
If I found out for no reason, my life might get tangled...
'Let's pretend I don't know. Whatever it is, if it were something I needed to know, Father would have told me.'
I waited for a long time, unable to even swallow.
After finishing his thoughts, Father patted my shoulder affectionately and spoke.
“Let's think a bit more about the engagement. It is too early to break it off right now.”
“What?! Father, what do you mean by...”
“Until I know the truth behind the disappearance of your name... yes, it would be better to increase the time you spend with Raymond.”
My eyes, which were already wide, grew even wider.
What kind of plan was he drawing up to reach such a conclusion?
I hurriedly placed my hand over Father's hand on my shoulder.
Worried that he might just leave like this, I wanted to hold onto him, even in this way.
“F-Father. Why on earth should I spend time with Raymond...”
“I don't know if your name disappeared according to the providence of the 'Divine,' but if by any chance it was touched by human hands, I cannot simply go along with that intention.”
I unconsciously held my breath.
Could it be that Father really knew everything...
“F-Father. What do you mean? How could human hands possibly touch a sacred name?”
“I've only read about it in literature, so I'm not certain. But the fact that it remains in the records means such a thing could still happen today, doesn't it?”
“That... may be true, but...”
“Do not worry. Yevgenia, I will look into it as quietly as you wish.”
Saying so, Father lightly stroked my hair.
“You just act as usual, as if nothing happened. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Father...”
Only after Father's back disappeared as he left the dining room did the tension leave my body.
Leaning back against the chair, I held my head in confusion and let out a small groan.
I wanted to scream if I could, but I forced myself to hold it in.
'I'm screwed. The engagement ceremony is still going ahead even though the name is gone? This is insane!'
When Father truly begins his investigation into the 'human who erases names,' will Yulan be able to avoid his net?
The more I trusted Father's competence, the more my anxiety soared.
I clawed at the tablecloth with my nails to calm my fluttering heart.
Looking at the situation objectively with a cooler head, the conclusion I reached was:
'...I have to meet Yulan once more. If I warn her about Father in advance, she'll hide herself.'
I didn't know why Yulan hid her identity and lived in the back alleys, but seeing as she had thrown away all the benefits and rights of the Second Prince, there must be some dark circumstances.
Therefore, she would likely want to avoid catching a Duke's eye.
'I actually feel a bit sorry that she got involved because of me.'
How could I have known that Father would know about the ability to erase names?
Considering the reaction Yulan showed when I first brought up the ability, it shouldn't be a secret that could be uncovered easily...
'Even for the House of Martyr, this is too deep a topic. Just what is Father's relationship with the Imperial Family?'
It started simply as a way to cut off Raymond, escape the original plot, and avoid the Villainess Route.
But instead of a breakup, I received an order to meet Raymond more often; Father's enigmatic attitude only left me filled with useless questions.
'What will happen to my future? What about my happy Schrödinger's Limited Life?'
Was it a mistake to seek out Yulan based on information from the original work?
But without Yulan's help, I saw no way to escape Raymond.
Since it had come to this, my only option was to build an even more meticulous web of lies to completely deceive Father.
'I'm sorry, Father! This is all for the sake of the House of Martyr!'
After apologizing timidly in my heart, I spoke to Anna, who had returned late.
“Anna, prepare some stationery. The most luxurious kind you can find.”
I already had the shop operated by Yulan's Guild in mind.
Those shops were often used as event locations where items were given to Stella for free out of nowhere.
In the original work, this was a device to show how much the extras valued Stella's reputation...
'I'll make very good use of them as my mailmen.'
And I'll deceive Father at the same time.
Since it was an unexpected question, an answer didn't come easily.
I stared blankly at my father for a moment before stammering a response.
“The Atrux Empire was founded, and it has been 31 years since the current Emperor ascended the throne, um...”
“Not such superficial information.”
“Other than that... ‘One Flower’ that you told me about, Father, I don't know much else.”
Father looked straight into my eyes, as if trying to discern whether my words were true.
His calloused hand slid down my forearm and gripped my hand tightly.
“...Have you met any strangers recently?”
“Um...”
“A young man, or perhaps an older woman.”
For a moment, I nearly choked.
If he hadn't added the part about the 'older woman,' I would have thought Father had already seen right through my shallow plan.
Trying my best to ignore the chill running down my spine, I forced a slight smile.
“Honestly... Father. What kind of young man would be crazy enough to approach me?”
“Yevgenia.”
“Unless they have an extraordinary amount of nerve, it's hard for anyone to even step within ten feet of me. You know that.”
The person who knew 'Yevgenia's' madness better than anyone was, in fact, my father.
If it had simply been a matter of acting out, Father wouldn't have needed to step in, but the scale of the accidents 'Yevgenia' caused always exceeded imagination, so Father naturally ended up taking over all the cleanup.
There was no need to bring up a specific child from a specific house on a specific day.
A simple 'You know that' was enough.
As expected, Father let out a small sigh, released his grip on my shoulder, and straightened his posture.
“Right. For now... I will look into how this happened. Until then, it would be best to keep this matter quiet.”
“...What?! Why—no, how? Are you planning to visit the Divine Temple?”
I snapped my head up, startled by his words.
A name isn't a tattoo; how on earth was he going to investigate the fact that it had vanished overnight—though the meaning of 'overnight' differed in this case—anyway, how?
Surely Father couldn't possibly know about Yulan's ability, given how secretively she had lived her life hiding her identity...
'No, I can't be sure. Maybe he'll try to find out by listening to rumors circulating in the back alleys.'
I decided I should contact Yulan immediately after finishing the meal.
While my mind was racing, Father gently stroked my hair and answered.
“If necessary, I would seek out the Divine, not just the Divine Temple.”
What was contained in those words was an excessively heavy amount of affection and worry.
I felt a tingling sensation of warmth rising from my fingertips.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek and gripped Father's hand tightly.
“Father, I'm worried this might unnecessarily blow up. There will be many people who will blame me for the reason the name disappeared...”
“Oh, Zhenya.”
“I'm not trying to justify the things I've done. I truly did things that deserve punishment.”
“....”
“That's why I want to settle this as quietly as possible.”
With my eyes slightly cast down, I continued in a soft, low voice.
“After canceling the engagement, I will go down to the duchy and devote myself entirely to studying as the successor. I don't care who the son-in-law is. It's just that I feel too sorry for Raymond, so I simply can't...”
I wondered if Father noticed my trembling eyelashes.
I wanted to show him just how sincere I was...
“Of course, declaring the cancellation of the engagement so arbitrarily would be a nuisance to the Larson Ducal Family. However, for the sake of Raymond's happiness, they will surely understand.”
“....”
“This morning, I couldn't accept this reality, so I tried to redraw it with a quill, but it left a scar... but that pain woke me up. It allowed me to face the reality that Raymond's destiny is not me.”
My tongue felt sore from piling on all these flowery phrases to hide the fact that my primary goal was avoiding marriage to Raymond.
If Father had looked closely at the scar, he would have easily noticed that it was a fairly deep wound that had already been healed for some time.
However, Father didn't seem to doubt the story I had fabricated at all.
The disappearance of the name was shocking enough, and the time Father spent checking my name was very brief; moreover, since the scar was hidden beneath the name, it would be impossible to see properly unless he had superhuman dynamic visual acuity.
'And my father is a civil servant to the bone; he said he started wearing glasses as soon as he became an adult.'
Now that my perfect counter-argument(?) was complete, all that remained was to wait for the verdict from Father, the judge.
Just as I was trying to hide my anxiety and keeping my expression vague and longing.
“Yevgenia. Answer me just one thing.”
“Yes? What is it...”
“Before your name disappeared, are you absolutely sure you didn't meet a single stranger?”
“...Of course, Father.”
Despite my firm answer, Father's expression remained complicated.
What on earth did Father know?
I became curious about the secret behind those gentle blue eyes, but it was clearly something I wasn't meant to know.
If I found out for no reason, my life might get tangled...
'Let's pretend I don't know. Whatever it is, if it were something I needed to know, Father would have told me.'
I waited for a long time, unable to even swallow.
After finishing his thoughts, Father patted my shoulder affectionately and spoke.
“Let's think a bit more about the engagement. It is too early to break it off right now.”
“What?! Father, what do you mean by...”
“Until I know the truth behind the disappearance of your name... yes, it would be better to increase the time you spend with Raymond.”
My eyes, which were already wide, grew even wider.
What kind of plan was he drawing up to reach such a conclusion?
I hurriedly placed my hand over Father's hand on my shoulder.
Worried that he might just leave like this, I wanted to hold onto him, even in this way.
“F-Father. Why on earth should I spend time with Raymond...”
“I don't know if your name disappeared according to the providence of the 'Divine,' but if by any chance it was touched by human hands, I cannot simply go along with that intention.”
I unconsciously held my breath.
Could it be that Father really knew everything...
“F-Father. What do you mean? How could human hands possibly touch a sacred name?”
“I've only read about it in literature, so I'm not certain. But the fact that it remains in the records means such a thing could still happen today, doesn't it?”
“That... may be true, but...”
“Do not worry. Yevgenia, I will look into it as quietly as you wish.”
Saying so, Father lightly stroked my hair.
“You just act as usual, as if nothing happened. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Father...”
Only after Father's back disappeared as he left the dining room did the tension leave my body.
Leaning back against the chair, I held my head in confusion and let out a small groan.
I wanted to scream if I could, but I forced myself to hold it in.
'I'm screwed. The engagement ceremony is still going ahead even though the name is gone? This is insane!'
When Father truly begins his investigation into the 'human who erases names,' will Yulan be able to avoid his net?
The more I trusted Father's competence, the more my anxiety soared.
I clawed at the tablecloth with my nails to calm my fluttering heart.
Looking at the situation objectively with a cooler head, the conclusion I reached was:
'...I have to meet Yulan once more. If I warn her about Father in advance, she'll hide herself.'
I didn't know why Yulan hid her identity and lived in the back alleys, but seeing as she had thrown away all the benefits and rights of the Second Prince, there must be some dark circumstances.
Therefore, she would likely want to avoid catching a Duke's eye.
'I actually feel a bit sorry that she got involved because of me.'
How could I have known that Father would know about the ability to erase names?
Considering the reaction Yulan showed when I first brought up the ability, it shouldn't be a secret that could be uncovered easily...
'Even for the House of Martyr, this is too deep a topic. Just what is Father's relationship with the Imperial Family?'
It started simply as a way to cut off Raymond, escape the original plot, and avoid the Villainess Route.
But instead of a breakup, I received an order to meet Raymond more often; Father's enigmatic attitude only left me filled with useless questions.
'What will happen to my future? What about my happy Schrödinger's Limited Life?'
Was it a mistake to seek out Yulan based on information from the original work?
But without Yulan's help, I saw no way to escape Raymond.
Since it had come to this, my only option was to build an even more meticulous web of lies to completely deceive Father.
'I'm sorry, Father! This is all for the sake of the House of Martyr!'
After apologizing timidly in my heart, I spoke to Anna, who had returned late.
“Anna, prepare some stationery. The most luxurious kind you can find.”
I already had the shop operated by Yulan's Guild in mind.
Those shops were often used as event locations where items were given to Stella for free out of nowhere.
In the original work, this was a device to show how much the extras valued Stella's reputation...
'I'll make very good use of them as my mailmen.'
And I'll deceive Father at the same time.
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