NIYTR 11

Chapter 11

Consent Form for Legal Adoption

“Wasn’t it the lady’s uncle who raised his voice first?”

“Your Highness.”

“…Let’s just end it here for today.”

When she called out to him once more, Damian left without another word.

“May something truly unfortunate happen to Damian Rejenoel…”

muttered the Marquis of Blossomweaver as he stared at the prince’s retreating figure with a curse.

“Uncle, please calm down…”

Usually composed, he lost his temper when it came to anything involving the Marchioness of Blossomweaver.

‘He loves Aunt so dearly—it’s only natural he’d be upset.’

He took a deep breath to steady himself and gave a sheepish smile, as if embarrassed about the outburst.

“Sorry, Edel!”

“It’s alright, Uncle. Don’t worry too much about it.”

“You’re so kind. But really, you must never end up with a man like that. You may not realize it, but Prince Damian’s character is deeply flawed. The worst I’ve ever seen.”

“…Ah.”

“He’s sharp-edged beyond reason. Tsk. No wonder he’s been through three broken engagements.”

“Do you know how those engagements ended?” she asked, curious about the reasons behind them.

“Lady Aria, Princess Jeanne, and Lady Direnne of the Marquess’ family. He was engaged to those three.”

At age six, he told Lady Aria she was ugly.

At ten, he said Princess Jeanne’s crying was unbearable.

At fifteen, he refused to dance with Lady Direnne at her debutante ball.

And so, he had been rejected three times in total”

‘…You’ll probably faint if a proposal ever comes from him.’

She couldn’t bring herself to say that she would marry Damian—let alone that she had been the one to propose it first.

“Wh-where is Aunt?”

Edelweiss deliberately changed the subject, biting her lip hard.

“Oh, look at me. Violet’s going to scold me again. She’s in her study.”

He guided her to the study and personally knocked on the door.

“Violet. Edel’s here.”

Even though there was no answer, the Marquis of Blossomweaver placed his hand on the doorknob.

“May we come in?”

“If I didn’t want you to, I would’ve yelled at you not to enter,” came the voice beyond the door.

At his lead, the door opened, and Edelweiss met a pair of eyes the same green as hers.

“It’s been a while, Edelweiss.” The Marchioness of Blossomweaver set down a document and gave her a small nod.

“Sit in front of me. Cesare, you may leave now.”

“But I’m curious why our little troublemaker is here—can’t I stay?”

“Cesare Blossomweaver.”

“…Fine, I’ll leave.”

Grumbling under her stern tone, the Marquis closed the door and left.

Seeing the two act just as they always had, Edelweiss felt a strange comfort. She carefully sat across from her aunt.

The Marchioness glanced briefly at Edelweiss’s bare right hand and sighed.

“So your ability has awakened. Where is the ring?”

Was removing the emerald ring the reason her powers had suddenly emerged?

‘Come to think of it, where did it go?’

She hadn’t even realized the emerald ring was gone.

When she returned to the past, the fall from the balcony had never happened, but the emerald ring had been missing ever since the moment she opened her eyes.

“Don’t tell me you lost it?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. The one who gave you that ring and suppressed your awakening was Iris.”

“That ring suppressed my power? Then why… why didn’t you tell me? You knew I was being mocked as a ‘Blossomweaver in name only.”

Edelweiss hadn’t meant to lash out, but the sorrow of it all welled up inside her and spilled over.

“Iris…”

She paused, trying to steady her breath as she uttered her mother’s name.

“Iris chose to give you a normal life over having you bask in honor and wealth as a Blossomweaver, even if it meant sharing her own lifespan with someone else.”

“……”

“You’re kindhearted, unlike me. If you had awakened that power, you would have lived your entire life in devotion to others.”

“……”

“That’s why I let go of my pride as the head of the Blossomweaver family and said nothing.”

“……”

“I couldn’t go against Iris’s final wish—not when she begged me to ensure that you wouldn’t live a short life like she did. Do you understand now, Edelweiss?”

So that was why her mother had insisted she never remove the emerald ring—not under any circumstance.

‘That’s why the green butterfly appeared when the emerald shattered.’

Her mother’s wish.

Edelweiss couldn’t bring herself to resent anyone.

If her ability had awakened sooner and she’d been able to create the blue rose…

She would’ve given it to her mother, to the often-ill Rosemary, and to anyone who came seeking its healing.

“Let’s go to Blueneum. There’s no way to undo a power that’s already awakened anyway.”

Blueneum

A greenhouse garden accessible only to the head of the Blossomweaver family and their heir.

“May I… really go in there?”

When she was young, she had always been stopped from entering, not allowed to set foot inside even once.

“You can now become my heir, Edelweiss. With your coming-of-age ceremony approaching, you’re at an age where your father’s permission is no longer needed to abandon the name of Stern.”

“…”

“Edelweiss Blossomweaver—will you become her?”

“…”

“I’ll ask again. Can you let go of your father?”

“…Yes.”

“I thought you’d refuse.”

She raised an eyebrow, looking genuinely surprised.

“If I truly intend to let go of my father, I have to give up the name Stern first. I’ve already done the former, so now I’ll do the latter.”

That made things easier.

Edelweiss Blossomweaver.

That meant she would no longer be his daughter—truly.

“…I see myself in you that day, Edelweiss. I truly thought you never would.”

“I thought I never could either.”

The Marchioness smiled faintly, seeming pleased with Edelweiss’s decision.

“Cesare will be happy. He’ll finally have a daughter. We’ll go to the Imperial Palace soon and complete the adoption process. You can still call me ‘Aunt,’ but do call Cesare ‘Father’ sometimes. He told me it’s the thing he wants to hear from you the most.”

“…Yes.”

The Marchioness opened a drawer and pulled out a set of documents.

It was a petition for adoption as legal child.

“You’ve had this since before?” Edelweiss looked stunned as she read the document.

Violet Blossomweaver. Cesare Oberlin Blossomweaver.

Their signatures were stamped alongside the Blossomweaver crest: a blue and white rose.

“This is…”

“If the biological parents of a minor are still alive, one parent’s consent is required for adoption. Iris gave her consent while she was still alive.”

Iris Stern.

Her mother’s name was there. The paper had been well-kept, yet the age showed faintly through.

“Let me ask one last time. Are you sure you’re okay with giving up the name Stern?”

“…”

“You won’t be treated as a Stern noble anymore. Your name will be erased from the family registry.”

“…”

“In return, you’ll be recognized as the heir of the Blossomweaver House and will succeed the title of Viscountess immediately upon coming of age. All the assets Cesare and I own will go to you alone. You’ll also inherit exclusive railway construction rights around the naval base owned by Blossomweaver, and the Resenne trading group will be yours as well.”

Exclusive railway rights around the naval base.

‘So that’s what Damian gave in exchange for the blue rose from Aunt.’

As the Grand Admiral of the navy, he had the authority to give those rights. It hadn’t come easy.

Even just looking at a portion of it, being the Blossomweaver heir gave her more than what she’d ever had as the Stern noble daughter.

“If my name is erased from the registry, then I’ll no longer be my father’s daughter.”

She would live at the Blossomweaver estate and never have to see the Duke of Stern or Rosemary again.

“…Yes. Once you’re Viscountess, Mateo will have to address you formally in public as well.”

Edelweiss made up her mind and firmly grasped the quill resting in the inkwell.