There was still a final procedure to pay respects before moving the Baron’s body to the temple. After hearing such rumors, she didn’t know what to do.

Lucilia couldn’t bring herself to open the door and just bit her nails anxiously.

Aaron would be at the Baron’s quarters by now.

She was afraid to see him.

There was no way he hadn’t heard the rumors.

Did Aaron think the same as them?

What if he considered her the cause and pushed her away?

What if she went and only received resentment?

But she couldn’t not mourn her father-in-law either.

Even if she would be driven out, it was right to do what she ought to.

Though her heart was racing wildly, Lucilia pretended to be calm.

There was no time to collect herself after the sudden bad news, but if she didn’t show her face, it would only make the rumors grow.

Just as she resolved to walk out bravely, she heard flustered movements outside the door.

“The, the young master is… wa, watching us. When did he leave the Baron’s room?”

“He can’t hear us from there, so keep your eyes down and stay still.”

Judging by the unclear pronunciation, they seemed to be chattering without moving their lips.

As Aaron appeared to be coming this way, Lucilia panicked even more than the maids.

‘Should I pretend to be asleep? No, how could I lie around sleeping at a time like this?’

‘If he’s coming to greet me, shouldn’t he come quickly? Will he scold me for dawdling…’

Lucilia took a deep breath and opened the door before Aaron could barge in.

The maids had already stepped aside, and Aaron was walking toward her from about five steps away.

In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance, came straight in, and reached behind to grab the doorknob.

He glared fiercely at the maids.

“You will pay the price for despising your master.”

“De-despising? That’s absurd! We respect the young master more than anyone. Really!”

“I’m not your only master, am I?”

Aaron’s sideways glance briefly touched Lucilia before falling away.

SLAM—!

The door closed violently, charged with emotion. Lucilia tensed up, realizing that Aaron’s mood was dangerously disturbed because of her, the source of the rumors.

As long as she held the position of mistress of Tudra, the malicious rumors would never stop.

How irritated he must be, never having peace of mind because of her.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Enough of that, just take this.”

He seemed tired of her apologies.

Aaron cut her off, pulled her hand, and placed something on it.

It was the pearl rosary he had taken to check for evil energy.

“There’s nothing unusual, so I’m returning it to you.”

Of all days, he returned it on the day the Baron died.

Everyone was saying the witch had cursed the Baron and driven him to death, but did Aaron not care?

It seemed like he was telling her that he believed in her, and she felt choked up.

Though she had committed no crime, she wanted to explain that it wasn’t her doing.

“What are you doing? Come on.”

Aaron threw open the door to accompany her to bid farewell to his father.

It felt like being led out of a space filled with fear.

Sunlight streamed down in diagonal lines onto the long corridor.

* * *

The Baron’s body was already cold.

Aaron showed no sadness at all while looking at his father, who had stiffened like a block of wood.

He was so dry that one might question if any parent-child affection remained.

She wondered if she would face Marquis Teneri with such barren emotions if he died.

Lucilia frowned as if bitter water was rising in her throat.

He spoke in a monotonous tone, seemingly without even a trace of bitterness.

“Our family fell when my grandfather was branded a traitor. After our title was stripped, we threw ourselves into any profitable work, from trade to mercenary work, without discrimination.”

“I know that from what I’ve heard.”

“Last evening, Father told me. Colon… that man made our family like this.”

For a moment, Lucilia’s eyes opened as wide as candy. She was too shocked to speak.

Why the Pope? For what reason?

The Artnal family had minimal influence on the state.

It would be different if it were Teneri.

It was because of their influence that the Pope had allied with the Teneri family.

She remained silent, finding it difficult to understand the reasoning, and Aaron exhaled deeply. It was a profound sigh rarely heard from him.

“Haaah… The birth of a hero. How could a single damned prophecy exterminate a family?”

“Pro…phecy?”

A feeling of her soul rising sensitively struck Lucilia.

The words “birth of a hero” had clearly flowed from Aaron’s lips.

The moment she heard those words, she suddenly got goosebumps.

It was all related to the oracle.

My beloved daughter.

Satisfy the hunger of the flesh. Do not hesitate to bloom fully.

You shall be eternally subordinate to the hero of radiance, drinking in joy from him and letting pain flow away.

I shall protect you with compassion, so you shall be completely freed from bondage.

It was the Pope who had branded the previous Baron a traitor and made him completely disappear from noble society.

The Pope’s wariness of Aaron was evidence that the “hero” in the oracle was Aaron.

What was the Pope’s intention in crushing Aaron and leaving Lucilia alone…

While the hero born in the humble Artnal family could be easily cut off at the sprout, the Marquis’s family was different.

It seemed that rather than becoming enemies, they had sought ways to coexist. By the Papal Office recognizing the saint, they had essentially become allies.

Then how much did the Pope know?

Based on the circumstances, it didn’t seem like he knew the original content of the oracle.

If he had known that the hero in the oracle was Aaron, he would have captured and killed him somehow. Since he hadn’t gone that far, it seemed he only knew the “birth of a hero” part.

‘It was good that I changed “hero of radiance” to “nation of radiance.”’

“Father knew how vicious the Pope was. That’s why he was careful in everything to avoid falling out of favor. That’s also why he was wary of you.”

Since the Pope’s hand reached everywhere, he had hidden the truth to protect his son.

If the content of the oracle had been revealed to the world as it was, the Pope would certainly have burned Lucilia at the stake.

He wouldn’t stand by and watch the saint and the hero unite.

“But why did they let the hero, the young baron, live?”

“Because I was useful. They tamed me as the Marquis’s hunting dog to lead wars to victory, and used that fame to increase their influence. They used our family to supply mercenaries and expanded their commercial power.”

“Commercial power…? You mean the wine distribution?”

Aaron’s explanation continued at length.

The collusion between the Marquis’s family and the Pope was incredibly deep.

A significant portion of the profits from the wine produced at the monastery went to the Pope. Since distribution was necessary for profits to occur, they used the Marquis’s family.

The Marquis, who transported wine to nobles in various regions, also took enormous profits, so they had helped each other.

Aaron gritted his teeth as he thought of the Pope.

“The Pope is our enemy. As for your father, he has now knelt before His Majesty, so we just need to watch.”

“Our… enemy.”

Though they were married, communication with Aaron was blocked by an invisible wall.

But from now on, they would enter a new phase and become allies.

It was impossible to know how far the resentful Pope would go to vent his anger.

Whether he would limit it to the Marquis’s family, including Lucilia, or extend his reach to the Baron’s family.

Whatever it was, Aaron was not the type to remain silent. Conflict was all but inevitable.

Lucilia fingered the rosary beads and moved her lips.

“The rumors about me never stop. Even until the moment the Baron passed away, terrible things were being said… I’m so sorry.”

“It won’t die down easily, so bear it silently. As I told you before, fulfill your duties as a member of the Baron’s family. Then someday, you’ll be able to start anew.”

Lucilia thought of the ecosystem of the nobility.

They considered bearing heirs a duty.

Having married Aaron, Lucilia couldn’t escape this fate either.

It would only be possible if he planted his seed, but he showed no intention of embracing her.

She shuddered at the thought of seducing him first, as it seemed too immodest.

To think that these were her thoughts in front of her father-in-law’s corpse.