Chapter 27. A Guest Arrives in the County (2)
A snow-covered plain stretched beyond the frost-coated window.
A large desk made of black wood stood before the window.
Various documents and maps lay scattered across it, while a quill and ink bottle were neatly arranged beside them.
A small fire burned in the fireplace opposite the desk.
However, the tiny flames were seemingly incapable of warming the entire room, leaving cold air lingering inside.
Despite the chill, Seraphia’s face somehow felt unbearably hot.
‘Why did Brother suddenly….?’
Adrian had unexpectedly come to Seraphia’s room.
She didn’t know for certain, but if Seraphia looked at her face in a mirror right now, it would undoubtedly be filled with bewilderment.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had been alone with Adrian.
Even after briefly searching through her memories, nothing came to mind.
Seraphia barely managed to calm her trembling heart. Then she discreetly glanced at Adrian, who was sitting before her.
His deep-black hair gleamed faintly beneath the light.
The strands of hair falling slightly over his forehead further emphasized his sharply defined features, while his deep, piercing eyes possessed an intense charisma, as though they could see through anything.
His moderately muscular physique appeared powerful and solid.
The claim that he had subjugated the Gelu-Drake alongside Kai was clearly no lie.
His long eyelashes and sharp jawline somehow created a cold yet mysterious air around him.
‘He really seems like a different person....’
He looked completely different from the Adrian Seraphia remembered.
His physical appearance had not changed significantly. But perhaps it was his atmosphere—or something else entirely.
Adrian appeared far more mature than before and incredibly handsome.
“Do you have no intention of answering my question?”
Most importantly, that moderately deep voice sounded so sweet in her ears—
“....Y-Yes?! Yes, yes!”
“I asked who the guest visiting the County was.”
“O-Oh! Th-That’s what you asked...!”
Her face grew even redder.
Seraphia took a deep breath and stroked her chest, attempting to calm her startled heart.
Then she cleared her throat lightly before speaking.
“He was someone from the House of Viscount Venenon.”
“The House of Viscount Venenon?”
Adrian tilted his head.
He did not appear to know anything about the House of Viscount Venenon.
“Well....”
Reading the situation, Seraphia explained the Venenon family to him.
“They are a noble family whose territory borders the County of our House of White Wolf.”
The North was broadly divided into the Tundra Region, Snowfield Region, and Snowy Mountain Region.
The House of Viscount Venenon was a noble family whose territory was located within the Tundra Region.
“Their territory is also relatively rich in resources.”
Because vegetation could grow in the Tundra Region, activities such as hunting and fishing were possible there.
They could also raise animals such as reindeer.
“Most importantly, timber is their specialty. Venenon Timber is so famous that there is no one in the Kingdom who hasn’t heard of it.”
The trees grew while enduring the cold of the tundra.
Their quality was so remarkable that calling them the finest on the entire continent, let alone the Kingdom, would hardly be an exaggeration.
Everything Seraphia had explained was knowledge she had studied tirelessly day and night.
She had sacrificed sleep to study continuously so that she could help the County of the House of White Wolf—and help Adrian.
“What was the visitor’s name?”
However, Adrian didn’t appear particularly interested.
His attention was focused solely on the identity of the guest.
Seraphia hadn’t expected praise, but she hadn’t imagined he would show no interest whatsoever.
....She felt slightly hurt.
Even so, Seraphia did not reveal it.
“I don’t know his name.... He was only a messenger from the House of Viscount Venenon. He delivered their message and immediately departed.”
“I see.”
Adrian fell silent after saying that.
Seraphia glimpsed an indescribable sense of disappointment in his expression.
“Aren’t you….going to ask what message the House of Viscount Venenon delivered?”
“Do I need to?”
Adrian genuinely appeared to have no interest whatsoever.
“No! You don’t have to ask if you aren’t curious!”
Seraphia hastily waved her hands.
‘....What a relief.’
She secretly felt relieved.
If Adrian had asked why the messenger of House of Viscount Venenon had visited, she would have struggled considerably to invent an excuse.
Adrian soon rose from his seat.
He appeared ready to leave now that he had no further business with her.
“W-Wait!!”
Seraphia stopped him.
Fortunately, Adrian paused.
Adrian’s eyes looked as though they had absorbed vivid, crimson blood.
Although they were not related by blood, their similarly red eyes—the sole feature they shared—met one another.
“There’s something I want to tell you!”
Instead of responding, Adrian raised his chin slightly, gesturing for her to continue.
Seraphia summoned her courage once more and opened her mouth.
“Well...!”
However, her violently pounding heart caused her voice to rise and fall uncontrollably.
Her anxious eyes repeatedly darted from side to side.
“Wh-What I wanted to tell you is....”
She wanted to say something, but her trembling lips kept tangling her words.
Awkwardness and embarrassment mixed together, turning her face red. Unable to look directly at Adrian, her gaze wandered around the room.
“S-So, what I mean is....”
Her lips managed to produce a few words before immediately closing again.
No matter how desperately she tried to remain calm, her body continued shrinking back as though someone were tightly squeezing her heart.
What if he strangled her again, like last time?
The bruises around her neck had only just faded....
“If you have nothing to say, I’m leaving.”
Unable to endure it any longer, Adrian turned away.
In the end, Seraphia decided to throw caution to the wind.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Let’s at least have a meal together!!”
She shouted after gathering every last ounce of courage in the world. Now that the words were finally out, she felt more than relieved.
She felt completely refreshed.
Unable to raise her head, Seraphia fidgeted with her hair while waiting for Adrian’s answer.
However, even after a considerable amount of time passed, Adrian gave no response.
Seraphia cautiously raised her gaze.
Adrian was staring at her as though he were looking at a repulsive creature.
“Haa...?”
His face was twisted into a bizarre expression.
Seraphia felt as though the pounding of her heart would drive her insane.
That was because she had never expected to share a meal with Adrian immediately.
When Seraphia proposed the meal, she had meant “someday”.
She had not been asking him to eat with her right away.
But as the saying went, one should strike while the iron was hot.
Adrian had immediately arranged for them to dine together.
‘What should I do...?! What should I do...?!’
Her mind had gone completely blank.
She had spoken with courage, but she had never dreamed it would actually happen like this.
Seraphia couldn’t say anything, and Adrian didn’t speak to her either.
The silence continued for a long time.
Only the clinking of tableware could be heard inside the dining hall.
This was the first meal she had ever shared with Adrian. She couldn’t allow it to end so meaninglessly.
More importantly, she still had not accomplished the purpose for which she had arranged the meal.
Seraphia summoned her courage and spoke.
“Um….Brother.”
Adrian’s eyebrow suddenly twitched as he stabbed a piece of meat with his fork.
He seemed furious at being called “Brother”.
Sure enough, Adrian’s gaze toward Seraphia contained considerable irritation.
It even contained disgust, as though he were looking at an insect.
She hadn’t intended for that to happen at all.
....Somehow, she appeared to have earned his hatred.
Seraphia quickly continued.
“The reason I asked is because I want to return the position of Lord to you.”
The irritation in Adrian’s gaze was replaced by an unusual gleam. This time, he did not become angry when she called him Brother.
Seraphia realized this was her opportunity.
She called him “Brother” once again.
“If you are willing, Brother, I intend to submit this when the Royal Messenger arrives.”
Seraphia carefully handed Adrian the “written pledge” she had prepared in advance.
The pledge declared that she would relinquish her positions as Lord of the County and Head of the Family.
She had intended to do this from the very beginning.
Seraphia had no desire to become either Lord of the County or Head of the House.
As the eldest daughter of the House of White Wolf and Adrian’s younger sister, Seraphia would be satisfied as long as she could help Adrian.
Lord of the County.
Head of the Family.
Such positions meant absolutely nothing to Seraphia.
Adrian picked up the written pledge.
As he calmly began reading through its contents, Seraphia’s heart filled with anxiety.
Would he finally understand at least a little of how she felt?
With her heart trembling intensely, Seraphia waited for Adrian’s answer.
She soon received it.
“I have no intention of becoming Head of the House of White Wolf.”
However, his answer was completely different from what Seraphia had expected.
“....What?”
“I have even less intention of becoming Lord of the County.”
“B-But...!”
“Isn’t that good news for you?”
“It isn’t!”
Seraphia shouted as she sprang from her seat.
Startled by her own behavior, she hastily covered her mouth with both hands.
“....Ah!”
She quickly sat back down and lowered her head.
Fortunately, Adrian said nothing.
When she slowly raised her head, Adrian was calmly eating, his expression indifferent.
He did not appear to believe what Seraphia had just said.
“Is it….because of me?”
“Yes.”
Adrian did not bother denying it. He did not even appear to consider doing so.
This truly—
It truly hurt her deeply.
“Then why did you return to the family? If you have no intention of becoming either Head of the House or Lord of the County, then why—?”
“There’s something I must do.”
“Something you must do....?”
Seraphia asked, but Adrian did not answer this time. He merely focused on eating as his utensils clinked against the dishes.
He clearly had no intention of telling her what he needed to do.
Even so, Seraphia wanted to ask.
However, Adrian’s cold expression caused her to close her mouth.
Her gaze unconsciously fell.
Biting down hard on her lower lip, Seraphia spoke.
“....Once you finish what you need to do, will you leave the family?”
“When it’s finished.”
Adrian gently placed his fork and knife down.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin before rising from his seat.
“One way or another, you and I will never meet again.”
Therefore, until then—
“I hope we can avoid encountering each other.”
With those words, Adrian left the dining hall.
Seraphia remained sitting there all alone.
Whenever she tried to take one step closer to Adrian, he moved ten steps farther away.
She did not even hope to become a beloved younger sister.
But couldn’t they at least live like ordinary siblings?
Apparently, even that had been an excessive desire.
....Her heart felt as though it were being torn apart.
But Seraphia did not give up.
If something this minor were enough to break her resolve, it would have shattered long ago.
‘He said there’s something he must do.’
Adrian had clearly said there was something he needed to do within the family.
She did not know what that task was.
Adrian did not appear willing to tell her, either.
But until then—
‘That means he intends to remain with the family.’
She could continue living under the same roof as Adrian. It also meant she still had an opportunity to change Adrian’s heart.
‘I will.’
She would definitely change his heart.
Seraphia reaffirmed her determination again and again.
* * *
It happened the moment I stepped out of the dining hall.
◆Seraphia’s Affinity toward you is in the [Trust] state.
◆A character in the [Trust] state believes in and depends upon you completely and will follow you in anything.
◆Seraphia will willingly accept personal losses for your sake.
....To be honest, I couldn’t understand it.
There were two people in the family whom I had to kill.
Seraphia and Kai.
My Affinity toward both of them was equally in the [Hatred] state.
I harbored active aggression toward Seraphia and Kai, determined to kill and destroy them at all costs.
However, the Affinity they felt toward me stood at opposite extremes.
Kai’s Affinity toward me was [Disgust].
Seraphia’s Affinity toward me was [Trust].
Kai’s response was normal.
Seraphia’s was utterly incomprehensible.
I had no memory of ever treating Seraphia well.
From the moment Seraphia entered the family as an adopted daughter, I had despised and hated her.
Then why did Seraphia [Trust] me?
That also raised another question.
The current Seraphia was certainly not a Fallen Witch.
She might possess the power of frost, but she was not the Monarch of Frost.
That was why I had accepted Seraphia’s sudden invitation to dine with her.
She was far too different from the Seraphia I remembered.
Perhaps Seraphia was acting right now.
Perhaps she was hiding her sinister intentions and deceiving me.
The delinquent I had once been could certainly have been fooled.
But the current me was different.
As the Special Warfare Unit’s Covert Operations Commander, I had interrogated and tortured countless Imperial soldiers.
I had also experienced being interrogated and tortured myself.
With only slight exaggeration, I could tell whether someone was lying merely by watching the movement of their eyes.
Therefore, I could say with certainty—
....She wasn’t lying.
Both the contents of the written pledge and her Affinity proved it.
Seraphia genuinely trusted me.
However, the Seraphia I knew had unquestionably been a Fallen Witch.
She was the Monarch of Frost who had mercilessly massacred my comrades in the Coalition Forces and taken Ian’s left arm.
What in the world—
Had caused Seraphia to fall and become the Monarch of Frost?
In my previous life, I knew nothing because I had run away from the family.
I had wandered the streets like a vagabond.
Driven mad by hunger, I tore out and devoured a heart, ultimately losing my mind.
Until I met Ian, I lived a life no different from that of a monster.
After the day I ran away from the family—
After the day I fled while being pursued by an Ice Troll—
What in the world had happened in the County of the House of White Wolf?
“....Enough.”
I cleared those thoughts from my mind.
Nothing good would come from thinking too deeply about them.
The memory of the Monarch of Frost massacring my comrades in the Coalition Forces remained vivid in my mind.
Seraphia could never be allowed to live.
The only reason I wasn’t killing her immediately was Ian.
Furthermore, I currently had no intention of becoming Lord of the House of White Wolf.
Once Ian came to find me, we would begin preparing to establish the Coalition Forces.
At the same time, I needed to use Predation to acquire the abilities of Rare Monsters scattered throughout the continent.
For many reasons, I had neither the time, freedom, nor justification to remain secluded in this remote northern territory.
But....
“It wasn’t Ian.”
The guest who had visited the County this time was not Ian.
Nearly a month had passed since I regressed into the past.
Ian should have come to find me long ago.
Yet there was still no sign of him.
“It seems he doesn’t know that I returned to the past.”
Apparently, Ian was unaware that I had regressed into the past.
Predation [S+].
My ability to acquire a living creature’s power by consuming its heart.
However, I did not know whether the process involved Ability Absorption or Ability Replication.
If it was Absorption, then I had “taken” the ability away from Ian.
If it was Replication, then both Ian and I possessed the ability.
But regardless of whether it was Absorption or Replication, one thing was certain—Ian had possessed a “rare” ability.
After all, I did not possess a skill such as Regression [EX].
“Ian definitely returned to the past with me.”
However, Ian himself might not know that.
There was a possibility that Ian did not know I had returned to the past alongside him.
I could infer that possibility from something Ian had said to me.
We had been defeated in the Final Battle against the Emperor.
Before Ian gave me his heart, he had said this—
—Adrian.
—What?
—I have one final favor to ask. Will you do it for me?
If only he hadn’t used the word “final”.
I did not tell Ian that I would.
Final.
Ian had used that word with me.
But why had Ian called it his “final” request?
If he possessed the power of Regression, he should never have called it final.
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