Chapter 18

After that, the relationship between the two families spiraled into the worst possible state.

Varkan became afraid of fragile things.

He was also afraid of having anything precious.

“Big brother, can’t you stay with me today?”

Whenever he couldn’t answer Bianca’s pitiful request, that fear only grew stronger.

Because he had learned just how painful it was to lose someone one day.

* * *

Varkan immediately set out to find a safe place for Diena.

Now that he understood the danger, sitting around doing nothing wasn’t in his nature.

‘Somewhere with as little Ability User influence as possible.’

That wasn’t the only danger.

Any Ability User who discovered Diena would covet her.

To prevent that from happening, he had to find somewhere truly safe.

He spent the entire day locked in his office searching for a place.

At that moment, Hasen, who had been carefully watching his mood, approached and spoke cautiously.

“Miss Diena is here to see you.”

“I told everyone not to let anyone in.”

“But she seemed so desperate… Wouldn’t it be better to at least talk with her?”

“…”

“Wouldn’t it? If you’re planning to send her away, shouldn’t you at least tell her beforehand so she can prepare herself?”

Hasen knew exactly what Varkan had been searching for so diligently.

Varkan’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Still, he soon realized Hasen wasn’t wrong and nodded.

“Send her in.”

Not long after Hasen left, the door opened.

“Lord Varkan.”

Varkan’s gaze shifted toward Diena.

Afraid that same sensation from earlier might return, he forced his expression to remain cold.

At that moment, Diena spoke with a tense look on her face.

“Please don’t send me away.”

Varkan’s expression slowly darkened.

“We agreed from the start that it’d only be temporary.”

“But not now. I don’t want to leave.”

“Why don’t you want to leave?”

“I told you. I want revenge against my uncle.”

“…”

“I can more or less guess why you’re trying to send me away. But please don’t.”

Her words hit the mark so perfectly that Varkan was honestly surprised.

For a moment, he wondered if she had seen through that beastlike desire of his.

Then embarrassment crept in.

“My ability is ridiculously overpowered, so you’re wondering if it’s some kind of trap, right? It’s really not.”

Fortunately, Diena had completely misunderstood.

While Varkan quietly relaxed, she continued.

“If I’m not here, it’ll be difficult for you to deal with my uncle. You already have some idea what his ability is, don’t you?”

Varkan’s mouth slowly fell open.

“Wow. Are you really allowed to tell me that?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because if you tell me something like that, you won’t be able to go back to your family even if you want to.”

“Really? Then I’ll tell you everything. My uncle is definitely a dual Ability User. Now please trust me. It’ll be really hard if you try to deal with him alone.”

Diena spoke as if she found him frustrating.

Varkan’s eyes widened in shock.

He had long suspected that the Duke of Rothwell was a dual Ability User who was hiding another ability related to darkness.

Diena had just openly confirmed a suspicion he had never voiced aloud.

“How did you know I suspected that?”

Diena looked directly into his eyes.

Before she escaped from the family in her previous life, Romie had revealed it while mocking her.

‘Do you know why your father died? Because my father stopped Sevar Kardian, who was supposed to be the reinforcements, from deploying.’

‘And all this time you’ve been used while believing they were your family. Your life is really pathetic.’

Later, after meeting Varkan, she had heard it from him directly.

‘Before my ability went berserk, I met the Duke of Rothwell. After shaking his hand, I felt incredibly awful.’

And after learning about the Darkness Amplification Ability through Diena, Varkan had spoken with certainty.

‘I was probably affected back then. By Darkness Amplification.’

Recalling those moments, Diena spoke.

“I know that when the Great Overflow happened, my uncle used his ability on you. And that’s why you went berserk.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m from House Rothwell.”

Varkan’s lips tightened.

Someone from House Rothwell.

In that case, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have heard things from within the family.

“And if you’re a top-tier Ability User like Lord Varkan, I figured you’d have noticed something was wrong the moment you were affected by an ability.”

“…”

“That’s one of the reasons I want revenge. My father died because of that too.”

Her uncle had deliberately prevented Duke Sevar Kardian from joining the battle force that would’ve supported her father.

“That’s also why I came to House Kardian… I needed people who’d fight alongside me toward the same goal.”

Varkan looked at Diena.

Seeing her eyes made her determination to take revenge against House Rothwell feel even more real.

After a long silence, Varkan finally spoke.

“If you stay here, how can you help me? You must have some sort of plan for this revenge.”

“First, my incredible ability. That goes without saying. It’ll be more useful to you than anything else.”

Diena continued confidently.

“Second. I can help Lady Bianca. You already knew that, which is why you were planning to give me the position of dedicated maid.”

“Bianca?”

“You had no idea about Lady Bianca’s situation, did you? Or how hopeless things are in that household right now.”

He wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t find the words.

“…”

“You didn’t know. And honestly, there was no way you could’ve.”

Varkan hadn’t been able to meet Bianca, and Matilda had been blocking communication between them.

“Lady Bianca is completely alone right now. She’s a Non-Ability User. A member of one of the Five Great Families, yet a Non-Ability User. The only people who can truly understand how painful that is are probably you and me. There are even servants in this family who openly look down on Lady Bianca.”

From Diena’s perspective, Bianca’s situation was surprisingly similar to her own.

That was probably why the two had become close so quickly.

Diena understood Bianca better than anyone.

“Just hand over authority regarding Lady Bianca to me. I’ll stay by her side and clean up every single problem.”

“…You?”

“Yep. I’m good at things like that. I went through it all the time in House Rothwell, so I can spot people who look down on Lady Bianca better than anyone.”

“But the servants in our family tend to be pretty stubborn. Will you be alright?”

“Of course.”

During her years with the mercenary corps, Diena had been through all sorts of hardships.

Dealing with a few household servants wasn’t difficult at all.

“There’s something I’d like to ask. Do you care about honor?”

Varkan answered with a look that said he thought it was a very strange question.

“No. I like money and power more than honor.”

“Then I don’t think there’ll be any problem. So, what do you think about joining hands with me?”

He let out a sigh.

From the very beginning, Diena’s proposal had been impossible to refuse.

“I understand what you’re saying. I understand why you came to our family. And you’re right. Bianca definitely needs you.”

“…”

“In that case, let’s make a contract. Take care of Bianca, and I’ll compensate you for it.”