Chapter 372 I Want To See You
Sara, who only tasted the alcohol, handed a small bottle of brandy made from grapes to Mike, who looked regretful, and gazed out the window.
The golem was still busy making snow sculptures. It seemed like it had just finished a miniature of Maiden's Tower, and Charlotte looked happy as she talked to Hannah.
Sara, who had been changing into Sophia more often, sometimes remembered Adelia when she looked in the mirror. Although their eye colors were different, a woman who looked a lot like her mother was staring back at Sara from the mirror.
'Why didn't Mom rely on the Grandchester family or her own family?'
Sara often thought that if she was suffering so much that she felt she might die, she should have put aside her pride and asked her family for help. She knew she couldn’t ask Adelia for help since she had passed away and wouldn’t respond. But when Sara saw Hannah, who had bravely escaped from her husband with Charlotte, a mix of emotions filled her.
'Even though I was reincarnated with memories of my past life, there's no doubt that I am Sara, the daughter of Arthur and Adelia. After all, I feel this way.'
Standing by the window, Sara, with the heart of an adult, was undeniably an 8-year-old girl. She knew she was loved by her grandfather, foster parents, and probably her relatives. Yet, she couldn't shake off the feeling of longing for her real parents.
"I want to see Dad and Mom..."
The soft whisper touched the fairies' ears, and they turned into tiny animals, showering Sara with a bright blessing. When Sara looked up, she saw many fairies who had not formed a friendship, and sparkling golden light glimmered from the high ceiling.
"Thank you, everyone. I'm sorry for worrying you."
"When you feel lonely or sad, it's important to cry properly."
Mike climbed onto Sara's shoulder and gently pressed his paw against her soft cheek. Then, a surge of magic flowed out from Sara, and Mike began to shine brightly.
"Hey, what's happening?"
"Just watch."
Mike floated up from Sara's shoulder and started projecting an image in front of them, like an old projector. There appeared a slightly younger Arthur and a pregnant Adelia, just as Sara remembered.
"What is this?"
"This is a record of when I first noticed Sara's glow. Sara has been shining beautifully since she was in Adelia's belly. That's why there are so many fairies around Adelia, right?"
"Yeah, there are a lot. But Mike, you're not in it."
"That's because this is a record of what I saw."
"I see."
In the video, Arthur and Adelia were happily smiling and talking to each other. The young couple had hopeful looks in their eyes, making Sara's heart flutter.
"Hey, Arthur, what should we name this child?"
"Do you think it's a boy or a girl?"
"Since this one kicks a lot, it might be a boy."
"But it could be a lively girl like Revi, right?"
"Then, Arthur, you think of a girl's name. I'll think of a boy's name."
"Sara sounds like a nice name for a girl. It's the name of an ancient queen."
"Then for a boy, I'll go with Liam. He's an old hero."
Suddenly, the scene changed. Adelia was lying on the bed, breastfeeding her newborn baby. Arthur was sitting next to her, smiling happily.
"Sara has a big appetite. Still, she came a lot earlier than expected, so I was a bit panicked. She's such an impatient girl."
"Hehe. She gets that from you, Dad. If she takes after Arthur too much, she might have a lot of boys chasing after her in the future, you know?"
"At least she looks just like Adelia. I can't imagine a future where this girl isn't chased by boys. Well, I'll scare them all away anyway."
"You're such a protective dad."
Arthur gazed at Adelia, who was giggling, and Sara, who was nestled in her arms, with a bright smile.
Then the scene changed again.
"This is bad, Arthur. Do you remember the story about my family?"
"Your family runs a merchant guild in Genoa, right? Adelia broke the rules and married me even though Adelia was training according to family traditions."
"Originally, my family lived in Florence. We moved to Genoa when my grandpa was the head of the family. I was just a baby back then, so I don't remember anything from Florence."
"Oh, so that was when it became a republic. Was Adelia's family noble?"
"Well, something like that. My real name is Adelia Elaine Florentia..."
"Hmm. If I'm not mistaken, that's a royal name, right?"
"Looks like it."
"So?"
"Grandpa was a former king, and Dad was a former Crown Prince, right?"
"Not just 'right,' that means you're a direct descendant of a princess, doesn't it?"
"It just former."
Arthur held his head in his hands. That gesture looked a lot like Sara.
"So, that means my wife is a direct descendant of a former princess. Isn't that something you usually mention before getting married?"
"If I said it, would we have gotten married?"
"Well, if I knew you were pregnant with Sara, of course we would."
"If I weren't pregnant, would you not have married me?"
"A former princess, huh... No, I still think I would have married Adelia. It just might not have been a runaway marriage. I might have worked really hard to secure my position in the palace, or even pushed Ed aside to become the Young Marquis."
"That would have been good. I wouldn't be able to recover if you said you couldn't marry a former royal. But you know, I was planning to get married in Florence after my training."
"Does that mean you had a fiancé?"
"Well, yeah."
Arthur smiled softly at Adelia.
"I'm glad I could marry you."
"But you know, my former fiancé has a 3-year-old nephew. They probably don't know where I am yet, but if they find out, Sara might be targeted."
"Targeted? What do you mean?"
"It means she could be taken away as the future bride for that little boy."
"Wait, what!? But you're not a royal anymore, right?"
"Some of the former vassals still see me as their lord. It's complicated because Florence is politically unstable right now, and the movement to restore the monarchy is gaining momentum."
"Does your family want to return to the throne?"
"That's why I intentionally triggered the coup. Thanks to that, we had a bloodless surrender. The only casualty from the coup was a child who tripped while trying to get close to the protestors and scraped their knee, so it was very peaceful."
"I've heard about that. The merciful King of Florence hated the thought of his people's blood being shed, so he stepped down from the throne himself."
"My grandpa and dad just found being king too troublesome. Our family mostly wants to be merchants or adventurers."
"Don't the wives complain?"
"Actually, they tend to encourage it. The ones really pulling the strings behind the coup were my grandma and mom."
"That's a truth about history I didn't want to know."
In this scene, Sara, who is being shown this by Mike's magic, shares the same opinion as Arthur.
"My older brother is happily making money as an adventurer, and my younger brother is going to be the next guildmaster of the merchant guild. My sisters are also super busy with their own jobs."
"I see. Then there's probably nothing to worry about, right?"
"The issue lies with the former retainers still in Florence. In a city where the push to restore the monarchy is strong, some believe that bringing in a woman from the old royal family will boost their power. Sadly, I think this belief is correct. Sara and I share the same hair color, which is linked to the Florence royal family."
"Don't grandpa and dad oppose such a marriage?"
"Florence and Genoa are part of the Bay Coast Union and trade with each other regularly. My grandpa gave up all his royal power, so he has little influence in Florence now. Instead, the old nobles hold the real power there. Even if the old royal family wants to stay away from politics, they cannot ignore their trading ties with the Florence Merchant Guild."
"It may seem strange, but the former king has no power. If he marries off his descendant, doesn’t that bring him some influence? He left being king to avoid the power struggles among royals and nobles."
"This may sound odd, but my hair color is special in the old royal family. It’s the same color as the very first king, and people believe that those born with this hair will be talented in swordsmanship and magic."
"Does Adelia have this hair color too?"
"That's why I hesitated to mention it! In my family, I had the most magic, but I could only use earth and wood magic. I could help with farming, but I had no interest in swordsmanship."
"I think farming is quite valuable."
I've started to see that recently. However, having this hair color makes Sara a target for powerful people in Florence. They hope to have a silver-haired child in their family, which is why I got engaged at such a young age.
"Didn't your family refuse?"
"They refused for many years after I was born. But when I was 10, our merchant guild's ship got wrecked in a storm. We lost both the cargo and the ship, suffering huge losses, and that's when my fiancé's family helped us."
"I understand the situation. Yet, you want to run away with me, leaving your fiancé behind?"
"That's right."
"I see. In that case, Sara might be targeted."
"When I decided to leave home following our family rules, my grandpa and dad told me, 'You don't have to come back if it's forced. It's dangerous for us to know your whereabouts, so don't even send letters.'"
"So that's why you didn't contact your family. I thought you had a bad relationship and ran away."
'I see. Mom didn't contact her family to protect me. Still, not reaching out until she weakens is too much. I think she should have let me get engaged to survive rather than die. If she lived, she could have carved out a life for herself...'
Sara felt her mother Adelia's love and also regretted that her immaturity led to her young death. If Arthur had been alive, Adelia probably wouldn't have met such a tragic end. Of course, the same could be said for Arthur.
'I really can't forgive Chizen and Raska.'
Sara quietly remembered her parents' enemies, hiding her anger deep inside.
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