Chapter 79

I was told it would be impossible to keep it hidden perfectly. I knew that my family would eventually find out where I was, but it happened much sooner than I had imagined.

I had been written about as the developer of the artificial magic stone, and it seemed that someone from the Ajette family had seen my photo and recognized me, according to what the Viscount told me.

“So... your family, Riana, wants to come and take you back. They’ve contacted the Duke’s family in the Kingdom of Kronheim.”

When I asked for their sponsorship for the joint venture of the artificial magic stone, I didn’t reveal the details, but I did give a general overview, so I thought they must have realized that I had left home without telling anyone.

But there are so many young people. I wasn’t hiding a criminal record or anything; by the time the contract was signed, I was already an adult and had obtained citizenship in this country, so there were no issues.

Even if it had been discovered, as a noble, I thought they would have considered the benefits of the artificial magic stone more important than handing over a runaway daughter to a non-adjacent foreign duchy. I thought this contract would protect me, even if I were found.

I hadn’t expected my family to come directly at the negotiation stage. The Viscount, sitting across from me in the reception room, continued awkwardly.

“I told them I don’t know a woman named Riana from the Ajette family. But it seems my answer doesn’t matter; they just informed me they will visit.”

That’s probably the only answer the Viscount could give. After all, I hadn’t revealed my real name or status.

“You’re an important inventor for our city. Even if your family insists on taking you back, I’ll make sure you stay.”

...No... Even if you say that, I can’t trust you anymore...

When I said I wanted to skip the award ceremony, you readily agreed to decline it for me, but in the end, you couldn’t refuse the city’s influential people, and I had to attend.

I can tell you’re being sincere now, but in the end, you always give in to the stronger side. If I had firmly declined the award ceremony, maybe the photo with my face clearly visible wouldn’t have been published so soon.

Given your past actions, I’ve always been anxious, and it’s clear I shouldn’t expect the Ajette family to protect me properly.

On the way back, as I was being driven to the hotel in the Viscount’s magic car, I thought, “I’m glad I haven’t bought a house yet.”

Father and Mother seem to have found out that the alchemist Rio is me. When I told Anna this first, she replied, “We need a strategy meeting.”

“Since you must be tired from the discussion with the Viscount, let’s have some tea and relax a bit first.”

“Yeah... thank you, Anna.”

Amber is on a mission with Fred today. Since he always drives her back to the hotel, I decided to talk to him then.

This morning, the magic resonator showed a message about the re-investigation of the hunting club incident, where a witness had changed their statement. But now, it displayed a new message from Prince Rhinold, as expected, about my family finding out that the alchemist Rio is Riana.

In the message, it was written, “I had been asking Lord Cornelia about the artificial magic stone, so that might be the reason.” He thought they recognized my name and later saw my photo.

He apologized, but this was something I had already anticipated, and it’s not the Prince’s fault. Ultimately, it’s because I couldn’t live a normal life without drawing attention, even though I wanted to hide my origins.

Despite the small screen of the magic resonator, I could sense his sincere regret. I thought, “He’s so serious.” Remembering how he had searched for me abroad, cried with relief upon finding me safe, and continued to support me even after learning about my complicated family situation, I felt warmth in my chest. I knew he was kind, but I was once again struck by how good a person he is. Anna and Fred are also wonderful people; I’m truly blessed with good connections.

...No, I’ve had some bad connections too, so maybe it balances out.

What caught my attention was the information that followed. According to the Prince’s previous messages, the Duke of Döberny had been criticizing the Ajette family for not properly educating their daughter. Now, they were condemning the Ajette family for damaging the country’s interests by letting Riana leave the country and make such a significant invention abroad.

I needed to get more details, so I hurriedly wrote down the message on my notebook and cleared the screen to write my reply.

I still had questions about the hunting club incident, but this happened before I could ask them.

The high-precision magic resonator Prince Rhinold had was slow to sync over such a long distance. When would his reply come? I couldn’t just sit and stare at the screen, worrying. I needed to focus on what I could do now. First, I needed to figure out how to deal with the fact that my family had decided to come and take me back.

...I was planning to send a letter to let them know I’m safe once I had sorted out my feelings. But I’m not in a state where I can communicate with my family. Naturally, I haven’t sent the letter yet.

If I saw them now, I would only say hurtful things. I would go back to the past and say everything I’ve been holding in. Father never praised me, even when I achieved good results. I remember that clearly. Last year, at the music festival, Mother praised the second-place winner but didn’t say a single word to me, even though I won the top prize. It’s the same every time.

Thinking about it makes me want to cry. Anna gently patted my back and handed me a soft, small towel. As I imagined, it wouldn’t end well for either my family or me.

I don’t want to see them. I wish they would just leave me alone.

When I was at home, they never acknowledged me, saying, “If we praise you once, you’ll get too full of yourself.” Maybe it’s fine to leave me alone?

But, given the situation, the Duke’s family can’t just do that, I answered myself calmly from a slightly detached perspective.

It was hard to struggle and not reach the level of a first-class person while everyone else in my family was called a genius. I finally started to be evaluated for my own abilities, without being compared to my family.

I wondered if people were just being polite or flattering me because I was part of that genius family. Finally, I could stop working hard while always wondering about that.

I still don’t have the courage to read the letter the Viscount gave me, saying, “This is a transcript of your family’s words from the communication device. Whether you read it or not is up to you.”

The content of the message is probably known to this country and the Viscount. But it won’t solve anything. I stared blankly at the envelope on the table for a while.