Chapter 121: Olivia Lucia

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With a sharp swish, a longsword sliced through the air right in front of my face.

Roaedness pulled me toward him, cutting away the fabric of my front collar that Rossi had grabbed hold of.

Rossi let out a scoff.

“You’re quite the liar. How many years have I known Blie? And yet you dare tell me such lies.”

The piece of my clothing in Rossi’s hand turned to ashes and scattered in an instant.

“Blie Acacia… was your disciple?”

“Blie Acacia? So she’s even been going around with a cute little surname now. She was never the type to be adorable.”

The smile had already disappeared from Rossi’s face, hidden now behind Roandness, who stood in front of me.

“Enough pointless chatter. Speak everything you know.”

Roandness shielded me behind him and warned Rossi.

“That impudent Blie said something to me before she disappeared so suddenly.”

From behind Roandness, I quietly listened to Rossi’s words.

“She told me… if ever the day came when she returned to me…”

Rossi’s brow twitched momentarily, as if recalling that moment.

“…it would only be when she was dead.”

“!”

“Dead. And yet, how could she return? Back then, I didn’t understand what she meant. But now, seeing you, little blonde lady, I understand.”

“Blie said… such a thing?”

“Now do you get it? The one who has to spill everything they know isn’t me, but you.”

Bang!

Bang, bang! Bang!

The open windows and front door slammed shut on their own. Rossi slid toward me with an eerie grace, closing the distance between us.

“Blie, where is that girl now?”

“In a coffin.”

I hugged my trembling body tightly and answered.

“On my way here, I left Blie in a coffin meant for the dead in my place.”

Bloodshot veins appeared in Rossi’s eyes, her expression shifting swiftly from confusion to rage.

“But she’s alive, isn’t she?”

“What?”

The anger in her eyes dissipated into suspicion as she narrowed her gaze at me.

“I am not Blie Acacia. I am Adrienne Piretta, the lady of Piretta Estate in the eastern region of Ronta.”

“…Piretta.”

The name cut through the air with a strange tone.

“If you want to hear the story of how I lived as Blie, you’ll need to help me.”

“And why would I?”

I steadied myself, standing tall despite my trembling legs, and raised my chin.

“One for one.”

“What?”

“I’ll follow your method, Lady Rossi. If you want to know, help me.”

---

Between us, locked in a tense standoff, stood Roandness like a judge, his gaze sharp as though he might strike Rossi down at any moment.

I briefly explained everything, from the moment I awoke as Blie to the present situation.

Having lived for over a thousand years, as the legends suggested, Rossi listened to my story without so much as a flicker of emotion, no matter what I said.

“That’s quite the grand tale for such a humble cabin. So, what do you need from me?”

“Tell me about the mana stone coffin I just mentioned.”

I took out my mother’s necklace and showed it to her.

“Why is the pebble-sized mana stone in this necklace the key to the mana stone coffin? And if it is, why can only I open it when no one else can? If anyone knows the answer, it’s you.”

Rossi silently took the necklace from my hand. She didn’t open it but closed her eyes briefly before speaking.

“Have you ever been to a mana stone mine?”

“No.”

“Mana stones in their raw form are massive chunks, like boulders. Long ago, in the age when what we now call sorcery was openly celebrated as magic, ancient royal coffins were crafted entirely from those mana stones. They were made so they couldn’t be opened by brute force from the outside. Objects crafted from the same mana stone chunk could recognize one another and deactivate their defenses, so they were used to make coffins and their keys.”

Her eyes narrowed, as if she were recalling distant memories.

“That’s the story handed down through the ages. The key was meant to be symbolic—placed in the hands of the deceased inside the coffin, symbolizing their hope for eternal life in Avaldelia. It also served as a warning to outsiders: do not open this. The reason it doesn’t work for anyone else is simple. The ancient royals imbued their mana into the raw mana stone before they died. Mana stones containing the same mana would only respond to the coffin, the key, and the original wielder of that mana.”

“Then, did Blie obtain that coffin and imbue it with mana, knowing this would happen? Does that mean Blie had mana?”

“You didn’t know? She had mana. That’s why she came to me, seeking guidance. But even if the coffin and key were from the same mana stone, it would only respond to the rightful owner of that mana. The fact that you opened the coffin can’t be explained by that alone. Mana seeks its true master, after all. It wouldn’t fail to recognize that you’re inside Blie’s body.”

“It does seem certain that Blie did something to save me. I just don’t know why that coffin and key responded to me, someone without mana.”

The only explanation for this absurd situation was that Blie had orchestrated everything from start to finish to save me.

That realization alone was enough to make my knees give way, but I forced myself to stand firm.

“If you want to sit, go ahead. From your reaction, it’s clear you didn’t just shove Blie into the coffin and leave her there to die.”

Rossi’s legs seemed just as unsteady, and a chair slid noiselessly behind her, as if beckoning her to sit.

“So, are you in perfect health now?”

“I haven’t had a medical examination, but I’m no longer sick. I don’t feel weak anymore, either.”

“When exactly did you take the elixir of living death?”

“The most likely moment was just before I died when the family physician handed me a pill to swallow. It was unusually large and hard to get down…”

“That must’ve been it. If Blie stole that elixir from me, then it’s the one. It was absurdly large, wasn’t it?”

“But my physician had no connection to Blie.”

“That’s something you’ll need to investigate. If Blie wanted you to take that elixir, it would have been most effective when you were at your weakest—right before death.”

Rossi drank her now-cold tea with a troubled expression. My mouth was dry, so I followed her lead. The bitter tea snapped my mind into focus.

“…Why did Blie do this?”

“…”

“Why did she save me? More importantly, why did she go so far as to give up her body to show me the truth? On my journey here, I’ve felt so many conflicting emotions about her, but now they all seem meaningless. I truly want to understand her, wake her, and have a conversation with her.”

Rossi drained her bitter tea and turned her gaze to me.

“I spent years with that girl, but I know very little about her. She always kept secrets. I suppose I have no choice but to help you. For all my faults, I am a scholar, and I can’t resist solving a mystery.”

For the first time, we shared a sense of camaraderie as our eyes met. The anger in Rossi’s gaze faded, replaced by curiosity.

It was then that we heard footsteps outside. Someone knocked on the door Rossi had firmly shut.

“Who is it?”

Roandness, his eyes still fixed on Rossi and me, answered.

“Your Grace! Someone seeking the lady has arrived!”

“What?”

In the dead of night, deep within this vast baobab forest, someone had come looking for Blie.

Roandnes and I froze simultaneously, exchanging a glance.

“Who is it?”

“She won’t reveal her identity, fearing she might scare them off. It’s a woman.”

“…Olivia Lucia.”

Roandnes muttered the name immediately, a name that flashed through my mind like lightning.

“If she’s here to find Blie, not you, then I’d like to meet her too.”

Rossie granted permission for the woman to join us, her gaze fixed on the two of us frozen in place.

Roandnes shot me a questioning look, as if to ask if I was okay with this.

I quickly nodded. If someone went through the trouble of coming to this treacherous place in the dead of night, they must be desperate. And desperate people were often the easiest to glean information from.

---

With Roandnes’ approval, Neil swung the hut door open.

The area outside the hut was suddenly teeming with people, seemingly part of a group that had arrived late.

The individuals guarding her, likely her escorts, grumbled about braving this eerie forest at such an hour. But as a shadowy figure turned their head toward them, they immediately fell silent.

The figure was as petite as Rossie.

As Neil stepped aside, the dark silhouette slowly approached the door.

“Lady Blie…?”

A woman with graying brown hair tied back, a face aged but not overly wrinkled, and a frail, hunched frame leaning on a cane entered.

I stumbled back the moment I recognized her identity.

“Blie…”

The woman, who had been calling out to me with desperation, abruptly fell silent.

“Oh, my heavens!”

Her wooden cane clattered to the floor of the hut, and her eyes turned bloodshot.

Olivia Lucia.

It was indeed her—my childhood nanny.

“Oh, heavens. Heavens above. Oh, merciful God…”

She covered her mouth with her wrinkled hands, pulling her drooping eyelids wide open. Her dark pupils dilated so much that, had she not been audibly gasping for breath, one might have thought she’d died standing up.

“Milady?”

Olivia recognized me instantly.

“Milady? Lady Adrienne? It’s really you? Lady Adrienne, you’re alive!”

Her face twisted with a chaotic mix of emotions as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Forgetting entirely her stated purpose of finding Blie, she reached out to clasp my hand firmly, despite leaning against Roandnes for support.

“When I heard the news of your passing, do you know how devastated I was? This old nanny cried and cried for our late madam and for you, our always-ailing young lady, until I fainted over and over again for a hundred days!”

“…Nanny.”

At that one word, Olivia collapsed to her knees. Questions like how she’d managed to get here no longer mattered.

“Have you seen Lady Blie? Good heavens, what is going on here?”

Though I, too, was struggling to process my overwhelming confusion and grief, I couldn’t help but ask,

“Nanny, how do you know Blie?”

“It must have been the madam! The madam took care of you in Abadelia!”

“Answer my question first, Olivia.”

Following her down to the floor, I grabbed her shoulders, cutting her off as she cried out desperately for my mother.

Startled by my intensity, the nanny hesitated, her mouth opening and closing without a sound.

“Lady Blie is, no…”

Her dark eyes, filled with tears, began trembling uncontrollably again.

“She’s…”

Her face crumpled with raw sorrow as she finally voiced the words she seemed to have been suppressing.

“…Lady Blie is your twin sister.”

At those words, Olivia could no longer hold back her wails and sobbed uncontrollably, releasing the grief she had buried deep in her chest.