Chapter 5
Eila had tried her best not to show anything, but it seemed Byron had still become suspicious.
Still, she could recover.
This was not the first time she had made him angry during the many years they had lived together.
Whenever it happened, she had begged and pleaded until she regained his trust.
She would do the same this time.
Even if it meant kneeling before that devil and begging for forgiveness.
If it was for the sake of destroying him, she could endure that much.
“I’m sorry, Father. I… I had a nightmare. It frightened me so much… I was terrified. I won’t do it again. Please forgive me just this once.”
Pretending to be frightened, Eila clung to Byron’s leg and begged.
Having to humble herself before the man she wanted to strangle with her own hands made her feel so miserable that tears almost came naturally.
But that only made her acting more convincing.
The pitiful sight of Roderick’s daughterâthe daughter Byron hated more than anythingâbegging him with tear-filled eyes.
It was exactly the kind of scene that would satisfy his twisted mind.
“A nightmare? What kind of nightmare…?”
Just as she expected, the dangerous look in his eyes softened a little.
“I… I dreamed that Father abandoned me.”
A nightmare where she spent her entire life being deceived and used, only to be killed after she had outlived her usefulness.
It wasn’t entirely a lie.
The only difference was that it hadn’t been a dreamâit had really happened.
“…My daughter. Forget such dreams. I would never abandon you.”
That’s right.
Not yet.
Not until she had finished everything he wanted her to do.
Not while she was still useful.
“So… you’ll forgive me?”
“Of course. You are my only hope. Just don’t let it happen again. You’re the only one who can complete my revenge. If you neglect your training, it makes this father very sad.”
After saying that, he gently stroked her silver hair once more.
While he did, an extravagant meal was prepared for him.
“There. Go back to your seat and eat.”
Removing his hand from her head, he waved her away as if he were brushing off an annoying fly.
Suppressing the nausea rising in her stomach, Eila quietly returned to her seat.
The servants standing beside Byron attended to him in place of his missing right hand.
They cut his juicy steak into bite-sized pieces and poured wine as red as blood into his glass.
It was a rather heavy meal for breakfastâor even lunchâbut Byron always ate like this.
Fresh meat was always prepared because he loved it.
“Mm, excellent. Gazelle steak today?”
“Yes, Master. It was hunted early this morning.”
Byron gracefully accepted a piece of steak from the servant and placed it into his mouth.
Watching him close his eyes as though savoring every bite made Eila feel sick, and she quickly looked down at her own plate.
“Gazelle is good, but it’s too lean. Beef is much softer and tastier, don’t you think?”
“Yes, Master.”
“But what can I do? I can’t exactly ask someone to bring fresh beef into the middle of these mountains.”
Leaning lazily against the armrest, Byron took a sip of wine with a dissatisfied expression.
Quite the gourmet, aren’t you?
Eila sneered inwardly.
Of course, she could never say such a thing aloud.
Her past self had truly been blinded.
Even while constantly fleeing from place to place, she had accepted this luxurious lifestyle as perfectly normal and believed her father was flawless.
As she silently concentrated on cutting her own gazelle steak, hoping not to draw any more attention to herself, Byron predictably brought her up again.
“…Sigh. If I ever want to enjoy my favorite beef again, our daughter will have to work harder, won’t she? I hope you’ll finish your training soon and complete this father’s revenge. Only then can I stop living in hiding.”
What an absurd thing to say.
She could hardly keep herself from laughing.
In the past, she would have resolved to work harder for her father.
But now that she knew the truth, simply listening to those words without reacting required incredible self-control.
Even so, Eila smiled brightly.
“Yes, Father. I’ll do my best.”
Pleased by her immediate answer, Byron smiled warmly and returned to his meal.
Byron always took a long time to eat.
Partly because he only had one hand, but mostly because he simply enjoyed taking his time.
Feeling uncomfortable, Eila picked at her food much more slowly than usual.
Even then, Byron took far longer than she did, leisurely savoring every bite of the gazelle steak.
As a result, she had to remain seated for quite a while after finishing her meal, waiting for him to stand.
“That’s enough for today, my daughter. I trust you’ll work harder during this afternoon’s training.”
Only after a long while did Byron finally rise, casually brushing back his hair.
He had said he forgave her, yet he still managed to leave people feeling uneasy.
The old Eila would have worried endlessly over those words, wondering how she could cheer him up and earn back his approval.
Feeling pity for the foolish girl she once was, she secretly glared at Byron as he walked toward the door.
That was when something at his waist caught her eye.
A dagger.
Its sheath was beautifully crafted from platinum, with a large violet diamond embedded in it.
It was the very dagger she had used to kill Roderick.
In the end, poisonânot the wound itselfâhad taken Roderick’s life.
Even so, the memory of striking down her own father with that blade remained vividly etched into her mind.
Although time had been turned back and those events had never happened, they were still painfully real in her memories.
Something surged up inside her chest.
Before, she had thought nothing of the dagger.
But now that she knew about Byron’s obsessive fixation on Ophelia, it looked completely different.
Didn’t it resemble Ophelia herself?
The smooth silver of the blade called to mind her shining silver hair.
The violet diamond reminded Eila of Ophelia’s gentle purple eyes.
Perhaps she was reading too much into an ordinary weapon.
But she couldn’t simply dismiss the thought.
Even the elegant, delicate craftsmanship seemed to reflect Ophelia’s grace.
Remembering how Byron treasured the dagger and never allowed anyone else to touch it only made her feel even more disgusted.
At that moment, Eila wanted nothing more than to rip the dagger from his waist.
He had no right to possess it.
She still didn’t know exactly what had happened between her parents and Byron.
But remembering the loving way Ophelia and Roderick had always looked at each other, she was certain of one thing.
The one who had intruded into their relationship and destroyed it was Byron.
Not Roderick.
“Miss.”
Cloud’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
“It’s time for your afternoon training.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
Now wasn’t the time.
For now, she had to remain patient, hide her claws, and quietly gather strength.
Clenching her fists tightly, Eila followed Cloud.
It felt as though she could hear her own teeth grinding.
She spent the afternoon training with Cloud as usual.
They practiced assassination techniques.
He taught her where to strike a person’s body to kill instantly using an anatomical dummy, and had her practice with a dagger.
Everything he taught was already second nature to Eila.
But if she suddenly displayed too much skill, people would become suspicious.
So she deliberately made small mistakes.
At the same time, she couldn’t appear lazy either.
If Cloud or Laura reported poorly to Byron again, it would only complicate things.
So she listened attentively, pretending to be eager and enthusiastic.
Pretending to be bad at something she could do as naturally as breathing was surprisingly exhausting.
She couldn’t remember exactly how skilled she had been at twelve years old.
Fortunately, Cloud’s usually expressionless face showed no sign of suspicion.
Apparently, her performance wasn’t unnatural.
She ate a simple dinner alone in her room.
Laura explained that Byron was busy with a meeting.
Not having to face his revolting face during dinner was certainly pleasant.
Still, Eila couldn’t help wishing she could slip past Laura’s watch, sneak into Byron’s room, and eavesdrop on that meeting.
“Don’t be disappointed, Miss. Master is simply busy, so you have to eat separately today. He specifically asked me to tell you that he’s sorry.”
“…I see.”
That wasn’t what disappointed Eila at all.
But seeing her expression, Laura misunderstood and tried to comfort her.
It was always like this.
They would terrify her one moment, then immediately act gentle as though nothing had happened.
Byron, Laura, all of them.
As a child, she had grown used to this treatment, constantly watching their moods and living in fear.
“Our master is truly merciful, isn’t he? Even though you overslept and only completed half of your morning training, he still forgave you. You understand now just how much he loves and cherishes you, don’t you?”
Laura shook her head dramatically.
“If it had been me, he never would have forgiven me.”
Then she fixed Eila with a serious look.
“So from now on, you’ll work even harder to live up to Master’s expectations… won’t you?”
