Chapter 3

That incident became a trauma for Leonel, causing him to suffer for the rest of his life, even until his dying moment. Leonel’s mental state deteriorated to the point where he experienced hallucinations of Amelia appearing before him. Raphael took advantage of Leonel’s vulnerability and pushed him further.

Being neither a proper Siegfried nor a fully grown individual, Leonel was expected to grow stronger despite being half-flawed. Under such circumstances, his personality could not properly form. Naturally, Leonel deteriorated to the point where he was beyond help.

“Did he ever acknowledge him as his son?”

From the beginning, Raphael never recognized Leonel as his son. He didn’t even pass down the middle name ‘Lloyd’ to Leonel. Leonel was an accidental child, born from a loveless relationship. And there were even plausible excuses for that.

Leonel couldn’t fully utilize the power of the Siegfried family. He lacked the ability to wield the full power that came with Siegfried blood. Even after some time, he could only command a few lower-level demons.

“Besides, how much did Amelia resent the child…”

While Raphael inflicted wounds upon Leonel with his indifference and coldness, the biggest problem was Amelia, his mother. She blamed all her misfortunes on Leonel.

If Leonel had been born healthy, she wouldn’t have suffered like this. It became a daily habit for her to hurl insults at Leonel, and the verbal abuse even escalated to physical violence. In the end, she tried to take Leonel’s life and ended up losing her own.

All of this in front of a young child.

Such misfortune, there was no other misfortune like it.

“…….”

The negative habits of the previous generation continued into the next generation. Even within the grand ducal family, Sierra, the female protagonist, is the only one who sympathizes with Leonel. When Leonel received affection for the first time, he couldn’t regain his sanity. But the problem was that Sierra’s love for Leonel was not romantic.

“Ah, my head hurts…”

Leonel’s obsession with Sierra was the obvious result. They say blood never goes anywhere, and Sierra’s love became the catalyst for Leonel’s complete awakening.

‘Why did it have to be Amelia Seraphin…’

“I will come in.”

Perhaps because I was too immersed in my thoughts, I didn’t hear the knock on the door. When I saw May entering with a trolley, I quickly stood up from my seat.

“Ma’am?”

“Oh… I didn’t hear the knock…”

“I didn’t knock. As you can see, my hands are full.”

It’s not that she didn’t just not hear it, but that she didn’t knock at all. Amelia was at a loss for words at May’s confident statement.

“I told you I was bringing a meal.”

She remained silent as she looked at the food spread out on the bedside table. Did Amelia always eat her meals in the room like this?

“Then, I will leave now.”

“Just a moment.”

May acted as if she wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible. Wasn’t it customary for her to stay until she finished her meal? Of course, other maids could take over, but May’s attitude was very rude.

“I don’t want to eat.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to eat. Bring something else.”

The scowl on her face was obvious. Now that she thought about it, memories were starting to come back. The people who had been subtly tormenting Leonel were within the family. Even after Raphael’s death and Leonel becoming the head of the Siegfried grand duchy, the family still didn’t acknowledge Leonel.

“It was you…”

“What are you talking about?”

Despite being asked to bring the food again, May remained rooted to the spot like a tree. Amelia raised her hand and slowly dropped the plate to the ground.

“I can’t eat this anymore. Bring it again.”

“Madam!”

“Your Highness. You should be calling me Your Highness.”

Her position within the grand duchy was that of a hostess in name only, whom even the servants could ignore. The problem was that they applied the same treatment to Leonel. May not only acted as her watchdog but also continued to trigger Leonel’s trauma in a very subtle way, using the loneliness of a child.

“If you do this, the floor will have to be cleaned again…!”

“All you see is the dirty floor in front of your eyes. You can’t even see that I’m angry.”

The power struggle between the powerless duchess and the head maid who held the real power in this house had already been tilted for a long time, even if it wasn’t openly revealed. Amelia tugged at the corner of her mouth at the sight of May biting her lip, obviously angry at her words.

“Bring it back quickly.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

The Grand Ducal family was so stagnant and rotten that she didn’t even know where to start. May seemed to think that her behavior was just a whim. Even if she was just a powerless duchess, Amelia’s words could not be ignored. Besides, she’d been known to often have fits of anger, so May seemed to assume this would be one of those times.

“Then, I will bring the meal again.”

Her attitude was one of reluctance; she didn’t even want to bow her head. Fortunately, it seemed that she hadn’t given birth to Leonel yet. If Leonel had been here, any servant would have told her about him.

“I guess it’s a blessing in disguise.”

The food surprisingly arrived in a short amount of time. It seemed like making a scene had an effect. Amelia couldn’t help but smile at the well-organized appearance of the maids.

“But do I have to have meals brought to my room every time?”

“Well…”

She wasn’t confined to her room, so the arrangement seemed strange.

“I’m not unwell, and it’s suffocating to stay only in the room.”

“Madam, no, Your Highness, it’s what you commanded.”

She, I mean, Amelia—wanted this?

“You said that you didn’t want to see the young master, so you’ll only have meals in your room from now on.”

***

There was only one person in the household who could be called young master.

“Leonel….”

Leonel Siegfried. Naturally, she thought he hadn’t been born yet, so Amelia was surprised to hear that Leonel already existed. She even declared that she wouldn’t look at his face because she found him unpleasant.

“Where is he, where is Leonel?”

“Yes…?”

“I need to see Leonel right away.”

How old is Leonel now? Amelia left the world when Leonel turned six. It was a death she decided on her own, but she couldn’t believe that Raphael had no influence over that death. At some point, Amelia wasn’t in her right mind.

“Your Highness!”

“You can’t leave.”

If it weren’t for the hands that grabbed her, preventing her from springing out like a coiled spring, Amelia would have opened the door and rushed out sooner.

“The Young Master has left with His Highness the Grand Duke to patrol the boundary.”

“Patrol the boundary…?”

Patroling the boundary was a plausible cover. In reality, it involved hunting monsters. Anything and everything. They hunted new demonic beasts and sometimes even hunted humans. Are you telling me he took a child into such a brutal environment? Right now?

“He took Leonel with him? He was in the castle just until a moment ago.”

Leaving for boundary patrol meant, at the very least, she wouldn’t be able to see Leonel today. Raphael had demanded a harsh awakening for Leonel, who hadn’t yet manifested his abilities.

“Taking that child to the boundary… Can’t we send someone right away?”

“Please calm down, Madam.”

“…May.”

Now was not the time for her to casually have a meal here. Once Leonel went for boundary patrol, he couldn’t leave his room. Because he was being forced to amplify his power, he suffered from a severe fever. Probably, no one in the Grand Ducal residence was unaware of this fact, but the maids in front of her seemed indifferent, as though nothing was wrong.

“It’s not something extraordinary. People from the Siegfried family go for boundary patrol from a young age. The Young Master is old enough, Madam.”

May hated Leonel. He was Raphael’s child, the one she would never have, so she made great efforts to control and keep him in her hands.