Chapter 266: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (59)
Chapter 266: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (59)
The atmosphere in the room froze at my father’s confession.
The fact that Ria was a clone was something we could wrap our heads around. It was an anomaly that had manifested at the same time Mitram’s test subjects began their seizures and erratic behavior. The group had likely suspected as much deep down.
However, my father’s words contained information far more lethal than that.
‘I made a deal with the Dark Cult.’
Regardless of the reason, it was an act that wouldn't make it strange for the entire family to face the extermination of their house.
The Dark Cult was an entity tolerated by neither the Imperial Household nor the Holy Kingdom. While the Southern United Kingdoms were slightly less hostile, the fact remained that the Dark Cult was the public enemy of the continent.
The first person whose expression hardened was the Saintess.
Senior Elsie swallowed hard, her eyes darting back and forth between me and Sir Reynold. Her trembling pupils betrayed her uneasy state of mind.
The Saintess placed a hand on her forehead as if troubled and asked, "Viscount Percus… do you realize what you are saying?"
"That is why I intended to keep it hidden until the very end."
My father hung his head low, his voice thick with sorrow.
"At first, I didn't even realize it was the Dark Cult’s trickery. But on the day they returned ‘Ria’ to me, they revealed their identity and tried to win me over."
"……And I assume they offered a price then as well."
"They said they would give me my real daughter and the world."
Offering the ‘world’ as a price, let alone his daughter. It was madness.
It seemed the Dark Cult had been confident in their ability to rule this world even back then. According to Mitram, one of the things the Dark Cult valued most was the price of a transaction. It was difficult to even guess how far the Dark Cult’s reach truly extended.
The Saintess continued to press for details.
"The Dark Cult wouldn't have offered such favorable terms for nothing. What did they ask for in return?"
"The lives of my people."
A sigh escaped the Saintess’s lips, as if she had expected as much. My father repeatedly wiped his face with both hands.
"Only then did I realize how insane my desires were. Fate is not something to be defied. Since I had already committed a sin, it wasn't that I wasn't tempted to just cooperate with the Dark Cult, but……."
"You couldn't bring yourself to do it."
Those were the words Reynold spat out. In a rare gesture, he sighed and closed his eyes.
"If you had, there would be no reason for those bastards to turn your territory into such a mess."
"……Thank you for believing me, Sir Reynold."
Arthur, who had been listening in silence, let out a low groan. He tapped the armrest of his chair with his index finger, looking restless. A weary voice drifted from his lips.
"Then, Viscount Percus, you were essentially swindled. You thought you were getting your real daughter back, but you received a fake instead?"
"That is how it turned out in the end… The Dark Cult argued with sophistry, saying they promised to return my daughter, but never specified it would be the ‘real’ one."
"Then shouldn't you have reported this to the Imperial Household?"
Arthur’s blunt question pierced through to the heart of the matter. My father’s head slumped further, having no answer to give.
Arthur spoke with a heavy sigh.
"If you had, none of this would have happened. The Imperial Household was already well aware that the Dark Cult was plotting something. If there had been even a few investigations, the Percus family’s responsibility could have been significantly lessened……."
"……Then what about that poor child?"
The response came from an unexpected person. It was the beautiful woman with a youthful face who wouldn't have looked out of place if introduced as my older sister. It was my mother, the woman known as Lady Percus.
She seemed to be overcome with emotion.
"She is a child born because of our sins. Though it was only for a short time, we thought of her as our real daughter… But the moment we reported it to the Imperial Household, she would have undoubtedly been treated as a monster created by the Dark Cult. How could we… how could we do that to that poor child……"
"And she was a monster, in reality."
It was Arthur’s cold rebuttal. My mother’s eyes widened in sadness at the remark, which felt almost rude. Perhaps exhausted by the succession of incidents, Arthur could no longer hide his true feelings.
"Am I wrong? Because of her, Young Master Ian almost died. What would have happened if the Saintess and the rest of the group hadn't rushed there at that moment?"
"……It is my fault."
Instead of a rebuttal, my father offered an apology.
"She was a child who had never caused a single problem, and with the Dark Priest dead, I was afraid to cast her away. Above all, since Sir Irene was with her all day, I thought that as long as she was within sight, we could handle any accident that might occur."
"That is……."
Arthur, who was about to argue back, bit his tongue. It was an argument based on hindsight. Logically speaking, my father might have been right. Who could have known that an assailant capable of overpowering Sir Irene in an instant would suddenly appear? Even I still felt dazed by the whole incident.
Sir Irene lowered her head in shame, and Arthur eventually let out a deep sigh.
"……Regardless, we will discuss this matter again later with someone who has more authority. What is the Holy Kingdom’s stance?"
As he spoke, Arthur glanced at me. As the owner of the Dragon Blood Runes, my will naturally carried more weight than his.
Of course, I had no intention of opposing him. It wasn't as if my family was being punished immediately, and given time, it wasn't impossible to negotiate separately with the Imperial Household.
Right now, the enemy we had to face was far too powerful. Rather than arguing over this and that, it was best to focus on the evacuation procession.
The Saintess seemed to have reached a similar conclusion. After agonizing for a long time, she finally let out a sigh and spoke.
"……The sin of dealing with the Dark Cult and hiding it is great. However, the intention to take responsibility for a life born of one's own sins is commendable."
"Then?"
"We will follow the Empire's lead. We shall discuss this again through the consultative bodies later."
Arthur clapped his hands together as if a problem had been solved. With his usual exhausted gaze, he summarized the situation.
"Well then, that settles that… Let us all head out. Fortunately, there weren't many berserk test subjects, so with the cooperation of the Lainella and Yurdina families, we were able to suppress them with minimal damage."
It was a relief. There were very few guards protecting the Percus territory. In the more remote areas, it was common to find villagers acting as their own self-defense force. However, thanks to the presence of the Lainella family’s Magic Corps and the Yurdina family’s private army, it seemed the berserk test subjects had been subdued quickly.
Arthur added another point of significance to that fact.
"In other words, there is less chaos than expected. I believe we can begin the evacuation as soon as everyone is ready."
Arthur looked like he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. It made sense, given that danger still lurked here. The rest of the group seemed to agree inwardly, as no one among those seated expressed any opposition.
Just as everyone was about to stand up, a single question pierced through the commotion like a needle.
"……Then what about Ria?"
It was Celine’s question. I froze and turned my gaze toward the person responsible for providing an answer.
It was Arthur, the Administrator of the Empire. He stared at Celine as if he didn't understand the question.
"I asked, what happens to Ria?"
"Miss Haster……."
At the voice laced with an emotion that could have been anger or fear, Arthur only let out a sigh. He adjusted his glasses and spoke.
"Did you not see? She is nothing more than a fake. She is a monster who could turn on you at any moment and stab the people she lived with like family for years. Why should the Empire tolerate such a dangerous existence?"
"B-but we've treated her like a real person all this time……."
"Does treating a monster like a person make it human? Then, I suppose if I treat a dog like a person, it becomes human too. Haha… my dog Pochi would love that."
Tossing out a joke that wasn't the least bit funny, Arthur stood up. A bitter smile now hung on his lips.
"The real is real, and the fake is fake… It is a fate decided from birth. As Viscount Percus said, trying to defy fate only leads to wrong results."
Celine stood up, bristling with anger. She had always been known for her foul temper. Though it had been masked by her social skills until now, Celine was the most hot-tempered among us after Senior Elsie. It looked like she was about to scream.
But before Celine could raise her voice, Arthur’s cold words struck down.
"……One must discard what needs to be discarded."
I flinched at the words I had heard somewhere before. My steps, which were intended to mediate between the two, naturally came to a halt. Celine glared at Arthur venomously, but he didn't even flinch. He merely offered one last piece of advice.
"If you cannot distinguish between the two, you will have to pay the price for your wrong choices… just like today."
No, perhaps it was a warning. With that, he turned and trudged out of the reception room. Sir Reynold glanced at the group’s atmosphere before standing up to follow Arthur.
The remaining people all wore gloomy expressions. Even I could only bite my lip.
The only exception was Celine. With a thud, she kicked the table and grit her teeth. A fierce voice leaked through her clenched jaw.
"……I won't accept this."
Celine left the reception room with heavy strides. As she passed me, she gave me a subtle look. It was a sign that she wanted to talk.
I could only let out a deep sigh. I couldn't just leave Ria like this. We had known each other as siblings for years. Even if there was no blood relation, Ria was the only younger sister in my heart.
I had to save Ria. I was just agonizing over the method.
Releasing Ria wouldn't even be difficult. If I were to intimidate Arthur by showing him the Dragon Blood Runes right now, she would be free immediately. Though the Imperial Household would likely come to question my intentions later.
The problem I was more focused on was the fact that Ria could lose control of her body again. It was undeniable that Ria was a danger. Because of that, I had no idea how to handle her.
After hesitating for a long time, I finally made up my mind and turned my steps. I decided to talk to Celine.
However, at the last moment, a voice caught my ankle.
"……Ian."
It was my father. When I glanced back, he sighed and apologized.
"I'm sorry."
It was the end for a man who had tried to deny fate, only to fall into an even more tragic one.
I turned away in silence. I didn't know where the path I had to take lay.
It was a dawn where the sun particularly refused to rise.