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Chapter 23
“I heard it was a grand wedding. Don’t tell me you foolishly gave up your virginity already?”
She ran a hand through her hair as though she found the whole thing absurd.
“Judging by the fact that you aren’t surprised to see me, I suppose you already knew the one standing in my place was a fake. Whatever your intentions may be.”
Venia waved her hand, as though shooing away an annoying fly.
“Kill her quickly and prepare the bridal chamber. I’m in a hurry. Even if they’re newlyweds, who’s going to say anything if you claim there was an unfortunate accident? They’ll mourn for a while and then get over it.”
She shrugged.
“If it’s too difficult, shall I kill her for you?”
There was unmistakable killing intent in her eyes as she said those words.
Dielo did not know how powerful her control over water was, but Venia had once trained alongside Argenta’s assassins.
Krua could be in danger.
The unpleasant sensation he felt at that moment—or rather, the murderous intent—was startling even to Dielo.
“What’s the hurry?”
Dielo asked abruptly.
Venia raised an eyebrow.
“Well, there’s so much I can enjoy as the Duchess of Argenta. And because of you, I’ve been hunted for more than ten years. On top of that, seeing a fake take my place… No, but wait.”
Venia suddenly sensed something strange.
She looked at Dielo.
“Isn’t Argenta the one who’s more desperate for Pero than I am?”
She frowned.
“Prepare my place quickly. Otherwise, I don’t know what kind of rumors I might spread throughout this peaceful Argenta.”
Argenta placed great importance on the custom of regarding other members of Argenta as blood relatives.
Naturally, harming another Argenta, let alone killing one’s own kin, would be a fatal flaw for the head of the family.
Of course, other noble families would likely feel the same way, but in Argenta, the reaction would be even more explosive.
Yet Dielo merely tilted his head at her obvious threat.
He did not look flustered.
Rather, he seemed to be slowly turning over a single question Venia had asked in his mind.
Then he spoke.
“Do you know why I stood by and watched the previous Duke and Duchess die back then?”
He said the previous Duke and Duchess, rather than my parents.
As though he wanted to maintain a certain distance from them.
Venia frowned.
“You wanted to become the Duke, didn’t you?”
“No. The position of Duke would have become mine eventually even if I did nothing. There was no reason for me to do that.”
Dielo smiled coldly.
Venia’s eyes widened.
Dielo leaned slightly toward her and whispered.
“I think there’s something amusing about watching a rabbit that doesn’t even realize it’s playing in front of a beast’s jaws.”
The expression vanished from his face in an instant.
“But I don’t like moths that recklessly fly straight into the flames.”
A chilly killing intent filled the room.
Dielo continued in a cold voice.
“Do you remember that my life was in danger back then?”
Venia, who had stiffened at his words, gave a small nod.
“…Your body was weak, wasn’t it?”
“No.”
Dielo shook his head.
“It’s extremely rare for someone who carries a strong Argenta bloodline to be born with a weak body.”
—Whoosh!
He conjured a flame at his fingertips as he spoke.
“After all, without sufficient physical strength, you can’t withstand this magic.”
Venia froze.
Dielo smiled.
“Who do you suppose poisoned the future Duke?”
It was a question to which he already knew the answer.
A secret from the past flowed from his lips.
The previous Duke—the father of Dielo.
He had been an ordinary head of the family who had never particularly distinguished himself. Even after meeting Pero and completing his awakening, he remained the same.
But Dielo was different.
The moment he began wielding the power of fire, the previous Duke recognized his extraordinary talent.
Unfortunately, he recognized it far too early.
…Dielo has far too much talent.
His son possessed power so overwhelming that it could not even be compared to his own.
And he knew that when such a case arose, the mark of the head of the family could sometimes be transferred earlier than expected.
If my mark were to be transferred to Dielo…
His father feared that possibility.
He feared the fact that his own abilities would become weaker.
For all this time, he had excessively demanded Argenta’s loyalty through his meager power, and he was terrified that he would lose everything.
His wife, and Dielo’s mother, Pero, was the same.
If the head of the family changes, what will happen to me, Pero?
Once the head of the family changed, there would naturally be no need for the previous Duke’s Pero.
Naturally, she did not welcome Dielo, who was extraordinarily talented and was not even her biological child.
“If I needed hesitation to kill those who tried to kill me, life would be terribly difficult.”
Dielo’s cold voice fell after his recollection ended.
Venia’s face went pale.
“Such a thing…”
If this became known, Argenta would be thrown into chaos.
Yet Dielo had deliberately let the secret reach her ears.
And he had done so in such a leisurely voice.
As though it did not matter whether she knew.
As though he was confident that even if she knew, she would never be able to tell anyone else…
Venia desperately suppressed her fear.
I’m Pero anyway.
There’s no way he can kill me.
“…Enough. Just prepare the wedding. Before it’s too late, Argenta needs to welcome Pero, doesn’t it?”
Venia waved her hand as she spoke.
Before it’s too late.
Dielo smiled faintly and rose from his seat.
—Click.
His footsteps echoed clearly as he slowly walked behind the sofa where Venia was sitting.
“Before it’s too late…”
Far from being too late, it was far too soon.
Too soon to welcome the real Pero.
Neither Duke Alloze nor Duke Cartiel had let their guard down enough, and Argenta itself had not yet been properly reorganized.
Above all…
Even from a rational standpoint, there were too many things that bothered him.
Venia was strangely capable of using Alloze’s power.
There was no guarantee that, if things went badly, she would not use the power of water to contact Alloze.
Once someone had betrayed him, would betraying him a second time really be difficult?
If she leaked his plans to Alloze, it would be dangerous.
And…
Would she even survive the process?
Would the Duke who had sent his own daughter in place of the fake Pero allow Venia to live?
From the moment the real Pero appeared until this very moment as he faced Venia, his mind had been filled with a single thought.
He looked out the bright window.
Whenever he saw something shining brightly these days, a certain person came to mind.
“Use me, Duke. Until you find the real Pero and obtain your power.”
That voice kept echoing in his ears.
The contract would remain in effect until the real Pero was found.
If she heard that the real Pero had arrived, she would surely demand that they fulfill the contract immediately.
Besides, she still intended to leave Argenta.
It would be nice if I had a little more time to persuade her.
More than anything, he wished Pero had been someone suited to Argenta rather than someone like this.
…How wonderful it would have been if she were the real Pero.
After remaining silent for a while, Dielo spoke.
“Argenta’s walls are sturdy.”
He stopped walking and turned toward Venia.
“That’s why they aren’t easily opened. Especially not for a traitor.”
“…What?”
Venia understood what he meant, yet she could not comprehend it.
Was the head of the family refusing to accept Pero?
“What do you think is the reason I told you a secret that could destroy you?”
At Dielo’s words, all the color drained from Venia’s face.
This made no sense.
She rolled up her sleeve again.
“You’re not planning to do something to the real Pero, are you?”
By then, Dielo’s gaze was fixed outside the window.
Is Krua still in the flower garden?
“Why, of all people, was it you?”
Dielo narrowed his eyes.
Venia flinched.
The cold killing intent felt as though it were piercing her throat.
“What is the difference between you and Krua?”
He turned back toward Venia.
“What do you have that Krua doesn’t, that made you become my Pero…? If only I could figure that out.”
Then perhaps I could make anyone I wanted into Pero.
His cold gaze settled on Venia.
“Investigate her thoroughly.”
The ones who answered his command without a word were the knights of Argenta.
Composed entirely of fourth-floor knights, they were surprised by their lord’s plan to refuse Pero, but they faithfully followed his orders.
Because they trusted their lord.
More than anything, this woman was far too dangerous and frivolous to become the mistress of Argenta.
Dielo looked at Venia.
“Search through that traitor’s entire life if you have to. Find out.”
His cold words fell like frost.
“Exactly what kind of people are chosen as ‘Pero.’”
What was different between her and that woman?
What rules determined who became Pero?
The moment he began wondering about it—
—Whoooosh…
Dielo heard the sound of the sea once again.
The sea he had hated so much that he never wanted to see it even in his dreams.
And yet, he did not hate the person who inexplicably made him think of the sea.
No.
He kept thinking of her.
What makes her different?
The endless questions left him with only one realization.
I want her.
He understood it at that moment.
He finally realized why her “future plans” had bothered him all this time.
Like a sandy beach gradually disappearing beneath the tide, the realization had been subtle at first.
Then, at some point, it struck him with absolute clarity.
He smiled without realizing it.
Soon, his gentle voice filled the room.
“I’ve come to want something perfect.”
Not a Pero whom I must love,
but a Pero whom I cannot help but love.
