Elsi was afraid of Raymond.
This had been the case since her childhood.
Like most noble families, the Rainelle Clan’s head held absolute power.
The all-powerful Count Rainelle reigned as a figure of awe and fear.
This was no different for Elsi.
Even while sharpening the knife of revenge against her tormenting siblings, Elsi dared not think of defying Count Rainelle.
This was why the family’s servants turned a blind eye to the bullying directed at Elsi.
It was Count Rainelle’s intent.
Thus, Elsi endured unilateral violence without receiving any help.
Even the greatest victim, Elsi, could not dare to rebel against Count Rainelle. Who could interfere with the Count’s philosophy?
It was an expectation that could never be rewarded.
Except for one person.
“……What are you doing right now?”
That lone exception was her Uncle Raymond.
He was the only other Archmage in the family and the trusted younger brother of Count Rainelle.
He was the only one in the family who could defy Count Rainelle’s wishes.
Whenever he saw her tormenting siblings harassing Elsi and Lupin, he would sternly scold them.
“Do you know how childish and petty what you’re doing is? If it’s acceptable to bully those weaker than you, then I can bully you as much as I want.”
“Th-that’s not it, Uncle….”
No matter how much excuses they made, he never turned a blind eye to the bullies.
The siblings, who had once been so brazen in mistreating Elsi and Lupin, soon had to leave in defeat.
Watching Raymond, Elsi nurtured her dream of becoming a Mage.
Right now, she was just a small and weak brat. But one day, she would surely become a great Mage like her uncle.
Then those who laughed at and tormented her would have to change their attitudes.
Fortunately, Elsi had exceptional talent and a fierce spirit. Thanks to that, she soon realized that dream.
In a more brutal and violent manner.
Having become a demon that trampled her opponents to ensure they would never rebel again, Elsi thought it was only natural.
That was, until she found herself in a situation where she would be scolded by Raymond.
“Elsi, stop it.”
It was when Elsi was caught up in her fervor for revenge against her siblings.
Of course, she could not understand Raymond.
She had only returned what was done to her. There was nothing wrong with her motivations.
Yet every time, the answer that came back was the same.
“You are also a Rainelle, and so are they.”
Did that mean they had ever been recognized as Rainelles?
Suddenly, such anger surged within her, but Elsi could not dare to refute Raymond.
Elsi was still weak and needed a nest.
Raymond, who had always been strong and reliable, was one of the few people who gave her comfort.
If only she could ride on his back, she thought at one time, she would gladly carry the name Rainelle.
At that moment, she never imagined that such a resolution would return in this manner.
Now, Raymond stood before Elsi as a high thick wall more imposing than anything else.
As soon as she met his cold eyes, Elsi froze.
It was the fear imprinted in her since childhood.
“Elsi, I say again, the family’s wishes are firm.”
Once again, that family.
Initially, Elsi had stiffened, but she was already anxious to the point of impatience.
She had to hurry to save her master.
There was no time to quarrel with Raymond like this.
In the end, Elsi could not hold back any longer and bared her teeth.
“……So what now?”
It was a mocking tone.
Not something to say to an elder of the family.
Even so, the tone of Raymond’s response was calm.
“I told you to stop.”
The short and plain words carried no emotion.
Like an automaton that operated on logic alone.
“Can’t you see it’s a hopeless fight? Going would only lead to a dead end. I hope my niece isn’t that stupid.”
“Then should we just let it die like this?!”
It was a desperate retort.
Elsi raised her voice and pointed with her finger to the center of the battlefield.
There stood I-an, still fighting desperately.
His condition was so dire that it wouldn’t be strange for him to collapse and die at any moment.
With that bloody scenery before her eyes, Elsi’s voice rose further.
“Uncle, you don’t know how precious my master is to me…!”
“……Why wouldn’t I know?”
It was just a single reply.
A common phrase of empathy that interrupted Elsi’s words.
However, even that was enough to leave Elsi speechless.
Raymond’s face looked very lonely as he said that.
Even Elsi, who had been with him for a long time, saw a facial expression she had never witnessed before.
“I once loved as well. It was my first and last love… But our love faced family opposition, and she could not bear the self-loathing and took her own life.”
Trying to retort something, Elsi ended up shutting her lips tight.
It was an unexpected glimpse into her uncle’s tragic past.
Raymond, who always seemed so reliable and strong. She never expected he would still carry the scars of that day.
He had never spoken of it before.
As he revealed his past, his eyes held a deep sadness and pain.
“So I left the family, seeking freedom… However, I ended up returning to the family. Emotions are fleeting, but blood is eternally unchangeable.”
“But still, but still….”
“And so, it is fate.”
Raymond asserted again to Elsi, who looked as if she could not possibly comprehend.
His finger pointed somewhere.
“……Look. That monster.”
It was a titan towering dozens of meters high.
Every time it stomped on the ground and swung its fists, a rumble and noise echoed. The earth shook, and the world trembled.
Fear revived in Elsi’s eyes.
“Do you think that just because you go, the situation will change?”
There were no words left to argue.
Elsi was an excellent Mage who had reached the 5th circle, but she still hadn’t reached a level where she could turn the tide of battle alone.
To do so, she would need to become an Archmage at least at the 6th circle.
And just from looking, that monster seemed impossible to handle even for a 6th circle Archmage.
But Elsi still could not give up until the end.
As if insisting she couldn’t lose I-an like this, Elsi pleaded desperately.
“If, if I lead the magic troops….”
“Look at that.”
Of course, Raymond was no easy opponent.
He merely returned a cold reply even to his niece’s plea.
“When cornered, won’t you lean on the family’s power again, Elsi… That’s just who you are.”
It was a brutally blunt truth.
All Elsi could do was lower her gaze in a daze.
She thought she had changed.
She thought she had been growing stronger now, no longer simply depending on the family but rather loving and being with I-an.
However, it was nothing but an illusion.
Even now, Elsi could not do anything on her own.
She could not rescue I-an or turn the tide of battle by herself.
‘Dead end.’
Just as Raymond had said, it would lead to a mere dead end.
Elsi trembled with her fists clenched tightly.
She had built so many precious memories with I-an.
The memory of defeating the rude Delphine during the Hunting Festival and winning.
The memory of having her life saved by I-an at the orphanage and being carried by him on the battlefield.
The memory of asking I-an out on a date and taking it out on Lupin after getting rejected.
And the next day, the memory of I-an saving her again, the memory of hearing him promise to love her in the backyard.
After that, the memories, memories, memories…
Continually remembering the times spent with I-an.
Had she really built up so many by now?
Those countless memories were piled up like stone towers above Elsi’s heart, swaying dangerously.
In a voice that seemed ready to burst into tears any moment, Elsi suddenly spat out a question that came to her mind.
“……What did my master say?”
Raymond’s blue eyes still showed no ripples of emotion.
He simply gazed silently at Elsi.
“What did my master say…?”
No answer came back.
It meant Raymond didn’t understand the intent behind the question.
In the end, Elsi yelled out in annoyance.
“What did my master say?! When he proposed the engagement, what did he say?!”
Only then did Raymond finally avert his gaze slightly.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment.
Whether he should convey it or not.
Raymond’s deliberation did not take long.
He opened his mouth as if resigned.
“……He kept asking about your feelings. So I told him that the opinions of the parties involved aren’t particularly important for an engagement.”
He said that, but what did it mean?
Elsi’s watery eyes shot an annoyed glare.
In the end, Raymond had no choice but to let out a sigh-laden response.
“Prince I-an said that you were so capricious that he had to hear your opinion….”
Hah, Elsi laughed in disbelief.
So capricious?
Of course, she couldn’t help it. Since she had ridden on the name Rainelle, Elsi had always indulged in acting out by relying on the family’s power.
There was no helping it if that impression remained in I-an’s mind.
Yes, Elsi was ‘Rainelle.’
She was merely the best pit bull raised by the family.
I-an must have thought so too, just as Elsi was about to turn away helplessly.
“Senior Elsi.”
A male voice pierced through her ear.
