Chapter 57
Gallio, trembling in fear but desperate to sway his father, pressed on with his argument.
“Think about it! How much must she have swayed you for someone as rational as you to grant that girl—who shares not a drop of our blood—the privileges of the Elpinard lineage?”
“Huh.”
The Duke, who had been listening silently, couldn’t hold back a scoff.
“And what are those privileges?”
“Pardon…?”
“Tell me. What is this privilege of the Elpinard lineage that cannot be given to someone who shares none of our blood?”
“W-well…,” Gallio’s mind began to spin.
The Elpinard lineage enjoyed countless privileges: high prestige, immense wealth, and great power. These were the special rights that everyone in the world coveted but only a select few could obtain. Gallio had enjoyed them simply because he was born into the Elpinard family.
“P-power, for instance…”
“And?”
“Prestige…”
“And?”
“Great wealth…”
Bang!
The Duke slammed his fist on the desk, causing Gallio to flinch.
“Does sharing the Elpinard name with someone diminish the power in your hands? What about the prestige?”
Such things were not diminished by being shared. They weren’t quantitative concepts.
“Furthermore, even if our family’s immense wealth were divided into dozens of parts, it would still be vast. Are you saying you don’t want to share because your portion might be slightly reduced?”
“B-but I’m the rightful heir to all of this, and that fox of a false saintess is—”
“And who told you that you are the rightful heir? Do you believe that simply because you’re the son of Elpinard?” the Duke cut him off coldly.
“You, too, have grasped the wealth, power, and prestige that generations before you have built, without lifting a finger. And now you cause this mess because you can’t share it?”
The Duke exhaled a long, deep sigh, trying to rein in his anger, then gave a nod to Logan.
Logan quickly approached and handed the Duke the document he had signed earlier.
“Before your mother passed, she told me something. She said she was worried about your greed, Gallio. She believed that if you didn’t let greed get the better of you, you would become a good Duke, as you worked hard. But if you did give in to greed… she told me to make sure you were punished severely.”
“!”
Gallio’s eyes widened at the mention of his late mother.
He knew well how deeply his father respected the Duchess’s advice. After her passing, her words had lived on in the Duke’s heart like sacred law.
“Father! I—”
“Moreover, you involved an external force—the Church, of all things—in family matters? You don’t even have the ability or initiative to remove obstacles yourself?”
“That’s not it!”
Gallio tried to crawl closer to the Duke, but Logan stepped in to block his way. Gallio, frustrated, jerked his head up, only to see the document bearing his father’s signature instead of Logan’s face.
The document assigned the management of Baron Zaren’s territory to “Gallio Elpinard.” While it sounded like an assignment, it was essentially a demotion, signaling his removal from the position of heir.
Gallio’s face turned pale as he realized just how decisively his father had acted. His eyes darted frantically as he searched for a way out.
“C-could it be that the fox-like false saintess, no, Reshia, is actually an illegitimate child you fathered outside? Is that why you’re punishing me for treating your youngest daughter poorly?”
“What?”
“If… if I had known she was a real sister, I wouldn’t have acted that way. From now on, I’ll treat her like a proper sibling….”
“Ridiculous. The level of your thinking is pitiful,” the Duke muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Don’t try to find an excuse outside of yourself for my decision. I decided this because I judged you unfit to be the future Duke. The problem lies entirely within you.”
Gallio’s mouth hung open in shock. The Duke didn’t even spare his son a glance as he turned to Logan and gave his next order.
“When Gallio leaves for Zaren, Noah will be lonely. We’ll need to call for Veronica.”
Veronica Elpinard. Noah’s mother.
* * *
Bael and I were crammed together in a wagon, tied up like sacks of goods. Our hands and feet were bound tightly, and gags were stuffed in our mouths, but despite the situation, I didn’t feel any real sense of danger.
‘After all, they want to deliver us safely to Kydsha, right?’
I was certain they wouldn’t harm us physically.
‘Still, this is incredibly uncomfortable.’
The ride was horrendous. The uneven surface of the road made every bump and jolt feel like a beating.
‘This bumpy ride is scarier than the fact that we’re being kidnapped.’
I twisted my body, trying to find a less uncomfortable position. This movement seemed to be misinterpreted by the priest riding with us, who was keeping an eye on us. He grabbed me by the collar and warned me sternly.
“No funny business, Saintess.”
I shook my head vigorously to show that I wasn’t planning anything. I even made sure to give him an innocent, pleading look.
Apparently, it worked, because he let go of my collar. But then his eyes shifted to my neck.
‘What is he looking at?’
Curious, I looked down at my neck and saw the small pendant Bael had made for me using his divine power, dangling there.
“Why is there something like this…?”
The priest, mesmerized by the beautiful, shimmering divine power, reached out and yanked the necklace forcefully. The string snapped, and the necklace fell into the priest’s hand.
At that moment, a brilliant burst of light exploded from the necklace with a loud “PAAANG!”
What the—!
‘So bright!’
The light was so intense that I had to squeeze my eyes shut.
‘Is this some kind of anti-theft mechanism?’
If it was, it seemed like overkill.
It wasn’t just me who was blinded by the sudden burst of light.
“Neighhh!”
Even the horses pulling the wagon were startled by the overwhelming brightness, whinnying loudly and rearing up in panic.
The horses, acting as if they were standing on a hotplate, began to thrash about, causing the wagon to jolt violently. The rough movements were nothing like the quick but steady pace from before; my small body was tossed around like a ball, bouncing painfully against the wagon’s interior.
‘Ouch! It hurts!’
Tears welled up in my eyes from the pain. If it weren’t for the gag in my mouth, I would have been screaming by now.
“Ahhh!”
The priest who had taken my necklace screamed loudly, as if making up for the fact that Bael and I couldn’t. He seemed to have completely forgotten that they were supposed to be discreetly kidnapping us.
The light, which had been so bright it blocked out my vision, finally faded, but the horses, already in a frenzy, showed no signs of calming down.
“Neighhhh!”
With a terrified shriek, the wagon tipped over, losing its balance. Unfortunately, it seemed to tip over the edge of a cliff, and the wagon began to tumble down endlessly.
It was so chaotic that I couldn’t tell which way was up or down.
Then my body suddenly lifted into the air, only to be slammed against the side of the wagon with a heavy thud.
I hit my head, and the impact made everything go hazy.
My vision darkened.
* * *
At the Kydsha temple, the priests stared in shock at the massive pillar of light that had risen in the distance.
“What… what is that?”
It was a colossal beam of light, unlike anything they had ever seen.
Considering the distance, it had to have appeared far away, yet the energy was so intense that it felt as if it had sprung up right beside them, sending a shiver down their spines.