My gaze was solely directed towards the first head of the family standing before me.
There was no awe towards the hero who saved the continent.
To me, she was just another Rodbel, not much different.
Perhaps my resentment towards her was conveyed.
The first head of the family, who had been standing still, approached me.
Surrounded by light, her face was still not visible, but I could sense her expression.
Before I knew it, she was beside me, lowering her head.
I stood firm, gazing straight ahead without wavering, and continued to recite the declaration.
"Even the smallest wildflower blooming on the land of the Empire, I shall protect in the name of Rodbel-"
[......Do.]
"I shall vanquish evil and banish darkness from this world-"
[Lily......Do.]
"......In this place, I pledge my breath and swear."
[Lilith, be careful.]
......! What did you just say-
The moment I lifted my head abruptly at the incomprehensible words, my eyes met hers amidst the light.
But......
'......Are you sad?'
Clear sorrow was etched upon her reddish-purple eyes.
Why?
As I stared blankly at her face, her figure began to scatter in the breeze.
"Wait......"
You should tell me what you meant before you go!
I wanted to grab her and shout, but this was the place of ceremony, and dozens of eyes were watching me.
Before I could call out to her, I reached out my hand urgently, but it didn't reach, and the apparition of the first head of the family disappeared.
At the same time, the purple wind that had enveloped me also subsided.
I stared with empty eyes at the place where the first head of the family had disappeared.
What did she say to be careful of? Lilith?
'......Who is that?'
I resented her for appearing so suddenly and disappearing after saying only incomprehensible things.
But regardless of resentment, I still had things to do.
I slowly turned my body and looked at the Duke.
The surroundings were silent, as if holding their breath.
Their gazes relentlessly followed me. They seemed to be demanding an explanation for this situation.
'I don't know either.'
Why the first head of the family suddenly appeared.
What the meaning of her words to me was.
Why she looked at me with such an expression and eyes.
But no matter how many questions piled up, that didn't matter.
What mattered was being recognized.
I looked at the Duke.
The Duke, who had been staring at me, slowly rose from his seat.
And he said.
"I recognize Lucia Rodbel as a formal Rodbel."
"Ah......!"
The moment I heard those words, a sigh burst out before I knew it.
Finally, finally, finally......!
'Finally, I've been recognized.'
After falling into the Abyss and making a contract with an evil god, returning to the body of a 10-year-old.
I had been running only towards this moment.
'Being recognized as a direct descendant of Rodbel is just a means, but.'
Even so, the elation of achieving the goal was beyond words.
With this, I gained the justification and qualification to carry out what I had planned.
And the first thing I would do......
'Accessing the non-public area of the library.'
So, the clue to break the seal of the evil god and......
I turned my head and looked at Aen.
When our eyes met, his eyes widened slightly, and then he grinned and gave me a thumbs up.
At the same time, he moved his lips.
Well. Done.
Seeing his lips moving exaggeratedly to make it easy to see, I couldn't help but laugh.
Yeah.
'Let's not think too deeply.'
The words of the first head of the family to be careful of Lilith kept bothering me, but I couldn't figure out the meaning right now anyway.
Then it would be better to enjoy this moment a little more.
Looking at Aen, Ligrin, who was standing next to him, naturally came into view.
When our eyes met, Ligrin smiled softly, then flinched and turned his head.
Why is he doing that?
Looking closely, Aen was whispering something in his ear.
After a while, Ligrin hesitated for a moment, then raised his thumb towards me, just like Aen had done.
I was momentarily stunned by Ligrin's uncharacteristic behavior, then smiled slightly and waved my hand.
Leaving Aen aside, Ligrin was actually someone who had approached me solely for the purpose of taking the qualification test.
But could it be that affection had grown during the time we spent together?
His congratulations were quite pleasing.
At the same time, my chest felt ticklish for some reason.
It felt like I was about to sneeze.
'I feel strange.'
When I first opened my eyes in this young body, I never thought there would be people like this by my side.
I've changed more than I thought.
With that realization, I looked at the Duke again.
Now I had to give the order to leave......
'Why isn't he saying anything?'
Until he gave the order to leave, I couldn't get off this platform.
'Surely he won't ask me to explain the phenomenon of the first head of the family suddenly appearing, will he?'
Given the Duke's personality, he wouldn't ask about such an important matter in a place with so many eyes watching, but.
'I don't know anymore.'
If it were before, I could have confidently said that the Duke wouldn't do that, but from some point on, I couldn't tell what the Duke was thinking.
So, without making any predictions, I quietly looked at him.
A moment of silence flowed.
Finally, the Duke's lips parted.
"Lucia Rodbel is......"
He paused, then spoke with an even more dignified face.
"To be dismissed."
At the long-awaited order to leave, I quickly bowed my head, fearing he would change his mind, and descended the platform.
Intently.
Dozens of gazes flew and clung to me wherever I passed.
Every single one was an eye filled with questions and doubts.
I walked even more confidently on purpose.
As soon as I arrived at the waiting area, Banshees rushed at me.
"Hey!"
Oh, right. He was here too.
An annoying existence, no less than them.
"What."
I deliberately retorted more indifferently.
It was a silent expression telling him not to bother me, but as expected, our Banshees wouldn't understand.
"What did you do?"
"What do you mean?"
I deliberately played dumb to gauge Banshees' reaction.
As expected. The hot-tempered Banshees jumped up and shouted.
"The wind! What was that!"
"Wind?"
Not the apparition of the first head of the family?
Of course, a strange wind had blown too.
But that couldn't take precedence over the apparition of the first head of the family.
As expected......
I probed even more boldly to confirm.
"Was it just the wind? Wasn't there anything else?"
Gulp.
Did I go in too boldly?
I couldn't help but feel nervous.
Banshees narrowed his eyes and looked at me.
I was even more nervous at his reaction, which was quite different from the raging he had shown a moment ago.
Soon, Banshees spoke.
"Hey, are you sick or something?"
"......What?"
"Ever since you took the handle, only strange winds have been blowing, what do you mean there was something else."
"Ah......"
"Are you really okay? Are you sick somewhere? Or did some guy mess with you?"
Banshees stepped closer and placed his hand on my forehead.
His expression up close looked convincingly like someone who was worried about me.
That's why it was even more absurd.
The guy who used to rage, saying things like a bastard, couldn't even keep his mind straight, was now worried about me.
'What's wrong with him?'
Banshees had been strange from some point on.
Strangely kind and bizarrely nice.
'It's strange that he apologized too.'
At that time, I needed Banshees to enter the warehouse, so I accepted it without much thought.
'Thinking about it now, it's really strange.'
Instead of worrying about me being sick, shouldn't he be worrying about himself first?
As I stared at him with that thought, Banshees' face turned slightly red.
"Wh, what are you looking at."
Banshees averted his gaze, as if my gaze was burdensome.
......Even that appearance is strange.
Is he really sick somewhere.
Still, he helped me, so I should have Ligrin give him an examination later.
"It's nothing."
I roughly wrapped up the conversation with Banshees and turned my head towards Miracle this time.
It was to confirm one more time whether he really didn't see the appearance of the first head of the family.
"Mira......"
But, Miracle's condition was somehow strange.
With a pale, frozen face, he was glaring at the central platform.
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