Chapter 76
Katrina spoke honestly.
It was something he’d find out eventually anyway, so there was no reason to hide it.
And besides, she no longer had any reason to concern herself with Demian.
“What did you just say?”
“I want to be the one to attend the negotiations for the Wishing Stone.”
“……”
His eyes wavered, his expression betraying that he was momentarily at a loss for words.
He clearly hadn’t suspected she was after the Wishing Stone.
Of course he hadn’t.
She had never once mentioned it before—she had deliberately kept it hidden.
But now that her goal was right before her eyes, Katrina no longer cared.
“Will you let me go?”
“No. Do you even realize what that artifact is? It’s not something to hand over lightly.”
“Lightly?”
Katrina lifted one corner of her mouth at his words.
“I’m more than qualified. I’m the one who brought back the primary negotiation rights that had been stolen from us.”
If she hadn’t caught the spy, Aviche would never have been able to reclaim those rights.
“And why this sudden interest in the Wishing Stone?”
“It’s not sudden.”
Demian raised his brows at that.
“I’ve wanted it for quite a long time.”
“……”
He frowned slightly, still looking as though he couldn’t understand.
It would never occur to him that she planned to smuggle the stone away for herself.
“Does the reason matter?”
“Yes. Something like that isn’t trivial.”
“……”
“But do you really think that’s the only reason you don’t deserve it?”
“If this is about my past conduct…”
“That’s not the issue.”
Not the issue?
A short, scornful smile flickered across Demian’s lips.
“Have you ever considered that you yourself are the disgrace of Aviche?”
“……”
“That’s the real reason we don’t want you stepping into the world.”
…A disgrace to the family.
…So very Aviche of them.
Katrina let the words sink in.
Once, long ago, she had been proudly adopted as a candidate for sainthood.
But then her divine power had vanished, and she had even attempted to kill another candidate.
From that point on, her very existence had been branded as a stain.
Because of you wretches.
The smothered embers of her anger flared again.
“I will never hand over that negotiation seat to you.”
Of course. She’d expected as much.
If he were the type to just hand it over when asked, she wouldn’t have needed to come all this way.
“Katrina, just because you avoided expulsion doesn’t mean you should—”
Her blue eyes sank into a terrible, suffocating darkness.
“Don’t act as if you’re something, or someone, above me.”
Demian’s tone turned sharper than usual.
Did he hate her that much?
“It’s unbecoming.”
Katrina clenched her fists tight.
The primary negotiation rights—she vowed she would seize them no matter what.
“Belek! Is your leg all right?!”
Berta had rushed over as soon as she heard her son’s leg was broken.
Belek was sitting on the bed with bandages wrapped around his leg.
“Ah, Mother.”
“They said your leg was broken!”
The sight of her injured son made Berta’s chest feel as though it would collapse in on itself.
“Demian pushed you, didn’t he? How dare he…”
How dare he break my son’s leg?
Fresh fury surged in Berta as she saw her boy lying there hurt upon returning from the monastery.
“It isn’t broken. I just need to stay off it for a few weeks, and it’ll heal.”
“A few weeks? That must be so inconvenient. And the pain—does it hurt much?”
“It doesn’t hurt that badly. I’ll be fine.”
Strangely enough, Berta thought her son seemed more composed than before.
In the past, he would have raged, swearing he’d kill Demian on the spot.
“Yes, yes. I hope it heals quickly. Will you be able to attend the banquet?”
She had been preparing a banquet to celebrate her son’s return to Aviche.
The duke had ordered Belek to keep a low profile, but Berta could never allow her son to remain hidden from the world.
That, after all, was exactly what Demian wanted.
In the short term, perhaps it would have been safer for Belek to appear penitent. But in the long run, that was no good at all.
Demian was steadily rising higher—and if he ever inherited the dukedom…
That would be the end of them.
He had already drawn his blade of purge once against Belek.
She was determined to see her son inherit the title of duke at all costs.
“Of course. I’ll definitely attend the banquet.”
Belek embraced her, easing her worry.
“Yes, my son. I’m so proud of you. Demian—I won’t let him go unpunished.”
She held him close, muttering the words over and over.
But his reply was one she had never expected.
“That won’t be necessary, Mother.”
Berta blinked at him in confusion.
“Because soon enough, I’ll be able to drag him down myself.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Before long, that bastard will fall. Completely.”
A dark smile curled over Belek’s lips.
“And I’ll be the one to make it happen, Mother.”
Clasping her hand firmly, he whispered:
“So please, just focus on preparing the banquet.”
A grand banquet was held at Aviche.
It seemed preparations had been underway since before Belek’s return…
Indeed, it was Berta who had arranged it all.
A banquet in Belek’s honor, is it?
Katrina had thought she had no reason to attend and was planning to slip away quietly. But the duke had commanded in no uncertain terms that no one was to be absent.
Of course.
Berta must have persuaded him tirelessly.
The duke of Aviche, swayed by sentiment…
It didn’t suit him.
He was usually cold to his family. Yet, strangely enough, he did show a trace of warmth toward Berta and her children.
As for Demian, his firstborn son, he had never spared much attention.
I’ll stay just long enough and then leave.
This was the second banquet Katrina had attended since her return.
After she had brought Hildegart to the Harmony Meeting, invitations had poured in from every direction. But she had declined them all, finding such gatherings intolerable.
Naturally, people had stopped approaching her.
“Demian is dazzling again tonight.”
“Of course. He takes after Lady Arabella’s beauty.”
“I don’t know about that. To me, he looks more like the duke.”
Beside Katrina, people were bickering over such trivialities.
Sure enough, Demian was surrounded by admirers once again—together with his partner, Niel Frantze.
Now that I think of it, he was with Niel last time too.
So much had changed in three years.
Niel’s usual partner had almost always been Sylas.
Then Sylas had partnered with Katrina instead…
And Niel had ended up with Raymond.
And now, after three years, it had shifted yet again.
“Ha-ha-ha! Belek! Welcome back!”
On the other side, Belek was gathered with his cronies—rowdy young heirs just like him.
Even at a banquet…
To be mixing with the likes of them.
Katrina clicked her tongue.
Just then—
“Katrina, why the sour face?”
That voice…
Her expression darkened at once.
Lucife Orléans.
Just how long had it been since she last saw him…?
