It was Ligeun who stepped forward to stop him.
When Ligeun put a hand on his arm and stopped him, Aen gritted his teeth and dropped Elbert as if throwing him away.
"Cough, th, thank you..."
Elbert tried to express his gratitude, but Ligeun glanced at him with cold eyes and didn't even acknowledge him.
"Damn... it's my fault. It's because of me that Lady..."
"Self-reproach can wait. Right now, we need to figure out how to save the Lady."
"...The butler is calm."
"Do I seem that way?"
Ligeun strained to pull up the corners of his mouth and adjusted his glasses.
At that moment, Aen saw his fingertips trembling.
"..."
He appeared calm and composed, but in truth, he was just as shaken as Aen.
He wanted to pick up the sword Aen had dropped and rush into the storm.
But the last shred of reason told him it would only be a waste of time.
However...
'I have no idea.'
Ligeun, known as one of Rodbel's strategists, couldn't figure out how to save Lucia.
He couldn't even grasp how Lucia alone could have entered that storm.
'Damn it.'
He never knew his head was so dull.
He told Aen that it wasn't the time for self-reproach, but Ligeun was reproaching himself.
It was then.
"Move."
"......!"
Ligeun's eyes widened as he spotted someone approaching.
Ego Rodbel.
His snow-white hair fluttering, he was slowly walking toward them.
In that moment, a glimmer of hope flickered in Ligeun's green eyes.
If it was him, if it was Duke Rodbel, he might be able to save Lucia, who had been swept away by the storm!
Ligeun was about to ask him for help.
"Lord-"
But before he could even approach, the Duke mercilessly passed him by.
Ligeun turned to look at the Duke with bewildered eyes.
Afraid of missing the chance, he reached out his hand towards him.
'Wait.'
He soon realized something and stopped.
It was because the Duke was currently approaching...
"I told you to move."
It was in front of the magical storm that Lucia had been swept into.
At the Duke's cold voice, Aen, who was standing like a defeated soldier, slowly turned his head.
He had thrown himself several times but failed to save Lucia, and his face was close to that of a corpse.
"..."
The Duke's gaze, staring at him, was as cold as the abyss.
'Annoying.'
Aen's appearance, as if he had lost something most precious.
'Should I kill him?'
So annoying that he wanted to kill him.
Of course, he knew that this wasn't a normal thought.
Aen was a capable vassal, the strongest and most upright of the swords he possessed.
He was an essential talent for the current Rodbel.
Yet, the reason he wanted to erase him from his sight was...
"Hngh..."
Because the way he was lamenting as if he had lost something most precious was so annoying that he wanted to kill him.
'Why?'
Why was it so annoying?
They were just peculiar master and disciple. What was the big deal?
No, that didn't matter anymore.
No matter how close the two were, no matter how annoying it was.
He would simply tell him.
"Presumptuous."
Swish...
Ego Rodbel drew his sword.
The sharp sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard silenced everything around them.
Soon after, a pale and transparent blade, like moonlight, revealed itself.
"Gasp..."
Someone gasped as they saw it.
The current Ego Rodbel's sword, the treasured sword passed down only to the Rodbel head - Nox.
It was the first time they had seen it in person, and everyone forgot the gravity of the situation for a moment and stared blankly at the Duke's sword.
It was a mysterious and beautiful sword that suited the radiant master of Rodbel very well.
The tip of the sword accurately aimed at Aen in front of him before slowly tilting towards the sky.
And then.
"......!"
"That's..."
"Rodbel's magic..."
Purple magic flowed from the Duke's body in waves.
Magic that stretched out like roots climbed up the Duke's body and wrapped around the blade.
Everyone watched the wondrous sight with eyes lost in ecstasy.
Rodbel's magic...
Rodbel's magic knights can cultivate magic by opening their magic through the 'Magic Ceremony,' the investiture ritual.
However, the magic displayed with Rodbel's magic, the root of magic and the pinnacle of magic, was on a completely different level than magic spells.
Even without confirming its power, one could feel its rank just from the aura it exuded.
Before they knew it, the purple magic completely enveloped the sword, emitting an imposing aura.
The magic grew about a hand's breadth longer than the blade.
Whirring - the sword and his magic resonated, shaking the air.
Amidst the silence that had fallen due to awe and ecstasy, the Duke's lips slowly moved.
"Aen Rixus, Commander, there is a fact that you must engrave in your mind."
"..."
"That child."
The Duke paused for a moment.
He stared at Aen, unmoving, as if his breath had stopped, and then,
"Is my daughter."
He said.
Aen's eyes slowly widened.
It wasn't just Aen.
Everyone in that place heard his words.
Even so, they couldn't understand the Duke's words.
Who was 'that child' that the Duke was calling his daughter?
'No.'
Even without an accurate designation, they could tell from the circumstances.
Who Aen was trying so hard to save, why the Duke said that Aen wasn't qualified, who the 'daughter' the Duke was talking about was.
The reason they couldn't understand it right away was...
Ligeun stared blankly at the Duke's back.
'Did I... did I hear correctly just now?'
That was because.
'The Lord just called Lady Lucia his daughter...'
Of course, he had noticed that the Duke's attitude towards Lucia had changed recently.
But he never imagined that he would say that Lucia was his daughter in front of so many people.
Everyone, including Ligeun, was in shock.
Amidst the shock that had engulfed everyone,
"So."
Only Aen stared at the Duke with sharp eyes.
"Are you telling me to give up on the Lady, right now?"
That's how he understood it.
That he wasn't qualified to protect Lucia, so he should stand back and give up.
At that moment, the corner of the Duke's lips twisted upward.
"Yes. That's right."
"Is that what you're-"
"Saving that child is my duty."
"......!"
Clang.
Ego Rodbel gripped the sword hilt with both hands.
The flow of magic became even sharper.
The Duke's purple eyes stared at a single point in the swirling magical storm.
And the next moment.
Swoosh-!
He struck down hard.
─Kwaaaang!
The sudden loud noise somewhere made me slowly open my eyes.
I was lying sprawled out, looking up at the purple, undulating sky.
Blink, blink...
I blinked slowly, thinking blankly.
...Where is this?
My consciousness had been cut off abruptly, so my thoughts weren't connecting well.
I slowly retraced my memories.
So, clearly...
'The storm caused by the magical collision happened earlier than expected.'
I had been pacing back and forth, at a loss at the unexpected variable...
'And then I threw myself in.'
Now the memory was vivid.
"Ayaya..."
I must have fallen wrong when I fell, as the back of my head was tingling.
Other than that, I was perfectly fine, without a single scratch.
Frankly, I had thrown myself in expecting at least a laceration like Giles Smore...
"...Is this possible?"
I muttered blankly.
In fact, I didn't just throw myself in without any thought.
'The reason Giles Smore was able to break through the boundary of the magical collision was thanks to the qualification granted by the founder.'
And I had recently been frequently entangled with the founding head.
I saw her memories, and I saw illusions.
'The founder's relic reacted during the ritual too.'
So, even though I hadn't been granted qualifications like the Smore family, I thought I might be able to break through somehow.
The result was a success.
It was unexpected that I didn't even get a light burn.
Maybe...
'It's possible because half of Rodbel's blood is flowing through me.'
Like a descendant's privilege.
'This damned blood is helpful sometimes.'
At this moment, I was grateful for the fact that I was half Rodbel, and I stood up.
"I don't have time to be doing this."
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