“It seems like Noah acted to protect his sister’s honor. Isn’t that the marking of an excellent soldier?”
It was clear that Raios was siding with Windsor. And this held more power than any law.
Bang, bang, bang! The chief justice hammered down. “Noah Windsor is sentenced to 3 years in prison!”
The punishment was excessively lenient. Yet, the families of the victims had to suppress their anger and resentment.
“You should be thankful that your sons are already dead.”
Their children’s actions could have brought great disgrace upon their families.
“If they were alive, you would have been charged for failing to educate your children properly.”
Raios Geranze sneered as he left the courtroom. No noble dared to appeal.
* * *
Noah’s POV
“Then, please get ready to leave.”
The soldier assigned to escort me to prison left the room, giving me a chance for a final goodbye. Though the person I was saying goodbye to was still asleep.
“…” I carefully sat by the bedside.
Dana was still suffering from a high fever. That day, the day she had held onto me. Dana had fainted that day and had not woken up for a week since.
In the end, I leave without even saying goodbye. It was both a relief and regret that she hadn’t woken up.
“I’ll see you in 3 years,” I murmured to her. “When that time comes, I’ll be an adult too.” I didn’t know why I felt compelled to say that, but I did. Yes. I wanted to grow up quickly.
While in prison, my brother had asked me why I did it. I had answered that I wanted to kill those who insulted that woman. Then my brother said I was just a kid, suffering from the fever of adolescence.
Maybe that’s true.
I looked down at Dana.
When does this adolescence end? Can I be free from this torment when it ends? Will this twisted, warped desire, wanting to monopolize her heart but failing to do so, also end? I wish it would end.
I now understood that this feeling would eventually ruin both myself and this woman. So, I hoped it would all end. Or better yet, disappear. To vanish from this world.
I wished and wished again.
* * *
After that, I rode the carriage for a long time. The prison where I would be confined was located on Kazuta Island, a place for high-ranking nobles and imperial families who had committed crimes.
When I finally arrived at the port, I got off the carriage. And then I just stood there.
“Why are you standing there?”
“…”
Viego Windsor. My older brother was there.
“Why are you here, Brother…?”
“Follow me.” He gestured with his head and took the lead.
I was momentarily confused. Follow him? But wasn’t I supposed to go to prison?
Yet, the soldiers who escorted me just watched quietly. None of them stopped Viego. They even bowed their heads as if Viego was their king.
Feeling a strange sense of discomfort, I followed my brother.
“Get on.”
The place Viego led me to was a large ship. I instinctively realized that this ship wasn’t heading to Kazuta Island.
“Where are you sending me?”
“At least it’s not a prison. Your double will go in your place.”
“What?”
It was utterly incomprehensible.
Viego casually gestured behind me. “Just in time, the captain is coming.”
I turned around. Then, I saw a young woman with brown hair and a slender build approaching. She bowed.
“Hello, Lord Noah Windsor. I am the captain of the ship that will take you to the island.”
“Captain? You?”
“Yes.” The woman smiled broadly, no, very broadly. “My name is Natty.”
I looked at her suspiciously, then turned my gaze back to Viego. “Where am I going?
“To a place all Windsor men go.”
“What? Where is that?”
“Treasure Island.”
“…What?”
Treasure Island? Could it be that the island our father discovered? Does he know its location?
“Otherwise known as—” Viego added slowly. “The sanctuary.”
The sanctuary. It was Danae Windsor’s place of convalescence.
“The sanctuary was… Treasure Island?”
“Yes.”
“No, what are you talking about? Danae Windsor, that woman, convalesced in the sanctuary, which is Treasure Island—But why am I going there?”
“…”
Viego looked at me silently. For a moment, a chill ran down my spine. It was because his face looked more unfamiliar than ever. Has my brother always had such an expression?
“Noah Windsor.” At that moment, Viego grabbed my shoulder. He lowered his head and whispered softly. “It’s time for you to grow up… to become a true Windsor. Isn’t that right?”
* * *
Dana’s POV
“Refrain from strenuous exercise and start with light walks,” the doctor instructed earnestly. “For now, stick to easily digestible foods like porridge. Remember, you are still a patient.”
A patient. That word was accurate.
When I opened my eyes, I felt incredibly weak. Having been bedridden for a whole week, it was a natural outcome. I’ve never been this sick before.
The power of sight—what I whimsically called ‘the third eye’—always left me feeling unwell, but never to this extent.
I could use that power without even touching the ground. Walking in the garden, I looked at my hands. Normally, I had to touch the ground to see anything. But I had been able to see exactly what I wanted without touching the ground. As if… Did I level up? Though it cost me a great deal of energy.
“Dana!”
At that moment, a platinum-haired man spotted me and rushed over. It was Carl.
“Dana, are you alright? I was just on my way to see you after hearing you woke up.” Carl cupped my cheeks, turning my face this way and that way to inspect me. “Look at how pale you’ve become. What should we do?”
“I’m okay. Thank you for worrying about me.”
“Oh, you have no idea how scared I was. Poor Dana, how could you be so fragile?”
After expressing his concern for a while, Carl coughed and pointed to his cheek.
“Look here.”
There was a small scratch.
“I got hurt.”
“…”
“Goodness, don’t even get me started. Billord Lancaster was so vicious that I thought he was some kind of monster. I’ve got trauma now. I don’t even want to go near the cathedral anymore.”
“Is that so?”
What nonsense… If anyone’s traumatized, it must be Billord…
I looked up at him with worried eyes and gently stroked the scratch on his cheek. “That must have hurt. Are you okay now?”
When my fingertips touched him, Carl’s eyes softened.
“Yes.”
“…”
“I’m fine now.”
The sunlight caught in his golden eyelashes shone particularly bright. He was beautiful. And terrifying. A madman.
I was now truly afraid of Carl. I couldn’t even begin to guess what was writhing in this man’s mind.
“How is the Retillan mine project going?”
Carl was not in danger of losing his guardianship position. There was no need for him to be used by me to this extent. So why go to such lengths?
“Ah, that. Of course, it’s going well.”
“Then, may I also invest?”
I could no longer understand Carl Windsor’s intentions. It made me unbearably anxious. So, I wished he would disappear quickly, from my eyes, from the Windsor family. Thus, I decided to accelerate my work.
“If I invest a large sum, other investors might join too. That would help with what you’re doing, Uncle—”
Ah. At that moment, my lips stiffened. It was because a bitter emotion had surfaced on Carl’s face.
“If that’s what you wish, then let it be so.”
But that was dismissed as a fleeting illusion, for Carl smiled warmly again soon after.
“You can do anything you want.” He said, running his fingers through my white hair. “Everything will go as you wish.”
I couldn’t remember what conversation followed after that. Carl left, and I stood there blankly before starting to walk again. But I stopped after only a few steps.
Could it be? A foreboding feeling scratched at the back of my head. Does he know? That the Retillan mine is practically a sham. That the Windsor rail won’t be laid in Kaltusa territory. That his mining and development project will utterly fail, bankrupting not only him but also those who invested in him. Does he know? Even knowing that—
“Everything will go as you wish.”
Does that mean he’s willing to be destroyed as I wish?
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