Episode 18:
Demius’s eyes narrowed.
But Ceres shook her head firmly.
“That’s none of your concern.”
“…….”
The lips Demius had been pressing together slowly parted.
“You’ve always been like that, Mother.”
Kriiik—
The metal shrieked sharply.
The tense duel across their swords was gradually coming to an end.
Just as Ceres felt her grip on the hilt might tear her hand apart, Demius’s mouth twisted.
“I’m tired of hearing that now.”
Chaaang!
The vibrating clang of metal made Ceres’s hand momentarily feel numb.
Still, she swung her sword desperately at the following strike, leaving no pause.
Chak-kang!
In the blink of an eye, several exchanges of attack and defense passed between them.
Biting down as if on his molars, Demius’s eyes blazed coldly.
“Do you still think I’d be fooled?”
“……!”
Ceres’s gaze faltered.
In that instant, Demius’s mind flashed with his nanny’s words:
‘Your Highness the Grand Duke cherished the Vice-Grand Duke deeply.’
A lie.
Demius denied it.
According to the nanny, the vassals of the Grand Ducal House repeatedly petitioned that a new husband be accepted for the Grand Duke for the sake of his safety and the young heirs.
Yet Mother had rejected all of them.
Even now, with her black hair streaked with white, she continued to lead the Grand Duchy alone.
But that cold, iron-blooded Grand Duke, who knew nothing but ruling and slaying monsters—was she really doing all this just for love?
Impossible.
‘It must have been for political reasons.’
The sly vassals and nobles would have tried to offer her son as a pawn, and the Grand Duke would have seen through their schemes and refused.
She was a person who genuinely cared about the stable governance of the Grand Duchy.
“Ridiculous.”
He muttered quietly, locking eyes with his mother.
Deep, ocean-blue eyes.
Eyes the same color as his own, though now with edges tinged in white. Demius stared directly and spoke:
“A marriage with a minor viscount’s house, a third son who’s almost like a commoner… why would you reject that as my mother?”
“……Demius.”
His mother’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke his name.
Was it anger, or surprise?
Demius furrowed his brow at seeing this side of his mother for the first time.
Even someone called the iron-blooded Grand Duke could show weakness with age.
But she was still the Grand Duke.
The one called the Empire’s northern wall, the Monster of Antaras.
Her schemes would no longer trick him.
“Isn’t your avoidance of Nathaniel exactly for that reason?”
“You brat!”
Chak-kang!
Crying out, Ceres swung her sword down at Demius’s.
A terrifying sound rang out as Demius’s sword split in half.
Shards of ice-like metal grazed his cheek, bouncing off.
“You wretch.”
Amid the splattering metallic droplets of blood, Ceres shouted sharply:
“How could you not distinguish words to say and not to say? Did this mother raise you like that?!”
“Raised me?”
Feeling the stinging blood on his cheek, Demius let out a faint laugh.
“Well… if those duels you occasionally held were ‘education,’ then yes. I suppose that counts as my upbringing. I don’t know if it was education for your child or training to hone the Grand Duchy’s blade.”
“……!”
Ceres drew in a short breath, then exhaled immediately.
“I did my best.”
“I’m sure you did. Mother was always busy.”
Demius continued coldly:
“That’s why the people who raised me were the nanny and my older brother.”
Demius’s eyes sharpened like a blade.
“The brother you abandoned.”
“……!”
Ceres’s brow furrowed.
He’s more rebellious than before.
Even when he ran away from the family to find his older brother, he hadn’t been this defiant.
But why has he changed so much?
“……That child, huh.”
Ceres quickly pinpointed the cause.
Melissa. If it’s because of her, everything makes sense.
“I’ll drive her out immediately.”
“Do you think I’ll let that happen?”
Demius’s tone grew colder and lower. Ceres stared at him, replying sharply:
“I am the Grand Duke and your mother.”
“And I am the heir you so desperately want.”
“-!”
Ceres’s eyes narrowed. Demius stared at her, twisting his mouth.
“If I disappear, only Nathaniel will remain. Do you really think he’ll easily become the heir?”
“……!”
The statement struck true, and Ceres clenched her teeth.
One reason she couldn’t recklessly remove Melissa was exactly that.
If Ascelion disappeared and the second son, Demius, left the family, only Nathaniel would remain.
But Nathaniel was the most difficult of the three.
He had lived far from the Grand Duchy in a magical tower since childhood and was now a renowned mage across the Empire.
Forcibly bringing such a child would be problematic, and moreover, Nathaniel’s temper was fiery—if angered, no one could predict what he might do.
He might even try to destroy the Grand Duchy.
‘That cannot happen.’
A surge of urgency rose between her clenched teeth.
This was the Empire’s northern frontier.
Eisenhardt was the first line of defense against monsters and the Empire’s strongest shield.
If an internal conflict over the heir erupted in such dangerous conditions, the duchy’s security would crumble.
And then the Empire itself would be in jeopardy.
‘Impossible.’
Ceres’s brows furrowed faintly.
Originally, the Eisenhardt Grand Duchy had been established to defend against monsters in the northern mountains.
Its purpose was to protect.
Her slowly opening eyes reflected that understanding.
Protecting this land must be her remaining life’s purpose.
Ceres tilted the corners of her tightly pressed lips into a faint, deliberate smile.
Her wavering eyes regained calm.
She looked at her son and asked mockingly:
“So, is this a threat?”
“It’s not a threat. It’s a negotiation.”
Yet Demius wasn’t easy to sway.
Ceres narrowed her eyes and asked in a low tone:
“Is that child, Melissa, really that precious to you?”
“Of course, she is my partner.”
Demius answered immediately, continuing coldly:
“You may not approve, Mother.”
Before Ceres could react, Demius spoke first:
“I’ve already noticed you doing foolish things to Melissa. Did you think I wouldn’t see?”
“Are you saying I should recognize a girl of unknown origin as your wife? That’s nonsense. You weren’t like this before. What made you bring this girl?”
Ceres’s sharp tone made Demius smile silently.
“You still don’t understand, Mother.”
“……?”
A faint smile played on Demius’s lips as he spoke slowly:
“Do you believe you can cut light with a blade?”
“Who could be so foolish?”
“That’s exactly you, Mother.”
“……!”
Ceres’s brows furrowed sharply.
Demius whispered:
“Try all you want. No one in this world could ever harm Melissa.”
Wham!
In an instant, Demius closed the distance like he was charging.
The half-broken sword climbed along Ceres’s blade, twisting the hilt with force.
As Ceres’s eyes widened, the sword slipped from her grip, uncontrolled.
Whooshing—tracing an arc through the air, it clanged heavily on the ground.
Without even glancing at it, Demius cleanly retrieved his sword and bowed his body.
“Thank you for the duel.”
He turned and strode away confidently.
Ceres stood dazed, watching her son’s shrinking figure.
Only long after he disappeared did her cracked, dry lips part slightly.
“…Ha ha.”
He’s grown.
A laugh she couldn’t fully release remained as a faint smile.
He had clearly grown beyond her expectations.
‘Thank goodness.’
With that level of skill, he would surely be one of the strongest on the continent.
He would be sufficient as the Grand Duke of the Eisenhardt Duchy.
The swell of pride and relief filled her chest before slowly fading.
“…Finally.”
Could she rest now?
Her gaze, carrying a thin breath, slowly lifted to the sky.
In the western sky, the crescent moon hung precariously.
A cold wind blew, brushing her cheek as if someone familiar was reaching out behind her.
‘Your Highness.’
A delicate hand stroked her cheek.
Isilan.
The name she couldn’t speak aloud broke softly between her pale lips.
‘Our child has already grown so much.’
If you had seen this, you would have been immensely proud.
A white moonlight, like tears, slowly flowed over her closed eyes.
“What are you looking for?”
“Demius!”
Ah. Melissa glanced at the people around her and whispered, covering her mouth.
“Should I call you my husband now?”
