Ego Rodbell stared at the fallen Andro Croll as he breathed his last, then shifted his gaze.
Behind Aiden Balter, Lucia was staring blankly ahead.
When Lucia's gaze turned to him, Ego Rodbell unconsciously avoided her eyes.
He couldn't properly see her expression, but he knew without looking.
She must have been scared.
Someone had died in front of her.
She's only ten years old. The shock must be great.
And she must be scared of him, the one who killed the person.
'I did something unnecessary.'
Ego Rodbell coldly assessed his actions.
It was a truly unnecessary thing to do.
Even if he hadn't stepped in, there was a knight by Lucia's side, one of the best in the Imperial Knights.
He would have taken care of it.
Why did he step forward without realizing it?
'Displeasing.'
He was displeased with himself for acting out of control and doing things he couldn't understand, with everything that dared to tarnish the name of Rodbell.
Lucia was no different.
In fact, Lucia was even more of a thorn in his side now.
When did this irritation begin?
It seems like it started then.
'Please disown me.'
The day Lucia, who always craved affection, told him to abandon her.
From that day on, he began to find Lucia annoying.
The change in address from 'Father' to 'Duke,' the fact that she seemed to seek only his affection but now seemed to like someone else more.
He gave her the chance to call him 'Father' again, but she said something completely different as if she didn't need such an opportunity, the way she turned her head as if she no longer cared about him, everything around Lucia...
'I can't understand.'
Ego Rodbell stared at Lucia with cold, unfeeling eyes.
Their eyes met, her ruby eyes reflecting the moonlight.
He hated those eyes so much.
"..."
Ego Rodbell's life had always been perfect, without a single flaw.
From the moment he was born, he walked the smooth, well-ordered path laid out before him without the slightest deviation.
The first variable that came to him was his father's illness.
The previous Duke, who had suddenly been diagnosed with a terminal illness, withered away day by day like a tree in winter.
Watching his father die quickly, Ego Rodbell hastened his preparations for succession.
His mother had passed away in an accident when he was young, so if his father died as well, he would have no family left, but he didn't particularly care.
It wasn't as if he had been able to feel any familial affection even when they were around.
One day, the previous Duke urgently summoned his son, Ego Rodbell.
'The Lord wishes to see the face of his beloved family one last time before returning to the embrace of God.'
The attending physician, who came to deliver the news, said that, but well, it didn't seem like that to him.
The attending physician spoke with tears in his eyes, but Ego Rodbell didn't feel much emotion as he headed to the previous Duke's room.
And that's when he heard it.
The truth of the Rodbell family.
Where the Rodbell family's great power came from.
What the successive Rodbells had done to maintain that power.
'Disgusting.'
That's what Ego Rodbell thought when he heard the story.
To rely on something to prolong life, what could be more weak and pathetic than that?
But he was also a Rodbell, so he couldn't escape that disgusting fate.
Just as his ancestors had done, he only had to produce a bastard and abandon them in the Abyss on their 100th birthday.
Of course, the process was not as easy as it sounded.
After inheriting the title, he had married twice, and finally, to create a bastard who could disappear without causing trouble, he brought a woman from a fallen family into his bedroom.
As planned, the woman became pregnant, and a girl was born, as dictated by the principle of sacrifice.
It was fortunate for him.
He wouldn't have to create any more unnecessary bastards.
The Duke hid the truth from the child's mother.
However, the woman accidentally found the diary of the previous Duke, learned the truth, and ran away with the child that day.
He immediately sent a pursuit team, but it was not easy to find the woman's whereabouts.
After searching for nine years, he finally found the child.
A being that proved the disgusting side of Rodbell.
Looking at Lucia made him feel nauseous, as if he were facing the disgusting reality of Rodbell.
'No, that's not it.'
It was much earlier than that.
When Lucia was born, Ego Rodbell had only gone to see Lucia once.
From the moment he met her crimson eyes, Ego Rodbell felt uneasy about Lucia.
She was just a small being mixed with his blood, a weak and fragile life that would die if he put just a little strength into his hand.
But for some reason, Ego Rodbell felt like she was a monster that would destroy everything he had.
That's why.
The reason why he never gave Lucia, who he had found again, a single glance or word even when she begged for affection.
That's what it was...
But when did it start?
When did his gaze towards Lucia begin to change?
'I don't know.'
Ego Rodbell himself couldn't quite understand what had changed and how.
It was only now that Lucia's appearance began to be seen clearly.
The jet-black hair that seemed to have melted away the filth of the world was now mysterious like the night sky, and her crimson eyes resembled the most beautiful rubies.
The look in her eyes as she looked up at him was unwavering, and her posture was straight and upright.
And flowing from her small lips...
"Duke?"
"...What is it?"
His mood dropped sharply in an instant.
The voice that came out was extremely cold.
He paused for a moment, examining Lucia's reaction to his own cold voice, but Lucia didn't seem to care at all.
"I have a request."
"A request?"
"Ah, no. I'm sorry, let me rephrase that. Not a request, but I want to make a deal with you, Duke."
"...A deal?"
Ego Rodbell was momentarily speechless.
He doubted whether he had heard correctly.
"Yes, a deal."
Lucia spoke again in a clear voice, as if to let him know that he had not misheard.
Ego Rodbell doubted for a moment whether this child who had come to his room and confidently asked to make a deal was really Lucia Rodbell.
'Certainly.'
In the past, he wouldn't have been able to believe what was in front of him.
But recently, Lucia had certainly been like this.
It was absurd to talk about a deal, but there was no reason not to listen.
But the title 'Duke' that Lucia kept using was particularly displeasing to him today, so the Duke played a meaningless trick.
"Is there any reason why I should listen?"
He coldly replied, watching Lucia's reaction.
What kind of reaction would she show?
Would she make a hurt expression again?
But...
"Yes."
Lucia's firm eyes did not crack in the slightest.
"You said it yourself, Duke. That I am the protagonist of tonight."
"..."
"So, shouldn't you at least listen to the story? Because I'm the protagonist."
It was reasonable yet forced.
But since it was the Duke himself who made Lucia the protagonist, he put away his unnecessary stubbornness.
"Alright."
He nodded.
"I'll listen. What do you want?"
And he was willing to grant Lucia's wishes as much as possible.
Because she was the protagonist.
He was also curious about what kind of proposal Lucia would make.
"Thank you."
Lucia smiled brightly as if she was truly happy, and then said.
"What I want is for my maid, Marine, to come back. To be my maid again."
The Duke's expression hardened at the unexpected request.
"...That's absurd. Are you aware that the maid tried to kill you?"
He thought it was just a reckless request swayed by affection.
"Yes. I know."
Lucia was still calm and resolute.
"Even so, you want that maid to come back?"
"Yes."
"...Denied."
There was no need to hear more.
The Duke could not hide his disappointment.
'I wondered what she would say.'
To think she would make such a reckless request, swayed only by affection.
Without realizing that disappointment stems from expectation, the Duke turned away from Lucia.
"If you're done talking, then-"
"Is it to find out the mastermind?"
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