Chapter 64: Selena Marlion Part 1
7 Years Ago, LeonCraft Estate, LeonCraft Duchy, Inidal Empire
“Give it back! That is mine!”
A young, twelve-year-old silver-haired girl, Francesca, reached up frantically for her embroidery hoop, which was being held just out of reach by her eldest brother’s outstretched arm. Her walking cane was propped against a nearby garden bench, and without it, she could only stand her ground and glare up at him.
Her eldest brother knew that all too well. It was precisely why he had waited until her cane was out of reach to snatch the hoop in the first place.
“This ugly, crooked thing?” Cedric sneered, turning the half-finished stitching over in his fingers with open, cruel contempt. “Honestly, Francesca... even a common servant's daughter could sew straighter lines than this rubbish.”
Her face turned a sharp, furious red with anger. “Give it back right now!”
“Cedric.”
The single word cut across the quiet garden like a sharpened blade.
A fourteen-year-old boy with identical silver hair, Ivan, stood at the hedge line, his golden eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare. He was already walking forward with that particular, unnerving stillness that meant he had stopped asking and had begun making decisions.
Cedric's arrogant smirk didn't waver. “Ah. Here comes her loyal little guard dog.”
“Give it back to her,” Ivan said calmly, stopping a few feet away. “Or I go straight to Father and tell him whose idea it was to intentionally spook his rare mare last spring.”
Something flickered deep behind Cedric's eyes: not outright fear, but sharp, calculating self-preservation. Instead of handing the hoop back to Francesca, he casually dropped it directly into the dirt at her feet, petty enough to still claim a small victory, before stalking off toward the main manor.
Francesca picked up her cane first, leaning on it before retrieving the hoop and brushing the dark soil off the fabric with quick, sharp motions. She didn't look up at her brother as she muttered, “You really didn't have to do that, Ivan.”
“Yes, I did,” Ivan replied simply, stepping closer to her.
“Father already thinks you are difficult and rebellious. Every single time you pick a fight with Cedric like this, it costs you something with him,” she said, finally turning her golden eyes to face him. “And for what? A stupid embroidery hoop that I could easily replace by tomorrow?”
Ivan nonchalantly replied, “It’s not really about the hoop, Francesca.” Reaching out, he gently helped her steady herself.
“Then why, Ivan?” The question came out much sharper than she had originally intended. “Why do you always do this? Why do you constantly throw yourself into danger for me?!”
Ivan's jaw tightened instantly. When he finally spoke, his voice lost every trace of the cool detachment he reserved for everyone else in the ducal household.
“Because Father and our eldest brother are traitors!” He reached forward, gripping her shoulders firmly, as if the words alone weren't enough to convey his conviction. “You are my little sister, Francesca! I am not like them, and I will protect you with my life!”
Francesca’s face flushed with anger as her voice rose. “That's not a real answer! That's just you being stubbornly self-righteous and—!”
“Eeegh... are you two seriously at it again?!” an energetic voice interrupted them.
Both siblings paused, turning their heads toward the source.
A thirteen-year-old girl with jet-black hair and vibrant, deep blue eyes stood at the wooden garden gate. Her arms were crossed over her chest, wearing the expression of someone who had walked into this exact argument a dozen times before.
“Why on earth do I always find you two fighting?” she said, marching straight between them without a single shred of hesitation. “Ivan, let go of her shoulders right now. Francesca, stop yelling at the one person in this house who actually likes you. You'd think you two genuinely enjoyed fighting each other more than being siblings!”
“Selena!” Ivan and Francesca called out in unison, their aggressive postures instantly melting away as she reached them.
“So you are actually here today?!” Francesca asked excitedly, stepping forward to hug her as Selena helped dust off her dress.
Ivan added, an eager glint in his eyes, “What did Lady Marlion come to report to Father this time?”
“Mother apparently just finished her research on the ancient ruins along the northern border,” Selena explained, finishing dusting Francesca's gown before interlocking her fingers with Francesca's hand, while Ivan held her other hand.
“So... will you be staying at the estate for over a month again like last time?” Ivan asked with an expectant, hopeful smile.
“A month like last time? No chance!” Selena replied with a playful pout.
Both siblings' expressions instantly dropped in unison, a disappointed “Oh...” leaving their lips.
Selena chuckled at their fallen faces before declaring proudly, “Because I will actually be staying for two whole months this time!”
“What?!”
The sheer excitement in both of the LeonCraft siblings' eyes went over the moon in an instant.
“Then we can play elaborate games of hide-and-seek all across the mansion!” Ivan began eagerly. “No! We can ride around the estate grounds on the horses!”
Francesca immediately interjected, “No! We can finally finish that new board game I found! We can try to finish up the campaign we started during your last visit!”
“It is always board games with you, Francesca!” Ivan countered, turning to her. “You only ever get what you want because Selena is soft on you! I want us to do an activity that I actually want to do for once!”
Selena let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Will you two please stop? This is exactly what I was talking about... why does every moment between you two immediately dissolve into an argument?”
Turning to Ivan, Selena offered him a sweet, endearing smile. “We did something Francesca wanted to do last time, Ivan... so you will compromise this time, right?”
Ivan’s face turned slightly red under her gaze. He looked away with a defeated sigh. “Fine... so what is it that you want to do, Selena?”
“Let’s go to the main castle library!” Selena declared with bright, sparkling eyes. “I want to read all the ancient books on magic!”
“Did you manage to find anything useful during your expedition, Lady Marlion?” Duke Harrison LeonCraft asked, his cold gaze fixed on the quiet courtyard in the distance where the three children were happily chatting.
Beside him stood a striking noblewoman who shared her daughter's vivid, dark black hair. Dressed in a form-fitting, dark silk gown that accentuated her elegant, scholarly posture, she let out a long, somber sigh before answering.
“It turned out to be yet another dead end, Your Grace... I did manage to recover a few ancient notes from the ruins, which I will begin running mathematical calculations on starting tonight.”
Her hands trembled faintly, and she squeezed them into tight fists against her dress, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she watched her young daughter happily walk hand-in-hand with Francesca and Ivan toward the library entrance in the distance.
Duke LeonCraft paused, his voice dropping into a low, quiet murmur. “How long does she have... left?”
Lady Marlion swallowed heavily, her throat tight with overwhelming emotion as she whispered, “At most... two months. If this latest set of notes also proves to be a dead end...”
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the stone corridor for several long minutes, punctuated only by the distant sounds of the children's laughter fading as they opened the library doors.
Clearing his throat, Duke LeonCraft turned slowly on his heel to head back toward his private study.
“Let us hope it is not a dead end, then.”