ACSIB 55

Chapter 55

Ahem.

Sanrider Grevis cleared his throat and straightened his collar before opening the final door that led to that person.

Meeting the noble one was always an honor filled with dread — but today, that fear weighed heavier than ever.

How should I even say it?

He recalled the urgent report delivered by his spy only moments ago, and his tense fingers fidgeted with his cravat when—

“Dad?”

A bright, cheerful voice echoed down the corridor.

He turned his head and saw his daughter running toward him with lively steps.

“Daddy, what are you doing in front of the portrait?”

Her face was as radiant and innocent as ever, blissfully unaware of anything.

Sanrider looked at her quietly, then said in a gentle but firm tone,

“Diana.”
“Yes?”
“What kind of heir to a noble house runs so carelessly through the halls?”

Her lips puckered into a pout, but Sanrider’s voice grew stricter.

“No playing. Go study. The final succession examination is just ahead.”
“…Yes, Father.”

Answering sullenly, Diana turned and trudged away, her displeasure showing clearly in every step.

Only when she rounded the corner and disappeared did Sanrider press a button near the portrait’s eye.

Without a sound, the old painting split open, revealing a long, shadowy corridor beyond.

He followed its twisting path for a long time until it finally opened into a vast chamber where an enormous ancient tree stood.

“……I pay my respects to the exalted one.”

At the highest point of the tree sat the master of this place. Sanrider immediately fell prostrate, his body trembling from reverence.

“Forgive me, my lord, but… I bring grave news.”

Yet the message he bore today would surely displease his master.

With fear tightening his throat, Sanrider reported that the laboratory of House Demos had been discovered by the Leanders — and that the sacrifice they had nurtured so carefully might soon stand trial before the continental court.

“In other words… we may lose Sion Demos to the Leander family.”

When his words ended, Sanrider involuntarily stepped back.

He knew too well how merciless his master’s wrath could be.

A dreadful silence filled the darkness.

Sweat soaked his hands when—

“…Not bad.”
“…Pardon?”

It was an unexpected response.

“If all goes well, this could be our chance to eliminate that troublesome half-breed once and for all.”

A shadow moved — thick, black darkness crawling down the tree’s trunk like living smoke.

Sanrider stared, transfixed by the movement.

“Sanrider Grevis.”
“M-my apologies!”

Realizing he had dared to look directly upon his master, he quickly bowed his head.

A raspy voice — ancient and brittle with centuries of life — whispered close.

“Spread rumors. And find a witness.”
“R-Rumors and a witness, my lord?”
“That Melissa Arus committed adultery — and someone who can testify to it.”

The man’s forked, venomous tongue flicked out as he hissed,

“The only reason the Leanders are protecting that half-breed is because they believe it’s their blood. But if proof were to surface that it was born of another man…”

A grotesque chuckle vibrated through the hollow chamber.

“Then the lions will turn on Chloe Arus themselves. And if war follows, all the better.”
“Y-your foresight is unparalleled, my lord! I’ll command the branch families to produce someone fit to testify!”
“A mere branch won’t suffice.”

The ancient being turned his cloudy eyes toward Sanrider, who knelt at his feet.

“The Arus family possesses an Artifact. It can’t be used permanently, but it does reveal the truth.”
“Th-then what should I…?”

“Sanrider Grevis.”

The master lowered his long, serpentine body until his chillingly beautiful sky-blue eyes met the red eyes of his loyal servant.

The moment their gazes met, Sanrider’s pupils clouded over, like fog descending.

“Sanrider… you are my faithful servant, aren’t you?”
“I would give my life for you, my lord.”
“Then for me, you could do anything, couldn’t you?”

Understanding dawned in the slave’s mind.

“Yes. I’ll fetch one of the branch members with a missing arm — or create one, if I must.”

Satisfied, the being drew back slightly.

“Have House Demos lend their support as well. When the trial comes, the dogs that fight for us will come from there…”

Cough—!

The ancient creature convulsed, dark blood spilling from his mouth.

“My lord!”
“Do not fuss. It is merely time to consume another sacrifice.”

He quieted the pale, trembling Sanrider and slowly crawled back up the giant tree, toward the heap of children’s corpses strewn across its roots.

Old, decaying scales flaked off with every movement, but he didn’t mind.

Soon, he would have a new body — stronger, more beautiful.

He just needed to rid himself of that filthy mongrel first.

Leaning lazily against the tree, he smiled, tongue flicking in delight.

Sion Demos… I’ll devour you whole.

“……So.”

In the solemn audience chamber of House Leander,
Blake Arus spoke quietly.

He had come for a family dinner with his beloved niece,
wearing clothes far too elegant for the grim atmosphere that now filled the room.

“How’s Chloe?”
“She scraped her hands and knees, and has some bruises… but no broken bones or torn ligaments.”

Ian answered in a low voice, adding,

“I’m not sure if that’s something to be grateful for.”
“What’s she doing now?”
“She’s asleep. We had to sedate her — she was too agitated.”
“I see. You did the right thing.”

After hearing the full account, Blake sighed deeply.

He looked down at the doll he had brought for his niece, hesitant, before asking again,

“What about the Demos child? Did you give him a sedative as well?”

“……”

But whereas Ian had spoken readily about Chloe, his mouth now clamped shut.
So did everyone else’s.

The strange silence made Blake’s brow harden.

“What about him? Don’t tell me… you didn’t bring him? You said you found clear signs of abuse.”
“Yes, but… the Continental Council hasn’t reached a verdict yet,”

Melissa replied hesitantly.

“If we take him without approval, we could be accused of abduction or abuse.”
“What? What kind of rotten law is that?!”

Blake’s roar echoed through the hall, and Melissa lowered her gaze, distressed.

She agreed with him, though she didn’t express it as harshly.

It was an absurd, monstrous law.

Even with undeniable evidence of abuse,
they were required to leave that poor child in the same house until the final verdict.

Melissa’s mind flashed back to the scene in the underground lab —
the child’s face, white as if bleached,
the man lying on the floor who looked horrifyingly similar to the Demos heir,
and the countless machines filling that enormous space.

She had recognized it instantly.

The House of Demos — they had done this before.

They’ve repeated the same massacre again.

All to create a stronger heir.
To glorify their bloodline.

But for what?
How could that justify sacrificing their own kind?

Melissa clenched her fists to contain her fury when—

“Even limiting them to two children didn’t stop it.”

Ian ran a hand through his hair, frustrated.

“They’ve been using branch family bloodlines as loopholes.”
“No… I don’t think they were branch members.”

Lucian, who had been quietly lost in thought until now, finally spoke.

“Given the size and complexity of that lab, it wasn’t built overnight.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“That it was designed and used over many years — and those used as test subjects were likely direct descendants, hidden away long ago.”
“You mean Demos has been selecting direct descendants since the past — just to use them as experiments?”
“I hope not… but the chances are high.”

Lucian’s rational deduction left the room in grim silence.

The cruelty of it was too appalling for words.

Everyone in the meeting seethed with anger toward House Demos —
everyone except Lucian Leander.

He was thinking about something else.

When they had confronted Dylan Demos in that horrific lab, the man had hissed,