Doubts Take Root
The Empress Dowager spoke. “Think it over carefully. It won’t be a bad deal for you either.”
“……”
Bellard watched Kyle’s retreating figure in silence. Kyle had suddenly reappeared and offered his help. Honestly, when Bellard first saw that face again, his instincts had made him wary. That would never have happened before. Until recently, the only feelings Bellard had toward Kyle were disgust and contempt. Besides, in the past, Kyle would never have come looking for him of his own accord. Even if such a thing had occurred, Bellard would have immediately rebuked him and driven him away, or simply left without giving him the time of day.
But this time, he hadn’t done that. That alone meant their relationship had changed to some degree. Of course, the change stemmed from the duel the two of them had fought not long ago.
After losing to Elion for the first time in his life, Bellard had felt a dark urge. He had considered using his family’s influence to eliminate Elion, who was superior to him. It would not have been difficult. The gap in their backgrounds was vast. Yet Bellard had never carried out the plan. Not because he had changed his mind. It was because Kyle had stopped him.
Somehow, Kyle had found out and suddenly appeared to tell Bellard not to touch Elion. Naturally, Bellard had no intention of listening, so Kyle sighed and challenged him to a duel. Bellard accepted without hesitation. His mind was already in turmoil because of Elion, and now Kyle had shown up to interfere, which only irritated him further.
Thus, the two dueled—and Bellard lost.
Through that duel, Bellard learned the truth. Kyle was not beneath him. In fact, he was several steps ahead.
Bellard was deeply shocked, and at the same time, he felt anxious. If the head of the family learned that Kyle possessed far greater skill than him, the succession struggle, which had essentially ended, could reignite. Given his father’s personality, that outcome was highly likely. And if that happened, Bellard’s chances of victory were far from certain. The Berwen heir was chosen strictly based on ability and skill.
Bellard, once hailed as a genius and the center of the empire’s attention, had been overwhelmed by Kyle. He hated to admit it, but it was proof that Kyle’s talent and skill were extraordinary. Perhaps Kyle possessed the kind of talent that could shake the empire, even the entire continent. If their father learned of it, would he still choose Bellard?
Bellard could not easily nod in agreement. That was why he could not help feeling anxious.
Yet Kyle had said this to him: “I have no interest in the position of family head.”
It was hard to believe. No, it was impossible to believe. But as time passed, Bellard’s thoughts began to change. He started to think that perhaps Kyle’s words were true. A day passed, then two, then a month, and Kyle showed no signs of action. He did not even contact the family. In fact, he had no involvement whatsoever with anything related to the Berwens. He truly seemed to have no interest in the position of family head.
At that point, Bellard could not help but feel confused. He could not begin to guess Kyle’s intentions. Did he really have no interest in becoming head of the family? If so, had he deliberately hidden his strength all this time? Why? For what purpose? Bellard could not understand. He could not even speculate.
His mind filled with thoughts of Kyle, Bellard eventually forgot all about Elion, the one who had first defeated him. Lost in endless contemplation, he began to watch Kyle. He had to keep an eye on him in case Kyle changed his mind and revealed his ambitions, but there was also pure curiosity about how Kyle had become so different.
The Kyle he observed displayed quite… no, remarkably surprising behavior. Somehow, he had grown close to the saintess and defeated Jerim Haluter, the second-year renowned for his strength, in a duel. Even while showing such feats that the old Kyle could never have accomplished, Kyle kept his word. He had no contact with the Berwens whatsoever.
As time went on, Bellard’s doubts only deepened.
Then, one day, Kyle came to see him again. And he “offered” his help. When Bellard first heard the offer, he scoffed. Regardless of how his perception of Kyle had changed, there was no reason for him to help Kyle. But then Kyle mentioned a “debt.”
Bellard’s face hardened naturally. He knew exactly what debt Kyle was referring to. If he did not comply, Kyle would reveal his true strength to the family. Bellard interpreted the “debt” as a threat. However, Kyle lightly denied that interpretation.
Then he said, “Haven’t you ever thought it was strange? I’m strong enough to beat you, so why haven’t I shown that strength to the family? What if it wasn’t that I chose not to, but that I couldn’t?”
Bellard could not hide his agitation at those words. He, too, had always wondered why Kyle had never revealed his strength to the family. Logically, there was no reason not to. If Kyle had shown this level of skill earlier, the position of heir would have been his. So why hadn’t he? What was his intention? Bellard had been questioning this ever since the duel.
But Kyle was saying it was not that he had chosen not to, but that he had been unable to. And what Kyle said next shocked Bellard to the core.
Kyle claimed that someone had tampered with his body. They had planted something unknown—poison or a curse—and as a result, his body had been completely ruined, leaving him unable to even control his mana properly.
It was hard to believe. No, he did not want to believe it. Yet Kyle paid no attention to Bellard’s reaction.
“Who do you think did it?”
Bellard’s heart wanted to deny those words, but his mind would not stop thinking. If Kyle’s words were true, who could have done such a thing? Who stood to gain the most from it?
A possibility he wanted to deny rose in his mind.
“You do have a debt, don’t you?”
At the quiet addition, Bellard could not deny it.
“As I said before, I have no interest in the position of family head. Just handle what I told you. That’ll clear your share of the debt. Besides, this isn’t exactly a losing deal for you, is it?”
With those words, Kyle added an explanation. This matter was not just a nuisance—it would bring Bellard tangible benefits. It was not some absurd, baseless story. It was an explanation that even Bellard found himself nodding along to, one that made perfect sense.
Yet none of it reached Bellard’s ears.
In the end, Bellard could not say a single word. Not even as Kyle left his seat. Kyle’s words kept weighing on his heart.
If those words were true, there was one highly likely suspect who immediately came to mind.
‘…Mother.’
It was his own mother. There was no evidence yet. There was far too little proof to believe it outright. But if Kyle’s words were true?
“……”
A seed of doubt had taken root in Bellard’s heart.
***
“Oh, you’re here.”
Anne the priestess greeted Lana calmly as she entered the room. Her expression and tone were far too light and casual for someone serving as the saintess’s attendant, but neither she nor Lana had cared about that for a long time.
However…
“…Huh?”
Anne soon tilted her head in confusion. The saintess’s reaction was different from usual.
“……”
Lana stood there with a face that seemed lost in thought, not even responding to the greeting.
“Saintess?”
Feeling a hint of curiosity, Anne called out to Lana. Their relationship was fairly close, but Anne had rarely seen Lana like this. No matter the situation, Lana had always responded without fail, as if she felt compelled to do so.
At that moment—
“Anne.”
Finally, Lana responded. But it was not a reply to the greeting.
“…Yes?”
Anne gave a somewhat dazed response to the unusually heavy tone in Lana’s voice. Regardless, Lana looked her straight in the eye and spoke.
“I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
***
Ernen and Sebastian had agreed to cooperate. Their interests aligned. Even if they were destined to become enemies someday, they needed to eliminate the obstacle named Kyle Berwen for now.
The two put their heads together, and a plan was quickly formed. Their skills were exceptional, and more importantly, the task was not difficult. How hard could it be to expel a troublemaking playboy who had lost all his backing from the Academy? Simply dredging up past incidents and escalating the matter would be enough to drive Kyle out.
Under normal circumstances, this approach might have caused quite a stir, but since the two of them had joined forces, there was no need to worry about that. After all, the emperor’s son and the future heir of the great Ebenros family had combined their strength. Who would dare oppose them?
Thus, the two carried out their plan, confident that everything would go exactly as they intended.
But then—
“What… is this……?”
Something completely unexpected had occurred.