---------------
Brought to you by ‌‌‌Valir Scans! To support our team ‌‌‌‌‌‌and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------

Chapter 23 ‌‌‌
All the men of the Basilian Family had gathered at the breakfast table.
It was an exceptionally rare occurrence.
Kieran typically rose late, or didn't return ‌‌home at all, and thus skipped breakfast entirely.
His sudden appearance at an early breakfast left everyone exchanging puzzled glances.
Even Belzeon, who maintained an expressionless face while observing proper etiquette, paused mid-meal.
The twins, who had been exchanging vegetables they disliked between their plates, ceased their movements.
Kieran greeted the three brothers who were staring at him with a smile.
"Good morning."
He settled Chesa, whom he had been cradling, naturally into the small chair beside him. ‌‌
Then he fashioned a napkin into a bib for her.
A butler placed food and tea before Kieran, along ‌‌with a newspaper.
Bread and sausage, bacon, boiled beans, roasted tomatoes and ‌‌mushrooms, even egg dishes.
The plate overflowed with an abundance of food, yet Kieran didn't touch ‌‌‌any of it.
Instead, he sipped black tea and attended ‌‌‌to Chesa's meal at intervals.
"Try this as well, Chesa."
"Yes!"
"You must eat a balanced variety. Do you perhaps dislike mushrooms?"
"...."
His ‌perceptiveness was infuriatingly sharp.
Having been forced to swallow a piece of mushroom, Chesa made a disgusted face and hastily rinsed her mouth with honey-sweetened milk.
After confirming that Chesa had eaten sufficiently, Kieran sipped his black tea and leisurely unfolded the newspaper.
Chesa watched the ‌‌‌newspaper while eating crispy, ‌‌jam-spread bread.
A large ‌‌headline on the front page of the newspaper caught her eye.
Kieran read it aloud in a casual tone.
"Count Rudin died of a heart attack, it seems."
'A heart attack?'
I had witnessed him hanging with my own eyes, yet they announced an entirely different cause of death.
It appeared that suicide was considered dishonorable among the nobility.
'Yet there's insufficient evidence to claim it was murder.'
The surviving family ‌‌‌members must be beside themselves with rage.
I wondered if Kieran had even calculated such details before acting.
Clang!
A sharp, piercing sound rang out.
Belzeon set down his fork, ‌‌‌‌‌and the silver utensil clattered against the plate.
It was a breach of etiquette, yet no one remarked upon it.
The twins ceased ‌‌‌‌their under-table kicking match.
Chesa, who had been devouring bread ‌‌with rapid, enthusiastic bites, suddenly began chewing slowly.
As two boys and one small child rolled their eyes, Belzeon delicately wiped his lips with his napkin.
After placing the napkin neatly to one side of the table, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Why did you kill him?"
Belzeon's gaze sharpened, fixed directly upon me.
"I could have handled it myself. Even without your intervention, I would have ‌resolved it befittingly for the Basilian name."
He was already completely certain that Kieran had done the deed.
His sharp voice cut through with reproach.
"Did you suddenly develop a sense of responsibility toward the family and kill Count Rudin ‌‌‌because of it?"
"No."
And Kieran's response was remarkably terse.
Veins bulged across Belzeon's forehead.
He looked ready to hurl the cutlery at Kieran one piece at a time.
Kieran ‌‌‌laughed and set down his teacup.
He rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin in his hand.
"I simply killed him."
"...."
Belzeon pressed his lips together tightly.
He stared at Kieran for a long moment before speaking slowly.
"You handled the aftermath properly, then?"
"Of course. Though I regret doing it in secret. I should have strung him up in the square and severed ‌‌‌his head."
Kieran's eyes narrowed to slits.
"I didn't much care for the feeling of being on the receiving end."
Though he spoke casually, his words carried a crystalline chill.
Long fingers tapped—tap, tap—against the table.
"Now ‌‌‌‌that I have a cute youngest sibling, I'm thinking of surfacing and seizing power, just as you suggested...."
Kieran smiled.
His lips curved upward in a sharp grin that was utterly refreshing. ‌‌‌
"What do ‌‌‌you think, Belzeon?"
Belzeon's expression wavered slightly.
But he drew a deep breath ‌‌‌and answered calmly.
"It is what I have desired."
Chesa, ‌‌‌‌listening to their exchange, blinked rapidly.
Though she had suspected as much, no one seemed surprised or shocked that Kieran had killed Count Rudin.
She caught Karha and Ishuel whispering to each other.
"Hey, I told you we should go kill him yesterday. You got beaten to it."
"Who was the coward too afraid of getting scolded by his older brother?"
"...Me."
The admission came out rather quietly.
But unwilling to let it rest, Karha jabbed Ishuel's hand with his fork.
"Besides, you were scared too, honestly."
Ishuel winced and pulled his hand back.
"Don't touch my hand, would you? A blemish would be a continental loss."
"What are you talking about?"
Kieran smiled faintly at the ‌‌‌two of them whispering together.
He filled Chesa's glass with milk and spoke leisurely.
"The banquet hosted by ‌the Ibroyel Duke Family is drawing near. ‌I've already secured a new tutor, so all of you must attend your lessons diligently. How are the garments coming along, Ishuel?"
"I'll be coming by this week to put the finishing touches on everything."
It appeared that Ishuel was handling all the attire for the banquet.
Given how meticulously he presented ‌‌‌‌himself ordinarily, it was entirely fitting.
Ishuel always wore elaborate garments adorned with ornate decorations and accessories, and he would often linger before mirrors, admiring his own beauty.
He carried a parasol and wore wide-brimmed hats ‌‌‌consistently—all out of concern that his milky complexion might suffer damage.
Incidentally, the phrase "milky complexion" was something Ishuel ‌himself had directly mentioned.
"Very well. I shall need to clear my schedule for that day."
Kieran drained his teacup ‌‌‌‌completely and rose from his seat, adjusting his attire with a light hand.
Already dressed in impeccable ‌‌formal wear at the breakfast ‌‌‌table, he received his hat, ‌‌coat, and walking stick from the butler while offering his instructions.
"All of you, behave yourselves. Take good care of Chesa."
With that final greeting, he departed the dining room.
It seemed Kieran was heading out again today.
What could he possibly be ‌‌doing, wandering about the Capital like this?
Chesa recalled what she had witnessed the previous night.
The report concerning the fairy Lichesia.
The one Kieran had hidden away in his Study was written with remarkable ‌specificity.
It would have been impossible without connections to the Underworld.
How had he discovered it?
And why had he bothered to investigate?
There had ‌‌‌to be some purpose behind it.
Some ‌‌‌‌of the nobility did deliberately frequent the Underworld under the pretense of boasting.
A foolish reason—to flaunt their ‌‌‌own audacity ‌‌‌in savoring danger.
But the Basilian Family was confined to the Black Forest.
There was no reason whatsoever for them to take interest in the fairy Lichesia.
'If they were interested, it would only be because she's a fairy.'
Perhaps while searching for a means to resurrect the late Countess...
They might have ‌‌conducted experiments using the fairy. ‌‌‌‌
Kieran was a dark sorcerer, and the Castle of Serpents was remote enough to conduct secret experiments.
"...."
Chesa's pupils darkened.
There was no need to jump to conclusions ‌‌‌prematurely.
'I haven't yet found any materials related to ‌‌‌experiments, after all.'
She intended to first discover what Kieran was doing in the Capital.
"Thank you for the meal."
Having finished eating, Chesa hopped down from the high chair.
The twins quickly shoved their portions of food into their mouths with gusto.
He ‌‌‌was trying to chase after her.
Chesa quickly warned him.
"I need to be alone right now."
"Why!"
After letting out a long sigh, she answered.
"My heart feels complicated."
"...Why?"
Chesa left the dining room alone with a stubborn expression, her footsteps echoing softly.
The twins, wearing expressions of utter bewilderment, tried to follow her quickly, but Belzeon stopped them.
"Mind your manners while eating. And don't bother her. You'll see her again this afternoon anyway."
When the new tutor arrived, they would attend lessons together and have tea time as well.
Karha grumbled in discontent.
"I'm going out this evening."
But even as he muttered, he withdrew along with Ishuel.
With Belzeon's intervention giving her a brief moment of peace, Chesa hurried back to her room, her short legs pattering rapidly.
Despite her efforts, her small stature made her speed utterly ineffective.
"Take me to my room!"
So she quickly threw herself into the arms of a passing Servant and was carried away.
The Servant, her face flushed crimson, brought Chesa to her room.
When ‌‌‌‌she began spouting strange remarks like "It's the family's honor to carry Miss Chesa!", I simply waved her off and sent her away.
Back in her Bedroom, Chesa quickly gathered her power.
She intended to contact ‌‌‌Hata right away.
She created a butterfly and sent it fluttering away, but....
"Hmm?"
The ‌‌‌butterfly didn't fly out the window; instead, it spun in place.
Unable to find its direction, it circled aimlessly before eventually gliding back to Chesa.
With the butterfly perched on her head, Chesa stood in stunned silence.
There was only one reason the butterfly ‌‌‌‌couldn't find its direction.
"...Hata."
Something had happened to Hata.
Chesa's eyes sharpened with intensity. ‌‌
A single thought consumed her mind entirely.
Who would dare?

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support ‌our team ‌‌‌and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------