Chapter 17

“Now you believe me when I said you’d need me, right?”

He had never coveted anything in his life, yet right now he felt a desperate thirst to seize her hand and savor that warmth once more.

Varkan realized it almost immediately.

Diena’s existence was dangerous to him.

And the same was true for Diena.

He could easily picture himself losing his reason one day and becoming obsessed with her ability.

He remembered what she had said to him.

“If my uncle found out about my ability back then, it’s way too obvious what he would’ve done.”

“What do you think he would’ve done?”

“He would’ve used me as much as he wanted. I know my uncle. He might act kind on the surface. But in the end, he’d never let me rest and keep draining my ability until I died.”

Now he understood why she thought that way.

When he’d heard those words, he’d thought the Duke of Rothwell was a hopeless piece of trash.

Yet now he could understand that bastard’s feelings.

“Ha…”

A deep sigh escaped his lips.

“Forget it. Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to become trash.”

Varkan walked over to her and began examining her from head to toe.

“First, let’s check a few things. Why were you unconscious? What did Matilda do to you?”

“No, Matilda didn’t do anything to me. She didn’t feed me properly, but I managed to take care of myself.”

“…”

“The room I stayed in wasn’t as bad as I expected. I lived in much worse places in House Rothwell. Compared to that, it was basically a hotel.”

“Then why were you unconscious?”

“I’ve always hated isolation cells. I got locked up a lot in House Rothwell. I think that made me collapse for a bit.”

“What kind of crazy…”

Varkan stopped himself before he could swear.

Diena was looking at him.

“There really are some awful bastards out there, huh?”

“That’s why it happened. Look, I’m completely fine.”

As she spoke, Diena raised her arm.

“Yeah, it’s a relief that you’re fine. But don’t let your guard down. I’ll send a physician, so make sure you get treated.”

“…”

“And make sure you eat every meal properly. Then once you’ve recovered…”

Varkan hesitated for a moment before speaking firmly.

“I think it’d be best if you left our family.”

“Wh… what?”

Those were words she had never expected.

She thought he’d finally recognized her value, yet instead he was suddenly telling her to leave.

Diena stared up at him, speechless.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re properly rewarded for helping Bianca and me. And…”

Avoiding her gaze, Varkan added,

“I’ll send you somewhere safe.”

As though forcing himself to let go of any lingering attachment, he stood and left the room.

Diena stared blankly at his retreating figure.

‘Why is Varkan avoiding me?’

* * *

In truth, Varkan had always been a fearful boy.

The only person who knew that was his mother.

Ever since childhood, he had been prideful and always pretended to be stronger than he really was.

But he was especially afraid of rainy days.

Whenever thunder and lightning crashed across the sky, he would bury himself in his mother’s embrace and squeeze his eyes shut until it passed.

Whenever that happened, his mother would stroke his hair and say,

“It’s alright, Varkan.”

“If people find out I’m scared of rainy days, they’ll think I’m a coward.”

“No, they won’t. Having something you’re afraid of means you can become even stronger. It means you have more things you want to protect. That’s why you’re trying to become a strong person.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Isn’t your father strong because he wants to protect us?”

Beautiful blonde hair.

Green eyes.

His mother was a Non-Ability User and weaker than anyone else, yet stronger than anyone in a different way.

When Varkan was fifteen years old.

His ability manifested later than most Ability Users.

Everyone was astonished when he awakened a powerful ability.

“That’s truly incredible, Lord Varkan.”

“To awaken so late and still become a top-tier Ability User!”

Elation.

And happiness.

Those were the emotions he felt after awakening his ability.

The people who had once looked down on him changed their attitudes overnight.

And then…

The first time he attended a banquet after awakening his ability, he met Baltazar for the first time, before the man became the Duke of Rothwell.

“Lord Baltazar is attending the banquet.”

“He’s truly an amazing person. I heard he donated a huge sum to the Temple orphanage again.”

“That’s right. Isn’t it thanks to Lord Baltazar that the Temple’s side effect suppressants are being distributed to lower-ranked Ability Users?”

Originally, the Temple’s side effect suppressants had only been distributed to top-tier Ability Users.

Before that, when a lower-ranked Ability User was consumed by darkness and went berserk, execution was usually the outcome.

A berserk state couldn’t be controlled with the Magic Tower’s side effect suppressants.

But Baltazar had started distributing the Temple’s side effect suppressants to lower-ranked Ability Users as well.

Varkan admired him for that.

Most Ability Users only cared about their own well-being.

They looked down on lower-ranked Ability Users and ordinary people with ruthless contempt, treating them as though they were a different species.

But Baltazar was different.

He was fair and upright more than anyone else.

Even if Varkan had never awakened his ability, Baltazar might not have looked down on him.

That thought made Varkan like him.

At that moment, Baltazar approached him and his father.

“Duke Kardian, I heard you’re joining the campaign against the Great Overflow.”

“That’s right.”

“A truly admirable decision. To care even about the people beyond the Purification Zone. My older brother is currently deployed there as well. If Duke Kardian joins them, it’ll be a tremendous help.”

“Well, I suppose so. As long as enough side effect suppressants are prepared, we should be able to stop this Great Overflow.”

“That’s wonderful news. Ah, and this must be your son.”

Smiling kindly, Baltazar extended a hand toward him.

“Become a good Ability User. One who can protect the weak.”

But the moment their hands met, Varkan felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

That night, Varkan went berserk.

The price was horrific.

It happened while he was with his mother and his younger sister, Bianca.

In his berserk state, he lost control of his body.

And he attacked his mother and Bianca.

“Varkan, none of this is your fault.”

His mother gradually withered away under Darkness Corruption before eventually dying.

Thanks to her, Bianca survived.

But Bianca’s condition was no less tragic.

“She’s barely made it through the worst of it, but she’ll probably suffer from aftereffects.”

“You shouldn’t stay near Lady Bianca.”

“Lord Varkan’s ability is dangerous to Non-Ability Users.”

All he could do was watch as his sister hovered between life and death because of him.

His father.

Sevar was unable to depart on the campaign that had already been planned because of him.

Since he couldn’t respond to the Great Overflow crisis, countless people lost their lives.

Every one of those deaths…

Was his fault.

Yet Sevar never said a single word to Varkan.

He never blamed him.

Nor did he hate him.

And Varkan instinctively knew.

The Duke of Rothwell was connected to his berserk state.

The sensation he had felt when they shook hands had definitely affected his condition.