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Chapter 8
The expression on Athios Deil as he left the Gremium Hall was nothing short of rotten.
Nevan, who followed behind him, kept watching his father’s mood carefully.
Whispers could be heard all around them—clear and unrestrained.
Athios and Nevan were well aware that they were the subject of those murmurs.
“Father…”
“Shut up and fix your expression.”
The more forced the Deil father-and-son’s smiles became, the more ridicule they received in return.
In the end, the two of them fled back to their manor as if escaping.
The moment they returned to the world where they considered themselves kings, Athios finally showed his true nature.
Crash.
“Ugh—!”
Athios threw anything and everything within reach.
“How dare they ignore me? How dare they!”
As he recalled what happened at the council, rage surged again.
In noble society, maintaining status was simple.
Either you had wealth, or you held voting rights in the political factions.
The Deil Marquis House had neither.
Though they still held the title of marquis, they had long since become an empty shell.
Their former glory of holding voting rights was a distant memory.
The Deil House was technically still nobility—but no one treated them as such anymore.
Only when the reception room floor was covered in sharp fragments and there was nowhere left to step did Athios’s rage finally subside.
Nevan, who had been waiting outside, entered cautiously.
“Sit.”
The sofa was also partially destroyed, but Nevan carefully avoided the debris and sat down.
“It’s likely we won’t secure voting rights again this quarter. This is the fifth time.”
If they failed for six consecutive quarters, they would be permanently expelled from the council.
In other words—the end of noble life.
The Idalos Empire’s council was divided into the Conservative and Progressive factions.
Today was the day to apply for party membership, but the Deil family was unwelcome in either.
They were politically isolated.
“Why don’t we ask Rishua?”
Nevan suggested it cautiously.
He believed she might be able to save the Deil family from ruin.
But there were two problems.
First—the relationship between the Hyrent Duke couple was poor.
All of House Hyrent’s power came from Kahinel.
Even if Rishua was the Duchess, she held no influence if she was estranged from her husband.
And second—
“We haven’t been able to contact her for weeks.”
This had never happened before.
Replies had sometimes been slow, but never had contact been cut off for this long.
“Still nothing? Father, are you just going to sit back and do nothing about her?”
“…”
“I thought you sent her to Hyrent for the sake of the family—so what exactly is that woman doing for us now?”
Nevan despised Rishua.
The reason was simple.
As an illegitimate child who had taken the Deil name, she reduced the portion of the family’s already limited wealth.
And now she had to share it.
To Nevan, who was greedy despite having no ability, Rishua was an eyesore.
His disdain only deepened when she became the Duchess of Hyrent.
What does that worthless thing think she’s doing in such a position?
But his father had a greater plan.
“Rishua will become our agent inside Deil.”
She had been “sold” for the sake of the family.
And yet, for some reason, after the marriage, contact with her had become inconsistent.
She had been sent as a spy into Hyrent—but she was not fulfilling her role.
Nevan hated her intensely.
Ungrateful worm.
We fed her, clothed her, saved her from the streets—and this is how she repays us?
Just like her father.
“I’ve given her a final warning. We’ll get a response soon enough.”
“And if she ignores it again?”
“Then she won’t remain unharmed.”
Athios had no intention of letting Rishua, who had betrayed the family, go unpunished.
He slowly rubbed the thick ring on his index finger.
The ring was stained, discolored by dried blood.
* * *
At the same time, in the northern Hyrent Duke’s castle—
“A letter has arrived.”
It was obvious without even looking.
Another letter from Marquis Deil.
Haven’t I ignored them enough already? Shouldn’t they stop sending them by now?
And yet, the Marquis continued sending letters without tiring.
What a waste of paper.
“Anna, doesn’t it feel colder today?”
“I’ll add more firewood.”
Anna moved to fetch more logs.
“No, it’s fine. No need.”
“Pardon?”
Anna tilted her head at me.
I picked up the bundle of letters from Deil and walked toward the fireplace.
Then I dumped them all into the flames.
The fire roared higher.
“Ah… that feels warm.”
I wondered what roasted sweet potatoes would taste like cooked over this fire.
“Anna, do you like sweet potatoes?”
People always said roasted sweet potatoes were essential in winter, but I had never tried them.
“Shall we roast some?”
The fire crackled warmly.
Probably because the wood was good.
* * *
While Rishua used Deil’s letters as firewood and casually made roasted sweet potatoes, Taylor was reporting to Kahinel.
“In the morning, a message arrived from Marquis Deil, but the Madam rejected it. It’s been three weeks.”
“Again today?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Kahinel could not trust his wife.
He suspected she might be acting differently in front of him—pretending to cut ties with Deil while secretly maintaining contact.
So he had ordered Taylor to watch her.
According to reports, she had not contacted Deil once since she reappeared three weeks ago.
She really meant it when she said she cut them off?
Could it be true?
Kahinel’s expression darkened.
Just thinking of her made his head throb.
“Keep watching her.”
“Yes, Your Grace. There is one more report.”
Kahinel refocused.
“The Deil Marquis House has failed to join a political faction again.”
“Those useless bastards.”
“It was worth the effort we put in.”
The Deil family’s failure this quarter was Kahinel’s doing.
It hadn’t taken much—just subtle pressure on faction leaders.
Kahinel was not a kind man.
But he never interfered with those who did not obstruct him.
They simply weren’t worth his attention.
But Athios Deil was different.
That man had boldly gotten in Kahinel’s way and even proposed a political marriage with obvious intent.
Kahinel’s reason for marrying was simple.
To destroy Deil.
To make them lower their guard by pretending to accept their demands—and then strike them down in one blow.
That was his preferred method of hunting.
“Any updates on the Breed Trading Company?”
“They appear unaware that we’ve already moved against them.”
At Taylor’s reply, Kahinel’s lips curved slightly before darkening again.
“They’ll learn exactly what happens when they challenge Hyrent without knowing their place.”
“But why target the Breed Trading Company specifically? If the goal is to cut off Deil’s funding, there are other methods.”
Breed Trading Company was Deil’s food distribution network.
“Deil may look stable on the surface, but inside it’s already rotten and collapsing.”
Kahinel’s instincts told him so.
Even before he intervened, Deil had already begun to weaken.
That was why things were going more smoothly than expected.
It was collapsing on its own.
How convenient.
As their funding sources were cut off one by one, Athios began gambling recklessly, hoping for a big profit.
It was a mistake.
A man like Athios, impulsive and reckless, should never have touched gambling.
But once someone starts gambling, not even cutting off their hands can stop them.
To raise funds, Athios began selling off family assets one by one.
And the last remaining asset was Breed Trading Company.
Soon, it too would be sold.
But Athios, perhaps aware it was his last source of income, refused to let it go.
So Kahinel acted.
If they wouldn’t release it, he would take it.
“Adjust the entry fees according to the rates demanded by tenants and landowners.”
That would guarantee losses for Hyrent.
But Kahinel didn’t care.
If it meant destroying Deil, such losses were insignificant.
And for a house overflowing with wealth like Hyrent, it was hardly noticeable.
“Tempt them. Break their long-standing contracts and lure them to our side. Even if we have to spend money to do it.”
“Yes, understood.”
A moment later, someone knocked on the office door.
Knock knock.
Just from the sound, Kahinel already knew who it was.
“Kahinel!”
Rishua rushed in and placed a steaming roasted sweet potato on his desk.
“I tried making sweet potatoes. They’re really good. I brought you one to try.”
Everything was going exactly as Kahinel intended.
Except for one thing.
“You should eat it while it’s hot. It tastes better that way.”
His wife.
