Chapter 7
Diena let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Malakar raised a hand, and a faint shimmer spread through the carriage.
With a simple spell, he sealed the interior so that not a single sound could escape outside.
“Shh,” he said gently. “Just stay quiet for a little while.”
“I…”
“You don’t have to explain anything.”
His eyes softened with understanding.
“So this is why you ran away.”
“You awakened your ability… didn’t you?”
Diena nodded cautiously.
“Yes.”
“My ability is purification.”
“Purification?”
“I can absorb the darkness inside an ability user and erase it… or transfer that darkness to another ability user.”
Malakar stared at her in stunned silence.
“…A power like that actually exists?”
“I-I’ll purify your darkness too, Sir Malakar.”
She hurriedly continued.
“So… could you please ask Lord Barkhan to take me with him?”
Malakar fell into thought.
He remembered Barkhan…
And everyone who stayed by his side.
Like Malakar himself, Barkhan suffered from the side effects of possessing overwhelming power.
If Diena truly could purify that darkness…
Not only he, but all of them could be freed from its burden.
She would be an enormous asset.
Enough to make even that bastard Duke Rothwell feel threatened.
Of course…
Even without such an extraordinary ability…
He had already intended to help her escape.
He wasn’t heartless enough to abandon a pitiful young girl to such misery.
“I’ll ask him…”
He smiled wryly.
“But whether he’ll actually agree is another matter.”
“Barkhan only does what he wants.”
“If he isn’t interested, no amount of persuasion will change his mind.”
Just then—
Voices erupted outside the carriage.
“Stop immediately!”
Diena instinctively pulled the blanket tighter around herself.
“The Duke of Rothwell has arrived!”
A moment later…
Balthazar’s low voice rang out, heavy with restrained fury.
“What business does someone from House Cardian have here?”
Holding her breath, Diena listened carefully.
She wasn’t about to miss a single word.
✦ ✦ ✦
Barkhan answered in his usual blunt tone.
“I don’t see any reason why I should explain myself.”
Everyone nearby held their breath.
His manner of speaking was astonishingly disrespectful for someone addressing the Duke of Rothwell.
Balthazar’s expression darkened.
“If you refuse to explain…”
“Then I suppose I’m free to act as I please.”
Barkhan didn’t retreat an inch.
“I’m afraid not.”
“This procession has His Majesty’s permission.”
“The Emperor?”
“There is someone inside this carriage.”
“Sir Malakar.”
“…”
“One of the Five Elders of the Mage Tower.”
“We’ve been entrusted with his escort.”
Silence fell.
For a brief moment, Balthazar said nothing.
Then he spoke again, anger simmering beneath his calm voice.
“This is my territory.”
“And within my lands…”
“I have every right to inspect that carriage.”
“Open the door.”
“I’m sorry.”
Barkhan’s voice remained firm.
“Even as head of House Rothwell…”
“You have no authority to search a Cardian carriage.”
“And on what grounds exactly do you intend to do so?”
“Young Master Cardian!”
“How am I supposed to believe Sir Malakar is truly inside?”
Barkhan shrugged.
“I don’t recall asking you to believe me.”
Another long silence followed.
When Balthazar spoke again…
His tone had softened considerably.
“You already know, don’t you?”
“I have a niece.”
“Unfortunately…”
“She has yet to awaken an ability.”
“…”
“Recently she made a small mistake.”
“My wife disciplined her.”
“But instead of accepting that discipline…”
“She rebelled.”
He sighed heavily.
“She escaped from the punishment room.”
“I believe she’s hiding inside that carriage.”
Realizing intimidation wouldn’t work…
Balthazar changed tactics.
He tried persuasion instead.
“I’m asking you as one noble family to another.”
“If someone from House Cardian disappeared…”
“Wouldn’t your family search for them as well?”
Barkhan gave no reply.
Balthazar frowned.
He seemed to realize Barkhan had absolutely no intention of opening the carriage.
At last…
He raised his voice toward the carriage itself.
“Diena!”
“Come home!”
“My wife is worried sick about you!”
Diena closed her eyes.
If Uncle starts acting like this…
She already knew how Barkhan would respond.
She knew his personality all too well.
“The world is much colder than you imagine.”
“No matter where you go…”
“No one will welcome you.”
To anyone else…
It might have sounded like concern.
But Diena understood the true meaning.
Do you really think a powerless failure like you will ever be accepted anywhere?
Balthazar continued.
“A person’s true worth shines brightest within their own family.”
“Do you really believe complete strangers would take in someone as useless as you?”
His voice grew colder with every sentence.
Apparently…
Her continued silence was beginning to irritate him.
Just then…
Malakar gently covered Diena’s ears with both hands.
“Don’t listen.”
“It’s all nonsense.”
He was trying to protect her.
Trying to spare her from words that would only wound her.
He’s… standing on my side.
She wanted to tell him she was all right.
That those words no longer hurt.
But she stopped.
Even with her ears covered…
She could hear Barkhan perfectly.
His voice had risen with unmistakable anger.
“That’s merely your opinion.”
Silence fell outside.
“The young lady isn’t inside my carriage.”
“But…”
“Even if she were.”
“And even if she possessed no abilities at all…”
His voice was calm.
Steady.
“If she had asked me for help…”
“I would have helped her.”
“Because that’s how my parents raised me.”
He paused briefly.
Then continued.
“I also awakened my abilities later than most.”
“But not once…”
“Did anyone ever call me worthless.”
“Barkhan Cardian!”
Balthazar roared.
But Barkhan ignored him completely.
“So I’d appreciate it…”
“If you stopped speaking as though your opinions were absolute truth.”
Until then…
Diena had remained hidden beneath the blanket.
Now…
She slowly peeked her head out.
Thank goodness…
At least for now…
She no longer had to worry about being dragged back to House Rothwell.
Thank you… Uncle.
For explaining so thoroughly to Barkhan exactly how little you think of me.
A sharp ache spread through her chest.
Her nose stung.
It wasn’t because Balthazar’s words had hurt her.
Perhaps they would have…
If she hadn’t remembered her previous life.
But now…
Knowing everything…
His insults no longer held any power over her.
The reason tears threatened to fall…
Was because the Barkhan before her overlapped perfectly with the one she had known in her previous life.
The way he stood his ground.
The confidence in his voice.
The unwavering sense of justice.
He was exactly the same Barkhan.
If anything…
Her uncle’s cruel words had probably convinced him even more firmly that he should take her away.
That’s so like Barkhan.
Her greatest ally.
The man who became ruthlessly uncompromising whenever House Rothwell was involved.
Seeing that familiar side of him again…
Made it almost impossible to hold back her tears.
✦ ✦ ✦
The carriage lurched forward.
With a steady rumble, it finally left the Rothwell estate behind.
Watching the mansion’s rooftops grow smaller through the window…
Diena let out a long, exhausted breath.
She had escaped.
At last.
Yet…
The anxiety lingering in her heart remained.
Carefully, she lifted her head toward the young man sitting across from her.
“Why… did you help me?”
“You told me earlier that I should simply return to my family.”
For a while…
Barkhan continued staring out the window.
Only then did he slowly turn toward her.
“I already told you.”
“That’s how my parents raised me.”
“I hate House Rothwell.”
“But you’ve done nothing wrong.”
He spoke so matter-of-factly that it almost sounded trivial.
“And besides…”
“I didn’t feel like letting Balthazar get his way.”
Such a simple answer.
Yet Diena instinctively clenched both hands tightly.
Because she knew…
Just how extraordinary those words really were.
Even knowing I’m a member of House Rothwell…
He still chose to help me…
Every ability user in the world lived with the curse known simply as Darkness.
The stronger their power…
The heavier its burden became.
To suppress that darkness, they relied on specialized inhibitors.
And House Rothwell controlled the supply.
For years…
They had used that monopoly to keep House Cardian firmly under their thumb.
