Chapter 26
Sorry, Because of Family
In the Roksha Empire, there was the Imperial Academy.
Established by the previous emperor himself, it was a prestigious academy open only to nobles.
The headmaster, who occupied the highest position there, was currently sweating profusely.
“Your Highness.”
Seated across from the headmaster was the patriarch of the current Lordwick family, Duke Blake Lordwick.
Just watching him drink his tea somehow made the headmaster feel a strange tension.
“I didn’t expect you to personally visit here.”
The headmaster chuckled as he spoke. Sweat dripped down his back under his jacket and shirt.
Due to the nature of their business, the Lordwicks rarely revealed themselves outside formal occasions.
Blake Lordwick was no exception.
How rare was it? He hadn’t even attended his son Derkedion Lordwick’s entrance ceremony two years ago.
Even though it was a special occasion where Derkedion, as the top student, gave a speech in front of the entire school.
“Both Duke Heibetsman and Duke Sardia attended their sons’ entrance ceremonies.”
That’s not to say Blake Lordwick was harsh on his son.
He had sent letters and donations according to the occasion, asking Derkedion to take care of himself.
It was actually Gerwer Lordwick who seemed harsh towards his children.
Even though his only son, Ianwayne Gerwer, entered last year, there was no visit or even a formal letter sent.
Anyway.
That was Gerwer Lordwick’s case. The person in front of him now was Blake Lordwick.
“Last year, Derkedion also topped the year-end assessment. You must be proud.”
Despite the suffocating pressure, this was a parent-teacher meeting, after all, which was my title as the headmaster.
The headmaster skillfully brought up the conversation topic.
It was fortunate that Derkedion was a smart student. At least there wouldn’t be any embarrassment in comparison to Lordwick’s other children’s grades.
Blake nodded as he sipped his tea.
“Thanks to the professors’ abilities.”
He was 35 years old this year.
Although younger than the headmaster, Blake’s demeanor was without reservation. It was only natural.
After all, the only people Lordwick would be deferential to within the Roksha Empire were the nobles.
“The young lady will also be entering next week, won’t she? I saw her during the entrance exam, she was truly charming. Her grades are excellent too.”
The headmaster recalled the young girl he had seen in the interview room a month ago.
She was quite outstanding in appearance.
With silver hair falling to her shoulders and sparkling silver eyes.
Even in front of interviewers much older than her, she answered confidently without a hint of shyness.
“Considering the Lordwicks are a prestigious family, it’s no surprise they’ve raised such an excellent noble daughter. It’s been about three years since they adopted her, right?”
Moreover, she had a talent for winning people’s hearts, earning the favor of interviewers including myself in such a short time.
Even after the interview ended, the girl would often appear in their conversations.
“She’s a quick learner. She has excellent qualities.”
Setting down his teacup, Blake raised his hands with folded fingers on his crossed legs.
There was a brief pause as he seemed to have something on his mind,
“Why suddenly bring up this conversation…? Did I make a mistake? No, it shouldn’t be anything serious.”
The headmaster’s mind, fearful of Lordwick’s abilities, was only filled with his own life and death.
His heart pounded so hard he couldn’t properly face him. The headmaster discreetly glanced downward.
“Headmaster.”
“Yes, yes!”
Startled by Blake’s voice, he straightened his back. The corners of the brown-haired servant standing behind the duke twitched.
“I came here today because…”
He couldn’t understand what he was trying to say, and his lips dried up.
Observing Blake’s reaction, the headmaster remained silent.
‘His complexion…’
Naturally handsome, his face shone even when still.
As people approached their forties, they began to show signs of death in their faces due to their curse.
Wasn’t that the case with the previous Lordwick patriarch he saw when he was young?
However, the current Lordwick patriarch, Blake, seemed exceptionally healthy.
“…She’s sick.”
“Pardon?”
The headmaster raised his voice at Blake’s words.
For a moment, he was concerned about his health, but he felt embarrassed for revealing his thoughts.
“Where does it hurt, Your Highness?”
“Not me. My daughter.”
“Is it the young lady?”
Unlike Derkedion, Trixie Lordwick had not yet entered school.
She wasn’t a student of the Imperial Academy, so he couldn’t speak casually.
‘Is she sick?’
She didn’t look sick during the interview.
But judging by Blake’s darkened face, it seemed to be true.
“She was seriously ill two years ago. I’m worried about my daughter’s health, but the Academy is a boarding school. It’s mandatory for all students, without exception.”
“So, the reason for your visit is-.”
“That’s correct.”
Surely not. The headmaster’s heart skipped a beat.
Treating students equally regardless of their family’s status was customary at the Imperial Academy.
Commuting was unprecedented.
If Lordwick Duke feared reprisals and granted favors, it would be relatively easy for parents to protest to him. They wouldn’t be able to complain to the Duke, either.
My position as headmaster was at risk. But how could I fulfill Lordwick Duke’s request, which was almost like a command?
“My daughter’s attendant wants her to go out once a week. Is that possible?”
Of course.
That much convenience could be easily accommodated.
In fact, students who weren’t feeling well often went out for treatment.
The headmaster nodded eagerly at the words that were like rain in a drought.
“Of course, it’s possible. Your Highness.”
Blake was lost in thought inside the carriage parked in front of the correctional facility.
It was two winters ago.
‘….’
In the morning, Blake couldn’t get out of bed for a while.
It was because he couldn’t believe his body’s condition.
Surprise filled his red eyes as he sat up against the bedhead.
‘What’s going on…?’
Whenever he got up, he used to feel a splitting headache, but today his mind was as clear as if it had been washed clean.
That’s not all. The pain that always pressed on his heart and the feeling of being dragged down heavily by strong force throughout his body were also gone.
Everything that had oppressed him disappeared. Was there ever a day in his life when he felt so free?
It felt like the world had changed.
‘Now I feel like I can do anything.’
Feeling his body improved, the first thing that came to Blake’s mind was his daughter’s face.
Wasn’t he worried about his recent declining health?
He had every reason to be worried. His personal physician, Clang, had cautiously suggested that Blake should start preparing himself mentally.
“I need to see her quickly.”
As Blake, dressed in different clothes, headed towards Leticia’s room, Anna rushed up the stairs and shouted.
“My lord! Miss Leticia!”
Leticia, covered in blood, was found on the bed in her room.
At just eight years old, her small body was covered in large and small wounds, bleeding so much that it was hard to believe.
Doctors, including Clang, who were summoned to the Lordwick mansion examined Leticia.
They all said with gathered lips that they couldn’t guarantee her life.
Her condition was that serious.
Deon, who was returning to the mansion for the academy vacation, heard the news and immediately rushed over without resting or sleeping.
“Hey! Are you okay?!”
“….”
However, Leticia, unconscious, couldn’t respond.
The entire Lordwick mansion seemed to be engulfed in a nightmare.
It wasn’t until a week later that Leticia woke up.
As her eyelids rose, the first thing she saw was Blake’s deep red eyes.
Leticia scrutinized him intently, then smiled softly, folding the corners of her eyes.
“I’m glad.”
What a relief.
That’s what he wanted to say.
For the first time that day, Blake shed tears in front of others.
But there was no one present who didn’t cry, so it wasn’t embarrassing.
“….”
Thinking back now, it was still dizzying.
His red eyes, recalling the past, sank deep.
The Lordwick family.
It wasn’t just because Blake had gained his position through his abilities.
The Lordwick’s talented individuals were trained in everything necessary to befit a patriarch from a young age.
In other words, Blake wasn’t someone who couldn’t judge what he saw and heard.
The day they first met, she was almost sold into slavery.
“Gerwer Duke has been acting strange lately… They say he’s been wandering around the slave market.”
The same day, his own Omm disappeared, and Leticia was so badly injured that she could travel between life and death.
“Gerwer Duke mumbled that Lethiom was a Rethiom…”
The end.
On the year Leticia was adopted, Blake recalled what Heibertmann Duke said at the hunting festival and became certain.
It was Leticia. That child saved him. Despite knowing his life was in danger.
And not just him.
Reflecting on what Gerwer Duke said at the hunting festival, it was clear that Leticia had also purified Deon’s Omm.
‘I have no face.’
He had already put two lives in debt to that little girl.
Every time he recalled this fact, Blake’s eyes turned red. He wanted to ask Leticia immediately. Why did she do that, to them, who were not tainted with blood.
The feeling of sorry was greater than gratitude. And the sorrow was greater than the sorry.
It was because their family, the ones with abilities who made their lovely daughter hurt, were the ones causing the pain.
It was so agonizing that he wanted to kneel in front of his daughter, apologize, and beg her. Beg her never to use the power of purification again.
But it was just a thought. Leticia was hiding her identity. There must have been her own reasons for it.
So all he could do was pretend not to know.
Instead, as a father, he had an obligation to protect his daughter.
“Gerwer….”
Gerwer Duke, who had been secretly visiting the Lordwick territory until the year before last, suddenly stopped visiting.
It was after he encountered the child Blake had prepared as Leticia’s understudy.
In the golden eyes hidden behind a gloomy visage, there seemed to be nothing reflected at all.
Disappointed, Gerwer Duke disappeared from sight that day. Reports came from the spies he planted, stating that Gerwer Duke had cut off all external activities and was searching for ancient relics.
It seemed to be true. He didn’t attend the hunting festivals last year or this year either.
“Dad, I want to take the entrance exam for the Royal Academy.”
When Leticia, who had recovered, expressed her desire to attend the academy, Blake allowed it, but he also had mixed feelings about it.
Even though Gerwer Duke hadn’t been visiting, this academy…
“Dad, someone’s here.”
Jedd knocked on the carriage door. Blake turned his gaze to the slowly opening door.
There stood a golden-haired boy in front of the carriage.
The color of the badge on his uniform lapel was blue. It meant he was in his second year.
Blake’s lips moved slowly as he looked down from the carriage at the boy.
“It’s been a while since the hunting festival.”
Then, in a low voice, he clearly uttered the boy’s name.
“Iandweyn Gerwer.”
