Chapter 13
It was a strange matter.
When Princess Trisha Klein of the Klein Principality announced her pregnancy, several of the retainers tried to persuade Pater.
They told him to simply claim the child belonged to someone else.
Enril was already dead, and at that time the Empire had no way to verify blood relations. Although people suspected he had committed an unforgivable act, there was no proof.
Most importantly, he was their lord.
Even if it was a lie, they wanted to protect House Stykia’s honour and Pater’s reputation.
But Pater remained firm.
“That child is my daughter. She is my own daughter, born from my sin.”
Many retainers could not accept his determination and resigned from their positions.
He was the one who had insisted so strongly that Heidi was his daughter.
So why was he now speaking as though his own daughter were a complete stranger?
Everyone was left speechless by Pater’s mysterious smile.
“…In any case, that child must be sent away.”
One retainer, who had been carefully watching the atmosphere, finally spoke.
“If Your Grace refuses to make Heidi your heir for other reasons, then why not adopt a child from a branch of the family?”
“…A branch family?”
“Yes. Do you remember the child who greeted you before? His name is Terril. He’s my grandson. He’s extremely clever and intelligent. He would do anything for Your Grace—”
“Ah, yes. I remember.”
Pater interrupted the long sales pitch.
“He was very curious. He kept asking where the armoury was.”
“…Pardon?”
The armoury was practically the heart of House Stykia.
The first Duke of Stykia had invented a way to infuse weapons with the mana flowing through the land, allowing even people without mana to wield powerful weapons.
The Temple, which opposed killing, harshly criticised Stykia because of it.
Yet that very power was also the reason Stykia had survived despite carrying the disgraceful title of the Rubbish Heap.
And yet…
That child had dared to ask about such an important place.
“It seemed your grandson was genuinely interested in Stykia’s inner secrets. So I personally gave him a sword and even told him where he could learn more.”
He calmly continued.
“I also showed him where the monsters live.”
The word “monster” carried a different meaning in Stykia.
They were creatures raised by Pater himself.
Mana was naturally drawn to stronger mana.
The monsters constantly attacked Pater because he possessed the greatest mana since the founding Duke.
Pater would heal them after every battle, then fight them again.
The cycle repeated endlessly.
As long as neither side died, the battles continued.
And the final victor…
Was always Pater.
Even after losing his eyesight.
‘He… sent my grandson to the monsters?’
‘And even gave him a sword filled with his own mana?’
The retainers swallowed nervously.
“If he wanted to inherit my position, I thought he should at least manage that much.”
Pater smiled faintly.
“But strangely enough… he never came back.”
“…”
“I suppose someone should teach him proper manners again.”
He sounded almost disappointed.
Someone outside the direct bloodline had dared to covet the Duke’s domain.
To Pater, it was no different from insulting the very House Stykia his family had protected for generations.
“I’m getting sleepy…”
He let out a slow yawn.
“Would you all leave now? Today has been rather exhausting.”
Even his lazy appearance looked indecent.
Yet none of them dared object.
In the end, the retainers left without achieving anything.
“I told you not to bring up your grandson!”
“What else was I supposed to do? Some child with unknown parents and an unknown background is about to swallow up House Stykia!”
“That’s a convenient excuse. As if you weren’t trying to use your grandson to take control of Stykia yourself.”
“How dare you!”
The argument quickly became heated.
Only after one of the younger retainers stepped in did the quarrel finally die down.
“If only Baron Cavendy were still here… perhaps things would have been different.”
Baron Cavendy.
He had been the teacher of both Enril and Pater and had cared for the Stykia brothers like a grandfather.
Perhaps because of that, he had insisted that Trisha Klein should become the Duchess of Stykia.
But Pater stubbornly refused.
Eventually, the Baron disappeared without a trace.
Had he still been here, perhaps everything would have turned out differently.
“Should we investigate where that girl really came from?”
“No. It doesn’t matter.”
Someone finally spoke.
It was Count Roman, another man who had served House Stykia almost as long as Baron Cavendy.
“Ever since the Temple and the Imperial Palace demanded an heir, children claiming to be the Duke’s offspring have appeared one after another.”
Everyone immediately understood what he meant.
“And what happened to every one of those children?”
“Ah…”
They all realised it at once.
“We’ll simply do what we’ve always done.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“Yes. We’ll trust your judgement, Count.”
Watching them bow their heads toward him,
Count Marcel Roman smiled proudly.
Yes.
Everything was for House Stykia.
The Next Morning
The next morning.
Sitting in front of the mirror, I rubbed my sleepy eyes.
Even though the bed had been warm and comfortable,
I hadn’t slept well.
Because of the dream I’d had all night.
Dressed neatly,
I walked with Butler Charon to meet Duke Stykia.
“Good morning, Your Grace.”
“Hmm? Who’s this dirty little child?”
“This is the daughter you accepted yesterday.”
“Oh? Did I? I don’t remember.”
“He says he doesn’t remember. Miss Hanisha, please leave now.”
“Waaah! No!”
…
That was my dream.
I was chased out before I could even change my clothes.
‘Thankfully, Anna and Hati have been dressing me up since early morning.’
‘That probably means the Duke hasn’t ordered them to throw me out…’
Still,
I couldn’t guarantee my dream wouldn’t come true.
The Duke accepted every abandoned child.
But he didn’t pay much attention to them.
‘There was even a saying that every orphan abandoned in Stykia once claimed the Duke was their real father.’
‘Of course, none of them actually were.’
So my first goal was clear.
‘To receive the Stykia family name.’
There were many orphans living under the Duke’s protection outside the castle.
At first I thought living like them would be enough.
But I was an Agnito.
As long as I remained an Agnito,
I would never truly be free.
‘Just like in my previous life, they could use me as a political marriage pawn again.’
To avoid that,
I had to be officially adopted by the Duke.
‘Then, once I become an adult and secure my place…’
‘I’ll leave this castle.’
That was my final goal.
The Duke probably didn’t truly want a family either.
Surely he would accept my proposal.
‘And while I’m here…’
‘I can’t forget to make House Agnito pay for everything!’
I steeled my resolve and swallowed the last bite of my croissant.
Just then,
Anna asked,
“Now that you’ve finished breakfast, shall we bring dessert?”
“There’s dessert too?”
“If you wish, my lady.”
Dessert…
I thought about it for a moment.
I wasn’t especially fond of sweets.
As long as I wasn’t hungry,
I was satisfied.
‘Compared to my life in House Agnito, this is already more than enough.’
Besides…
The head chef standing over there kept staring at me with such a frightening expression that I thought it would be better to stop eating.
‘He’s probably only here because the Duke ordered him to.’
Thinking of his freedom,
I shook my head.
“No, thank you.”
“This is more than enough.”
For some reason,
the chef’s fierce face suddenly looked a little disappointed.
‘Did I say something wrong?’
I cautiously glanced at him.
“Th-Then…”
“I’ll have just a little…”
“…!”
The chef’s expression brightened ever so slightly.
At that moment—
Knock. Knock.
Someone entered after knocking.
The moment I saw the visitor,
my eyes widened.
‘Huh…?’
‘That person is…’
“I apologise for arriving so suddenly.”
It was an elderly man with a gentle face.
His warm appearance felt unfamiliar,
yet strangely familiar at the same time.
No.
I definitely knew him.
According to my memories…
‘Marcel Roman.’
He bowed politely.
“Allow me to introduce myself.”
“My name is Count Marcel Roman.”
He had once been one of House Stykia’s retainers.
“And I am merely an old servant who has attended the current Duke since his childhood.”
Later…
He would become one of the people who sided with the Empress.
