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Chapter 25
“Ah.”
A light returned to Dean’s eyes as if he had realized something. His expression grew firm again, and in a flash, he subdued Preston, who had been trying to flee in that brief moment.
“Argh!”
Preston, realizing he had lost his last chance, struggled desperately.
“You, you!”
Was a blood vessel about to burst?
Preston’s eyes, glaring at me, were red like a demon’s.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! Everything I’ve worked so hard to build up…!”
“Shut up.”
Wham!
I stomped hard on Preston’s leg, and he screamed in pain.
“What? You’re saying you earned that money through hard work? Don’t lie. You scammed all of it, didn’t you?”
There’s a reason people say “birds of a feather flock together.”
This bastard was just as rotten as Jeff.
No—worse, actually.
“You squeezed people dry. Their tears, their sweat, their blood… even their deaths.”
If someone who borrowed money died, Preston would even demand their funeral expenses.
And if the children died, he’d pass the debt on to the grandchildren.
With each generation, the interest grew until it surpassed the original debt.
“There’s no way I’m letting you go easy.”
“L-Lady Tekins…”
Perhaps he finally realized that it was truly over for him.
Preston began to grovel.
“Don’t you hate that bastard Jeff? Oh! And what about Countess Tekins?! I can tell you everything about their crimes. Everything! It’s true!”
“Hah.”
I laughed lightly. Then I suddenly put on a doubtful expression.
“You still don’t get it, Uncle?”
Just a few hours ago.
In the corridor of the Grand Duke Leandro’s mansion, when Preston passed information to me—it was just like that moment.
“My tongue’s longer than yours.”
I smiled sweetly.
“And I know everything you know. Even things you don’t.”
Tch.
I scoffed at him lightly, and that was the end of it.
Preston, completely broken, was dragged away by the soldiers.
“We’ll bring in people to load the gold coins right away!”
“Sure.”
After the soldier left, only Dean and I were left in the secret vault.
‘What should I say?’
Dean was a chronic skeptic—he was definitely going to interrogate me.
I’d better come up with an excuse ahead of time.
I was quickly spinning ideas in my head when Dean spoke up.
“Lady Tekins.”
“Yes? Yes!”
I hadn’t decided what to say yet!
I quickly raised my head.
“I’m not human.”
Dean stood there, crying as he made a sudden confession.
Wait, what?
“I mean…”
I blinked slowly.
“What do you mean by that?”
Of course, in Void Flower, there were other races—elves, mermaids, dwarves…
‘But Dean was human, wasn’t he?’
Is this a new piece of information I didn’t know about even though I’ve read the original novel?
“When Preston mentioned the Tear of Pluani earlier…”
Crack.
He was clenching his hand so tightly, there was an odd sound from his gloved fist.
“I wavered.”
I stayed quiet.
“I thought of my younger sibling. The poor sibling who always worried about her injured older brother.”
Dean spoke slowly, as if entranced.
“She was five. An age when she should’ve been running around and playing… but that’s when the illness struck.”
“……”
“She’s been bedridden ever since. It started from her toes and gradually turned her whole body to stone.”
I knew what this illness was.
It was the same disease Dean had in the original story.
That’s when Beloa found the cure and preventive method—and Dean became completely loyal to her.
‘But I didn’t know he had a sibling.’
Why?
Even for minor characters, backstories are usually explained—but not Dean’s?
‘Is my memory just bad?’
Even if I’ve read Void Flower several times…
I didn’t memorize every single line of dialogue and narration.
‘Still, something feels off.’
I bit my lip and focused on Dean’s story.
“I just couldn’t bear to watch her suffer.”
His confession continued.
“I blamed myself for everything.”
Not too slow, not too fast—he spoke at a steady pace.
“If I hadn’t gotten hurt… if I hadn’t grown weaker… maybe she wouldn’t have gotten sick. Or if she did, maybe she would’ve recovered quickly.”
“……”
“Then His Grace suggested we head to the battlefield first, and I gladly accepted.”
Dean was spilling out what he had held inside for far too long.
“It’s been over 20 years. My sister has spent several times more than her free years fighting this illness.”
His voice was growing more emotional.
“She can’t hold on any longer…!”
Hic! He held back a sob and wiped his face with his sleeve.
“…It’s true I was shaken earlier. I couldn’t help it. I’m His Grace’s most trusted aide, after all.”
“……”
“So I should’ve said, like Preston told me to, that he should keep the Tear of Pluani and use it for a bigger deal.”
Dean was crying again. Crying openly now.
“But I couldn’t bring myself to do it…”
He didn’t even bother to wipe his tears as he looked at me.
“And seeing how much you trusted His Grace made me feel ashamed.”
“It’s okay, Sir Dean.”
I grabbed Dean’s arm. Through his tears, he looked at me.
“It’s only natural. Anyone would’ve wavered in that situation!”
I pressed my lips together.
“We’re all human…”
That last part—I said it as much for myself as for him.
Because—
‘I was after the Tear of Pluani too.’
Sure, the gold was valuable, but the real treasure I was after…
Was the Tear of Pluani, stored carefully in Preston’s secret vault.
‘Beloa’s body is too weak right now.’
In the original Void Flower, Beloa regained her full health after using the Tear of Pluani she found by chance.
She even awakened a hidden ability thanks to the tear’s power.
‘So it’s absolutely necessary.’
Beloa at age six was already fragile…
But Beloa now was only three.
That made it even worse.
She really needed it too.
‘What should I do?’
My vision spun slightly.
The Tear of Pluani was a miracle cure.
It would definitely heal Dean’s sister.
But if I gave it to Dean… what about Beloa?
What would happen to her?
‘I can’t use the cure from the original story.’
That one could only be used by Beloa once she awakened her ability at six.
Which meant… at least three more years of waiting.
‘I need to find a solution.’
I had to find a way to save both of them. Somehow. No matter what.
“Ppyah!”
Huh?
At the sudden noise, both Dean and I turned toward the hallway.
A man was walking down, holding something lightly in one hand.
He moved as if it weighed nothing at all.
Wait—what was that?
Oh.
“Beloa?!”
“Your Grace!”
Dean and I both shouted at the same time.
“Ow!”
Somehow—
Beloa was smiling brightly at me while being carried in Grand Duke Leandro’s arms.
Why on earth is Beloa here?!
