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Fortunately, the Mage Duchess’s dignity and honor could be preserved.

“My goodness, look at this child. She’s so tiny.”

“She must have been born not long ago. How cute.”

The appearance of a real child of ten years old overshadowed the ‘child’ who was over a hundred years old. Just as humans cooed over tiny Shih Tzu puppies, the elves were now showering their attention and excitement on the young duke. The fact that she belonged to a different race proved irrelevant in the face of such overwhelming cuteness.

“Hey, do you want to try this?”

The young duke trembled while tightly holding Marghetta’s hand like a lifeline. The blonde elf, who was watching her fondly, showed her a huge cotton candy.

Seeing the pink fluff, the young duke’s eyes widened, but she quickly tried to compose herself. Of course, that was only by her own standards; to others, it looked pretty much the same.

“I-I’m the young duke of the Salon ducal family, Liliana Salon! I’m not a little girl!”

No one had actually called her a little girl, but her overly formal introduction to elves she’d never met was overflowing with childlike innocence. It was just sad that she herself didn’t realize this.

Anyway, the blonde elf, who was looking at the young duke as if she were cute, smiled gently and bowed her head slightly.

“I’m sorry, young duke. I didn’t mean to offend someone who will one day rule this land. Please accept this as an apology gift.”

Respectful words from a non-human being and a polite acknowledgment of her future status were enough to quickly improve the young duke’s mood. Moreover, the tempting pink fluff had been transformed into an apology gift, which must have made her happy.

While everyone’s attention was focused on the young duke, who was putting the cotton candy in her mouth with sparkling eyes, the red-haired elf who had hugged the Mage Duchess quietly spoke up.

“Have you met any other elves besides us?”

At those words, the Mage Duchess shook her head. Officially, the sanctuary area was the only place where other races resided in imperial territory, and this was the Mage Duchess’s first visit to the sanctuary area. Naturally, she hadn’t had the opportunity to see other elves.

“No, I haven’t seen any yet.”

“Then you haven’t met Lady Raphaela either.”

The red-haired elf then stroked her chin as if deep in thought.

Who’s Raphaela?

Diving into thought was fine, but shouldn’t she explain who that was first? The Mage Duchess was blinking in confusion, clearly unaware of who this ‘Raphaela’ was.

Realizing her mistake, the red-haired elf soon spoke up after a brief silence.

“She’s your maternal grandmother. She’s also the elder who represents us elves.”

“Pardon?”

The sudden revelation of a grandmother she never knew existed left us all stunned, but the shock seemed greater for the Mage Duchess herself.

The dazed voice that was hard to believe came from the Mage Duchess’s mouth proved that.

***Our next destination was automatically decide due to the red-haired elf’s statement. Although it was the residential district of other races and not exactly a tourist spot, there was no reason we couldn’t go if the residents permitted it.

It was an area that ordinary tourists could never enter. Although we got the chance to see this unknown world, no one dared to speak up or show excitement. Who would cause a commotion when the oldest person by human society standards was feeling down?

A maternal grandmother.

My own thoughts were a mess. Of course, the Mage Duchess’s mother wasn’t born from an egg, so it was only natural that the Mage Duchess had a maternal grandmother.

However, the Mage Duchess had never been told about her grandmother, nor had her mother ever mentioned her maternal side while alive. So, she had assumed that something bad must have happened with the maternal family before her mother fled the sanctuary area.

She’s an elder?

An Elder was a title for the leader who guided the elves. Although the elder title wasn’t hereditary unlike humans, being the daughter of the current elder would inevitably mean receiving special treatment.

Yet the Mage Duchess’s mother kicked away that treatment and left the sanctuary area. Moreover, she kept silent about her origins until her last moment. No wonder the Mage Duchess assumed there had been serious conflict between her mother and her family.

“Excuse me.”

“Ah, yes, what is it?”

The red-haired elf was worriedly glancing at the Mage Duchess, who was walking with her head deeply bowed, but she quickly put on a smiling face and welcomed me as I approached her.

Her response was friendly, but it felt... odd. Was she still treating me like a little child?

“Beatrix never heard anything about her maternal family from her mother. Is it really okay for her to just show up unannounced?”

Anyway, the red-haired elf looked somewhat troubled when I asked this reasonable question.

“That’s why they need to meet even more. The Elder has been really depressed since Ariadne left.”

“Sorry?”

That was unexpected. I thought they had a big fight and cut ties.

Seeing my reaction, the red-haired elf looked back at the Mage Duchess and began softly chanting a spell. It was a soundproofing spell—one I recognized instantly from the familiar mana flow.

“It’s true that Ariadne left after fighting with the Elder, but it wasn’t particularly serious.”

What followed was a complicated and oddly anticlimactic explanation.

She said that the current elder was over 600 years old and an old-timer who had lived for 300 years even before the Kefellofen Empire was established, which meant that she was a victim of history who directly experienced the tyranny of the Apels Empire.

The reason so many different non-human races lived together in the sanctuary area which was nestled in a single duchy of the empire was rooted in the horrors of Apels’ reign. Apels’ human supremacy caused unimaginable tragedies for non-humans, and it produced not one, but three successive rulers as deranged as historical monsters like Hitler as the empire declined.

By the end, non-human populations had dwindled to the brink of extinction.

“Most of the elves alive now were born around the time the empire was established, so their grudge against humans is faint, and they’re okay with how the empire treats them now... but it’s not the same for those who have lived as long as the Elder.”

It meant that although the elves escaped hell by cooperating with humans, they still couldn’t forget the harm done to them by humankind.

Though they didn’t blame the Kefellofen Empire, which had helped free them, many still chose to isolate themselves in the sanctuary area and avoided contact with humans entirely. Such elves never even set foot in the commercial district.

“So, the Elder got angry when Ariadne said she wanted to leave the sanctuary area, and said she would consider her a stranger, not a daughter, if she didn’t listen...”

“And she left.”

“Yes...”

Hasty words spoken in anger had turned literal. Ariadne had left, severing her bond with her mother completely. The Apels Empire’s legacy continued to wreak havoc even after its fall—what a truly remarkable and tragic level of destruction.

“The Elder couldn’t go after her personally because she’s responsible for the race, and she’s not cold-hearted enough to push other kinsmen into the human world just to catch her daughter. So, she’s been suffering in silence until now.”

The red-haired elf sighed again, her expression full of worry. How could she be at ease when she had to inform the Elder, who had been suffering like this, that her daughter had died?

Anyway, now that I understood the general reason, I thanked the red-haired elf and approached the Mage Duchess. The red-haired elf looked expectant, as if hoping I would explain everything well to the Mage Duchess, but—

“That’s how it is.”

There was no need for that. With just this short statement, the Mage Duchess nodded silently.

The elves in the sanctuary area might not know, but using magic in front of the Mage Duchess was meaningless. In fact, how could these elves have imagined that the ‘little child’ Ariadne left behind would grow up to be the pinnacle of magic?

“The Elder must have been suffering a lot all this time, and hearing that her daughter has passed away will be a huge shock.”

“I... suppose so.”

The Mage Duchess barely opened her mouth to respond to my added explanation. It was so pitiful. What must it feel like to meet your grandmother for the first time only to deliver news of your mother’s death?

“Beatrix. I know it’s a lot to ask, but when you meet the Elder—”

“You don’t have to say it. I know. As her granddaughter, I’ll do my best to offer her comfort.”

I tried to speak as carefully as possible, but the Mage Duchess nodded as if she understood everything. Although she was in the position of having to deliver a terrible message, she needed to comfort the Elder as the granddaughter left behind by her daughter. That was the Mage Duchess’s best effort.

This is just unbearable.

Seeing the Mage Duchess like this made me feel even more sorry for her. Fortunately, the elves we saw in the commercial district had no hostility towards humans and treated the mixed-blood Mage Duchess warmly, but the Elder—still harboring deep resentment—might not be so welcoming.

What if she viewed the Marquis as a ‘half-breed,’ a tainted remnant of her daughter’s defiance, like in the novels? Or worse, as the offspring of a plague that had stolen her daughter away?

Either way, it would be painful.

***The difference was obvious as we entered the elves’ residential district; there were far more elves here than in the commercial district. Naturally, the sight of humans, who should have been confined to the commercial areas, drew curious and scrutinizing gazes.

“Humans? Did tourists get lost?”

“How would a lost tourist even get here? Besides, Clarisse brought them along.”

“But isn’t that Ariadne?”

The once indifferent stares quickly shifted to a buzz of interest and commotion. Given that an elf who was the spitting image of the Elder’s estranged daughter had appeared, their reactions were only natural.

“Everyone, make way. We need to meet the Elder first.”

Thanks to the red-haired elf, Clarisse, we were able to move forward without being swept up by the crowd. Even the curious elves stepped back when she spoke with a serious face.

I let out a small sigh of relief. If we’d been detained by that crowd, we wouldn’t have reached the Elder until after sunset—

What’s happening?

An unexpected sight unfolded before me before I could finish my thought: the elves parted to the sides in an almost miraculous display, creating a clear path ahead. Were they making way for us out of consideration? These elves were incredibly thoughtful.

“Did Ariadne come?”

That assumption shattered the moment I saw the figure waiting at the end of the cleared path.

The elves, who had been loud and inquisitive just moments before, now lowered their heads in reverence. Standing there was a woman with the same white hair as the Mage Duchess, her hair grown out normally to her waist. She had some wrinkles, but those wrinkles actually made it easier to recognize who she was.

That elf must be the Elder.

Meanwhile, I was surprised at how minimal the effects of aging were for a being of over six centuries old. Long-lived races were amazing.

“Has that foolish child finally come?”

The Elder approached with quick steps, frowning slightly. It seems she was nearby and came first after noticing the commotion.

Damn it.

But cold sweat ran down my back because this was not a good visit at all. This wasn’t how things were supposed to happen.

It would be shocking enough to hear that her daughter had died, but how much more devastating would it be to first hear the fake news that her runaway daughter had returned, only to then be told, ‘Actually, she’s already dead’?

“Why did you leave if you were going to come back anyway—?”

The Elder, who had been approaching us with an expression of half anger and half relief, suddenly trembled.

“...Who are you?”

I bit my lip at her following words.

She was a mother with enough maternal instinct to immediately realize this wasn’t her daughter. How were we supposed to deliver the truth to a mother who’d already suffered so much?