Chapter 8
Elruana lay face-down on the bed, rolling her eyes around. She was in a guest room inside the lord’s castle. It was where she had been guided after leaving the prison with Duke Spes. From the wallpaper to the furniture and candlesticks, everything was so luxurious that she felt hesitant to even touch them.
Even the bed she lay on smelled nice and felt cozy. She wanted to stretch out across it, but her back hurt too much to lie down, which was a shame.
“In all the futures I imagined, none of them involved my biological father suddenly showing up.”
The father she thought was dead had appeared. And he was a duke. Contrary to her initial fears, Duke Spes was treating her with considerable care.
Almost as if he genuinely cared for her.
Of course, it could all be an act. She did worry for a moment whether they might fail to find Rui, but she quickly dismissed that thought from her mind.
The name of the Duke of Spes wasn’t something to be taken lightly — he’d find Rui, one way or another. In fact, even the soldiers of the territory were out searching for Rui. She’d also heard that the knights of House Spes would join them in a few days.
“Yes. We’ll find Rui.”
Then what would happen after Rui was found?
Ideally, it would go like: “We found Rui, followed the Duke, and began living the good life.” She’d wear beautiful dresses and laugh brightly while attending parties. With hired help to handle the cleaning, laundry, and meals, she could say goodbye to the eczema on her fingers she developed at fourteen.
That would be the best-case scenario.
And the worst-case? She’d be sold off into a political marriage the moment they arrived at the estate. If that happened, she planned to run without a second thought.
Elruana had been raising Rui alone since she was fourteen and still managed to survive and live well. She was confident she could survive again, even if she fled with nothing but her bare hands. As long as Rui wasn’t used as a hostage, everything would be fine.
So, it would be okay. She just had to find Rui.
“Dad, please help me find Rui.”
Even as she tried to comfort herself by recalling Ron’s gentle face, the pain didn’t subside. The burning sensation remained.
“When is this medicine supposed to kick in?”
With the help of maids, she had changed into a dress that exposed her back — and she had screamed several times in the process. After cutting away the cloth with scissors and removing the temporary bandages, they had sprinkled her wounds with pain-relieving herbal powder.
But it wasn’t working.
She needed to heal quickly so she could go look for Rui. She worried, wondering where Rui was wandering now. What if he was crying?
With those thoughts, Elruana drifted into a deep, unconscious sleep.
***
“It’s impossible to arrive in the Aden territory by tomorrow. If you approve the use of the teleportation gate, we can send a priest within three days.”
As the elderly white-haired man in the communication orb frowned, Duke Spes’s lips twisted slightly into a smirk.
“Is that so? Then unfortunately, House Spes will no longer be able to contribute donations to the temple. The donations have been straining the duchy’s finances, you see.”
At the Duke’s veiled threat to cut off donations, the old man’s voice hastened.
“Even so—”
“What do you think the reason was that I made regular donations, High Priest?”
The high priest in the orb fell silent.
Whoever was injured, this wasn’t someone he could win a power struggle against. If they rode all night from the nearest temple…
“Tomorrow is impossible. But I will ensure the priest arrives before the twelfth bell tolls on the second day.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Duke Spes replied in a voice that sounded anything but grateful, then added:
“If a scar remains, I may feel inclined to cut our donations in half. Please send someone capable. May the Light be with you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Spes turned off the orb.
He could imagine the High Priest’s fury, but it didn’t bother him.
Currently, House Spes was the highest donor in the Empire. They consistently donated more gold than even the Fortuna royal family, so he had earned some privileges.
After removing two golden buttons from his sleeve, he turned and spotted a visibly tense Regis. Duke Spes softened his stern expression.
“Thank you for allowing me to use the royal villa’s communication facility.”
“The royal family and House Spes are eternal friends. I’ve told my attendants to prepare travel expenses in gold coins for you—take them. I’m glad to have helped.”
“It was a great help. I didn’t expect to find a blood relative of our house here. The older child has incredible talent.”
“R-Really?”
Regis swallowed hard. Duke Spes stared at the nervous man and continued:
“As soon as we find Ron Vita and the younger child, I plan to register all three under the family name. I suspect they are descendants of my uncle, who left the family long ago. I’ll have to investigate how they’ve been using the ‘Vita’ name.”
Like whispers in the night, Regis cautiously replied,
“The Vita family was wiped out around that time, weren’t they? Maybe they bought the name? The timing fits.”
“That’s possible.”
“I must have guessed correctly, then.”
Regis lifted his chin proudly.
“If we find Ron Vita, we may learn my uncle’s whereabouts.”
Duke Spes was preparing to make ‘Ron Vita’ his cousin, if necessary. Later, he could announce Ron’s death and even hold a funeral, keeping Elruana’s sword-making a secret. No one would suspect a fifteen-year-old girl of alchemy.
This conversation was preparation.
The Empress was a snake. Before she started digging, it was safer to feed her misleading clues. Regis would report everything to her anyway.
“By the way, what brings Your Highness here?”
“A vacation. Sometimes a break is good, isn’t it?”
Regis smiled, but sweat ran down his back.
He had come to Aden for two reasons. First, to uncover an old secret of the Fortuna royal family. Second, to sell Kazhar to the Bellua Kingdom.
At this point, he was glad he had lost Kazhar. If Duke Spes had seen Kazhar imprisoned, things would have gone badly.
“A vacation, huh,” Duke Spes said meaningfully.
Aden was far from an ideal vacation spot. Located on the empire’s far western edge, it required two days of carriage travel after using a teleport gate. The High Priest hadn’t lied — it was hard to reach.
It wasn’t just inconvenient. There were no attractions, no proper restaurants, and no beautiful landscapes. Its only redeeming feature was the royal villa.
As Duke Spes wondered about Regis’s true purpose, he realized something odd:
Why is there a royal villa in a place like this?
It seemed worth investigating.
“Would you speak to His Majesty on my behalf?”
Regis tried to sound casual, but Duke Spes’s previously warm gaze turned cold.
“And what would I say? That a mere prince, not even the crown prince, took the Crown Prince’s sword and broke it? Or that he flogged my niece?”
“I-It was a mistake. I didn’t know!”
Startled by the sudden menace, Regis hastily made excuses. He doubted the duke would actually harm a prince, but he was still nervous.
This was Tarudo Dwin Spes.
The monster who had once coated twelve imperial assassins in gold and displayed them in his garden. Regis regretted dismissing the attendants when the duke asked to use the communication room.
The duke’s twisted smile reappeared.
“A mistake, you say?”
“Y-Yes. A mistake.”
“A mistake…”
The golden button in the duke’s hand turned into a dagger. In a blink, it flew toward Regis’s temple, slicing through a few strands of red hair before returning to the duke’s hand like nothing had happened.
Regis stood frozen until the strands fluttered to the floor. Then he screamed.
“W-What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Who knows.”
“You dare threaten me?!”
“Threaten? It was just a button.”
The duke opened his hand, showing the golden button resting on his palm.
“The button flew by mistake. Since I’ve made a mistake too, let’s call it even regarding the injury to my niece.”
“I’m from House Fortuna! Do you think you’ll get away with this?!”
Regis shouted, but Duke Spes replied indifferently.
“Haven’t I gotten away with everything so far? I’m curious what a prince who isn’t even the Crown Prince can do to someone neither His Majesty nor the Empress could control.”
It was arrogant — but Regis had no retort.
There was truly nothing he could do against Duke Spes. Even if he complained to the Empress or his maternal family, the Marquis of Pegimul, he would likely just get scolded for provoking the duke.
While the imperial family was bound by the empire’s limits, House Spes’s influence spanned the entire continent. With vast wealth and alchemy, they had long surpassed the imperial family’s power.
After grumbling to himself, Regis decided to retreat. He was the typical coward — strong against the weak, weak against the strong, and always lenient with himself.
“I got a little worked up.”
As Regis lowered his tail, Duke Spes also softened his tone.
“You should return to the capital. I’ll be heading there after visiting my estate. We’ll meet again soon.”
“Wh-Why the capital?”
“I need to finalize registering the Vita family to our house. And I must see His Majesty.”
“R-Right. Of course.”
Regis had planned to wrap up the issue with the Crown Prince’s sword before leaving — now, he was at a loss. As he fretted, Duke Spes said:
“Now, I’ll go check on my niece. One more thing, Your Highness.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Please don’t ever, even by mistake, lay a hand on anything belonging to House Spes again. Know that I treasure even the grass that grows in our lands.”
Tossing the golden button high into the air and catching it, Duke Spes turned and left the room. Alone now, Regis trembled with rage.
“Did he just threaten me?”
He was noble royalty. But now he had been threatened — and warned.
“How dare he?!”
A cruel glint flickered in Regis’s red eyes.
