Edmond frowned fiercely and pretended to look at the documents again as he spoke.

“When did the form of address change?”

“When you were away, Edmond, I took a walk in the garden with the maids and chatted with them. You know, all the maids say that Lady Etricia is witty? I’ve never seen Mary laugh so hard before.”

Ha, Edmond let out a fierce chuckle.

Etricia was steadily expanding her territory in the mansion while he wasn’t looking.

“Don’t get too attached. She’s someone who will leave.”

“I know… That she’ll leave once she finds a place to stay.”

Lilien pouted and grumbled, then glanced at Edmond, who was already focused on his work, and let out a deep sigh.

It made her feel both pitiful and upset that he had locked his heart and wouldn’t let anyone in except for her, his sister.

The siblings lost their parents on the same day at the same time.

The Duke was fair and just, respected by his retainers, and the Duchess was kind and benevolent, praised by the people of the domain.

The sudden disappearance of these two people was due to a monster that suddenly attacked in the dead of night.

It killed the servants of the mansion and devoured the Duke and Duchess.

The Duchess pushed the two of them into the incinerator storage room, wearing a distorted smile while shedding tears.

‘Both of you, wait here and hide until an adult comes to get you, okay?’

As the door closed, the Duchess’s face, etched with terror, disappeared in the narrowing strip of light.

Much later, after calming Lilien down, Edmond left the storage room first and witnessed something amidst the gruesome corpses and pools of blood.

Later, at the trial related to the incident, Edmond testified like this:

‘It’s true! Please believe me! The monster disguised itself as a human and disappeared!’

No one believed the words of the young boy who tearfully testified in court in the past, and they disparaged his testimony, saying he was hallucinating due to the trauma of the catastrophe.

At first, the retainers believed the boy because of the well-respected Duke and Duchess, but due to his uncle’s scheming, they eventually left, and he lost his qualification as the head of the family.

The only one who believed him was Lilien, who had been there at the scene.

The uncle tried to put his young sister up for auction in the marriage market, and the boy had to take up a spear in his small hands to desperately protect the only blood relative who believed in him.

‘If only I had lied and said I saw it too, even if I hadn’t… It would have given strength to Edmond’s testimony… Then Edmond wouldn’t have received such a terrible wound that made him distrust people.’

Lilien felt a pang in her heart and a prick of conscience when she thought about how he had lived for the past 9 years, being wary, suspicious, and testing people. It felt like she had lived too comfortably.

How it must feel to live in constant tension, unable to trust those around you every minute, every second…

Lilien squeezed her eyes shut as if it was terrible, then opened them and spoke in an unstable voice.

“I know you can’t trust people because of that incident, but still, Lady Etricia…”

Suddenly meeting his expressionless eyes, Lilien shook her head and stood up.

“No, never mind.”

It was because she couldn’t find the words to persuade him. To start explaining how benevolent and warm Etricia was, she would have to reveal every detail of her shameful past that Etricia had advised her to keep quiet about.

Not only was that incident embarrassing, but she also didn’t want to worry her younger brother who had been working hard for the family consistently for the past 9 years.

Shortly after Edmond left for the Jeder Forest, the letters from her uncle, who had been forcing her to marry before she even had her debutante, suddenly stopped.

Even she, who wasn’t very perceptive, knew it was thanks to her younger brother. That’s why she didn’t want her younger brother to sacrifice or take care of her anymore.

She glanced at Edmond, who was focused on his work, and decided not to bother him anymore. Lilien was about to leave quietly, lifting her dress slightly, when she remembered something and paused.

“Oh right, I’m planning to look around the dress shop with Lady Etricia tomorrow.”

“With Countess Vuel, just the two of you?”

Edmond frowned slightly and sharply raised his gaze from the documents.

Lilien flinched, intimidated by his gaze.

“Why, why? It’s the end of the social season, and with the imperial palace banquet coming up, all the dress shops and jewelry stores on the island are emptying out. I want to gift Lady Etricia a suitable outfit before it’s too late.”

The words ‘a person who doesn’t deserve to receive gifts’ rose to Edmond’s throat, but he let out a shallow sigh. To say that, he would have to reveal the assassination request, and his sister would suffer an irreparable wound.

He briefly considered sending Rail, but as a non-noble, his movements would be restricted. He finally decided to use a slightly more troublesome method.

“I will accompany you.”

“…You?”

Lilien’s face was filled with questions. She had also noticed to some extent. That a quiet civil war was about to begin in the duchy to drive out relatives. She was just too scared to ask and pretended not to know.

Besides that, she also knew that he was receiving mountains of documents from the most trustworthy retainer of the duchy.

There were times when she had gaped at the documents that couldn’t be reviewed even if he stayed up all night. Look now, aren’t the documents on his desk piled higher than his height?

He’s so busy, yet he wants to come along? It was suspicious, but deep down, she also wished for these two people she liked to become closer. After all, such good opportunities don’t come often.

Lilien glanced at Edmond with drowsy eyes as she headed towards the door.

“…In return, you have to treat Lady Etricia like a gentleman so as not to upset her, okay? I was secretly worried when she went out for the lawyer consultation too.”

“I understand.”

“Really?”

“…”

When Edmond glanced at her as if annoyed, Lilien said she understood and left, closing the door with a sound.

As her presence faded to the end of the corridor, Edmond sank deep into his chair, rubbing his face that showed signs of fatigue.

A figure that had been hiding in the darkness revealed itself.

It was Rail.

“Tail has arrived at the domain with the knights. He showed the certificate of conferment to the resisting retainers to silence them. He said he’ll contact through the communication orb after dealing with Uncle Doben, his children, and other subordinates.”

Edmond, half-covering his face with his hand, twisted his lips fiercely.

“It’s a shame I can’t see them begging like dogs.”

“It’s not worth seeing such minnow-like lives. We’ll confiscate their property, exile them, and assign watchers to prevent any foolish actions.”

Rail, who had been speaking while grinding his teeth, suddenly looked as if he’d made a mistake.

“Since there hasn’t been an official announcement from the imperial family, some retainers are still half in doubt even after seeing the certificate of conferment. What should we do?”

“Do I need to give instructions for everything?”

At the sharp response, Rail grinned and bowed his head.

“I’ll have them exiled with a proper justification.”

Rail then raised his eyes to secretly observe Edmond.

Since his master declared he would reclaim his title, Rail had never once doubted or considered it a vain hope.

It was the natural result.

That position had always been his master’s to begin with.

‘Now that he’s become the master of the duchy, will he become my lord?’

Rail, feeling a twinge in his nose, wiped it with his knuckle and composed his emotions.

Though the authority had been granted, there was no official announcement yet. He had to be careful not to ruin things with unnecessary excitement.

Rooting out the collateral branches of the duchy was just the beginning.

Rail took a breath and spoke calmly.

“Tail has created new portraits and distributed them to the dispatched subordinates. I’ll make sure any sighting reports are immediately relayed to you.”

Edmond nodded slightly and lowered the hand covering his face. His gaze, now straightened, was filled with a fierce killing intent.

The subjugation of the Jeder Forest was essentially a hunt. In his youth, he had swung his spear mercilessly, driven by the madness of potentially finding his parents’ killer in the forest.

In a way, it was a scream.

Even as time passed and senses dulled, those blood-red eyes that had turned to look at him became a recurring nightmare.

The destination of the dream where he endlessly ran through darkness was the monster’s eyes, as hot as his own hatred.

That’s why Edmond was certain. If he ever faced the enemy he met every day in his dreams, he would surely recognize them.

He had portraits made based on the monster’s form seen in his dreams and dispatched search parties throughout the empire, but reports of no results continued.

As he focused on venting the anger and killing intent that simultaneously surged up, he felt a strange sense of powerlessness as the number of monsters decreased.

After 9 years had passed, what remained inside him was not the raging fire of before, but an unextinguished, smoldering ember. An obsession that he would surely find it someday.

He had no intention of stopping until his dying moment.

He was no longer a powerless boy, but now the only Mifidian Duke in the empire that no one could touch.

Edmond, who had been closing and opening his eyes with a solemn expression, felt a gaze piercing his cheek like an awl.

“Do you have something more to say?”

Rail avoided his gaze and scratched his nose.

As he hesitated, Edmond spoke with a sigh, as if annoyed.

“If you have something to say, don’t drag it out.”

“Is it alright for you to accompany the ladies on their outing?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Young lady Lilien said you should act like a gentleman. Though it’s true that person tried to have young lady Lilien killed, they immediately canceled it, and considering the sworn sisters situation, she said to be a little kinder because it’s pitiful-”

“Do you think I’m incapable of even that much?”

“……”

…Yes. Rail closed his mouth like a clam and answered inwardly.