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Chapter 41
I couldn’t even remember how I’d managed to survive in the river.
Somehow, a few days later, I had crawled up to the southernmost stream of Ardent Luna on my own.
When my father heard the news and rushed over, he did something unexpected—he admitted his mistake and apologized.
“I’m sorry. I did something unforgivable as your father. You no longer have to attend the sparring matches. Let’s find another path for you together.”
From then on, Paulus was freed from the burden of becoming the heir. He was able to devote himself entirely to his studies while helping his father.
He felt bone-deep gratitude toward his father for that.
If not for his father, who else would have shown him such mercy?
Don’t think such useless thoughts. Father is right. There’s no way Father would make a bad choice. He’s the one who gave even someone as useless as you a chance.
Clenching his teeth, Paulus forced himself to change direction and dashed toward the mansion.
He knew exactly what he needed to do—
Return to the annex and create an alibi for his father.
Thanks to a certain cousin who had caused multiple incidents due to his cruel nature, this was something Paulus had done more than once before.
“Pauli! Come play with me!”
The bright voice of Callidora, toddling along with a radiant smile, followed him, but Paulus shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry… But this is Father’s decision. I…”
“Pauli is uselesh!”
…Huh?
The moment that memory surfaced, the very foundation of everything Paulus had believed in shook violently.
When he came to his senses, he was already at the edge of the forest, standing in the middle of a valley.
Just a few more steps and he would reach the annex—but instead, he stood frozen in place, cold sweat pouring down his back.
“The people who live here don’t know anything!”
Why… why would you say that?
“You mustn’t forget. It’s because people kept forgetting mercy that the Goddess gave us power.”
His father and his family… forgetting something? That the most insightful man in all of Ignitus had forgotten something?
This…
It was hard to believe.
And yet, her words awakened something deep within Paulus.
Whether it was a personal emotion or for some other reason, he didn’t know.
But at the very least—he didn’t want that child to die.
Thinking that, he abruptly changed direction, heading away from his original destination, his father’s office.
Surprisingly, the little girl seemed to have anticipated this turn of events and even told him what he could do.
“Ask Lord Abelnoot for help. He’s strong and a good person, so he’ll save you, Pauli.”
I have to find the young master.
At that same moment, Abelus was meeting with a trusted subordinate he had planted inside the annex, listening to the full story.
“Lord Erasinus doesn’t seem to be heavily restricting Lady Callidora just yet. Then again, the annex staff have barely seen the young lady at all. But I did once overhear the master saying to the lady of the house that he suspects the master of the family is hiding a child. He said that if the young lady begins taking divine power lessons, he intends to make contact with the one who will be her teacher.”
“I see. Just as he once did with me.”
The servant, Felix, was not only Abelus’s attendant but also his childhood playmate—and the only one who had remained loyal even after Erasinus took control of the estate.
“So I had no idea the young lady would be brought here today.”
“Even kept secret from the servants?”
“Yes. I was standing in the front colonnade all morning, but I never saw her enter. Then I heard someone had taken something from the annex, and I was startled. My lord, you—”
“Wait.”
Abelus cut him off.
He could hear the sound of someone running toward them from beyond the pillars.
In such a secluded corner, no one should be coming—it was strange.
And then, with unusually loud and frantic footsteps, appeared Paulus—his face pale as death.
“Y-young master…!”
“Paulus?”
Felix’s expression stiffened, caught in an awkward position at the sudden appearance of Erasinus’s son.
But Paulus seemed not to notice Felix at all. He dropped to his knees before Abelus.
“What are you doing?!”
Abelus shouted in surprise.
After all, the two of them had never even had a proper conversation before.
“P-please help me. My father, my father…!”
Paulus stammered, trembling violently.
“He’s… he’s taken Lady Callidora to kill her.”
“What…!”
The sound of rushing water jolted me awake.
That was strange. There was nowhere in the Ardent Luna estate where you could hear water like this.
Where am I?
I hurriedly opened my eyes and looked around.
What I saw was a surface of deep blue water—my own reflection rippling across it.
And my head was swimming from being upside down, blood rushing to it.
“U-uaaah!”
I screamed and thrashed, locking eyes with Erasinus, who was holding me by the legs, poised to dunk me into the water.
He looked startled that I’d regained consciousness sooner than expected.
“N-no! Please spare me!”
I clung desperately to his clothes with both hands, refusing to let go.
“There’s nothing to fear, so calm yourself. Didn’t you say you’d do anything for Ignitus? This is the only way.”
“I don’t want to!”
He’s trying to kill me? Why? Because he found out I don’t have magic?
“Don’t worry. You’re just going to see your father again. Give him my regards.”
As he spoke, Erasinus gathered power in his hand.
Once he unleashed it, I’d be flung straight beneath the water’s surface.
Stay calm and think. There has to be a way out of this…!
I forced my brain to work faster than it ever had, recalling every scrap of information I knew about him—his past, his future, his deeds, his goals.
And the ones who appeared without fail in every part of his story—
The children!
I stopped screaming and called out his name.
“Eratinus!”
There was no point in pretending to be a sweet child at this point.
I decided to lay my cards on the table—
Partly because I was furious, but mostly because what I was about to say would work better that way.
“I know what you’re hiding. You’re nothing but a disgusting hypocrite!”
The power flowing down his arm stopped.
He looked at me with interest, as if finding my last-ditch resistance unusually entertaining for a child.
“You didn’t want to acknowledge Lord Abelnoot, did you? Because the child you teach has to become the heir—since you can’t be the head yourself.”
Erasinus’s face hardened. I had hit the mark.
And I haven’t even said the real punchline yet.
“And that’s why—”
I pronounced each word as clearly as I could.
“You ignored it when Scaevola killed someone.”
Honestly, it was half a gamble.
But it wasn’t baseless. There had been far too many suspicious circumstances until now.
The first time I thought something was off was in the training grounds—
That fast, precise shot that could incinerate a person instantly, aimed straight at me behind the rock.
No matter how you looked at it, that wasn’t the work of someone doing it for the first time.
Though it could be brushed off as hunting practice, other signs piled up—how he attacked the family head’s close aides without hesitation, the strange way he looked at the siblings… but the biggest clue came from somewhere else.
Back in the past, when I overheard a conversation between the family head and Erasinus—
“What about returning the proxy position to Scaevola? It’s been a long time since the wisp appeared, and I believe we’ve safely weathered the ominous signs hanging over Ignitus.”
“I’ll think about it. There’s no need to rush—the children are still young.”
There was something odd about his words.
