The marquis’s answer was just a speculation.
So Delphine felt as if her lips were parched. Words to blame the marquis were rising in her heart, but she never spat them out in the end.
The reason was simple.
It was a despair that Delphine had never experienced even once.
Who could understand the marquis’s despair?
Only the marquis himself could fathom that heart.
It was a circumstance she had never considered before, but first love changes a woman.
To be more merciful and flexible.
Moreover, she unconsciously engraved every word from the man she loved into her heart.
This was also part of that change.
And it was a turning point that would determine the fate of so many.
“So I grabbed hands with the devil. With their help, my skills started to develop day by day. And a few years later, I finally ascended to the throne of Yuridina as I had wished.”
“Were you happy? Grabbing hands with the devil?”
“No.”
At Delphine’s question, thrown as if spat out, the marquis shook his head with a vacant expression.
“I was a useful collaborator for the Dark Cult. I realized how many vassals I had who died bearing my mistakes while ascending to the head of the family. And one day, I realized. How was I any different from a brother or sister, stirring discord between humanity and elves while sacrificing the Northerners under the directives of the Dark Cult?”
“Is that why you chased away Ceria’s mother?”
“Heh, clever… No, in fact, it was a miracle that I still haven’t been found out.”
The marquis of Yuridina lowered his gaze with a bitter smile.
It was a sign of resignation.
“Yeah, you’re right. Ceria… that poor child’s mother is of vampire blood. She carries the blood of that monster sealed in the Great Forest.”
It was what Delphine had expected, but the moment she heard that confession, she couldn’t control her trembling shoulders.
Ceria Yuridina.
She was her half-sister. Once considered a rival and tortured, Ceria was Delphine’s sister.
But that child carries the blood of the most famous monster on the continent.
Delphine couldn’t even imagine the storm that would come when this fact became known. Seeing Delphine’s gruesome expression, the marquis muttered in an even weaker tone.
“Don’t tell that child.”
“Can the issue be solved by just keeping it from Ceria? One of the five great noble families of the empire has conspired with the Dark Cult! The whole world will come to know!”
“I can bear it all.”
As he said this, the marquis grabbed the blade aimed at Delphine.
Delphine gasped and tried to retreat, but the marquis’s grip was formidable. Even as her skin tore and blood flowed, the marquis did not loosen his grip on the blade.
“It was a life where I could take no responsibility. In my desire for you to not experience the pain like mine, I only wanted one child. Yet, as if it were a twist of fate, Ceria was born… that child bears no sin, does she?”
The woman’s brow furrowed as she tried to pull the blade free.
That was true.
If it became known that the Yuridina clan cooperated with the Dark Cult, it was unimaginable how far the aftermath would reach. It would not be surprising if the Imperial Court sought to destroy the Yuridina clan.
But there was still an escape route left.
“Strike me down.”
Here, Delphine would cut off the marquis’s neck.
It was to remove the betrayer of humanity with the hands of Yuridina. That too, to sever Yuridina’s future, Yuridina’s past.
Of course, it was not a simple matter.
Father and daughter were a divine bond. No matter how much Delphine wanted to, she would never break this.
A child strikes down their parent.
Could there be a more brutal fate?
Delphine’s hand gripping the sword trembled violently. The trembling of her eyelids made her eyelashes twitch.
Even in the middle of this, the marquis continued to persuade her.
“So please keep the story about Ceria a secret. Delphine… my daughter. This is my last request as a father.”
What Delphine had to do was simple.
Raise the sword and behead the marquis. Then a scar that would not be erased would remain in Delphine’s heart, but the Yuridina clan could survive.
There was no need to weigh it on a scale.
Delphine knew better than anyone which was more important between her personal interests and the prosperity of the clan.
So Delphine bit her lip.
The contemplation did not last long.
She was Delphine Yuridina.
The moonlight shimmered on the raised blade, and soon a scream burst from the old man’s lips.
“Gah!”
The old man’s body rolled on the ground awkwardly. The sword Delphine held was now plunged into the empty ground.
Instead, it was the woman’s kick that struck the old man’s solar plexus.
Delphine gritted her teeth as she said.
“……Coward.”
No further explanation was needed for that brief accusation.
In front of her father, who trembled with choked breathing, the daughter spoke.
“Don’t try to take the easiest path while saying you will take responsibility. Do you have any idea how many lives have been sacrificed because of your choice?”
“Many lives will live because of my sacrifice.”
Panting, there was not a hint of falsehood in the words the old man spat out.
Though his strength was failing, his eyes were vividly alive. It seemed strange where in that frail body so much vitality remained.
Delphine silently met those burning, blood-red eyes.
Perhaps it was the right choice.
There might come a day when Delphine would stain her hands with her father’s blood.
But not today.
Delphine quietly sheathed the sword. Then the old man’s exhausted voice echoed.
“Delphine, it will be hard, but you must make the decision. As the master of Yuridina, you must…!”
“Shut up.”
With that, the marquis had no choice but to close his mouth at the icy gaze directed at him.
No, could it even be called icy?
It was the fierce shaking of the pupils, the eyes revealing the moisture that could not be hidden.
There was no father who could avoid being a criminal in front of his daughter’s tears.
The marquis’s head dropped heavily.
“Then was your choice befitting of Yuridina? And also…”
Delphine paused to think for a moment, then soon wore a sly smile.
It had been a life where she had only been hurt until now.
It wouldn’t be rude to play this game, which could be the last.
“You should at least see your son-in-law’s face.”
Then the marquis of Yuridina froze in shock.
It did not take long for a hollow laugh to escape his lips.
“Hahaha… Is this for real? The next head of Yuridina?”
“Who said he’s my husband?”
With a smirk, the woman replied, her enchanting curves accentuated.
“Maybe he’s the husband of both sisters.”
After saying that, Delphine took her leave.
With a much lighter step.
In fact, there were many reasons Delphine did not behead the marquis.
There was still too little information on the strength of the Dark Cult. Moreover, she did not know how many Dark Cult agents were planted within the clan, and there were not enough means to prove that only the marquis was a collaborator of the Dark Cult.
Above all, I-an would likely want to have more conversations with the marquis.
The world Delphine had seen and experienced was still lacking. The man who had shown her this was right beside her. There was no reason to refuse someone who could fill that lacking knowledge.
However, it seemed that the last words Delphine left were quite shocking.
With a thud, a sound of collapse echoed behind her.
It was the marquis’s dying gasp as he could no longer endure the pressure in his blood.
During the time he lost consciousness, fragments of countless memories pierced through his mind.
Emotions overflowed from the wounds that had passed like bloodletting.
Regret, despair, resentment.
Then a faint burn brushed past his eyes.
“I, do not regret… Senior.”
A tender smile, a hand that stroked his cheek and fell to the ground.
Only bloodstains remained on the face.
“I was so happy. These past few months felt like a dream…”
“Stop.”
With a sob, the man pleaded.
“Stop it.”
And I gasped awake.
My breath came in ragged gasps. I trembled as if I were sick of myself, and I sensed a presence.
Right next to me.
It was probably one of the women who was caring for me.
Just perhaps because I was too drowsy, I couldn’t guess the other person’s exact identity. So I frantically felt around my face, muttering words of apology.
“Sorry, I had a nightmare…”
“Haha, a nightmare.”
“Yeah, so I was a bit surprised…”
As my lips naturally continued the conversation, they suddenly froze.
It was because the voice that reached my ears felt so alien.
My questioning gaze turned to the side, and there I met them.
The deep, unfathomable eyes of an old man.
“Continue. It’s very amusing; it’s been a long time since I’ve heard someone speak informally… Hahaha.”
He was the Empire’s blade master.
A chill ran down my spine.
