Chapter 10 – The Master of the Northern Social Circle (Part 9)

Paddington, who received the order, hurriedly ran out. The Marquis of Istorium advised that the soldiers should be prepared before Viverna arrived at Speraum Castle with her knights.

“I agree with your opinion, Marquis, but we must wait for now.”

“Wait? Why?”

“We need to reveal that Viverna had the intention to kill me in order to take the Speraum Castle from her.”

Tartenon’s eyes shone coldly. Reading the icy emotions in his blue eyes, the Marquis of Istorium was filled with curiosity.

“What on earth happened at the Bego Mine?”

“A lot happened. Enough to take the Speraum Castle from one person.”

Tartenon’s eyes glistened with seething anger. The Marquis of Istorium could no longer speak.

***

Reubellina couldn’t escape from the long dream. Her whole body was drenched in cold sweat, and she heard murmuring sounds around her but couldn’t open her eyes.

Now, she was wandering in a memory of almost falling off a horse in the imperial hunting grounds as a child. As she kept falling off the horse, even her breathing became labored.

‘This is a dream.’

It couldn’t be reality. She was no longer in the capital, but in the North, with Tartenon by her side. So, this was a dream.

She kept repeating it in her mind but couldn’t open her eyes. It was difficult to move her body as if someone was pressing down on her.

Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten. She tried to move her body, clenching and unclenching her fists, but she couldn’t get up. Reubellina was engulfed in fear.

‘No!’

She had fallen off the horse, but someone had saved her. Thinking that this nightmare would end if she waited for that person, she endured.

‘Anyone, please! Save me from here!’

A silent cry echoed in her mind. Reubellina trembled all over, wishing for this moment to pass quickly. She thought it would be okay to ride a horse, but the memories she had forgotten all came back at once, driving her deeper into the abyss.

The ongoing dream came to an end as she saw the shimmering hair in her eyes. The golden hair that held sunlight turned into a familiar color to her.

‘Are you alright?’

A familiar voice was heard. Reubellina struggled to regain her senses. The hair she thought was blonde was shining brightly like silver threads.

Her eyes met the silver hair flowing over the shoulders. As the blue eyes filled with worry looked at her, Reubellina blinked.

‘Fairy…?’

‘What?’

Reubellina, who barely moved her lips, realized. The person who saved her was not Inferno.

The person who saved her from danger as a child and disappeared was not Inferno but Tartenon.

Someone held her hand. Feeling the warmth transmitted through her fingertips, Reubellina struggled to lift her heavy eyelids. The blue eyes filled with the same worry as back then were looking at her face.

“Are you alright?”

It was a voice similar to back then. Reubellina smiled with relief and closed her eyes again.

***

Tartenon sat on the Grand Duke’s throne in the chamber. Beside him were the Marquis of Istorium and the nobles who supported Tartenon.

All of Tartenon’s movements were kept secret. Due to the Marquis of Istorium’s instructions, the fact that Tartenon was alive was thoroughly concealed. Thus, the Grand Duke’s chamber was tightly closed.

The few knights and soldiers who saw Tartenon in the outer castle were summoned to the inner castle to keep their mouths shut. Since it was late, few had witnessed it, so the news didn’t spread.

When Viverna arrived, Paddington stepped forward to guide her. Viverna appeared confidently with the nobles who supported her.

Seeing Viverna, who appeared as if she had been waiting for Tartenon’s disappearance, Paddington bowed his head.

“I heard the Grand Duke is missing.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Paddington stuttered on purpose to conceal his anger.

“I heard the Bego Mine collapsed?”

“…Yes.”

Paddington didn’t respond further to Viverna’s probing words. He silently led Viverna and the nobles to the reception room.

“Why here?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Now, the only person who holds the Speraum Castle is me. So, naturally, I should become the Grand Duke, shouldn’t I?”

“But the Grand Duke is missing.”

“There’s no way he could have survived the collapsed mine.”

All the nobles present heard Viverna’s confident words. The nobles’ faces were filled with smiles. Viverna also couldn’t hide her joy. It was the moment she had longed for.

“So guide me to the Grand Duke’s chamber.”

“But Lady Viverna.”

“No buts!”

Upon hearing the news of the barbarian invasion, Tartenon’s knights had no choice but to stop their search and return to Speraum Castle. And the knights who entered the reception room witnessed the confrontation between Paddington and Viverna.

Although she couldn’t hide her anger, Viverna was the one who held the Speraum Castle. Though she had been relegated to a villa, she was still a member of the Speraum bloodline.

“What is going on here?”

Bruelin asked Paddington. Although he had predicted Viverna’s arrival, it was too soon. He momentarily shifted his gaze from Neon to Paddington.

“After hearing about the Grand Duke’s disappearance, Lady Viverna came.”

“Since Tartenon is missing, it’s only right that I, the last remaining Speraum bloodline, become the Grand Duke.”

Viverna raised her head. Though her demeanor was dignified, her intentions were vile. Her ambition to seize the Grand Duke’s position in Tartenon’s absence was clear, and she no longer appeared as the elder of the North. All the knights present thought the same.

“I heard barbarians have invaded.”

“Barbarians?”

Viverna raised her voice in surprise.

“Then I must become the Grand Duke immediately to handle this situation!”

At her excited voice, the knights’ demeanor changed. However, Viverna, unaware of this, continued with a serious face.

“We can’t let the most important border in the North be breached, so I need to get the Grand Duke’s seal.”

“Lady Viverna!”

“Don’t interfere anymore!”

Viverna, who shouted at Paddington blocking her way, pushed his shoulder. Paddington didn’t block her path again after being shoved.

No one could stop her as she walked down the corridor. Among the nobles following her, Neon, who had been watching Bruelin, joined them.

Bruelin, observing the scene, gestured to the knights. Following his command, the knights trailed behind Viverna. Unlike Neon, who moved to support Viverna’s intentions, they were preparing for any potential incidents.

“What will you do? Just watch?”

Heather whispered softly to Bruelin.

“Let’s wait for now.”

“But we haven’t found the Grand Duke.”

The stones at the entrance were almost cleared, but the problem was the secondary collapse. Just as light began to enter the entrance, the mine collapsed again. Thus, the knights couldn’t enter the mine to search for Tartenon. When the miners arrived, the search made some progress, but they had to rush back as soon as they were about to start searching for Tartenon and Reubellina in earnest.

‘The miners said they would find the Grand Duke….’

Bruelin was anxious. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants as he walked towards the chamber. If the Speraum Grand Duke’s seal fell into Viverna’s hands, there would be no turning back. That seal symbolized the Grand Duke himself.

‘What should I do, Your Grace?’

Bruelin never imagined that Tartenon and Reubellina would disappear simultaneously. His darkened eyes followed Viverna’s back.

Walking confidently, Viverna was filled with self-assurance. She felt rewarded for setting off from her villa immediately upon hearing the news. The Speraum Castle she had longed for was now entirely hers.

She was born first. Although she was a woman, she believed she was capable enough. If only the knights guarding the northern borders had pledged their loyalty to her, the Grand Duke’s position would have been hers.

But they supported her younger brother. At first, she tried to accept it.

‘But not anymore.’

An envoy from the Emperor reached her at the villa. The person sent by the Emperor kept provoking her inferiority complex, and eventually, Viverna succumbed to the flattery. As time passed after Tartenon’s birth, her anxiety reached its peak.

Her unease exploded when she heard that Tartenon had become a Sword Master. She thought this might be her only chance.

So she took the Emperor’s hand. The Emperor, wanting to keep the North in check, wanted to establish the Grand Duke of the North with his own hands, and he sent an undetectable poison to Viverna. She decided to use that poison.

‘I want the white lion’s skin, dear brother. Can you please grant your only sister’s wish?’

She asked her brother to go hunting despite the difficult times. She knew her brother always felt guilty for taking the position of the Grand Duke from her. For the blinded Viverna, there was no familial affection left.

Just before her brother went hunting, she offered him a drink. Needless to say, the Emperor’s poison was mixed into that drink. She thought if her brother died that way, she could take the Grand Duke’s position. So Viverna executed her plan without hesitation.

‘But even that wasn’t easy.’

There were more nobles supporting Tartenon than she expected, and the knights’ support was overwhelming. Viverna was driven to the villa by Tartenon, who was backed by the knights’ support. Even after fleeing to the villa, she gnashed her teeth.