Chapter 20
Count Bastin looked at the small young lady following closely behind him with curious eyes.
‘Is this really the person who suffered such a terrible thing at Meyer’s hands?’
The young lady had grown only a little taller compared to before. She was still just a seventeen-year-old girl.
And yet, she had come straight to see Meyer in a prison where the only light was flickering candle flames.
The dungeon of Tigeris Castle was a place even seasoned knights feared. At that moment, the young lady spoke.
“This place is very narrow and dark. …And complicated.”
Count Bastin nodded.
Just as she said, the dungeon was structured like a maze.
“It was personally designed by the late Duke. Even if someone tries to escape, most of them wander around looking for the exit and starve to death.”
Selenea murmured, “I thought so…,” and nodded.
“It took me five years to finally get used to this place myself.”
Count Bastin laughed heartily and stepped into an even narrower, darker corridor.
When they turned a corner, a horrific stench stabbed at their noses. He cautiously glanced back at Selenea and spoke.
“We’re almost there, but no matter how I think about it, it might be a bit… much for a young lady to see—”
But Selenea shook her head as if it didn’t matter.
“It’s fine.”
At her calm and indifferent reply, Bastin looked at her with slight surprise.
‘Does this boldness come from His Grace?’
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on his lips. At that moment, the cell holding Meyer finally came into view.
“This is it.”
At Bastin’s gesture, Selenea slowly approached the iron bars in front of her.
A thin crease formed between her brows as she examined the inside.
“He’s in worse condition than I expected.”
“We thought severe interrogation might bring his consciousness back…”
She nodded slowly, as if understanding. Then, after staying silent for a moment, she murmured softly to herself.
“Indeed, there’s no life at all in his eyes…”
Bastin stared at her with curiosity.
Selenea’s appearance didn’t fit the dungeon at all.
Her skin was pale from lying in bed for so long, and beneath her flowing indoor dress, her slender arms and legs were visible.
Yet she was calmly peering into an iron cage soaked with blood.
Without even blinking at Meyer Luce, who was little more than a walking corpse.
Bastin even found the sight strangely interesting, his eyes shining with interest. Then—
“…No matter how I think about it, this is strange.”
Selenea’s quiet muttering reached his ears.
“How did he go insane the moment interrogation began?”
Count Bastin stroked his beard as he replied.
“There are people like that sometimes. Usually, they collapse under extreme pressure.”
“But I don’t think that’s the reason in this case.”
The count made a low “Hmm” sound as he stared into the cell.
“To be honest, His Grace and I think the same. But there’s no clear evidence—”
At the next moment, Bastin trailed off and stared at Selenea in shock.
She had suddenly reached her hand into the filthy iron cage.
“Miss! That’s dangerous—!!”
Just as Bastin hurried toward her—
Clink—
Selenea picked something up from inside the cell and slowly pulled it out.
“That is…”
Count Bastin tilted his head in confusion.
In her hand was something strange.
Meyer’s necklace—something that had never drawn attention, no matter how many times he had been interrogated.
Selenea examined it closely, then suddenly lifted her sleeve.
She began brushing off the dirt and filth stuck to the necklace.
“Miss, why are you doing that…?”
Bastin’s eyes widened.
Selenea even used the hem of her skirt to clean it now.
Confusion appeared on Bastin’s face.
The once-white fabric of her skirt gradually became stained with dark red blotches, but Selenea didn’t seem to care at all.
After a moment, she carefully examined the slightly cleaner necklace and spoke.
“May I take this with me?”
Count Bastin stared at her in disbelief, then reluctantly nodded.
Meanwhile, in the Duke’s office.
“The young lady went to see Meyer in the dungeon.”
At Walter’s words, the Duke lifted his gaze from the documents and looked at him.
“Selenea went to the dungeon?”
“Yes. Count Bastin came to greet you, and the young lady suddenly said she needed to go see the dungeon…”
Aleon silently stood up from his seat.
“Are you going to see the young lady?”
Walter asked. But the Duke didn’t answer.
He stood there expressionlessly for a moment, then sat back down.
Without taking any action.
Seeing his strange behavior, Walter looked at him in disbelief.
Standing up suddenly only to sit back down again.
Whenever a report about Selenea came up, the Duke always showed this odd attitude.
Once, he had even gone with Walter to right outside the young lady’s room, only to turn back.
Unable to hold it in any longer, Walter asked.
“What exactly happened between you and the young lady a few days ago to make you act like this?”
“……”
At the Duke’s silence, Walter sighed in frustration.
“If you’re curious, just go see her. It’s so simple—”
But Walter quickly shut his mouth.
The Duke had slowly turned his head and was staring at him with chilling eyes.
He spoke coldly.
“Leave.”
It was clearly a command to get out without another word.
Walter shook his head, gave a short bow, and left the office.
After watching the door fully close, Aleon slowly turned his head back.
His fingers tapped the desk out of habit as he pondered.
It had already been several days since he last visited Selenea’s room.
Before the child woke up, he had gone to see her every single day.
Looking at her face, so similar to Hemera’s, made his heart feel heavy and tender at the same time. Sometimes, it even frightened him.
But…
“I never hated you…”
He murmured quietly.
The words Selenea had said to him a few days ago were still vividly etched in his mind.
As if she had seen straight through his rotting insides, the child had spoken as if comforting him.
‘I don’t hate you.’
‘It’s not because I resent you or blame you. …Really.’
‘It was something that couldn’t be helped. Things rarely go the way we want…’
‘Don’t cry.’
Telling him not to cry while she herself was crying.
Thinking of her made something boil up inside him again.
Aleon thought—
Hemera’s death had been an accident, but if he had been just a little more careful, it could have been prevented.
There were always enemies targeting Tigeris. That was only natural.
His predecessor—his father—had been killed by his own brother. A moment of carelessness, and a blade was driven into his back.
‘That position was supposed to be mine! Father loved me more! Remember this, Aleon. Your father stole what was mine. I was only trying to take back what belonged to me!!’
His uncle had screamed until the very end, eyes bloodshot.
Eyes filled with hatred, a voice screaming with malice, curses too vile to speak aloud.
That image was burned into Aleon’s mind, a memory that would never fade.
Only then did he realize—
At least in Tigeris, someone must shed blood to claim a title.
It wasn’t strange for a brother to kill a brother, or for a child to kill a parent.
Perhaps because of that, Aleon began thinking at some point—
Trust no one but yourself. Never give your heart.
To survive.
But…
‘Aleon, I want to become your family.’
Her playful smile as she said that. Eyes more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.
One day, Hemera entered his life.
Like a stone thrown into a calm pond, she settled heavily into his heart.
Creating deep ripples.
At first, he hesitated. His mother, and even his predecessor’s mother—none of them lived long lives.
He feared Hemera would be the same.
But—
‘I’m not someone you need to protect. I decide things about my own life.’
He could still clearly see her looking straight into his eyes as she spoke.
‘Aleon, no matter who you are, I won’t let you control my life. This is my choice.’
In the end, she paid for that choice with her life. Her body was never even found.
No matter what she said, he had wanted to protect her.
Aleon vividly remembered the day eight years ago when he returned to the castle after a long battle.
It was a day of pouring rain, thunder, and lightning.
There had been an intruder in the castle. Hemera had rushed into Selenea’s room—probably to protect the child.
“Ah, Father… M-Mother… Mother is hurt…”
Selenea muttered with unfocused eyes, her clothes soaked in Hemera’s blood.
The window was wide open, and Hemera was nowhere in the room.
She had completely disappeared. Even after searching the entire territory, they never found her.
All that remained were traces of an intruder.
Selenea lay unconscious for a long time, as if dead. When she finally woke up, she had lost her voice.
He himself… had thought of following Hemera many times.
Though he never acted on it, his life had already shattered beyond repair.
Grief easily turned into despair, then into anger, and eventually into self-hatred.
So when Selenea eventually stopped speaking to him entirely, he accepted it easily.
Foolishly, he never doubted it even once.
Because he was surely a terrible father, and it was only natural for the child to distance herself and hate him.
“Ha…”
Aleon pressed a hand to his throbbing temple.
‘Don’t cry.’
Selenea’s words kept circling endlessly in his mind.
