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Chapter 42
Erasinus said that will-o’-the-wisps (ghost lights) had appeared on Ignitus’s estate.
Because of that, the appointment of Skybola as Lord Abelus’s proxy had been postponed.
Since ancient times, will-o’-the-wisps were considered an ominous sign, and in the years they appeared, all ongoing plans were halted and offerings were made to the gods.
People often regarded will-o’-the-wisps as a sort of supernatural curse, but anyone who was to be Ignitus’s heir would know the truth.
It was a phenomenon caused by sparks from the lingering magic and corpses of dead bodies.
By now, this fact had probably spread quietly among academics and high officials.
However, they chose to ignore the ominous rumors associated with the will-o’-the-wisps.
There were two main reasons for this.
First, the fact that someone had been buried nearby was a bad omen by itself, without needing supernatural interpretation.
Second, it allowed them to postpone matters they did not want to address by using the will-o’-the-wisps as an excuse.
If I were Erasinus, I would have pointed this out to the family head and urged an immediate investigation of the estate for any accidents, then hurried the heir designation.
But he did not.
He knew someone had died but did not want to expose the truth.
“How do you think I found out?”
The once confident face of Erasinus turned pale.
‘You told me.’
I saw it in the book you wrote.
In his representative work, On Governance, there’s a theory that ‘rulers use rumors.’
Will-o’-the-wisps were repeatedly used as examples.
“Who did you hear that from?”
Erasinus’s voice grew louder.
At the same time, I felt the arm holding me tremble slightly.
‘Did it work?’
“Let go of me!”
I shouted triumphantly.
Erasinus suddenly glanced far across the lake. Smoke from a signal fire was rising into the sky.
It was the signal that the event had ended.
Erasinus, as if resolved, leaned back toward the water.
“It’s probably Ancus. It doesn’t matter. I can control him. Farewell.”
“…!”
Suddenly, the power from his hand exploded, and my body plunged headfirst into the water.
Splash!
A loud noise accompanied the cold water flooding my nose and mouth.
I clenched my teeth and held on to consciousness.
‘Stay calm. I can swim a bit. Being a child doesn’t change that!’
I kicked and flailed my limbs, slowly rising toward the surface.
As I reached out to the surface, my fingertips touched something cold and hard—not air.
The power of ice. The lake’s surface had already frozen over.
‘…Crazy bastard.’
With a rumble, the air I was barely holding slipped out through my mouth.
“Kalidora!”
Following Paulus’s lead, we ran to the lakeside, but Kalidora was nowhere to be found.
Among the greenery and blues, Abelus searched for her familiar red hair but soon spotted Erasinus standing alone by the water’s edge.
Abelus, filled with rage from head to toe, unleashed his magic and charged at him.
He looked ready to burn Erasinus alive if he didn’t return the child.
“Give me Kalidora. That’s an order.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I tried to catch her when she ran off here but lost her. I didn’t expect you to still be so upset. Stop this foolishness and withdraw your magic. I was just thinking of having a conversation with you.”
“What…!”
“Now that Tiberius is absent, it seems we share a secret here, known only to the two of us.”
Abelus flinched. He had been caught.
Erasinus didn’t miss the reaction.
“I’m surprised you’ve done nothing even though you knew. She’s your proxy, after all. No matter how young she is, once she’s in that position, there are decisions she must make herself.”
Abelus glared at him as if to kill but said nothing.
He suspected this might be a ploy to provoke him.
“Look at yourself, Abelus. What has your uncle done to you? He brought in an incompetent heir to replace you. He couldn’t bear to see your power grow even if it meant such deeds.”
Erasinus sneered.
“When you said you’d join your uncle, you probably remember people worrying because they’d never seen him care about his nephew’s well-being. You trusted your uncle would be different, but this is the result of your complacency.”
“I think you’re very mistaken. If you’re trying to sow discord between me and my uncle, you picked the wrong approach.”
Abelus remained unmoved.
“I never trusted my uncle from the start.”
At that, a mysterious expression—not joy or sadness—crossed Erasinus’s face.
“Likewise, I don’t trust you either. So stop your nonsense and hand over the child.”
“…Hah.”
Erasinus let out a hollow laugh. He had thought Abelus was a weak fool, but inside, he’d been plotting all along.
He decided to change tactics.
“Then I have an offer for you.”
“An offer for yourself, no doubt.”
“For both you and me. I won’t hide anything, so please refrain from playing word games. The child is missing. She ran off this way, probably wandering somewhere in the Ardeo Mountains. And soon, night will fall.”
“You don’t mean to… now, that child…!”
“I don’t expect much from you. I know you can’t take action. So I ask you not to act now. Don’t look for her, just return. Tell the family head the child has gone missing. That’s not a lie. Not sacrilege or a crime.”
“You mean you’ll leave Kalidora lost and alone?”
Though he spoke like that, Abelus was sure that once he left, Erasinus would find and kill the child.
“Yes. The child is gone. The traitor’s daughter, Ignitus’s troublesome incompetent heir, is gone. Everything will return to normal. Then we can discuss the second heir’s position again.”
“So you want the position to be vacant!”
Abelus finally lost his composure and shouted.
“Don’t slander me! Eliminating incompetents is for the honor of the family!”
But Erasinus shouted louder.
“I’m telling you that your grudge against me is unjust. I have devoted far more time to this family than you.”
“And what about her?”
Abelus’s fist trembled.
Summoned without warning, treated coldly all along, and now threatened with death? No matter what incompetence she was labeled with, that was inhuman.
Holding back tears, he shouted.
“Ignitus wouldn’t sacrifice someone for honor!”
“Nonsense! You don’t understand what honor is! If you’re going to talk about kindness or duty, cut it out. You think honor is made by people, but you’re wrong. Honor is already defined. Step outside that framework, and what you believed was honor becomes no longer honor. Sacrificing for honor? No family would bear an incompetent!”
Erasinus presented his complicated logic, but Abelus silently stared at the lake across from him.
At some point, he clearly realized the lake’s surface wasn’t moving.
A sudden ominous thought crossed his mind.
Was Erasinus speaking so long not to persuade him but to buy time?
Abelus pushed Erasinus hard and ran toward the lake.
‘He’s been found out already.’
Erasinus looked at Abelus with a smile, as if he was about to unleash a flame.
In fact, he hoped Abelus would use his power.
Ignitus could only endure the heat of fire.
The bodies of the Fire clan could not withstand the heat of hot water.
If the lake’s water boiled from Abelus’s power, any chance the child might still be alive would be surely ended.
But Abelus’s hand held a small parchment document as he dashed forward.
“Excuse me.”
Erasinus didn’t miss this and struck out with his iron staff, releasing his power.
