The Villainous Family is Against Independence

Willentia was fortunately unharmed. But Somnia, at least, had been in genuine danger, and that was something she could say with confidence. There had been quite the uproar, and it had taken considerable effort to stop Carlot from going berserk and trying to use his power to kill everyone. Jansi had been wearing his characteristic scheming smile, so she had thought he was fine, but at some point the gloves he had been wearing were gone. He had lost control of his power.

‘One wrong move and Somnia might truly have vanished from the map…’

After being treated by a physician who had come running with mismatched shoes, not even having had time to put them on properly, she found herself surrounded by a great many people. Dad Severes and Dad Perdia, the Duchess and Jansi, Carlot, and even Adenmir, now Crown Prince. Raeyan had taken Lubomiros to a guest room under the pretext of keeping watch. Six pairs of eyes looked down at her with an oppressive weight. In the awkward atmosphere, she fidgeted and asked Dad Perdia.

“Are you all right? Should you really have come like this?”

“I am not the kind of trash who can lie around comfortably when Elodie has been kidnapped.”

At that, Dad Severes gave a small smile and asked.

“Could you not have simply stayed in bed?”

“Know your place, Richard Severes.”

“I was expressing concern.”

“I want none of your concern.”

“How hurtful.”

The two dads started bickering without fail, same as ever. She was at a loss, wondering if this was really all right with the Crown Prince himself sitting right there, when the Duchess cupped her cheeks and drew her attention back.

“Never mind those childish dads, Lili.”

“Ahaha.”

“There is a more important conversation to be had, is there not?”

An important conversation? She tilted her head, and the Duchess opened her mouth with resolve.

“Now, repeat after me, Lili.”

“Yes.”

“I will not follow strangers.”

“I will not follow stran… Excuse me, Duchess. I did not follow anyone!”

She had been kidnapped in the blink of an eye by someone’s power! But the Duchess was unyielding.

“Who knows what might happen next time? You may not realize it yourself, Lili, but you have a naive and gentle side to you, and I have a feeling that if someone in trouble asked for your help you would just go trotting right along…”

“Hmm.”

Adenmir, why are you just sitting there nodding along in silence?

“Now, you need to repeat after me.”

“I will not follow strangers…”

Honestly, the Duchess was probably right that she would follow someone if they were in trouble…

“Next, repeat after me. I will not get hurt carelessly.”

“It is not as though I wanted to get hur-.”

“Lili?”

The Duchess opened her fan and smiled with her eyes. Under the silent pressure, she repeated the Duchess’s words with a sulk.

“I will not get hurt carelessly…”

“Good. No matter what happens, your safety comes first. Sacrifice? Devotion? Consider those words to no longer exist. Understood?”

She nodded vigorously. Her chest near her heart throbbed and yet tingled at the same time. Having someone who worries about you really is such a wonderful thing. She was smiling softly when she met eyes with Adenmir, who was leaning against the sofa with his arms crossed. She had heard that because of her kidnapping happening on the very day of his investiture ceremony, he had not been able to attend the celebratory banquet and had gone straight to join the search.

“I am sorry for causing a commotion on the day of the Crown Prince investiture.”

“No apology is needed. It was not the Lady’s fault.”

Whether he had come the moment he heard she had returned while still mid-search, Adenmir looked unusually disheveled. His face had been so full of life at the investiture, but now shadows sat beneath his eyes and gave him a sharp, severe look. Seeing that face, a worry she could not quite explain rose in her mind.

‘Surely he does not think it was his fault?’

The place she had been kidnapped from was the very plaza where the Crown Prince investiture had been held, and the one who had ordered it was the Imperial Consort. He might be feeling a pointless sense of guilt.

“I mention this just in case, but this kidnapping was Gabe Jenade’s fault, so it has nothing to do with Your Highness.”

“…”

Had she hit the mark? Adenmir, who had been silently watching her, gave a short laugh.

“You really never give a person time to dwell.”

“Is there any need to do so needlessly?”

Adenmir, who had been smiling wryly, soon set his expression and got to the point. It was to discuss the aftermath of the kidnapping.

“Since there is no direct evidence, to put them away for the kidnapping we will need to interrogate the accomplices thoroughly.”

Jansi raised his hand with a bright smile.

“May I participate in the interrogation as well?”

“Of course. Having the young duke participate would be a great help.”

If Jansi participated in the interrogation, it was obvious a truly horrific scene would unfold. His power of annihilation, when used on a living being, inflicted agonizing pain. Perfect for t*rture. But there was a way to reach a conclusion without resorting to such troublesome methods.

“Why is there no evidence?”

At her question, every gaze in the room turned to her. She pulled a button from the clothes she had been wearing when kidnapped.

“The evidence is right here.”

“What is this?”

“It is a video-recording magic tool. Isis made it for me.”

It was still a prototype, so the storage capacity was limited and she had not been able to record the entire kidnapping, but the involvement of Gabe and the Imperial Consort would certainly have been captured. It was definitive proof to bring Gabe to justice. But there were two things she had overlooked. The first was.

“Stop!”

“Do not interfere.”

Bang!

“Cough!”

The moment she had been attacked by Gabe was recorded in full. And the second was.

“Th, th, th, that fox was a sin?!”

The fact that she had contracted with the sin of Greed was laid completely bare. She laughed awkwardly and lifted Black, who had been lying in her lap the whole time, holding it up to show Carlot.

“Say hello. This is Black, my companion fox.”

[Black.]

“Aaagh, the fox is talking!”

Carlot recoiled in shock and shouted. And then…

“Elodie.”

Dad Perdia called her name in a deliberately stern voice.

“…Yes.”

…After that, she had to endure hours of scolding.

***

Based on the various pieces of evidence and testimony, the imperial court immediately launched an investigation into the Southern Magic Tower. But they encountered an unexpected obstacle.

[Gabe Jenade has vanished.]

He had disappeared, taking with him all of the Southern Tower’s core materials, research equipment, and operating funds. More than half of the mages belonging to the Southern Tower had vanished along with him. The incident triggered a tower council among the four directional towers. It was no different from one tower collapsing all at once. Elodie asked Gretel to track Gabe, but it failed.

“I cannot see anything. It is the same as not being able to see Belissa Kreundel.”

With that, finding Gabe’s whereabouts became a distant prospect. The Imperial Consort stood before the court again. The first piece of evidence was an unfamiliar name that Duke Severes had found on the attendance list for the Crown Prince investiture. Someone had been quietly smuggled in from the Imperial Consort’s family, disguised as a relative bearing a collateral branch surname. That person was Lubomiros. Lubomiros stood before the court and testified to everything he knew. The mastermind behind the kidnapping, the collusion with the Irkalla Cult, and the fact that some kind of experiment was being carried out. The Southern Tower’s crimes were exposed in full. The revelation that the Irkalla Cult was behind it all sent a massive shockwave through the court. The Imperial Consort was sentenced to beheading on the charge of ordering the kidnapping of the Lady of Severes while failing to conduct herself with restraint during her confinement in the detached palace. However, in consideration of the fact that she was carrying the Emperor’s child, the execution was deferred until after the birth.

***

During the aftermath of the kidnapping, the first thing she did was keep her promise to Lubomiros. The promise to find his kidnapped family. Fortunately, Lubomiros’s family was in the location she had suspected.

‘I was worried Gabe might have dealt with them before going into hiding, but it seems he did not have the presence of mind for that.’

Lubomiros’s family was not blood relatives but the people from the orphanage where he had grown up. After rescuing them, she asked Dad what to do with Lubomiros, and Dad answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“Do as Elodie sees fit.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Because I trust you.”

She could not betray Dad’s trust. After several days of deliberation, she decided what to do with Lubomiros’s family. She arranged jobs for the adults at an orphanage sponsored by Severes and placed the children in its care. All that remained was deciding what to do with Lubomiros himself.

“Lubo. What do you want to do?”

“What do I want to do…”

“I mean, what do you want to do from now on?”

Lubomiros blinked as if he had not understood her. He had apparently been working under Gabe’s threats for quite some time, and it seemed he had never thought about the future. She laid out as concretely as possible the options available to him.

“You could make use of your power and join a mercenary company, or you could just find a decent job somewhere. Do whatever you want, Lubo. I will help you.”

“I, I… Miss Elodie…”

“You can call me Lili.”

“Miss Lili, can I stay… by your side…”

Stay by her side. The unexpected answer made her respond with deliberate seriousness.

“Think it over again. It might become dangerous. Gabe will be targeting me.”

But Lubomiros shook his head with a resolute expression.

“You do not mind?”

“No…”

She had not expected him to want to stay by her side.

“Hmm.”

But the more she thought about it, the less bad it seemed. Lubomiros had a very soft nature, his power was rare and highly useful, and the world was full of bad people. Rather than have him exploited by some other villain, it was better to keep him close herself.

“All right. You can stay at Severes.”

“…!”

Color returned to Lubomiros’s face. She was smiling warmly at the sight when.

“Sis! Sister Lili! Are you in here?!”

There was a thundering of footsteps, and the door flew open with a perfunctory knock.

“Carl. You have to knock properly.”

“I did knock!”

“That was not a knock, that was pounding on the door.”

Carlot barely listened to her scolding and swept his gaze around the room. When he spotted Lubomiros, his brow furrowed.

“Who is this.”

Since Lubomiros had been kept in isolation the entire time since she had returned to Severes, this was the two of them meeting for the first time. She introduced Lubomiros to Carlot.

“Say hello, Carl. This is Lubomiros. Lubo, Carl is the second son of Perdia and my little brother.”

“…Hello.”

Lubomiros greeted him timidly, but Carlot not only failed to return the greeting, his expression grew even more hostile.

“Lubo? Lubo?”

Carlot suddenly repeated the nickname to himself, then whipped his head around to look at her.

“Lili… Lubo?”

Then Carlot’s face flooded with shock.

“Your eye colors are the same.”

He had noticed that Lubomiros and her eyes were the same soft pink color.

“Interesting, right? People keep saying Lubo and I look like siblings.”

She had meant it as a joke, but Carlot’s face drained of color as if he had just received terrible news.

“W, who are you? What do you think you are doing.”