Chapter Nineteen
For Damian
---
The little boy was reading a book in front of the lake, but every time he tried to concentrate, the older boy would play with his hair even more. When he completely lost focus on the book, he turned around with an adorably childish pout and looked at the other with innocent red eyes before saying in an annoyed tone...
"Brother, stop that... Sir Winson told me he was going to question me tomorrow.."
"What a diligent little boy you are. Why don't I teach you?"
"Really?!"
The little boy became excited and nodded his head vigorously. The older boy gently patted his head.
"Of course."
"..."
"Elion, let's begin... Which part are you having difficulty with?"
"This one."
But when he turned back toward his brother, darkness surrounded him and slowly swallowed him whole.
Little Elion rushed forward, gripping his brother's hand with both of his own, as though his small hands alone could keep him from leaving.
"Brother... Please don't leave me..."
"..."
"Brother, don't go..."
"Brother!!..."
The voice was deeper and rougher.
When he looked around, the lake and sky had gradually disappeared, and the green earth had turned into ruins. His body suddenly grew in an instant, as though the years had swallowed him whole.
And when he looked toward where his brother had been, it was no longer the older Damian.
Instead, there was a tiny baby no more than a year old, crying desperately.
He tried to grab the child and pull him toward himself, but for a few moments, he felt the darkness transform into chains that wrapped around him and restrained him.
They tightened so fiercely that he nearly suffocated.
He barely managed to stretch out his hand, but the darkness swallowed it.
"My lord?!"
He looked toward the person standing beside his bed with worried eyes.
Elion breathed heavily, feeling as though his entire body was exhausted and drenched in fatigue. He tried to act as naturally as possible and wiped the sweat from his face.
"I'll get ready... now."
Victor nodded and did not bother hiding the expressions of concern and displeasure on his face.
His master had been unusually late, and when he entered his room, he found him struggling in his sleep.
It seemed that he had been suffering terribly...
When he had left them yesterday, it had been obvious that his master desperately wanted to sleep. He could go for days and nights without sleep or rest, so Victor had concluded that having a proper meal had finally had an effect on him.
But now, the reason his master did not want to sleep had become clear.
There was an unknown ghost haunting him.
He had found sweat soaking his master's forehead and neck, while his chest rose and fell with difficulty.
He knew that his master had been through a great deal...
But he had never known what had shattered that child so completely that he had grown into the man he was now.
Victor took a deep breath as his master left him to enter the bathroom.
He began preparing his master's clothes and cleaning the room.
When he finally placed the clothes on the bed, he looked around and sighed.
This room was considered the smallest room on the third floor.
Despite being somewhat luxurious, it had never looked like a room befitting a Grand Duke...
Victor quietly stepped back when his master emerged from the bathroom, drying his hair.
Elion looked toward Victor and said,
"You don't look well..."
"Ruwen suspects that something major is going to happen."
"Did you tell him?"
"Of course not."
He looked at his master sincerely, as if saying, I am not lying.
Elion pulled his jacket from Victor's hand and put it on indifferently.
"I know. Ruwen isn't an idiot. He would have noticed."
Victor frowned slightly, then spoke in his usual practical manner as he stood straight.
"The local nobles will gather at noon today."
"Tell the little one to get ready."
"Wait! ... Your Grace... Is the young master coming with you?"
"Is there a problem?"
Victor shook his head, then straightened his posture and bowed.
"Follow His Grace's orders."
---
Clack, clack, clack!!!
The atmosphere was quiet, except for the sound of the carriage moving.
The little boy swallowed for the fifth time and looked at the man sitting calmly across from him.
It was obvious that the man did not care about his presence, as he flipped through several documents without raising his eyes toward anything else.
Damian looked outside through the window.
The villages were deteriorating, and the mountains surrounding them looked petrified.
Before he spoke a word, he asked,
"Is the village of Towers better than this place?"
"...Huh?!"
Damian became flustered and could not say a word.
But Elion glanced at the mountain.
"It's fine. I already know anyway."
Damian felt that Elion's tone sounded sad despite his usual manner of speaking and his completely unchanged expression.
With both fists clenched, Damian asked,
"Isn't there a solution?"
"Perhaps..."
It was obvious to Damian that Elion was ending the conversation, because he leaned back and returned to his work, staring steadily at the reports.
Damian remembered his mother when she concentrated on her work, and he laughed spontaneously.
The short, innocent laugh broke Elion's concentration.
He looked intently at Damian.
Damian's ears and neck turned red, and he said hesitantly,
"My mother does the same thing when she concentrates..."
"..."
"I mean, she stares at the papers with her eyes... Like this..."
Damian tried to imitate her.
He looked incredibly adorable.
But when Elion showed no other expression, Damian swallowed his next words and fell silent.
Elion, who felt genuinely awkward, had his lips tremble for a moment.
He did not know what the appropriate response to the child was, so he simply remained silent.
He was no longer able to concentrate.
He set the papers aside, intertwined his hands, and quietly looked toward the villages.
---
"My lady, should I change the tea?"
When Nila calmly turned toward her, Celine hesitated before speaking worriedly.
"It's gone cold."
It was obvious that Celine had not yet gotten over her fear of Nila.
But Nila, whose mind was occupied with other things, ignored it and quietly stood up.
"I'll take a walk."
Celine nodded and silently followed Nila.
Damian going with his father was a good thing. It would bring the two of them closer.
But that look in Elion's eyes had seemed strangely familiar and painfully so.
It was an old look, one she had buried among the pages of her previous life.
Nila shook her head for a brief moment, chasing away all the frightening thoughts in her mind, and began walking.
Celine looked at Nila's back and felt confused.
She was afraid of her, yes.
But she did not feel any hatred toward her.
It was obvious that the woman before her had not been well since the Archduke had come to take the young master away.
Is there something worrying her?
Celine sighed at the uselessness of her thoughts and continued walking.
When Nila stopped, Celine nearly bumped into her.
When she looked to see why, she found Lina deliberately standing in Nila's way in the narrow corridor, accompanied by several maids.
Celine looked at Nila and found that she was not even looking at Lina.
Celine suppressed a laugh.
It seems Lina knows that my lady won't stop for her. What a cheap move.
Celine was curious to see her lady's reaction.
Nila merely exhaled in boredom before Lina spoke sarcastically.
"Is the lady sad?"
She dragged out every syllable in a mocking tone.
But Nila paid no attention to her foolishness.
With a steady voice and half-lidded eyes, she asked,
"Why do you think I would be sad?"
"If His Grace gets closer to the young master, you won't be important anymore."
"Really?"
Her expression was sly, carrying a hint of contempt.
Lina swallowed and glared at Nila with blazing eyes.
Perhaps if eyes could inflict pain, Nila would have burned hundreds of times beneath Lina's gaze.
As Nila studied Lina, she noticed that Lina's silence throughout the past few weeks had been strange.
She knew that the young woman standing before her did not remain silent without a reason.
But it seemed she was planning another childish scheme as usual.
Nila wanted to simply move forward and leave this foolishness behind when Lina grabbed her angrily.
"Where are you going? I haven't finished talking yet!"
Nila opened her eyes slightly at Lina's audacity in grabbing her like that.
But before she could say anything, a beautiful woman with steady purple eyes and warm features cut through the group.
"Lina Fernz, what are you doing?"
Lina immediately released her hand and stepped back slightly.
Nila felt as though she had been pushed backward for a moment, but she paid no attention.
Amanda stepped forward and bowed her head toward Nila.
"I apologize for her rudeness, miss."
"Lady Amanda, please don't apologize for her."
Nila felt embarrassed and waved her hand dismissively.
Amanda looked at her with warm eyes.
"She made a mistake, so she will be punished."
Nila felt confused, but she calmly looked between Amanda and Lina before saying,
"Lady, may I ask you for a favor?"
Lina's eyes widened with a deep sense of danger.
Nila's tone was playful, while her eyes gleamed mischievously.
"Your orders, my lady."
"I would like to make a small change concerning my devoted maids."
Celine was startled and looked at Martha, who was standing quietly in the distance.
Martha signaled for her to remain silent.
Celine looked at her lady again.
Nila looked at her, then at Lina.
"I want Celine to be transferred to serve Damian."
"You may have that, as long as she is someone you trust."
"Thank you, my lady. And would Lady Amanda object to making Miss Fernz my devoted maid, alongside Martha, instead of punishing her?"
Nila's smile widened.
Lina unconsciously took a step backward.
This was all under Amanda's watchful eyes.
Amanda remained silent for a few moments before speaking with an elegant smile filled with satisfaction.
It would be better if they solved their problems themselves.
"Follow the lady's orders."
The maids opened their mouths in shock.
It was practically an execution.
If anything bad happened to Nila Harvey, the first person accused would be Lina Fernz.
"Lady Amanda... I..."
Lina wanted to object, but Amanda gave her a firm look.
Lina lowered her head without uttering another word.
"Very well. I'll see you this evening, Miss Fernz."
Lina stared at Nila with terrified eyes as she walked away.
She thought that she had truly brought this upon herself...
---
The meeting had been arranged in a village called Merige, the closest village to the mountains.
It had been evacuated about a year ago and was now nothing more than a fortress for the knights to use when necessary.
A large tent had been set up and furnished with a large table and numerous seats.
While the nobles sat in their places, their knights surrounded the tent.
When the carriage stopped, Riley dismounted from his horse and opened the carriage door.
It was surprising enough that the Archduke had arrived by carriage.
Even more surprising was the fact that one of his strongest knight commanders was accompanying him.
One of the knights looked at his companion and whispered,
"Wasn't His Grace accustomed to arriving on horseback?"
"He isn't one of those nobles who bring guards with them. Four knights and Sir Riley Toria."
The knights' whispers faded when Elion stepped down from the carriage.
It was only a moment before he disappeared completely from their sight.
When Elion took Damian's hand and helped him down, the knights could not help but marvel.
How could one person resemble another so much?
The young master was a miniature copy of his father.
The knights lined up and saluted.
Elion then entered the tent while holding Damian's hand.
The nobles had been waiting for him with bowed heads, suppressing their curiosity and their desire to ask questions.
Elion sat down and seated Damian beside him.
The nobles breathed a sigh of relief at the immense pressure that had been lifted from them.
One of them began,
"It is a great honor to have the young master join us today."
"He is the future lord of Walter."
The nobles fell silent at Elion's blunt declaration.
Elion looked toward Riley, who understood that he was supposed to stay.
He stood quietly behind Damian.
"Why don't we begin the meeting?"
Some of them became flustered, then began presenting the usual reports and, as always, searching for solutions.
The greatest obstacle was the Aileen Mountain Range.
"I reinforced the barriers as usual, but it seems the new support isn't enough, Your Grace."
"The province's budget will soon run dry because of the exorbitant sums the Tower's mages are demanding for protection."
"They are simply taking advantage of the situation."
Elion spoke calmly as he looked through the lengthy reports.
He glanced at Damian, who was surprisingly quiet.
The boy genuinely seemed focused.
Elion felt the urge to bother him, but it felt childish and unlike him.
So he looked at the nobleman who had presented the report and said coldly,
"If we dispense with the Tower..."
"Your Grace... the monsters will overrun the villages."
The interruption was sharp and carried a worried tone.
Elion gave him an icy look, making him realize the position he had taken.
Then Elion spoke in a cold tone.
"There are many mages who do not belong to the Tower. I will recruit them."
The nobles' mouths fell open in astonishment.
No one had ever publicly abandoned the Tower, which was considered one of the three strongest pillars of the Empire.
One of those present spoke.
"Your Grace! Won't the Tower protest?"
"Whether I hire mercenaries or request the Tower's support is a matter for the Archduke."
Damian looked at his father in admiration, then glanced at Riley as if saying, Isn't he amazing?
Riley suppressed his laughter at Damian's spontaneous and adorable reaction and calmly looked straight ahead as though he were not there, allowing the meeting to continue.
"Your Grace, regarding the plants, we have sent a request for an expert from abroad... The way the plants are dying and the dryness of the soil may be the result of a disease..."
"Perhaps a demonic plant that absorbs water..."
Damian covered his mouth when he realized that he had interrupted their work.
The nobleman silently looked at Damian in sudden realization.
Damian said,
"I apologize for interrupting..."
Before anyone could speak, Elion looked at him steadily.
"Continue."
Damian felt embarrassed and quickly glanced at everyone before speaking with gentle shyness, without showing a moment of weakness.
"There are plants called Devil's Soul. They have many different types and absorb water from the soil. It is said that they are capable of absorbing an entire lake. They are plants that some people consider nothing more than myths."
"Are they real? Just a myth shouldn't... I mean..."
Elion looked at the man who had criticized Damian with eyes that, for a moment, seemed as though they were about to devour him.
The man immediately stopped speaking.
Another nobleman spoke in belief.
"Your Highness, how do you know about them?"
"I read about them in an old book."
"Wait! That doesn't make sense... Count Drake."
Count Drake spoke wearily.
"For years, we have been searching for what lies before our eyes. Legends did not appear out of nowhere."
The course of the discussion shifted toward the possibility of demonic plants actually existing, and the conversation became more serious.
Damian looked at them with wide eyes.
He felt something being placed on his head.
He looked toward his father and found Elion resting his hand on his head.
He even patted him lightly.
Although Elion's expression had not changed, Damian could feel that his father was happy.
Warmth filled Damian's heart, and he smiled brightly like the sun.
The sight made Elion's heart tremble.
He withdrew his hand from the child's hair and looked forward, avoiding Damian's eyes.
Riley quietly watched the scene before him.
He had only ever known this man as a powerful Archduke.
Nothing could shake him.
I fear the enemy will realize the value of this child before we do...
For the sake of this child, two beasts who know no mercy will move.
...... TO BE CONTINUED ......