Chapter 64
Ricardo let out a small cough before asking me,
“Tell me what you want.”
I blinked at him in a daze, then flinched.
“What I want? I just… came because Father is unwell…”
“……”
Ricardo’s dark gaze was fixed on me.
Was that… his way of saying thank you?
I continued,
“I’m your daughter. As a daughter… I just brought a few things when I heard Father was sick.”
To be precise, I thought he was seriously ill.
If I had known he was this fine, I wouldn’t have carried so much with me.
“That’s what family does, isn’t it?”
“……”
Ricardo stared at me for a long time after my answer.
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but after a good while, he finally spoke.
“…Family… huh.”
At his words, I jerked my hand slightly.
I had grown fairly accustomed to the Winchester household and had accepted that I would now live here, but I had never directly spoken about our relationship like this before.
After all, in the Winchester family, the atmosphere leaned more toward lord and vassal rather than father and daughter.
Just like how Jin and Othello treated Ricardo.
“…So you think that way too.”
Ricardo’s lips moved faintly.
I didn’t quite understand what he meant.
He lifted the teacup and took a sip.
When he lowered it again, maybe I was imagining it, but the corners of his lips seemed lighter, as if his mood had improved.
Perhaps the honey-ginger tea was effective.
“When I return, I’ll tell the maids to prepare more.”
I thought his could be made less sweet than this one.
“And when you cough, it’s good to keep your throat warm.”
I said to him.
Since we had started talking, it wasn’t hard to say a few more words.
“……”
Two buttons of Ricardo’s shirt were undone, leaving his chest slightly exposed.
Well, in my previous life I would’ve thought of it as a treat for the eyes, but now—he was my father.
It was better to make sure he was properly cared for.
Noticing my gaze, Ricardo slowly lifted his hand and buttoned them up.
His fingers were really long and elegant… For a moment, I stared blankly, only to realize he was watching me. I quickly straightened up.
“But… How did you catch a cold?”
I asked the first thing that came to mind.
He set down the cup and looked toward the window.
Outside was a wintry scene, but through all the winters I’d lived here, I had never once heard of Ricardo catching a cold.
“I overexerted myself a little.”
His answer surprised me.
Ricardo enjoyed hunting, often bringing back massive beasts from the Wilnus mountain range.
Was there still a beast out there strong enough to tire even him out?
“After using my strength for the first time in a while, my body weakened.”
His gaze remained fixed on the window.
That dawn, in the training yard, Evan drew his sword—then suddenly felt a chilling presence.
He turned, but saw only icy snowflakes drifting down.
When he faced forward again, something of immense force struck him square in the chest.
“Urgh…!”
He was hurled backward before he could even react.
His body lifted off the ground, slammed down, and skidded several meters before stopping.
Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
Wiping it with his hand, Evan stared at the man walking toward him from the shadows.
He hadn’t sensed his presence at all—unthinkable.
So this is what it means, even though my clarity has awakened… I’m still far too lacking.
Proof that his body had not yet fully returned to its state before regression.
“……”
Evan glared at the man who now stood before him.
Against the backdrop of the icy wind stood Ricardo Winchester—Duke of Darkness, head of the Winchester family.
“If you were going to kill the enemy’s brat, there would’ve been better ways—urk.”
A tendril of black flame seized Evan by the collar and lifted him.
There was no mercy in Ricardo’s eyes.
For twenty-seven regressions, he had been the greatest villain of Yanute—an evil no one but Evan Taylors could stop.
With a cold, unreadable gaze, Ricardo moved his lips.
“Whether you are the enemy’s brat, or our ally’s brat—it matters not.”
Evan met his gaze.
Even after twenty-seven regressions, those icy eyes made his hair stand on end.
“Then… what does matter?”
Evan twisted his bloody lips into a defiant smile.
“I don’t know what kind of upbringing the Taylors give, but in Winchester, we’re taught this.”
The black flame released his collar, and Evan dropped to the ground with a thud.
“If you mar something that belongs to someone stronger than you—”
Ricardo’s boot came down on Evan’s palm.
“—don’t even think of paying it any mind.”
He didn’t press hard enough to cause pain, but the message was clear—an absolute warning from one in power.
“If you don’t follow that… you will surely die.”
“…Kh…”
After a long moment, Ricardo lifted his foot.
Clutching his hand with the other, Evan looked up and said,
“You too… have lost your composure.”
In all those regressions, Ricardo was never the type to care about his sickly youngest daughter.
Sasha Winchester had always been outside his concern.
“……”
Ricardo silently looked down at him.
That frosty gaze seemed as though it could strangle Evan at any moment.
The heavy aura of black flame—if Ricardo willed it, Evan’s life would end instantly.
Evan knew he could not defeat Ricardo with his current strength.
“…Ha…”
This round was undeniably full of unfamiliar events.
For twenty-seven lifetimes, the Winchesters’ villains had no interest in Sasha Winchester.
But now, they all threatened Evan’s life, warning him not to lay a hand on her.
Even Ricardo Winchester—the King of Darkness, the Cruel Lord—was this blatant.
Ricardo’s eyes held lethal intent as he looked at Evan.
They weren’t the eyes of a man looking at a child.
They were the eyes of a seasoned lion staring down a reckless cub that dared covet its offspring.
“……”
Ricardo finally turned his back.
It was a warning Evan had never heard before—not when he stayed quietly in his quarters.
In the wrecked training yard, Evan sat up and coughed, spitting blood.
The blow to his chest had been brutal.
“……”
Staring at Ricardo’s retreating figure, Evan spoke.
He had decided to take a gamble.
In this cursed twenty-eighth regression, he would use any means necessary—no matter what. Even if it meant joining hands with his former enemy.
“…Sasha Winchester.”
At that name, Ricardo’s steps halted.
“…Do you want to protect her?”
