Free Web NovelFive years ago, inside the garden of the Marquis' estate...
"Grandma!"
"Grandma~"
Looking at the two adorable little girls wearing flower wreaths before her, Avnora felt her heart melt.
The Marchioness unconsciously softened the sternness in her eyes, revealing an incomparably loving smile. Slowly crouching down, she gently patted the two girls' little heads.
"Xia'er, Yuan'er, you're not allowed to skip your lessons again next time, okay~?"
"We know, Grandma!"
"I... I understand..."
The two exquisitely adorable little girls replied in completely different tones.
Yet both voices were irresistibly cute, making Avnora's heart bloom with joy. Unable to resist, she pulled her two precious granddaughters into a warm embrace.
Not far away, Avnora's husband, Marquis Xiumu-Duke, along with their son and daughter-in-law, quietly sat on the grass, watching the harmonious and heartwarming scene.
This was the happiest time of Avnora's life.
However...
Beautiful moments were always so fleeting...
—
Four years ago.
Looking at the two corpses before her, tortured until they were no longer recognizable as human, Avnora stood frozen in place.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks, while boundless grief filled her violet eyes.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't accept it.
The two people who had been so lively and full of life only yesterday...
How had they become...
"W-What... what happened?"
Covering her mouth, Avnora asked through sobs.
Beside her, a man drenched in blood and radiating terrifying killing intent slowly lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. I arrived too late. They encountered one of the bishops of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church... that sadistic monster who delights in torturing his victims..."
"H-How... How could this happen... How..."
Unable to accept reality, Avnora finally collapsed helplessly into Xiumu-Duke's embrace.
On that day...
The young Duke of the Duke Family and his wife were brutally murdered by the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church.
Avnora lost her beloved son...
And her daughter-in-law.
Yet...
The Duke Family's misfortunes did not end there.
—
Three years ago.
"W-What did you just say?! Xia'er disappeared?! And she still hasn't been found?!"
Having just returned from suppressing Abyss Demons, Avnora's legs gave out the instant she heard the butler's report, and she collapsed onto her knees.
"M-My Lady!!"
The butler, Audit, hurried forward to support her, speaking in a voice filled with overwhelming guilt.
"I sincerely apologize, My Lady. We failed to keep up with Miss Xia'er. She slipped away to attend the festival alone, and afterward..."
"Useless trash!"
Unable to endure it any longer, Avnora completely lost her usual elegance and violently shoved Audit aside.
After the deaths of her son and daughter-in-law, Avnora had come to regard her two granddaughters as everything she had left.
How could she possibly accept losing one of them?
The moment she regained her senses, she immediately led over half of the Blizzard Knights, along with one-third of the forces within her territory, to search for Xia'er.
However...
Xia'er vanished as though swallowed by the sea.
There was never another trace of her.
On that day...
Avnora lost one of her granddaughters.
—
After losing her son, daughter-in-law, and Xia'er...
Avnora poured every ounce of her remaining love into Yuan'er.
She cherished her beyond measure.
The strict teacher Avnora of the past disappeared.
In her place remained only a grandmother who spoiled her granddaughter without restraint.
Although that overwhelming affection gradually turned Yuan'er into an unbearably willful little princess, Avnora never regretted it.
She had only one wish now—
That Yuan'er would live happily, freely, and without worries.
However...
In recent years...
It seemed Heaven had become especially cruel to the Duke Family.
For reasons unknown, the Crown Prince of the Snow Night Empire had selected Yuan'er as one of the candidates to become Crown Princess.
The moment Yuan'er learned the news...
The always headstrong girl flew into a rage and ran away from home.
At first, everyone assumed it would be like before—that she would sulk for a couple of days before returning.
Instead...
Three whole days passed.
She never came back.
No letters arrived.
None of Yuan'er's personal guards sent back any reports either.
By the time Avnora realized something was seriously wrong and rushed to Yuan'er's secret cabin...
It was already too late.
Yuan'er had disappeared.
The cabin was in complete disarray.
Her four personal guards lay inside, having died horrific deaths.
In an instant...
Avnora realized her granddaughter had been kidnapped.
Overwhelming regret immediately consumed her heart.
Had she not been so careless...
Yuan'er would never have been abducted within the Duke Family's own territory.
Just as several years before, the Duke Family immediately launched another massive search operation.
Unlike the previous time...
They did manage to uncover Yuan'er's trail.
Yet they never succeeded in capturing the kidnappers.
Every single attempt to apprehend them ended in failure, as though the criminals could somehow predict their every move.
Even after Garos Fortress came under attack by the Abyss Demons...
Avnora still failed to obtain any additional information regarding Yuan'er.
Although, in a fit of fury, she severely punished Yuan'er's captain of the guard and dismissed the chief investigator...
Those actions were utterly meaningless.
Nothing could change the fact that Yuan'er had been taken.
She had already lost her son...
Her daughter-in-law...
Then Xia'er...
And now...
Even her last remaining granddaughter, Yuan'er, was missing, her fate unknown.
Avnora's heart had long since fallen into complete despair.
Day after day, she remained within the Marquis' estate, weeping endlessly.
Aside from handling the few matters that absolutely required her attention, she almost never left the residence.
The only reason she had gone out today...
Was because she had been handling Wind Facing City's internal affairs in place of her husband.
Yet...
What Avnora never expected...
Was that this trip would allow her to meet the granddaughter who had disappeared years ago.
—
A few minutes earlier. ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Inside the carriage.
Looking at the timid, nervous pink-haired girl sitting opposite her, Avnora's heart grew increasingly excited.
'There's no doubt... it's Xia'er!'
After observing the girl for some time, Avnora became almost completely certain of her conclusion.
The appearance that differed from Yuan'er's only slightly...
The nearly identical aura...
And the distinctive pink hair and blue eyes unique to the Duke Family...
They were irrefutable proof.
Avnora simply refused to believe that anyone besides twins could resemble each other so closely.
Especially at nearly the same age.
Besides...
Although Xia'er was Yuan'er's twin sister, unlike the outgoing and mischievous Yuan'er, Xia'er had always been quiet, reserved, and rather timid...
Exactly like the little girl before her.
Their appearance matched.
Their personalities matched.
Avnora refused to believe she wasn't Xia'er.
Although Yuan'er still hadn't been found, leaving Avnora filled with anxiety...
Recovering Xia'er after believing her lost for so many years finally allowed the Marchioness to experience genuine happiness once again.
The only thing that puzzled her...
Was why the girl didn't recognize her.
Could she have lost her memory?
Yes...
That had to be it.
If she hadn't suffered amnesia...
Xia'er would have returned to the Marquis' estate long ago.
This poor child...
She must have suffered terribly these past few years.
Looking at the girl's coarse, tattered clothes, Avnora's heart ached with pity.
At the same time, she frowned.
Now that she thought about it...
Xia'er had nearly been harassed just moments ago.
Recalling the earlier scene, fury immediately flashed across Avnora's face.
She slowly lifted the carriage curtain and looked toward one of the knights outside.
'Cut that troublesome mercenary into pieces.'
Using a special series of eye signals, Avnora silently issued the order to the white-armored knight.
Upon receiving ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the Marchioness' command, several knights immediately steered their warhorses away from the convoy and galloped back toward the commercial district.
Only after giving the order did Avnora suppress the killing intent on her face.
After all...
She couldn't appear too violent in front of her granddaughter.
She might frighten the child.
With that thought, Avnora once again wore a gentle smile and looked warmly at Yumo.
"Xia'er, don't worry. We'll be home very soon."
As she spoke, she gently rubbed Yumo's head.
Hearing those words and feeling the warmth of the woman's palm, Yumo couldn't help feeling both amused and exasperated.
Seriously...
The little girl I casually saved back then really is the Marquis' granddaughter?
And...
Of all things...
She actually has a twin sister?
You've got to be kidding me.
Besides...
This lady is way too forceful.
She just dragged me straight into her carriage?!
Sneaking a glance at the still visibly emotional Avnora, a conflicted look slowly appeared in Yumo's azure eyes.
In truth...
She could simply release a Blood Butterfly, hypnotize the Marchioness, and leave.
But there were simply too many people around.
Even if the Marchioness lost consciousness, escaping quietly wouldn't be easy.
Besides...
Inside Wind Facing City, even if she could escape the monk, she couldn't escape the temple.
And...
If the little girl she had rescued back then really was Yuan'er...
Considering the rather delicate relationship that might develop between them in the future...
Perhaps she shouldn't attack the Marchioness after all.
It would only create unnecessary complications.
Thus...
Miss Yumo awkwardly allowed herself to be dragged all the way back to the Marquis' residence in the city by Avnora.
However...
Halfway there, Yumo suddenly frowned slightly.
Come to think of it...
Hadn't she been away...
For a little too long already?
—
'Sister, may I go out for a walk?'
'Of course~ But don't stay out too late. When you come back, you'll have to accept your punishment~'
'Punishment?'
'Enmm, something like... a spanking~'
'Eh??'
—
Recalling the final conversation she'd had with Mengxi before leaving the guesthouse...
Yumo suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
Her petite body shivered involuntarily.
'Uh... punishment...'
Th-That tone...
She was joking...
Right?
For some inexplicable reason...
Miss Yumo suddenly had a very bad feeling.
