Chapter 2

Lady of the Eshier Dukedom (Chapter 2, 2/141)

Honestly, remembering my past life was an absurd thing.

Moreover, the fact that I was a character from a novel I read in my past life was even more absurd, and it took a very long time to believe and accept this fact.

However, after adapting to these facts to some extent, and just when I thought I had died, it turned out to be a regression.

What's more, it was a second regression as a supporting character.

'No, if you count the past life, it's the third regression.'

"Jenjang."

"Yes?"

"No!"

I inadvertently blurted out, then waved my small hand to calm things down and turned my body.

Be careful with your words.

There were almost no people I could call friends in this potato-like supporting character's life.

Especially not in this house.

The indifferent grandfather, who occasionally visited the capital mansion, was a terrifying tiger, and my father's half-brothers and sisters, the direct uncles and aunts, treated me like a burden left by an illegitimate first son.

'Of course, I was a burden.'

In any case, because of this, the servants also treated me terribly.

Of course, if I think about the future, the present was heaven.

Still, sometimes the grandfather would visit, and most importantly, my father was still alive, so they couldn't openly discriminate against me.

But the moment the grandfather, who was bedridden with an unknown illness, passed away, and the authority of the dukedom was mostly transferred to my uncle Andrea, my hell began.

After that day, the servants' attitudes were so bad that they couldn't even be put into words.

'Of course, it was natural, since Uncle Andrea openly said he would kick out my father and me as soon as the grandfather passed away.'

After the grandfather's sudden passing, Andrea Eshier, who inherited the family and became the head, immediately kicked me out when the news of my father's death arrived.

'You can't bear me any longer!'

What was the rush?

There wasn't even time for a funeral.

When I later escaped and lived on my own, I realized that I, the actual heir, hadn't even seen my father's death notice or will.

The lawyer must have come.

But by the time I thought about this, Eshier had already been wiped out by the emperor for treason.

'If my father had been alive.'

At the very least, the family wouldn't have been destroyed under the stigma of treason.

No, the emperor's wrath wouldn't have led to the complete annihilation of Eshier.

'Of course, I don't know what Andrea would have done...'

My father and I could have survived.

Father was the sword that supported the empire.

Shari Eshier, the only swordmaster who could wield two sword auras and three auras, had no equal in the empire. There was even a scene where the male protagonist, Kallian, recalled, "I wished to receive a blow from his sword."

Moreover, the male protagonist's words about how the empire's foundation was shaken by my father's death.

'Even if Andrea committed treason.'

If my father had been alive, we wouldn't have been wiped out.

And if that were the case, Eshier could have been saved.

Regardless of the uncles' misdeeds, we would have survived.

"..."

When I reached this point in my thoughts, my heart, which had been beating slowly, started to beat faster.

Sweat formed in my hands.

'I can survive.'

And very well.

'If I can save my father.'

Leticia, clenching her fist, looked up at the green wall where her and her father's portraits hung, her eyes shining.

"Why is she like that?"

"She's just putting on a show to draw attention."

Behind her, the maids' whispers reached my ears.

Arina and Lindsey.

I subtly listened to their conversation, which had been whispered quietly but was now slightly louder.

"Didn't she hit someone's face yesterday? I thought she was completely crazy—no, insane."

"Yeah, and then she collapsed and made everyone tired."

"Her collapsing act isn't just once or twice. It's really a nuisance."

'Show?'

I can hear everything.

The two, who were even clicking their tongues, were having a conversation that wasn't exactly gossip.

My heart was torn. Is it just a day or two? Just leave it. It's not just a day or two, so it's a problem. Flip it!

Until now, option one had received overwhelming support, but isn't this the third life?

Just as I was about to turn to say something—

"She's putting on a show because she heard the head of the family is arriving in the capital today, obvious."

"!"

Arina mentioned a very important piece of information.

I had thought the grandfather used to visit the capital around this time in the past.

'But it's today.'

After that thought, my mind started to work quickly.

Leticia, who is six, will turn seven in half a year.

The unique family tradition of the Eshier Dukedom.

'That's right around the corner.'

I smiled, pulling the corners of my mouth up as I organized my memories of my past life.

To save my father, I first needed to catch the grandfather's eye, and the start was his return.

"Arina?"

"...Why?"

"Is grandpa coming? When is grandpa coming?"

I asked as innocently as possible, my eyes sparkling.

The Eshier Dukedom actually has a very unique family tradition.

It involves raising the young heirs among commoners without anyone knowing.

The heirs, who would otherwise grow up pampered in a large mansion surrounded by servants, were meant to grow up without knowing what it was like to lack or be deprived, according to the first head of the family.

Therefore, the heirs had to leave the dukedom by the winter of their sixth year and live in the commoner's district, Oney's House, before turning seven.

This was the gateway and obligation to inherit the great Eshier family.

However, the first head of the family overlooked one fact: the number of descendants increased rapidly and significantly over generations.

Not just direct descendants, but collateral ones as well.

The number of people with the Eshier name grew so much that it became difficult to keep track of them, and some people who had nothing to do with Eshier started to claim they had the right to be heirs.

When this situation arose, people began to argue that it was no longer possible to give the right to be an heir to all collateral descendants.

They said that recognizing all collateral descendants as heirs, not just the direct descendants of the head, was not properly inheriting the great Eshier.

The fifth head of the family, who took this complaint seriously, changed the family law before his death to limit the right to be an heir to the direct descendants of the head.

The collateral descendants naturally rebelled against this decision.

However, the sixth head of the family, Consello, who had just taken office, created an exception clause that if some exceptionally outstanding individuals emerged from the collateral descendants, they would be given the right to be heirs, thus calming their discontent.

However, up to the current tenth head of the Eshier family, this exception clause had never been used.

In that sense, I was a bit ambiguous.

While I was a direct descendant of the current head, Margot, my father was a very unlikely candidate to become the head, being an illegitimate first son.

Of course, my father, Shari, was an outstanding swordmaster who could handle more than two auras at the age of six, so he was given the right to be an heir despite being illegitimate.

But I wasn't.

Compared to my father's case, I was a bit too incompetent. To be more honest, in my past life, I was ignorant and uneducated.

So, I threw tantrums, insisting that I had the right to be an heir and wanted to go to Oney, without caring about the situation.

People whispered that I had no shame.

'Please send me to Oney! I want to go!'

'I'm Eshier too!'

I threw tantrums and acted stubbornly, going to Oney on my own several times and being caught and brought back. That's how I evolved from a burden to a headache for Eshier.

Of course, at the time, I had my own reasons for throwing tantrums.

I firmly believed that if I had the right to be an heir, I wouldn't be kicked out of Eshier.

Think about it.

What could a child do who grew up hearing that they would be kicked out as soon as the father passed away?

The only thought was to survive somehow.

And on the other hand, there was the hope that if I had the right to be an heir and did well in Oney, I might receive praise from my stern father and tiger-like grandfather.

'I wanted to be loved.'

Therefore, going to Oney to gain the right to be an heir was an absolute, non-negotiable matter for me.

But that hope was completely shattered on the day the grandfather returned from the estate to the capital dukedom, which was today in my previous life.

Exactly—

'The Heir Qualification Examination.'