<Episode 149>
It’s owned by the swordmaster?
I’d rather the Emperor himself owned it instead. Just the thought of trying to seize the final inheritance from that cunning fox already exhausts me.
“This item will be delivered directly to the Weatherwoods family townhouse. Is that okay with you?”
“…Yeah, thanks.”
With a long sigh, I nodded my head, and after the servant tidied up the box, he got back into the carriage.
The carriage, with its somewhat mysterious shape, moved away from the bridge towards the main gate as if trying to move discreetly.
Now, this was the crucial part.
Dian Cecht’s cage was now handed to me, but the conversation I had to have with Raphael from now on wouldn’t be easy at all.
How should I approach this?
Perhaps saying, ‘Shall we take a walk for a moment?’ would be appropriate. As I turned my body while imagining various scenarios in my head, Raphael was already looking at me. His eyes conveyed shallow anguish.
“Do you have something to say?”
“No.”
“Lies. Your eyes show that you have something to say. Speak freely.”
“…I thought my sister would choose Duke Jurian.”
The sentence was brief, but it was clear what it meant.
He’s been subtly concerned about my first dance partner since earlier. Seems like I’ve been labeled as quite the liar.
“Why would I choose him? The position was originally reserved for you.”
“He is not someone who acts on impulse. I didn’t think he would ask my sister for the first dance without trust that you’d accept, so I assumed there would have been a few words exchanged between you two without my knowledge.”
He’s quick-witted as always, this guy.
“What kind of conversation did you have with Duke Jurian?”
Raphael was subtly pressuring me, using Dian Cecht’s cage as bait. If I wanted to smoothly take it away, I had to reveal everything.
When their target was right in front of them, people’s psychological state often weakened, and they easily blurted out their thoughts. That’s probably what Raphael wanted, too.
“Sister.”
Well, it’s not really something to hide. So, at his urging, I willingly opened my mouth.
“He told me to abandon you and come to him.”
A slightly self-deprecating smile formed above Raphael’s sharp jawline.
“Well, considering that Duke Jurian particularly cared for Andert, it’s not surprising.”
Thanks to that, my tongue stiffened slightly.
After the hunt, he often made remarks equating me with Andert. Yet, his actions were strictly those of someone treating Andert’s sister, creating a complex gap between the two in my mind.
“Yeah, that’s right. He said the reason he was so eager to recruit me was because he wanted talent.”
“Are you going to go to him?”
I intended to deny it vehemently initially, but decided to ask a slightly different question.
“Raphael, do you truly think the Swordmaster is the Emperor’s sword?”
What was the true purpose of the Emperor’s sword?
Whether it was the devils, the royal family, or biological experiments, the involvement of the Swordmaster was lukewarm at best. In some ways, he seemed similar to Rue, who seemed to be well-versed in everything, but upon closer inspection, they were not entirely alike.
The Swordmaster was hiding something.
I speculate that the secret he possessed was closely related to me, the royal family, and the palace. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so favorable to me.
“If you’re asking me whether he’s involved with the resurrection experiments led by Princess Natasha, then I’m not sure. The swordmaster has always walked his own arbitrary path. I only consider him hostile because of his suspicious position and dubious circumstances.”
It was a very Raphael-like answer.
“May I ask a question now?”
I nodded my head a little nervously.
“Who is Count Alpen Serenier?”
“….”
“Upon closer inspection, Baron Markov’s injury was not caused by a devil. Furthermore, compared to what it looked like from a first glance, the actual extent of the injury was very minimal. However, coincidentally, all the military doctors who had practical experience and were serving in Ragel went on an unscheduled, rewarded vacation today. There seemed to be misdirection from higher orders. As a result, it took quite some time to find the doctor residing closest to our location, visit him for a medical examination, and bring back all the doctors.”
So that’s why it took two hours to return to the banquet hall.
“The people inside the banquet hall may not know, but all the soldiers currently stationed in the palace are on high alert. Preparations for a possible attack are underway.”
“…..”
“I don’t know how much my opponent underestimated me, but I have spent ten years on the battlefield, fighting devils. I at least have enough experience to distinguish a manipulated injury from a real one.”
Did Rue really underestimate Raphael?
I don’t think so. I highly doubted that Rue, a skilled demi-god, would create such a ‘clumsy fake injury.’ On the other hand, I couldn’t be sure if his intention was to make the other person notice and mock him.
‘Sigh.’
It seems that Rue tried to prevent Raphael from returning to the banquet hall altogether.
However, Raphael resolved the situation faster than he expected and returned to the banquet hall.
“Is it because of my sister?”
And he’d even guessed it might have had something to do with me.
“…I can assure you that he had no intention of causing chaos or attacking the palace.”
“I guess so.”
“I’m sorry. I will make sure to tell him to refrain from doing such things in the future…”
“He was the person who personally returned the handkerchief I’d lent to my sister, wasn’t he?”
How did he know? As I stared at Raphael with astonishment, his gaze became even colder.
“Did you think I wouldn’t know? He put on quite a show here, acting all meek, but back then, he’d been all tough and warning me. So, who is that man exactly?”
I don’t want to lie to Raphael anymore.
But if Rue was the subject of suspicion, I couldn’t help but feel trapped from my perspective.
The fact that Rue was a Calepa and demi-god could not be revealed to Raphael. It was because once these matters were disclosed, Rue would never be able to move as Count Serenier again.
Moreover, Rue being Count Serenier of Astrosa wasn’t a lie. It was just an external identity Rue utilized.
So in the end, there was only one truth I could tell Raphael.
“He is… my benefactor.”
Once the words left my mouth, I felt frustrated by how weak my answer was.
Naturally, Raphael’s reaction wasn’t good either.
“Is that all? No explanation of what kind of benefactor he is, or why he is important?”
I belatedly tried to add a separate explanation, but Raphael did not allow me an excuse.
“That question I just asked sounds foolish even to me. What is there to be surprised about? I have always been just that to you. An insignificant presence. In the past, now, and probably in the future as well.”
“Raphael.”
His usually firm and resolute face distorted for the first time.
“Did you ever even consider coming to see me?”
My words were stuck in my throat, silenced by the stillness of his words, like the sea after a wave had passed.
“Now, I don’t know what is true or false anymore. Is your life really in danger? No, are you truly alive in the first place? Is even this shell of your body not real? The ten years we spent together, were they all a lie? You considered me a fool, didn’t you? Could it be that even your death was just a trick…?”
“No. No, Raphael. Absolutely not!”
I firmly grasped Raphael’s arm, but his body remained as rigid as a rock, not even budging.
“First, let me apologize, Raphael. I’m truly sorry. But I swear to the heavens, I have never once looked down on you. Deception, if anything, I would rather…”
“Are you saying no?”
His arm struck away my hand roughly. Eventually, my wrist, which had been wandering aimlessly in the air, was tightly gripped in his arm.
“You’re saying you did not deceive me?”
Emotion that seemed to be crumbling my body overwhelmed me. The tuxedo jacket slipped off my shoulder and fell to the ground, but neither of us paid it any attention.
“Is it not true.. that you abandoned me?”
That was undoubtedly a sense of betrayal.
I could feel Raphael’s intense anger through my restricted wrist, and it pierced my heart. My wrists hurt as if the bones were going to be shattered under his grip. It was a dizzying pain that made my spine tingle, but I clenched my teeth and endured it. I didn’t want to reject his anger by using my weak, woman’s body as a shield.
He said through clenched teeth.
“Tell me, Andert. You abandoned me. Can you deny it?”
“I… you…”
As I tried to respond, a suppressed groan betrayed me and escaped quietly.
Did he realize in that moment? Raphael, who had been stiff like a broken doll, slowly released his hand.
His red, bloodshot eyes, like disheveled flower petals, fiercely trembled. His gaze was fixed on the red mark left on my wrist. As I hurriedly hid my hand behind my back, Raphael took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly.
His lips trembled as if about to say something.
But they quickly pursed.
And after a while, they slowly opened.
“…This confusing emotion I feel because of you is unbearably torturous. So, from now on…”
As if swallowing his anger, Raphael warned in a low, subdued voice, his lips tightly pressed.
“Never appear in front of me again, Andert.”
Omg
I feel so bad for both of them. Daisy was trying her best but Raphael must genuinely be feeling so betrayed that I can’t help but feel his pain.
If he’s known for the past few days, then he must have been waiting for her to wait for something, and he finally exploded. It hurts.
Raphael has always felt like an insignificant presence in Andert’s life. Even if it wasn’t true, he couldn’t help it.
OMG finally, this, moment is here. Thank u, Ami!
Thank you for the chapter!
Well… that went badly.
That was so sad. I totally feel Raphael’s pain. Daisy took her sweat time to come forward to him, while he made up his mind to move on. As much as like Daisy, she messed up big time.