Chapter 131
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131
I spoke to the Duke, my voice a steady incantation meant to brainwash him. It echoed in the quiet room, sounding as if it were splitting in two.
"Whose fault is it?"
"It was mine… It was all my fault…"
Finally, the Duke admitted the guilt he had been harboring.
"You merely provided the pretext. I was the one who drove things to this point. I am a sinner…"
I agreed. If the Duke hadn't severed ties with his daughter, Agera would never have resorted to Human Transmutation just because she missed her.
I was about to seize the opportunity to manipulate the Duke's softened mind when another interruption came from outside. This time, it wasn't a knight, but Rico.
"Your Grace, a guest has arrived. Shall I show them to the drawing room?"
"…Do so."
"Yes, right away."
Along with her reply, I heard the sound of receding footsteps. A guest? Who would visit at a time like this?
While I was trying to guess the identity of this unwelcome visitor, the Duke gave me an order.
"Evangeline Rohanson, you will greet the guest."
Me? I wasn't even a member of the ducal house.
"It's not my place to receive guests."
"No. You are not a guest here. You have every right."
What? Did I hear him correctly? Not a guest, and in a position to receive visitors—wasn't that basically acknowledging me as his granddaughter?
"Show her to the drawing room," the Duke called to a servant, ordering them to guide me.
I left the office in a daze. I had provoked the Duke with everything I had, wanting him to either antagonize me or take my side—to just pick one. But I never expected him to flip his attitude so suddenly. Given how prickly and stubborn he was, I thought he would only acknowledge me on his deathbed, or at least put up a cold front until the very end.
I had no idea what change of heart had made him acknowledge me now.
"This way, My Lady."
Following the servant, I still couldn't make sense of it, question marks popping up in my mind one after another.
Could it be that the guest is a dangerous person, and he’s using me as a shield?
* * *
Duke Hosaquin sat alone in his office, drowned in remorse.
The very air seemed to have weight, pressing down heavily on him. He couldn't bring himself to lift his head, even though the one he wished to apologize to was no longer of this world.
Where does a soul go when God refuses to embrace it? If Amaranth's defiled soul had dissolved and seeped into the very earth, it was no wonder the Duke found it so hard to breathe.
"…Amaranth."
Even after Evangeline had left, he could not easily raise his head. He felt that if he straightened his posture, he would see his daughter looking at him with resentment.
Although he had declared he would never acknowledge Evangeline Rohanson, the girl he had allowed into his house resembled Amaranth to an unsettling degree. Of course, since she was something Amaranth had created, it was to be expected.
Evangeline's harsh words became Amaranth's reproaches, and his own cold attitude toward Evangeline became a repetition of the past.
"I regret it so much."
Until recently, Duke Hosaquin had never regretted anything he had done. Countless lives rested on his shoulders. So, during the final days of the Pagan Massacre, when Amaranth told him he had made the wrong choice, the Duke had severed ties with his daughter without hesitation.
The sin Amaranth committed was hers alone to bear. That was what Duke Hosaquin had thought. He had a sun to look up to and follow, a guidepost that assured him his actions were not mistaken.
"I was foolish. Only now do I understand Amaranth."
If Agera had not dabbled in sorcery, he would have never understood for the rest of his life.
After Amaranth died, Agera lost her mind. It would have been better if she had resented the Duke, but Agera was too weak a person to burden others. For her, time had simply stopped.
The Duke had to live with someone who was going backward in time.
Because Duke Hosaquin followed the sun, he grew older every day as it rose. But Agera, who had turned her back on it, grew younger as the sun set.
Unlike with Amaranth, the Duke could not let go of Agera. She was the most important thing to him. Even in this state, he hoped God would look upon Agera with mercy. The Duke's feelings for his wife were greater than his guilt toward his daughter. Surely, that monster-like thing, Evangeline, must have been just as important to Amaranth.
The Duke took a long-kept letter from a drawer and gently stroked it. They were letters sent by Amaranth after their estrangement. Fearing what might be written inside, he had kept them stored away his entire life, unread.
"Father."
A rat popped out from under the desk. No, it was his daughter. The Duke did not stop it as it climbed onto the desk. Taking advantage of his mental confusion and weakness, the ‘rat’ tried to bewitch him.
If Evangeline had known, she would have been angry enough to burn the ‘rat’ alive for coveting her share.
"Fatherydidyouabandonme. Whydon'tyouunderstandme. DidIdosomethingsowrong. Fatherabandonedme. Toletmediealone. Iwilldiesoon. Saveme. Father. Iwanttogobacktotheducalhouse."
The rat seemed to recite the contents of the letters the Duke had not yet read. Ironically, the voice it uttered resembled Evangeline's.
Was Amaranth's voice like this, too? He had tried so hard to forget that his corroded memories had lost even the sound of his daughter's voice.
"Swallow me. Eat me. Chew me up. I am a very delicious rat. If you eat me, I will forgive you. I won't hate Father."
Before he even realized it, the Duke was gripping the rat as if possessed.
Indeed. If Evangeline hadn't warned him about this beforehand, his heart would have stopped. This was the fate Agera’s second daughter—the one the Duke had crushed—had to accept. Anger welled up inside him. It was a truly biased reaction, to be angrier at the summoned creature than at Agera, the one who had cast the spell.
"…Hate me for the rest of your life."
The Duke squeezed his hand tighter, his eyes becoming bloodshot. The rat clawed wildly at his hand, trying to escape.
"Amaranth, my daughter. I have no intention of being forgiven by you. So even in death, resent me."
Crunch.
The sound of shattering bones echoed in the room. The Duke did not loosen his grip. Since the ‘rats’ would come back to life even if they died, letting go would only allow it to escape and be eaten by someone else in the mansion.
So the Duke continued, repeatedly killing the rat every time it revived.
He remained that way for a very long time, until Evangeline, who resembled his daughter far more than the ‘rat’ ever could, returned to the office.
* * *
Even though I hadn't lifted a finger, Rico had already prepared everything for the guest's arrival. If I had antagonized her instead of joining hands, life in the Duke's house would have been quite miserable.
As I waited in the drawing room, the guest the Duke had mentioned soon arrived. They wore a cloak pulled down low, but as soon as I saw them, I knew who it was and almost cheered.
"Sir Gabriel."
At my call, Gabriel pulled back his hood. His sorrowful beauty, once hidden by the cloth, was immediately revealed. Had someone set up special lighting for his entrance? The entire room seemed to have brightened.
"I am glad you recognized me right away."
Gabriel smiled softly. Now there was a reflector, too. It had been a while since I'd last seen him, so perhaps my immunity had worn off, because for a moment I almost gave him a thumbs-up and praised his unchanging beauty. I nearly lost all my villainess dignity.
"I didn't expect you to come in person, Sir."
No wonder the Duke sent me. It must have been because Gabriel was the one who had arrived.
"But isn't it dangerous for you to come here yourself, with Bishop Marik watching your every move?" That was why I had sent the letter under Misha's name.
At my words, Gabriel cast his eyes down as if ashamed. "Opportunities to see you are rare, My Lady. It has been a while… so even though I knew it was dangerous, I came."
He was right, it had been a long time. The last I’d seen him was when we were saving Princess Jeremia.
There was no trace left of the honest and diligent knight. Gabriel had truly settled into my fish tank. The realization hit me anew. That must be why he abandoned his faith and his country to help me.
Still, since Gabriel was the only one in my fish tank, my conscience hurt less. But if there's only one… is it still a fish tank? Anyway.
"I hope you missed me as well, My Lady," Gabriel added with a sigh, his tone certain that I wouldn't have.
I did want to see him, though. I wanted to grill him about why he dropped me into this rat-pocalypse without any warning.
"I missed you too, Sir Gabriel."
Although it was strictly out of necessity. Since the meaning was the same, I gave him plenty of lip service. It had been a while, so I had to feed him plenty of bait.
"Is that so?"
Hearing my answer, Gabriel's eyes curved into crescents. He didn't seem to care if there was another meaning to my words; it was a smile of pure joy that I had missed him.
"Lady Evangeline thought of me."
My eyes were naturally drawn to his bright smile.
"I am so happy to have occupied even a small part of your time, My Lady."
Gabriel acted as if the mere fact I had thought of him a few times was sweeter than any honeyed words in the world. The corners of his eyes were flushed red, though he wasn't crying. It felt as if his emotions would overflow at any moment.
I had never seen a person so completely filled with a single emotion… happiness. It was strange to see the ever-cool Gabriel smiling with such feverish excitement, and even stranger to know that I was the one who had created that emotion. My heart rate quickened, and a wave of nausea rose in my throat. I covered my mouth.
"My Lady?"
Gabriel's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of concern. I avoided his eyes.