The Villainous Family is Against Independence - 7 Secured

If my guess that she was being held in Irkala’s domain was true, I had to rescue Mom even more.

With Mom in the underground, there was no way I could be happy.

I asked Duke Perdia.

“Father. You were the last one to know Mom’s whereabouts, right? Do you know where she went?”

“No. I was tracking her just in case, but the trail suddenly disappeared.”

“Where?”

“Tahar.”

Tahar. If it’s Tahar, surely…

“It’s the largest gathering place for the Irkala Order.”

This provided evidence supporting my guess that Mom’s whereabouts were related to Irkala.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

Just like I entered Dad’s dream to rescue him, couldn’t I enter Mom’s dream?

‘Is it impossible?’

Instead of Sloth, Greed answered my question.

[For distant targets, a formal contract is needed. To use stronger power, a corresponding price must be paid.]

‘What if I make a contract?’

[You must have met them in person.]

Strictly speaking, Mom and I had met in person. The problem was that I was a newborn.

‘Does meeting as a newborn count?’

[Don’t know, don’t know……]

Even Sloth seemed unsure, giving an ambiguous answer.

I couldn’t offer the unreasonable price the sins demanded for something that might or might not work, so I dismissed the dream method for now.

I explained the conversation I had with Ishtar to the two who didn’t know the details.

“I think Mom is probably underground.”

“Since a god wouldn’t speak nonsense, it’s highly likely.”

Dad also agreed with my opinion. But Duke Perdia remained silent.

I could fully understand if he didn’t want to help. There was no reason for Duke Perdia to help find Mom.

Of course, it would be reassuring if we could get the power of the Perdia family, but that was purely my selfish desire.

However, Duke Perdia nodded willingly.

“I’ll help.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Arcelia is important to me too. But there’s a favor I need to ask of you, Elodie.”

“A favor, from me?”

What could Duke Perdia have to ask of me specifically? As I tilted my head in confusion, Duke Perdia averted his gaze and opened his mouth.

“……I’d like you to call me Dad.”

“What?”

“Not Father, but Dad.”

I was at a loss for words at this unexpected request. I hadn’t thought he would make such a strange demand at all.

Duke Perdia and ‘Dad’ really didn’t suit each other.

Dad answered in my place as I was speechless.

“Wouldn’t it be confusing to call both of us by the same title, Duke Perdia?”

Duke Perdia then replied coldly, frowning.

“What do you want me to do? Mind your own business.”

“……”

A crack appeared in Dad’s gentle smile.

Then he pointed at Duke Perdia and looked at me.

“Elodie. Did you hear that? That fellow used aggressive language towards me first.”

I was once again at a loss for words at Dad’s behavior of immediately tattling.

‘Wow, how childish…’

Who would believe it?

That these two men, who are supposed to be heads of their families, could be so childish…!

***

On his way back to Perdia, Sylvester thought again today.

‘I should have given birth to her after all.’

He couldn’t help but feel annoyed at ‘Dad’ Richard Severes, who was receiving all of Elodie’s affection just because he was her biological father, even though they hadn’t met for long.

He felt bitter recalling Elodie’s lovely smile as she looked at her dad with sparkling eyes.

That lucky bastard. That ill-fated Richard Severes from birth.

As he inwardly cursed Richard, he soon arrived at the Perdia mansion.

As soon as he entered his office, Carlot came looking for him as if he had been waiting.

“Father! Where’s sister?!”

He gave a short answer to Carlot, who was shouting noisily while looking around.

“At Severes.”

“Why didn’t you bring her back again!”

Carlot burst out angrily. When Sylvester silently stared at him for that rude behavior, the boy flinched, trembled, and averted his gaze.

“You didn’t meet sister today either…?”

“No. I met her.”

“……!”

“I secured 2/7.”

It was quite an achievement. Hadn’t he secured the weekends?

But Carlot, not understanding the meaning, asked with furrowed brows.

“What? What did you secure 2/7 of?”

“It means we agreed that she would stay at Perdia during the weekends.”

That alone was a great achievement, but Carlot wasn’t satisfied.

“What? That means you lost, Father!”

Once again, Carlot shouted fearlessly.

Sylvester calmly asked Carlot, who was screaming as if frustrated.

“Carlot Perdia. Do you want to go on a subjugation mission?”

“……I’m sorry.”

Carlot quickly apologized and shut his mouth. He couldn’t leave the capital at this crucial time.

Once he went on a demon beast subjugation, who knows when he’d return.

‘No. Then I won’t be able to meet sister!’

As Carlot was struggling with the crisis of demotion, Themis entered the office.

“Did the talk with Lili go well?”

“……So-so.”

At that answer, Themis, with her experience as a Duchess, immediately grasped the situation.

“It seems it wasn’t a complete failure. But not entirely successful either.”

“……Well.”

“If only you had expressed yourself earlier.”

Themis was about to nag but stopped. The one who regrets and feels most frustrated would be Sylvester himself.

In fact, even if Sylvester had treated Elodie well, it would have been hard to beat her biological father.

This was a losing battle from the start.

“Where have you been?”

At Sylvester’s question, Themis smiled elegantly.

“I went to take care of the source of some rumors. It’s been a while since I’ve done such work, so I’m a bit tired.”

The source of rumors. It referred to the newspapers that were churning out articles about Elodie.

Carlot was certain.

‘A few of Mother’s poison bottles must have disappeared.’

They probably wouldn’t die, but they’d be experiencing pain just enough to make them wish they were dead.

But he didn’t feel any pity for them.

They got off easy. How dare they publish such ridiculous articles about his sister.

Carlot himself had been considering whether to raid the newspaper offices and demolish the buildings.

Jansi, who had returned home later, entered the office.

“I heard everyone was gathered here, so I came… The atmosphere seems strange.”

“The atmosphere has been like this lately, hasn’t it? By the way, Jansi, what have you been doing to come in just now?”

To Themis’s question, Jansi answered with a gentle smile.

“Ah, I just went for a walk because I felt a bit stuffy.”

“A walk? It’s unusual for you to go out without gloves.”

As Themis said, Jansi wasn’t wearing gloves. Jansi just smiled instead of answering.

But Carlot immediately grasped why Jansi wasn’t wearing gloves.

‘He used his power.’

As he was leaving the office, Carlot casually asked Jansi.

“Brother. Did you go to annihilate something?”

“Well, there was something annoying.”

Jansi just smiled after saying that much.

He had no intention of being honest with Carlot.

After all, his innocent younger brother might be shocked if he knew that he had secretly annihilated something precious from those journalists who published such articles.

***

With each step Richard took, it felt as if people’s gazes were sticking to him from everywhere.

Given that it was the return of the Duke of Severes after 20 years, it was inevitable that he was still a topic of conversation even now, several days after his return.

The reason he came to the Imperial Palace today, unable to spend precious time with his daughter, was to have an audience with the Emperor.

After several postponements due to the Emperor’s poor health, he was finally able to meet him today.

Severes, who was heading towards the Emperor’s bedroom, slowly came to a stop.

An unfamiliar yet familiar face was walking towards him from the opposite direction. It was the First Prince Adenmir.

“……Duke Severes.”

The other party also recognized him and stopped.

“When I last saw you, you were very young, but you’ve grown so much. You’ve grown up splendidly, Your Highness.”

Well, enough time had passed for an unborn baby in the womb to grow into a full-grown adult.

“I remember you, Duke Severes. I’m glad to hear you’ve recovered your health.”

Richard suddenly recalled that the First Prince before him was his daughter Elodie’s fiancé according to the records.

In fact, the first thing he did upon waking up was to investigate Elodie’s life history, so he knew in detail how she had lived.

Of course, he also knew that the First Prince had treated Elodie as a formal fiancée and recently ended up breaking off the engagement.

Suddenly, Adenmir, who had only seemed admirable for growing up well, started to look irritating.

‘How dare he toy with my daughter, such a lovable child……’

As Richard’s gaze changed, Adenmir furrowed his brow.

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“Duke Severes. Do you have something to say?”

“What is Your Highness’s ideal type?”

Adenmir couldn’t answer the sudden question. Richard then said to Adenmir,

“Don’t live like that.”

And then he just walked past him.

“……?”

Adenmir didn’t know. The fact that he had been gloriously eliminated from the list of potential son-in-law candidates.

***

Click.

The door closed behind him. Richard headed towards the bed where the Emperor would be lying.

The Emperor, who was sitting up, turned his head.

“I always wondered if you would wake up before I died, and here we are meeting again.”

“I am in the presence of Your Majesty. I apologize for my disloyalty in visiting you so late.”

Richard knelt on one knee and greeted formally.

The Emperor laughed heartily at the sight of the same old-fashioned vassal, no different from 20 years ago.

“Rise. Aren’t you at an age where you should be mindful of your knees?”

It was a joke that didn’t apply to Richard, who had reached a transcendent state.

Unlike his past state of being almost a living corpse, the Emperor’s health had improved significantly due to consistently taking antidotes.

“How is your health, Your Majesty?”

“I don’t think I’ll die right away, so it’s not something for you to worry about.”

The Emperor gestured for him to sit in the chair next to the bed.

Meeting the master of Severes after such a long time, the Emperor felt both glad and conflicted.

Twenty years ago, when the head of the family fell critically ill, the Severes family subsequently closed itself off.

Of course, the vassals stepped up to lead the family’s business, but it wasn’t easy without the head of the family. However, Severes somehow survived.

Thus, although their power was weaker than before, Severes was still Severes.

Naturally, the Severes family remained neutral in the current succession struggle.

In the fraternal strife over the imperial throne, both factions would try to draw Severes to their side.

This was precisely the situation the Emperor was concerned about.

‘A storm of blood is inevitable……’

He smiled bitterly.

As a father, he loved both his sons, Adenmir and Beltran. Even though the Empress had poisoned him and turned him into a puppet, he couldn’t resent the son born from her womb.

He couldn’t help it even if people pointed fingers at his foolish choice to embrace even the Empress because she was his woman.

He had failed to become a great monarch.

“Your power could change the tide, so I hope you’ll decide carefully.”

But Richard’s answer was quite unexpected.

“I apologize, but I don’t have the strength to spare for such matters.”

“……What?”

“I don’t even have enough time to spend with my daughter.”

The Emperor’s expression changed peculiarly. Suddenly, a daughter?

“Daughter? Aren’t you unmarried?”

“Yes. I am unmarried.”

“Then, did you have a hidden daughter? I didn’t take you for that type.”

It was common for people to fool around before marriage and have illegitimate children, so he could have had a child before falling into a coma.

But he didn’t think Richard Severes was that kind of person……

As the Emperor’s misunderstanding deepened, Richard first revealed his daughter’s identity.

“Your Majesty will soon find out anyway, so I’ll tell you first. My daughter’s name is Elodie.”

Elodie. Elodie?

It was a name the Emperor knew as well.

No way. Could it be?

“……Do you mean Elodie Perdia?”

Richard gently but firmly corrected the Emperor’s words.

“It’s Elodie Severes.”

Not Perdia or anything else.