Daughter and Father
Daughter and Father
Kaledra's hand, gripping the door handle, trembled faintly.
Kaledra had heard the words "I will most certainly kill you" countless times in his life.
After all, in the past, Kaledra had eliminated numerous political enemies by any means necessary in order to stand at the pinnacle of power.
In that process, there had been no shortage of people who hurled words of hatred at Kaledra.
Each time, Kaledra merely frowned, dismissing them as all bark and no bite.
Indeed, their threats had been paltry, and the victor was always Count Kaledra.
But the weight of Daniel Steiner's words now was different from that of the street thugs he had faced in the past.
The clear, icy aura flowing from Daniel's sincerity was enough to make his back sting.
'...Is this the difference between those who can and those who cannot?'
Perhaps Daniel Steiner truly could kill Count Kaledra.
Count Kaledra knew this as well, which was why he couldn't easily respond.
Reflecting upon himself, Kaledra realized what this whole complex of emotions was.
'It seems I am genuinely afraid. Of Daniel Steiner...'
It was a beastly emotion he had not felt in a very long time.
Finding it refreshing, Kaledra let out a low chuckle.
"I wish you luck."
Having said that, Kaledra opened the door and stepped outside.
The attendants who had been waiting for him bowed their heads toward Kaledra and fell into step beside him.
With no one asking any questions, Kaledra and his attendants arrived at the entrance of the annex.
Their footsteps came to a halt, one after another.
Kaledra, leading them, also had no choice but to stop in his tracks.
Because a woman he had seen countless times was blocking his path.
A few members of the Foreign Ministry were trying to dissuade her, telling her she couldn't do this, but it was a futile effort.
For the woman ignored the Foreign Ministry staff entirely, her gaze fixed solely on Count Kaledra.
Thinking, it had been a while, Kaledra spoke with a somewhat solemn expression.
"Lucy Emilia."
He could never forget her neat, silk-white bobbed hair and those blood-red eyes, try as he might.
"The Imperial uniform suits you quite well."
It was a roundabout way of saying she had become a turncoat.
Lucy knew that as well, but she was not shaken.
No, there was no need to be shaken.
Because the Lucy of now held not a shred of guilt for betraying Kaledra.
"How did the negotiations turn out?"
Kaledra, who had been gazing softly at Lucy as she went straight to the point, answered nonchalantly.
"They broke down. The Allied Nations will resist to the bitter end."
Lucy's hand trembled faintly upon hearing Kaledra's words.
Her eyes, fixed on Kaledra, also wavered as if she couldn't understand.
"Why...?"
Catching her breath, Lucy yelled out in a fit of anger.
"Why do you persist in your stubbornness when things have reached this point! Do you intend to turn the Allied Nations into a sea of fire before you are satisfied!"
When Lucy raised her voice, the attendants moved to draw their weapons, but Kaledra raised a hand to stop them.
Because he knew that no matter how great Lucy's anger was, it wasn't so uncontrollable as to cause a serious diplomatic breach.
"There seems to be some misunderstanding. Lucy Emilia. You cannot be unaware that it was I who unified Edria, which was walking the path of ruin due to high unemployment and civil war."
"...What does that have to do with the Count's choices now?"
"It has everything to do with it. Do you know why I pushed for war with the Empire? It's because even after unifying Edria, the situation showed no signs of improving."
Kaledra gripped the handle of his cane tightly.
"The citizens who had been jobless for so long were no different from a mob, and the crime rate was soaring daily. No one believed the future would change even if I formed a new cabinet. There were even countless local warlords scheming to raise armies and seize my position."
Kung! Kaledra struck the floor hard with his cane.
"There was only one way to eradicate this! War! War alone could unite the people of Edria! Even the local warlords eyeing my seat willingly joined hands with me and agreed to sacrifice for the nation once the war began!"
The solution Kaledra came up with to unite the people, create jobs, and weaken the regional powers was war.
At the time, Edria was in a major diplomatic dispute with the Empire, so creating a justification for war was not a difficult task.
Simply spreading false reports that Imperial forces had brutally murdered Edrian civilians at the border was enough to turn the people's anger outward, not inward.
"In just a few years, a homeland on the verge of collapse became a permanent member state of the United Nations! Until recently, we were a great power that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Empire! And now you're telling me to bow my head to the Empire and surrender just because the tide has turned against us!"
Kaledra ground his teeth.
"...That is not an option. It cannot happen. The moment I bow my head to the Empire and surrender, the people's anger will turn inward again, not outward. Without a doubt, a civil war worse than before the war will break out. And under the Empire's influence at that!"
Lucy, who had been listening, furrowed an eyebrow.
"Are you saying you will hold your own people hostage because you are afraid of a future that hasn't even arrived? Is that truly the way you love your homeland, Count?"
"If that is the only way for Edria to move toward the future, I will not hesitate."
In Lucy's eyes, Kaledra's current state was not sane.
"...If you truly cared for Edria, there would have been a better way."
"There is no better way. This is the best option."
"No. You are merely shutting your eyes to reality, trapped by your own stubbornness."
Kaledra stared intently at Lucy.
The anger residing in her red eyes was mingled with a touch of sadness.
To Lucy, Count Kaledra was the worst father, but that didn't mean there were no memories at all.
Whenever Lucy collapsed from intense training, Count Kaledra would invariably visit her hospital room, place a hand on her head, and offer a comfort that wasn't really comfort.
Most of the time, even that was telling her to "endure it for the sake of the homeland," but for Lucy back then, even that selfish comfort felt like warmth she could accept.
But now, Count Kaledra's delirious remarks were diluting even those remaining memories.
The Count Kaledra standing before her eyes now had not even a lingering trace of a father left.
"You are a monster."
At the denunciation coming from Lucy's lips, Kaledra's hand flinched, trembling.
Kaledra opened his mouth to deny Lucy's words, but he couldn't bring himself to utter a sound.
Thinking further conversation was a waste of time, Kaledra moved his feet.
The attendants, while still wary of Lucy, followed Kaledra.
It was just then that Kaledra walked past Lucy.
"Now I think I know why I was born into this world."
At Lucy's whispered words, Kaledra's footsteps came to a halt.
He could have ignored her and kept walking, but the fact that it was his adopted daughter, Lucy Emilia, made him hesitate.
"Count Kaledra. It seems I was born into this world to destroy monsters like you."
Her refined anger flowed out, layered atop deep disappointment.
Sensing the magical power flowing from Lucy like thin ice, Kaledra knew.
That if Lucy set her mind to it, she could turn him into a mere lump of flesh right then and there.
There was only one reason Lucy didn't do it now.
Because she knew that killing Kaledra in this place would cause great trouble for Daniel Steiner.
That was how much Lucy cared for Daniel Steiner.
It was easy to guess the extent of their relationship.
From Kaledra's perspective, it was absurd that the child he had taken in as his adopted daughter and raised as a war machine was now in love with the enemy nation's hero.
'Was it Daniel Steiner who made you like this...?'
Choosing what to say from his complicated mind, Kaledra spoke in a low voice.
"......Lucy Emilia. As an orphan, your fate was to wander the streets and starve to death. It was I who took you in and granted you power and honor. Furthermore, your purpose was not to kill me, but to kill the enemies of the Allied Nations."
Taking a deep breath, Kaledra slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.
"Therefore, you are a failure. A completely useless..."
Those were Kaledra's final words to his adopted daughter, whose heart had been crushed by countless wounds.
Kaledra moved his feet again, and Lucy did not try to hold him back any longer.
Because they both knew.
That before long, they would face each other again in the middle of a fierce battlefield.