Chapter 49
“Reikal.”
“…Y-yes?”
Reikal, who had been completely dazed, answered a beat late.
He seemed to have been very shocked, but fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured.
Alcade let out a sigh.
The boy’s face, staring blankly up at him, was dark and shadowed. He was always so confident, yet Alcade had never seen that expression on him before.
After confirming the safety of his nephew, the Crown Prince, Alcade turned to head toward Lor. But at that moment, Reikal hurriedly scrambled to his feet and bowed his head deeply.
“…I-I’m sorry, Uncle…. I… I couldn’t protect Lorvantes.”
Reikal squeezed his eyes shut. He hadn’t even managed to deal with the snake, let alone properly evacuate Lor.
He had no face to show his uncle.
On top of that, the snake his uncle had struck down in a single blow—Reikal hadn’t even been able to inflict a mortal wound on, despite all his struggle.
Only now did he realize just how lacking his own skills were.
It was only natural, then, that his uncle had refused to recognize his ability.
Because he was this pathetic….
For the first time in his life, Reikal felt a deep sense of shame.
Up until now, he had grown conceited, listening only to the people who praised him.
The Revoluc.
From the books he had read, he thought that no matter how formidable it sounded, it was still nothing more than a mere monster. They said even ordinary knights without abilities could form a squad and subjugate it, so he had taken it lightly.
And he had believed that with his powerful Ateleon ability, he would never lose to such a beast.
So he used to daydream happily about going out to hunt monsters with Alcade once he became an adult.
But….
The monster that even ordinary knights could supposedly deal with—he couldn’t take down.
Of course, “ordinary knights” were still seasoned warriors who had undergone years of training and real combat. But the still-young Reikal hadn’t considered that.
“…Is that all you have to say?”
Flinch.
Reikal’s body trembled. Alcade’s voice was utterly flat—neither harsh nor scolding.
And that fact was what truly drove Reikal into despair.
Because rebukes were given only to those deemed worthy of them.
“I-I…”
“Perhaps I’ve been too strict with you.”
Alcade clicked his tongue. Seeing Reikal’s face go pale, he seemed to realize the boy was thrashing about in guilt.
Reikal was only ten years old.
Alcade himself had gone onto the battlefield at only a couple years older than that.
Until he met Lor, he had never thought much of his own past.
But now he understood that it had been wrong, something that never should have happened.
Because just the thought of Lor, barely past ten, going to war was horrifying.
Reikal, too, was a child before he was the Crown Prince.
Just like Lor.
Ha….
Until now, Alcade had thought of Reikal only as “the Crown Prince,” and had kept his distance. It was annoying to be the subject of nobles’ gossip, after all.
And he had thought it best for Reikal’s sake, too, to stay apart.
But now….
Tap.
Alcade lowered his hand onto Reikal’s bowed head.
“Huh?”
Startled, Reikal raised his head.
Unlike when he patted Lor’s head, it was awkward. With stiff movements, Alcade ruffled Reikal’s hair.
“Well done.”
“…What? What do you mean?”
“I mean there’s nothing to apologize for. You stood up to the Revoluc and protected your cousin, did you not?”
At those words, Reikal’s head snapped up, his face flushing bright red a moment later.
Seeing that, Alcade himself felt oddly embarrassed.
Uncle and nephew were trapped in an awkward silence when—
“D-daddyyyy-! Hhic, I-I was so… so scared, waaaahhh!”
Lor came running at full speed and flung himself into Alcade’s arms.
Burying his face into his father’s chest, Lor wept bitterly, rubbing his face against him.
“Yes, you must have been very frightened.”
Alcade, now used to this, embraced Lor securely and stroked his head.
“Uhuhhh… uuuwaaahhh!”
Lor’s crying only grew louder. As if finally finding a safe place to let it all out, he released all the tears he had been holding back.
Alcade held him dearly.
So warm.
His child was truly, deeply warm.
Until Lor’s sobs quieted, Alcade silently embraced him.
The thought that he might never have seen this child again made his blood run cold.
Then came the crushing sorrow and blazing fury that nearly consumed him.
The time spent holding Lor was as much for comforting his daughter as it was for calming himself.
Reikal was silent, lost in thought. And Kainel stood at their side, like a royal guard protecting father and child—though in truth, his gaze was fixed only on Lor.
Lor, with not only his eyes but his whole face swollen, was buried deep into his bedcovers.
When soft, steady breathing finally filled the room, Alcade rose from the bedside. He noticed Kainel standing off in a corner.
He clearly wanted to guard Lor, but felt uncomfortable standing too close to Alcade, hence the distance.
Then Alcade’s sharp eyes caught something, and his brow furrowed.
“You’ve removed the necklace.”
“…Ah.”
At his words, Kainel instinctively touched his neck. The spot where the necklace should have been was empty.
“I disobeyed your order, so—”
“Well done.”
Kainel had been hesitating to apologize, but Alcade cut him off firmly, as though it were nothing worth worrying about.
“In fact, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t removed it, things would have turned dangerous.”
“But I was distracted by the assassin, and failed to protect Lor—”
Kainel’s expression darkened visibly.
He had thought that stopping the assassin was the way to protect Lor, but the true threat had come from elsewhere.
That maid.
Remembering the maid’s brazen smile, Kainel’s eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Who could have foreseen that? What you did was more than enough. And your response afterwards was excellent as well.”
After Lor had been kidnapped—
The maid holding him had also been engulfed in white light and vanished.
Even in that final moment, the chilling woman had been smiling grotesquely.
While the others remained paralyzed with fear and confusion, a shadow began to pool across the floor of the greenhouse.
The shadow slowly took human shape, and then became Alcade.
Sensing strange energy from the thread bracelet he had given Lor, he had rushed back.
And then—
When he realized his daughter’s voice did not greet him—
The Duke’s fury exploded, so much so that several maids present fainted on the spot.
Not long ago!
At the time, when no one dared step forward to calm him, Kainel spoke up.
Alcade snapped his gaze toward the boy, his eyes still blazing with barely contained rage.
But Kainel met that gaze squarely and continued.
“In the garden where I was playing with Lor, I found a Pioleta flower.”
“…A Pioleta?”
Before Alcade could explode at the seemingly random remark, Kainel quickly added—
“Pioleta flowers only bloom in this garden, right? Here.”
“And?”
“If it was somewhere else, then someone must have deliberately placed it there.”
At those words, Alcade’s eyes sharpened.
He opened another shadow beneath his feet—intending to move to the garden where Lor and Kainel had been playing.
Though he gave no explanation, Kainel understood his intent and leapt in without hesitation.
The technique of linking spaces was difficult and taxing even for Alcade, so he rarely used it. But now was not the time for restraint.
And then—
Clack.
It was by a hair’s breadth.
Appearing in the garden, Alcade caught the maid just as she was vanishing in white light.
The Duke’s estate was protected by barriers that prevented both intrusion and escape through magic or divine power.
They were invisible and untouchable, but they surrounded the entire estate—layer upon layer of high-level spells, a testament to the wealth and authority of House Ateleon.
So before Ella could put her plan into action, she had needed to prepare a way to break through that barrier.
“I’ll have to use the Pioleta flower.”
Most people only knew Pioleta as a rare and beautiful blossom.
But Ella knew another use for it.
Because He had explained it to her.
