The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 381 - Revealing The Secret, Part 1

Qat felt the weight of the choice Elua had left entirely in her hands. She always had. Since they were young, the illusionist had stressed how the timing of any reveal would always be up to the Yecine member herself.

To trust others or maintain the deception that had defined her entire life - her understanding of this had built from an ocean of expectation toward something with shape. Something constantly hanging from her shoulders like a cloak. An item that could be removed if she willed.

She thought of her father’s faction, of planted agents and forged documents about her birth. Of the body double who might still be alive somewhere, possibly carrying knowledge that could reveal the lie she’d gone along with. Of the possibility that she would be reacting defensively instead of pushing through with a swing she chose to take.

"The kind of secret that could cost me everything if revealed at the wrong time. Or by the wrong people."

Qatrand finally elaborated and Leysah leaned forward with a serious expression. The woman often took everything fairly seriously, the younger teen had found. But she was a good person with good intentions and that much had become clear after fighting, camping, and dealing with Army and Guild bureaucracy alongside the curved blade wielder.

’If she was at all like this in her last life, then I understand why that El would have looked after her.’

"Maybe the question I should ask is whether you really trust me enough to let it be the right time. Because you are upset - and I’m not sure I’ve earned anything."

Challenging her commander’s state and viewpoint came easily - she was technically the older one, after all. And most importantly, she knew what it was like to be moved by emotional compulsions. Qat studied the woman’s face in the glow of firelight, seeing genuine concern rather than any sense of curiosity for her to continue.

Seeing someone who had proven herself reliable in battle and loyal in crisis, the swordswoman smiled and leaned back comfortably. With tendrils of spirit searching in all directions around them for sneaking enemies. The applications of intentional use of her shaped spiritual sense when around her wife had been useful as an early warning twice already on campaign.

"To start, I’m going to talk about my family. The Yecine Council of Elders has never included a woman. Never. I know that is not unheard of in any given private leadership structure."

The blonde born girl had done her research on both her own family histories and those of many others in the years since she returned from Guild training. By requirement of her early years, she had been overly martial focused and not entirely as well read as her cute wife.

When it came to organizations, which she felt any sufficiently sized family should be considered, there existed those like the Steelbound Tempest filled with men at the helm and those like the Shadow Whisker composed entirely of women. Smaller guilds sometimes took to that same example.

"What I’m describing is traditions and rules involving certain assumptions about inheritance - and the capability differential between genders. This is how I was raised."

Leysah nodded, not fully sure of the purpose of the provided background. It was well known what the Yecine were like to those active in these sections of the continent. But she was getting a few ideas.

"I take it your heirship depends on you maintaining those assumptions within the family. And you are unhappy about that?"

"That is a way to put it. Among other things, yes."

The fire popped and sent a flood of sparks spiraling into the darkness above them. Qat took a steadying breath and let Gravity press in around her form to anchor herself in the moment.

"My secret is that I am female."

The words made Leysah’s expression and spirit shift through ’surprise’, ’confusion’, and finally... a bit of ’distrust’ as she processed the implications. A question came to her mind immediately, though her tone suggested she already suspected the answer.

"Does Elua know?"

"She’s known since we first met as children. The only person outside of certain members of my family that did. Saw through the attempts at disguise instantly."

"Of course she did."

It was practically confirmation of something that fit her understanding of the heiress. She had no idea what the girl’s Astralism was, but that she was a spiritualist was clear. Very clear, even though the repressed memory of fear she could feel the shape of in her own spirit was *quite* murky.

"How long have you been... maintaining this deception?"

"As far back as my significant memories go. The children of my family are well sequestered in their early years. And then I turned six."

Qat’s hand moved toward her lower back where the artifact rested beneath cloth, skin and muscle. A constant reminder of the choice that had been made for her, that she didn’t have the capacity to actually refuse. And one that she’d eventually chosen to continue.

"There’s something called a masking tool that was surgically implanted here. It makes others perceive me as male... spiritually. Like a suggestive force. Most cultivators never think to question the veracity of what their spirit tells them."

"Your family decided something like that for you when you were a child?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

The woman’s voice carried a note of ’anger’, though not directed at the one before her. She’d always had strong thoughts about using other people for cultivator experimentation. Implanting something like that seemed to qualify as something that Leysah could not accept.

"My father decided it in conjunction with the plans of a certain faction of my family. The alternative was losing any chance at a leadership role from his only child at the time."

That sort of ’excuse’ didn’t hold as much water as she thought it used to. Knowing just how he thought of her efforts all these years. She now thought that everything of his choice revolved around the same thing he always would have used a daughter for.

A political tool for marriage. The key reason why he would never choose to respect her. He never respected her for any individualism from the moment she was born.

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