The atmosphere froze at my father’s confession.
I could somewhat understand that Liya was a clone.
From the beginning, it was an unusual behavior exhibited simultaneously by Miltram’s test subjects during their seizures. The others in our party must have had some inkling as well.
However, my father’s words contained even more critical information than that.
“He made a deal with the Dark Cult.”
Regardless of the reason, it wouldn’t be surprising if our entire family faced extermination.
The Dark Cult was an existence that neither the Imperial Court nor the Holy Kingdom could tolerate.
The Southern Kingdoms were somewhat less hostile, but the fact that the Dark Cult was a public enemy of the continent remained unchanged.
The first to show a stiff expression was the Lady Virgin Saint.
Senior Elsi swallowed her dry saliva, alternating her gaze between me and Mr. Raymond.
Her trembling pupils conveyed her anxious feelings.
The Lady Virgin Saint placed her hand on her forehead as if flustered and asked, “Viscount Percus… Do you know what you are saying?”
“That’s why I tried to hide it until the end.”
My father dropped his head deeply and uttered in a mournful voice, “At first, I didn’t even realize it was the Dark Cult’s scheme. But on the day I received ‘Liya’ back, they revealed their identity and tried to persuade me.”
“…They must have presented a price at that time.”
“They said they would give me my real daughter and the world.”
To offer ‘the world’ as a price, who even cared about a daughter?
It was madness.
From that point on, it seemed the Dark Cult had confidence in their ability to dominate this world.
According to Miltram, one of the key concerns of the Dark Cult was the price.
I could scarcely imagine how far the Dark Cult’s influence extended.
The Lady Virgin Saint continued to probe for more details.
“The Dark Cult wouldn’t have presented only good conditions. What else did they ask for?”
“The lives of the territory’s residents.”
A sigh escaped the Lady Virgin Saint’s lips, as if she had expected this.
My father repeatedly rubbed his face with his hands.
“Only then did I realize how insane my hopes were. Fate is something you shouldn’t go against. Having already committed a sin, there was some temptation to consider cooperating with the Dark Cult, but…”
“You couldn’t bring yourself to do it.”
That was what Mr. Raymond let slip out.
Uncharacteristically for him, he sighed and closed his eyes.
“If he had done that, they wouldn’t have had any reason to wreak havoc on the territory.”
“…Thank you for believing me, Mr. Raymond.”
Arthur, who had been silently listening, swallowed hard.
He seemed anxious, tapping his fingers on the armrest of the chair.
A tired voice escaped his lips.
“Then, it means you were deceived by the Viscount. You thought you would get your real daughter back, but instead, you received a fake?”
“Ultimately, that’s how it turned out… The Dark Cult side said they would return my daughter, but they only kept insisting they would return my ‘daughter,’ without specifying ‘real.’”
“Shouldn’t this have been reported to the Imperial Court?”
Arthur’s abrupt question pierced to the heart of the issue.
My father’s head drooped as if he had no words to say.
Arthur sighed and continued.
“If that had been the case, we wouldn’t have this situation. The Imperial Court was well aware that the Dark Cult was up to something. If we had conducted a few investigations, the Percus family’s responsibility could have been diminished significantly…”
“…Then what about that poor child?”
The question came unexpectedly from an unlikely person.
It was my mother, who could easily pass for a lady in her prime.
The lady of the Percus family, my mother.
She seemed quite emotional.
“She is a child born from our sins. For a fleeting moment, I thought of her as my real daughter… But the moment we reported to the Imperial Court, it was evident that she would be treated as a monster created by the Dark Cult. But how could we leave that poor child like that…”
“And she was indeed a monster.”
Arthur’s cold rebuttal was rather shocking.
My mother’s eyes widened with sadness at that almost rude statement.
Perhaps weary from the continuous events, Arthur could no longer hide his true feelings.
“Isn’t that right? Because of that, Prince I-an almost lost his life. What would have happened if the Lady Virgin Saint and the others hadn’t rushed over?”
“…It was my fault.”
Instead of arguing, my father spoke words of apology.
“The child had never caused a problem until now, and with the Dark Priest dead, I was afraid of making things worse. Most importantly, Lady Airen was with her all the time, so I thought keeping her in sight would allow me to manage any accidents.”
“That’s….”
Arthur seemed ready to argue but ended up falling silent.
It was a matter of results.
Logically, my father’s words could be seen as valid.
Who would have expected a rogue capable of taking down Lady Airen would suddenly appear?
Even I still felt dazed by the events.
Lady Airen lowered her head as though feeling ashamed, and Arthur ultimately only sighed deeply.
“…In any case, I will discuss this matter later with someone more qualified. What are the thoughts of the Holy Kingdom side?”
As Arthur said this, he glanced subtly in my direction.
As the owner of the Bloodline Characters, my authority surpassed his.
Of course, I had no intention of opposing him.
It wasn’t a situation where my family would be punished, and if I had time, negotiating separately with the Imperial Court wasn’t impossible either.
For now, the enemy we had to face was far too strong.
It was best to focus on gathering the evacuation convoy rather than exchanging opinions.
It seemed the Lady Virgin Saint came to a similar conclusion as well.
After contemplating for some time, she finally sighed and said, “The crime of dealing with the Dark Cult and hiding its details is grave. However, the intent to take responsibility for a life born from one’s own sins is commendable.”
“If that’s the case?”
“I will act according to the Imperial will. We will discuss again through a future consultative body.”
At that, Arthur looked as if he had resolved one issue, clapping his hands together.
With his weary gaze, he organized the matter at hand.
“Alright, it seems the discussion has concluded… Let’s all stand up now. Fortunately, there haven’t been many rampaging test subjects, and thanks to the cooperation of the Rainelle Clan and the Yuridina Clan, we were able to suppress them with minimal damage.”
That truly was fortunate.
There were hardly any guards protecting Perkus Manor. In some remote areas, town folks were even acting as a self-defense force.
However, it seemed the Magic Troops of the Rainelle Clan and the soldiers of the Yuridina Clan had managed to subdue the rampaging test subjects quickly.
Arthur assigned yet another significance to that fact.
“In other words, it means the chaos is less than we expected. If we prepare immediately, I believe we can depart on the evacuation.”
Arthur appeared eager to leave this place at once.
Considering the danger that still loomed, it was only natural.
The others seemed to agree, as no one among us seated expressed opposition.
Just as everyone was about to rise from their seats, a question suddenly pierced through the commotion.
“…What about Liya?”
It was Celin’s question.
I stood there frozen, glancing towards the one responsible for providing an answer.
It was Arthur, the government official of the Empire.
He stared at Celin as if to ask what she was talking about.
“What do you mean by what happens to Liya?”
“Haster…”
With a voice filled with emotions that hinted at either anger or fear, Arthur could only let out a sigh.
He adjusted his glasses and said, “Didn’t you see? That was just a fake. In fact, it’s a monster that could stab someone it’s lived with for years at any moment. Why should the Empire tolerate such a dangerous being?”
“But we’ve treated her as a real person all this time…”
“Does treating a monster like a person make them a person? Then if you treat a dog like a person, it becomes a person too. Ha ha… my pet Pochi would love that.”
Making a joke that didn’t seem funny at all, Arthur rose from his seat.
A bitter smile had now found its way to his lips.
“Reality is reality, and fake is fake… It’s a predetermined fate from birth. Just as Viscount Percus mentioned, trying to go against fate will only lead to wrongful outcomes.”
Celin got up with a start.
She was famously hot-tempered even from the beginning.
Until now, her unique social skills had masked it, but Celin was the second most fiery among us after Senior Elsi.
If left unchecked, it seemed Celin was about to voice her protests.
However, before she could raise her voice, Arthur’s cold voice struck down.
“…Things that must be discarded should be discarded.”
I halted at words that felt eerily familiar, momentarily stunned.
My steps aimed at mediating between the two naturally came to a stop.
Celin glared daggers at Arthur, but he didn’t flinch in the slightest.
He only offered one last piece of advice.
“If you cannot differentiate between the two, you will have to pay the price of a wrong decision… just like today.”
Or perhaps it was a warning.
With that, he turned and lumbered out of the reception room.
Mr. Raymond took a moment to assess the atmosphere and then rose to follow Arthur.
The others all wore somber expressions.
Even I was simply biting my lip in silence.
The only exception was Celin.
With a thud, she kicked the table and gritted her teeth.
From her clenched jaw, a furious voice escaped.
“…I can’t accept this.”
Celin left the reception room with heavy steps.
She brushed past me and exchanged a quick glance, indicating her wish to talk.
All I could do was let out a deep sigh.
I couldn’t leave Liya as she was.
We had known each other as siblings for years. Even without blood ties, the sister in my heart had only ever been Liya.
I had to save her.
I was merely pondering how to do that.
Releasing Liya wouldn’t be difficult at all. If I showed the Bloodline Characters and threatened Arthur, she would surely be set free right away.
Eventually, the Imperial Court would come to inquire about my intentions, of course.
What I was more concerned about was that Liya might lose control of her body again.
There was no denying that Liya was a risk factor.
So I had no clue how to deal with her.
After much hesitation, I finally made up my mind to turn back.
I decided to have a conversation with Celin.
Yet at the very last moment, a voice grabbed my ankle.
“…I-an.”
It was my father.
When I glanced back, he let out a sigh and apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
It was the words of a man who had tried to deny fate and thus fell deeper into an even more twisted fate.
In silence, I turned away.
I did not know which path I should take.
It was in the early dawn when the sun was particularly reluctant to rise.
