Surviving as a Terminally Ill Heiress - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 18

I didn’t know what he looked like.
So hearing kind anecdotes about a father whose face I’d never seen felt like tales from another world entirely.
‘I spent all these years cursing him as a worthless man…….’
The way people who knew him showed me kindness now was proof enough that he’d been decent — not the sort of trash who’d toyed with a woman and discarded her.
Not that kind of man at all.
It was strange, though, and somehow it made me glad.
‘He didn’t abandon mother on purpose.’
That single thought made the hatred I’d nursed for so long evaporate like soap bubbles.
Not that affection came flooding in to replace it.
“We’re here.”
Alek announced this as we emerged from the Manor and walked a long stretch through the Back Garden.
Oh, was this place I’d glimpsed once before really a separate building? The barracks?
“This is the Armory, first of all.”
“……Sorry?”
All of this is the Armory? Not the barracks?
Alek swept past the massive weapons depot without much fanfare, as though there was little worth explaining.
Wait, wait. That spear I just saw rolling on the ground —
‘Doesn’t that have the Temple Seal stamped on it……?’
That would mean a weapon forged by immersion in Holy Water and blessed with a priest’s protection.
Incredibly precious, from what I’d heard.
Not only are ordinary soldiers using them instead of just Holy Knights, but they’re left lying around like this?
The Baron’s house where I used to work had one Temple Weapon.
Just one — they said they’d gone through considerable effort to procure it for the family’s honor.
‘It was barely the size of my palm.’
The master kept that palm-sized Short Sword locked in a safe, and whenever they brought it out to polish it to a shine, they treated it like a shrine to the gods themselves.
And now that same holy weapon lay on the dirt floor — someone’s foot had just kicked it carelessly.
While I stood stunned, Alek turned to me with unmistakable pride.
“This is the glorious Ambrose Order……!”
“Alek, you thief! You stole my cookies!”
A small woman suddenly seized Alek by the hair.
She was the owner of the foot that had just sent that spear flying.
Alek, caught off guard, struggled with all his might as she dangled from his hair on her tiptoes.
“What nonsense! Your insanely spicy cookies — I wouldn’t eat them even if you paid me!”
“That’s such good flavor though!”
After trading barbs with Alek for a while, the woman finally noticed me.
With her ferret-like eyes darting about, she quietly released her grip on Alek’s hair, gave me a small bow, and vanished in a flash.
Curious. Spirited, though.
A vaguely spicy aftertaste lingering in the air, Alek heaved a deep sigh.
“That’s Pepper, my fellow trainee. If you don’t mind, let’s pretend you didn’t see that.”
“But why did she disappear?”
“She’s shy around strangers.”
“Hmm…….”
Quite the character, this Knight.
We exchanged a glance that said enough, then passed an enormous barracks — even larger than the Armory — and entered the Training Grounds, which were larger still.
The sight of Knights packed into every corner made me feel slightly dizzy.
Just how much would it cost to feed, clothe, and house all these people?
As Alek set me down while my eyes spun, he called out to one of the Knights.
“Who was foolish enough to touch Pepper’s cookies?”
“Oh, that garbage food? The Commander ordered me to throw it out earlier…….”
In an instant, eyes widened in surprise, and a thunderous roar erupted.
“Ohhh! Is this, is this really……!”
“Miss! Welcome! We’ve been waiting for you!”
It happened so fast.
The sturdy Knights surged forward and dropped to their knees before me.
I flinched backward, grabbing Alek’s sleeve.
This was a bit overwhelming.
It went beyond kindness — it was almost like……
‘Some kind of zealotry.’
I understood as soon as I reflected on it.
Right — Ambrose Prince had earned a reputation as a brilliant Knight.
And as his daughter, I seemed to be regarded with reverence by extension.
Seeing them this way — their massive frames belied eyes gleaming with admiration, like children transfixed by wonder.
I wondered if they’d be disappointed when they learned I hadn’t inherited his talent.
I waved carefully with the hand that wasn’t gripping Alek’s sleeve.
“Hello……?”
“We offer our lives.”
What in the world.
Before I could blurt out something sharp, they chorused together:
“Finally, we have a master weaker than us!”
Truly, this was quite the exceptional Order…….

* * *

At dusk, as the sky darkened.
I walked back to the Manor alone, dragging my feet.
Alek and the other Knights insisted on escorting me, but I firmly refused.
‘I’m exhausted…….’
Their kindness was welcome, but the Order’s was too loud and too demanding.
The frightening Knight Commander who arrived late nearly wept at the sight of me, apparently.
Probably because I’d spent considerable time with Ambrose Prince.
A good man. A good Knight. A good man.
What kind of person had he been otherwise?
Seized by sudden curiosity, I made excuses to myself.
Not that it meant much. Just that everyone said such good things about him.
So I was simply a little curious.
‘……Would he have been a good father, too?’
What kind of father would he have been to me?
If mother had been insulted like today, would he have stepped in brave as a Knight, as Alek had, and cut out their tongue?
And would he have comforted me when I was upset?
‘Pointless thoughts.’
I laughed coldly and retreated to my room.
That evening, I had dinner with my siblings as usual and bathed before retiring to bed.
But for some reason, lingering images from the day kept flickering in my mind’s eye.
‘What a waste.’
Thinking about it again, everything felt wasted.
All of it — given to such a person.
My hope. My sincerity. My effort. My time.
And
“Sandwich…….”
My four krells and thirty-eight harks — what we call two pence.
Hearing my muttering, Huey and Dido stirred.
“Are you hungry, sis?”
“Food?”
“No, that’s not it…….”
I trailed off and tilted my head.
But wasn’t it, though?
I’d eaten plenty at dinner.
It wasn’t hunger, exactly — more like something hollow inside.
I found myself wanting a Sandwich.
One where I’d pick just the ingredients I wanted, then take a big bite.
It felt like that would fill the emptiness.
“Well…… I can’t eat now.”
“Why?”
“It’s too late. It would be inconsiderate. The adults need to sleep.”
“But you’re hungry?”
Huey tilted his head in confusion, then offered a solution as if struck by revelation:
“Oh, I know! When that happens, just tell an adult honestly and ask for help.”
“Pfft.”
“You taught us that.”
Dido nodded vigorously in agreement.
That was true, but……
When I tried it earlier, I found it a bit hard on me.
I ruffled their hair with a soft laugh.
“That’s something babies like you do.”
“You’re a baby too, sis.”
“…….”
“Mother says so every day. My baby.”
I blinked slowly.
Dido, who understood everything, patted my chest gently — Bebe, Bebe — imitating mother.
She was mimicking her.
My nickname is Bebe partly because the people of Aterra struggle with my real name, but mostly because mother has always called me that.
Bebe. My baby. My forever baby.
So……
‘Our mother’s baby can throw a little tantrum too.’
I sprang up from the bed.
“I’m going to get a late-night snack.”
Huey and Dido waved goodbye from beneath their blankets.
The moment I stepped into the dark hallway, I ran straight into two servants.
They didn’t try to stop me from heading to the Kitchen at this hour.
“Then at least take a blanket, please.”
“And carry a lamp with you.”
They simply offered freely what they had to give.
As I walked, warmed and safe because of them, I felt their watchful gaze following me from behind.
This was all free.
Because I’m a child and need help from adults.
I was finally beginning to understand Ambrose’s logic.
An Ambrose child buys even a single Letter Paper with money.
But then the adult helps with ‘the act of writing a letter and sending it.’
They put pen and ink in the child’s hands, offer advice when unfamiliar invitations are being sent, and gladly deliver them wherever asked.
A laugh bubbled up, deflating.
This house was truly so vast it annoyed me.
It narrowed a person’s heart.

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