In this short exchange, Yurina began to hope that Lydia would tell the whole story of Karion, neither adding nor subtracting. So she relaxed and smiled kindly.

“Now I’m interested in your past. How did you even meet him?”

“We met at the orphanage seven years ago. Actually, not me, but my father found him. That winter was terribly cold. Do you remember this time?”

“Oh yes, I remember. It was so cold that I shivered even in my blanket in front of the fireplace.”

Flustered by Yurina’s response, Lydia spoke in a serious tone.

“Hearing that children were freezing to death in a certain orphanage, my father went there to help. Oh, come to think of it, I heard that the young lady also went there.”

“Oh yeah. I also went there with my mother.”

At first, she started to take care of the children of the orphanage where Reynard was located, but the Marchioness, who felt sorry for the children who were shivering helplessly in the cold, went around the orphanage more earnestly and brought there things.

“Oh, the Marchioness. But I envy you. My mother died when I was eight, so I don’t have many memories.”

Lydia, who smiled bitterly, quickly caught the change in Yurina’s expression and brushed it off.

“I didn’t mean to tell you such a depressing story. Anyway, my father ended up in this orphanage and accidentally found Kai there. At first, he was interested because of his red eyes, but when it was revealed that Kai was gifted with magic, he immediately decided to take him for sponsoring.”

There was something strange about Lydia’s words.

‘You said he was interested in red eyes because they were unusual?’

Obviously, Marquis De Flon knew about the sign of the Blessed when he met Yurina and Reynard 7 years ago. But why does Lydia talk about this as if he didn’t know, and was only interested in Karion’s unusual eyes?

“I was happy that I had a friend, but Kai seemed to be very unfamiliar with me. As you know from the lady’s relationship with Lord Reynard, he grew up with people looking at him badly because of his red eyes. That’s why he doesn’t trust people and runs away when someone approaches.”

Karion did the same as Reynard. Yurina nodded as she remembered 12 year old Ray who looked like a frightened kitten.

“I just approached him because I wanted to play together, but he ran and hid in his room. And he didn’t even eat what was offered. I thought about how we can get to know each other? But then rumors spread in the manor.”

“What are the rumors?”

“That red eyes are a symbol of the goddess, and that all children born with this color of eyes are loved of the goddess and have a great talent for magic. I heard that the lady herself found it in her old book.”

Whatever it was, something was strange.

“And how did the Marquis react?”

“My father wasn’t particularly excited about this. Goddess favorite or not, Kai’s talent has always been undeniable.”

“No, that’s not the point, but didn’t the Marquis know anything about the Blessed?”

Lydia tilted her head slightly to one side, as if wondering.

“It can’t be. The lady discovered it first.”

Yurina digested Lydia’s words and tapped her fingers on the table.

‘And why did you hide Karion all this time?’

Aside from hiding Karion’s existence from the outside world, why didn’t he even tell Lydia, her family, about the Blessed? It wasn’t just that he didn’t say anything, but he seemed to be deliberately pretending not to know the meaning of red eyes.

‘Why did he have to hide that he had heard a lot about the Blessed?’

There was no end in sight to these questions. Yurina’s eyes grew dim, and she felt stuffy.

“Lady Carthia?”

Hearing Lydia’s anxious tone, Yurina came to her senses and smiled again.

“So much has changed since the news of the Blessed?”

“Yes. People’s eyes change a little. And Kai slowly opened his heart to everyone, knowing that everything was fine with the color of his eyes. It wasn’t easy to get close. But spending with him together day after day, we became best friends.”

Lydia reached out and took Yurina’s hand. When Yurina tried to withdraw her hand, Lydia gripped it a little tighter.

“Have I been too informal to the young lady?”

I see you know that. But she couldn’t bring herself to say that, so Yurina smiled at her while avoiding her answer.

“I know this is rude, but I was glad to see Lady Carthia, and other than that, I am very grateful. So it’s hard for me to control my emotions. After all, Lady Carthia is the same benefactor who paved the way to Kai’s heart. If not for the material that the lady found, Kai would have continued to kick and hide.”

“But I did it for myself.”

“I know. But still, I just wanted to thank you. I’ve been waiting for years to tell you this.”