“...Hmph.”
Lady redia Embergreen, who had just dropped a bombshell from her mouth, suddenly flushed red and ran off in the opposite direction, leaving alone in the garden.
“.......”
As silence descended, I stood there in a daze for a while before I turned my head at the sound of a voice behind .
“Sir Whitney, has your head cooled a bit?”
Salem, now back in his childlike appearance similar to Sasha’s age, approached , accompanied by the Elder Council.
“I sincerely hope you make the right decision. From this mont on, a single word from you could strip you of Lun Ordo’s full support.”
“...My decision hasn’t changed.”
As he began to speak with a solemn expression, I quickly gathered my thoughts and opened my mouth.
“I appreciate your desire to help, but I cannot comply with anything that interferes with Lady redia's treatnt.”
I had no intention of following their advice in the first place, but after what had just happened, I had even more reason not to accept their request.
“...Sigh.”
“...It seems persuasion won’t work.”
“Heh, indeed.”
Despite my unwavering response, Salem and the Elder Council’s expressions darkened—but thankfully, there was no trace of hostility in their deanor. Only clear disappointnt was written across their faces.
“I just have one question.”
“...Go ahead.”
To those figures, I suddenly posed a question that had co to mind.
“My power—this ‘power of dominion’—it hasn’t been definitively proven that it’s what alleviated Lady redia’s curse, has it?”
“......”
“Couldn’t it also be that it was the pure white magic that eased the curse? If we just studied it a bit more...”
At that, the disappointnt on the elders’ faces slowly transford into confusion.
“...I’m not sure whether we should say this or not.”
“Hiding sothing now would be even stranger, wouldn’t it?”
“...Is that so.”
Eventually, after exchanging a few words among themselves, their gazes all turned toward .
“Why do you think the Guardian of Radiance used to frequently visit the Ringaarden estate when you were young?”
Then, after a short pause, Salem took a step forward and asked a question laden with hidden aning.
“That was... simply due to my father’s request for cooperation...”
“No. That was rely the public explanation.”
His expression was darker than I had ever seen before, and I, puzzled, mirrored that confusion.
“The first case of the terminal curse was discovered approximately twenty years ago.”
“...What?”
“And the only person ever afflicted with that curse... is soone you know very well.”
As his words continued, a certain conclusion began to form in my mind, and I instinctively clenched both fists tightly.
“No way.”
“The late Countess of Ringaarden was afflicted with the very sa curse as Lady redia.”
And sure enough, what ca from Salem’s mouth was exactly what I had feared.
“...I’m sorry you had to find out this way, Sir Whitney.”
“.......”
“Of course, your father turned to Lun Ordo for help, and we poured every ounce of support we had into her treatnt.”
When I stayed silent with tightly sealed lips, Salem glanced at before speaking again with difficulty.
“...Roughly ten years ago, we identified the nature and cause of the curse, but after the countess’s death, all research on a cure ceased.”
“Because the host of the curse had disappeared.”
“We wanted to continue the research, but we simply couldn’t.”
Aurora and Celeste, standing behind, offered supplentary explanations while glancing at , but their words barely registered in my ears.
My mother... died because of the sa curse now afflicting Lady redia?
In my previous life, I had not received love from my family. That’s why, in this life, I considered my family—these people—my real family.
So now, upon learning the truth behind my mother’s death, I couldn’t even think straight.
“What does that... have to do with the current situation?”
“Countess Ringaarden was the most brilliant and capable curse researcher within Lun Ordo’s Elder Council.”
Even so, I forced myself to stay calm and asked. Salem sighed as he responded.
“...We were her disciples.”
“We still can’t hold a candle to her brilliance.”
As the two prodigies behind him confird, my mother had been an extrely well-known researcher among white mages. That made it all the more unbelievable that she had died to a curse.
“And that Countess left us one request before her death.”
“......”
“She asked us not to use your power for her treatnt.”
But as I listened to Salem’s next words, I found myself clenching my lips and closing my eyes.
“She was the one who established the theory that pure-blood white magic and the power of dominion resided within you simultaneously. She was also the one who proposed the hypothesis that the power of dominion originated from an evil god.”
“...Ha.”
“For soone like her... to make such a request...”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
For so reason, I could already imagine what he was about to say next.
“...Are you saying my mother already knew that my power of dominion could weaken curses?”
So I cut him off with a quiet voice, and Salem, eyes gently closed, paused for a mont.
Anyone could tell he was avoiding the answer, but the aning behind that pause reached clearly.
“...To be honest, we’re not sure. She deliberately omitted those parts of her research. So we don’t know for certain.”
“.......”
“But... the woman I knew would’ve chosen to sacrifice herself rather /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ than let her son beco a demon king.”
And the words that followed... were as good as a confirmation.
“Do you now understand why we’ve been so firm with you, Whitney Ringaarden?”
With my mouth completely shut, Salem looked at with a slightly weary expression.
“The power of dominion you possess may be so dangerous... that your mother gave up her own treatnt to keep it in check.”
“That’s...”
“To honor her final wishes, we are doing everything we can to stop your decision.”
Each word he spoke pierced into my chest like a blade.
“Even now... your decision remains unchanged?”
“.......”
“There’s still ti. Think it through carefully.”
As if trying to be considerate of —or perhaps already knowing exactly what I was about to say—Salem spoke softly, taking a cautious step toward .
Wait... sothing doesn’t add up.
Just then, a thought flashed through my mind.
“...There’s still one thing I don’t understand.”
“One thing?”
“My father left a ssage through Alfred, the forr head butler of our estate.”
I raised my head again and spoke, causing Salem to pause mid-step, tilting his head with a look of suspicion.
“He told there’s a key to controlling my power hidden in the Embergreen estate.”
“...What?”
“And considering everything that’s happened, it’s highly likely that the key is Lady redia herself.”
His expression twisted in growing confusion with every word I spoke.
“You must’ve realized it too—this ssage contradicts everything you’ve been claiming.”
The sa confusion appeared on the faces of the elders behind him.
“Count Ringaarden... isn’t the type to speak without reason.”
“But why would he say sothing like that...?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. After her death, he...”
“...Shh.”
From the way they were murmuring among themselves, it was clear that my father’s ssage was new information even to them.
“You see? There are still things even you don’t know.”
“.......”
“Which is exactly why my decision remains the sa.”
I pressed that point, and Salem—along with the entire Elder Council—fixed their gazes on again.
“If you insist that strongly... then it can’t be helped.”
After a brief pause, Salem frowned and held his forehead, as though a headache was coming on.
“We won’t stop you from treating Lady redia’s curse in a personal capacity.”
“...Thank you.”
“But we... cannot officially support it. Be clear on that.”
It wasn’t the best answer I could’ve hoped for, but if it ant helping Lady redia, it was more than enough for now. I nodded silently and turned my back.
“Then that’s the end of this discussion, right?”
“.......”
“In that case, I’ll be going...”
I began walking toward the direction where Lady redia had run off.
“Wait just a mont.”
Salem’s serious voice stopped in my tracks.
“I said we can’t help officially. I didn’t say we won’t help unofficially.”
“...What?”
Turning back, I saw a complicated and subtle expression on his face.
“We lost one of our most cherished companions because of that damn curse too.”
“.......”
“...Let’s try to find what we can do.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what he was feeling, but the emotion closest to it... was probably sorrow.
“Are you sure? You all know Lady redia is considered a potential demon king candidate.”
“Yes, that’s true. Up until recently, we classified her as a high-risk individual.”
Feeling like I was burdening these kind people, I hesitated—but Salem only softened his expression and answered in a low voice.
“But... I don’t think that’s the case anymore.”
“...What do you an?”
“Who would’ve imagined those words coming from the mouth of that terrifying villainess?”
The mont he said it, the shock from earlier rushed back into .
“Lady redia... she must have used a soundproofing spell.”
“...Pass along a ssage to her. Don’t rely too much on the power of the eyes.”
“Haha. You know, the ancient spell over Lun Ordo can neutralize even a demon king’s power?”
Honestly, despite how disorganized they all looked, these people left no gaps.
“Thanks to that, our Guardian of Radiance went into shock and ran off sowhere.”
“Ah.”
“Look, I didn’t want to say it, but... don’t you think that was a little too much, Whitney?”
As I gave a wry smile to these people who had made such a difficult decision for my sake, I froze stiff at the sudden ntion of Tiffany.
“I should go and offer so comfort—”
“No, don’t.”
“You really have no tact. Comforting soone who just got rejected? That’s the worst.”
No, seriously, this is unfair.
Who would’ve known that the girl I thought was just a childhood friend had been dating without my knowledge?
“For now, go back. We’ll look for a way and send a letter when we find one.”
“...Understood.”
There was plenty more I wanted to say, but the chilling looks from the won of the Elder Council forced to just agree with Salem’s summary.
“Then, I’ll really be off this ti—”
“No, not yet.”
Just as it seed the affairs with Lun Ordo were finally over...
“There’s one more thing we need to say.”
“......!”
I was quietly walking away when soone suddenly addressed , and I stopped in surprise.
“It’s about your father, Count Ringaarden.”
It was Alastor, Commander of the North.
The very man who, in the original story, remained silent until he was killed by redia during her attack on Lun Ordo... was now speaking—about my father.
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