“Who else could it be?”

No matter how he looked, she was the spitting image of Luise.

Who in their right mind would dig out Eclace’s features from this child?

“My mommy did!”

“…So only your mother, then.”

He had wondered if anyone else thought the same, but of course—it was Luise. She must have been desperate to see Eclace in the child.

Annoyance flared hot in his chest.

“I told you. Your mother is a liar.”

“You’re the liar, bad man!”

“Denying it won’t make it true, brat.”

“You’re the one denying! Eve’s not a brat!”

“You are a brat.”

Shed pressed his hand lightly against her head, flattening it. Her cheeks puffed round in sulky defiance.

‘Hah. What am I even doing, wasting time with a creature no bigger than a chestnut…’

Realizing his own absurdity, Shed shook his head.

He went to the table and picked up a box of matches. Tapping it against his palm, the box slid open, revealing the neat row inside.

“You’d better practice hiding that ability.”

Striking one against the red-tipped strip, a small flame flared at the end of the stick.

“But I don’t know how!”

Eve snapped, her face screwed up. Beneath her pout was the sting of frustration—angry at herself for failing.

Her mother had explained what it felt like, over and over, but she had no sense of it.

“With practice, you’ll manage somehow.”

Lighting a candle, Shed then reached for a small pin from the desk.

He held it to the flame until the silver tip glowed red with heat.

“You’ll practice with me.”

He moved toward Eve and sat down beside her.

Sensing instantly what he intended, Eve shrank back, burying herself deep into the armchair.

“No! I’m scared!”

What child would welcome the prick of a needle?

No—what person would?

And Shed himself could feel no comfort in the thought of stabbing such a small, fragile thing.

But he was already the “bad man.”

So he resolved to play the villain gladly.

To keep Eve’s power hidden. And to keep Luise’s sin from being exposed.

“If you can’t conceal that power, scary people will take your mother away.”

“Why…?”

“That power…”

Was a sin in itself.

Shed’s gaze dropped to the carpet.

It was too complicated a matter to explain to a child.

“Listen carefully. If you don’t hide it, you’ll be in danger too. And your mother could die.”

At those words, tears welled in Eve’s eyes until a drop slid down her cheek.

“Mommy… will die…?”

“Yes. She will.”

Shed delivered the truth with a cold face.

He hadn’t wanted to burden such a small child with this talk, but the matter was too urgent to leave unsaid.

He had fought countless battles. Since the age of ten, he had stood at the frontlines, watching scene after scene unfold.

The dazed ones, the ones crying in fear, the reckless fools flaunting bravado—all of them had died.

Good or bad, it didn’t matter. Life was lost just as simply.

War never spared the young. And Eve, simply for possessing the power of a heretic, was already standing in the middle of a battlefield.

Complacency would only breed greater disaster.

“So learn to hide it. No matter what.”

Shed stroked Eve’s head as she sniffled.

Rubbing her tearstained eyes with the back of her hand, Eve lifted her gaze.

“For Mommy…?”

“…And for yourself.”

He spoke in a low, steady voice.

On her little face appeared a look of unchildlike seriousness, lips pressed tight, a flicker of resolve glimmering above them. That such a tiny head could carry resolve so well—it was almost impressive.

“In return, if you learn to hide your power well, I’ll give you a reward.”

“A reward?”

At her question, Shed bent his knees to meet her eyes.

“I’ll grant you one wish.”

“Really?”

At last, the smile returned to her face, washing away her earlier tears.

“Yes.”

“You have to promise!”

Her heart fluttered at the thought, that a man like a king would grant her any wish she asked.

Should she ask to wear a crown? Or maybe to go with Mommy to a grand library filled with books?

“But in return, you must keep this contract secret from your mother.”

Shed calmed the excited child and proposed one more promise.

If Luise found out about this, she would surely try to stop it. And even if she couldn’t, she would suffer more than the child herself.

“A contract…? A secret?”

“To protect your mother.”

“It’s in fairy tales! A secret knight!”

Her eyes shone so easily, so purely.

“…Yes, something like a secret knight.”

Whatever storybook she had read, Shed decided to let it stand at that.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

Because Shed had allowed her free movement, Luise could enter the storage room where old newspapers and bulletins were kept.

She chose the issues published during the years when her eyes and ears had been closed off, and carried them back to her room.

There was quite a stack, built up over time, but finding the articles about Shed Lester was not difficult.

His name blazed across the front pages, in the largest headlines.

The first thing that caught her eye were the bold letters on a special edition:

[The Engagement of the Century Falls Through! The High Priestess Turns Away from House Lester]

It was the news of Shed Lester and Giselle Marlhein’s broken betrothal.

As Carlisle had said, the two had decided to part ways around the time Shed left for the Blancas front.

It was Giselle Marlhein who first demanded the break.

As High Priestess, she never openly condemned him, but she had made it clear enough that the fault lay with Shed.

The arrows of public scorn turned wholly upon him.

[The Arrogant Fall of a Beast That Never Knew Its Place.]

The press declared that Giselle’s decision stemmed from the fact that Duke Shed Lester could no longer produce an heir. For such a man to hold a ducal seat was absurd.

 [A Dog With Nothing Below the Waist!]

The damages House Lester would face due to the broken match were said to be astronomical…

Through all the scandal, not once did Shed speak. He offered no reply, and simply departed for the battlefield.

Luise stopped reading midway through the torrent of accusations hurled against him. Because among those accusations, she felt the weight of her own guilt.

It was because of her that Giselle had decided to end it.

Luise shoved aside the papers from that period. And she sneered.

Shed Lester and Luise Ideana had dragged each other down mercilessly. Neither had been able to let go, binding themselves in misfortune and ill fate.

Perhaps now, she even understood why Shed had sought her out.

To shatter her all over again, the woman who had tasted even a fleeting happiness with Eve.

Luise skipped through several files, scanning the articles from around the time of the Blancas war.

After flipping through a few months’ worth, Shed’s name once again dominated the front page.

[Duke Lester Missing, Imperial Forces Retreat from the Tur Front]

It was news that she had never heard from Carlisle before.

She devoured the newspaper instantly.

‘During the war… he went missing?’

According to the reports, he had become isolated in battle and vanished. The tide had swiftly turned, with article after article predicting the Empire’s defeat.

When Shed did not return for a week, House Lester began preparing to appoint a new head. There were moves to declare him dead in battle, and to replace the heirless duke with his uncle, High Priest Dietrich Lester.

Since the law forbade a High Priest from heading a house, articles speculated that Dietrich was considering shedding his robes.

And then—

[The Undefeated Hero Returns Alive! Comes Back Bearing the Enemy General’s Head!]

She returned bearing victory.

Nevertheless, he could not escape censure. It was publicly revealed that he was no longer able to wield Aura.

Once again, people pointed the finger and raised their voices in anger. They demanded that he take responsibility for the losses incurred.

A Lupus. A Sword Master. A man of overwhelming power. And thus, all the easier to overthrow.

He was branded a ‘useless relic’ and jeered at for losing his Aura. Some even claimed that his ducal title and rights should be revoked, as he had only held them because he was a Sword Master.

It was staggering.

He had raised House Lester to unprecedented heights. He had brought the Empire countless victories and glory. He had saved the Empire in its darkest hour. And yet he had so easily become the target of hatred.

He was Lupus.

He was prey to be torn apart; an object of envy; a stain that some still found intolerable.

Finally, Luise saw the other side of Shed Lester’s glory.

She had thought he was living well.

Eclace had always spoken as if Shed only basked in the pure light of honor.

And he had achieved enough to deserve such treatment.

So why…?

‘Why had Eclace twisted the truth when he told me?’

Luise’s fingertips brushed the ink-stained surface of the old paper.

Had Eclace kept it from her for her own good?

Was it truly only for her own benefit?

Her fingers paused at a corner of the paper.

Next to the article about Shed’s disappearance was another article about House Vitel, which had made huge profits by supplying the military with goods to help resolve the Empire’s crisis.