Spica’s Childhood: Introduction to the Family

I, Spica, am told I arrived at the Count House of Emmental as an adopted daughter in infancy.

Now seven years old, my story is this: around the time I was born, a true daughter was also born, but was abducted shortly after birth. Then, my real father consulted with my mother—after she had passed away—about how to raise me, and so it was decided that I would be taken in as an adopted daughter.

Normally such matters do not unfold so quickly, but it was settled without hesitation. My mother had once been the personal maid of my adoptive mother and had been raised as a sister; I possessed an extraordinary amount of sacred power, rare even among the minor noble houses; and I bore a striking resemblance to the child who had been taken. All of these factors made the decision inevitable.

Thus, to me, family means only the people of the Count House of Emmental.

My father, Count Mascy von Emmental, is in his mid-thirties, beginning to show a slight concern for his waistline, but still very much active in his official duties.

Mother, Lady Biore von Emmental, is a noblewoman whose eyes, as her name suggests, are a beautiful violet hue.

My elder brother, Cain Elder, is a prodigy in the study of magic, now moving between the national academy and our family estate.

My second elder brother, Alex Elder, though afflicted by the rare illness known as Monaza, which slowly steals his sight and sacred power, possesses exceptional talent in the arts—particularly in music.

My third elder brother, Fret Elder, excels in swordsmanship and loves to move his body; since childhood, he has declared he will become a knight.

This is the family I know.