Chapter 46

“…”

“From what I understand, when Head Maid Matilda discovered that fact, Lord Varkan punished her. Where is she now?”

“…”

“Are you imprisoning Matilda to hide the fact that you’re keeping Lady Diena here?”

Count Roche raised his head with an aggrieved expression.

“I came because I thought I should say this one last time before bringing in the Council of Elders. If everyone learns about this, the Council of Elders won’t stay silent either.”

Yet he couldn’t hide the delight twitching at the corners of his lips.

At long last, he had a chance to repay the humiliation his son Daniel had suffered at Varkan’s hands.

Daniel had been humiliated at Lady Bianca’s tea party.

Then, while returning home afterward, he had even been attacked by unknown assailants.

As a result, he still hadn’t been able to leave his bed.

Daniel had repeated only one thing over and over with a wronged expression.

“It was definitely him! Varkan Kardian!”

Count Roche had been waiting for this day ever since.

But Sevar’s response completely exceeded his expectations.

“It’s hard to tell which family’s elder you belong to, Count Roche.”

“P-Pardon?”

A powerful pressure erupted from Sevar’s body.

The smile vanished from the count’s face.

“You seem more like an elder of Rothwell. Am I wrong?”

Under the crushing pressure bearing down on him, Count Roche couldn’t even answer properly and began stammering helplessly.

His bold attitude collapsed after only a few words.

It was a pathetic sight, but Edion could understand his cowardly reaction to some extent.

No one could maintain their composure in front of that level of pressure.

‘He’s ridiculously strong.’

Edion himself was an Ability User with respectable intermediate-level skills.

Yet even he struggled just to stay conscious beneath Sevar’s aura.

Barely managing to step in front of Count Roche, he spoke.

“Lord Sevar, now isn’t the time for this. If you refuse to return Lady Diena, this could escalate into a conflict between families.”

“…”

“I don’t see any benefit in creating conflict among the Five Great Families.”

“Well, I’m not so sure.”

“Pardon?”

“As you said, that maid is indeed Diena Rothwell.”

Edion was left speechless.

Sevar looked far too confident as he admitted it.

“You knew all along? Then why didn’t you send her back?”

“My daughter likes Lady Diena very much. I’d say that’s reason enough.”

Sevar was shamelessly straightforward.

Edion clenched both fists tightly before managing to speak.

“W-what… That’s not a valid reason…”

“I cherish my daughter greatly. If it’s something she wants, I want to grant it. Ah, and the Duke of Rothwell knows better than anyone how much I treasure my daughter.”

One corner of Sevar’s lips curved upward.

“You asked where Matilda is?”

“Yes.”

“She’s dead.”

“Dead?”

“She dared to try and kill Bianca. There are plenty of people willing to testify to that.”

Of course, a considerable amount of blood had been shed before those people agreed to testify.

But Sevar didn’t bother explaining that part.

“Even so, there was no reason to kill her…!”

“So I interrogated her in the Underground Prison to find out why she did it. She died while attempting to confess. A spell had been placed on her that would kill her if she revealed certain information.”

Confusion spread across Edion’s face.

“Aren’t you curious who she was trying to expose?”

“Not particularly.”

“Then I’ll tell you.”

Sevar’s cold gaze turned toward Count Roche.

“Kneel.”

The instant the word left his mouth, the overwhelming killing intent of a Top-Tier Ability User crashed down upon Count Roche.

Without even managing a scream, he collapsed to the floor.

Sevar stepped on his hand.

“Bring it.”

As soon as he spoke, an aide handed a letter to Sevar.

“This letter was exchanged between you and Matilda. The two of you maintained quite a lengthy relationship.”

Sevar slowly lowered his head and met Count Roche’s eyes.

“Now then, who do you suppose ordered you to plant Matilda inside our family?”

“I-I don’t know. Such a person doesn’t even exist.”

“Really? I think I know.”

The moment Sevar finished speaking, a slight crack appeared in Edion’s expression.

Sevar slowly turned his head toward him.

“Edion, let me say this one more time.”

“…”

“Tell the Duke of Rothwell that my daughter treasures Diena dearly. Tell him Diena should continue living with our family until the day she personally tells me she wants to return to House Rothwell.”

Naturally, Edion understood exactly what Sevar meant.

This was a warning directed at the Duke of Rothwell.

Give up on Diena.

Otherwise, the attempt on Bianca’s life would be exposed.

Protecting Diena when Bianca herself could have died?

If he refused to obey the Duke of Rothwell’s orders, he shouldn’t be able to obtain the side effect suppressants.

Something about this was clearly strange.

Had he given up on Bianca’s life?

Or perhaps…

Had he found something capable of replacing the Temple’s side effect suppressants?

Whatever the reason, Sevar’s sudden change in attitude was a major variable.

Sevar tossed Count Roche’s letter at his feet.

“Still, there should be a price for bothering me.”

Count Roche’s face turned deathly pale.

Looking at Sevar, he shouted,

“W-what do you think you’re doing?! If you act like this, you won’t receive the side effect suppressants! I heard Lady Bianca collapsed!”

Sevar didn’t stop there.

Holding his sword, he swung it without the slightest hesitation.

“Aaaaagh-!”

Count Roche rolled across the floor while clutching his hand.

Sevar looked down at him indifferently before tilting his chin.

“Remove him. The floor has become filthy.”

The once-noisy conference hall fell silent.

Edion couldn’t even bring himself to meet Sevar’s eyes.

He merely lowered his head.

“This is my answer. Go back and deliver it exactly as I said.”

* * *

Diena stared blankly out the window.

Originally, she had planned to leave House Kardian immediately after healing Bianca.

First and foremost, she needed to escape from the people sent by House Rothwell.

However, she hadn’t expected to lose consciousness from excessive use of her ability.

The moment she woke up, she grabbed Varkan and asked what had happened afterward.

And then she heard something she never could have imagined.

“Don’t worry, Diena. Those bastards got kicked out.”

“Kicked out?”

“Yeah. You collapsed because Father didn’t trust you, so he had to take responsibility. That’s why he threw them out.”

Sure enough, she could see people from House Rothwell leaving House Kardian through the window.

Not a single one of them looked back.

Their hurried footsteps made it seem as though they were fleeing for their lives.