Chapter 8

Baltazar had known since childhood that he would never inherit the family.

Because of that, he chose to devote himself to the Temple.

He had risen to a very high position there as well.

As a result, after Baltazar became the Duke of Rothwell, the Temple and House Rothwell grew remarkably close.

‘I’ve always wondered why he returned to the family immediately after Father disappeared.’

In truth, it was also strange that the Temple treated Baltazar so favorably after his return.

And they openly displayed that relationship throughout high society.

They made Baltazar their representative and handed over the monopoly on supplying suppressants to him.

At present, the Temple held exclusive production rights over high-quality suppressants.

Because of this, House Kardian had gone a long time without receiving any.

The Magic Tower also produced suppressants, but their quality was inferior to those from the Temple.

They weren’t enough to heal the darkness residing within the Duke of Kardian and Varkan, both top-tier Ability Users.

No wonder Varkan hated House Rothwell.

And despite all that, he had still helped Diena.

Both in her previous life and this one.

Silence lingered for a moment.

Diena was the first to speak again.

“So what are you going to do with me now?”

Varkan tilted his head.

“Why are you asking me that?”

Diena looked up at him.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to follow you, Lord Varkan.”

Varkan narrowed his eyes.

His expression clearly suggested he was questioning her sanity.

“…You do know who I am, right?”

“Of course I do. You’re Varkan Kardian.”

Deliberately lowering his voice as if to intimidate her, he continued,

“If you know that, then you should think very carefully.”

Varkan crossed his arms and looked out the window.

“I only helped you because I couldn’t stand the way Duke Rothwell was acting. It’s not because I’m some kind person.”

“I see.”

“The Kardian family is in the North. It’s cold there. Powerful monsters show up all the time too.”

“I understand.”

When Diena didn’t seem to understand what he was getting at, Varkan continued with an irritated look.

“I don’t know what use a kid like you could possibly be. And I’m not particularly responsible or affectionate either.”

Beside him, Malakar nodded vigorously.

“The boy’s right. House Kardian isn’t a good place for a young girl to live. It’s outside the Purification Zone, unlike the other four great families. You can’t expect much protection from the Temple there.”

Diena shook her head.

“I’m not that young. There’s only a three-year age difference between Lord Varkan and me. And I’ll probably be more useful than you think. I don’t need the Temple’s protection either.”

“Hm?”

“I’m good at cooking, and animals warm up to me quickly. I’m also good at hard work.”

Diena looked up at Varkan with pitiful eyes.

“I barely eat anything too, so I won’t be much trouble.”

Varkan frowned in disapproval.

“You don’t need to do any of that. Whether you’re useful or not isn’t the issue. And eating very little isn’t something worthy of praise.”

“I see… Then…”

Watching Diena stubbornly refuse to give up, Varkan let out a deep sigh.

“Do you have a death wish?”

His voice was low.

After exhaling slowly, he continued.

“If you lived in House Rothwell, there’s no way you haven’t heard about House Kardian’s weakness.”

The people of House Kardian carried immense darkness within them.

Darkness powerful enough to erupt at any moment.

That was because their abilities were rooted in the power of darkness itself.

‘It didn’t used to be this bad.’

And that darkness was growing stronger with every passing day.

“You said you didn’t want to die. Then why do you want to follow me? How do you know the ability inside me won’t go berserk tomorrow?”

But Diena knew the true reason behind Varkan’s concern.

‘It’s because of Uncle’s ability.’

No one knew it, but Baltazar was an Ability User who possessed two abilities.

‘Everyone thinks his ability is gravity manipulation, but he has another hidden ability.’

An ability that amplified darkness.

For Ability Users, it was nothing short of a disaster.

Using suppressants and that hidden power, Baltazar had manipulated the people of House Kardian however he pleased.

And even worse,

When an Ability User went berserk, those around them could also become consumed by darkness.

For Non-Ability Users who had never awakened an ability, darkness corruption was essentially an incurable disease.

Without regular suppressant treatments, death was inevitable.

And…

‘That’s why Lady Bianca is sick.’

Varkan’s younger sister, Bianca, was a Non-Ability User.

Two years ago, Varkan’s darkness went berserk.

As a result, the Duchess died, and Bianca became heavily corrupted by darkness.

‘My ability might’ve been able to heal her…’

In her previous life, Duke Rothwell had taken advantage of that fact.

Using Diena, who possessed the Purification Ability, as bait, he extorted countless things from House Kardian.

‘He took everything he wanted, and in the end he still never allowed me to use my ability on Lady Bianca.’

That was how Varkan’s sister had died in her previous life.

Diena had never tried healing a Non-Ability User afflicted by darkness corruption.

She couldn’t be certain whether her ability would work on them.

‘That’s exactly why I need to go to House Kardian.’

She had to find out whether her power could save Bianca.

Diena let out a sigh.

She didn’t want to persuade him by promising to cure Lady Bianca.

If her ability didn’t work, she’d only be giving them false hope.

He might even call her a liar and get angry.

‘Looks like I’ll have to convince Varkan another way.’

Having made up her mind, she spoke.

“Yes. I really don’t want to die. That’s exactly why I want to follow you.”

Varkan flinched.

The timid expression she had shown earlier was gone.

Diena’s face was now filled with determination.

“To be honest, everything I said before was just me trying things out. I had a feeling those arguments wouldn’t work on you.”

“What? Then why say them?”

“I thought maybe if I sounded pitiful enough, you might take me with you. So I decided to try it. And I wanted to know what kind of person you are.”

If this had been the Varkan from her previous life, it might’ve worked.

Whenever Diena acted even slightly vulnerable, he would try to give her whatever she wanted.

“But now I know for certain that emotional appeals don’t work on you at all.”

“Good thing you figured that out. I’m not that easy to fool.”

As he spoke, Varkan folded his arms.

Seeing that, Diena was reminded once more.

The Varkan who would do anything she asked was gone.

“Diena. Why are you crying? What’s bothering you? Just tell me. I’ll take care of it.”

“There’s dust in my eye…”

It’s fine.

She had prepared herself for this already.

Thinking that, Diena slowly opened her mouth.

“I know House Kardian’s weakness. And I also know that if that weakness disappears, House Kardian can become even stronger.”

“…That’s true. But that’s impossible.”

“My Purification Ability Power can do it. My ability purifies darkness. That’s also why I said I don’t need the Temple’s protection.”

This time, even Varkan couldn’t hide his shock.

An ability that purified darkness was something he had never even heard of.

He turned toward Malakar.

“Is what she’s saying true?”

“It is. Haven’t you noticed that I’m completely fine now?”

“Wow. Now that you mention it, you’re right. That’s a ridiculous ability.”

He was right.

Malakar had been on the verge of needing a suppressant immediately, yet his condition had visibly improved.

Unable to understand, Varkan turned back to Diena.

“Then why did you hide your ability from Duke Rothwell?”