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Chapter 19
‘Grandfather really must be an incredible swordsman. Being able to learn from someone like him is a huge honor for any swordsman.’
‘Maybe I can be like him one day too.’
‘Lani, today I finally learned a new sword technique. Whew. Maybe I’m not used to it yet, but I don’t think I’m doing it well. Will you take a look?’
Hider’s excited voice echoed in my ears. Dania, watching my expression, spoke up.
“You’re worried about the young master, aren’t you, Lani?”
“…Do you think he’ll be okay?”
“I’m sure he will… I heard Duke Herden has gathered all the physicians. Let’s wait and see, Lani,” Dania said cautiously.
Right. Honestly, there was nothing I could do right now, no matter how anxious I was. It was probably better to just hurry and collect skill points to level up my detoxification skill.
I grabbed Dania’s hand.
“Let’s go process the herbs.”
“Huh? Oh, okay!”
Dania nodded.
It had been a day since Tybern collapsed, but he still hadn’t opened his eyes. As a result, Hider couldn’t attend training and eventually heard the news of Tybern’s condition.
Hider locked himself away with a cold expression on his face.
Tybern’s collapse seemed to have triggered Hider’s trauma deeply. He wasn’t eating properly and was just swinging his sword over and over again.
“Young master…”
Hider turned to look at me with a calm expression. A surprising hardness settled on his face, unbefitting a 13-year-old boy.
He slightly parted his lips and muttered softly.
“It’s my fault.”
“How could this possibly be your fault? That’s ridiculous!”
“Everyone who stays by my side ends up unhappy. It was the same for my mother. She collapsed like Grandfather and never got back up.”
Goosebumps ran down my spine. His words reminded me of a thought I had recently.
There must be a reason why people kept linking Hider’s mother with a ghost with no form.
Someone must be hiding something.
I swallowed hard.
So Hider’s mother also collapsed suddenly and never woke up, just like Tybern? My heart sank.
Dark suspicions kept surfacing.
“I need to get stronger.”
“Young master…”
“To protect the people around me… I have to be stronger. Much stronger.”
That must be why he had locked himself in the room, tirelessly swinging his sword.
I was worried he might collapse next. I had to do something. I still didn’t have enough points to level up my detox skill, but I figured I should at least go check on Tybern.
If Tybern were to die like this, Hider might carry guilt he doesn’t even deserve.
Unable to find any comforting words for him, I quietly left the room.
Late that night, I slipped out of the room carefully.
I had already told Dania I wanted to rest today. She was probably processing herbs alone now, helping my skill progress without me lifting a finger.
My money was disappearing like smoke. But that didn’t matter right now.
I moved cautiously.
To reach Tybern’s room, I had to pass the duke and duchess’s quarters. I thought they’d be asleep, but suddenly, a sharp voice burst out from the duchess’s room.
“He’s just an old man waiting to die! You hated your father too! So why are you acting like some kind of devoted son now?”
“Shut that mouth!”
Kiara and Herden’s voices rang out one after another. I froze in my tracks.
“Have you forgotten who killed Amy? It was your father!”
What…?
Amy was Hider’s mother.
Tybern killed Amy?
No way.
Suddenly, Hider’s face flashed before my eyes.
Kiara stomped her foot.
She thought Herden would welcome Tybern’s death.
Herden had hated and feared Tybern ever since Amy’s death—because he believed Tybern had killed her.
Tybern hated Amy.
That’s why Kiara had no qualms about blaming Amy’s death on him.
“Have you forgotten Amy already?”
“I told you never to say her name!”
“If you still miss Amy and think she was pitiful, then just let your father go! It’s time he pays for what he did!”
“Didn’t you hear me?!”
Herden cursed.
The truth was, he had been waiting for Tybern to die. He had long since vowed that he would never mourn the man’s death.
To Herden, Tybern was the man who despised Amy and ultimately took her life.
Tybern had always prioritized the family over anything else.
There was no way a maid-born woman like Amy could have ever been accepted by someone like him.
Even when Amy died, Tybern had coldly said:
‘Get it together, Herden. Can’t you see the things you’re responsible for? Don’t your children matter at all to you? If you keep being this foolish, I won’t acknowledge you as the Duke any longer.’
He whipped Herden with those words, forcing him to rise again. Even threatening to strip him of his title.
Remembering that moment made Herden’s teeth clench in rage. But he still wasn’t ready to lose the wall that was Tybern.
Tybern was overbearing and terrifying, but also a source of strength. He was Katieron itself.
Countless swordsmen gathered beneath Tybern’s blade.
Even the emperor respected Tybern—not Katieron, but him. The only reason Katieron still stood strong was because of Tybern’s unwavering presence.
Recalling all this made Herden tremble like a leaf. He and Katieron still needed Tybern.
“You don’t understand anything!”
Herden stormed out of the room. As he passed, he brushed right by me—hidden with stealth magic.
What the hell… What did I just hear?
I was convinced now that the one who killed Amy was the duchess. I slowly peeked through the open door to get a look inside. Duchess Kiara was raging and throwing a tantrum.
She had shattered nearly all the decorations.
“Aaaaagh!!!”
Honestly, this was scarier than any ghost. Absolutely terrifying.
I slowly backed away.
“You crazy btch, damn btch, filthy b*tch! How dare you seduce Herden with that dirty body and still cling to him even after death!”
She screamed curses at the air. Was she really seeing Amy’s ghost? There was no one there.
Goosebumps prickled my arms.
“I even raised that dirty spawn you bore! Who knows whose seed that brat came from?! And this is how you repay me?!”
Whose seed? Ugh. How could she say such vile things?
That was an absurd accusation. Hider looked exactly like Tybern.
Anyone could see he was of Katieron blood.
Leaving the raging Kiara behind, I slipped away from the door. Honestly, I still didn’t know the truth about who really killed Amy.
But I could just wake Tybern and ask him myself.
I picked up my pace.
Thankfully, Tybern was lying alone in bed. The room was thick with the scent of medicine, and his face was pale and still, as if he were already dead.
I brought my hand to his face and waved it gently.
Even his breath was faint.
I let out a long, troubled sigh.
Can I really do this…? With an anxious heart, I opened the system window.
[Name: Tybern
Status: Severe Poisoning. Life is in danger.]
I already know that…
This confirms it’s poison. Tybern is in this condition because of poison. And no matter how I think about it, the most likely culprit is Kiara.
I fiddled with the system window.
Then I tapped the Detoxification skill.
A burst of bright light flashed out. No way… did it work on the first try?
My heart pounded with anticipation.
