Chapter 6

I returned home.

The estate of the Eldenvalk Duke family, which governed the entire territory including this port town, was built upon a gentle hill facing the bay.

From here, one could overlook the entirety of the port town, serving as a symbol of the city while simultaneously carrying the meaning of keeping a watchful eye so that attention reached every corner of the streets.

I think Father is an excellent lord.

After all, he manages a port town without any trouble—a difficult land where immense wealth is generated, yet various cultures flow in and out, making it hard to keep unified.

That was something I only came to know after returning to the territory.

In my previous life, I spent my entire life until death in the royal capital, so I never knew about it until the very end.

My former self really was narrow-minded.

When I opened the front door, pattering footsteps could be heard rushing to greet me.

“Welcome back, Big Sister!”

The one who threw their arms around me the moment those words were spoken was a small boy.

My younger brother, Acheron.

He was turning six years old this year.

He was the heir our parents were blessed with a short while after the three of us began living together in the territory.

I had no siblings in my previous life.

Neither younger brother nor younger sister.

Therefore, the very existence of this child constituted a major change in my new second life.

In my previous life, my parents’ relationship grew completely cold due to the birth of someone like me, “one with no magic”.

Consequently, there was no way new life could be brought forth between the two of them.

Yet in this life, because I had become compliant, their relationship improved, and naturally, their marital intimacy resumed as well…?

…Or so I had thought, but recently I started to wonder if perhaps things were a little different.

For some reason, I—their firstborn—did not inherit any magical power despite having noble blood.

If they were to be blessed with another child, what if the second one also turned out to be “one with no magic”?

That would have been a source of anxiety as well, but conversely, problems would also arise even if a child with proper magic were born.

Because my position would be completely lost.

If a younger brother or sister were born with proper magic, it would make it even more incomprehensible why “one with no magic” like me had ever been born.

The fact that I was a defective product would be highlighted all the more, and the state of mind of being driven into such a position would have been terrifying even to imagine.

Yet I lived in the territory and became far brighter than I could have ever imagined possible in the royal capital.

That was why I believe my parents felt relieved. They knew I could accept any reality.

When my younger brother was actually born and proven to possess magic, I was genuinely glad.

I was even happy that I felt such joy myself.

My past self would surely have been consumed by jealousy beyond measure. Fearing that my standing in the duke’s family was in jeopardy, I might have even plotted to somehow get rid of him.

Imagining myself like that sometimes sent a chill down my spine.

In the first place, since I was female, I basically had no right of succession to the duke’s family.

Therefore, thinking “Next, we need a boy…” was only natural for nobles who had to protect their house, and if viewed as a duty, it was unthinkable that a couple, no matter how estranged, would permanently suspend their intimacy.

Even so, the reason my parents did not have any children other than me in my previous life was entirely out of consideration for me.

Truly, the more of this second life I spend, the more I realize how foolish I was.

To think that I failed to notice such tender affection from my parents even until the day I died.

“I’m home, my precious treasure.”

I hugged my still-tiny younger brother back.

He was light enough to lift easily for now, but since he was a boy, he would surely grow big soon and I wouldn’t be able to carry him anymore.

No matter what it took, I had to protect Acheron until that time came.

Fortunately, unlike me, this child had magic.

Generally, children of nobility in this country naturally manifested magic in their bodies around the age of two or three, which was how it was determined whether they had magical power.

Since he clearly possessed magic and was a boy, he was the most suitable person to inherit the Eldenvalk Duke family.

As for me… an older sister without magic would likely only become a burden to Acheron once he grew up, so I intended to leave the house by the time he became independent.

That’s right, going abroad just as Master Zingamen advised would probably be the best choice.

Magic existed only here in the Spiritual Kingdom.

In other countries, neither commoners nor nobles used magic, so I wouldn’t stand out as terribly bizarre either.

I could make use of what I had cultivated here and work as a tutor or help with administration… and abroad, I might even be able to get married, something I had entirely given up on.

In this country, people actively avoided marrying someone like me out of fear that “if we take in someone with no magic and the magical power is lost even to our own descendants, it would be unbearable.”

And yet, someone like that in my previous life had aimed to become Crown Princess—how absurdly grandiose of me.

In this life, I would surely spend my days having nothing to do with either the Crown Prince or the position of Crown Princess.

In my previous life, I had forced my way in, which was why I was listed as a candidate, but under normal circumstances, it was simply impossible for “one with no magic” to even brush against the Crown Prince candidates in a country where magic was absolute.

Or so I had thought, but…

“Father, Mother, I am back.”

Carrying Acheron, I entered the sitting room, and sure enough, my parents were sitting opposite each other, drinking tea.

Yet, what could this atmosphere be?

The moment I stepped inside, I could feel it: the air was heavy.

“Welcome back, Elt. How was your lesson with Master Zingamen?”

“Yes… he taught me many things again today, as usual.”

Mother’s welcoming words, while ordinary enough, carried a certain stiffness beneath the surface.

“Would someone go play with Acheron? We have an important matter to discuss with Elt.”

Father instructed the servants with those words, strongly hinting that something serious had indeed happened.

“Well, it’s not quite important enough to call it serious… Or rather, troublesome? No, would that be disrespectful…”

“What on earth is it?”

Uncharacteristically for Father, he was beating around the bush, and his tone was hesitant and lacking in directness.

At the same time, I suddenly hit upon the answer somewhere in my mind.

A feeling that everything was falling into place—that was the exact sensation.

“Ah, that’s right, it must have been around this time…”

“Hmm? Did you say something, Elt?”

“No, more importantly, Father, what is your business with me?”

Suppressing what I had realized, I prompted my parents to state their business.

I couldn’t exactly bring to light things that I, in this lifetime, had no way of knowing yet.

“…Just a moment ago, a letter arrived from the royal capital. The sender was listed as the royal family.”

As expected.

“A summons for the Crown Princess selection, I presume.”

“Why would you know that?!”

Even though I hadn’t intended to say it out loud, the words slipped right past me.

This is bad, I can’t even control my own emotions. But given that this was the karmic nexus of my past life, I couldn’t help reacting.

Anyway, to dispel my parents’ suspicions, I had to cover it up right now.

“I hear that Crown Prince Kistihart is twenty-three years old this year. At that age, it is about time for him to settle on a consort.”

“Y-Yes, indeed…”

“And I have also heard of our country’s unique customs regarding the selection of a consort. Seeing the serious expressions on Father and Mother’s faces, I could make a slight guess.”

Though in truth, it was more like a prophecy than a guess.

Well, not quite a prophecy either, since it was something I had already experienced and known firsthand. What should one call that, I wonder?

“A-As expected of Elt! You have truly grown into a brilliant girl…!”

“Quick to grasp situations and stay ahead of others. Gathering a wealth of information as the foundation for that. That is precisely the ability truly necessary for a nobility.”

Both of my parents showered me with unreserved praise.

It felt so overly effusive that I even sensed a touch of distance in it, but I dared not point that out.

To do so would be to toss away the kindness of my Father and Mother.

No matter how forcefully they were praising me, I had to clearly realize what kind of emotions drove their actions.

I mustn’t forget that I am loved.

“…Hm, let me test you, Elt. What I just mentioned—our country’s unique custom for selecting the Crown Princess—what is it specifically?”

“It is a method where noble daughters of eligible age are summoned from all across the country, and a single Crown Princess is chosen from among them…”

The reigning King, his predecessor, and the predecessor before that had all selected their consorts in that exact manner.

“Correct. Such a bizarre method of choosing a consort is not practiced in any other country except ours. Why do you think that is, Elt?”

“Because our country possesses magic.”

Magic was a miracle of the spirits granted solely to this Spiritual Kingdom.

Only the nobles of the Spiritual Kingdom could use magic, and that ability was steadily passed down from generation to generation through their bloodlines.

To preserve that, the most essential thing was that the heart of the nobility—the royal family—must inherit the strongest magical factor.

Therefore, the Crown Princess—the woman who would one day become Queen—was required to be a female mage possessing the strongest magical power possible.

“That is precisely why the selection takes place. To single out the bearer of the strongest magic from among all the young women in the country who can use magic… meaning the noble daughters. For that very purpose, gathering everyone in one place at once is the most efficient method.”

“A hundred-point answer. Yet listening to you explain it anew gives me a headache.”

True to his words, Father pressed his forehead in frustration.

I had only learned about it for the first time after studying in the territory, but our country was the only one that chose its consorts in such a fashion.

In other countries, they placed heavy emphasis on family lineage and political standing, carefully weighing the candidates’ character and intelligence through numerous discussions, and ultimately establishing an engagement with the individuals’ mutual consent.

“To gather all the young ladies in one place and make them compete, it’s practically like horse racing. If I were to attend a meeting with key figures from other countries and be asked about this, I wouldn’t even know how to answer. It’s simply too embarrassing.”

Saying that, Father covered his entire face with the hands he had previously used to massage his temples.

It was a feature that could be called the unique hallmark of our country, blessed with magic.

Which young lady possessed how much magical power had nothing to do with peerage ranks. Therefore, to select the strongest female mage, they had to gather everyone from baron daughters to duke daughters alike and compare them all.

And as a result of that comparative review, if the strongest one happened to be the daughter of the lowest-ranking baron, then that baron’s daughter would become the Crown Princess without any issue.

From the perspective of other countries, it must indeed look rather bizarre.

And now, that peculiar Crown Princess selection was about to begin for yet another generation.

No, for me… should I say it was beginning once again in this life too?