Uriel Wayne Daina Alfred
Grip!
Uriel clutched the hem of her dress so tightly that wrinkles formed in the beautiful fabric.
It felt just like that day ten years ago, tormenting her.
No, it wasn't even a reenactment. At least back then, they had faced each other.
That realization brought a foreboding premonition naturally sweeping through her mind.
What if Ferzen von Schweig Brutein had struck some deal with the Aslan family?
After all, the very reason Ferzen had interfered in this engagement was to prevent the Aslan family from gaining additional power.
If they had negotiated to eliminate any elements that could cause problems...
Ferzen, whose veins carried the blood of Brutein—
would he really take her, who bore the blood of Alfred, as his concubine?
'...'
The self-answer that came to her self-question was filled entirely with negatives.
In fact, her grandfather Coleone Wayne Barreta Alfred's extreme displeasure likely stemmed from anticipating this very point.
"Furthermore..."
In the heavy atmosphere, Gerard overcame the pressure and presented one condition after another, all of them far too favorable. As time passed, Uriel grew increasingly convinced of her suspicions.
It felt as if they were offering inflated compensation out of guilt for orchestrating a rigged auction against the Alfred family.
'No...'
Why would they engage in such duplicitous spending?
Uriel tried to soothe her anxiety with what she considered rational grounds, but each time, the hand gripping her dress hem slackened, as if betraying her lack of confidence.
'...'
"You look plenty like a woman to me."
"Uriel. Next time, I'll take you with me."
Ferzen's voice flickered in her ears. Tracing the nearly faded traces he had left with her fingers, Uriel bit her lip.
Was this the feeling of a child abandoned at an orphanage?
Believing firmly in parents' promise to return once they earned enough money, waiting and waiting, thinking they hadn't come back yet only because they hadn't earned enough... only to realize later that they had been utterly forsaken.
'You don't have to come for me...'
Staring at the door that still wouldn't open, Uriel murmured inwardly.
'So... please, take me with you...'
The current time was 8 PM.
The auction continued with only one bidder.
* * * * *
As if signaling the end of the banquet, the maids bustled about, clearing the dishes from the large table one by one.
All that remained were wine and neatly prepared fruits.
Gerard sipped his wine leisurely and glanced at Coleone.
He had presented everything prepared; now he just awaited the fall of the hammer.
An auction with only one bidder from the start—the outcome was as good as decided.
"Excuse me... I'll step out."
"Where are you going?"
"..."
As Uriel rose, Gerard asked with a smile.
He knew well that a woman excusing herself from such a gathering meant heading to the restroom, yet he questioned her anyway.
His intent was blatant—to heap shame and humiliation upon her. But with Coleone not intervening, Uriel remained silent, grasping the door handle.
Gerard, watching her, considered pushing further, but judged it wouldn't be too late after they left together, so he demurely bit into a slice of apple.
In the dim corridor illuminated only by faint moonlight, Uriel wandered for a long while before leaning weakly against the wall.
"Ah..."
Glancing out the window, she spotted two carriages parked in the mansion's garden, her obsidian eyes widening characteristically.
The emblem on the left carriage was a soaring blue falcon.
And on the right...
The scales symbolizing balance.
Yes. It was the mark of Brutein.
Clack.
At the same time, footsteps echoed from beyond the silent corridor.
The darkness of the hall was so thick it obscured the figure like a curtain, showing only vague outlines, yet Uriel could clearly etch it into her eyes.
Uniformly.
Rhythmically.
Without a single disruption.
With dignity.
Gracefully.
Approaching—the red eyes of the man whom even the darkness could not swallow.
"Uriel."
Finally, in the spot bathed in soft moonlight, he arrived before her and called her name in a low voice.
"..."
Uriel couldn't respond.
She had too much to say; it choked her words instead.
"Why are you standing here idly?"
She wanted to hurl a torrent of curses.
To demand why he was so late.
"Why your lips?"
But what Uriel ultimately chose was...
Chomp!
Biting down on Ferzen's fingers, which gently touched her bitten lips in concern, and letting the tears she had held back in her anxiety flow free.
"..."
Fortunately, he had controlled his strength; the fingers beyond her trembling lips felt no pain, so Ferzen silently gazed down at her.
Slide.
Incongruous with the mood, as if offering a baby a bottle,
he brought his opposite—right index finger—to her lips.
For a moment, absurdity and anger surged.
Uriel bit down harder, but ultimately unwilling to hurt him, she obediently enveloped it with her soft lips.
"Hic...!"
Watching her, Ferzen smiled faintly, wiped the tears from her eyes as if soothing a sobbing child, and drew her slender waist into his embrace.
"Ah..."
Only then could Uriel confirm it.
Behind Ferzen stood the previous heads of Brutein.
"Let's go."
With that, Ferzen tightened his hold on her waist and stepped forward.
Naturally, the subservient previous Brutein heads followed.
The current time was 9 PM.
Bang!
The door flew open.
Ferzen had arrived.
* * * * *
Clack.
As always, without any ostentation, adorned only with the insignia denoting his Apollyon-grade black mage status on his tie, he strode in wearing a neat black suit.
Watching him, Gerard ground his teeth.
He had grown accustomed to Coleone's presence, yet Ferzen's aura, revealed after just two hours, pressed down on his head like a weight.
In truth, all the maids in the room naturally bowed their heads, stifling even their breaths.
A silence that literally stopped breathing.
The world grew quiet.
As if to let his footsteps be heard clearly.
And the only one free from that pressure, Coleone...
"Oh, ooh..."
widened his eyes, his face alight with mad ecstasy.
The six previous Brutein heads following Ferzen—he knew them all.
How could he not?
Excluding the Bruteins themselves, the Alfred family knew their history best.
10th head, Remiel von Graham Brutein.
13th head, Demier von Mark Brutein.
17th head, Lois von Senfels Brutein.
22nd head, Belzer von Lupenheim Brutein.
25th head, Javelin von Molrit Brutein.
27th head, Bayern von Grieel Brutein.
Having acquired their portraits with great difficulty, facing the living embodiments of Brutein's ancient history up close made Coleone's heart race youthfully despite his age.
And this was precisely Ferzen's intent.
It was a performance of sorts.
Before Brutein's history, declaring acceptance of Alfred blood.
That alone would make Coleone approve taking Uriel, no matter what conditions Gerard proposed.
With zero point one percent margin for error, Ferzen was 100% certain.
The Alfred family itself had a history soaked in inferiority toward Brutein, running endlessly parallel.
Especially Coleone—his obsession bordered on excess.
To the point of marrying a woman resembling Ferzen's grandfather—the 42nd head's younger sister.
A grotesque desire to mix Alfred into Brutein, even that way.
To stimulate that very point, Ferzen had brought the previous Brutein heads under his control.
"Sit."
"Yes..."
Reaching the table, Ferzen naturally seated Uriel beside him and took his place.
"...How brazen."
Watching, Gerard forced his mouth open.
His voice, laced with venom, seeped into Ferzen's ears.
"No awareness of being late?"
"I'm not late. I arrived precisely on time."
Yet Ferzen smiled in response.
"The purpose isn't dining, after all."
"..."
"I have no intention of sharing a meal. Don't delude yourself."
No subject was specified.
It referred to Gerard.
And simultaneously to Coleone.
Unlike Gerard, who felt insulted, Coleone laughed.
He was delighted, in fact.
Water and oil mixing from the start—lack of repulsion would be the anomaly.
Thus, the more Ferzen showed aversion, the more pleasure Coleone felt.
Especially the previous Brutein heads under autonomous control.
Seeming indifferent yet faintly revealing contempt per their living memories' feedback—it enraptured Coleone.
Even so, the engagement would proceed.
A child of mixed Alfred and Brutein blood would be born.
Including the current head—Jeremiah—that made 44 generations.
At the end of that long span, his wish would finally come true.
Clap!
Coleone clapped loudly, and a nearby maid approached the table's center, placing two pristine white sheets of paper.
Ferzen easily guessed the intent.
To negotiate the contract terms right here.
"Speak first. I'll listen attentively."
Coleone leaned back comfortably, steepling his fingers.
Ferzen met Uriel's gaze briefly before presenting the first clause.
In truth, no deliberation was needed.
It was essential for the engagement to succeed.
"I will take Alfred family's second daughter—Uriel Wayne Daina Alfred—as my concubine, relinquish custody of our first son thereafter, and entrust all rights entirely to the Alfred family."
Ah. What a delightful resonance.
Hearing such words from one carrying Brutein blood—the pinnacle of talent—sent shivers down Coleone's spine.
If this world had recording devices,
Coleone would have recorded Ferzen's statement and played it repeatedly.
"However, the child has the right to know his birth parents' identities. The Alfred family cannot refuse requests from the child or parents to meet."
"Accepted."
"Then the first clause ends here."
It might seem harsh.
But given the Alfred structure concentrating power in one person, Ferzen didn't believe ill awaited that child.
"Now... the second clause is mine."
"..."
"In childbirth, if mother and child are both in peril, prioritize the child's life. Of course, only when the physician deems the mother incapable of further pregnancy even if saved."
Hearing Coleone, Ferzen furrowed his brow.
Referring to his granddaughter as "mother" was secondary; the tone nakedly treated her as mere breeding stock.
Utter indifference to her life, so long as a child of mixed Alfred and Brutein blood was obtained.
But Uriel smiled bitterly, accustomed.
That was a woman's place in the Alfred family.
And dying for her child...
Uriel believed she could embrace it willingly.
"I revise it."
"Ah..."
But Ferzen didn't accept it meekly.
Coleone's eyebrow twitched.
Still, since it was a revision, he awaited the rest.
Such scenarios weren't common anyway.
"Not immediately prioritizing the child's life—instead, per the physician's judgment, during the limit they can both endure... I will open the Netherworld's third layer and attempt contact with the grotesque beings that heal bodily defects and wounds."
"Such cases are rare as samples. Limits can't be precise. If I set three minutes and both die before, what then?"
"I'll take full responsibility."
"Even if with another Alfred woman instead?"
"If that's your wish."
"Then no objections. Accepted."
Despite the heavy mood, the smoothness surprised Uriel; it took her a moment to process.
After all, it meant he'd try saving both her and the child—even if bedding another Alfred woman again.
'...'
It felt unfamiliar.
Slightly.
So Uriel instinctively reached under the table.
Brushed Ferzen's left hand.
He grasped hers wordlessly.
Warmth transmitted.
Her right hand firmly held in his large one.
Even treated as a family vessel, object, tool.
For Uriel...
this moment was happiness.