It’s Been 500 Years as an Extra, and the Original Story Still Hasn’t Begun - Chapter 194

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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500 Years as Just an Extra,

The Original Story Still Won’t Begin

Episode 194

“What?”

Elenora tilted her head, wondering what on earth he was talking about, but Termion pretended not to know and stood up from his seat.

“I’ll be away from the manor all day today. I might not even make it back for dinner.”

Termion, who had come inside, pulled out a thick stack of documents from the drawer.

Thud!

At a glance, it was clearly much thicker than a single book.

“What’s all that?”

Termion grinned and poked Elenora’s cheek with his finger.

“Homework.”

“Huh? Homework?”

“Read it by tomorrow morning and organize your thoughts and questions. We’ll have a discussion in the morning.”

“All of a sudden?”

She couldn’t keep focusing only on magic and liberal arts forever. It was time for Elenora to prepare as the official heir of the Retis Grand Duchy.

“Make sure to learn about managing the family house whenever you have time.”

“…Really?”

“Don’t think of it as too difficult. Actually, this is my first time teaching something like this too, so you might find me frustrating.”

When teaching the children mana cultivation methods, it had been relatively easy. He could apply the same methods his mother had taught him.

But Termion had never formally learned these administrative duties from anyone. There were limits to the help he could receive from Iolene or Baron Gavin.

So giving Elenora heir lessons was, in a way, a test and challenge for himself as well.

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but since I’m the top practitioner, I should be better than others.”

“…Uncle, was it very hard for you?”

“I’m not sure.”

Termion unconsciously smiled bitterly.

He hadn’t even had the luxury to think it was hard. It was a time when he was just struggling to get through each day.

“I think I did wonder why I was doing all this here.”

“Um, Uncle.”

Elenora felt something moving inside the cloak she was wearing. It seemed like she was fidgeting with her fingers like when she was little.

“Uncle… do you hate Father?”

“Well…”

“I thought you and Father got along well.”

When Termion’s expression stiffened at those words, Elenora looked at him with slightly sad eyes.

Since it was from her early childhood, only fragmentary scenes remained in Elenora’s memory.

The image of him holding her with one arm while holding Termion’s hand with the other. The face that smiled warmly whenever she chose two of everything, saying ‘I have to get one for Uncle too.’

Could all of that have been nothing but superficial pretense?

“Mother really loved Uncle too.”

“She did…”

Termion had to suppress his feelings of guilt whenever he was with Biez.

Every time she called him ‘young master’ and patted his head, he hated himself so much. It felt as if his very existence was a sin.

“But why is that?”

“I didn’t really understand when I was young, but as I got older, I suddenly became curious. Uncle became Grand Duke without knowing anything, right?”

“That’s not wrong.”

“Maybe because I’m around Uncle’s age from back then, I tried imagining it once.”

“Imagining?”

“How I would feel if Uncle suddenly went far away… and I became Grand Duke.”

“Elly.”

Termion carefully placed his hand on Elenora’s shoulder and met her gaze.

“It’s okay.”

He couldn’t know what this child was afraid of.

But unlike ten years ago, Termion could make a firm promise to Elenora.

“You said it before, right? That you wouldn’t leave Uncle alone and go away.”

“Yeah…”

“It’s the same for me. I won’t make you experience that kind of sadness ever again.”

Though he thought he had hidden it well, he might have unconsciously shown signs of resenting Landrit.

If Elenora had noticed that, it would have been like driving a nail into her young heart.

Now was the time to focus on reality and the future, not the past.

So he had to let go of what needed to be let go.

“To be honest, Uncle found your father quite difficult.”

“…What about now?”

“Not as much as back then, but… I can’t say it’s completely fine.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle.”

“For what?”

“I had no idea Uncle disliked Father.”

“No, I don’t dislike him.”

“Huh?”

Elenora’s eyes widened in surprise at Termion’s firm answer.

“To be precise, I should say I hated him.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“It’s a little different. The reason you hate someone is because you liked them that much.”

“…”

“You have expectations and desires for that person, but when things don’t go as you want, you feel disappointed. When that accumulates, you eventually come to hate them.”

“Do you still hate him?”

“Not really.”

These weren’t words he made up to avoid hurting Elenora. It was simply his honest feelings.

“Your father can’t do anything more for Uncle. Since I don’t expect anything, there’s nothing particularly to hate.”

“Wow, you really have a bad personality.”

Elenora deliberately grumbled to hold back the sadness that was washing over her.

While thinking that his matter-of-fact way of speaking was very much like Termion, she felt upset just listening to it.

“There was something I wanted to ask once I became an adult, but I guess that’s out of the question now too.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a secret.”

“If you’re going to say that, then don’t mention it at all, tch.”

When Elenora deliberately pouted her lips more exaggeratedly, Termion slowly patted her head.

“Study hard. Take good care of Teacher.”

“Huh?”

Isn’t it usually the opposite? When did you stop saying to listen well to Teacher?

When she rolled her eyes upward, Termion’s lips were curved in a gentle smile.

“Sometimes you should be the one taking care of her too. If you’ve been loved that much, isn’t it about time you started showing some filial piety?”

“Why are you deciding that?”

“Well, it’s probably still okay to act spoiled a bit more. Ailesia will love you no matter what you do.”

“Somehow there’s a barb in your words.”

“I’ll be going now.”

After giving Elenora’s head one last firm pat, he prepared to leave. Elenora bowed her head as if she had no choice.

“Have a safe trip.”

“Right. Take care of the documents.”

After leaving the office and walking alone in the corridor, Elenora finally remembered the cloak she was wearing.

“…How did you really do it?”

The cloak had definitely flown over. Just like how Ailesia would command a broom when doing housework.

When a mage uses magical power to exert physical force, it’s called telekinesis. Anyone at the High Mage level could do such a thing.

But Termion was someone who had nothing to do with magic.

Even if he had used magical power, there was no way she wouldn’t have noticed.

‘It doesn’t make sense unless he’s at Teacher’s level.’

Termion’s secrets that she didn’t know about kept increasing one by one.

Whether this was a good sign or not, Elenora couldn’t quite grasp it at the moment.

On the morning of the second day of the Imperial Palace New Year banquet, a black carriage passed through the entrance of the Imperial Palace.

The moment the carriage door opened in front of the Main Palace and a man revealed himself, everyone present stiffened with tense expressions.

Thud.

Just an ordinary footstep touching the floor.

But people felt the illusion of a boulder falling.

Termion, wearing his dress uniform and cloak for official occasions, had a completely different atmosphere from what he had shown at yesterday’s ballroom.

“Have you arrived, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

Marquis Havir, who had come out to the entrance in advance, greeted him with a warm smile.

“Were you waiting outside in this cold weather, Marquis?”

“Hehe, I couldn’t let someone else steal the honor of welcoming Your Highness. The situation has changed from yesterday, after all.”

“Thank you for the warm reception.”

Termion responded with a light bow of his head.

This was a grand conference he was attending for the first time in two years. He could fully understand that Marquis Havir had personally come out to greet him out of consideration.

“There’s still some time before we begin. Would you like to have some tea?”

“That sounds good.”

Termion gave an appropriate reply and slowly began walking while subtly drawing up his aura.

[Is there anything I should know about in advance?]

Marquis Havir’s eyebrows twitched, and he sent a message along with a quiet chuckle.

[It doesn’t seem like magic, how remarkable.]

[It’s just a trick using aura.]

[My, what a thing to see in my old age.]

[…Please speak comfortably. It makes me uncomfortable.]

Even though his rank was higher, the other person was the Grand Duchess Dowager’s only close friend. To Termion, he was like a grandfather, an elder.

In fact, Marquis Havir had treated young Termion affectionately like his own grandson.

Yesterday was fine since he was with Iolene, but in a private situation like this, even Marquis Havir’s semi-formal speech felt awkward.

[With people watching, this old man worries about making a mistake, so please bear with me a little. When we’re alone, I’ll match whatever makes the Grand Duke comfortable.]

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