Chapter 45

* * *

Sevar slowly made his way forward.

He wanted to check Bianca’s condition.

And there, he witnessed a miracle.

Color instantly returned to Bianca’s pale face.

It looked as though someone had cast magic.

Sevar slowly bent down.

With a trembling hand, he brushed Bianca’s forehead.

Life was returning to the face of his dying daughter.

“So it was true…”

His head slowly turned.

There stood Diena, looking as though all the vitality had been drained from her and given to Bianca.

Diena staggered.

She didn’t even have enough strength left to move a finger.

‘I pushed myself too far.’

Her ability had limits.

Healing Sevar and calming Bianca’s condition had been manageable.

But completely removing the darkness her uncle had planted came at a tremendous cost.

It wasn’t darkness that had accumulated for just a year or two.

‘It was one of Uncle’s favorite methods.’

It was also one of the reasons he had managed to hide the fact that he was a Dual Ability User for so long.

After threatening someone, he would bind them with a Pact that prevented them from revealing his ability.

At that moment, Varkan approached her.

“Diena, are you alright?”

Diena blinked slowly.

“Huh?”

“Your body’s shaking.”

Diena nodded.

“Ah, yes. I’m not alright.”

“What?”

The moment those words left her mouth, Diena’s body slowly collapsed.

“Uh…?”

Varkan hurriedly caught her.

Diena’s head lolled helplessly and came to rest against his shoulder.

The temperature of her skin felt dangerously cold.

Sevar quickly rushed over.

“Move. I’ll take her to Alfonso.”

Varkan looked up and glared at Sevar fiercely.

Seeing the dissatisfaction written all over his face, Sevar let out a hollow laugh.

“You could’ve believed her sooner.”

His tone was incredibly rude.

Ignoring him, Sevar held out his hand.

But Varkan didn’t hand Diena over.

“It’s fine. I’ll carry her.”

As carefully as though he were carrying a fragile jewel, Varkan lifted Diena in his arms and walked away.

Sevar stared at his retreating figure in disbelief before hurriedly following behind.

* * *

The moment they arrived at Diena’s bedroom, Varkan gently laid her on the soft bed.

Against the white sheets, her face looked pitifully pale.

Alfonso checked her pulse and let out a long sigh.

Watching him, Sevar asked urgently,

“How is she?”

“Her life isn’t in danger.”

“Then why did she collapse?”

“I believe… she’s suffering from extreme exhaustion.”

“Exhaustion?”

“Yes. The external force she tried to handle was simply too powerful compared to the amount of mana and vitality she possesses.”

“Does that mean this could happen every time she uses her ability?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Normally, when someone overuses their ability, the darkness grows stronger, doesn’t it? But that doesn’t seem to be the case with this young lady.”

“…”

“I suspect there’s some side effect only she knows about, but I can’t say for certain.”

Looking down at Diena’s hand with concern, Alfonso added,

“She’ll wake up after some time.”

“…Understood. You may leave.”

Alfonso bowed his head and left.

Varkan frowned.

‘Diena really healed Bianca.’

She had performed a miracle with her ability.

‘And she didn’t care about her own body at all.’

Even though she could barely take care of herself, she had whispered fearlessly.

“I’ll make sure you don’t hurt.”

“You’ll be able to sleep soundly every night too.”

“I’ll protect you.”

Who exactly was protecting whom?

‘She’s so weak.’

Varkan couldn’t believe it.

Diena had probably known this would happen to her.

Even so, she insisted on meeting Sevar.

She had acted knowing she’d end up like this.

Because she was both intelligent and kindhearted.

Varkan slowly turned his head.

Then he looked at Sevar and spoke.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“About what?”

“Are you still planning to send Diena back to House Rothwell?”

Sevar answered with a serious expression.

“What exactly do you take me for, Varkan? Now that the problem’s been solved, do you really think I’d send such a tiny, fragile kid back to the Duke of Rothwell?”

Instead of answering, Varkan simply looked at him with accusing eyes.

Reading the answer in that gaze, Sevar’s expression stiffened.

Honestly, he couldn’t argue.

He had been trying to drive Diena away.

“It was you who wanted to send Diena back to the ducal house. Did one use of her ability completely change your mind?”

At the accusation in his voice, Sevar frowned.

“You… really do see me as a terrible person.”

“It’s been too many years since we lived together for me to understand your intentions perfectly.”

Sevar had no rebuttal.

Even if he had his reasons, it was only natural that Varkan distrusted him.

“Even before experiencing her ability, I was planning to send her to the Magic Tower.”

“At least that would’ve been a better choice. So are you sending her there?”

“No. Don’t worry. There’s no need for that anymore. If anything, I should repay her.”

Sevar looked down at Diena’s face.

Despite being only sixteen years old, Diena was astonishingly mature.

If the Duke of Rothwell truly believed she was a Non-Ability User, it wasn’t hard to imagine how she had been treated.

She must have endured many things that forced her to grow up too quickly.

That was probably why she didn’t want to return to House Rothwell.

Now he no longer needed to worry about Baltazar’s reactions.

He could handle things however he wished.

Sevar hardened his expression.

“Nothing you’re worried about is going to happen.”

* * *

Sevar sat deeply in a leather chair inside the conference room, staring at the people gathered before him.

Count Roche sat there with a smug expression.

‘And there are unwanted guests too.’

His gaze slowly shifted.

Edion, a knight of House Rothwell.

It was a face he had encountered several times before.

“It’s been a long time, Lord Sevar.”

Edion offered a respectful greeting.

Then he immediately got to the point.

“My master is deeply concerned. It’s the first time a member of our family has been abducted in such a manner.”

“Abducted?”

“I heard a new guest has arrived here. We are convinced that guest is Miss Diena, who disappeared from our family.”

At Edion’s words, Count Roche, who had been sitting quietly with his head lowered, finally spoke as well.

“That’s correct. The child Lord Varkan brought back and assigned as Lady Bianca’s maid. Isn’t that child actually Lady Diena of Rothwell?”