The Sickly Youngest Member of the Villainous Family

“Stop it. It’s too much.”

It was only after Hector’s words that Bashiron’s feet touched the floor again.

At Hector’s blunt command, Recardo’s black flames loosened their grip on Bashiron’s throat, and he slumped to the floor.

Maya, still holding me, trembled uncontrollably.

It must be hard enough for a normal person, not even a Winchester, to be in this place.

As for me, I was frozen to the spot and hoping for the best.

“…….”

Duke Recardo and Hector locked eyes.

The duke’s murderous aura was thicker than when he had faced Chenoa, to the point that it was almost suffocating.

It’s a good thing you showed up just in time, though.

Otherwise, that bearded fellow might have made me sick with his strange spell called “Shadow of the Abyss”.

“An attack on the family head’s family.” Recardo’s lips quirked as he continued, “An attack on my family would be an attack on the family’s head.”

The Winchesters had a long and storied history, but in the end, they had one guiding principle.

‘The weakest go first.’

Whoever possesses the strongest powers of the Black Flame will become the Head of the Family.

Of course, the Afinizu exist as a check on an overly destructive dictatorship, but they are ultimately a collection of individuals weaker than the family head.

Bashiron Winchester is Recardo’s uncle, and Bashiron is suspected of poisoning Recardo’s father, and so Hector stripped Bashiron of his title as the family lord and crippled his only son after he was accused of poisoning his own brother.

He also restored the mining rights of the Wilners Mine to the family, which belonged to Bashiron’s adopted daughter, Zestia.

The others felt similarly about Recardo Winchester. Awe and fear, but also hostility and jealousy.

Of course, Recardo’s youth and rebellion would play a part in this.

“Family, I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

Hector, who had been wearing a scowl from earlier, twisted his lips and opened his mouth.

“Recardo is right. This was a bad idea from the start.”

His piercing gaze turned to me, mixed with curiosity. Then he turned to Bashiron, who was looking at me with resentment.

“Rise, if you have any shame at all in your behavior as a nobleman.”

Bashiron pushed himself to his feet, his face pale as death.

“You were wrong to do this. This was a kidnapping by any standard.”

According to protocol, he was supposed to ask for Recardo’s consent first.

He shouldn’t have sent a private soldier to threaten Maya.

“If there is anything suspicious in the family, it should be reported and shared with the Afinizu……….”

“I said enough.”

Hector arched an eyebrow in disapproval. A vision of a darkness comparable to Recardo’s seemed to engulf the space.

In an instant, a massive presence overwhelmed the place, and Maya staggered, barely able to keep her balance.

“Heuk ……heuk …….”

I flinched and watched the situation unfold.

Even Bashiron, who had been chattering with a disgruntled expression, was frozen, his face even whiter than before.

Recardo was the only one who looked nonchalant through it all.

“But you didn’t have to break down the door to get inside, only the poor family property will get consumed,” Hector snorted and spoke to Recardo.

Too bad I couldn’t speak; I wanted to argue a bit.

It’s not something you’d want your grandfather arguing about!

The discomfort was evident in Recardo’s gaze as he stared at the members of the Afinizu.

After a brief pause, he spoke.

“As of today, by the authority of the family head, I am abolishing the Afinizu.”

Hector, who was preparing to stand up, looked back at Recardo.

Maya’s eyes widened in surprise, as did those seated at the Afinizu’s round table.

Even Rowen, standing behind Recardo, looked stunned.

“……a…… a…….”

Bashiron opened his mouth to say something, but could only stutter while he grabbed his chest.

“Re…… Recardo, the abolition of the Afinizu, this is nonsense…… you have no right to do that!” Zestia managed to utter.

“When you say nonsense, you mean a situation like this.”

After looking at me for a moment, Recardo’s words snapped back to Zestia.

“The Afinizu are meant to assist in external threats that are too difficult for the family head to deal with alone.”

Recardo’s cold gaze met hers.

“Today has proven us otherwise. The Afinizu is a collection of scum who threaten both the family head and Winchester name with the same claims as our external enemies.”

The label of scum made Zestia jump to her feet.

But she was forced to pause as the blade of black flame which had briefly retracted sprang back up like a tentacle.

“And so…… Afinizu is not worthy of existence.”

The only person who could stop Recardo in his tracks would be the former Lord, Hector.

The Afinizu was an institution with history and tradition, but like a council in a dictatorship, it was also an institution that was only as strong as the dictator.

I was in Maya’s arms, listening with bated breath to the whole drama.

Damn, one hell of a family reunion.

Recardo’s icy gaze turned to Hector tauntingly.

“So, what do you think, My Lord?”

Hector stared wordlessly at Recardo Winchester for a long moment. Then, as if amused, he spoke.

“Not the kind of eyes that ask for an opinion.”

And in an instant, blackness stretched out from behind Hector. It was an aura of unmistakable intensity.

“Eyes that seek to rebuke me.”

Recardo’s eyebrows arched.

Excuse me, you two. You’re not going to fight here, are you?

When people like you two fight, the whole mansion will blow up.

After a moment, Recardo’s momentum ebbed, and his eyes, filled with murder, regained some of their light.

Recardo pursed his lips.

“I won’t deny it.”

In the books, the Duke of Winchester was a man who didn’t trust even his own family, but I’d read that the only person he’d ever revealed himself to was his grandfather, Hector Winchester, the former lord of the household.

The two men didn’t seem friendly, but there was a certain respect for each other’s strength.

When Recardo began to move forward, Hector drew in the darkness and spoke.

“I came here to get some air after a long time, but you’re giving me a lot of trouble.”

For some reason, Hector’s gaze shifted to me for a moment, and then he frowned and stood up.

“Do as you please with the Afinizu, Recardo. I was never interested in it anyway.”

“Your Excellency!”

“My Lord! No!” 

At Hector’s words, the Elders rose from their seats in protest, but settled back down as Hector swung round with a fierce intensity.

Bashiron looked lost. If even his father, Hector, left, there was no hope.

“There are no proper children or grandchildren…….”

He walked over to me and looked me in the eye.

“What will be the future of Winchester?”

I gulped as the old man’s face filled my vision.

Despite his worried tone, his eyes were somehow amused.

* * *

“Thank you for your help, my lord. I’m sure His Highness Duke Recardo will appreciate it.”

Seeing Hector off, Rowen bowed deeply to the man.

Recardo had broken down the door to the Afinizu, declared the Afinizu abolished, and then left, leaving Rowen to clean up the mess.

“It’s something to be thankful for. It was quite an annoyance for me too.”

When Hector announced that he was stepping down as patriarch, his eldest son, Bashiron, claimed the position as his own.

But Recardo, the child of Enoch, the deceased second son, proved to be strong to the point of overpowering Bashiron, and so it was decided that Recardo would succeed him. Hector also recognized him as the rightful head of the family.

“So much for the long history of the Afinizu.”

Hector clicked his tongue at the memory of his lackluster eldest son.

“Bashiron, you fool. You’d do well to refrain from asking for more.”

He paused, then spoke again.

“The baby – or should I say, Sasha.”

“That’s her name,” Rowen answered, standing behind Hector. 

Sasha would be with Duke Recardo by now.

Hector paused for a moment, then spoke.

“How did she look to you?”

“The lady is…… young, small, and fast growing, but she’s also a bit on the frail side, so she’s often sick and…….”

“Tsk. Not that, but her attitude.”

“What?”

Rowen couldn’t figure out what Hector was talking about. Though …… certainly, his attitude towards Lady Sasha was strangely different.

Hearing that Sasha had been taken to the Afinizu, he exuded a darkness of animosity that sent chills down the spine of even Rowen’s own spine.

Come to think of it, the Afinizu were a nuisance, but they were worth using, so he was willing to leave them alone…….

Hector looked up at the sky, a small grin twisting his lips before he resumed walking.

“Yeah, where there’s noise, there’s fun.”

Rowen stared at Hector’s back, dumbfounded.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Want to keep reading? Visit our Kofi shop for advanced chapter tiers and read up to 8 chapters ahead of public release.