Chapter 153
House Sperom.
There was one man here whose whereabouts were as important to Arellin as Matap’s.
“So, sons.”
It was time for dinner.
Simon the Gazoo, Duke of Sperom, wiped his sons’ faces with urgency.
“Have you met Lady Arellin?”
Noel and Ciel nodded in unison.
“Yes!”
“Of course we saw her!”
“Oooooh.”
Duke Sperom’s eyes sparkled with hope.
Sometimes even dog shit can do something useful, his golden boys!
“Then of course you’ve come to tell me about that car or something!”
Ciel and Noel looked at each other at the Duke of Sperom’s hopeful question.
“Oh.”
“I forgot.”
“…”
Duke Sperom’s expression hardened instantly.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen Arel, I forgot.”
“It was so good to see her.”
The Duke of Sperom was frustrated, unable to suppress a stirring emotion.
Of course not, who gives a shit.
“No, how could you forget that? You think it’s going to be a big business, worth millions of gold! If it’s a business item like that, you’d better get together before Dad tells you, eh? You don’t have money in your blood?”
“If money runs in my blood, I’ll die, Dad.”
“How can human blood be money? That’s scary.”
Pretending to be frightened, the twins giggled.
“Ha. I gave birth to these as my children.”
“Dad didn’t give birth to us.”
“That’s right, it was our mom who gave birth to us.”
“Ugh, never mind. Now, you little golden babies, grow up healthy.”
The twins nodded, and the sous vide pork tenderloin steak for dinner was shoved into their mouths with gusto.
The Duke of Sperom sighed in frustration as he watched the twins eat like baby birds.
When the Duke of Sperom first heard the news that the twins had gone to Halbern with the Crown Prince, he knew it was coming.
They are his sons, but who can stop these so-called little devils?
But with Mehen’s bad temper, Valar’s unpredictable nature, and his sons…?
He was on high alert, expecting anything to happen at any moment.
‘Why haven’t we heard from him?’
The Archduke of Halbern was strangely quiet.
‘What, did you let them get away with it because they’re kids, or because they’re related to the Crown Prince, and they’ve turned down one request after another for an immediate visit?’
“Ah, if only Quian were here, I would have asked him to come with me.”
Unfortunately, the Duke of Mubisk was out of town.
Valar had taken all the troops stationed in the Northern Castle to the border with the Southern Empire, and the Duke of Mubisk had volunteered to fill the void.
‘The North, it’s important, it’s important…’
For Duke Sperom, whose business is monster carcasses and byproducts, as well as humanity’s last frontier, the Northern Province is a no-brainer.
‘But you have a business that goes beyond that!’
Unfortunately, the business exhibition was destroyed by terrorism, and all that remains are the ‘testimonies’ of Sperom’s merchants who were there.
The tower was also suddenly sealed off, making it difficult to get accurate information.
The Duke of Sperom was even more impatient.
“Just leave?”
If he had the money, he’d go and pretend to be crazy.
“Oh, really?”
***
The Halbern estate is peaceful again today.
“Bye then.”
After the tripartite meeting presided over by Mehen, Ludwig had to leave for a while to organize the trial and the affairs of the Southern Empire.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yes.”
The Regent, Ludwig, looked at Arellin with eyes dripping with regret.
“Are you going to…?”
Arellin looked at Ludwig, who didn’t seem to have a single regret, and shook his head.
“I guess I should go.”
The words were spoken, but Ludwig couldn’t bring himself to leave.
He lingered by Arel’s side for what seemed like an eternity, when Valar suddenly appeared and shooed him away.
“What are you doing? Get out of here.”
“…”
Ludwig cringed slightly at the sight of the clueless human.
Valar followed Ludwig after he closed the door and left, as if to make sure he got the message.
“What are you looking at?”
Valar caught Ludwig’s gaze and rolled his eyes.
“One thing, something I want to ask you.”
“And you think I’m going to answer if you ask?”
“If you’re so eager to torment me, how did you put up with it all these years?”
Valar shrugged, his face more handsome than a brushstroke.
“If you’ve managed to get Franz involved, it’s no small feat, so how come you haven’t lifted a finger?”
“Is that what you’re wondering?”
“I wonder in hindsight.”
It was an uncomfortable feeling, one that convinced Ludwig that, as much as he wished for Valar’s misfortune, Valar would have wished for his own.
In the meantime, the Southern Empire had been uncannily peaceful. Valar could have turned it upside down any time he wanted. But why should he?
Or not?
The answer he got was a bitter one.
“You’ll kill yourself anyway.”
Ludwig had been rolling in hell and dying enough without being told to die.
“So I shouldn’t have bothered.”
Valar’s lips twisted.
Ludwig nodded, remembering who he was before he knew Arellin.
“I see.”
Valar snapped, not hiding his hostility.
“I don’t like you.”
“I don’t like you either.”
“Well, that’s good. We’re on the same page for some reason.”
Valar smiled brightly.
“So, how long do you plan on hitting on my daughter?”
“Until I’m dead.”
“Then can I kill you now?”
“If you can?”
A shadow sprang to life just as Valar sprang to life and enveloped Ludwig. Valar crumpled his handsome face.
“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but if you ever touch my daughter again, I’ll make sure you know why every human in Albrecht is afraid of Halbern.”
Ludwig smirked, not sure if it was a warning or a threat.
“Don’t think your father’s place will be yours forever. I will take it from you one day.”
Atonement for Sione, a false start, and a better relationship with Arellin.
Ludwig made no secret of his ambition to be Arellin’s father after all that.
Valar scoffed openly.
“That’s a tall order.”
“…?”
“She likes me too much.”
Such was the leeway of the haves.
***
When Ludwig left the mansion.
Mehen was in his office, deep in thought. The conversation he had with Ludwig before he left was troubling him.
“There is one thing I want to ask you.”
“Yes, you may ask.”
“Is Arellin very ill?”
Ludwig’s unexpected question was about Arellin’s health.
Uncomfortable with the topic, Mehen remained silent, then finally answered.
“… Probably, she won’t live long.”
“Why?”
“Well, we’d like to know, and we’ve tried everything, but we haven’t found an answer, so we’d rather ask: is it your Southern Empire heritage that’s the problem?”
Ludwig was silent for a moment at Mehen’s sharp question, then answered.
“If there is a problem, it has nothing to do with Arellin.”
“What’s that…”
“Because I’m not Arellin’s biological father.”
The silence came quickly.
Mehen, who had always believed Ludwig to be the father, was stunned.
“Excuse me, Regent, but I thought I just heard some nonsense about Arellin’s father not being you.”
“No, you heard it right.”
“…”
What had Sister Sione done?
Blinking rapidly, Mehen smirked.
“And who is Arellin’s father, anyway?
Again, new confusion was added.
***
“…?”
Valar tilted his head at Mehen, who seemed to be deep in thought today.
‘What could possibly be going on in his mind.’
Valar’s attention was soon diverted from Mehen to an annoying visitor.
A hundred or so star wizards swarmed down from the Sky Tower.
“Lady Arellin at last!”
The wizards, their spirits lifted by the thought of finally meeting Arellin, soon sensed that something was amiss when the landlady appeared to block their way.
“Welcome, wizards.”
Archduke Halbern, infamous even among wizards, greeted them with a murderous smile.
“So, why are you looking for my daughter?”
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing loudly rang out.
