CHAPTER 52………
“Linaria. You know it’s unusual for nobles to marry for love, right?”
“Yes. That’s why I heard my parents, and even the Duke and Duchess of Brimstone, were so famous. Not only was it a love marriage, but they also had an exceptionally good relationship as a couple.”
Of course, the Emperor and Empress were also known for their closeness, but their marriage had begun as a political one.
Marriage for the sake of the family’s benefit—
That was the common way of thinking.
“Noah’s parents also had a political marriage. But when Noah was born small and frail, and even though he inherited a divine beast, he couldn’t properly wield its power… they must not have been satisfied with him.”
“……”
“Because of that, they fought often, and Noah came to believe it was all his fault.”
Auguste gave a bitter smile.
“I’ve heard that fire is particularly difficult to control. Wasn’t it just because of that?”
“You’re right. Compared to other powers, fire is much harder to handle. But even taking that into account, Noah was weak.”
Suddenly, a memory of a childhood conversation with Noah came to Auguste’s mind.
“I’m weak… a useless child who only disappoints our parents. That must be why our family is like this, right?”
“Noah. It isn’t your fault.”
“Auguste. You have loving parents, and you even have the qualifications of an heir who can freely command a divine beast.”
“……”
“That’s why you’ll never be able to understand me.”
Not long after that conversation—
“Noah’s parents, the Duke and Duchess of Ignas, died because they failed to control their divine beast’s power properly.”
A head of a house who bore a great divine beast had lost their life because they couldn’t master its power.
Not only that—the Ignas cadet branches who were present were also consumed by the blaze and perished along with them.
It was a scandal that dishonored every noble family who wielded Ignas’s divine power.
Nothing good could come of letting such an incident be known. Publicly, it was dismissed vaguely as “an unfortunate accident.”
Except for a very few, no one knew the true circumstances.
“From that day on, Noah closed off his heart.”
It had already been seven years since then.
At the time, all Auguste could say was, “It’s not your fault.”
If only he had been more mature back then—maybe he could have offered comfort that truly reached Noah’s heart.
That regret still lingered.
“To be honest, even if you tried introducing him to a new friend, I doubt Duke Ignas would come out.”
“Really?”
Auguste looked dejected.
Having his effort denied like that, it was only natural he felt deflated.
“But even so, I think you’re a good friend to the Duke.”
Auguste’s eyes widened as though he hadn’t expected such words from Linaria.
“A friend who truly worries for you in hard times—that alone can be a great source of strength.”
“……”
“Of course, I’m speaking from my own experience. But maybe it’s the same for Duke Ignas too.”
“Linaria, you really are…”
His chest tightened, deeply moved, and Auguste was about to say something more—
Screeeech—
Cutlery scraped noisily against a plate.
Everyone’s attention turned naturally toward the sound.
“My mistake.”
The culprit was Kaas.
But for someone claiming it was a mistake, his attitude was far too nonchalant.
Auguste thought to himself:
That was definitely not an accident.
“For Ignas!”
The hall of the Ignas dukedom.
Nobles clinked their champagne glasses together.
At present, the Ignas house was hosting its great Concord Gathering.
The gathering was an occasion for noble families to mingle and maintain ties.
It was a representative event where all the families who shared the same divine power gathered around the duke’s household.
“Unlike Ober’s gatherings, which stopped after Father took to his sickbed…”
Ignas, however, seemed to continue holding them even while Noah remained in seclusion.
“Kaas, do I look out of place?”
“No, you look pretty.”
“…I was asking if I looked out of place, not whether I looked pretty.”
Once again, Linaria was dressed as a maid.
‘I really didn’t want to do this again…’
If Auguste hadn’t begged her so desperately, she never would have thought of sneaking into the Ignas estate a second time.
“Noah is looking for Anna. You’re really not going to go? He’s never expressed his wishes this openly before.”
“……”
“Hm? Linaria? I also want to confirm if the gift I sent Noah was properly delivered.”
“You could just do that yourself.”
“The truth is, Noah hasn’t shown me his face in quite a while. Even when we talk, it’s only a few words exchanged through a door. I don’t think Noah wants me to see him.”
“…You owe me for this, Brother.”
“Thank you, my beloved sister. I’ll never forget this debt for as long as I live.”
“……”
“Oh, right. While you’re at it, could you pass along this message too?”
“You’ll owe me two favors, then.”
“Haha! You really did inherit Brimstone blood. Just like our father—always keeping precise accounts!”
‘Since I still don’t know enough about Duke Ignas, I’ll consider this a chance to gather information to win him over, while pretending to grant my brother’s request.’
This debt, she intended to make him repay dearly.
Luckily, few had seen her face when she disguised herself as a maid the first time.
And today’s event—the Ignas Concord Gathering—also worked to her advantage.
With so many guests coming and going, the servants were busy. It wasn’t hard to blend in as one of them without drawing notice.
‘The Duke should be in his chambers. I’ll just have a quick word with him and leave.’
As she walked down the corridor with Kaas, Linaria suddenly stopped.
What caught her eyes was a frame at least twice the height of an average man.
Inside it was a painting of Ignas’s divine beast—the crimson bird.
Linaria lifted her gaze to take it in.
The fiery divine beast in the form of a bird.
Humans could neither see nor sense divine beasts, but they received their blessings.
Like nature itself, divine beasts were said to always exist in this world, watching over it, and loving mankind.
People revered them.
And commoners revered nobles who could wield their power.
‘That’s why people believe only one chosen by the divine beast of light can ever be Emperor.’
They believed that if someone not chosen by the divine beast of light took the throne, the world would be swallowed by darkness.
True or not, it was certainly a story that struck fear.
‘Just as no one can become Duke of Ober without a contract with the divine beast of darkness.’
Linaria pulled her gaze away from the powerful painting and was about to ascend the stairs to meet Noah when—
“That’s why you’re nothing more than an Ignas.”
A shrill but cruel voice of a child came from above.
When Linaria lifted her head, she saw a group of children, about eight years old, huddled together.
‘Looks like they slipped away since the adults’ gathering was boring… but this doesn’t look good.’
“The Ober head might be useless, but the one most unworthy of the Five Dukedoms is Ignas.”
She couldn’t intervene—drawing attention was dangerous. She had to remember she was only a maid right now.
“N-no, that’s not true…”
“If the head of house is so small-minded, no wonder Ignas’s power is so weak! Of course it’s true!”
The head of a house could wield a divine beast’s power the strongest.
That meant, conversely, if the head was weak, the whole house suffered.
There weren’t many such cases, but it wasn’t completely untrue.
Still, hearing a mob of children bullying one child—it only felt cowardly.
“Say it! Say, ‘Ignas is stupid! Leviathan is the best!’”
“B-but… they said we mustn’t call that name here.”
“Why not?”
“The adults said—”
“Ignas is stupid! Ignas is stupid!”
Though this was Ignas’s gathering, it seemed only one child here bore the blessing of fire.
If an Ignas-born child married into another house, they could still bring their child to the gathering.
The others were probably children who had inherited their non-Ignas parent’s divine beast power.
The taunts rang in the ears of the Ignas child, who shrank back.
“My mother told me! Your families are so ashamed of your pathetic duke that they hardly attend the gatherings anymore, right?”
“……”
“Meanwhile, I can proudly shout Leviathan’s name, but you’re too embarrassed to shout Ignas’s. Isn’t that hilarious?”
The children jeered and laughed.
“You can’t even beat a low noble, and yet you call yourselves aristocrats? Oh well, it doesn’t matter—Ignas could never beat Leviathan anyway.”
Saying so, one boy used his divine beast’s power.
Ssshh—
Water poured down like a waterfall from thin air.
The bullied child was instantly drenched.
The others burst into laughter.
“Ignas could never beat Leviathan! Idiot! Moron! Halfwit!”
The ringleader poked the Ignas child’s forehead again and again.
Terrified, the boy stumbled back.
“S-stop it…”
“What? Did I say anything wrong?”
The problem was—behind him was the staircase.
It was steep. A wrong fall could snap his neck.
“Ah—ah…!”
The boy lost his balance and began to topple backward.
Linaria, waiting below for the children to finish so she could slip past, didn’t hesitate. She leapt up the stairs.
She caught the falling child in her arms.
‘Got him.’
She tried to steady herself—
But the floor was slippery. The earlier water conjured by the ringleader had left it slick.
With the child’s weight added, Linaria’s body toppled helplessly backward.
She hugged the boy tightly to keep him safe as they both plunged down.
And in that instant, one thought flashed through her mind—
‘I’m going to die.’
