BID Chapter 91

Ailes Serpentine ran his fingers through his hair, which seemed particularly limp today, his dark-rimmed eyes filled with irritation.

He had just escorted his wife, Adelaide, to her room and had come straight to his study.

Perhaps it was because he had so much to deal with and think about these days, but the subtle headache that had started right after his meal had now intensified to the point where his entire head throbbed.

‘The state of the kingdom has been suspicious lately. The confrontation between the nobles who follow the Crown Prince and those who do not is deepening beneath the surface.’

Solaris’ only Crown Prince was thirteen years old this year, and there were already rumors that his behavior and conduct were unbecoming for ruling the kingdom.

The Duke furrowed his brow. The endless succession battles in the Holy Empire had made the situation outside the country unsettling, and now the kingdom was also suffering due to the Crown Prince’s immature actions. There were too many things to keep an eye on.

‘And then there’s the issue with Erhan.’

Above all, he was concerned about the internal affairs of the Serpentine family. The Duke clutched his throbbing head.

‘If I had properly cleared up the misunderstanding back then, would this not have happened?’

He knew it himself. Erhan was his one and only precious biological son. Yet, despite knowing that, he had no choice but to treat him harshly. It was because of the memories that surfaced every time he saw Erhan’s face.

The sound of rain pounding against the window, as if it would shatter, clung to his ears like an auditory hallucination. The Duke was instantly transported back to a memory of the past, standing in front of a window as rain poured down. The clear face that had looked at him with mud-covered hands in front of the window, and the ash-gray eyes etched with…

Knock, knock, knock.

“Ah.”

The Duke snapped out of his thoughts and lifted his head. In the brief moment he had recalled that dreadful memory, his face had become drenched in sweat.

He hastily wiped the sweat away with a handkerchief and brushed his hair back. His face was once again covered by a solid mask, as if the earlier wavering had been an illusion.

“Come in.”

Today was the day the avenger in charge of taxation was supposed to come. He intended to receive the report the avenger had prepared and make early preparations for next year’s budget. Although the end of this year’s second half was still far away, the Serpentine family typically began preparing for the following year around this time.

As soon as the Duke granted permission, the door opened.

“……”

However, no words were spoken. Only an eerie, prolonged silence ensued.

The Duke, who had been flipping through documents, sensed something strange and slowly raised his head. At the same time, a barely audible, breathless sound reached his ears.

“…Liam!”

The Duke widened his eyes and abruptly stood up from his seat.

Liam, with his small frame, was being strangled by an unfamiliar servant, tears streaming down his face.

“Hic, hic.”

Liam, his face covered in tears and snot, shook his head.

“Ru… n… a… way…”

Even with his face flushed red from being choked, he was still worried about the Duke. In a situation where he could die from strangulation at any moment, the avengers didn’t know any better. They only feared for the safety of their master, the Duke. Liam desperately tried to tell him to run away, his voice strained from the chokehold.

The Duke, startled by the unexpected situation but quickly regaining his composure, hardened his face coldly.

“Shh…”

The servant who had Liam by the throat whispered leisurely and in a low voice. The overwhelming pressure emanating from that brief whisper was extraordinary.

For better or worse, the Duke could guess the servant’s identity the moment he saw him.

Zachary Thaddeus.

“…Your Highness.”

The prince of the Holy Empire.

As he slowly called out to him, the man wearing a cloth with a ghost’s eye painted on it slowly lifted his head. The prince, holding Liam up by the neck, exuded an overwhelming presence with his large build.

The Duke couldn’t fail to recognize him. Even after intensifying the brainwashing, Zachary was unusually difficult to control, and the lives of numerous servants had been consumed just to educate him alone.

‘I was too complacent.’

The Duke clenched his fist. Although he managed the servants in this mansion, he had recently become negligent in servant management due to being too busy with work.

There were a total of three servants bound by the spell that restrained Zachary, and upon reflection, it had been quite some time since he had seen their faces. If that was the case, it undoubtedly meant…

‘The spell has been broken.’

He had anticipated many variables due to Zachary being a member of the Holy Empire’s imperial family. Despite layering countless spells to bind him, had it all been in vain?

The Duke gazed at Zachary with narrowed eyes. However, Zachary’s face was covered by the cloth, making it impossible to read anything. Zachary leisurely caressed Liam’s neck as if it were a toy and spoke.

“You should address me with proper honorifics, shouldn’t you?”

At the same time, he lightly flicked his fingers. A blue flame ignited at his fingertips and soon transformed into a long lasso-like shape, coiling around Liam’s neck.

“Guh, urgh.”

The Duke watched with the most indifferent gaze possible. Even as his subordinate and cherished avenger suffered before his eyes, the Duke’ ash-gray eyes were coldly frozen, searching for a gap in Zachary’s defense.

Finally, the Duke spotted a small opening. It was the moment when Zachary briefly shifted his gaze to Liam while manipulating his divine power.

‘Now’s the chance.’

The Duke didn’t miss it. He immediately attempted to throw a talisman engraved with a spell circle at Zachary. However, despite the Duke’ swift movement, he couldn’t inflict any harm on Zachary.

A burning blue flame engulfed the Duke’ hand. The talisman, which should have flown out fiercely, completely burned to ashes without leaving a trace. It was all due to Zachary’s divine power.

“Ugh.”

The Duke clenched his hand, which felt as if it were on fire.

It wasn’t just the talisman that had burned. The edge of the cloth covering Zachary’s face also ignited with a flare. Although Zachary belatedly waved his hand to extinguish the fire immediately, the powerful divine flame had already burned half of the cloth.

The lower half of his face was revealed through the burnt cloth.

“This shouldn’t be happening.”

Zachary spoke as if he were sighing. His sudden change in attitude, as if he were perplexed, was unexpected, but the Duke didn’t let his guard down.

‘This is an awakening.’

The Duke was certain that Zachary had awakened.

As a result, all of his memories had returned, and the fact that all the brainwashing spells had been undone.

It was unbelievable even as he witnessed it with his own eyes. The brainwashing spells had never been broken before.

‘Even if they were undone, the pain should have remained. How?’

In the first place, the spells only truly manifested at the limit of mental and physical agony, so even if by some chance the spells were broken, it would have been difficult to live a normal life with the remaining aftereffects. Moreover, Zachary had been placed under the spells at a young age, so the repercussions should have been even greater.

“It’s completely burnt.”

Look at that nonchalant attitude. Zachary was fiddling with the burnt edge of the cloth and merely letting out sighs.

Zachary seemed to feel no fear towards the Duke who had subjugated him with brainwashing spells, nor any trauma related to the spells.

‘Is he so unscathed because he awakened? After all, they say many things change when the imperial family members of the Holy Empire awaken.’

The awakening experienced by the imperial family of the Holy Empire was not accurately known and was only the subject of rampant rumors.

There were stories about their appearance completely changing, or gaining immense strength, or countless knowledge being etched into their minds upon awakening, driving them mad with infinite truth.

Given the lack of known information, there were many variables that Zachary’s awakening could bring about. However, the Duke had taken numerous measures in preparation for this.

But even with the divine power sealed, it was insufficient. Zachary had perfect control over his power to the extent that he could conceal the fact that he had awakened.

‘Is that even possible?’

The ring of light created by divine power still strangled Liam’s neck. Such power had never been seen or heard of before. The Duke was not entirely ignorant of the divine power in the Holy Empire, so he knew well that this case was nearly impossible.

Yet, maintaining the divine power so delicately for such a long time?

The Duke realized with just a brief observation. If Zachary moved a single finger, this mansion could vanish in an instant.

“What do you want?”

Although it was done by royal command, there was no way to justify the fact that he had placed spells on Zachary. Regardless of when Zachary had broken free from the spells, the fact that he had come to the Duke meant that he definitely wanted something. Otherwise, he would have already turned the mansion into a sea of flames and more.

Zachary, with only his lower face exposed, immediately fixed his gaze on the Duke. Although his eyes were still hidden by the cloth, the murderous intent that pierced through the skin was clearly palpable.

“Yes. Do you want my life?”

“……”

Even in front of an opponent who could take his life, the Duke didn’t falter. He continued to stand with his back straight, directly facing Zachary.

However, Zachary showed no particular reaction, as if he had no interest. He merely continued to fiddle with the cloth, his posture unchanged, and coldly spoke while staring blankly in the Duke’ direction.

“Why would I want such a trivial thing?”