Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 14

The Count stood in front of the window in his office and watched his children play in the garden. They called it exercising but to the Count, it looked like they were playing. After Celosia revealed the truth about herself, the Count found it hard to look her in the eye without thinking of his beloved Elena. Celosia assured him it was alright and told him she understood his feelings, but it did nothing to ease his guilt. Every time he watched his new daughter, he couldn't help but think about the tragedy that befell Elena. She died so miserably, without anyone to help her, struggling in the cold water in the river until her body could no longer take it. It was a lonely and painful death, and it broke the Count's heart to know his daughter suffered so much and he couldn't do anything to help her.

At the same time, he felt glad that at least he had a part of her back with him. Although Celosia was not Elena, she possessed her body and could continue to live as his child. That is, as long as she wanted to do so. The Count was aware that Celosia didn't want to spend the rest of her life with the family, and as much as it pained him to know how little they meant to her, he also understood her. For someone who lived many, many lives, she must've found the life of a poor aristocratic lady boring.

It also seemed she had some plan in mind, however she didn't share it with the Count or even Edgar, with whom she got extremely close lately. Elena was never this close with Edgar, even though their relationship was great. It looked like Celosia found a confidant in Edgar and someone she could share her secrets with. The Count didn't know the exact reason for that, yet he had a unsettling suspicion the Celosia may have grown romantic feelings for his son.

He couldn't be farther from the truth.

Celosia didn't harbor any romantic feeling towards Elena's brother, even if he was a handsome and capable man. In fact, Celosia had never felt anything romantic towards anyone. She may have been married in her past lives, dated men from different worlds, but she never felt anything toward them. She didn't know what love was, as she had never experienced it before. Her father didn't love her, her mother was unknown, and none of the people she was with in her past lives genuinely loved her. If they had, she would have died a long time ago.

The fact that she didn't meant that the feelings those people had for her were not love.

With each failure, her heart broke more and more, until there were only shards left, shattered because of the pain and the constant disappointment. Perhaps there were people who loved her back in her previous lives, but Celosia never got to experience their love, as she died in either accidents or murders, or even natural disasters, losing the Chance to die at a loved one's hand.

It was heartbreaking to go through, and to listen to. Edgar found it hard to believe that Celosia survived through so many horrors yet still managed to stay sane despite all that. He knew he wouldn't be able to live over a hundred lives and stay the same person he was.

He admired his new sister greatly. And he made sure she knew that. He decided to show her the best side of life so she would want to stay with him and his family. He liked her, he even thought of her as his own sister, and he really wanted her to stay.

That was why he often joined her in whatever she was doing, be it exercise in the garden, rearrange her room, go out to town to buy clothes and small gifts for his parents, or simply look around the city out of boredom. Their journey to Ramil Kingdom wouldn't begin until three days later, so they had enough time to do the last shopping and finish their preparation. It was so easy to get everything done in time thanks to Celosia's ability it was unreal. And Celosia seemed to have some kind of irresistible charm that made people want to do her bidding without her even asking.

Edgar saw it in action a few times when they walked around the city. Some men offered to carry Celosia's bags, women asked her to touch their children, which was quite odd for Edgar, and elderly people came over to her and offered their sympathy.

Even now, as he and Celosia were on their way to a tavern, since the woman preferred that over a luxurious tea house, a child came over to her on the street and asked if he could touch her.

Celosia agreed and gave the small boy a tight hug, after which he ran to his mother in glee, screaming about the pretty lady blessing him. Edgar didn't understand why people thought Celosia was blessing them, so he asked her, "Did you really bless that child? I thought you didn't have holy power..."

"I don't. It's just magic. I relieve their pain and fatigue, and that's why they think they've been blessed."

"Won't that get you in trouble? Magic is forbidden here," Edgar expressed his worries. The law forbade any use of magic or holy power in the Grand Duchy, and yet Celosia was using it out in the open, with little concern for her safety.

"I don't think the law forbids using my own ability. Although I will probably have to see the Grand Duke in person and ask him about it. He could be a useful ally to me if I play my cards right.

'Why does she need an ally?' Edgar thought, his worry increasing tremendously.

He was right, it was better to keep Celosia with his family. If she got in trouble and ended up getting killed, he and his parents would lose their last chance to have a daughter they've always wanted. Celosia may have been nothing like Elena, but she was already dear to all of the Heroux family and they considered her one of their own. Losing her would be extremely painful for them, as they had already lost their child before.

Edgar was pulled from his thoughts when he nearly bumped into a big, bulky man right at the entrance to the tavern. The man muttered a quiet , "be careful" and walked away, thankfully not recognizing Edgar as a noble. Taverns like this one were mostly for common people, mercenaries and lower class knights, and nobles weren't welcome there. Which was why Celosia prepared suitable outfits for her and Edgar to fit into their surroundings.

However, they weren't the only nobles in disguise who were there.

As it wasn't uncommon to see men covered with black robes around due to the number of scarred mercenaries walking around after the war, no one paid any attention to them anymore. It was the perfect disguise to blend in with the crowd - a dark robe with a hood. People immediately assumed the person wearing that was either a soldier or a mercenary and left them alone.

That made it much easier to infiltrate places where a lot of information was exchanged, like a tavern for instance.

Hence, no one knew that there was a group of nobles quietly listening to the rumors people spread among themselves, or that one of the nobles there was none other than the Grand Duke Vautour.