Isn't there a limit to swearing at people?
After her marriage, my mother was exploited by the Duke as a sorceress and eventually died. It was almost as if she had been murdered.
And at the place where her grave is, they are committing such a terrible act again.
'Mom I'm sorry.'
I took several deep breaths to calm my turbulent emotions.
As I was taking in the scenery outside the window and lost in thought for a moment, the children called out to me from behind.
"Excuse me, why isn't there an answer?"
"Oh, yeah. What's going on?"
I looked back, hiding my reddened eyes. The children were moving busily, preparing something.
"It's distribution time. The bread is relatively soft today."
The boy brought the meal here, shoved under the solid iron door.
The only meal I had was a small, hard, black loaf of bread the size of my palm.
The boy frowned at the poor environment, but he shared bread with the girls as if he was used to it.
But the next moment, the boy gave me two pieces for myself.
Not understanding the situation, I blinked blankly and asked the boy.
"Did you just give me your share?"
"Yeah. Can't you tell when you see it?"
He spoke harshly, but his actions were completely different.
"First of all, you have to stay healthy so that you can go out and help us or not. I don't have much time left anyway."
It was heartbreaking to see him coldly judging his own health. Doesn't he look like an old man who has long ago given up on the will to live?
Even at such a young age.
I could get a glimpse of the weight of life that the boy, still at a young age, had endured so far.
"Then I'll give some bread to you too."
"Me too!"
The children each gave me their share of bread.
In an instant, I had four loaves of bread, so I waved my hand and gave some to the children again.
"I'm really not hungry. I feel more reassured watching you guys eat."
Only after repeating the same thing several times did the children begin to eat their share of bread.
They must have been hungry, as they chewed and swallowed the bread hastily.
How did you manage to keep such a pure heart after going through such things?
I thought that as soon as I left there, I would want to treat them to ten more plates of cake.
I will also do my best to cure the boy's illness. Even if I didn't like it, I was a member of the Duke's family, and I had a responsibility to correct the Duke's mistakes.
'The problem right now is just getting out.'
By now, Raphael will have returned to the Grand Duke's residence, and Sarah and Vermont will have also noticed that I am missing.
I will try hard to find traces, but since this is a place, it may not be easy to infer.
'What should I do?'
It seemed like it would be difficult to break free of the restraints. I thought about a way to convey the message without using magic. It was then that the heavy iron door creaked open.
A man wearing a black cloak came in without a word and walked towards me with a limp.
"What, what is it?"
The man was coming towards me. The boy tried to stop him, but he could only get to the man's waist.
"It's okay, guys. I'll be right back."
As I gulped and tried to reassure the children, I heard laughter from under the cloak mocking my actions.
The man grabbed my wrist with a cruel and inconsiderate hand. My arm hurt so much as if it was going to break, as I was dragged out.
Even if I asked where they were taking me, they wouldn't give me a proper answer.
I pretended I was okay, but I was actually scared.
***
Halfway down the street, the man put a blindfold over my eyes as if to cover them.
Naturally, it became even more unclear where I was going in, but it seemed like I had gone down quite a few stairs while holding onto the wall.
Thump, and then the sound of the iron door closing rang out again.
'Am I left alone somewhere?'
Instead of focusing on the obscured vision, I tried to listen and understand my surroundings.
I soon realized that I wasn't alone here. I could hear someone else's breathing and footsteps.
"It's been a while, Enrica."
"...Father?"
The identity was none other than the Duke. Soon, my blindfold was removed.
If the place I had stayed in earlier looked like a simple prison, this place was reminiscent of a torture chamber.
There was a hard chair in the center and a strange, musty smell mixed with the humid air.
Several candles were burning in the room, making it very bright. The light created an even more alien atmosphere.
"What are you doing right now?"
"I heard you got your magic back. If that's the case, you should have told your father."
I grimaced and took a step back, my calf hitting the chair.
The Duke stretched out his hand as if he had been waiting and made me sit on it.
"Well, what else do you need? You already took everything."
As soon as you see my face, you start talking about magic.
It was such a shameless and bizarre attitude that it was difficult to keep calm.
"Not only did you exploit my mother and me for our magical powers, but now you're treating people who have nothing to do with you like animals and buying and selling them! Do you find that amusing?"
"Would I find that fun, Enrica?"
The Duke's voice was quite different from what I had expected. I paused for a moment, unable to understand him at all.
"As you said, the Duke's family grew by relying on the power of magicians. Sometimes through political marriages, and sometimes..."
What was incomprehensible was the regret and sorrow in his voice as he spoke of the dark side of the Duke.
I thought he was a person who didn't even know that what he did was wrong.
Could it be that you are reflecting on your actions now?
As I frowned, the Duke suddenly raised his hand in the air. And with a whoosh, a rope began to tie around my wrist as I sat on the chair.
"Whoa!"
Startled, I looked at the line in disbelief.
Making a string move on its own was something only a wizard could do.
But the Duke had no magic. Unable to understand the situation, I looked at the Duke for a moment, and he continued speaking slowly.
"I have hated such behavior of my ancestors since I was young. Being a wizard's assistant? No way. That was like a parasite. Without any ability, standing by the wizard's side and slowly sucking out their magie power."
The Duke gave off a strange air, like someone possessed by madness.
"It was the same when I married Vivian. I gave my bedroom in the ducal palace to a woman I didn't even love and used her. Would I want to do that?"
"..."
"I wanted to be a wizard too, Enrica. I wanted to use magic stones myself, not sell them anymore."
I wondered what he was talking about.
It was somewhat shocking, but in the end, it was just rationalization wrapped in nonsense.
If my family's actions felt like parasitism, they would simply stop exploiting wizards.
"I hated you and your mother. It should have been mine from the start!"
"Ugh..."
As the Duke's voice grew louder, the rope tightened around my wrists. I groaned as I felt the pain of my skin being scraped.
"You may be wondering how I control the rope. This was provided to me by the Warlock."
"... You will definitely regret it. There is always a price to pay for black magic."
"I does amazing things. I even brought you here. I brainwashed your knights, put a maid in there with disguised skills to avoid suspicion."
The Duke continued talking, absorbed in himself, as if he couldn't hear me.
"But that's not the end. The really great things are yet to come."
I didn't want to hear any more.
I knew he was originally a villain.
But he hid such dark intentions and. ended up joining hands with a warlock.
It seemed better back in the days when I thought I was just greedy and only interested in money.
"He promised to make me a true wizard."
"Lies. That's impossible."
"It's possible, Enrica."
The Duke's expression hardened coldly. The face looking at me was scary.
"You've been ruining everything for me. I just found out that you were the one who set the auction house on fire."
I thought I would have been caught by now, but I didn't expect what he would say next because of the Duke's unusual behavior.
"It's okay. You are my daughter, so I will forgive you. But you will have to pay a price."
The Duke's hand on my shoulder tightened. I turned my head away to avoid his glaring gaze.
"The warlock said he needed my blood relative for the ritual."
"..."
"So, my daughter, your magical power is said to have the perfect conditions to be transplanted to me."
It was a way of thinking that could only be described as absolutely crazy.
The Duke smiled at me. It was the first time I had seen my 'father' smile.
"So you'll help me?"
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