Still, despite all that, they had to consider safety. Just as they were discussing who should accompany them, someone spoke up.
Estelle, who had been listening for quite some time, said:
"Why don't I go? A few years ago, I successfully stole a Profane Flame Seed. I'm now a Sequence 6-Fire Thief."
"Besides, my old family is in the imperial capital too. I should be able to do more if I go."
After hearing Estelle's words, the elders considered it for a moment before saying:
"Then you should go, Estelle. But to be on the safe side, take a few more people with you."
"We should also check the storeroom to see whether we can find any sealed artifacts that might be useful to you."
With that settled, they did not linger. After all, they still had to search the storeroom for anything useful for this trip.
Once the elders had left, Duke Renka did not stay much longer either. He still had to decide who would be suitable to accompany them.
Soon, only the three of them remained in the vast hall.
Eros was quite excited that his family had agreed to let him venture into the outside world to gain experience.
But when he saw Estelle standing silently beside him, the excitement gradually faded from his face.
He remembered that Estelle had not visited her family in a very, very long time.
As far as he could remember, Estelle had never traveled far from home. That meant she had not visited her family for at least nineteen years.
If he counted from the day she married into this family, it had been almost twenty-one years.
She married into the family at thirteen, I think, then gave birth to Wendy at fourteen. Huh. Dad really had no qualms about that.
Then she had me at sixteen, and here we are now. To put it a little dramatically, could I say I watched Estelle grow up?
After all, I was born with my memories intact... Why does that sound so strange? Watching my own mother grow up??? That's ridiculous. I'm not thinking about this anymore.
Eros shook his head to clear the jumble of thoughts from his mind, then softly addressed Estelle, who seemed lost in thought:
"Do you miss Grandmother?"
From what Eros remembered, Estelle had been closer to his grandmother.
As for his grandfather, what Estelle had felt toward him back then had mostly been awe and fear.
During the period just after she married into the family, she had even held some resentment toward her father.
After all, her father had married her off merely in exchange for some resources.
She had not even known what her future husband looked like when she got married.
Estelle said softly, "Actually, I miss them both."
Eros paused briefly, then understood. Indeed, after so much time, even the deepest resentment should have faded.
Besides, Estelle had said that she had only resented her father during the first year after her marriage.
Later, she discovered that everyone here treated her very well, and she gradually came to accept this place. There was no resentment left to speak of.
Wendy hugged Estelle from beside her, then rested her head on her shoulder, her eyes curving with a smile.
"I've never met Grandfather or Grandmother."
With her two children interrupting her thoughts, Estelle lost her earlier gloom, though her voice held a hint of regret:
"The pendant on my old necklace had portraits of your grandfather and grandmother inside it. Unfortunately, that necklace went missing."
Wendy's expression froze, and her gaze began to dart about.
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