After staring for a long while, Brandish finally remembered where that sense of familiarity came from.
"You are… Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia?"
I'm done for. I've been exposed!!
Lucy's entire body stiffened the moment Brandish called out her identity. Her face immediately went pale.
She had originally intended to hide her status as a noble-born young lady and live among the guild members like an ordinary person.
But on her very first day, she had already been recognized.
As expected, Lucky quickly reacted after hearing the name.
"Heartfilia… isn't that the famous merchant family in the kingdom?"
"Lucy, I didn't expect you to be a young lady after all."
The Heartfilia name carried significant weight. On top of that, mages often interacted with wealthy clients, so everyone quickly understood Lucy's background.
"No, no, I'm not… ahhh!! How did this happen?! I got exposed so quickly!"
Lucy tried to deny it at first, but after noticing the gazes from Sorano and Kabe, she gave up resisting and admitted it with a defeated expression.
Seeing her miserable reaction, as if being a rich girl was some unforgivable crime, Kabe tapped the table with his knuckles in annoyance.
"Is it really that serious? It's just being a rich family's daughter."
"I'm still sitting here as the kingdom's regent prince and a territorial count."
"Eh?"
Lucy's crying suddenly stopped mid-voice.
She looked at Kabe, who had raised his chin and was staring at her with obvious disdain. Only then did she realize how exaggerated her reaction had been.
Meredy also poked her arm at this moment and sighed.
"So self-absorbed, Coward Lucy. Do you think all mages are just poor nobodies?"
"I absolutely don't! I never thought that!!"
Lucy nearly jumped up in panic as she desperately tried to explain herself, quickly denying Meredy's accusation.
That kind of misunderstanding would be disastrous for her.
At the same time, she felt intense embarrassment for her own strange sense of superiority and wanted to find a hole to hide in.
Until now, she had always thought of herself as somewhat special. But compared to Kabe, who was already a noble of high rank, her identity as a "rich girl" suddenly felt completely insignificant.
"Pfft… hahahaha! Lady Layla would be crying if she saw you like this, what a stupid, self-absorbed daughter!"
Brandish, having recovered from earlier punishment, once again burst into loud laughter at Lucy's expense.
Lucy's face turned bright red like an apple. She lowered her head, wishing she could bury it in her chest.
Fortunately, she still retained enough rationality to catch a key detail in Brandish's words.
"Wait… you know my mother?"
"I do. I met her when I was young."
Since Brandish had already exposed Lucy's identity, she had no intention of hiding anything anymore.
"Speaking of which, my mother used to work as a maid in your household. She was one of Lady Layla's most trusted attendants."
"My… household's maid?"
Lucy opened her mouth slightly, surprised by the unexpected connection.
But soon, she thought of someone.
A woman with the same green hair as Brandish, someone who had taken care of her for a period of time when she was young.
"Are you… Ms. Grammi's daughter? Brandish? My mother told me about you!"
"Tch… so you actually remembered."
Brandish clicked her tongue but admitted it.
Although her attitude was not particularly warm, Lucy still felt genuine joy at unexpectedly meeting someone connected to her mother in a foreign land.
"I remember. My mother once told me that Ms. Grammi had a daughter around my age, and we were supposed to become friends."
"But before we could meet, my mother passed away… and we lost contact with Ms. Grammi too."
As she spoke of Layla Heartfilia's death, Lucy could not fully hide the sadness in her eyes, even after all these years.
Brandish also softened slightly as she looked at the blonde girl in front of her.
"My mother is gone too. She died on her way back after visiting Lady Layla."
"What… Ms. Grammi…!"
Lucy covered her mouth in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard.
"But unlike Lady Layla, she was murdered. I will personally take revenge for that someday."
When speaking of her mother's death, Brandish's usually indifferent expression was replaced with unmistakable hatred and killing intent.
Lucy's eyes also darkened with sorrow. She did not know how to comfort her.
So instead, she quietly reached out and held Brandish's clenched fist, hoping that warmth alone could ease the pain within.
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