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Chapter 31
“That child is not of Ignitus.”
After sending Lady Kalidora back, Erasinus quietly called only Paulus among his three children to speak.
“…!”
Paulus was visibly shocked—it was something he never imagined.
“There’s no doubt she carries the blood of the Fire Clan. Her body endures the power of fire. But… she possesses no magic at all.”
“T-Then that means…”
“She has impure blood. The woman’s unfaithfulness.”
“How can that be?”
“I don’t find it surprising. An impure woman committing an impure act is as natural as a burning tree turning to ash.”
—He probably couldn’t see me, so I frowned right next to them as I listened to their conversation.
‘That’s not true. Lord Abelus confirmed I was Ignitus. He even said there was a way to verify it.’
Then I remembered the detail Abelus had added:
“After you manifested your power, I asked Lord Plautus to verify it. As expected, it matched the magic of your biological father.”
The magic test was conducted only after I manifested my powers for the first time in Kalidora’s body.
Logically, the order seemed off. A bloodline test should have been done before accepting me, right?
‘Unless… they can only test magic after manifestation. That would make sense.’
Usually, manifestation occurs in early childhood. In my past life too, I created my first flame when I was about three.
So the answer is simple.
Lady Kalidora hadn’t manifested yet at this point in time.
That meant there was no way to confirm whether she was truly Lord Lucius’s child or not.
Given the circumstances, it was much more “reasonable” to assume an untrustworthy woman had brought another man’s child into the household than to believe Kalidora was a true Ignitus born without magic—a contradiction in itself.
‘Just like those servants thought back then…’
“Will you inform the head of the family?” Paulus asked.
“I should. But… not yet.”
“Pardon?”
Erasinus stood, then paced back and forth, seemingly deep in thought.
“It was unfortunate that Tiberius rejected both Nonus and Scaevola as heirs.”
He finally spoke again, as if he had sorted his thoughts.
“But it was the right decision. Even I have enough discernment and conscience to admit that that scoundrel Nonus is unfit for the role. And Scaevola… I knew long ago that he has traits Tiberius dislikes.”
“And then he gave the position to his nephew, young Lord Abelus,” Paulus said anxiously.
“Abelus! Yes, I can accept that. My own merits don’t shine brightly enough to bring me the glory of the blue flame. But a nameless Hellenic child? That’s a betrayal—not only to me and Ignitus, but to all our ancestors who sacrificed themselves to uphold the sanctity of that position. He must pay the price.”
Despite his fiery words, Erasinus spoke with a strangely gentle expression. Anyone unfamiliar with the language would think he was pleased with the situation.
The disconnect between his words and demeanor sent chills down my spine, even in my disembodied state.
‘So he’s harboring resentment because his children were passed over as heirs?’
Now I understood the atmosphere among the other factions.
Even though they were openly hostile to young Lord Abelus, they never expressed dissatisfaction with Lord Tiberius, despite him being from the same family.
It was because he still held the authority to name the heir.
That might explain the surface-level reasoning, but questions remained.
Usually, placing a child in a position of power isn’t the goal—it’s a means to an end.
If Erasinus couldn’t become the head himself, and he was trying to ensure his own advancement by installing a proxy, then it would’ve made sense to choose one of his own easily controllable children.
‘But the Scaevola and Bell siblings he picked aren’t really his people. And they’re definitely not the type to be anyone’s puppets.’
There had to be something else—some bigger justification that connected all of Erasinus’s actions so far.
I refocused my attention on the rest of the vision the dream was showing me, hoping to find it.
After that day, Erasinus continued visiting Lady Kalidora occasionally to play with her.
His demeanor hadn’t changed at all. Still acting like a kind adult, as if unaware of her secret.
“Eat up.”
“I like roasted stones! Thank you~”
Lady Kalidora smiled brightly, unaware of anything.
“This is all I can give since this is a secret meeting. Tiberius still seems unhappy about you coming here.”
Kalidora looked a little gloomy but shook her head quickly.
“I’m still happy.”
“You’ll regret saying that. I’ve kept your share of toys ready, just in case the situation improves.”
Her eyes flickered slightly at the word “toys.”
But soon, as if making up her mind, Kalidora firmly shook her head again.
“Is there really nothing you want?”
“Well… Kalidora…”
She fiddled with her fingers as she spoke.
“I want… Daddy…”
‘No, no—he’s dangerous…!’
I braced myself, fearing that Erasinus would respond with something overly kind like “Then I’ll be your father.”
But fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Erasinus didn’t look pleased at all.
His expression hardened so obviously that even little Kalidora could sense it.
“…!”
She flinched and lowered her head.
She must’ve grown sensitive, having spent most of her life feeling unwelcome.
After a brief awkward pause, Erasinus quickly and skillfully changed the topic.
“I’ll show you the doll that Vivia used to play with when she was your age.”
“Okay!”
Kalidora laughed as if nothing had happened.
But that night…
She sat in front of her small rag doll and started a one-sided conversation with someone who would never answer.
“I wish Nari would be my daddy.”
“…”
“But… I guess Nari doesn’t like me enough for that.”
“…”
“It can’t be helped. Nari already has a lot of really cool family.”
“…”
Soon, Kalidora curled up on the bed, looking like she was about to cry.
“What if Nari hates Kalidora now because I asked something he didn’t like…?”
She fell asleep with tear stains on her pillow.
And I watched over her, my heart full of worry.
A little time passed.
Then one day, Erasinus began to make his real move.
“I have a favor to ask. Could you find a document with this seal for me?”
He came to visit Lady Kalidora again after several months and pointed to an empty office.
Kalidora hesitated.
She clearly knew she wasn’t supposed to go in there.
“But… that room is off limits…”
“It’s a minor favor. I went in yesterday and forgot the paperwork. If you’re scared, you don’t have to do it.”
“……”
Will Nari like me more if I help?
She was undoubtedly thinking that.
“I’ll help! Kalidora will do it!”
After some hesitation, she agreed.
“Good girl.”
Erasinus patted her on the head.
The next day, Lady Kalidora really went into the empty office, dragged out a sealed parchment with great effort, and brought it to the annex.
Then, not just Erasinus, but his children and subordinates all praised her.
“Thank you. We’ve been dying to get our hands on that document.”
“You went into the office? Alone?”
“You found this? …You’re such a good girl.”
Surrounded by people in the annex drawing room, Kalidora smiled brightly.
The first praise she’d ever heard. The first time she felt acknowledged.
Her eyes, filled with joy, said that she would do anything—absolutely anything—to hear words like that again.
