Return to the Lion's Den
The Bellaph Ducal Residence was so grand it bordered on overwhelming.
Towering walls that seemed to pierce the heavens. A black lion emblem carved above the gates.
'Is this my house?'
The Bellaph Ducal Residence, which I'd only glimpsed indirectly in the game.
Honestly, I knew nothing about this family.
When I was playing the game, I couldn't have cared less about Elise de Bellaph's family situation.
All I ever heard were lofty titles like "ruler of the north" and such.
-Creak
The massive gates groaned open, and the carriage rolled inside.
A meticulously manicured garden and ornate fountains came into view.
When the carriage halted in front of the main building's entrance, the servants were lined up at the door.
"Please step down."
The moment my feet touched the ground, the lined-up attendants bowed in unison.
"Welcome home, Lady Elise."
Dozens of voices rang out, but not a trace of welcome or joy among them.
If anything, it was a greeting laced with fear, tension, and undisguised disgust.
Like they'd just received a ticking time bomb.
'Well, yeah.'
Elise de Bellaph had been a terror at the academy, after all.
God knows what kind of hell she'd raised in her own home.
Thinking about it that way, the servants' reaction was only natural.
I straightened my back nonchalantly.
"Yeah."
As I gave a curt reply and started to move, Esilla de Argent blocked my path.
"Lady Elise."
"Yeah?"
Esilla stared straight at me.
"My duty ends here."
"Oh, right."
I grinned inwardly, beaming with delight.
Once this woman leaves, I'm free.
"You've worked hard. Safe travels."
Maybe I let my joy show too much, because Esilla's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"You seem pleased."
"No, it's not that... I just feel bad that you had to suffer because of me, especially when you're so busy."
"I am busy. I have to head back north."
"Right, right. The north is cold, so don't get sick. Bundle up warm."
I waved my hand dismissively, bidding her farewell.
'Hurry up and go.'
But Esilla didn't budge.
Instead, she stepped closer, pressing right up against me.
"Don't get the wrong idea."
She brought her lips to my ear.
"Just because I'm leaving doesn't mean you're free."
Her hand trailed along my jawline and tapped my cheek lightly.
"Behave yourself. Stay quiet as the dead. And don't cause any more trouble."
She gazed into my eyes with a warning stare.
Or rather... not quite a warning.
What was it?
A look bordering on possessiveness.
"Got it. I promise. I'll just breathe and nothing else."
I nodded, and only then did Esilla step back, seemingly satisfied.
"Good. Until we meet again."
She gave a brief nod and climbed back into her waiting carriage.
I watched her red ponytail flutter in the wind one last time, then let out a long sigh.
"Hoo..."
Finally, truly alone.
But the relief was short-lived. Prickling stares bored into me from behind.
I turned slowly.
A white-haired old gentleman stood at the entrance, gazing at me with an expressionless face.
"Uh, um. Your name was..."
"Sebastian."
"Right. Sebastian."
He didn't seem to expect me to remember his name, not even twitching an eyebrow.
"It's been a while, miss."
A polite voice, but devoid of any warmth.
"His Grace awaits. I'll escort you to the study."
Duke Bellaph's study was on the second floor of the main building, at the very end of the hall.
Sebastian said nothing the entire way down the corridor, simply leading silently.
The walls were lined with portraits of past family heads, every one of them with a fierce, menacing glare.
'Edric, Kyle, Pierre...'
Various names passed by until my steps halted at the final portrait.
The current Duke of Bellaph, Cassius de Bellaph.
Honestly, he scared me.
I had zero information on the man, so I couldn't get a read on him at all.
With a daughter like me, he couldn't be ordinary.
What if he suspected my identity? Or just lopped off my head for disgracing the family?
Either way, I had to tread carefully.
-Knock, knock
Sebastian rapped on the heavy door.
"Your Grace. I've brought Lady Elise."
"Yes. Come in."
A low, gravelly voice echoed from inside, carrying an intimidating weight even through the door.
Sebastian opened it for me.
I took a deep breath and stepped in.
A vast, dim study.
Thick curtains blocked the windows, letting in almost no light; only a single lamp on the desk illuminated the room.
And behind that desk sat a man.
A middle-aged man with black hair streaked with gray. Sharp eyes and firmly pressed lips.
His amethyst eyes moved across the papers without lifting from them.
-Scratch, scratch
The pen didn't stop.
A suffocating silence filled the room, broken only by the nib scraping paper.
"You're here."
He spoke without looking up.
"Yes. I'm home... Father."
I hesitated on the form of address, settling on the safest option.
At my "Father," the duke set down his pen and raised his head.
His gaze swept over me.
My face, the restraint collar around my neck, the mud-stained dress.
But his eyes held no emotion—not like the servants or Sebastian.
No anger, no worry, not even disappointment.
Just the indifference of someone glancing at a roadside pebble.
"You're alive, at least."
That was all.
He lowered his head back to the papers, continuing in a flat tone.
"A letter came from the palace. You're to be confined to the residence for a month."
"That's what happened."
"Go to the annex."
"...Pardon?"
"You'll be secluded there for a month. No entry to the main building."
He waved his hand dismissively—get out.
"Is that... all?"
I asked cautiously, and he paused his pen to look at me.
"Is there more?"
A cold voice.
I started to say something but clamped my mouth shut.
"No."
"Then go. Sebastian."
"Understood, my lord."
He dove back into his work.
"This way, miss."
I stood dazed for a moment before snapping to and following him out.
'Wow... he really doesn't care.'
I'd at least expected some anger.
Not this utter dismissal.
As if my presence or absence in this family meant nothing.
'Still, maybe it's for the best.'
Better than constant nagging.
I swallowed my bitterness and quietly left the study.
-Click
The door shut, and silence fell over the corridor.
"This way."
Sebastian, waiting outside, led on with his impassive face.
"Yeah. Let's go."
I followed him toward the annex.
And in the study, after the door closed.
-Scratch, scratch
The fountain pen racing across the papers halted.
Cassius de Bellaph sat motionless long after confirming the door shut.
Until the footsteps faded completely down the hall and perfect silence descended.
-Thud
The pen slipped from his hand, rolling limply across the desk.
He rubbed his face slowly with rough, calloused hands.
"Hoo..."
A deep, heavy sigh leaked through his fingers.
His gaze wandered the air before settling where his daughter had stood moments ago.
'I'm home, Father... was it?'
Those few words echoed relentlessly in his ears.
The child who had always glared at him with venomous eyes.
The one who spat curses and denied him as her father.
And now, for the first time, she had called him "Father."
"You've... come back alive."
When he'd heard she was imprisoned, he'd considered storming the academy countless times.
Sebastian had barely talked him out of it.
Cassius rose and approached the window.
Pulling the curtain aside slightly, he spotted a small lantern bobbing toward the distant annex in the darkness.
"Shadow."
At his call, a shadow slithered out from the darkness.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Is the annex prepared?"
Cassius donned the mask of the Bellaph patriarch once more. But his eyes remained bloodshot.
"Yes. Shadows are deployed to guard every blind spot, preventing any intruders."
"Good. It had better be."
"However..."
"Continue."
"Lady Charlotte is heading to the annex now."
"Charlotte?"
Cassius's brow furrowed.
Elise and Charlotte.
The sisters were like water and oil—no, more like lava and fire, with Elise unilaterally tormenting Charlotte.
A clear superior-inferior dynamic.
Elise bullied with one-sided malice, and Charlotte trembled at the mere sight of her shadow.
"Shall I stop her?"
At the shadow's question, Cassius tapped the armrest thoughtfully before shaking his head.
"No. Let her go."
"But if they meet..."
"Who knows. Things might be different this time."
Father.
Cassius sat back with a bitter expression.
"Instead, if Elise tries to lay a hand on her like before, intervene decisively. Until then, just watch."
"Understood."
The shadow melted back into the darkness, leaving Cassius alone in the empty study.
He pulled an old, cherished frame from a drawer and stared at it.
The photo showed his late wife and their two young daughters awkwardly holding hands.
"...As long as no blood spills, that'll be a relief."