The Eina of the Lost Daughter
‘That’s the crest of Baron Gahael’s family, isn’t it?’
During her days as an Eina, Pay had constantly been tested to display perfection in front of countless nobles. Because of that, she had memorized the faces and names of the Gahael family members, few though they were.
She had never been close to them, however. In the Duchess’s eyes, they were little better than impoverished commoners—beneath even clever common folk. She had even strictly ordered Pay never to speak with them privately.
Associating with them would lower one’s standing, or so the reasoning went. The strange logic was that Pay should remember them only so she could ignore them completely.
‘…Even if we never spoke, they never tried to harm me. As far as I know.’
The Imperial Palace was a place where anyone thrown to the wolves would be torn apart without mercy. Even there, the Gahael family had been pushed aside and ignored, yet they had never tormented the innocent Pay. For that alone, she had been grateful.
Pay’s expression softened as she considered helping them. Lucius, who had been watching with a sour look, suddenly leapt from his seat.
“I’m coming too.”
“Oh…”
“I’m not helping, though.”
Pay nodded without the slightest hurt at his blunt words.
“Understood, Lord Lucius. Coachman? You may wait or leave as you like. I’ll still pay the full fare.”
“What exactly does the young lady intend to do?”
The coachman looked bewildered.
Stepping lightly aside to avoid the mud, Pay could now see the carriage’s dire state. The rear wheel was completely sunk in the mire, and the front wheel was slowly being swallowed as well. The horses snorted in frustration while the coachman struggled helplessly. Inside, the passengers were equally trapped.
“Oh, Mother.”
“Stay still, dear. Moving will only make things worse.”
It was Baroness Gahael and her daughter, Barbara Gahael.
‘The usual solution would be for them to get out.’
Pay shook her head inwardly. If both women alighted, the carriage would lighten enough for the wheels to be freed, but that wasn’t happening. Physically, there was no other way.
The ground around the carriage was also deep mud, making it difficult for them to step down in their dresses. Moreover, there was no one nearby strong enough to pull the tilted carriage back onto solid ground.
Pay decided to proceed with her original plan.
“Excuse me, ladies? I’m a mage from the Magic Tower. You seem to be in trouble—let me get the carriage out for you.”
Since she was returning to the Magic Tower, Pay wore a plain brown robe. She had changed after the festival, feeling it would be awkward to show her flushed, excited face in public.
Barbara, catching sight of the bright, vivid pink hair beneath the hood, asked in a trembling voice.
“Pardon? Miss Mage, is that possible?”
“Yes. The carriage will lift slightly, so please don’t be alarmed. All four wheels are at risk of sinking, so this is necessary. Coachman? Please unhitch the horses and move aside. It’ll be fine.”
“Ah, understood.”
Once her explanation was finished, Pay raised both hands and channeled her mana all at once. The mana stored in the wand she had brought from the Magic Tower had been completely used up creating ice earlier.
Well, it didn’t matter. She could manage with her own power.
It would take more effort than usual, but there was no helping it.
‘I’ll need to borrow Undine’s strength as well.’
Understanding her intent, Undine appeared in the air and swirled beneath the carriage. Soon, clear water welled up from the mud around the sunken wheels. Remarkably, the water gently washed the filthy wheels while lifting the carriage upward.
It wasn’t something water alone could achieve.
Pay’s lips trembled slightly from the strain as she maintained the delicate magical control. Though fine manipulation was difficult, she managed somehow.
“It—it’s rising!”
“Stay still, Barbara.”
“Hup…!”
Once the unhitched carriage floated completely into the air, Pay stepped forward without even pausing to steady her spinning head.
‘Frozen Step!’
The muddy road was covered in clean water and instantly froze solid. She lowered the carriage onto the hardened ground. The coachman rushed over, reattached the horses, and bowed deeply.
“Goodness, thank you so much.”
“It’s nothing. The ice won’t melt right away, so take your time.”
“Thank you, Miss Mage. We’re in a great hurry and can’t get down, so please forgive us. I am Barbara Gahael, daughter of Baron Gahael. This is my mother, the Baroness.”
“…My name is Pay, a mage. Safe travels.”
Pay smiled and waved. Once they had gone, she called Undine again to draw the right amount of moisture from the soil beneath the ice. Even after the ice melted, the road would not turn back into mud.
Lucius, who had watched the entire scene, chuckled from behind.
“You actually used your head. I thought you were going to leave them to dig themselves out.”
“Thank you, Lucius.”
“Tch.”
The carriage continued toward the Magic Tower. Lucius grumbled the whole way about the favor she had done.
He seemed to have already forgotten praising her magical finish earlier.
“Why do you bother helping such worthless people? It has nothing to do with you.”
To Lucius, an ancient dragon whose very existence was supreme, it was only natural. In his long life, he had seen countless weak, powerless beings either die off or be exploited by others.
Like Momo, who was currently hiding inside Pay’s robe while stealing glances at him.
“…Just because.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
Since the carriage had no windows, Pay gazed blankly at the distant fields, lost in thought.
Lucius was right. Barbara Gahael was the daughter of a powerless baron family, and there was no guarantee that helping her now would ever be repaid. She hadn’t even gotten down from the carriage to thank them properly, claiming she was in a hurry. If Pay hadn’t helped, they would have remained stuck. All they received was a single nod of gratitude.
Most people would have complained about wasting their effort.
Whether the same thing would happen again, she didn’t know, but it had happened before. The Gahael family’s declining fortunes never improved. Barbara eventually married an old knight from a rural estate and died soon after from an endemic disease.
That had been the miserable end of the vibrant young woman who now bloomed like a fresh flower.
Even knowing what lay ahead, Pay felt no regret for saving them.
Should she have abandoned them just because they would die soon anyway? She was nothing like Dot.
‘Being unable to step forward because of weakness and cowardice is far more frustrating. The current Pay is far better than the Eina Morgana who once wore the ducal dress and held her breath in silence. I didn’t turn away from something I could do.’
She had helped Barbara Gahael purely for Leon’s sake.
He was a proud knight who had once saved the wretched Pay when she had been endlessly running from her miserable past. Even if he hadn’t extended his hand, she would have reached the Magic Tower somehow, but her heart would have been far colder and more frozen than it was now.
Leon’s small kindness had saved Pay’s soul when it had been thrashing in betrayal.
‘Yes. The second sea I met was undoubtedly Sir Leon.’
That was what Pay believed.
‘I didn’t do it expecting anything in return. Sir Leon never boasted about helping me back then, either. He always treated me with courtesy. I… want to show at least as much courage as I can bear.’
Since it was something she had chosen to do, there was no reason to complain about using so much mana.
After all, once she returned to the Magic Tower, she would have more than enough time to meditate.
* * *
Meanwhile, inside the carriage, Barbara’s eyes welled with belated tears.
“Sob… Thank goodness. When the Klein ducal carriage just passed by, I was so scared.”
“Don’t cry, dear. A lady must always remain composed.”
When their carriage had first gotten stuck, the Klein ducal carriage had approached from behind. Seeing their plight, they hadn’t helped—instead, they had cracked their whip and frightened the horses, trying to pass quickly on their own.
The already startled horses had reared again, causing the front wheel to sink even deeper.
The despair of that moment…
Unlike her daughter, Baroness Gahael hadn’t so much as twitched an eyebrow. She had endured the crisis with perfect calm.
“But…!”
“Barbara, this isn’t the first time you’ve seen such things. We’re late, so let’s hurry.”
“…Yes.”
“Even if you see the Klein family there, don’t get angry. Act as if nothing happened and carry yourself with grace.”
More important to the Baroness than the humiliation was getting her daughter to the promised gathering. If she wanted to marry Barbara into a better house, she couldn’t afford to show anger over something so trivial.
They had been invited to the salon inside the Dahlia Hotel. A modest charity gathering was being held according to the capital’s noble standards.
As they approached the half-open door, a rather loud laugh drifted out.
“Hohoho, as expected of the Duchess! Now that Lord Cassel has returned to the main house, you must be free of all worries!”
“Hmm, I’ve never had any worries to begin with. I simply hope the capital remains peaceful from now on.”
“Yes, of course!”
‘She’s here…’
Though her mother had warned her, Barbara’s young heart couldn’t be free of resentment.
‘I could endure them not helping, but how am I supposed to pretend nothing happened when they made things worse? Is this the true nature of the so-called great nobles?’
Still, she forced herself to calm down, telling herself she had to endure.
As expected, even after recognizing that Baroness Gahael and her daughter had arrived, no one greeted them first. The Duchess didn’t even ask if they were all right—she showed no interest whatsoever. The only small mercy was that an empty chair remained for them to sit.
While the Baroness anxiously searched for a way to join the conversation, Barbara noticed an unfamiliar girl. Her features were neat, but her sparkling blue eyes were anything but ordinary.
‘Who is she?’
Fortunately, Marchioness Wyante, who had been chattering like a nightingale outside the door, answered the question.
“Then we simply need to wait a few years at most for Lady Klein’s debutante ball, correct?”
“Well, yes. When the time comes, we’ll present our daughter. Not now, though.”
‘Lady Klein…? Ah, so they found the daughter they lost long ago…’
A strange feeling settled over Barbara’s chest like soft red snow.
“Will that Eina girl also be presented at that time?”
“Who knows? It’s true that Dorothea is a candidate for Eina, but we’ll have to see.”
“……”
Barbara saw it.
When her name was mentioned, the girl with light brown hair bowed her head with elegant poise, yet her lips trembled ever so slightly.
‘Eina? That girl named Dorothea is the daughter’s Eina?’