Chapter 62
Blake was walking near the garden, looking for Chloe, who had gone out with Melissa.
“Blake Arus, Your Highness.”
From somewhere came a small but unmistakable voice calling him.
Turning his head, he saw a child with a solemn expression.
“You…”
The one he had not expected to encounter here was none other than Shion Demos, the protagonist of the second trial.
“Is something the matter?”
The child looked at him with concern but said nothing, instead handing over a thick, worn document, its corners crumpled, with both hands.
As Blake took it, puzzled, Shion immediately turned and walked away.
Blake’s gaze fell back onto the document, recalling the child’s rapidly shrinking figure.
The tattered pages seemed to have been desperately hidden away, filled with what appeared to be meticulously accumulated records over a long period.
Yet, despite the sheer volume, every piece of information was invaluable evidence.
Evidence so clear it could not be denied, detailing the horrific massacres carried out by the Demos family.
Blake read through the coordinates of orphanages where the test subjects were kept and the villages where researchers resided, all carefully compiled. When he turned the last page, however, it was completely blank.
From the abrupt cut-off sentence on the previous page and the small torn fragment at the top, Blake quickly realized that the final page had been hastily ripped out.
But knowing that fact didn’t reveal what had been written there. No matter how much he wanted to ask Shion what the missing content was, that stubborn-looking child would almost certainly never answer.
“Ah, let’s get started!”
At that moment, Blake’s complex emotions were interrupted by Chloe speaking across from him. She had neatly packed the cookies he had given her and a bottle of milk brought by her attendant into her yellow bag.
“Uncle.”
“Hm?”
“We’re going to win again this time, right?”
Her eyes, sparkling like stars, mirrored those of her younger brother.
“Right? You and Mom are the best in the world. So we can win this time too, can’t we?”
Blake felt his resolve, already firm, harden even further, like molten metal cooling into steel, under the unwavering trust in her gaze.
“Of course, Chloe!”
The fire in his niece’s eyes, glowing like a torch in the night sky, would never be extinguished.
Whatever it took, he would protect it.
He would ensure it never faded, keeping it safe himself.
Blake thumped his chest with his fist and shouted boldly,
“This time, we’ll win faster and more surely than ever before!”
“Wow! Uncle, you’re the best!”
True to Blake’s declaration, the second trial ended faster and more decisively than the first.
“This is a slander! It is clearly a plot by forces seeking to harm the Demos family!”
Dylan Demos shouted, veins bulging in his neck. But
“According to the trial’s verdict, the Demos family’s succession rights will be permanently revoked. Half of the family’s current assets will also be transferred elsewhere, outside Demos territory.”
Faced with irrefutable evidence and witnesses, his claim was nothing more than absurdity.
The Demos family, who had probably tried to win the first trial to tarnish the Arus family’s reputation, fell without even executing a proper strategy.
Of course, the decisive factor was the undeniable evidence Shion had delivered.
“Damn bastards!”
As soon as the trial ended, Dylan, back in his carriage, raged uncontrollably.
“How did they figure out the location of the material storage and the identities of the researchers? Who the hell would risk their life revealing such secrets?!”
Having lost his precious lab, property, and social standing in an instant, Dylan was already beside himself.
But his fury wasn’t about those losses.
“How dare they revoke my succession rights! And permanently at that!”
Recalling the moment of the verdict, Dylan smashed the side of the carriage in frustration.
While such a punishment would be humiliating for any noble family, it was especially lethal for the Demos family.
“How are we supposed to choose the strongest successor now?!”
For generations, they had nurtured only children with the greatest vitality and finest genes.
“Damn it, they’re clearly trying to destroy the Demos family. Since we were about to become the rulers of this continent, those vile bastards conspired…”
Dylan muttered, his eyes bloodshot.
Originally, the Demos family had begun their research to maintain peace in their territory.
To create powerful successors and elevate the family.
To ensure that non-mammalian kin could live without being scorned in the continent.
But research that began with noble intentions gradually became corrupted.
No one knew exactly when it changed.
At some point, they realized that cruelty was a necessary trait for powerful abilities.
They therefore paired with the most cruel serpentine lineages…
And as time passed, the original purpose of the research became forgotten by all.
“The Demos family must rule this continent. My kind must be the rulers of this land.”
All that remained for them was the desire to trample others and rise above.
Dylan Demos, consumed by greed and thirst for power, licked his lips as he remembered a predecessor who had once been called a masterpiece but was ultimately discarded.
“Such a waste.”
Shion Demos could have surpassed him.
Why did the masterpieces always get stolen by the Continental Council?
Surely, it was because the vile beasts had conspired. Dylan muttered again, convinced of this.
“We shouldn’t have let that terrible girl into our house. Or those disgusting family members…”
“You can’t help it.”
Unlike her furious, irrational husband, Abigail remained coldly composed as always.
“What’s done is done. Regretting it now won’t change anything.”
Her rational, almost chillingly calm demeanor pierced Dylan’s glossy eyes.
“Can’t help it?”
“Yes. It’s already over. Instead of sulking, it’s better to plan the next step.”
“Next step? Do we even have one?!”
“Of course we do. The inefficient successors are gone, so we can bring in a stronger child.”
Confirmed to have been abused, Shion would be taken into protective custody and raised by the Liander family.
The Grevis family, whose reputation had suffered from the first trial, had pretended to concede and agreed to Liander’s request.
“You don’t actually think today’s events happened just because of that tiny Liander girl, do you?”
Abigail whispered to Dylan, whose gaze was wavering.
“Shion was never meant to be a successor. Even attempting to save that half-breed, and failing to prevent her imprisonment, proves she was never suitable.”
“But where would we find another child with such strong abilities…”
“If none exist, we’ll find one.”
Abigail smiled faintly, alluringly.
“Or… we can create one.”
Click. Shion opened the familiar door and calmly scanned his room.
The trial’s decision required that the child visit their original room before moving to the isolation facility, to retrieve personal belongings as a courtesy.
But, ironically, Shion found nothing to take from his room.
For him, the room had always been a space to curl up and contemplate death.
In truth, the dark room had been more like a cell with a bed than a proper bedroom.
Just as Shion was about to turn and leave, his sky-blue eyes caught the figure standing in the doorway.
