Volume 1 Chapter 16 Count Alfano, The One Who Feared The Curse
*Elena's father's perspective.
"Haa..."
A deep, heavy sigh echoed throughout the Alfano family office.
"As expected, analyzing spells that are lost magic is not going to be easy."
While pushing away the butler who looked pitiful with his furrowed brow, I cradled my head in my hands and let out another grand sigh.
"Elena..."
I called out the name of my beloved daughter, who is not here.
Elena is my beloved daughter and, you could say, my greatest weakness.
Among all the heads of the illustrious Alfano family, I boast an unparalleled amount of magic power, acquiring everything I desire, and being called unstoppable in my pursuits──yet, she is my greatest and only weakness.
Though I tried to explain it, it was just something the people around me had stressed instead.
Since I was born as the eldest son of the Alfano family, I have lived without interest in anything.
I was educated to live as the heir of the Count family, to marry someone beneficial to the Count family and have an heir; that was my duty.
The woman I married, having accepted it as a duty, approached me not for the Count family's status or assets, but because she liked my face.
Compared to women who creep closer aiming for status and wealth, she was somewhat straightforward, which is why I chose her.
She soon gave birth to our first son.
Since an heir was born, that marked the end of all my duties.
The second child, our eldest daughter Elena, was born at a time when I was free from all obligations and felt a sense of relief.
I must educate my eldest son as the next Count, but that education is not necessary for my daughter.
There was a creature that was simply adorable.
It had come to be.
An adorable creature with fluffy hair and soft, smooth skin.
When I stroked its plump, smooth cheeks, it would giggle and laugh joyfully.
It did not take long for me to be completely enchanted by that adorable creature, my daughter.
"I feel like Elena was born from my own pain in childbirth."
"No, it might be me."
Oh, it turned out I was not the only one enchanted.
"Father, please let me hold Elena too!"
"After you finish studying, I will let you hold her."
"I am done!!"
"Ugh, what an excellent eldest son...!"
Thus began our daily struggle between my eldest son Hans and me over Elena.
Hans and I vied for Elena's affection, while my wife watched with a smile, creating days that were completely opposite to those dull days when nothing piqued my interest; these were truly fulfilling days.
However, sadly, there seems to be no guarantee that such happy and fulfilling days will last long.
"Father, I have something to discuss."
It was Hans who quickly noticed the dark clouds spreading over our household.
Normally, this would be the time to finish work and dote on Elena, but Hans had carefully cleared the room before entering this office.
"It is about Elena."
"What is it?"
"I may be overthinking, but I feel like Mother is casting some sort of spell on Elena."
At Hans's words, my thoughts completely stopped for a moment.
My wife, casting a spell on Elena?
"W-Why?"
"Well, I'm not well-versed in spells, so I can't say for sure, but it seems like she is using unfamiliar words──no, perhaps not just words... something that feels entirely different from the language of neighboring countries..."
As Hans said this, he started to tear up, so I hugged him to calm him down.
Even though he seemed more composed, he is still just a child.
"It is alright, I am here for you."
After calming Hans down, I heard him explain in a bit more detail that my wife seems to be gesturing as if she is speaking to Elena in some incomprehensible words.
Although he clearly saw that gesture today, he mentioned that it felt like she had been doing it for much longer when he thought back on it.
Since I have never seen that gesture, it might be that she is hiding it from me.
"...Mother is probably feeling jealous because I and Father are so focused on Elena... casting spells on her..."
"No, that cannot be..."
While our marriage may have started as a political arrangement, we genuinely care for each other now and should be getting along well; in fact, she has even expressed happiness that I am fond of Elena.
Would she really feel jealous?
However, I cannot understand what a woman is thinking in her heart.
"Father, I plan to study Spell-ology without Mother noticing. To protect Elena."
Hans's eyes held a strong flame of determination as he said this.
Since Hans, who harbored this determination, moved to a separate residence with an attendant to attend the academy, Elena had increasingly found herself gazing blankly out the window.
While staring into the distance, she let out a big sigh, appearing somewhat less lively.
Seeing that made me uneasy, as thoughts flickered through my mind that perhaps my wife would indeed cast a spell on Elena and curse her to death.
Hans said he would study Spell-ology, but if I lost Elena before understanding the truth behind that spell, it would all be for nothing.
Thinking that I needed to take some measures myself, I had the butler gather materials on Spell-ology.
"...I really don't understand Spell-ology well. Everything has '※ Various theories exist' written on it."
When I said that, the butler quietly nodded.
"It's said to be lost magic, after all."
Most of the materials say that due to the increase in people's magical power, magic can now be used without incantations, leading to the decline of spells.
※ Various theories exist, it is written.
"With so much still unexplained, there's no way to take measures..."
"My acquaintance was studying Spell-ology, and I heard that in the days when spells were mainstream, some people had someone close by as a shield to prevent spells from being cast directly on them."
I was surprised at the butler's words.
"A shield..."
"Probably this one too, but..."
"Oh, I see, there are various theories, huh?"
But I decided to look for a shield, thinking that it's better than having no countermeasures at all.
After all, I feel that Elena has lost her energy since Hans left, and it's not impossible that Hans unknowingly played the role of that shield.
It was around this time that I met Rolus.
Rolus himself said he had no family name, but I thought he was probably the son of a poor noble from the countryside.
There are some people like that, who are poor but have many children, and eventually, their household finances don't work out, so they secretly send their children to work in merchant houses.
'We took you in reluctantly, but we don't need you here! We have enough hands without you!'
A woman saying this to a child is like proof of such a case.
It's obvious that they reluctantly took him in because the person who asked was a noble.
A poor, skinny, and miserable boy in his growing years stood in front of the store with dead eyes.
When I saw him, I thought that if this store didn't need this boy, I would take him home with me.
Elena needed a shield.
Looking back, I must have been out of my mind at that moment.
Elena was so important to me, so important that I was willing to burden an unknown child with a curse.
But at that time, I didn't realize it, and without hesitation, I stepped into the store and said to the woman.
"Can I take the boy outside?"
The woman was flustered by my appearance, but in the end, she handed Rolus over to me.
Rolus didn't seem to have any questions, or perhaps he understood that he had no authority, so he followed me without saying a word.
"I promise you a better life than here."
"...Yes."
"However, your job is to be a shield for the spells directed at my daughter, Elena."
"Yes."
"This is confidential. It's a secret between you and me."
"I understand, sir."
I made a contract with Rolus, fixed his shabby appearance, and handed him over to my wife as Elena's Attendant. My wife glanced at Rolus with a somewhat puzzled and suspicious expression.
"An Attendant...?"
"Yes. Hans has moved to the annex, and Elena seemed lonely."
"Well, yes, she does seem bored..."
"Is something wrong?"
As my wife closed her eyes and groaned, a hint of unease crossed my mind.
I wondered if there was something troubling about having someone by Elena's side, or if having a shield near the target of the spell was a problem.
"Dissatisfaction... rather, a question... No, I understand. I will take him to Elena."
"I will be the one to take him."
"Oh, has your work finished?"
It had not finished yet.
While watching Rolus being taken by his wife, I prayed that he would become a shield against the spell.
And I apologized for sacrificing him.
As for Elena, who had gained the attendant named Rolus, she was no longer staring blankly out the window; instead, she was lively and taking care of Rolus.
She took him everywhere and was teaching him to read and write.
I felt relieved, thinking that I could rest easy for a while.
As time passed, Elena was to move to a separate residence to attend the academy.
Hans had already graduated, and both Hans and I would no longer be by Elena's side, but by that time, Rolus had become reliable in protecting Elena, so I no longer felt as anxious as before.
It was just painfully difficult to live apart from my beloved daughter.
Due to the loneliness, I had become haggard, and the butler laughed at me.
It was sad.
On the day I finally had a meal with Elena after enduring the loneliness, it goes without saying that I was immensely relieved to see Elena and Rolus looking very lively.
I heard reports about academy life from Rolus and exchanged casual conversation with Elena.
Just that alone made me very happy.
If only my wife's spell were gone as well, I would be even happier.
"Rolus, how has my wife's spell been since then?"
While Elena went to choose a dessert, I asked Rolus.
"I have heard that phrase resembling a spell many times over there as well."
"Is that so?"
"When the Lady became interested in Spell-ology, I thought she was curious about that phrase of the Madam, but it seems to be a different matter..."
"What do you mean?"
"She shows no signs of being concerned about that phrase, but for some reason, she has started investigating the cause of death of the fifth king."
"Cause of death?"
"Cause of death."
I quietly put my head in my hands for a moment.
What, cause of death?
"...However, the reason she became interested in it was that she befriended a classmate who chose Spell-ology, so she plans to take the opportunity to learn about spells from that classmate."
"Ah, I see, please do that. I would be happy if Rolus made a friend."
"...I do not need friends. I have decided to live only to protect Lady."
In Rolus' deadpan eyes, a strong light had gradually begun to dwell.
* * *
After that, the peaceful and happy meal with my beloved daughter ended in the blink of an eye.
I wanted to savor this happiness more, but at that moment, it was frozen by a single word from my beloved daughter.
"I thought you might be talking about how I could become a bride candidate for Sir Lorentz, so I was a little on guard."
By that, shockingly terrifying remark.
After that, I do not remember how I got home.
Just in my head, the word 'marriage' kept, reappearing and disappearing over and over.
No, this isn't the time to be shocked.
I have to eliminate the source of that rumor as soon as possible.
I can't let go of Elena yet.
Because I'm the one who suffered to bring her into this world.
I didn't actually give birth to her, but it's almost like I did.
I won't let anyone who can love Elena more than I do marry her... even if the other party is the next Marquis or a prince.
"Ahaha, just being apart for a few months left you looking haggard, so if Lady Elena goes off to marry, you might just turn into a skeleton, my lord!"
"This is not a laughing matter!!"
Who was the rude person that made this guy my butler!
Wasn't it me!!
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