<h4>Chapter 335: Preparation (1)</h4>


    Anci savored the aroma of the red tea while reminiscing about the past. Gilead’s first wife, Tanis, had been sensitive and temperamental. As a mother and a woman, Anci felt great sorrow over her death. Nevertheless, thanks to Tanis'' passing, Anci became the rightful matriarch of the grand Lionheart family, just as she had always desired.


    Due to Tanis'' departure, Anci also had to change, and bing the first wife of the family brought her a sense of contentment and abundance. Her strict parenting style softened, and she began to respect the choices and will of her twins.


    Eugene Lionheart, who had been adopted into the main family, had been the subject of concern from the beginning. ording to Anci''s thoughts, Eugene was too exceptional and outstanding. She feared that if he became a rival to her twins, it would be impossible for them topete with him.


    Hence, Anci chose not to treat him as an enemy. She advised Cyan and Ciel to behave simrly, and fortunately, everything turned out just as Anci had hoped.


    Eugene… had always felt more maturepared to his age. Although he did not take Anci as his new mother, Eugene became a brother to the twins she bore. Moreover, thankfully, Eugene didn''t aspire to rise to the position of the family head. In fact, he despised the very idea of bing the head of the family and actively supported Cyan as the future patriarch.


    If Ciel had desired to be the head, it would have caused various problems, but fortunately, Ciel showed no such ambition. Eventually, it became certain that Cyan would be the next head of the Lionheart family.


    In retrospect, Anci realized the children had grown up in an environment that fostered grudges.


    The mansion had changed significantly from when Anci first arrived in the Lionheart family. Initially, the mansion had been deste and quiet. It was too vast, and the only person she could truly consider her family had been her husband, Gilead. Tanis had never once thought of Anci as family, and young Eward had avoided her.


    Then what about the loyal knights of the family? When Anci first arrived, all the knights in the mansion had been on Tanis'' side. As Tanis'' temperament became twisted over time, the knights'' loyalty wavered, but in the beginning, Anci only had her husband on her side.


    However, even he didn''t put her heartpletely at ease. When they first married, Gilead couldn''t be called a good husband, even with empty words. As the head of the Lionheart family, he needed to have and show adequate skills and reputation, so Gilead often had to leave the mansion for various reasons.


    Every time that happened, Anci had to stay alone in therge mansion, which was simply too big. Anci''s maiden family in Kaenis County was considered a powerful noble family even within the empire, but Anci never once soughtfort from her family.


    She had endured while harboring ambitions of bing the firstdy of the Lionheart family. Now, after more than twenty years of bitter enduring, Anci seeded in eventually turning her enemies into allies and became the mistress of the Lionheart family.


    <em>''I thought that alone would be enough…’</em>


    Now, the Lionheart estate was no longer deste and quiet. Instead, it was bustling and noisy. Elves lived in the forest where animals used to roam freely, and Anci''s family had grown by two members. Moreover, they also had two extraordinary<em>guests</em>staying with them.


    As the family expanded, so did Anci''s worries. But contrary to her worries, surprisingly, everything continued without a hitch, smoothly and peacefully. It turned out she had been worried for nothing.


    It was the same even now. Anci nced up and looked ahead. The Wise Sienna, thepanion of the Great Vermouth, the family''s ancestor, was sitting beside Anci, enjoying her cup of tea with her. Anci had imagined it to be an extremely ufortable situation. She had never imagined that she would be sitting casually with the Wise Sienna like old friends, but now that they were face to face, it didn''t feel ufortable at all.


    Sienna Merdein turned out to be far removed from the person Anci had imagined. It might be considered disrespectful to think so, but Anci found the three-hundred-year-old Sienna rather innocent and adorable.


    Almost as if she were her… daughter.


    <em>''That can''t be true….''</em>


    Of course, she was merely entertaining a thought. Anci could never truly treat Sienna as her daughter.


    "Lady Anci," Sienna, who had been enjoying her tea, spoke up.


    It was Sienna who proposed to meet for tea. Was it to foster camaraderie? No, it wasn’t for such a simple reason. Sienna had a shrewd and definite purpose, and she was also curious about Anci.


    "If your husband were to take another wife, how would you feel about it?" Sienna asked.


    "Pardon me?"


    "Well…. I mean, if your husband were to take another wife…. If there was one more…. Would you be able to get along with them?" continued Sienna.


    It was difficult to discern why Sienna was asking such a question. Anciposed her expression before answering, "Lady Sienna, I was once a concubine to my husband."


    "Ah, yes, I know that as well. However, you are now the wife, aren''t you?" said Sienna.


    "Yes, I yearned for that position earnestly," muttered Anci.


    "There was an unfortunate incident, I heard. I... um... I don''t doubt your qualifications nor want to discuss stories about the deceased that I haven''t met or known."


    <em>How should she put this into words?</em>Sienna fidgeted with her fingers and scrunched her eyebrows. Mer, who was quietly munching on a pastry, looked alternatingly at Sienna and Anci.


    "If my husband were to take another woman as his wife…. I would still make an effort to, well, I would make an effort to get along,” answered Anci.


    “Would you not resent your husband?” asked Sienna.


    “I would resent him. I am a woman, after all,” Anci said with a bitter smile and set her teacup down. "Still, if he were to take a concubine, I would strive to get along as long as she does not seek to take my ce.”


    "Your ce?" asked Sienna.


    "As the first wife," Anci''s voice grew firm and decisive. "I, too, made an effort to be the first wife when I entered as a concubine. Isn''t the first always better than the second?"


    "Indeed," Sienna readily agreed.


    "If my husband loves me the most and personally protects my ce, and if my child can inherit the family, then I wouldn''t mind how many other wives he takes,” dered Anci.


    "Really... truly?" asked Sienna.


    "Hmm, now that I think about it again... I might mind after all. It''smon for noblemen to take multiple wives, and likewise, noble women to have several paramours, but this is what I think…." Anci lowered her voice slightly before continuing, "If my husband takes multiple wives, wouldn''t he be considered trash?"


    "Trash...!?"


    "Yes, it''s a secret. My husband... um, the head of the family is an exceptional person, but I thought he had some trash-like aspects. In the past, that is,” said Anci.


    Gilead had taken a concubine because Tanis could no longer bear children. To be the head of the main family, one had to be the most outstanding among the numerous Lionheart family members, andpeting with siblings from a young age had always been a tradition.


    Gilead might feel wronged if he were to hear this... but Anci had truly believed so when she was younger.


    "Trash... yes, perhaps. They would be trash, right?” Sienna said while nodding excitedly.


    <em>Why did she propose tea time with Anci?</em>


    She wanted to share her resentment towards Eugene with someone, but it wasn’t like she could do so with his father, Gerhard. Her elder brother, Signard? After all, he was an elf, and his perspective was vastly different from humans.


    "Lady Sienna, you…."


    Anci hesitated for a moment after starting to speak. She worried that her question mighte across as too impolite.


    <em>But... wasn’t she being too... too obvious and tant about it?</em>Sienna had acted so tantly in front of everyone. Should Anci pretend to be unaware?


    There was a moment of hesitation.


    Memories from a few days ago resurfaced. Anci remembered Sienna and Mer choosing dresses early in the morning.


    They had been like mother and daughter.


    <em>Then what about their father?</em>


    Anci was silent as she contemted.


    <em>Was that all there was to it?</em>Conversations were circting among the staff at the mansion. The master and disciple walked in the forest without fail every day…. Master and disciple…. Sure, it could be seen that way, but the elves spoke of somethingpletely different….


    "Lady Sienna, you... about Eugene…."


    <em>Pfft.</em>


    Sienna spewed out the tea she had been drinking. The liquid sttered indelicately outside her lips, but Mer immediately used magic to prevent the tea from wetting the table.


    At this point, Mer had expected Sienna to splutter the tea. It had been a simple, easy calction.


    "I-I-I, what about Eugene?" Sienna asked in rm. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand in a fluster.


    Mer looked at Sienna with a pout before saying, "Lady Sienna, you’re saying something different from when we were on our way here.”


    “W-w-what did I say?”


    “You said you would gain Lady Anci’s support and have your rtionship officially acknowledged by the Lionheart family,” Mer continued on Sienna’s behalf. She could no longer stay quiet.


    The familiar’s words made Sienna''s face turn as red as a ripe apple, and Anci''s lips parted in surprise.


    "A rtionship?" Anci asked.


    "No… uh… um, well, ahem!" Sienna struggled to respond.


    "Are you already in such a rtionship?"


    "Um… uh, why... why not? Is it not allowed?!" Sienna stammered while cing her cup down with trembling hands.<em>There was no going back now….</em>


    "Well, it might be possible, don''t you think? I mean, you should understand it well, but Eugene, he… has so many charming qualities, doesn''t he? Yes? Indeed, he''s young, but, um, he doesn''t act like a child…. " Sienna rollered on with her exnation.


    Although Anci had already anticipated this, having it confirmed still came as a shock. She blinked dazedly while listening to Sienna''s words.


    "I, um, I can''t exin it properly! But there is a profound bond between Eugene and me. An, um, an incredible bond. Three hundred years mean nothing in the face of such a bond. Surely... surely! Lady Anci, is it because I am three hundred years old that you won’t acknowledge the rtionship between Eugene and me?”


    "Lady S-Sienna, please calm down—"


    "Does age really matter? Huh? So what if I''m three hundred years old! I-I-I lived for three hundred years! But if someone were to say I''m only three hundred years old, it would be so unfair!" Sienna felt wronged and unjustified, and her pent-up frustration finally exploded.


    It had been impossible for Sienna to retaliate when Kristina Rogeris, that wicked woman, had pummeled her with words. What made it even more distressing for Sienna was Anise’s presence. Even though Anise wasn’t in a better position than her…. Those two didn''t tear each other apart. Rather, they were like two heads of a snake, both dedicated to tormenting Sienna….


    "Look at my body! Does this look like the body of a three-hundred-year-old? No! I crafted it to be perfectly twenty years old. My body is twenty, so why am I three hundred? Huh? My mind? I am three hundred, but I think like I''m twenty! I have lived for three hundred years, but I live like I’m twenty! So why on earth am I three hundred years old!?" Sienna finally lost herposure and started babbling about what was bothering her the most.


    "Lady Sienna, please, Lady Sienna!" Anci hurriedly stood up and approached Sienna to calm her down.


    The Wise Sienna,panion of the Great Vermouth, their ancestor — she was the most exceptional wizard in history! Anci was concerned that Sienna''s hysterical deration of being twenty would be overheard by the servants and knights in the mansion.


    "Lady Sienna, I don''t think of you as a three-hundred-year-old!" Anci hurriedly shouted.


    "Really? R-Really?" Sienna questioned.


    "Yes, of course. You are younger and more beautiful than me. Your mind…. You are like… like twenty! As disrespectful as it may sound, you are like... like a daughter to me…," Anci reassured.


    "See! I knew it! I heard you treated Mer like your daughter! Even though Mer is one hundred and fifty years older than you!" Sienna shouted excitedly.


    It was a truth that Anci had been avoiding all this time, something she had not wanted to acknowledge….


    Mer pouted in annoyance. She found it irritating that Sienna just had to point this out.


    "I may be two hundred years old, but I have the body of a young girl. My identity is that of a young girl,” said Mer.


    "It’s the same for me! I''m also three hundred years old, but I have the body of a young dame," said Sienna confidently.


    “Saying young dame makes you sound kind of old,” Mer muttered softly, and Sienna''s fist clenched with anger.


    She could not believe that instead of taking her side, Mer was stabbing her in the back…!


    "Calm…. Calm down, Lady Sienna, please. I, um, believe that age doesn''t matter when ites to loving someone,” said Anci.


    "Do you really think so?" Sienna asked expectantly.


    "Yes."


    "Then, are you acknowledging my rtionship with Eugene?" asked Sienna.


    "Acknowledging...? I''m not sure if it''s my ce to acknowledge…. I am not Eugene''s biological parent…."


    "But you are the mistress of this household, Anci."


    "Well, yes, I am, but…," Anci hesitated. She felt confused.


    Though she was the mistress of the Lionheart family, wasn''t Eugene the actual big shot of this family? Whatever rtionship or marriage Eugene decided to pursue would be entirely his choice. Anci, Gilead, and even his biological parent, Gerhard, would have no say in the matter. What could they say if he simply said that he liked someone and wanted to be with them?


    "Please acknowledge it,” Sienna begged.


    "What...?"


    "Please acknowledge it quickly,” Sienna repeated.


    "As for Sir Gerhard—" Anci began saying before being interrupted.


    "Please acknowledge it, then tell him in my ce," responded Sienna.


    Sienna had cunningly intended for this oue from the very beginning. She had nned to win Anci to her side and gain her acknowledgment. And then, through Anci, she would inform Gilead and Gerhard about the rtionship.


    "Ah…. I understand. I will acknowledge it as you wish. I will... try to inform my husband and Sir Gerhard, as well,” said Anci.


    "Lady Anci,” Sienna called out.


    Sienna still hesitated with her palm against her flushed cheek.


    "Do you... do you think I''m being vulgar and shameless?" asked Sienna.


    "What?"


    "Am I being shameless?" Sienna asked once more.


    Sienna was obviously hoping for Anci to say no, but she could not bring herself to say it. Sienna’s face filled with despair as she looked at Anci''s wavering eyes.


    "You said I''m like a daughter to you…!" Sienna said.


    "Well…."


    "Did you lie?"


    "That…. I was just saying. Shameless…? I didn''t think of it to that extent…," Anci said haltingly.


    "You thought something simr, didn''t you? How could you do that to me? I am the Wise Sienna! I was friends with Vermouth, who founded this family. And now you think I''m shameless!" Sienna cried out.


    "Please, Lady Sienna, don''t say such things!"


    "Address me informally too."


    "What...?" Anci said, perplexed.


    "You address Mer informally...! So, please address me informally too. Like I’m your daughter!"


    "Sienna… Lady Sienna, do you even realize what you''re saying?" Anci asked with concern.


    "I don''t know, I-I don’t know anything. I just…. I’m going to be your daughter. I’m a baby."


    The words poured out of Sienna, a result of the sorrow and injustice she felt. These words created a tempest in Sienna''s mind. The overwhelming shame was too much to bear with her normal state of mind, so she drove away her own sanity. She gasped for breath while lowering her head in distress.


    Anci closed her eyes tight. She sensed that Sienna’s nonsensical and shameful words and actions would not stop unless she made a bold decision.


    "Sienna…. Hey...!"


    "M... Mother…."


    "Sienna…."


    "Mother...!"


    <em>What a spectacle this was….</em>Mer stared at Sienna in disbelief.


    Naturally, Sienna was the most embarrassed out of everyone. She felt a powerful urge to end her own life as her head drooped.


    "Mother…. No…. L… Lady Anci,” Sienna called out after a while.


    "Yes…. Lady Sienna,” answered Anci.


    "You… have a daughter, right?" asked Sienna.


    "Yes…. Her name is Ciel Lionheart.”


    "I would like to meet her…. I-I’m confident we would get along well,” said Sienna.


    "Yes…. I hope you will take care of my daughter.”


    Anci secretly worried about Ciel. Ciel hadn''t explicitly mentioned it, but it was evident that she had a romantic interest in Eugene.


    <em>''What should I do about this...?''</em>


    They weren''t rted by blood, and they weren''t even close rtives, so there would be no issue with marriage. Although the fact that Eugene was an adopted son was somewhat concerning, it could be resolved at the time of their marriage. They could simply revoke his position, then.


    In fact, it had been the longstanding hope of Gilead and Anci for some time. If Cyan firmly secured his position as the head of the Lionheart family while Ciel developed a good rtionship with Eugene, it would be a significant asset to the main branch.


    "But… Lady Sienna, you mentioned that you are in a rtionship with Eugene…. What exactly is the rtionship between Eugene and Saint Kristina?" Anci asked tentatively.


    On the surface, they were the Hero and the Saint, but frankly, their rtionship didn’t seem so simple. Sienna was explicit, more so than Ciel. But Kristina... didn’t she openly and tantly appeal to Eugene? Compared to her, Ciel and Sienna’s efforts felt like nothing more than child''s y. Before Sienna came to the Lionheart estate, when Kristina had been the solepetitor, everyone at the main branch had witnessed how devotedly she showed her affection to Eugene.


    "Are you asking because you don''t know?" Sienna asked, looking discouraged.


    "As expected...!"


    "Trash…. He''s trash. That bastard is trash," Sienna shouted in exasperation.


    Anci hesitated whether to agree with those words or not.


    Trash…. It was true, but in reality, wasn''t he an incredible piece of trash? The Wise Sienna, a great hero from three hundred years ago, the Saint of this era, and….


    <em>''My daughter too….''</em>


    Thinking about it made Anci angry.


    Eugene Lionheart.


    Trash and scoundrel.


    "Thank you... for the tea."


    Sienna staggered as she stood up from her seat. Anci also stood up. They exchanged awkward nces for a moment.


    "I... support you, Lady Sienna,” Anci said.


    "Yes…."


    "Don''t be too heartbroken. Age doesn''t matter."


    "Right?"


    "And... um... if, if Eugene brings in another woman, please get along well," Anci advised.


    "Huh? That''s a bit different from what you said earlier."


    "Uh-huh, no, it''s not like that. I said I would try to get along well, right?"


    Anci turned her head in embarrassment. Sienna looked puzzled to see her like that. She had never met Ciel before and hadn''t heard any stories about her from Anise, Mer, or even Kristina.


    "Um... okay. I don''t want to fight with Kristina either," Sienna acquiesced.


    In truth, she didn''t have the confidence to win a fight.


    "I’ll try to get along well—" Before Sienna could finish her words, the sky suddenly darkened. The surroundings turned as dark as night, and Anci looked up at the sky in surprise.


    "Oh, my goodness...?!"


    Anci opened her eyes wide in astonishment.


    The figure of a dragon with its wings spread wide could be seen in the sky above the Lionheart mansion.