“Lara told me before she died. She asked me to take care of our child. I couldn’t protect my wife, and now I can’t lose my child, Rosalyn, so meaninglessly.”

He muttered, hunching his shoulders. His voice was so small and weak that it was hard to believe he was the same man who had been shouting with fierce eyes just moments ago.

Even now, when he closed his eyes, he could see his wife’s face as he had last seen her.

The blood-soaked birthing room was a terrifying place even for Anton, who had already been knighted. He stroked his pale wife’s cheek, silently shedding tears.

‘Please don’t leave me, Lara. How can I raise the child alone without you?’

‘Anton. The child looks like you.’

‘You’re more important than the child.’

‘Come and see. The hair, the nose, it’s all just like yours.’

Led by his wife’s hand, Anton held Rosalyn for the first time. She was so small, red, and wrinkled that he didn’t think she was pretty at all. Instead, thinking that this child was causing his wife’s death, he felt only resentment, even having the cruel thought that he wished the child would disappear.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t say that. Please don’t say such things. Lara, oh God. Please, please.’

Anton pleaded, holding his wife’s hand as her eyes lost focus. Born as the eldest son of Embly, he had never known want in his life, but at that moment, if someone had said they could save his wife, he would have knelt before them without hesitation.

‘Please take care of our child.’

Those were Lara’s last words. After that, she suffered for three days before finally passing away.

Folding away the vivid memory that felt like yesterday, Anton roughly rubbed his face.

“It’s the child Lara gave her life to protect. Besides, Rosalyn is only eighteen. She still has so much to do and experience. And yet, and yet.”

“I’m sure Lady Embly lived a happy life.”

“How would you know? You’ve never even met Rosalyn.”

“Because she had a father like you, she must have been happy.”

“…”

Cordelia spoke with sincerity. If Pablo Vasquez had shown her even half the kindness Anton had bestowed upon her, she would never have left her father’s side for her entire life.

Anton’s expression became complicated. He moved his lips as if wanting to say something, but in the end, no words came out.

“So please let her go now. The living and the dead must walk different paths.”

“Who decided those paths?”

An unexpected voice interjected, causing Cordelia and Anton to turn their heads simultaneously. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, Maximilian was standing at the doorway.

He limped severely as he walked in.

“You mustn’t be deceived by that woman’s cunning tongue, Grand Duke.”

“So it was you after all. The one who told the Grand Duke such absurd stories.”

“What would you know to dare open your mouth? You ignorant Vasquez, fallen and left with nothing but debt, don’t you know that each of the sacred eight families has a secret art passed down through generations?”

Maximilian abandoned even the pretense of respect he had been showing and bared his teeth at Cordelia, attacking her fiercely.

Seeing this, Cordelia became even more certain that Maximilian’s words were lies. Unlike his past demeanor of mocking others with unpleasant honorifics, he now showed signs of urgency.

“And that secret art just happens to be magic related to resurrection? It was you who whispered that such magic existed in Atilei when the Grand Duke lost his daughter, urging him to kidnap me and feed me poison, wasn’t it?”

“The future of Acheron is not just dark, but pitch black. To think its only heir is this stupid.”

“Properly refute what I said. Why suddenly bring up Acheron, which has nothing to do with you? What does it matter if Acheron’s future is dark or bright?”

Cordelia openly mocked Maximilian with her arms crossed. Maximilian’s expression twisted strangely.

“You’re just using me and the Grand Duke of Embly to get revenge on your master, aren’t you?”

“Leonard attacked Rosalyn’s carriage when I was fleeing to Ansen, knowing full well that Rosalyn wasn’t with me! That’s why Rosalyn lost her life giving birth in a hurry. In the end, the start of all this tragedy is Leonard Atilei.”

“Speak properly. According to you, Lady Embly died from difficult childbirth. To be more precise, it’s your fault for impregnating Lady Embly, who was already weak and young.”

“Don’t babble about things you don’t understand. We were in love.”

“Love? If you truly loved Lady Embly, you wouldn’t have dared to have relations with and impregnate an unmarried woman. You know how fatal that is for a woman of Ersche. So don’t sully the word love with your filthy mouth. That was just dirty lust without any sense of responsibility.”

Cordelia shot back at Maximilian without taking a breath. The more she spoke, the angrier she became. It was utterly disgusting how he had seduced a young girl, gotten her pregnant, and then used her death to manipulate even her father.

“If you had any sense of shame, you should have hanged yourself in the royal prison. How dare you think of walking into Embly?”

“Your tongue is excessively insolent.”

“Is my tongue the only thing you can criticize? It’s nothing compared to the terrible things you’ve done.”

At Cordelia’s sarcasm, Maximilian’s face rarely turned bright red. He chewed on his anger but couldn’t swallow it completely, and his hand moved to the sword at his left waist. Anton, who noticed this first, issued a warning.

“Don’t show such a disgraceful display in front of my daughter. The reasons for keeping you alive are rapidly diminishing.”

“…I apologize, Grand Duke.”

Maximilian inhaled sharply, clenching his molars. He had to endure for now. The day when he could crush Cordelia Vasquez’s smug face was not far off.

“Please forgive my unseemly behavior. But please know that the document I showed you, Grand Duke, is the absolute truth without a shred of falsehood.”

“Withdraw. And if you enter my daughter’s room without permission again, I will not forgive you.”

Anton sternly dismissed Maximilian from the room. Maximilian composed his expression as if his previous flushed face had been a lie, bowed politely, and left.

After confirming that Maximilian had completely departed, Cordelia spoke to Anton.

“Maximilian is just using you as a means for revenge, Grand Duke. Just as he used Lady Embly to satisfy his lust.”

“Watch your mouth.”

He frowned, apparently displeased with Cordelia’s words. Usually, Cordelia would have expressed herself more gently, but there was no time.

“Rosalyn Embly died giving birth to a child. Whose child was it? Why did the young and frail Lady Embly have to die giving birth while fleeing to Ansen? Why did Maximilian suddenly claim that magic to resurrect the dead existed after she died?”

“…Enough.”

“It would be better to find another way to avoid conflict, so why did he insist on poisoning and threatening the only disciple of Leonard Atilei?”

“Stop it!”

Anton flailed his hands as if in agony. Cordelia stopped speaking and caught her breath.

“Open your eyes, Grand Duke. Anyone can reach the truth if they look with clear eyes.”

* * *

Whether Cordelia’s heartfelt persuasion reached Anton or not was unclear. After that day, Anton noticeably avoided Cordelia. Although she found his attitude very frustrating, she acknowledged that he needed time.

Moreover, the atmosphere in the castle was not good due to the ominous news spreading bit by bit.

“They say people are coming down from the north.”

“Surely that demon won’t come as far as Hasimus, will it?”

Nazabut, who had possessed Lydia’s body, was rampaging throughout Ersche, killing countless innocent people. The damage was especially severe in the north, to the point where northerners were fleeing south in fear.

The King of Ersche and the Magic Association had cooperated to send demon subjugation teams, but it seemed there had been no significant results so far.

At Chelsea’s words, the young maid who was brushing Cordelia’s hair shuddered. She blinked her large eyes and mumbled.

“I wonder if it was that demon who attacked Lady Rosalyn.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

The maid hurriedly shook her head. As Cordelia was about to ask for more details, Chelsea spoke up excitedly.

“Oh, my lady. They say the pilgrims are arriving at the castle today.”

“Pilgrims? You mean the Leman Church priests from Yeraticus?”

“Yes. The master is a devout Leman believer, so he always invites pilgrims to the castle around this time of year.”

Unlike the people of Ersche who only go to temples for weddings and funerals, Yeraticus was a powerful theocratic state where all the people believed in and relied on God, and the high priest could determine the fate of the country.

“That’s unusual. I thought there weren’t many Leman believers in Ersche.”

“The late mistress was from Yeraticus. Moreover, when Lady Rosalyn was ill, the Leman priests often performed blessing prayers for her.”

Cordelia let these words pass, wiggling her toes. Her body had almost fully recovered now. Although she was still unable to leave Embly without the antidote, if she could persuade Anton well, this could turn into an opportunity.

‘I need to keep Maximilian here until Master arrives.’

She counted the days. It had already been a week since she arrived in Hasimus, so if Leonard had heard the news and departed, he should arrive in Embly around tomorrow or the day after.