Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Father's Unyielding Rage
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Walter, who had been about to pull away, glanced at Erich and Dietrich standing nearby before lowering his voice and whispering directly into my ear.
"The Commander... after hearing about Professor Manfred... said he's going to kill the young lord!"
What?!
This is bad!
I immediately reached out toward Walter. He scooped me up in an instant.
"What's going on?"
"What's the matter? Huh?"
Erich and Dietrich wore identical expressions as they grabbed at my clothes.
How do I even explain this?
If I gave them a long explanation, both of them would insist on coming along.
I couldn't let them see Dad in his murderous state.
"What's the matter, Sir Walter?"
Erich asked in a chilling tone, and Walter sneaked a glance at me.
He must have been thinking the same thing.
Both of them were the type to escalate things even further rather than try to calm Dad down.
In the end, I had no choice but to deploy my ultimate weapon.
"It nothin'! You two play here!"
"Wait, Ella."
"If you follow, I hate you!"
Them coming along would only make things worse.
Erich would no doubt blame himself, thinking it was all because of him, and Dietrich would pour fuel on the fire instead of trying to stop Dad.
So I unleashed my ultimate move: the "I hate you" attack.
I'd confirmed multiple times that it worked perfectly on Dietrich.
But this was the first time trying it on Erich, so I wasn't entirely sure...
"You'll... hate me?"
It hit him right on target.
Sorry to my two shocked, frozen brothers, but I had no choice.
Walter took off running with me in his arms.
We entered an unfamiliar corridor I'd never seen before, but finding Dad wasn't hard.
Because...
With a bang, a knight was flung out and slammed back-first into the wall before slumping down.
My heart skipped a beat, thinking it might be one of Dad's knights, but it was a face I'd never seen.
"Miss! You're here!"
Gilla, who had been pacing frantically in front of the door, spotted me and came running over with a brightened face.
"Where's Dad?"
"He's inside."
I shook Walter's arm until he set me down and dashed through the open door.
Inside, the only sound was a brutal, meat-chopping noise echoing viciously.
Accompanied by faint human groans.
It seemed Uncle had tried to fight back in his own way.
Chunks of ice were embedded sporadically along the walls of what appeared to be his office.
'But... Uncle, who only stayed at the rear even during the war, could never beat Dad.'
Dad hadn't even used his Divine Grace.
He was simply swinging his fists at Uncle's already bloodied face with the expression of a furious demon.
'What kind of son has Erich been to Dad.'
I'd seen Erich in the family mausoleum, unable to even cry out properly, weeping pitifully.
I'd heard he'd lived for so long hearing nothing but words about how his parents had abandoned him.
It was inevitable that murderous intent would boil over toward this uncle who'd tormented Erich from behind while Dad was away.
'But we still don't know what Grandfather is thinking...'
Grandfather's side remained completely silent.
Even when I'd gone to his office out of frustration, there were no meaningful words.
As I watched the limp, motionless Uncle, I approached Dad, who was about to swing again, and grabbed his arm.
It was a pathetically weak force, nowhere near enough to stop him, yet Dad froze in place like a man bound in chains.
"He's out cold."
"Get out, Ella."
"Can't kill him. Uncle's Grandfather's heir."
"That pathetic Northern Duke heir."
Even with me standing right there, Dad couldn't rein in his killing intent.
His rage was vivid. It seethed like a blazing inferno.
I could feel even he was struggling, flailing to escape the heat of his own fury.
His entire body radiated the desire to kill this uncle who'd tried to murder me and Dietrich—and above all, tormented Erich for so long.
I looked up at Dad, who couldn't bring himself to say outright that he'd kill Uncle in front of me.
A thought I'd mulled over for so long but never voiced came to mind.
"Dad, what if you talk to Grandfather first?"
Dad slowly turned to look at me.
He was so furious that even as he faced me, he couldn't fully suppress his killing aura.
Baring his teeth into empty space with that menacing expression, he growled.
"His Excellency isn't without blame."
"Not that...
I trailed off meaningfully.
Grandfather was always lenient toward Uncle, no matter what.
That was because Uncle was the heir meant to succeed Grandfather and lead the Northern Duke Family.
There were only two direct descendants in the Northern Duke Family.
With the eldest son—Dad—rejecting the heir position, Grandfather had no other replacement besides Uncle.
To sever this rotten bond with Uncle, more than anything, Dad's resolve was needed.
'The resolve to reclaim the heir position in the Duke Family.'
That was the fundamental solution.
It was fun getting back at Uncle with petty skirmishes, but what if Grandfather passed away like this?
Then Uncle would become the Northern Duke, and no one would be able to protect our family.
'The power held by a mere heir and a Northern Duke is worlds apart.'
There was a reason Uncle, arrogant as he was, submitted just enough to Grandfather.
"Dad, I don't want Uncle takin' Grandfather's place."
I knew better than anyone how much Dad despised Grandfather.
That's why I'd held back from saying this for so long.
If Uncle had shown even a shred of mercy, if he hadn't touched our family, I'd never have brought it up in my lifetime.
"Dad, you don't wanna take Grandfather's place?"
"Once... when I was very young, that position seemed like the greatest thing in the world."
"Then why you say no?"
Dad didn't answer that.
He merely looked down at Uncle's face once more with a strange expression.
When he responded like this, there was always a reason a child like me wasn't meant to know.
Instead of pressing further, I changed the subject. This was closer to the real point anyway.
"Grandfather still want that position bad? That's why you don't wanna?"
No answer came to that either.
'Is Dad's hatred for Grandfather because of Mom?'
In the family mausoleum, Dad had definitely said so.
He'd agreed to go to the battlefield under Grandfather's orders in exchange for sparing Erich's life.
'And on that battlefield, Dad lost Mom.'
Grandfather hadn't killed Mom himself, but he'd sent his own son and daughter-in-law to their deaths. Even if it was a deal.
"Anyway, Erich not talkin' to Dad. So he thinks you threw him away."
More accurately, there hadn't even been a chance to attempt a conversation.
Dad and Mom had been constantly deployed to the battlefield.
The two, living separately, only returned to the Duke Family when Erich turned seven and his illness worsened.
'Dad definitely called it a deal.'
Right after handing Erich over to Grandfather, Dad had left for the front lines as per the agreement.
'Mom, pregnant at the time, was thrown into battle right after giving birth to me...'
So where would there have been time for a talk?
Even if Erich desperately wanted it, it would have been impossible. Physically impossible.
"Dad ever talk to Grandfather?"
But Dad was different.
Dad stared deeply into my eyes as I asked, falling silent for a long while.
Dad's hatred for Grandfather might have a justified reason, unlike Erich's.
But even that justified hatred would be better aired out to the other person at least once, rather than harbored alone.
'Because the Grandfather I saw with my own eyes wasn't the type to lie or act unreasonably.'
If Grandfather had truly done wrong, he'd return an apology.
'He's also the one always searching my face for traces of Dad.'
The world called Grandfather the Iron-Blooded Duke, but to me, he sometimes seemed just an ordinary old man.
An old man whose eyes occasionally flickered with pity, even when looking at that loathsome Uncle.
Even in moments of fierce opposition with Dad, in the end, Grandfather always took a step back.