Chapter 197
Originally, she should have scoffed at him.
But Serphin couldn’t bring herself to mock him.
Because she had a chilling premonition: if she were to say she desired the imperial throne right now, the man might go and sever the Emperor’s head without hesitation.
So she ended up asking, before she even realized it.
“Why… me?”
No matter how quickly Nicholas was gaining power, she still held the legitimacy.
She was the only legitimate daughter of the Emperor and Empress, and her maternal family was one of the only two ducal houses in the Empire. On the surface, she lacked nothing.
So why had Terencium sent the invitation to her, and not Nicholas?
As if they knew she secretly longed for something else entirely.
The man, who had been staring at her intently, suddenly said,
“Humans are truly strange.”
Just as the words struck her as oddly out of place…
He was suddenly standing right in front of her, and he asked,
“If you could have what you desire in your hands, wouldn’t that be enough?”
Before she could even be startled, Serphin met his red eyes straight on and felt completely overwhelmed by his presence.
“Answer me. What is it you desire?”
“I… I…”
She instinctively tried to steady her trembling voice and raised her head proudly, but **** it, her voice still shook.
But that wasn’t the real issue.
“Lucio Elard…”
A truth she had never confessed, not even in the Grand Temple, perhaps not even fully to herself, spilled from her lips against her will.
“Make him mine. Let him whisper love to me, and me alone.”
The man, who had been persistently demanding an answer, lowered his gaze as if lost in thought upon hearing her words.
“Love, is it.”
Serphin bit her lip in embarrassment, shocked at herself for blurting out something as petty as love instead of absolute power, wealth, or honor.
How ridiculous must she seem to this man?
“I’ll accept the request.”
At that moment, he gave a cool and firm answer.
Serphin looked at him in disbelief.
No matter how powerful this information guild was, accepting a request about possessing someone’s heart—such a ridiculous thing—was beyond comprehension.
And yet, strangely enough, Serphin had a strange feeling that the man in front of her would truly grant her wish.
As if she were under some kind of spell. Unable to resist the temptation, Serphin slowly nodded.
“Then… what will the price be?”
At that moment, the man’s gaze turned cold and merciless. In a low, chilling voice, he whispered,
“There is only one thing a mere human like you can offer me.”
***
“Grandfather, are you feeling okay?”
“When you get old, you get more minor ailments. It’s nothing to worry about, child.”
Despite his reassuring words, Grandfather’s voice was completely devoid of strength.
Seeing him like that, I couldn’t help but worry even more, my eyes lowering with concern.
‘Grandfather isn’t someone who usually talks about feeling weak…’
Seeing him lying in bed looking so drained made my heart ache.
But I couldn’t bring myself to offer comforting words so easily.
‘I can’t believe Countess Amber had something to do with my kidnapping…’
After a sleepless night, I finally got out of bed and headed downstairs, thankful that at least I hadn’t had any nightmares.
And for a moment, I was completely taken aback to see Ascart, who was supposed to be in the duchy.
⟨Adriana, I have something to tell you. Please try not to be too surprised or too hurt.⟩
With a pale face that made it clear he hadn’t slept a wink, my father conveyed what the Countess had confessed in a moment of rage the previous day.
It seemed the entire family, including Grandfather, was deeply shaken by the revelation.
But although I was surprised, I wasn’t hurt the way my family feared I would be.
No—in a way, I was even a little grateful to the Countess.
Knowing the kind of people my family are, they would have discovered Father’s absence eventually, even without the Countess’s confession.
And if they hadn’t figured it out in time, a major clash could have broken out between Father and the demon worshippers, he might have been seriously hurt.
Or maybe even worse…
Just imagining it made my heart ache, and I quickly shook my head to push the thought away.
But still, the reason I was able to remain so composed about all of this… was probably because I had never truly considered the Countess part of my family.
If I had, I wouldn’t feel so pained seeing Grandfather blaming himself, saying he was the one who spoke to her.
“Grandfather, please don’t be so sad.”
At my hesitant words, Grandfather lifted his head and met my eyes.
Seeing the sorrow in his gaze, I desperately hoped my feelings would get through as I continued.
“If it’s too painful to hate her, then you don’t have to. If it hurts you, it hurts me too.”
After the Countess left, Grandfather had gone into his study and stayed there all night. At dawn, he had sent messengers to my uncle in the marquisate and to the bank.
He had begun the process of ending the business partnership with the House of Amber and withdrawing his investments.
Only after completing that had he stepped out of the study where he nearly collapsed from dizziness and had to be moved to his bedroom.
“Fortunately, the physician said it was just exhaustion and that he’d recover with rest…”
Still, my heart felt unbearably heavy.
Especially seeing my usually strong and composed Grandfather looking so frail and Mother’s expression darkening terribly.
So I told her as well.
“You too, Mom. You don’t need to become someone like the Countess just because of me.”
After Father told me what the Countess had said, Mother had repeatedly vowed she would never forgive her.
And though the Countess was no longer part of the family in any meaningful way, I didn’t want Mother to exact revenge herself.
“It’s already in the past. And luckily, I found my family again.”
Even if, in my previous life, I died not even knowing I had one.
That’s when a tremor appeared in Mother’s eyes.
Unable to hold back her swirling emotions, she shouted,
“Adriana, you should just resent her! Demand that she feel the same pain and suffering you did! Why do you always…”
“…”
“Back then too, when I’d lost my mind and hurt you without recognizing you, you only said you hated me with words. You never truly hated me. And seeing you be so kind just breaks my heart even more.”
At the sound of her choked voice, I was briefly at a loss for words. Then I slowly shook my head.
“I’m not that kind. I didn’t hold back with Clara either. It’s just that… hating someone is harder for me. That’s all. And… like I said, it’s not that I’ve forgotten.”
⟨You two may have forgotten your vows of revenge, but I haven’t.⟩
⟨Do you know how much I suffered after being separated from my parents at birth? How painful and hard it was? Even in death, I couldn’t forget that grudge.⟩
Of course, it was true that the Countess, blinded by greed, played a role in my kidnapping.
But the ones I truly resented, the ones I needed to take revenge on, weren’t her—it was the demon worshippers.
Hearing my words, my parents’ expressions hardened.
Pretending not to notice, I turned to Grandfather.
He had been silently listening to our conversation, but now he lowered his head and murmured,
“I’m truly sorry.”
Looking at him, I realized that no matter how many times I said it wasn’t his fault, he wouldn’t accept it right now.
It would take time. So I shook my head and tried to lighten the heavy mood by clapping my hands.
“Oh! Just a moment ago, the Duke of Elard sent over a tonic to help with recovery.”
Somehow, with perfect timing, the Duke had sent medicine for Grandfather.
According to the butler, the Duke had been concerned about Grandfather’s health for a while and had been sending herbal tonics regularly.
“Please take it and feel better, Grandfather.”
I handed over the medicine, marveling at the Duke’s thoughtfulness—he’d even included candies and chocolates, knowing Grandfather disliked bitter things.
Then, a strange silence fell over the room.
I tilted my head, wondering if I’d said something odd, when I noticed a spark in Grandfather’s previously dull eyes.
“Th-that impudent brat! After what happened yesterday, he sends medicine? He causes harm and then tries to cure it?”
“Exactly. I didn’t think the Duke of Elard was that kind of person…”
Suddenly, Grandfather leapt up in anger, and Father shook his head in agreement.
Blinking in confusion, I turned to look at Mother, who wore an unreadable expression.
Then Ascart, who had been standing beside her with a face ready to burst into tears, suddenly shouted.
“I’m against it!”
“…Huh?”
“This grandfather is also against it! You’re far too young!”
“Father’s right. You’re still a child. And besides…”
Father slowly nodded and looked at me.
“Any man who kisses a girl without first getting the parents’ permission cannot be trusted.”
“Exactly! I was even trusting Lucio as I rushed back to the Empire! But when I saw his split lip the moment I arrived, I was stunned!”
Frozen in place, I could only stare blankly as Father and Ascart spoke.
It felt like my brain had been bleached white.
“W-what are you even talking about…”
Just as I barely managed to speak, Ascart grabbed my hand, eyes teary.
“Adriana, let’s go back to the duchy. I don’t want to spend another second in an Empire crawling with thieves like this!”
“Brother…”
“Mother said you agreed to it, but I don’t believe it! I don’t know how that guy tricked you, but my sweet, innocent sister—he stole your first ki—”
“S-stop!”
I quickly raised my hand to shut Ascart’s mouth and swallowed hard.
“Y-you… know?”
Lucio couldn’t have possibly told them himself. Then how…?
Unable to bring myself to ask directly, I looked at them anxiously.
Ascart tilted his head in confusion, not understanding my question, but then Mother sighed and answered in his place.
“If you’re asking whether we know you kissed the Duke of Elard’s son—yes, we do.”
“!”
Ehem, so I couldn’t bear to know about these chapters without letting you all read with me, so enjoy ~
Also Prizma Translations, the site I am transferring this novel to is currently under maintenance, so don’t worry if it’s currently not working properly. It will be alright, soon.
