Bloodline is a Cheat Code - Chapter 24

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 24
After listing out my hypotheses, all I could think was how absurd they sounded.
“It really does sound ridiculous, doesn’t it? Serpina Rosena, I’m sorry for wasting your time. I was just thinking out loud. No, don’t worry about it. Yes.”
I hurriedly wrapped up the conversation. For some reason, my face felt hot.
The only reason I could even bring this up was because Serpina Rosena was right in front of me.
‘Tiae, you don’t seem to be in good physical condition, so I think it would be best to end our conversation here and rest.’
She would probably wrap things up gently by redirecting the conversation appropriately.
Telling me I was crazy in the kindest way possible.
“It might not be entirely baseless, though.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s in the past, but when I was twenty-three, I moved toward the Holy Kingdom to draw them in. Of course, the entry procedures were complicated, so I had to sneak in under a false identity and couldn’t mingle among the nobility.”
“I see…”
I felt like I’d just heard something enormous.
Hearing “when I was twenty-three” from the lips of my nineteen-year-old sister felt strange.
Hearing the weariness of long years in her voice, I straightened my posture respectfully.
“At that time, I heard about a place called the Crystal Palace.”
“The Crystal Palace?”
Serpina Rosena nodded. It was information she’d heard and dismissed back then because it didn’t seem particularly helpful in gathering forces.
‘Melissa, who is the King of the Holy Kingdom and the elder sister of Empress Pertona, keeps a treasure that cannot be shown to anyone in the Crystal Palace.’
“What I needed was the support of King Melissa, not her treasure. I wasn’t going to steal anything.”
“So you think that treasure might be Prince Aden?”
“Yes.”
Only then did I realize it.
Serpina Rosena was working through every scenario under the assumption that my speculation was absolutely correct.
Not treating me as if I were mad, not dismissing it as baseless—just as naturally as if it were obvious.
Whenever I heard her unconditional trust in me, something strange stirred in my chest.
“You believe in me? Serpina Rosena, what I just said has no basis whatsoever. And the fastest way would be for me to ask Prince Aden directly.”
“There’s no basis, but from what I heard from Prince Aden before, he tries not to stay within the Empire if possible. He said he has a safe place where he won’t be discovered. Besides, the reason I could enter the Holy Kingdom relatively easily was also thanks to him providing information.”
Just admit honestly that you two had a tender relationship. This is difficult for me too.
I ended the conversation with a bitter smile.
“I’ll discuss the rest separately with Prince Aden.”
If there’s something we can’t discuss in person, we can always talk around it, can’t we?
* * *
That night, I had a very strange dream.
I was sitting vacantly against the headboard of a bed in a familiar bedroom, dressed in pajamas.
Familiar?
No, the distinctly cold room showed clear signs of neglect compared to where I usually stayed.
My lips moved against my will.
“I see. The Empress couldn’t bear the suffering of her illness and took her own life? Then that will become Rosena’s sin.”
Elian knelt before me, her body covered in wounds.
Half of that face was so horribly scarred it was unrecognizable.
“I can no longer protect you. Take what remains of my jewels and flee as far as you can.”
“Miss, the child…”
“Don’t tell me where you’ve sent the child. That’s the only way you can save her. And the moment you leave this Mansion, you have nothing to do with Rosena anymore.”
I had become a helpless young lady unable to hide even Elian’s identity without destroying her face.
And so Elian departed.
After that, I stood before the burning Mansion. Countless people branded Rosena as traitors, toppling a history so ancient.
My parents’ heads, forced to their knees, rolled across the floor.
The moment my sister returned, a knight reported to the Baron with a bewildered expression about his swift execution.
“We found Flotie Rosena’s corpse nearby. It appears she couldn’t withstand the poison during her escape and breathed her last. However…”
“However?”
“An ancient curse was placed upon it—we couldn’t even touch it. The moment we laid hands on the corpse, it dissolved into light and vanished.”
The Baron clicked his tongue.
“Still, her face was half-intact. If only there was life left, I would have hidden her away in some villa.”
So this was the funeral my sister had arranged for me. At least I died before suffering any greater humiliation.
I stood transfixed, staring at the burning Mansion, when a quiet voice came from behind.
“Where did you put it?”
A familiar voice. The moment I turned my head without thinking, a sword’s gleam cut through the air.
The Baron’s body split cleanly in two. But I couldn’t see the owner of that blade clearly before I awoke from the dream.
* * *
Was the dream from my previous life caused by the blessed necklace?
I couldn’t simply stay home just because I’d had a dream of unknown origin.
I had a promise with Lucian Advein.
Just in case, I wore the necklace when I went out, and he immediately recognized it.
“Oh, it seems you liked the gift I gave you.”
“It’s a symbol of friendship. Since this is the first time we’re meeting after becoming friends, I had to wear it on a day like this.”
Lucian naturally escorted me and bowed gracefully.
“My apologies.”
Elian had insisted today that I wear shoes with the lowest heels possible, so the height difference between us was even more pronounced than usual.
A prince of the Empire bowing so readily just to hear my voice.
I was about to say that one should never lower one’s posture so easily in any situation, but he spoke first.
“When you sat last time, I noticed your feet seemed to hurt quite a bit. So this time, I dared to issue a command in the name of the Prince—that you not wear high heels.”
What could I do then? I had to bow in return. Otherwise, a lady’s dignity would be compromised, or he might end up carrying me.
As he continued speaking so naturally, I found myself unable to control my expression and covered my face with my fan.
This is absurd. I’m not even particularly short. And when did he even see that? Really.
When I could only manage an awkward cough, he smiled brightly and continued.
“Then shall we sit so our eyes are level and have some tea? Of course, I also have a silver teaspoon. I’ve even ordered new silver cups made just for you.”
Though I hadn’t meant to spread it around, my habit of checking whether something was poisoned before eating or drinking had apparently become common knowledge.
Lucian, just like my sister, only allowed me to drink after I dipped the spoon into the teacup to check if the color changed.
To have two overprotective people in my life—I never thought my existence would become this suffocating.
“You must be growing quite accustomed to the Prince’s Palace by now.”
“Are you suggesting I’ve been visiting too frequently?”
“Not at all. I’d welcome your visits even more often. Or you could relocate your residence here entirely, if you wished.”
What could he possibly mean by relocating my residence here? Was he suggesting I enter service as a lady’s maid?
Had Lucian Advein been a princess rather than a prince, it might have been worth considering—but this was something else entirely. Besides, all I could manage was to remain standing without collapsing from exhaustion.
“I spoke too hastily just now. That was overstepping.”
“Not at all. I was merely imagining what it might be like. I wasn’t considering it negatively.”
“….”
Lucian Advein suddenly appeared flustered, reaching for his teacup before setting it back down without drinking. Perhaps he’d changed his mind.
And yet he was the one who had suggested I enter service as a maid, so why did he look so disconcerted now that I’d responded positively?
Had I taken his jest too seriously with my grave expression? But I’d already crossed too much ground to simply claim I’d been joking as well.
“This necklace is heavier than I expected.”
There was nothing for it but to change the subject.
Lucian Advein seemed to have been waiting for precisely this moment, accepting my words with perfect naturalness.
“Is that so? Now that you mention it, the Empress herself favored this necklace but never wore it—perhaps because of its weight. I remember seeing it often when I was younger, visiting with Aden Prince.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————