It's Not Night

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Chapter 36

Ishur, one of the victorious kingdoms in the Imperial War at the time, succeeded in expanding its territory. In particular, there were many places of considerable value in the newly expanded land to the southeast. Eilderk, a well-established wool industrial zone, was one of them.

As such, it was natural for a significant number of people in power to covet the southeastern region. And things started to go awry when Airak and Avellin, who had achieved the most contributions, demanded for the possession of Eilderk.

“The one who led to victory on the battlefield was Airak, who pierced through numerous enemies and cut the enemy’s head to raise the morale of the army. It is right for the brave Airak to have it.”

“It was because of Avellin’s intelligence and strategy that Ishur was able to win the war with minimal damage. It is right to be bestowed upon the wise Aveline.”

Kyle the Second pondered. Who should he give Eilderk to? The power of the nobles who supported the two families was divided in exactly half and insisted on the same thing, so Kyle II was in trouble. Even if he pretended not to know the two families and took it from the royal family or gave it to another family, the situation would not change.

From the king’s point of view, Eilderk was gradually becoming an existence no different from a stone on the road, regardless of its actual value. Day by day, there were rumors of appeals from the ministers asking them to make a decision. The ultimatum issued by Kyle II, who was so distressed, was as follows:

[ Both families have a firm stance and have no intention of backing down, so the burden is difficult. Both have contributed greatly to Ishur’s prosperity, so how can I take one priority? I pondered and pondered for a long time in the never-ending strife. And I was finally able to come up with an answer. Now let me tell you my conclusion.

The ownership of Eilderk rests with the royal family, but the interest is divided absolutely in half between Airak and Avelin. The detailed conditions are decided by the two families by agreement, but the period is set at 10 years.

From now on, the royal family will no longer be involved in the sale or transfer of these rights to each other, and I will no longer care about it. ]

Bang, bang, bang!

Next, Kyle II locked the door and refused either of the two families who wanted an audience with him. The complaints were also sent back. Literally, ‘You do it yourself’. As the king came out, the nobles, who did not want to be like a shrimp exploding on a whale’s back, began to retreat.
When only Airak and Aveline were left,

“Listen Avellin, you’re the petty coward who hid behind the soldiers and just made fun of them! You are insulting the comrades who died on the battlefield giving their lives! If there is even a single conscience left in you, give up Eilderk immediately!”

“You foolish and ignorant Airak! It was only because of Avellin that a few soldiers were able to look forward to returning alive and reunite with their families! Don’t go overboard with that stupid notion!”

The two began to bicker more fiercely, risking their pride. Eilderk became the starting point of their fight, and it turned into a conflict between the pride of families.

‘Unfortunately, as always, Airak was often defeated by Avellin in a battle of wits.’

Reflecting on 100 years of history, Jonathan was pensive and clicked his tongue inwardly.

Clearly, Avellin, who was already in the political world for a long time and had a solid place in politics, was one step ahead of Airak. Moreover, those times were unfavorable for Airak, who had to return to the neglected northern part because the war had just ended.

In the process of reconciling Eilderk’s interests, Airak was helpless and pushed around by Avellin, losing more than half of their interests as they retreated to the north. It was best for Airak to just keep their remaining 10 percent. And returning to the north, Airak began to sharpen their sword towards Avellin.

This was the beginning of the feud between the two families.

‘After that, there were riots every 10 years. There was a time when Airak pushed them by force…’

There was a time when Avellin lost half of their granary and fled to the center because of Airak’s determination and rampage. The Duke Airak at the time remarked, ‘Even that pretty head is useless if it falls off its neck,’ and this statement was still being talked about.

As time went by, and the tendencies of the family heads changed little by little, and the degree of their hostility gradually faded away, but the sentiment accumulated between Airak and Avellin had yet to disappear. They were still fighting fiercely under the water as it was.

‘As expected, it’s a headache.’

Thinking of Airak standing on his sister’s side, Jonathan frowned unknowingly.

In fact, Airak, with its clear roots in the north, was far from politics. There wasn’t enough room to even do politics because there were so many things to be concerned about in the vast and wide northern region. However, this time they joined hands with the First Princess, Viola, and were currently creating the best synergy in the political world.

It was because Viola, who had received the second son of Airak as her husband, began to wield the power that came with him without hesitation as she made the most of Airak’s power and interests. It was like giving wings to a lion.

‘But there is not only one lion.’

Jonathan opened his eyes again with a relaxed expression. At the same time, the attendant announced that a new guest had arrived. Count Ygenn was delighted to see the person entering the room.

“Welcome, Marquis Avellin.”

Brilliant golden hair, blue eyes. The man who looked very much like Andra Avellin smiled softly and bowed his head to Jonathan.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

Ansel, who officially became Marquis Avelin this year, re-entered the capital after nearly five years.

‘Where am I?’

At some point, Andra realized that she was standing in an unknown place. She looked around slowly. Everything was unfamiliar. Room structure, furniture, objects… What was strange above all was that the room was not enough to be filled with all kinds of precious things, so gold and jewels were dazzlingly studded all over the place.

The Emperor’s room would not have been this glamorous.

Andra stared at the lavish luxury in the room, and noticed that the engravings on the furniture were an ancient style. Just in case, Andra looked at the other furniture. All were ancient designs. It was something that could only be seen in the late ancient times.

Also, her clothes look weird. She looked down at the clothes she was wearing.

‘How exhibiotinist.’

It was quite a revealing outfit. It was a tight-fitting dress, but the chest and back were cut out. There was a slit along her legs on both sides as well, revealing her skin whenever she moved. The fabric was made of thin silk or chiffon, and it was light and easy to flutter, but instead, it clearly reflected her body.

All kinds of gold ornaments and jewels were attached to her clothes, and whenever Andra moved, it sparkled and moved with splendor. But surprisingly, it didn’t feel heavy or harsh at all. It was truly a miracle for the person wearing the clothes.

‘What else is this?’

Besides that, her arms, legs, neck, ears… It was full of colorful and precious ornaments. Andra looked at the things on her body a little shakily. As she was doing this, she couldn’t shake the thought that she had become some kind of jewelry holder. By Andra’s standards, the current attire was just far too much.

As an Avellin of the East, she had lived her life without lacking anything, and she would continue to live a prosperous life in the future. However, she had never seen herself wear so much jewelry on her body. Of course, given the wealth of her family, there’s nothing she couldn’t make possible, but Andra didn’t like this kind of attire in the first place.

‘I am not a doll.’

Of course, there will be people who like to decorate themselves with glamor. However, for Andra, wearing clothes like this was not only annoying or bothersome, but terribly uncomfortable.

With her waist tightened, her face powdered, her feet strapped with high heels, and her body draped with heavy jewelry—it may look good on the surface, but she had to endure great inconvenience whenever she moved.

So as she went out to social gatherings, Andra was always dressed minimally. The jewelry, which she received as gifts, overflowed her jewelry box, but she did not show off and embellished herself head to toe. Even without that, everyone knew who Andra Avellin was.

‘More than that, where is this place?’

Andra looked around again. She noticed that everything in her room was only done in ancient style, but she couldn’t tell exactly where this was. She remembered she was definitely looking at the writing on the altar, but nothing after that… A very bright light seemed to hit her…

‘I can’t even see Dustin Airak.’

Andra found a mirror near her and she went in front of it. She was dressed in an unfamiliar outfit and she wanted to see herself. Then she saw herself and was shocked.

“Is this me?”

Andra, bewildered, looked at the mirror and ran her hand over her face. Then she saw two hands groping her face in the mirror. Andra groaned and shook her hand. Even that disgusting expression on her face was reflected in the mirror.

‘What happened?’

Strangely, the woman reflected in the mirror was not Andra. To be precise, it wasn’t Andra’s face.

Andra’s bright blonde hair had vanished, leaving only a white hair. Besides, the color of her eyes wasn’t blue either. She had eyes that everyone complimented saying that it resembled a clear, beautiful sky, but now, her eyes shimmered in gold.

Andra looked at her face in disbelief as she looked at the mirror thoroughly. She felt a sense of unfamiliarity as she saw someone else’s face in her reflection instead of the one she had seen all her life. Fortunately, she looked closely and she wasn’t a different person at all.

The woman in the mirror looked similar to Andra. Andra seemed to resemble this woman if her hair was white and her eyes golden. Perhaps because of this, Andra looked in the mirror for a long time. She couldn’t take her eyes off her face.

‘I didn’t possess someone else’s body, did I? I hope not.’

Andra raised her hand and, without hesitation, pinched her arm tightly. She pinched it so hard that it hurt. Her pain told her that this was not a dream. That’s crazy, really. Andra glanced at her reddened skin once, then lowered her hand.

“Who is this girl…?”

How did she come into the body of such a woman? Is it because of the light that engulfed her in the end? Andra sighed and resigned herself to this situation.

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