Armitas Ducal Family (1)
"Do you really have to go alone?"
"Yeah? Of course."
"……."
Iliana didn't like Eunhyeon's answer.
Eunhyeon gave a wry smile as he looked at the witch glaring at him with a furrowed brow.
"You know this. You can't interfere too much in kingdom affairs publicly. That's what you decided you wanted. Personally, I think that's the right call too."
"That doesn't mean I'm okay sending you there alone."
"You think I'm going to my death? It's just a conversation. A conversation."
"……Come back quick."
Is she my mom?
He nearly said it aloud, but he held back—otherwise, he'd get smacked on the back.
With that thought, Eunhyeon nodded with another wry smile.
The little drama Eunhyeon had staged in Aiter's garden before the Pernias Divine Tree came to a close when Erin finally appeared.
Erin, still deep in slumber, had been taken by Riod to his mansion, where she would recover until she awoke. Elvin, meanwhile, would be under Eunhyeon's direct care—it was all settled.
"Is this really okay?"
Elvin asked Eunhyeon as they walked along the road.
"What?"
"Even if I am fine... can she really keep her promise?"
In the end, Oliver had no choice but to drop his demand for the immediate execution of the black mage Elvin.
If he hadn't, Eunhyeon would have exposed the school's incompetence in failing to find Erin—and the secret of the Pernias Divine Tree, known only to the royal family and the principal.
Riod and Iliana had been on Eunhyeon's side from the start, and the Armitas ducal siblings—most crucially—wanted the truth buried to cover for their father's embezzlement.
Thus, the truth of the Hersha baronet incident, uncovered by Eunhyeon, was quietly resolved without ever seeing the light of day.
"Don't worry. I'll watch over her at least until she can fend for herself."
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why go this far for my sister and me? Back then, you could've just subdued me in that abandoned warehouse and handed me over to the kingdom. Wouldn't that have been easier for you than all this hassle?"
"Seems like there's a misunderstanding. I'm not with the kingdom. Turning you in wouldn't benefit me at all. At best, I'd get a reward bounty—and I don't really need money. The reason I'm doing this much for you two... hmm, call it fate."
"Fate?"
Elvin narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar word coming from Eunhyeon, who didn't seem the type.
"A long time ago, someone who did me a great favor told me something. The world, you see, has everything predetermined."
"Everything's predetermined? What does that mean?"
"From the moment you're born, the path you must walk, every event you'll experience—it's all set from the start."
"...That's a disgusting thought."
Elvin openly grimaced, his displeasure plain.
If it were true, then he and Erin had been doomed from birth: abused by their father, losing their mother to unbearable violence, becoming a black mage and killing their own father, realizing their family was gone and falling into despair, ultimately choosing suicide.
Everything predetermined.
Unfair.
Why did this happen only to us?
"If I hadn't met you two, and if I hadn't taken on the investigation into Erin's disappearance—one possibility is that you'd have been completely consumed by your shadows, turning into a monster worse than any beast, while Erin remained trapped in the Divine Tree's temporal barrier, asleep for what might as well be eternity."
"...What are you getting at? Bragging that you twisted our fate and saved us?"
Eunhyeon shook his head with a wry smile.
"No way. What have I even done? It's just... if your fates ended like that, it'd be too sad. I didn't want to watch people like you get toyed with by rotten destinies. And someday, I wanted to see you rise above this pain and become the 'protagonists' of your own stories."
It was the same wish Eunhyeon had held unchanged since meeting Riod, Iliana, and their comrades twenty years ago.
He'd shown a noble swordsman with grand talent and bloodline the harsh reality, teaching him to aim ever higher and forging the kingdom's strongest knight.
He'd taught a talentless mage the basics of magic and vast knowledge, raising her to the continent's greatest sorceress.
Over four centuries, Eunhyeon had saved countless people, witnessing them overcome adversity, defy their fated roles, and shine.
"From the moment I met you, I realized the fate and role assigned to me—and I simply acted accordingly."
"The fate and role assigned to you..."
That was why Eunhyeon, aware he was merely an extra, had resolved to help Elvin and Erin.
Elvin stared at Eunhyeon, who smiled gently at him.
I'll pave the way for you.
So never give in.
That tender smile carried such meaning, stirring an inexplicable turmoil in Elvin.
He was a black mage feared by the world, destined to become a monster.
He'd tried to kill a duke's daughter and slain his own father in patricide.
He'd long since abandoned any hope of forgiveness—even for himself.
And yet...
Eunhyeon was telling him it wasn't too late.
What did this man see in him to be so certain?
"Is there... really a chance for me too...?"
"Of course."
In Eunhyeon's words—You can do it—Elvin felt, amid his growing savagery, an inexplicable longing and warmth.
"Haha..."
It was the first smile Elvin had cracked since killing his father, Lenion.
With those simple words, in that moment, Elvin was saved.
"What do I need to do?"
"You trust me, right, bro?"
"No idea why you're calling me bro, but yeah—I'll trust you."
"Alright, then let's die."
Elvin smirked at Eunhyeon's abrupt words, unfazed.
He'd once despised himself as he lost reason to his shadows, becoming a monster—and he'd planned to end his own life.
He simply trusted Eunhyeon's words, believing everything after would fall into place.
A relieved smile crossed Elvin's face.
"If it's you, there's a reason. Before I go, I want to leave a letter for my sister."
His only regret was not seeing her wake.
Eunhyeon nodded in understanding.
Elvin gazed blankly at the sky, thinking of his sister who would one day awaken.
I'm always wishing for your happiness.
With a satisfied smile, Elvin met his end by Eunhyeon's sword.
"I see... cough!"
"Father?!"
"No, it's fine. Just a little residual cough."
Abros Armitas, the duke, was listening to his two children report in his pajamas in the ducal bedroom when he let out a light cough.
Ashton, the eldest and heir to the Armitas duchy, had jumped to his feet in alarm but sat back down at his father's raised hand.
"If that guy's making moves like that, he should be showing up before us soon..."
"You know him, Father?"
"I do. A snake of a man, slippery just to deal with. Never get tangled with him. Understood?"
"What kind of man is he...?"
Elenoa murmured tensely as Abros warned them with a weary, exasperated expression.
She was about to ask how he'd come to know this man when—
"Pardon the intrusion."
"Eek?!"
"What!"
"Who are you!"
"Damn it."
Abros ground his teeth at the sight of Eunhyeon entering through the window.
It was the face of a man resigned to what had to come.
"Well, long time no see, Your Grace? Hope you've been well."
"This is the fourth floor. Still pulling stunts beyond common sense, huh? Does my condition look healthy to you right now?"
"Hmm, doesn't seem like anything serious. Next time we meet, I should bring some medicinal herbs for your health."
"Don't bother—just stay out of my sight. I can't stand looking at your face."
"Still as harsh as ever. But we can't have you dying right now, Your Grace. Who'd lead the kingdom's army if you kicked the bucket?"
"Cut the nonsense. Get to the point."
Elenoa stared in shock, glancing between her father Abros and Eunhyeon.
The duke was the Minister of Military Affairs, wielding the highest power in the kingdom after the king and finance minister.
How many people in the world could banter like that with such a man?
Even stranger was Abros's reaction.
Eunhyeon had infiltrated the ducal mansion alone, barging into the duke's bedroom without permission, treating him like some neighborhood uncle with endless rudeness.
Yet Abros didn't call him out—instead, he wore a look of utter distaste, a face Elenoa had never seen since she was old enough to remember.
What kind of man is he...?
Elenoa tensed up, watching Eunhyeon shatter her father's ironclad poker face with ease.
"You...! How dare you spout such insolence to my father! Are you mocking House Armitas?!"
"Yeah, that's the business. That guy."
Eunhyeon grinned, pointing at Ashton as he spoke to Abros.
At that gesture, a gale of mana surged between Abros and Eunhyeon.
"Urk!"
"Kyaa!"
As Ashton lunged at Eunhyeon, he was flung back by the whirlwind of mana between the two.
Alex caught a startled, screaming Elenoa, shielding her from the gusts.
For several seconds, Eunhyeon and Abros's mana clashed in a deadly standoff between them.
Alex watched in astonishment.
Not losing a mana battle to Father?!
Age had weakened him, sure, but even at over fifty, Abros Armitas never neglected his training. Setting aside his ministerial role, his personal prowess rivaled the kingdom's strongest knight, Riod Olivion.
Yet Eunhyeon wasn't just holding his own against the duke—he was smiling, utterly at ease.
"If you have something to say, spit it out straight."
"Still going strong, I see. Truth is, your son's little stunt has made cleanup a nightmare. So I came asking for a hand."
"What?"
"What do you...?"
Alex and Elenoa gaped at Eunhyeon's words.
Following Abros's furious glare toward Ashton, they turned to him too.
"Urgh..."
Under the trio's stares, Ashton groaned, speechless.
"Oh? From your reaction, looks like you haven't told them yet, Your Grace? Or were you planning to take it to the grave?"
"You dog..."
Eunhyeon's smirk as he dropped the bomb and chuckled smugly was infuriating.
Abros saw right through it: Eunhyeon was deliberately grating on him and Ashton.
That made the bastard's face even more loathsome.
"What... what do you mean?"
Elenoa, clueless, asked Eunhyeon.
"Fact is, the one helping Lenion Hersha embezzle the gold wasn't the duke's side—it was this guy."
"Ah..."
"Elvin met with you alone, Your Grace, revealed this, and in exchange for handing over all the embezzled gold, got the chance and setup to kill Lenion—plus assurances of safety for him and his sister. But unfortunately..."
"No way..."
Elenoa could guess the rest easily.
Why Elvin had broken his promise and betrayed House Armitas.
She recalled his words.
"At first, I intended to keep my promise. But right after killing him and getting out of prison, people came after me."