DTBTHS Chapter 2

'Anywhere is better than here.'

The Archmage's green eyes looking down at Ariadne were like glass marbles. She couldn't tell what he was thinking.

She prayed desperately.

That he would notice how desperate she was, how difficult it was to speak the truth in front of her father.

'I won't even hope for him to take me away immediately, so at least let him be suspicious...'

"Ariadne! Daddy told you not to play tricks like that on guests!"

The Duke spoke in a tone like scolding a prankster and reached out his hand.

Had she failed? Ariadne squeezed her eyes shut.

"Wait a moment."

The Archmage stopped the Duke, then asked her:

"Do you want to visit your mother's family?"

"...? Oh, yes!"

Ariadne nodded quickly. Even that wasn't enough—she pleaded desperately.

"I really, really want to go! I have to!"

"Well then, if you want to visit that badly, you should go."

The old man gripped her hand tightly. It was a large, warm hand.

The Archmage smiled faintly and said to the Duke:

"That's all right, isn't it, Duke Eldier?"

"No, it isn't. It's dangerous!"

"With me accompanying her? Have you forgotten who I am?"

"Ariadne has a weak constitution like Gloria..."

"I'm the one who raised Gloria, so you're worrying over nothing."

"...She's the ducal house's only heir. She has much to study."

"What does a seven-year-old have to study so urgently? For a child, running around is also studying. Travel is excellent education."

"That can't—"

"My granddaughter says she's curious about her mother's family, so as her grandfather, shouldn't I accommodate her?"

"You never visited even once before, and now you suddenly want to play grandfather?"

The Duke glared, grinding his teeth.

The Archmage noticed the young lady's hand trembling as it gripped his tightly.

He replied brazenly:

"I couldn't before, so I should now. You can come pick her up later."

"I cannot allow this. This is kidnap—"

"My granddaughter wants to visit her grandfather's home for a short while—kidnapping?"

"If you continue like this, I'll have no choice but to use force. Ariadne, come here this instant!"

Ariadne flinched at the sharp summons.

Without meaning to, she looked up at the Archmage with a frightened face.

The Archmage glanced down at her, then smiled at the Duke.

"Force? Did you just say force to me?"

Solan Garcia was 'the Archmage.'

In this era, he was the only one across the entire continent to hold the title of Archmage.

A man called by his title more often than his name, to the point where the title itself had become his name.

An existence that even the kingdom's premier ducal house couldn't detain carelessly.

Duke Eldier's face flushed red and purple, but he couldn't speak further.

The Archmage added mockingly,

"Duke Eldier, if you really think this is kidnapping, go ahead and whine to the royal palace. I'm curious what the King will say."

"...Taking the child so suddenly, everyone will criticize you, Archmage."

"Who said I'm taking the child permanently? I told you to come pick her up later, didn't I?"

The Archmage chuckled and pulled Ariadne's hand.

"Come along, child."

Even as she left the massive ducal castle with him and boarded the carriage, Ariadne felt no sense of reality.

Soon the carriage door closed, and the white Eldier Castle disappeared from view.

'Am I really escaping from that hell?'

This easily? In one attempt?

'Today... I thought it would be a success if I just caught his attention.'

The carriage began moving, transmitting faint vibrations into the interior. The Archmage, who had finally released her hand, studied her intently.

Even through his spectacles, the old man's gaze was piercingly sharp.

Those eyes curved gently.

"Now then, tell me why you did that."

The Archmage didn't have the impression of a kind, genial grandfather at all.

Rather, he looked demanding, irritable, and eccentric. His personality likely matched his appearance.

Moreover, when he'd first seen her, he'd been openly displeased. As if he'd disliked her at first sight.

'The original story clearly said he couldn't stand the sight of me.'

And yet, when the Archmage asked why she'd done it, his voice was unexpectedly gentle.

The old man wore what seemed like an effort at a kind smile as he coaxed her.

"What frightened you so much that you'd cling to a grandfather you'd never met before, hmm?"

"It's all right now, so tell me, child."

"Hic..."

She could hardly believe he'd brought her away immediately, and now this unexpectedly gentle question—

Strangely, it made her feel safe, and her tension released.

"Huu-uuung..."

Tears burst forth without warning.

'I can't cry!'

The Archmage had just taken quite a risk. No matter how powerful a Archmage he was, directly disregarding Duke Eldier had been a burdensome act.

So she needed to explain first. She'd prepared to explain, persuade, negotiate.

Perhaps because her body was a child's, the tears wouldn't stop.

'This isn't the time to cry. Stop it, don't cry! ...Why won't this stop?'

Ariadne sobbed and covered her mouth with her hands. She struggled desperately to swallow her tears.

"Oh dear, now."

The Archmage clicked his tongue and removed her hands from her mouth.

"If you want to cry, you should cry. What are you straining so hard for, little one..."

His large hand, far from stopping her, patted her back slowly as if encouraging her.

In the end, Ariadne couldn't stop crying until she'd thoroughly soaked the Archmage's robe.

1. Age Seven

Ariadne Eldier.

The young lady of House Eldier.

A minor character who dies before the novel begins.

She realized the fate she'd been born into when she was seven years old.

That evening too, Ariadne was eating dinner alone.

The Duke never ate with his daughter, and the Duchess had left on a journey.

'I miss Mom.'

In the ducal castle, the only time Ariadne could smile comfortably was when she was by her mother's side.

When she'd been younger, there had been a nanny and kind maids, but at some point they'd all disappeared.

The people here now were all cold to her. When Ariadne smiled, no one smiled back.

No one except Mom.

"You should eat more quickly."

The maid supervising the young lady's meal checked the clock and spoke.

After dinner, Ariadne had to go to the study.

Her study was at the top of the castle's northern tower.

Before it had been converted into a study, it had been a prison for high-born criminals.

'I don't want to go.'

She'd tried dawdling over dinner to delay as long as possible, but it was pointless.

"It's time, my lady."

"But I haven't finished yet..."

Ariadne's protest meant nothing. The maids took the spoon from her small hands and cleared the plates.

She was led by the maids toward the study. She always entered the study alone.

"You must study diligently."

The maid's stern words were followed by the thick iron door closing.

Ariadne looked around the room gloomily.

Cabinets lined with glass bottles containing liquids of various colors.

Bookshelves crammed full of thick volumes.

A sofa in front of the fireplace, and behind it a wide desk covered with papers, books, and various tools.

And in the center of the room stood a small chair draped with white cloth.

That chair was where she studied.

She looked at the chair with frightened eyes, then approached the window.

A room at the top of the tower. The window was dizzingly high.

Unless she could fly, there was no way to escape from here.

Ariadne stared blankly down at the distant ground far below.

If she jumped from here, would she not have to study anymore?

"...Mom said I didn't need to take these lessons."

After the 'special lessons' taught personally by the Duke began, Ariadne had been isolated.

Except for those chosen by the Duke, no one—not even the Duchess—could meet the young lady.

The reason was that the special lessons were secret education reserved solely for Eldier's heir.

In the ducal house, the Duke's orders were absolute. Ariadne went without seeing her mother for some time.

Then one day, the Duchess forced her way into the study. And she saw with her own eyes the special lessons her daughter had been receiving.

She was horrified. She immediately took her daughter out and never sent her to the study again.

'I don't have to study anymore? But Dad said I absolutely had to.'

'That isn't studying, Ariadne. Mom will make sure you never have to go through that again. I'm so sorry...'

Gloria had held Ariadne and wept that day.

After that day, the Duke and Duchess continued fighting over the special lessons.

Not long after, the Duchess left Eldier Castle.

The special lessons that had been suspended resumed the day after the Duchess departed.

Dad only told Ariadne that Mom had left on a rather long journey.