"Would you like me to tell you more about the sacred relics?"
At the question she was suddenly asked, Rosetta looked up.
"What?"
"You seem very curious about them. Am I wrong?"
Her silver eyes glinted spherically.
With great interest.
Rosetta stared back at the other woman quietly, then she nodded.
"Yes, I'm very curious. So, tell me anything you know about them."
The confident answer made Blanca smile.
Soon, the tip of one long fingernail tapped at a teacup.
As though to ring an opening bell.
"As you may know, the origin of the sacred relics is rooted in the legend of the Empire's founding. As the humans continuously waged wars against each other, God became angry, and he appointed one man to end the bloodshed—this was the First Emperor of the Kham Empire."
Blanca explained straightforwardly, then continued.
"So, as he was ordered, the emperor recruited three men, who were the progenitors of the Empire's three ducal households. The efforts of these four men led to the end of all the wars, and with the world now enveloped in peace, God was satisfied and thus gifted each man a sacred relic."
"You've got a knack for summarizing."
"I'm pretty good, I admit."
At Rosetta's brief praise, Blanca shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of tea to wet her lips.
Clatter.
When she set the teacup back down on the table, the sound it made rang across the room.
"So, what are the holy relics?"
"You seem to be in a hurry. But don't worry, I'll make sure to tell you everything I know before we part ways today."
"..."
Rosetta wordlessly urged Blanca to continue.
"Firstly, each sacred relic cannot be used until after an individual has reached adulthood. And besides that, the sacred relic of bloodline will respond to only one person in each generation."
"What's the criteria for making the sacred relics respond to you?"
"I don't have the answer to that. No one knows quite yet. It's just that, I heard…"
People also don't know whether it's a blessed reward or divine punishment.
Hearing the whisper that followed, Rosetta's eyebrows were raised.
'Unsure whether it's a reward or punishment?'
Considering the grand connotation that's appended on a sacred relic, wasn't its reception a bit too polar?
Recalling some vague memories, Rosetta spoke up.
"The sacred relic of House Carter is a dragon stone, right?"
"That's right. It's a stone that can make it possible for one to meet a dragon and gain wisdom from this encounter. It's the perfect gift for a mage as they are in search of wisdom. However…"
There's a catch.
Looking at something at the side for a moment, Blanca nodded to herself and soon continued.
"It's up to the individual to find the dragon. If they take the dragon stone and traverse towards the western plain, the path to the dragon supposedly opens… But this is all that's known. As far as I know, no one in the previous generation had been chosen by the dragon stone."
"So, there's also no guarantee that the sacred relics will react to someone in each generation."
"Yes, and the sacred relics can only be used by those who have been chosen. Well, allegedly."
One person per generation, but there's no guarantee that it would react…
As Rosetta looked back, she recalled that Leo in the original novel could not use the dragon stone.
It seemed like he hadn't been chosen by the dragon stone itself.
At its core, it was a gift bestowed by God due to his love for humans.
It wouldn't have made sense if someone like him, literal human trash, were to have been chosen.
But in this generation, no matter what happened, there had to be one Carter that's chosen by the dragon stone.
Cassion Carter.
After he had practically died and come back to life, he would need to be chosen by the dragon stone to cement his stake on the duke's seat.
It was one of the rules that House Carter had established.
For one to be named the household's successor, there were certain conditions for them to fulfill.
First, obtain approval from the three households.
Second, take the dragon stone and walk down the path to the dragon.
Third, if there was another candidate for the position of successor, the individual must get their support.
If the third condition couldn't be met, then…
'It'll be a one-on-one fight to the end.'
And, naturally, the thwarted candidate would be disqualified.
Simply speaking, the fate of those two would be switched.
'Well, that's not important for now.'
Rosetta looked at Blanca, determined to keep the conversation going.
"What about House Freesia's sacred relic?"
"House Freesia's sacred relic is the mirror of revelations, which gives the chosen person a glimpse into the future."
…A mirror that could let someone see into the future.
"Each one seems truly grandiose."
With the information that's available to her, she already knew the names.
The dragon stone, the mirror of revelations.
According to Rosetta's memories, it's to the point that people would shed tears just hearing about them.
Really, every time she'd hear them being mentioned, she couldn't help but feel that these relics were so grand.
"Because they are gifts from God."
"There aren't any additional conditions for House Freesia's sacred relic?"
"No, there aren't any. However, none from the previous generation of House Freesia were chosen either. The one before that as well, and the one before that."
The mirror had chosen no one for three whole generations.
What heinous probability these sacred relics had.
At this point, the condition of 'one person per generation' was just absurd.
"Have they eschewed other special conditions because the probability of them being chosen has gotten that low?"
"That's one possibility. Oh, but I hear that one from this generation's Freesia seems a little promising."
The moment Blanca mentioned this, only one name flashed across Rosetta's mind.
"Is it Daniel Freesia?"
"Oh my. How did you know?"
At Blanca's expression of genuine surprise, Rosetta only shook her head with furrowed brows.
Daniel. Again.
He was a side character who rarely ever appeared in the novel. But now, he might just be the next master of House Freesia's sacred relic.
No matter how much she thought about it, it's just so strange.
'Urien…'
As she recalled Daniel's face, she couldn't help but be reminded of Urien's name as well.
Rosetta's thoughts were going astray once more. She struggled to be more focused.
This, too, was not a matter for her to think about right now.
"Just a guess."
No matter who'd hear it, it's obvious that she was brushing the matter aside with that answer.
Blanca didn't say anything for a moment. Her straight lips were tugged up into a slow arc.
"Our dear Ducal Lady, too, has a knack for guessing. Is it because you read a lot of books?"
"…House Valentine's sacred relic is the 'book of aspirations', right?"
Yet again, Rosetta casually ignored Blanca's words and went straight to the point.
And in turn, Blanca answered with a clear answer, though still with a teasing tone.
"That's right. It's a book that allows one person to make a wish."
"Besides needing to be of age, what are its other conditions?"
In her urgency, her voice grew a little stiff as she asked.
She was nervous for no reason. Perhaps because of the nagging suspicion that this was related to her transmigrations.
"It…"
Blanca trailed off for a moment, which felt like an eternity.
"It also has to be found personally, like the path to the dragon."
"…Hah."
A scoff left her lips by itself.
Nothing's easy.
"It's not known what the book looks like. Allegedly, its appearance changes once it's used, and it's said that the chosen individual must be the one to find it. No, maybe they'll be chosen after finding it?"
"You were so eager to explain, but isn't your explanation just all too vague?"
"Revealing the path to wisdom is good and all, but by its very nature, the path to a wish will still be a well-kept secret."
Blanca smiled.
Feeling deflated, Rosetta leaned back against her seat.
Right. Just as Blanca said, wishes would naturally be hidden.
A secret that's bound to be concealed to all.
She could understand why the explanation for the book of aspirations to be more ambiguous compared to the dragon stone or the mirror of revelations.
The previous two relics would have been recorded in detail by the previous chosen individuals.
The one who gained wisdom from a dragon.
The one who saw the future through the mirror.
How grandiose, such titles.
On the other hand.
Anyone who had their greatest wish fulfilled would rather be more reticent.
Saying what kind of wish you made was comparable to allowing others to read your hidden diary.
Perhaps some had left records, while more would have not.
"But don't be too sad. One particular thing is certain."
Blanca spoke as though she was soothing a child. Rosetta glared sharply at the woman.
However, after a while.
"What's certain?"
The bait that Blanca threw was much too tantalizing to ignore. Rosetta couldn't help but straighten her posture.
Before answering the question, Blanca spun her pipe slightly in a small circle.
"After the person who made a wish has passed away, the book always returns to House Valentine's secret library."
"It returns to the… secret library?"
"Oh? It seems like you didn't know. Indeed, House Valentine's secret library would be revealed only to its direct descendants after they've come of age."
It was just as Blanca said. It's her first time hearing this.
It hadn't been mentioned in the original novel, and of course, it's not in Rosetta's memories since she hadn't come of age yet.
For House Valentine, known for being a household of knights and physical prowess, to have a secret library?
What a terrible combination.
Still, on the contrary, there's no better household to have the book than Valentine.
It's God's gift to the first duke, so it wouldn't be strange for it to be kept secret.
However, there's one surprising thing.
"How do you know that?"
"It's a trade secret."
Blanca chuckled playfully as she bobbed her foot up and down.
Rosetta was just thinking out loud anyway, and she wasn't really asking out of curiosity, so she didn't care about it anymore.
Soon, Rosetta's entire focus was only at the 'secret library'.
To be more precise, at the 'secret library' that was holding the sacred relic.
With the blood of Valentine running through one's veins.
One individual in each generation.
A book that could grant only one wish.
Perhaps clues towards her transmigrations could be found there.
The secret behind this unwanted immortality.
Again, she heard the voice she heard in that dream.
"You know… All this is what you wanted. Rosetta."
A dreary, solemn voice.
A man and a woman, somewhere.
An entity that existed everywhere, and nowhere at all.
Perhaps, it was the very being who bestowed upon the sacred relics.
'God'.
As she recalled the book that had come from the body of the dead Rita, and the butterfly that soon followed and entered the book.
One after another.
She could not stop the chills running down her spine.
"Strange."
The thoughtful silence was interrupted by one word.
Golden eyes, which were staring blankly in the air, turned to look at the owner of the voice.
"What is?"
"Perhaps it's because I'm someone you might call a witch, but there are times when I can sense something that can't be seen by the naked eye. For example…"
Blanca trailed off.
Though her hand was immobile, the empty pipe it was holding spun round and round again.
As if it was the hand of a clock that had stopped, but was starting to move again.
Again, the woman's voice fell to a hush.
"I believe that the book will choose you, Lady Rosetta… Well, it's just a feeling, of course."
And after those words, a grin found its way on the woman's lips.
The stronger the witch's blood, the more vividly silver their eyes would be.
Facing that sharp, intense silver gaze, Rosetta said not a word as she pushed a fingernail against the pad of another finger. A sudden question arose.
'If the book chooses me…'
Would it be really choosing her 'self'?
Or, would it be choosing the original Rosetta?
If it's the latter.
If the Rosetta of the original novel had become the master of the sacred relic, then what did she wish for?
It was a futile question, but once it came to mind, it was not easy to dismiss.
Right. Just like Blanca's odd hunch.
This, too, was just strange.