Chapter 110. Horentz Marcano (2)
“Please be sure to tell your daughter not to use the Heart-Piercing Eyes on .”
At Yohan’s words, Horentz could not hide his agitation.
His usually narrow slit eyes opened wide.
The revealed pupils trembled faintly.
In a low voice, Horentz spoke.
“……Could you repeat that?”
“I said, tell your daughter not to peer through my mind.”
The muscles of Horentz’s face stiffened.
He was utterly taken aback.
How could Yohan possibly know of the Heart-Piercing Eyes? It was unthinkable.
Even within the Marcano family, that information was top secret.
No one but the head of the family had access to it.
No outsider had ever even heard so much as the syllable “Heart.”
But Yohan was different.
He knew the na of the ability and its nature with precision.
The shock struck Horentz like a blow.
He felt dizzy, but forced himself to cling to reason.
His mind began to spin furiously.
Where had the leak occurred?
What imdiate asures should he take?
What should he say here and now?
Should he admit it?
Would denial be better?
And so on.
Countless thoughts filled Horentz’s head.
The seconds ticked by.
Yohan simply waited in silence.
At last, after long hesitation, Horentz opened his mouth.
“Did you hear of the Heart-Piercing Eyes from Count Staviana?”
He had chosen how to respond.
He would acknowledge the ability.
Since Yohan already knew everything, denial was aningless.
Horentz needed first to trace how the information had leaked.
Yohan spoke calmly.
“The Count, you say. May I ask why you bring him up?”
Answering a question with a question. Not Yohan’s preferred style, but he wanted clarity.
Horentz said,
“His Excellency always avoided . I once thought it was because of my low birth. That a noble Count would not deign to et soone so base as I. Now, I think that may not have been the case.”
Not long ago, the Count had told Yohan as much. He believed Horentz himself was the wielder of the Heart-Piercing Eyes.
That was why he had avoided him.
Who would want to speak with soone who could see through their mind?
Especially a man like the Count, who was a politician to the marrow.
It was only natural he would find Horentz intolerable.
But the situation had changed.
Yohan had corrected the misunderstanding.
The owner of the Eyes was not Horentz, but his daughter Serena.
The Count would no longer shun Horentz.
Yohan asked,
“You believe he avoided you because of the Heart-Piercing Eyes?”
Horentz nodded.
“Yes. Not belief—certainty.”
From between the slit eyes, a sharp gleam shone.
Yohan let out a small sound of admiration.
“You are correct. Just as you suspect, the Count was aware of the Eyes.”
By combining the Count’s past behavior, his ties to Yohan, and Yohan’s own ntion of the Eyes, Horentz had swiftly deduced that the Count must have told Yohan.
He had found the truth in a matter of monts.
His quick reasoning was impressive.
But Horentz’s face grew darker.
With a grim look, he said,
“I will not ask why His Excellency knew of the Eyes. I suspect I know the answer anyway.”
“It was because of your father, Horian Marcano.”
At the na Horian, Horentz’s expression deepened further.
“……So it was Father, after all. He shackles even from the grave.”
Horentz’s father, Horian, had once been acquainted with Wolfgang.
In drunkenness, he had let slip to Wolfgang just once:
That he had a power to see through others’ minds.
After Horian’s death, Wolfgang told his son-in-law, Count Staviana.
Thus the secret of the Marcano family had been exposed to the Count.
The mont he heard it, the Count had distanced himself from Horentz.
For family powers were usually inherited in each generation, and thus the Count assud Horentz had it.
He had no choice but to avoid him.
Yohan said with genuine admiration,
“Remarkable. Other than one detail, all your deductions are correct.”
Horentz stared intently at him.
“……And what did I mistake?”
“Not a mistake, exactly. Rather, one fact that could never be revealed through re conjecture.”
Horentz’s slit eyes narrowed further.
“And what is that?”
Yohan nodded.
“I will tell you. In truth, I knew of the Eyes even before the Count told . So my answer to your first question—whether he was the one who inford —is no.”
At last, he had given an answer.
Horentz looked perplexed.
He found Yohan’s words hard to believe.
If not from the Count, there was no other source for Yohan to learn of the Eyes.
At least, in Horentz’s view.
“……How, then? Honestly, I find that hard to credit.”
“I understand. And I must ask for your pardon, but I cannot reveal the source.”
He could hardly say he had read it in Inmalog.
Horentz gave him a strange look.
“I do not take you for a liar. Yet without evidence, how can I trust you?”
Yohan nodded.
“Then allow to offer proof. First, the Heart-Piercing Eyes are not inherited from parent to child. They skip a generation. The Count did not know this.”
Indeed, the Eyes blood not in the wielder’s children, but in their grandchildren.
That was why Serena, and not Horentz, had awakened them.
Horentz mulled over Yohan’s words.
True, the Count had focused only on Horentz.
Even when Serena was absent, he avoided Horentz.
It was possible the Count truly did not know of the generational skip.
Horentz asked,
“……And the second proof?”
Yohan said evenly,
“I know all the conditions for activating the Eyes, the ons that precede it, and the side effects.”
For all its power, the Eyes carried many limitations.
And its side effects were so severe that few could use it properly.
Horentz said,
“That is not much proof. My father might have revealed all those details as well.”
Yohan nodded.
“You are right. But what if it concerns your daughter? Lady Marcano was born with a trait that allows her to avoid all of the side effects. Naturally.”
Horentz’s body stiffened.
He could not believe his ears.
Knowing about the Eyes was one thing.
But knowledge of his daughter’s unique nature? That was sothing no outsider could possibly know.
In this world, only Horentz himself knew it.
With a trembling voice, he asked,
“Wh-where did you hear such—”
Yohan cut him off.
“As I said, I cannot reveal it.”
The slit eyes glared into Yohan’s, as if to pierce him.
Horentz was asuring every part of him.
Only after a long silence did he speak.
“Why tell this? Are you trying to cloak yourself in mystery, to frighten ?”
Yohan replied calmly.
“Similar, but not quite. I am only giving you and your daughter a warning. Do not use the Eyes on . As I said, I know everything about them.”
If Serena tried to use them on him, Yohan would sense it imdiately.
And he would not let it pass.
He would make her pay.
All of this conversation had been a warning.
Horentz gave a hollow laugh.
“Now I see. You wish to claim my daughter’s power for yourself.”
Yohan had just proposed a marriage alliance.
This conversation revealed his true motive.
It was for the Eyes.
Yohan answered at once.
“I will not deny it. I need them.”
Eyes that pierced the heart—however he used them, they would greatly aid his path.
Horentz’s face cooled.
It might have seed like offense, but in truth he was calculating.
He was, above all, a rchant.
He chased profit, not emotion.
In his mind flowed not blood but gold.
He said evenly,
“……The price will be imnse. More than you could pay now.”
Even mountains of gold were worthless compared to the Eyes.
Yohan nodded.
“I know. For now, Serena is too precious for . But that will change.”
He was confident he could bring Horentz to ask for the marriage himself.
Horentz smiled.
“I shall look forward to that day.”
Behind the smile, no doubt many emotions churned.
Today’s talk had shaken him deeply.
Yohan said,
“Good. On another note, Lord Horentz, may I ask a favor?”
A favor. Horentz wondered what it would be.
“Speak.”
For once, Yohan smiled awkwardly.
“It may sound odd… but could I borrow your daughter for just two hours?”
A rather awkward request.
Horentz could not answer easily.
“That is… unexpected.”
“I will pay properly.”
It sounded as if he were paying for use of a commodity.
Horentz felt a strange kinship with him.
Perhaps in Yohan’s head too, his veins carried gold instead of blood.
Horentz said,
“Paynt? Let’s hear it.”
“I will arrange for the Marcano Trading House to open in the city of Beldana, in the Count of Staviana’s domain.”
Beldana was the most prosperous city in the kingdom, aside from the capital.
But the Marcanos had never done business there.
The Count had always refused them.
If that changed, their family would flourish more than ever.
Horentz’s eyes narrowed.
The slit lids hid pupils flickering with greed.
“……Is that possible?”
“Of course. You know well enough of my ties to the Count.”
Horentz hesitated, then asked one last thing.
“Where do you intend to use Serena’s Eyes?”
Yohan’s face sank.
In a low voice, he said,
“Nothing major. I simply want to confirm sothing.”
He intended to invite Serena to join his dinner with the steward Haman.
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