“Episode 7”
“That maid was also nearby.”
“I apologize, but she seemed to feel it too. As if she wanted to get away from you…”
Ricar let out a short sigh before looking at Dmitri.
“There’s no need to go through each detail meticulously.”
Ricar sat down on a long sofa, leaning back. His sturdy upper body was still exposed without a shirt.
Even with a hood and a mask in the main square, his imposing figure proved his lineage to the Grand Duchy.
“Is there a change in me now?”
Dmitri raised his head, and Ricar extended his hand. Dmitri hesitantly placed his hand on Ricar’s palm, then quickly stepped back.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not like my hand has changed much.”
Ricar looked at his own hand again.
“But I distinctly remember grabbing that woman with this hand. Even walked a few steps holding her securely to a safe place.”
It was a clear memory. The woman had initially struggled, but then seemed to understand he was rescuing her and stopped resisting.
“No matter how shocked she was or how stunned I was, it’s certain I touched her with bare hands, without gloves. But even I didn’t realize that.”
“So you stayed there standing for a while?”
Ricar nodded.
“After they left, I suddenly realized I was barehanded. By then, I couldn’t know where they had gone… I questioned whether I had lost my mind.”
He was a rational and logical man, true to his Alberthus lineage. Yet, he was so shocked that he stood there dumbfounded for a while. It was a sight even Dmitri hadn’t seen before.
“At first, I thought it was a mistake. But it wasn’t. I’m certain I removed all my gloves at that moment.”
He even held up his hand, which still had remnants of the crude dye used on the toy. Having removed both pairs of gloves simultaneously, it meant the hand that grabbed Aris was bare.
“The possibility that the woman was too shocked…”
Dmitri cautiously began to speak, but Ricar shook his head.
“When I set the woman down safely, I was standing straight. After that, without any sign of stumbling, she disappeared from my sight. That’s why I didn’t even notice.”
Ricar lowered his hands, feeling like a curse.
“That I touched a person with bare hands, without gloves.”
His large hands, marked with calluses like those of a swordsman, were embedded with strength all over. Known as the Black Beast of the battlefield, Ricar instilled fear in other lords. Always at the forefront of battle, he effortlessly drove out enemies and led his side to victory.
“Your Majesty, we need to investigate this.”
“I agree. I need to confirm if the woman was unharmed even when touched with my bare hands.”
It wasn’t just his hands. The power that promised eternal victory to Alberthus was now embedded in Ricar’s heart. So whenever his heart beat, all the blood flowing through his body was under the control of that power.
“Still…”
“Even your mother hasn’t touched me since the initiation.”
Even blood relatives would faint upon touching his bare skin, and they hesitated to stay near him. Just getting close enough made one feel suffocated and oppressed.
“Dmitri, even you, as a descendant of the Robere family, can endure this extent.”
The Robere lineage had always been the protectorate of Alberthus for generations. And as always, only the second-born male child was brought to serve as the Grand Duke of Alberthus. The resilience instilled through such efforts was now helping Dmitri endure.
“There might be others like me.”
“Nonsense.”
Ricar spat out a smirk. He vividly remembered the voice that had flowed into his mind during the initiation.
[Is it you this time…?]
It was a voice that felt so detached from this world. In that brief moment, he could fully comprehend the power and agony of past Grand Dukes of Alberthus.
[Oh, son of Alberthus. Embrace this cursed power in your heart as you wish. Hold the power that no human dare possess until the extinction of Alberthus… Swallow your fears.]
As soon as those words ended, Ricar felt as if fragments had pierced his heart.
“Now you’re alone.”
The meaning of those words became clear to him. Firstly, the attending physician collapsed. Then, measures that had secretly descended through the generations were immediately taken. Just like all previous Grand Dukes, only the Robere scion remained by Ricar’s side.
“I’ve always wanted to know the origin of this power. My father and grandfather were the same.”
The depths of Ricar’s eyes sank even further. Now, the surpassing strength that his ancestors desired was no longer necessary. However, even after generations, the Grand Duchy of Alberthus had not found a way to terminate this contract.
“No matter how hard I searched… there was none. Except that the Alberthus and Robere families gained some immunity.”
Ricar let out a low sigh. His troubles stemmed from his father’s early death. For generations, the Grand Duchy had managed to coexist with this power quite well. But when it came time for Ricar to succeed, the situation changed. His father died before producing an heir, leaving Ricar as the successor.
“Throughout history, every Grand Duke of Alberthus married and had children before undergoing the initiation. There were a few exceptions.”
Exceptions were when the initiation was conducted before bearing an heir. Ricar was also in such a situation. His father, sensing his impending death, had reluctantly initiated Ricar at the age of just 17. And a few days later, he died, seemingly exhausted from the transfer of power.
“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. There have been similar exceptional cases before, so there must be corresponding solutions.”
“Yes.”
There were a few cases where spouses bore children after receiving the power of the miasma. All of them married the offspring of the Robere family, who had developed some immunity to the poison.
“But your sister is still young.”
Dmitri couldn’t hide his dark expression.
“You know too. No matter how immune one is to the Robere blood, it’s not sustainable in the long run. …She’ll soon die.”
The Alberthus Grand Duchy had thrived on the sacrifice of the Robere lineage. The youngest son would serve as the Duke’s close aide for generations, while the daughter would become a wife in times of emergency, giving birth to a child and quickly losing her vitality.
“That’s also the duty of the Robere family.”
Dmitri said firmly, without a hint of wavering.
“If Her Majesty bears your successor and dies, your sister will consider it an honor as well.”
Ricar said nothing. He was weary from the harsh fate that awaited him.
“Still, I want to explore this possibility.”
He clenched and unclenched the hand that had grasped the woman earlier.
“Is my delusion ridiculous?”
“No, it’s not.”
Dmitri replied faithfully.
“Though it may seem whimsical, I can’t completely give up.”
Dmitri understood Ricar’s torment well.
“Out of a thousand, no, perhaps out of a million, there might be a woman strong enough to live by my side.”
His dark eyes gleamed quietly.
“Perhaps today, I’ve grasped that possibility.”
A thin thread of hope was flickering in Ricar’s usually quiet eyes.
