Krista, who had confided in us a huge secret, continued trembling.
“Of course, I know you won’t believe me if I suddenly come here and say something like this.”
My father is a bad person.
...it is a given.
But I guess it must have been a shocking realization for Krista...
“It seems like you still like and trust your father a lot.”
“...”
Ryan bowed his head weakly. Only I could see his profile.
He must have thought he shouldn't laugh, because he was curling his lips inward with all his might.
Yeah, it's a serious atmosphere.
I couldn't laugh.
Krista looked at Ryan's head down at the corner of his eye with pity.
"Because I trust Dad, I can't say anything like an idiot. He's not the one who killed people, but he won't even explain himself. Dad used me, but he doesn't even know it, and he keeps lying and covering for me."
“...”
Krista was still young, and half knew about her father and half didn't.
She realized that her father was a two-faced person, but she still didn't know that he was a person who could mercilessly kill an incompetent child if he rebelled.
Ryan is just hiding his body.
But Christa will soon find out.
The bottom of my father's heart.
“For now... okay.”
Ryan woke up. He looked into space and sighed in shock.
“My father was a bad person...”
“You may not want to believe it, but you have to!”
Krista wiped her tears and spoke softly. Ryan nodded and turned to me.
“It’s been a while since you last met, so let’s talk.”
Since he knew that the two of them came without any ulterior motives, it seems like he wants to leave the rest to me.
“I... uh, what I just heard was so shocking, I think I need some time to think about it alone...”
Ryan, who seemed not at all shocked, left the room, staggering.
I woke up just then.
I got up and hugged the crying Christa. Alex, who had been watching, also approached.
The three of us hugged each other, feeling each other's warmth for the first time in years.
“I really missed you, Krista.”
“Ugh. Me too... Me too, Bunny.”
Behind Christa, I saw my brother Richard smiling weakly.
Even though he lived in that nice house, his face was pale and gaunt, and his body was thin.
As I looked at him, tears welled up in my eyes.
“Brother.”
“Vania.”
I ran to Richard and hugged him tightly. He burst into tears and hugged me tightly.
Ryan left his brothers behind, who were having a tearful reunion, and was talking to Revan.
“Then they didn’t come here because they received a Duke’s order?”
“Oh, maybe.”
“Whew.”
Revan cleared his throat.
When Ryan said that he was worried that he would be caught by the Duke of Wassenberg for dealing drugs, Revan was also worried.
"Still, I can't let my guard down yet. Up until now, I thought I could just charge in and retreat, but I guess I'll have to be a little more careful."
"Human, you should've known from the beginning! When we first met, Bunny, why did you sense something suspicious? Don't you remember?"
“...Ha, that’s what I mean.”
A suspiciously bold move.
A strange sense of discomfort, as if one knows in advance what others do not know and acts accordingly.
Because of this, the two quickly came to the suspicion that Vania might have the blessing of regression.
Even two men who had never properly met a 'regressor' were able to follow her lead just by knowing about the existence of the blessing called 'Poem of Retrograde'.
But?
What if it were the Duke of Wassenberg, who was raised by his grandfather, a ‘regressor,’ and spent a long time with him?
“Of course, I know you won’t believe me if I suddenly come here and say something like this.”
My father is a bad person.
...it is a given.
But I guess it must have been a shocking realization for Krista...
“It seems like you still like and trust your father a lot.”
“...”
Ryan bowed his head weakly. Only I could see his profile.
He must have thought he shouldn't laugh, because he was curling his lips inward with all his might.
Yeah, it's a serious atmosphere.
I couldn't laugh.
Krista looked at Ryan's head down at the corner of his eye with pity.
"Because I trust Dad, I can't say anything like an idiot. He's not the one who killed people, but he won't even explain himself. Dad used me, but he doesn't even know it, and he keeps lying and covering for me."
“...”
Krista was still young, and half knew about her father and half didn't.
She realized that her father was a two-faced person, but she still didn't know that he was a person who could mercilessly kill an incompetent child if he rebelled.
Ryan is just hiding his body.
It's not like she's taking the blame for him out of love for her father, or pretending to be his daughter.
The bottom of my father's heart.
“For now... okay.”
Ryan woke up. He looked into space and sighed in shock.
“My father was a bad person...”
“You may not want to believe it, but you have to!”
Krista wiped her tears and spoke softly. Ryan nodded and turned to me.
“It’s been a while since you last met, so let’s talk.”
Since he knew that the two of them came without any ulterior motives, it seems like he wants to leave the rest to me.
“I... uh, what I just heard was so shocking, I think I need some time to think about it alone...”
Ryan, who seemed not at all shocked, left the room, staggering.
I woke up just then.
I got up and hugged the crying Christa. Alex, who had been watching, also approached.
The three of us hugged each other, feeling each other's warmth for the first time in years.
“I really missed you, Krista.”
“Ugh. Me too... Me too, Bunny.”
Behind Christa, I saw my brother Richard smiling weakly.
Even though he lived in that nice house, his face was pale and gaunt, and his body was thin.
As I looked at him, tears welled up in my eyes.
“Brother.”
“Vania.”
I ran to Richard and hugged him tightly. He burst into tears and hugged me tightly.
***
Ryan left his brothers behind, who were having a tearful reunion, and was talking to Revan.
“Then they didn’t come here because they received a Duke’s order?”
“Oh, maybe.”
“Whew.”
Revan cleared his throat.
When Ryan said that he was worried that he would be caught by the Duke of Wassenberg for dealing drugs, Revan was also worried.
"Still, I can't let my guard down yet. Up until now, I thought I could just charge in and retreat, but I guess I'll have to be a little more careful."
"Human, you should've known from the beginning! When we first met, Bunny, why did you sense something suspicious? Don't you remember?"
“...Ha, that’s what I mean.”
A suspiciously bold move.
A strange sense of discomfort, as if one knows in advance what others do not know and acts accordingly.
Because of this, the two quickly came to the suspicion that Vania might have the blessing of regression.
Even two men who had never properly met a 'regressor' were able to follow her lead just by knowing about the existence of the blessing called 'Poem of Retrograde'.
But?
What if it were the Duke of Wassenberg, who was raised by his grandfather, a ‘regressor,’ and spent a long time with him?
Wouldn't it be even easier to be suspicious?
"No!"
Ryan was shocked.
“Why didn’t I think of you sooner, Grandpa!”
Well, actually, thinking about it doesn't change anything.
If he had just given up that day for fear of getting his tail stepped on, the drugs would have been released into the capital.
Everything Ryan is doing now is aimed at creating a clean empire.
But can he pretend not to see his father pouring poison because he's scared?
"But, brother, from what I've seen, if the Duke suspects the existence of a regressor because of this incident, it's likely to be someone other than you and Bunny."
“Damn it.”
Ryan felt like crying at Revan's sharp reasoning.
“Do you think so too? Vania said she thought so too.”
“Yeah, I guess...”
***
The capital, the Duke of Wassenberg's residence.
The Duke's office.
“Ugh...”
Duke Edgar Wassenberg looked at his second son, Elliot, who was lying groaning on the sofa like a corpse.
Someone ruined Elliot's auction.
Arson targeting the drug plant Cypraxia, which was the main item in this auction.
“How the hell did you know that damn rat was there?!”
Elliot shouted in anger. Edgar, who had been staring at his son, thoughtfully asked.
“What are the chances that he was an insider?”
“I don’t know. They’re arresting them one by one for interrogation, but they only have a small number of them, as they couldn’t possibly be spies in the first place.”
This isn't the first time an auction has been disrupted. It began several years ago when slaves were stolen.
The mysterious intruder doesn't overtly attempt to disrupt the auction. Instead, he meticulously infiltrates the auction and preemptively disposes of auction items that could potentially cause significant problems.
If there is any force capable of such a thing, it is the imperial family.
Since they are in a position where they have to keep Wassenberg in check, they must have a lot of capable spies behind them...
But often, the only disturbances were nothing more than a bug buzzing nearby, so he didn't pay any attention.
But this time.
'It's definitely a bit suspicious.'
No matter how capable you are, is this kind of thing possible?
He doesn't know if it was an internal traitor, but if not, it was a case of targeting and removing the drugs from the secret location cleanly without leaving any trace or evidence...
“Hmm.”
Edgar felt strange.
He knew a man who was so strangely 'neat and perfect' in his work.
His own father, the late Duke Evan Wassenberg.
He is the holder of the Blessing of Regression, the Poem of Retrograde.
'Is my father still alive?'
After he abdicated the throne, his father disappeared, and no trace of him could be found.
But Edgar is guessing.
His father lived a long time, longer than most people, with his special ability, and then he finally realized something.
"Greed will consume you, and power is meaningless without life. Please understand this, my son."
His father often said that.
What could have suddenly happened to a man who sought power more than anyone else?
As if to atone for his sins, he took care of the family affairs and interfered with Edgar, and then disappeared.
'Experiment with transplanting supernatural powers.'
If he had thought about his father's actions before he disappeared, he might have been involved in that crazy thing.
Although he only cut off the tails of the academy professors and kicked them out, it was obviously an incident involving the royal family...
'What did I miss then?'
If, very if.
If that day's experiment had been successful...
“Elliot.”
"Yes."
“Go on an expedition to the west this time.”
“Huh? Why me?”
“There is something you need to find out.”
***
“...The Third Prince is going to get screwd."
Gyaaaaah!
At Revan's words, Ryan became ominous and grabbed his hair.
Yes, Third Prince.
Vania had spoken out of concern that her father would step on his tail.
“The worst case scenario is that my father becomes ‘convinced’ that he has the <Poem of Retrograde>.”
“Oh... Then it would be too terrible?”
“We must be careful, but let’s also take care of His Highness the Third Prince.”
Third Prince, Nike Valencier.
His father would naturally be aware of his presence, as he is always at the forefront of subjugation campaigns.
It's starting to feel like a thorn in his side.
Only when the general public is unable to suppress the demonic situation and is left in a state of confusion will a request for assistance come to Wassenberg. This will lead to the family's power being forged.
However, Wassenberg was also deprived of the rice bowl that they had been able to secure for nearly three years since Nike began his campaign.
So Nike's image has already been solidified. Something like, 'A normal person... like this?'
Elliot's auction is interrupted in the meantime. His father might start to become suspicious.
His father is someone who has experienced many things with his grandfather, who was a regressor, and he also knows that there were experiments on transplanting powers.
In addition to that.
'They say the Third Prince has already been interfering with Elliot.'
This time it's not the first interruption, just a long tail.
Father must also be aware that a mysterious spy has been consistently causing disruption.
“If these concerns become reality... it was my older brother who left his tail hanging out, but the Third Prince could explode.”
“Stop saying such unlucky things.”
“It’s not that I’m being unlucky, but you never know what might happen, so you have to be prepared and worry about everything.”
Revan, who had been stroking his chin and thinking, spoke as if he had just realized something.
“But ever since I got involved with the Third Prince, something feels strange.”
"What?"
“Even though it wasn’t your intention, don’t you feel like you’re constantly throwing shit in the Third Prince’s way?”
“...”
...I couldn't deny it!
From their first meeting, when he suddenly barged into Belzer and started to nibble at Nike's nerves, to this day, he's been nothing but shit in front of him.
You were the subject of the regression and Vania's lover, so I'll suck out every last bit of you!
...Having received all the help he could get from that plan, he cleaned up the aftermath of the murder when capturing the Shadow Assassin Marina, used it as a shield during his eldest brother David's interrogation, ordered him to pursue romance or not, and ended up misunderstood by the Crown Prince because of it. He tried to smooth things over in his own way, but he doesn't even know if that misunderstanding was resolved or not...
This time, he might even be tracking Wassenberg.
“I, I don’t know!”
Ryan squeezed his eyes shut, tormented by the prickling of his conscience.
“I guess I’m destined to get pooped!”
***
A week after that.
Imperial Knight Commander-in-Chief Nike Valensier received the list of Western Front punitive forces that had been sent to her and was shocked.
- Wassenberg (22 people)
1. Commander/Leader: Elliot Wassenberg
2. ...
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