Chapter 38
Caius smiled and shook his head when he saw his niece's shy expression. Day after day, she proved to him just how little she resembled her father. Not even by a hair. But she was the very image of her mother—his beloved half-sister.
He still remembered the day their father had told him and his late mother that he had made a mistake on the battlefield. He had returned with a little girl with midnight-blue hair clinging to his leg, peeking at them with timid sea-green eyes.
Caius had been heartbroken to learn that the man he admired had betrayed his mother—but not nearly as heartbroken as she was. She had cried until she had no tears left.
Arguments had erupted. His mother wept while his father apologized again and again, trying to comfort her. Caius remembered watching his little sister squirm awkwardly, unsure of what to do. When she saw their mother so distressed, she apologized too—even though she had no idea what she had done wrong—and shyly held out a handkerchief, tears glistening in her own eyes.
His mother softened then and took the little girl into her arms.
She accepted her.
And Caius did too. He loved her.
Years later, his mother had never truly forgiven their father's infidelity—but they had lived happily nonetheless.
His niece was the exact copy of his sister. But Caius had never expected her to be this different… to give them a vein of Aelyra Hearts.
Caius held his head in his hands and exhaled, fighting back tears.
"You're giving us a mine… You're giving us a mine," Caius repeated, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes.
A stunned silence followed.
"WHAT?!" everyone shouted at once.
Silas and Isaline rushed to their father's side and quickly read what Vidalia had written. Isaline brought her hands to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears as she turned toward her cousin.
"Are you serious?" Silas asked, his voice breaking.
Vidalia nodded, nervously twisting her hands together. Behind her, Terry was scribbling furiously, hardly believing what he was hearing.
"You don't like my gift?" Vidalia asked in a small voice.
Instead of answering, Isaline threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. Vidalia let out a nervous laugh as she rubbed her back.
What was he supposed to do with such a niece?
"Is there any way to make you change your mind?" Caius asked.
"No, Uncle. Thank you for the life you've given me. Without you, I would be nothing. It's only fair that you receive it—you're the one who bought them for me," Vidalia explained, her cheeks flushed. "Besides… it's not like I only have one. I still have four others."
She laughed softly, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Isaline only cried harder as she clung to her cousin.
"Calm down, Isa," Vidalia murmured, rubbing her back.
"You really are an angel fallen from the sky," the chestnut-haired girl hiccupped through her tears. "How can someone be so perfect? Thank you so much, cousin."
"Oh, it's nothing," Vidalia replied with a confident smile. "It's nothing compared to what you've given me."
"No, she's right. Thank you, my niece," Caius said with a warm smile. "You really are just like my sister. There's no denying it."
He chuckled, a tear glistening at the corner of his eye.
Royal Gazette — Special Edition
Revelation in the Northern Territories: A Child, A Light, A Promise
By Terrence Elwin, Independent Royal Correspondent
Sometimes, in the most remote corners of the kingdom, events unfold that no one could have predicted.
That morning, in a modest administrative building overlooking the long-abandoned Sullivan family mines, something stirred that did more than simply shake loose old dust—it shook hearts, opinions, and perhaps… the established order itself.
A Child and a Miracle
Rumors had begun spreading only days before. People spoke of an unexpected mining discovery, of magical stones with rare intensity, of an abandoned domain reborn beneath the footsteps of a silent child.
I went there out of curiosity.
I returned… shaken.
At the center of this revelation stands Miss Vidalia Reinhardt, the legal young heiress of the former Sullivan mines, now attached to the Reinhardt branch of that discreet yet respected noble lineage.
I saw with my own eyes the damp cavern walls illuminated by gemstones emitting a strange, almost living glow. I heard the whispers of mages and experts who barely dared speak aloud, as though breaking the silence would be an insult to magic itself.
Yet more fascinating than the stones themselves… is the girl.
A Humble Heart, A Worthy Family
Veiled in quiet modesty, gentle as a mountain breeze, she speaks rarely. Yet each word she utters carries a wisdom unsettling for someone so young.
Rather than claiming honor or fortune, she chose to appoint her uncle, Viscount Caius Reinhardt, as the official steward of her holdings, declaring before witnesses that she was still too young to bear such responsibility alone.
In a gesture of generosity that brought tears even to hardened soldiers, she gifted one of the mines to her adoptive family in gratitude for their love and protection.
A nobility of spirit many adults never achieve.
The Viscount, deeply moved, publicly swore to protect and care for her until she reaches adulthood—a promise warmly received by the royal representatives present.
The Shadow of Greed
Yet the harmony was soon disrupted.
For scarcely had the official proceedings concluded when a certain Edwin Sullivan—a notable from the capital and heir to a once-prestigious name—burst in before witnesses and reporters, loudly declaring the mines belonged to him by right.
A cruel irony.
Royal archives confirm that the Sullivan family sold those lands years ago for a pitiful sum, considering them worthless and preferring immediate profit over perseverance.
It took a child—and her pure vision—to reveal what generations of powerful men had overlooked.
Today, the name Reinhardt, once thought destined for quiet obscurity, is spoken again with respect and hope.
And the name Sullivan, once synonymous with wealth, now carries a bitter scent of decadence, arrogance… and opportunism.
As for young Vidalia's future, no one can say.
But if the gods possess even a trace of justice, this child will continue to illuminate the kingdom—just as the stones she revealed now illuminate the world.
« Are you kidding me?! » a voice suddenly roared.