Daisy II | Levi Ackerman

Chapter 20 - A Plea to the Stars

851

[Naomi]

Adela Smith College bloomed in contrast to the gloomy autumn weather. Reddish-brown treetops under a golden afternoon sky reigned in pristine view from the high third floor where I and my two good friends strolled, down there on the grassy courtyard the sight of dozens of students dotting the area endearing.

Perhaps that was what made the College bloom. The students. The look of absolute bliss and exhilaration in their faces, in front of them a brand new environment upon which they could build their dreams. I saw them when we, the Scouts, first arrived here as according to our new tradition to visit Calaneth every October. It warmed my heart so overwhelmingly to see them so grateful for the new belonging they felt in this large school for all. Girl or boy or whoever, rich or poor and those in the middle.

After we've completely settled in to our rooms at the Estate, Mikasa, Armin and I decided to have a soothing walk down the halls of the Residence, just clearing off some burdens of our jobs for a while.

It was an enlightening stroll that I had with Levi before, but every time I came back I always noticed something new about the lineage of my Dietrich descent. From all of these portraits of them hung in gold frames over the wall, I could easily tell which side of the family was a Dietrich. The redheaded ones.

And they always seemed to be men. Every single Dietrich from the family tree, all of which married fellow aristocratic ladies (except Ivan), were men. Not one of them was a woman. There were never any female heirs.

Just one time. There was a family portrait before Grandfather Edward and Grandmother Victoria, where there were two redheaded children, a boy and a girl. Their next family portrait did not feature the girl anymore, even though the boy had grown up to be a young lad.

Strange, I thought. Perhaps the girl died. I did read something in Aunt Celine's journal that she overheard Grandmother Victoria and Ivan speaking about a certain Elizabeth, and how she caused so much pain to her mother, the wife of Louis Dietrich; while she was being conceived. Auntie's writings narrated that the mother got sick through most of her pregnancy with Elizabeth, and it was a miracle that she was even given birth to. Her mother didn't experience the same sickness with Elizabeth's brother. She also added that my own mother, Mommy Adela, experienced the same sickness while conceiving me.

So perhaps Elizabeth was already a very sickly child when she came, and she passed a youngster. I didn't have any worries as for myself, it's mere coincidence that Mommy experienced being ill too while having me. I'm perfectly healthy as of the moment- hell, I'm a soldier. And if anybody didn't catch that, being a soldier requires a lot of immune system and body strength.

Even so, how oddly depressing it was to see that this enigmatic family was only ever graced with the presence of a female heir once in a few centuries- and she dies.

I was lifted away from my pensive trance when we finally arrived to the portrait of the man who occupied almost all of the entries in my mother's journal. The casting of the sunset glow on the frame reflected, sending me to narrow my eyes before I and my friends stood in front of it.

"So this is him, huh?" Mikasa said, scanning her eyes from the top of the painting to the bottom. She read the inscription at the lower end, carved in the gold. "Sir Ivan Cornelius Dietrich, age twenty. Fancy name for some fancy pants."

"Huh." I scoffed, a smirk on my face as I followed her eyes to the portrait. "That's about the age he was when he met my mother."

"Hmm... He looks handsome and wise, at least." Armin remarked, his face all the colors of avoidance from judgement.