Chapter 3
A chill suddenly crept over Aliciya’s arms, and she rubbed them instinctively.
The Duke’s gaze, fixed on her, gleamed like that of a serpent.
Something about his presence filled her with an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
“…Your Grace….”
“What if we did this instead?”
“……”
The Duke of Viclus tilted his head, as though entertained.
As if struck by an amusing idea, he snapped his fingers with his thumb and middle finger and spoke.
“What if, should you refuse to go, I cut off the supply of herbs to that little apothecary of yours?”
“…Your Grace!”
“Of course, that place would suffer. But more than that, your mother would suffer far worse. The little time she has left would only grow shorter.”
“……”
He spoke of something utterly unamusing to Aliciya as though it were a fascinating game.
At the sight of the Duke raising one corner of his lips in a smirk, her entire body stiffened.
What he said was no mere threat.
He possessed the power to carry out far worse.
As if confirming her thoughts, the Duke continued with words that made her blood run cold.
“I could simply tear the place down altogether. Or perhaps sell your mother—alone and without a guardian—to a brothel? Or accuse her of witchcraft and put her on trial? What is there that I could not do? This is my territory, and they are all my subjects.”
At his words, Aliciya clenched her fists tightly.
Though she had faced him for only a brief moment, in that short time she felt a level of revulsion she had never known before.
How could someone like this exist?
How could a human be so cruel?
“My mother is not your slave, Your Grace! She is a free citizen! You have no right to treat her as you please!”
“She’s a woman alone. What is there that I cannot do? Even her own parents abandoned her.”
Aliciya stared at the Duke of Viclus in disbelief.
How could the very man who had ruined her mother’s life speak such words so shamelessly?
How vile could a person become?
She bit back the tears that threatened to gather in her eyes.
Rage surged to the very top of her head.
“…How could you say such a thing…?!”
“So, Aliciya.”
The Duke reached out and gently stroked her lush red hair—
as though it were the only thing of value she possessed.
“You must obey.”
“……”
The Duke’s hand, running through her hair, felt revolting, yet Aliciya could not push it away.
It was infuriating, but she had no choice.
This man held the power to do as he pleased with her mother.
Sensing her resistance waver, the Duke spoke again, this time in a softer tone.
“If you take on this task, I will ensure your mother lives.”
“…What?”
Aliciya looked up at him, startled by his words.
“I will provide her with the finest physicians of the royal court and the best medicinal ingredients. And while you are away, I will see that she receives ten times the income you would normally earn. That should suffice.”
Royal physicians.
Aliciya’s eyes widened.
If her mother could receive better treatment in a better environment, perhaps—just perhaps—she might be cured.
It was only a faint possibility, but to Aliciya, it was like a ray of light.
Seeing the change in her expression, the Duke smiled.
“You must think of your mother, mustn’t you? Whether she is driven to her death… or saved—depends entirely on you, Aliciya.”
Spencer Viclus.
The head of House Viclus, a family that had risen to the center of imperial power by becoming the imperial consorts for generations.
He sat in his study, leisurely sipping wine.
Everything pleased him.
The engagement with House Adrian, and the fact that he had successfully drawn in his illegitimate daughter, Aliciya.
Aliciya had inherited the defining traits of the Viclus bloodline to a remarkable degree.
That brilliant reddish-gold hair and those green eyes—
A certain expectation began to take root in Spencer Viclus’s heart.
If that child truly carried the blood of Viclus, then she would not die even under extreme circumstances…
For the divine power dwelling within her would protect its bearer.
Setting down his wineglass, the Duke could not suppress his smile.
Whatever that upstart of House Adrian had in mind by proposing the marriage alliance was irrelevant.
In the end, he would be the one to gain everything from this affair.
The Duke glanced over the letter he had been writing. Then, with a satisfied smile, he let a single drop of his blood fall onto it.
At once, the writing upon the paper vanished without a trace.
Carefully folding the letter, he tied it to the leg of a carrier pigeon.
Under a wide, open sky, Kal walked through a dense forest lined with tall, straight trees.
The sound of a flowing stream and birdsong filled the air—
along with the breathless complaints of Kier, who was trailing behind him.
“Ah, Your Grace, really… do you realize how fast you’re going?”
Kier continued to grumble at his side without pause.
“That damned Viclus! What’s so great about Viclus anyway…? Don’t tell me you’re hurrying because you think some Viclus lady might be waiting?”
Kal turned his head to glance at his aide, Kier, who was following behind him.
That monstrous stamina of his…
Unlike himself, Kier’s expression was still perfectly composed, though his lips moved in silent complaint—his way of surviving while still making his dissatisfaction known.
“I still don’t understand,” Kier went on. “What could you possibly lack that you’d need to join hands with Viclus of all people? If you wished, you could wipe them out this very moment!”
Kier had been grumbling frequently about this marriage.
And today was no different.
Given that Viclus and Adrian had long been enemies, it was only natural.
But to Kal, who had made up his mind long ago, it meant nothing.
Amid Kier’s endless complaints, Kal replied calmly,
“She is the daughter of Viclus. That name alone makes her worth bringing here.”
Kier clicked his tongue at the excuse.
“A woman who didn’t even inherit divine power? If the Duke of Viclus puts his mind to it and has another child, that power will still remain within Viclus.”
“……”
“Viclus would never do something that benefits others.”
Helena, the only daughter of House Viclus, was publicly known as someone who had not inherited divine power.
However, in this generation of the Viclus family, no one else had manifested it either.
Thus, Kal suspected that Helena did, in fact, possess divine power.
After all, she was the only girl of that age in the Viclus household.
If she were not its bearer, it would make no sense.
As Kier continued his sarcasm, he noticed Kal’s pace quickening and hurried to match it.
As they neared Baron Levin’s territory, his heart began to race.
The moment he had long awaited was drawing near.
The girl who had saved him twelve years ago.
Soon, he would see her again.
And this time, they would remain together forever.
Though many years had passed, that moment remained vivid in Kal’s memory—
the small hand that had stroked his head, the warmth he had felt from it.
The little red-haired girl who had healed him, lifted him to his feet, and led him out of a dark underground prison.
The moment of their reunion was finally approaching.
Suppressing his rising anticipation, Kal continued forward.
Behind them, the rest of his men were letting their exhausted horses rest by the stream after riding tirelessly from Kalrod, the Adrian territory.
It was only a brief respite.
Kal knew his subordinates were dissatisfied.
Kier had merely voiced what the others were thinking.
They had long been preparing to strike against Viclus.
And it was not as though they lacked the strength—they were fully ready.
Yet now, to seek peace with them? To the knights, it felt like humiliation.
This marriage alliance had been decided solely by Kal himself.
The Duke of Viclus, who had long reigned as an imperial in-law and cast a dark shadow over the empire, was not someone anyone in House Adrian desired to associate with.
Kal himself was no exception.
Had she not been the only daughter of Viclus—had there been any other way to claim her—he would never have chosen this path.
But there was no doubt.
The one he had longed for all this time was the only daughter of the Duke of Viclus.
The fact that she had healed him was proof enough.
The Viclus family had long enjoyed honor and power as the imperial consorts.
Among countless noble houses, there was only one reason Viclus had achieved such a position—
the divine power passed down through their bloodline.
With that power, said to be inherited by only one person per generation, a daughter of Viclus had once saved the founding emperor of the Tyrone Empire.
That bond had led her to become its first empress.
And ever since, the Viclus family had continued to produce empresses for generations.
But stagnant water, in time, begins to rot.
