At the Exhibition Hall (3)
At the Exhibition Hall (3)
Erica Rivan.
The moment that name reached his ears, it felt as if his heart stopped for a very brief second.
《Rivan》
He thought that family name had become a fairly distant memory by now, yet it was still engraved somewhere deep inside him like a brand.
The family name Rivan, which surfaced so vividly it made the last three years—becoming a Count in the Northern Territory, the captain of a special task force, and twisting the original plot by improving his relationship with the original heroine—seem insignificant, struck his mind first. Only then did the name Erica register.
Erica....
Who was she again?
For a short moment, his mind went blank, and then an image was slowly pulled up from somewhere.
Blue hair and eyes with a particularly brilliant luster among the siblings, a dress pressed as flat as if ironed, a girl who always maintained a noble posture.
Ah.
'Edom's older sister.'
At the appearance of the eldest daughter of the Rivan Count family, Edom Rivan's only female sibling, and his forgotten biological sister, forgotten memories surfaced and assembled like broken shards.
From the gaze that looked down with contempt at the boy crouching in a corner of the garden, to the cynicism thrown at the youngest sitting shriveled at the end of the dining table, and finally, the sight of her back as she thoroughly ignored her younger brother as if discarding a toy she had grown tired of.
Scenes of Erica Rivan persecuting, despising, and mocking Edom Rivan followed faintly, as if peeking into someone else's dream.
ㅡ
In a corner of the Grand Ballroom, which was busy with banquet preparations.
As young Edom stood in his awkward formal uniform, Erica purposely called the servants to a halt and scanned him from head to toe.
"If you're going to carry the family name, at least keep your posture straight. If you slouch like that, people will think our family came from some slum."
She spoke while purposely covering her nose with a handkerchief.
"And wear some proper perfume. You smell gloomy."
ㅡ
One afternoon during a walk.
When Edom was sitting on a bench holding a book, Erica stopped her steps, accompanied by two servants.
"You're reading a book?"
She tilted her head and looked back at the servants.
When Edom tried to say something, Erica raised her palm to stop him.
"Ah, don't speak. It puts me in a bad mood just hearing your voice. No, even the breath leaking from that mouth of yours is disgusting."
And then she added, as if whispering to the servants.
"The most useless thing in this house isn't the decorative armor; it's him, him."
ㅡ
The day the Academy acceptance letter arrived.
In front of the family members, Erica purposely clapped her hands and spoke.
"Congratulations, Edom. Though your passing was likely thanks to the family name, not your skill."
And then she added, tilting her glass.
"Even when you go there, please stay shriveled up just like you are now. Because you're the kind of bastard who suits 'I knew it would happen' rather than 'because of a lack of talent' when you fail."
The servants standing around bowed their heads and held their breath.
In that spot, Edom couldn't even smile and just kept his head bowed.
She was like that, always mocking Edom in front of people as if erasing his very existence.
ㅡ
Of course, the things that came to mind weren't memories he had experienced, but merely experiential afterimages of someone who had been victimized.
He had simply permeated into Edom Rivan, and those emotions, humiliations, and inferiority complexes were closer to a lingering scent remaining in this body.
Perhaps that was why deep emotions didn't carry over into the scenes that surfaced.
He just maintained a sense of distance, as if viewing an objective record, thinking, 'Ah, so this kind of thing happened.'
Is that why?
Looking at Erica Rivan, who was smiling before his eyes now, he didn't feel a surge of anger, nor did hatred boil up.
He was just... dumbfounded.
Erwin doesn't know that he is Edom Rivan.
So, even if the name 'Erica Rivan' was on the list, she would have passed over it without much thought.
He himself, if he had only seen the name, would have likely thought she was just one of many noble ladies.
The three years he had lived breathlessly while discarding the Rivan name were enough to erase it.
Judging by her reaction, Erica also seemed unaware that he was the younger brother she had so thoroughly loathed and despised.
His current bewilderment was simply because encountering the eldest daughter of the Rivan Count family in the middle of Wintel Main Castle, here in the far Northern Territory, was something he hadn't even considered in his imagination.
Erica, who was mentioned in passing in the original work as a single line about being the flower of society, was still as beautiful as a flower of society should be.
It was a feeling of her capturing one's gaze, almost as if one were being kidnapped.
Her beauty and figure, which were on a different level from ordinary, seemed to prove that she was the 'flower of society.'
Erica approached skillfully with a calculated smile, moderate favor, and a tone that subtly closed the distance.
The problem was that her steps had arrived at the wrong place.
"I would like to offer a formal greeting on behalf of Rivan, would that be alright?"
A proposal sent without recognizing her own flesh and blood.
That fact was both absurd and ironic. In the past, Erica would have found even standing in the same space as her youngest brother unpleasant, yet now she was reaching out first to the new Count of the North.
Rummaging through his memories a bit more, the name Rivan was always closer to a single 'group.'
Rather than a family, it was an organization bound by interests. An organization that moved only looking toward each other's profit and recognition.
That organization was standing before him again.
They say you never know what will happen in life.
At the appearance of his biological sister who didn't recognize her own brother, he forced down the hollow laugh that was about to leak out. Letting out a bitter smile in this situation would be rude and could draw unnecessary attention.
"It is a generous offer, but I have things to attend to right now, so it seems difficult to make time."
He replied with a polite, flawless refusal.
Erica's eyes wavered for a very brief moment before being covered by a smile again.
"Then I will wait."
Erica Rivan did not back down easily.
She clearly seemed to have a purpose and intention, and that purpose and intention would certainly not be pleasant for him.
It would be beneficial to cut her off immediately, but the flower of society didn't seem to have any intention of retreating.
If she were to notice traces of Edom Rivan here, a troublesome situation might arise instead.
For now, it would be best to accurately grasp what she wants and how far she intends to go.
He didn't particularly plan to make an enemy of her, but he didn't plan to keep her as an ally either.
The Rivan Count family.
Even excluding Edom's memories, they weren't particularly pleasant people.
"...Then, let us go."
There was no need to inform them that Edom was alive, let alone that he had become a family head with the title of Count.
The moment she recognized him, it would become a matter of complicated interests intertwining.
It would be better to keep his distance from her by hiding it thoroughly or pushing her away.
Edom Rivan's existence might be an uncomfortable past for them, or perhaps now an usable card.
Either way, it was a bothersome matter with nothing to gain.
He scattered his gaze across the exhibition hall again.
The eavesdropping Summoning Circle was fine, and the mana sensing array was stable. No movements from Endermit had been captured yet.
It shouldn't be a problem to take a moment.
After asking Erwin to handle things, he followed Erica toward a private room.
**
The air in the private room was looser and denser than in the main exhibition hall.
Thick curtains blocked the view from outside, and low-set lighting softly revealed the contours of skin.
With low-set sofas, a gracefully curved table, and small paintings decorating the walls, it was a place more than suitable for sharing secret talks.
Erica Rivan, who had arrived first, was sitting on the sofa.
She slowly brought her legs together, then crossed them naturally as she adjusted her posture. She parted the skirt of her dress, which had a front slit, to reveal her snow-white thighs, and pulled down the top of her dress to reveal her cleavage and upper chest.
It wasn't blatant, but it was enough to draw the eye.
After checking her reflection in the wall decorated with silver ornaments that shone like a mirror, a faint smile hung on her lips.
She had been confident for a long time that her figure was second to none. The title of the flower of society wasn't just because of her family's power, but also thanks to the charm she had polished herself. Her smooth skin without a single blemish, her full breasts, her wide hips and firm buttocks, her legs extending coolly below them, and her thin ankles that could be wrapped in one hand.
Her beauty and figure, which had reigned as the flower of society, were certainly not ordinary, and she was still flaunting that she was in her prime.
Catching passing glances, making people hold their breath, and eventually shaking their hearts. Erica knew well how to handle her weapons.
Dalkkak.
The sound of a door opening was heard.
Erica slowly raised her head.
The one who entered the private room was Count Iden Summonfield.
A neat formal uniform, an unexaggerated dignity, and a solid momentum forged on the battlefield naturally rested on his shoulders. Seeing him up close, he was certainly a more magnificent man than his reputation suggested.
"You came, Count-nim."
Instead of standing up, Erica tilted her head while sitting on the sofa and smiled softly.
She slowly raised her gaze, then lowered it again as she scanned him. She purposely let out a light breath mixed with admiration.
"Please, sit here."
A slight laugh was carried at the end of her words. As she pretended to arrange the hem of her dress with her fingertips and crossed her legs again, the silk lining subtly reflected the light.
It was a performance disguised as a coincidence.
Iden's gaze, as he sat across from her, did not waver.
"I've heard many stories even in the Central Territory. Your heroic tales on the battlefield, your overwhelming skill, your wonderful character, and even your looks that melt women's hearts... so I can't tell you how much I looked forward to this."
She placed her hand on the table. At that moment, the neckline of her deeply cut dress was emphasized even more. Her plump cleavage created a shadow under the lighting. She purposely raised and lowered her gaze, observing Iden's reaction.
"And seeing you in person like this, you are even more wonderful than I heard."
She crossed her legs once more. As the hem of her dress moved, the secret silhouette hidden between her thighs was slightly revealed.
She slightly twisted her waist to emphasize her lines and took a breath to make her chest line even clearer.
It wasn't the hypocritical shyness of a modest lady, but a seduction through coquetry and submission, becoming like a female animal.
Like a puppy showing its belly, like a cat arching its back while curving its waist, definitely.
"Ah, I was being too forward. I apologize if I was being rude."
Iden replied dryly.
"Not at all. So, what is it you wish to say? I am in a situation where I cannot spare much time."
A short and direct question.
Erica blinked for a moment, then quickly regained her smile. This kind of reaction was also within the expected range. In fact, it was more interesting.
"You are manly, as expected. Then...."
She slightly bowed her head and clasped her fingertips as if shy.
"I didn't know I would ever say something like this to someone. It might be hard to believe, but it really is my first time."
Pretending to catch her breath for a moment, she raised her eyes and looked at Iden. While feigning a soft and clear gaze.
Acting as if a faint blush had risen on her cheeks, she avoided his gaze. Erica was confident she could bring down even the sturdiest tree if she set her mind to it.
"Embarrassingly... I think I've fallen for you at first sight, Count-nim."