Chapter 150
Rene’s gaze wavered, yet without hesitation, she cast it away—but Bain still ruled over her heart.
That link had to be broken.
To find the Holy Grail—
Belia’s steps came to a halt.
“To stir emotions.”
In her eyes, Carlton was approaching from afar.
Rene’s lack, her jealousy.
Belia smiled calmly.
“Bain, this time, nothing will go your way.”
That night, a carriage arrived at the Arpedi estate. Dirt stuck to its wheels, scattering across the courtyard.
The horse’s breath poured out like white mist. As the execution of Barun’s “Acting Head of House” became uncertain due to an urgent arrest, the retainers within the marquisate were thrown into chaos day after day.
After Baron Batulu, Baron Ebero, and even the trusted Baron Troom voiced their concerns in unison, the anxious retainers ultimately reached a single decision.
“Return Bedol.”
When Barun’s order to detain and investigate was extended by a week, Bedol returned to the estate in just a single day.
“What?!!! That vulgar child from those ridiculous rumors… you’re bringing her into our marquis house?!”
Belia immediately covered her ears as Bedol’s scolding poured over her.
“Are you insane? Absolutely insane? No, Father collapsed, and I’m not even in my right mind! And now you bring some ominous child into the estate—!”
“Her name is Rene.”
“Rene, or whatever her name is!”
Bedol pressed a hand to his forehead.
“All the way to the capital, from across the marquisate and even the empire! All I heard were rumors about our family. And now you’re bringing her into our home, just pouring fuel on the fire? Are you really sane?”
“Of course I am.”
Belia’s voice was firm.
Seeing Bedol’s pale face after a long time made her imagine the mental stress he had endured, but now was not the time for such reunions.
“She was brought here to be used.”
“Used?”
Bedol’s eyebrows shot up.
“What do you mean by that? You… at the banquet, that child—?”
“Rene.”
“Right, you said you knew this Rene. You really know her? Truly—?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Belia and Carlton exchanged a brief look.
Before Bedol could open his mouth amidst the strange tension, Carlton stepped forward to speak.
“I know as well. She, I, and Belia were together eight years ago.”
Seeing the two of them serious, Bedol momentarily stared blankly.
“What…?”
“But as I mentioned at the banquet, that is a matter under investigation, and I can’t tell you everything. The one thing I can say for certain: Do you really think the series of incidents happening in this family are just coincidences?”
The storm of emotions inside him subsided, and Bedol fell silent.
Belia’s clear voice then filled the room.
“Mother is ill, Father collapsed, Rene shows up and calls me fake. Barun, as if waiting, handed over the Acting Head of House authority, drove you out to the marquisate, and appeared at the banquet with Rene.”
“What are you saying—”
“Don’t ignore it, you’ve always had a sharp sense. You know it too.”
The siblings, whose eyes were so alike, stared at each other fully.
“Barun abandoned us.”
“….”
“And ‘us’ doesn’t just mean you and me. It includes Mother, Father, and everything precious.”
“And Father—”
“Barun declared it at breakfast that morning. That he was ending the ‘family game.’ And he is doing exactly that. So we must stop playing too.”
Bedol’s gaze gradually sank.
Even if he had no interest in the succession of the house, there were things one inevitably hears.
And having seen Barun openly hostile toward Belia…
Ever since being exiled to the marquisate, Bedol had repeatedly reminded himself of this out of habit. He already knew.
“You abandoned us—”
“Yes. He did.”
“Then Father…?”
“We’re checking.”
Belia glanced at Carlton standing nearby.
“My close friend Karin is keeping an eye on the Marquis.”
“Th- the cause? Really, it’s just suddenly—”
“Black magic.”
“What?”
“It hasn’t been disclosed outside. It’s sensitive. But you need to know. From eight years ago in the Misty Forest to Father now, black magic is involved in all of it.”
“Black magic—!”
“And behind it is someone named Bain, with Rene and Barun in his hands.”
“What?”
“All of this was aimed at me.”
Belia calmly and briefly explained the things Bedol needed to know.
“…So that’s why Rene was brought into the estate. She’s needed to find Bain’s weakness.”
“Then, how are we supposed to find it through her?”
Putting aside the unresolved matters, Bedol asked about the future. His face was filled with confusion, but there wasn’t a trace of doubt.
Belia, holding the face of a brother who had never abandoned her even once, instinctively took his hand.
“We just need to give her confusion. Right, Carlton?”
“Touching Rene’s sense of lack will be a great stimulus. The warmth of a family is what she lacks most.”
Having grown up in a similar place and walked similar steps as Rene, Carlton was certain.
This was the way to make Rene reveal Bain’s weakness.
“So there’s something I’d like you to approve as the first step of granting the ‘Acting Head of House’ authority.”
“What is it?”
“I want to destroy the East Wing.”
“…What?”
“There’s evidence that Bain and Barun made contact in the East Wing. But we can’t track Bain using that. So I want to completely cut off Rene’s communication.”
“Even so, the East Wing—”
“You must know too. The ‘family game’ wasn’t only ended by them.”
Belia’s gaze turned icy.
And Bedol completely sensed it.
At the end of this fight, the family they had known would no longer exist.
The next day.
The East Wing of the Arpedi Marquis estate was completely demolished by Karin’s magic.
It would take days to clear the debris, but the traces were gone under the rubble.
A few days later, this news reached Barun, who was detained by the Inspection Bureau.
For several days, Rene’s room remained quiet. In the morning, the servants drew back the curtains, and sunlight swept across the floor.
Warm soup, freshly baked bread, fragrant tea.
Everything was excessively perfect.
Rene lowered her head and held her utensils each time. She could not discern what she ate or its taste.
Only the fact that she was eating existed.
“Shall I prepare warm water for you again today, young lady?”
“…Yes.”
Rene’s answers were always brief.
When she closed the bathroom door, the quiet was overwhelming. Each time she heard water dripping, she closed her eyes briefly.
Truly, in just a few days since arriving at the estate, everything had grown silent.
Bain’s voice, whispering daily, had vanished, and the strange foreign energy that occasionally coursed through her body had faded.
Perhaps it was because the blue liquid Bain used to give her each morning had disappeared.
With the things that had always cluttered her mind gone, she felt her senses slowly returning.
Proof of that was the fleeting illusion that today, the soup tasted just a little bit good.
Rene soaked in hot water, sighing.
“Barun—.”
Gone. Contrary to Bain’s daily threats of seeking her out, he did not appear.
And it was peaceful.
Though she had been shocked by the destruction of the East Wing, Bain would probably come looking for her on his own.
She thought the waiting would be agonizing, but—
Slipping her hand out of the water, Rene looked up into the empty space.
“Quiet.”
Everything was still. So still that even trivial thoughts became clear.
Belia demanded nothing of her. Unlike the worrying warning of the first day, it was calm.
She understood.
Bain’s intentions toward her.
Some power trying to make her just like Belia.
Bain said Belia would take everything from her.
And as proof, her heart had stirred. But after several days of this quiet—
“I don’t know.”
Her emotions occasionally surged, and she felt a desire to tear that child apart, but it melted into this quietness.
Rene finished her morning bath lightly and left the room.
The servants bowed respectfully and refrained from showing any particular reaction.
Among them, Rene went out for a light walk again that day.
