Chapter 33

“It’s because I’ve been purifying my lady with my ability. I’ve been treating her Darkness Corruption every time we met.”

“You’re an Ability User, Diena?”

Bianca froze at Diena’s bombshell revelation.

Then her body swayed.

Varkan quickly caught and supported her.

“Wow… So that’s why you came to work as my maid?”

Varkan didn’t stop there and revealed one more fact.

“There’s still something we haven’t told you.”

“W-What is it?”

“Diena is the daughter of the previous Duke of Rothwell.”

Once again, Bianca was so shocked that she could only blink.

Everything finally made sense.

The graceful movements that were far too refined for a commoner.

Even the noble aura that Bianca herself could never imitate.

“No wonder… Everything about you was too perfect.”

Bianca muttered blankly.

After hesitating for a moment, she asked,

“B-But why hide both your status and your ability? If you’d revealed that you were an Ability User, none of this would’ve happened to you. And there would’ve been no reason for you to work as a maid in our house.”

Lowering her eyes, Diena answered,

“I used to be a Non-Ability User. I was mistreated by my family because of it. So after I awakened my ability, I chose not to reveal it.”

“Why? If you told everyone, they would’ve treated you well.”

“I didn’t want that. If people only treated me well because I was an Ability User, what would that even mean? Even if I’d revealed my ability, they would’ve only tried to use me. That’s why I hid my status too. If my identity became known, I might’ve been forced to return to House Rothwell.”

Varkan continued with a grim expression.

“The one who helped uncover what Matilda did to you and got her expelled was Diena.”

Bianca blinked in shock.

She had only recently learned that fact through Alfonso, the family’s physician.

‘He said Matilda had been brainwashing me on purpose to weaken me.’

He had told her that severely restricting her food wasn’t normal.

Because of that, Bianca knew Diena was an incredible benefactor to her.

Looking embarrassed, Diena spoke.

“I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, my lady. We weren’t sure whether Darkness Corruption could really be cured, so Lord Varkan and I were monitoring the situation.”

“No, no. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Thank you. Thank you so much!”

Bianca meant every word.

Since the age of fourteen, she had lived while being ignored under the label of Non-Ability User.

People whispered that she was a useless young lady who didn’t belong in House Kardian.

Neither her friends nor her fiancé loved her, and there had been times when she fell into despair believing she would never be loved for the rest of her life.

But to think she had possessed an ability all along.

When she grabbed Daniel earlier, she had felt an overwhelming power surge up from deep within her body.

Just the possibility that she might someday use that power freely made her heart swell with excitement.

Watching Bianca cover her mouth in hope, Diena smiled warmly.

“But you aren’t fully cured yet. That’s why your ability only manifested briefly and you haven’t completely awakened. Deep inside your body… there’s an extremely powerful darkness. That’s why treatment is taking so long.”

“Ah… Really?”

“Yes. And you need to be careful. We don’t know when or how it might erupt.”

Diena looked at Bianca with concern.

That was also the reason she hadn’t been able to completely heal Bianca right away.

A massive darkness was coiled inside her body, and Diena couldn’t touch it yet.

It wasn’t difficult for Diena to figure out who had done such a thing.

‘My uncle.’

Somehow, he had planted a ticking time bomb inside Bianca’s body.

It was one of his favorite methods.

He would plant darkness in someone’s heart and make it explode if they disobeyed him.

‘And that time bomb is probably going to explode soon.’

Using her ability this time had likely cracked the bomb.

So if Bianca unleashed that darkness one more time…

‘Lady Bianca will fully awaken.’

For now, everyone was confused.

Had she truly awakened or not?

But when that moment came, no one would doubt it anymore.

‘And when we attend the Winter Banquet after that, it’ll be quite a sight.’

A smile formed on Diena’s lips as she imagined the dramatic change in everyone’s reactions.

“Anyway, I understand. I’ll keep the secret too. But brother, I think I was too shocked. My legs don’t have any strength.”

Bianca suddenly stopped walking and looked at Varkan.

She was smiling awkwardly, but Diena knew she had gathered her courage.

She was asking Varkan to come closer to her.

Varkan, who had instinctively hesitated, slowly walked over.

Even so, Bianca showed no signs of pain.

Encouraged by that, Varkan lifted Bianca into his arms.

She rested comfortably against his chest.

Seeing the obvious relief on his face, Diena couldn’t help smiling as well.

Not long afterward, Hasen appeared from outside the party venue where he had been waiting.

Looking back and forth between Varkan and Bianca, he asked in shock,

“M-My goodness. Are the two of you really okay being that close?”

It was a natural reaction given Bianca’s condition.

Varkan handed Bianca over to him and replied,

“I’ll explain later. Take Bianca back to her room first.”

Hasen looked like he had many questions, but seeing Varkan’s firm expression, he simply nodded.

After bowing his head, he left with Bianca.

“Thank you for today, Lord Varkan.”

Diena also said her goodbye and was about to leave.

But Varkan stopped her.

“You’re going back by yourself?”

“Huh?”

“Do you even realize what condition you’re in right now?”

“What condition am I in?”

“You look exhausted.”

“Ah, I suppose I am.”

Well, Diena had spent a tremendous amount of time preparing Bianca’s tea party.

‘And today I also exhausted myself dealing with those nuisances.’

Suddenly, Varkan looked her over and asked,

“Wait. Why are you so soaked?”

There was a reason for that too.

“I got a little too excited watching Lord Varkan teach Daniel a lesson from nearby…”

“Ahem.”

She had been splashed by the water when Daniel fell into the lake.

Since it was apparently his fault, Varkan cleared his throat awkwardly.

Then he slowly looked away and said,

“If it’s because of me, then I should take responsibility.”

“Huh?”

“If I send you off alone, it looks like you’ll collapse. So I’ll take you back.”

“It’s not that serious.”

“…”

What an incredibly strong rejection.

His carefully offered suggestion had been shut down immediately.

Varkan frowned.

Unable to think of another way to persuade her, he finally sighed.

“…I’m taking you back. Because it’ll bother me if I don’t.”

Only then did Diena obediently nod.

“Thank you. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Lord Sevar will be returning to the family soon, won’t he?”

This time Varkan was genuinely shocked.

His legs nearly gave out for a moment.

“H-How do you know that?”

Varkan had recently received word through Hasen.

His father Sevar, who had departed on a subjugation campaign, was returning home.

But he hadn’t told anyone about it.

Pretending to be innocent, Diena replied,

“He’s the head of the family. Isn’t it natural that he’d come home eventually?”

“Normally, sure. But our family isn’t exactly normal, is it? Cases where Father, the Family Head, actually returns can be counted on one hand.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Seeing Diena admit it so readily, Varkan suddenly felt embarrassed and cleared his throat.

“Ahem. But why are you asking about Father?”

“I need to prepare myself mentally.”