3.7

“I’m not trying to burden you with the responsibility of Julian. As you know, Julian is not easy to handle. I judged that for him to lead a stable life within my domain, it was most important for him to marry and settle down quickly. If you have any thoughts of living with Julian, I wanted to give you the first choice. If you refuse, I’ll have to find another suitable match.”

Having decided to accept Julian, Hendrick seemed to be preparing for that possibility to some extent. It somehow looked like he was trying to pass a troublesome burden onto someone else, though. Vanessa didn’t know how to respond to the Earl’s proposal and remained silent.

“It’s not an urgent matter, so take your time to think about it while living with him.”

The Earl continued to say what he wanted and dismissed her. Burdened with a heavy dilemma, Vanessa’s steps were heavy. Unable to leave, she hesitated at the door and then approached the Earl again.

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“They say Viscount Sven was once a squire at the Arenshen family. Why was he expelled and became a knight for Earl Plar? Is that related to the bad blood between Julian and Sven?”

When she voiced the small doubt that had been troubling her, Earl Hendrick’s eyes suddenly gleamed sharply.

“They say curiosity killed the cat.”

She expected the Earl’s reaction wouldn’t be pleasant, as it was a question that stirred up an old incident. However, she didn’t expect him to react so sensitively, as if caught off guard.

“It seems like it was an impertinent question. I apologize.”

When she quickly bowed her head in apology, the Earl’s stiff expression softened slightly.

The story about Julian and Sven’s animosity couldn’t be told without revealing family secrets. If Vanessa were to be connected to Julian, she would eventually learn the story, so it wouldn’t hurt to tell her first. She didn’t seem like the type to gossip around.

He poured wine into two glasses, filled one, and offered it to Vanessa.

“If I tell you the truth, can you keep it a secret?”

Vanessa swallowed dryly as she looked down at the red wine rippling in the glass.

“It won’t bring any disgrace to your reputation, my Lord.”

“I’ll trust those words.”

The glasses clinked together, and the bittersweet liquid was swallowed down their throats.

One glass, two glasses. The two silently emptied nearly half the wine. Earl Hendrick stared into space, unable to speak easily. By the time his pupils, soaked in intoxication, slightly unfocused, Vanessa also felt a burning heat throughout her body.

“Seventeen years ago, a woman came with a boy. Before being disgracefully expelled for an illegitimate pregnancy, she had been a maid in the castle. She refused to say who the father was at the time of her pregnancy, but later claimed that her ten-year-old son bore the blood of the Arenshen family. She had intended to keep it a secret for life and live quietly, but when she contracted tuberculosis and was about to die, she couldn’t leave her young son alone, so she begged for mercy to look after Julian until he became an adult.”

The shocking revelation sobered Vanessa, and her mind, which had been hazy, returned. 

Julian, an illegitimate child of the Arenshen family? Then he was a half-brother to Earl Hendrick?

However, Vanessa couldn’t find any resemblance between Hendrick and Julian. Hendrick’s hair and eye colors were different from Julian’s, and his skin was pale as if blue blood flowed through it. While Hendrick had a delicate and noble appearance like a marble statue crafted by an artist, Julian had a raw, wild charm like a cliff eroded by wind and rain.

Earl Hendrick’s expression turned icy as he faced the shocked Vanessa.

“It’s not surprising. I resemble my mother, and Julian has a similar appearance to our father.”

“Oh, no, it was just unexpected. I apologize if I offended you.”

Hendrick quietly wet his dry throat with wine. There was no other reason for him to have tolerated Julian’s unruly behavior all this time. Blood is thicker than water, and he couldn’t bring himself to cast out his half-brother.

“My father accepted the plea without a word, and my mother fell ill. Julian’s mother left and never returned. Only my parents and I knew that Julian was my father’s illegitimate child. Even Julian himself didn’t know.”

However, Julian’s innate martial spirit was impossible to hide. Despite the arduous labor he endured all day like the other squires, Julian never neglected his swordsmanship training.

Julian, who grew day by day, was nothing but a thorn in the side of Sven, who was then a squire. Sven tried to crush Julian’s budding talent as a swordsman before it could blossom.

There was little need to explain the relationship between Julian and Sven. Julian was prey for Sven to bite and tear at like a wolf. No matter how cruelly he was tormented, Julian couldn’t resist, and there was no one to stop the bullying. All Julian could do was endure and survive each day.

“About five years later, Julian left the castle on his own accord. He must have set out to find his mother, who never returned despite waiting. Having already seen my parents argue over the issue of her funeral, I thought Julian would never return once he learned of his mother’s death. There was no reason to endure the pain and stay in this castle.”

However, for some reason, Julian returned to the Arenshen castle of his own accord. Although his appearance was no different from before he left, a deep darkness had settled within him.

“My father told me that Julian’s eyes were filled with poison. At the time, I didn’t understand what he meant.”

Hendrick said as he poured wine into Vanessa’s glass until it was full. The wine, brimming to the edge, seemed ready to spill with the slightest disturbance.

“It was full of anger, ready to spill over at any moment. And it wasn’t long before something happened.”

As usual, during a sparring session, Sven provoked Julian and incited his anger. Normally, Julian would have swallowed the insult, but he drove Sven as if to kill him. Perhaps he really intended to kill him. Despite others trying to stop him, Julian relentlessly attacked Sven and knocked him down. Severely injured, Sven didn’t wake up until the next day.

“Hearing about the incident, my father resolved it by expelling Sven from the domain instead of punishing Julian. He even appointed Julian as a squire. It was an unofficial gesture of accepting Julian as a son. Although it caused my mother to fall ill again, my father didn’t reverse his decision. Fortunately, Julian, knowing nothing, simply thought he was favored due to his exceptional skill. He pledged his loyalty to me as his lord. It was unpleasant for me, but outwardly, the relationship between Julian and me wasn’t bad. Until the Holy War broke out.”

The Holy War occurred eight years ago, before Vanessa married Sir Michael. All the renowned knights in the country gathered to eradicate the pagans, including Sven, who had become a knight for Earl Plar after being expelled from the Arenshen family. Though they stood on the same side under the holy banner, Julian and Sven fought as if competing to achieve glory and obtain valuable spoils on the battlefield.

One day, they both targeted the pagan cavalry commander. When the commander suffered a fatal wound from Julian’s sword and fell from his horse, Sven seized the opportunity and delivered the final blow, beheading the enemy.

Each having their own merits, neither yielded in the process of dividing the spoils, leading to a verbal argument. When they were about to draw swords on each other, the lords intervened to mediate the conflict.

As a result, Julian retained the black warhorse he had been riding, and Sven took possession of the cavalry commander’s beautiful wife, Jamila.

Just when it seemed the incident was resolved, a few days later, Jamila appeared in Julian’s quarters in a terrible state. Sven, who followed her, said he had lost interest in Jamila for some reason and handed the woman over to Julian.

“You know how female prisoners of war are treated. My father told me not to keep a broken pagan woman close and to drive her away. But Julian foolishly felt sorry for her. Pagans see r*ped women as adulterers, so if she returned to her hometown, she’d surely be stoned to death. Julian felt responsible for her misfortune, so he said he would take responsibility to the end.”

It was only later that it became known that Jamila had failed to avenge her husband’s death by Sven and fled to Julian’s tent. Sven, not wanting to dirty his hands, intended to hurt Julian through Jamila, so he deliberately handed her over. Unaware of this, Julian simply pitied the abused Jamila.