IWRU 19

“Then what will you do? Will you personally try to persuade His Majesty?”

“I will find another way to bring down the Blante Marquis family. Please wait.”

The Duchess quietly stared at Kaillens, who spoke as if he were talking about someone else’s problem. Then the corner of her lips twisted.

“Wait… until when? Until the Blante Marquis family rises again?”

Kaillens frowned, but the Duchess did not stop her mocking tone.

“You speak so calmly toward the enemy who killed your parents. No—calm is not enough. You are even generous. Too generous.”

“…Aunt.”

Kaillens called her in a dry voice, but the Duchess continued sharply, unable to hide her anger.

“‘Wait’ is just an excuse. You’ve already forgotten everything, haven’t you? You’ve lost your mind over a single woman.”

“That is not true.”

Kaillens spoke coldly, but the Duchess shook her head as if dismissing him.

“If your father saw you now… how broken he would be. His own son, standing before his parents’ enemy and saying he will wait. He would cry blood.”

“Kaillens. Always remember this. Your parents’ death was never an accident. You must clear their injustice.”

Their unjust death.

How could he ever forget it? He had heard those words drilled into him all his life.

Kaillens’ tone slowly grew colder, filled with anger.

“Watch your words, Aunt. Avenging my parents is the purpose of my life. I will not stand by and do nothing. I will destroy the Blante Marquis family completely.”

The broken carriage that fell off the cliff… the bodies of his parents, so mutilated they were unrecognizable.

Kaillens had never once forgotten that scene. Not even for a moment.

No—he could never forget it. It was a memory carved into his mind forever.

Kaillens looked at the Duchess, who was silently judging whether his words were sincere, then continued.

“Anyway, the only one left in that family is Ariel.”

Kaillens spoke with dark eyes.

“If the Marquis’s only daughter and heir—whom he loved more than his own life—falls, then the family is finished. Since it has already started, it won’t be difficult.”

He had already brought misery to her. At her father’s funeral—her only source of light—he handed her the annulment agreement.

She lost both her parents and love in an instant.

He had no regrets. She was the daughter of his enemy.

Of course, he had not known at first that she was the enemy’s daughter, so his heart was not completely light.

But he was not foolish enough to abandon his parents for love.

Even if this discomfort never disappeared, he would not stop.

That was why he cruelly abandoned her and made her suffer, as if taking revenge on the dead Marquis himself.

The Duchess asked him with a hardened face.

“Do you truly wish for Ariel Blante’s misfortune?”

“What are you saying?”

“You did nothing when the Tower Master helped her. I was worried the Tower Master might support the Blante family, so I went to His Majesty immediately. But you even sent money to the Marquis family instead.”

Kaillens’ expression cracked. How did she even know what happened at the Grand Duke’s residence?

“…Did you place spies in the Grand Duke’s estate?”

His voice was low, but Duchess Biasthes continued without noticing his anger.

“Yes. I did. Ever since the Blante Marquis died, your actions have been concerning.”

“No matter how worried you were, you should understand that this crosses a line.”

Kaillens’ sharp gaze turned toward her.

Even if she was like a mother to him, planting spies in the Grand Duke’s residence was unacceptable.

“…You were the one who failed to earn my trust. If you truly wanted the Blante lady to suffer, you should have used His Majesty’s anger to throw her into prison, not just break off the engagement.”

“……”

“But you didn’t. Even now, you only talk about destroying her as a secondary option. You keep looking for other methods first, don’t you?”

Kaillens said nothing and just looked at her.

That gaze was no longer as comfortable as before, so the Duchess turned her eyes away slightly.

“I did not give birth to you, but I raised you for over ten years. Do you think I don’t understand you?”

She looked directly at him.

“……”

“You still cannot truly abandon the Blante lady. That foolish hesitation is making you ignore your parents’ injustice.”

“Kaillens. I love you. My son.”

“Kaillens. I love you.”

His father’s voice… and Ariel’s voice echoed in his mind.

Kaillens slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

“…No. I will definitely finish my revenge.”

He repeated his long-standing resolve once more.

The Duchess clicked her tongue and left the garden.

Kaillens stood expressionless, staring at the place she had left behind.

His breathing became rough. He loosened his collar with trembling hands, and a heavy sigh echoed through the quiet garden.

“Haa…”

Then he let out a cold laugh.

Because she was right.

Sending money to the Blante Marquis family through Lowell today was not a rational decision. He had only convinced himself it was pity.

In truth, he could not feel pity for Ariel. She was not someone insignificant to him.

From the moment they first met until now, he had always given everything for her. He loved her enough to give up everything—and also decided to destroy her with everything he had.

The daughter of the enemy who brutally killed his parents.

So she had to become unhappy. Just like him, who lost his parents overnight.

Even if she suffered like he did as a child, grinding his teeth just to survive in the North without even finding the real culprit, she must suffer the same.

That was why he acted.

But now, at the very moment of finishing the Blante family, he was hesitating.

Was he regretting it?

Kaillens let out a cold sneer.

There was no turning back.

There was nowhere left for him to return to.

So the answer was already decided.

But if that happened…

If I truly destroy the Blante Marquis family…

“…You will break.”

At that thought, a sharp pain spread through his chest.

He still hadn’t completely erased her.

He had to erase her—from his memory, from his heart.

If he couldn’t, then the one who would collapse would be…

Kaillens exhaled heavily and looked at the dry branches.

At that moment, the last remaining leaf that had been barely hanging on fell to the ground.

For some reason, his heart turned cold watching it fall.

A strange, ominous feeling ran down his spine.

“Your Highness, Sir Lowes requests an audience.”

Kaillens, who had been staring at the fallen leaf, slowly looked away and stood up.

“Bring him to the office.”

“…The Tower Master gave a guarantee?”

Kaillens’ expression stiffened as he received Deril’s report.

He wondered if he had heard wrong, but Deril’s answer was the same.

“Yes. The Tower Master has guaranteed the Blante Marquis family.”

Deril, who had been investigating under Kaillens’ orders, had been monitoring the Blante family closely, expecting the Tower Master to return to Ariel.

And as expected, the Tower Master appeared at the Blante estate—sooner than expected.

Deril immediately followed the report and headed there.

Since it was a secret surveillance operation, he could not enter the estate directly.

But he tracked the carriage of the Kuno Merchant Guild leaving the Marquis estate and ambushed it in a quiet place, extracting information about the Tower Master.

The Tower Master had guaranteed the Blante family’s debt.

That was the report.