So far, Lianrius had only thought that Liarte had completely changed due to the after effects of the poisoning.
He believed that after her circumstances changed, she would go back to being his twin sister who had always loved and envied Lianrius.
“Lianrius.”
He tried to reach out to Liarte, who was being indifferent to him.
Her soft smile that was filled with affection was the same as before, but the subject of her affection was not directed towards Lianrius.
He felt nervous at the smile that suddenly took over her.
She was still the same twin, Liarte, who was an unawakener that was kept in confinement and Lianrius was the one who was unreservedly being considered as the next duke of Elheim.
But Liarte wasn’t always blaming herself for her inability to manifest the power of water, let alone be jealous.
‘From that day until now, I’ve never called him Lian again.’
Her family used nicknames just for their beloved ones.
However, Liarte desperately called him Lian because she wanted to become a part of the family somehow.
“Liarte.”
“What is it, Lianrius?”
It was a tone that seemed like she was dealing with some stranger.
It was as if she thought Lian was nothing. It kept on scratching on his nerves.
‘Why?’
He wanted to ask why she wouldn’t smile affectionately at him anymore.
Liarte then sent Birce’s little bird back.
She knew now that even as a child before her regression, she still liked animals.
Liarte’s indifference was limited towards Elheim.
She was exhausted, but when she saw the bird sitting by her window, then poured a bit of water for it, she became delighted like a child.
Meanwhile, Lianrius, who suddenly came in, was an uninvited guest.
“Do you have any business?”
Soon enough the voice, which was friendly even to the birds, turned ice cold again.
Liarte watched Lianrius, who was standing still.
‘Did you recognize Birce’s bird?’
Fortunately, there were too many white birds in the empire.
Liarte asked for Lianrius, who continued to look at her with an unknown expression.
“Or do you need strength?”
“Do you think that’s the only reason why I’m coming here?”
Lianrius hardened his mouth.
It was true that once he came to Liarte’s room, it was only to use her water abilities.
Liarte suddenly felt that he was saying something strange. However, she recently got used to Lianrius, who had been acting strangely, so Liarte erased her thoughts.
Lianrius felt his stomach twist.
“My father decided to hold a hunting contest in honor of the Birce’s successor.”
She already heard about it from Michael so Liarte knew about it.
It was the same as before her return, so she couldn’t forget. Usually, everything went the same as before the regression.
What changed was Lianrius.
“And so, you should attend as well Liarte.”
Lianrius mechanically grabbed the tip of Liarte’s hair.
It was the same contact, but it was different from Michael’s
Unlike Michael’s careful treatment of Liarte as if for fear of breaking her, Lianrius’s touch felt cynical when held her hair.
He had changed his mind.
He originally intended to leave Liarte behind because it was an event where only water awakeners gathered.
But now, he had decided that it was better to place her next to him.
There was no one in Elheim who would oppose Lianrius’s decision anyway. Even the Duke would turn a blind eye.
If he brought her to the event, Liarte might return to her original self.
A timid, unnoticed person who, as before, thought of Lianrius as her everything in her world.
“If you want me to attend, I’ll do so.”
She still spoke in a dry voice.
It was so different from how she whispered to the small bird, like a spring breeze.
Lianrius unwittingly clenched his fist, leaving a mark on his palm.
* * *
Two days before the hunting competition.
A man passed the gate of the Duke of Elheim.
The man who was walking cheerfully looked easy-going.
Aynias glanced at him with his arms folded.
“You’re too late, Danterion.”
The man, Danterion, waved his hand when he found Aynias.
“Oh, this brother is very busy, Ain.”
“Hasn’t it been a month since I wrote the letter about the spirit stone? Why did you stop by Elheim now?”
“I’m sorry. It’s because I was so busy with the work of the Imperial Palace.”
The smiling Danterion was the second oldest son of the Duke’s children.
His long scarlet hair that was tied up and his pierced ear gave him an atmosphere of a rogue.
Aynias never liked this look of his.
Originally, Elheim’s direct lineage had monochromatic hair, such as white, gray, ash, and black and blue eyes.
However, Danterion went to a colour-handling awakener and permanently changed his hair colour because he said his original color was not fun.
Unlike the ones in his family , he did not help with work in Elheim, but instead volunteered to escort the Imperial Princess Ninian.
“How is Princess Ninian doing?”
“I heard that Lianrius sent her a proposal. She must be so excited right now.”
The weird thing was that Danterion had no interest in the Imperial princess Ninian, the subject of his escort.
Originally, Danterion was a human being who was thoroughly interested in life.
The spirits passed down to the Duke of Elheim was a special and strong being like him and Lianrius.
Danterion was someone who could risk his life in order to pursue things that seemed fun.
“You shouldn’t be using such disrespectful words and show disrespectful deeds to the princess.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not like this in front of others. The princess herself was also having fun.”
Danterion, who spoke, looked around.
“By the way, where is the spirit stone?”
Among his blood relatives, Danterion was particularly obsessed with the spirit stone.
“It’s still in the First Owner’s room. If you’re so curious, why didn’t you come to Elheim as soon as you got the letter?”
As one could see from his personality alone, Danterion wasn’t the kind to work so diligently.
The imperial family tried to keep up with the mood as much as possible as Elheim’s direct line, who was different from other water awakeners, escorted the princess.
“Ah, I was a little busy at that time.”
Danterion shrugged his shoulders.
“I had an important job to do.”
“What is it?”
Aynias asked, wondering what his priority was over Spirit Stone. Danterion was still single.
“That is, of course, a secret. If I were to give you a few hints, it would be about underground and secret places?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Because you aren’t very knowledgeable.”
Aynias sighed and glared at Danterion.
“I hope you’re not putting Elheim in danger.”
Danterion recalled the prince’s face.
It started when that prince secretly went somewhere with his close aide, Count Fedes, so he followed them out of curiosity.
“Ah, no way. I still only have a single clue.”
There was a hidden and secret place in the Imperial Palace.
The entrance was a huge gate which stood underneath the Prince’s Palace.
It was not known what the royal family had hidden in it.
He just had a hunch and thought that it might be something dangerous.
“Well, I’ll share a secret with you next time.”
Danterion grinned.
The two headed to the room of the First Owner.
They passed through the Duke’s office in the main building and headed towards a path which was the passage that would lead them to their destination .
“You should stop by and see our father, Danterion.”
“It’s not too late to give greetings after seeing Spirit Stone.”
Danterion was unstoppable.
Eventually, he had no choice but to pass the passage and entered the room of the First Owner. As they entered inside, he felt the energy of the water.
“This is great.”
Danterion whistled.
“Why did you not express such a great thing as shining only? If I knew it was this much, I would have come back earlier.”
The spirit stone floated close to the ceiling.
The scattered light and the flowing stream surrounding the spirit stone looked spectacular.
A clear sound resonated inside the crystal, and the unknown letters engraved all over the wall shone white.
Aynias was embarrassed and stopped.
“It wasn’t like this in the first place?”
The light was bright, but not this much.
At that moment, the gathered lights began to move as if they were alive.
A barrier-like force field appeared around the spirit stone.
And then there was a strong splash.
Clear water was filling up in the room.
Both were water awakeners, so they had no problem breathing, but they couldn’t resist the flow of water.
The vortex twirled around the two, emitting a powerful energy.
‘I can’t control it.’
Aynias thought.
The awakeners of water were able to manipulate water that they did not create just by touching it with their hands. It was called control.
However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t control the water which filled the room of the First Owner.
The whole room was filled with circulating water and moved the spirit stone.
From the water, the spirit stone emerged with a brilliant light.
As the light grew stronger, Danterion eventually closed his eyes.
The strong energy of the water, which gave goose bumps, weighed down everywhere.
‘What is this?’
Aynias opened his eyes.
It was a force to be feared. He had the instinct to get down on my knees right away.
It seemed like he was being blinded by the light, but he couldn’t take his gaze off from the spirit stone.
The barrier squeezed the water, sucked it in, and broke off.
The light that grew inside the Spirit Stone took on a blue shape.
A boy appeared as the water level went down.
Transparent watery blue hair and fluttering blue body, a colour that could never come naturally out of humans.
A boy was born from the Spirit Stone.
Aynias felt his legs buck and he fell down to the floor.
There was no emotion in the solemn, cold boy’s face.
Danterion, who opened his eyes, was completely wet and was breathing roughly.
‘It’s not human.’
It felt so strong that it seemed that it was a being close to God. It was as if they were looking at nature itself.
Soon, the boy opened his eyes.
Looking at the one on the floor, he realized it wasn’t the one who woke him up.
There was strong anger in his gaze.
[Who are you?]
The boy growled at the uninvited guests.