Chapter : 17
“Alright. Since this is a reward, I suppose I should grant it however you wish.”
Sirius’s face remained expressionless, but inside, he was practically leaping with joy.
Feeling that intense emotion, the duke smiled in satisfaction and dismissed Sirius and Elena.
“Elena Rode.”
Now alone, he rolled her name around on his tongue.
Aside from the day she was born, there had never been a moment when speaking her name felt as satisfying as it did today.
That child had never once acted in a way that pleased him until now.
Despite possessing brilliant, perfect golden eyes, she had never used the ability to read emotions—not even a shred of it.
And yet, despite that, nothing could be read from her at all.
For a moment, he wondered whether the true ability of perfect golden eyes was defense—but no such account had ever been passed down.
As far as he knew, perfect golden eyes were supposed to be something far more special.
In the history of House Rode, there had been only one other person besides Elena who possessed perfect golden eyes. It was said that person could read not only emotions, but something else as well.
The future of this world.
It was a story passed down secretly, only to the heirs of House Rode.
If true, it was an extraordinary power.
Those born with perfect golden eyes were said to know the future and become the savior of House Rode.
But in the eyes of the current Duke of Rode, Elena was nothing more than a child with neither ability nor ambition.
Even when her life had been threatened multiple times, hadn’t she always failed to notice anything until the very last moment—and ended up being attacked every time?
So the idea that she could read the future sounded like complete nonsense.
Still, if things continued to unfold like this, it might be possible to forcibly fit her into the role of “savior.”
“So this is what it meant to become a savior—being useful in this way.”
Elena had captured Sirius’s heart, which meant she had done something significant for House Rode.
The duke smiled, pleased at the thought that he might be able to mix the bloodline of the wolves into House Rode.
At last, taking Elena away from her biological father had proven useful.
His thoughts naturally drifted back ten years.
The memory of killing Elena’s real father was still vivid.
After all, that man had been his twin brother.
* * *
“Brother Linus.”
Ten years ago, the Duke of Rode knelt on one knee on the filthy floor of a prison cell.
It was because his brother, Linus, was in such a miserable state that he couldn’t even stand on his own.
“Hugo.”
Despite his condition, Linus’s eyes were frighteningly sharp.
The duke found that displeasing.
His brother had always suited a gentle face with a warm smile.
Not a look like he was about to devour him.
“You still call me ‘brother.’”
“I promised I would always call you that, ever since you saved me when I was thirteen.”
“Hah! What a joke.”
Linus sneered weakly, mocking him for keeping promises even in a situation like this.
Blood splattered from the corner of his mouth.
The duke’s mood sank further and further.
Seeing a face identical to his own in such a pathetic state was deeply unpleasant.
They were fraternal twins, but looked so alike they were often mistaken for identical ones.
Still, no one ever confused the two.
Linus was a handsome man with a gentle impression, while the Duke of Rode always wore a face as cold as ice, making people uneasy.
“I brought you good news, yet you greet me so coldly. How sad.”
“…Good news?”
At the duke’s words, something seemed to dawn on Linus, and he desperately clung to the bars of the cell.
A man who couldn’t even stand properly was suddenly displaying superhuman strength.
“You realize immediately, don’t you? Yes. Your daughter was born not long ago.”
“Thank the gods.”
Tears welled in Linus’s eyes.
In a trembling, emotional voice, he quietly murmured a name.
“Elena.”
The Duke of Rode raised one eyebrow.
As far as he knew, the name of the woman Linus loved—and the mother of his newborn niece—was Stacy.
“Elena?”
“…Stacy and I decided that if the baby was a girl, we’d name her Elena.”
“What a joke.”
The duke let out a hollow laugh, incredulous.
In House Rode, only the heir was permitted to continue the bloodline.
In other words, collateral branches were forbidden.
If the power of golden eyes were to scatter, it would bring no good to House Rode.
Yet Linus had fallen in love with a maid from a fallen noble family, violated House Rode’s rules, and fled.
The merciless previous Duke of Rode would surely have punished him with death.
They were only able to track the two down because Stacy, being pregnant, couldn’t escape properly.
The Duke of Rode imprisoned Linus and broke his legs.
He couldn’t afford to let his guard down—Linus had competed with him for the position of heir until the very end.
The duke soon came up with an effective method.
When he threatened to kill Linus if she tried to escape, Stacy voluntarily remained in the ducal residence, holding her swollen belly.
And once Stacy agreed to stay, Linus gave up on escaping.
“Is Stacy safe?”
“She looked healthy, even right after giving birth.”
The duke said this while staring straight into Linus’s eyes.
He could feel Linus examining him with golden-tinged blue eyes—but he wasn’t lying.
Stacy had safely given birth to a daughter.
Though he had already given the order to kill her before coming here.
That order had been issued at the same time he received the report that the child had been born with perfect golden eyes.
The Duke of Rode intended to raise Elena entirely as his own daughter.
And for that, it was better if her real parents no longer existed.
His eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“I have a proposal.”
“A proposal?”
“I’ll spare your daughter. From now on, I’ll raise her as my own. No one will ever know she’s from a collateral branch.”
The duke presented the offer as though he were showing great generosity.
Linus’s stiff expression crumbled into a mixture of relief and shock.
Though rare, there had been cases where the head of House Rode showed mercy and adopted a child from a collateral line, even if rules had been broken.
“In return, you must die. Then I’ll let her live.”
“Alright.”
Despite the enormous price, Linus accepted without a moment’s hesitation.
The duke drove his sword straight into his brother’s chest without any delay.
The sensation of the blade cutting through flesh was vivid.
Even as he bled out, Linus spoke to him.
“Thank you.”
How foolish.
Linus was thanking the man who was cutting off his life.
It was a sentiment the Duke of Rode couldn’t understand.
He calmly watched his twin brother die.
Unable to close his eyes, Linus breathed his last, as though something still troubled him.
The duke didn’t look back as he left.
Everything was cleaned up neatly.
It was time to go meet Elena—now his daughter—for the first time.
* * *
Elena rubbed her uncooperative eyes.
She wondered why they wouldn’t open properly—then realized she must have cried in her sleep.
‘I know I dreamed about something…’
Judging by the tears, it must have been a sad dream.
But since she couldn’t remember anything at all, she soon forgot about it.
She had more urgent matters to deal with than clinging to a forgotten dream.
Knock, knock.
As soon as Elena finished washing up and changing clothes, a knock sounded—as if someone had been waiting.
Then again, there was no such thing as privacy between her and Sirius.
The walls were so thin that whatever she did was basically broadcast to the entire place anyway.
She quickly checked her appearance and opened the door.
As if on cue, Sirius greeted her cheerfully.
“Good morning.”
“Ah… yes. Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
Elena couldn’t quite bring herself to return the greeting with the same ease.
She couldn’t casually say “good morning” when a grueling schedule awaited her from this moment on.
‘My future looks bleak…’
She felt a little dizzy.
It had truly been unexpected, but she was glad Sirius had received permission from the Duke of Rode to study alongside her.
The problem was what came after that.
“There’s something I want to confess. Only to you.”
“All of a sudden?”
On the way back to the west tower, once they were out of sight, Sirius moved closer to her.
Sensing he was about to whisper a secret, Elena tilted her head, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Actually… I can’t read.”
“What?”
Elena’s eyes widened in shock.
Considering Sirius’s age, that was extremely abnormal.
Children born into noble families usually learned letters as soon as they began to speak.
Yet this wasn’t some street child—this was an imperial prince, unable to read even at ten years old.
The book hadn’t mentioned anything like this.
And Sirius was polite, well-mannered, and composed.
He had even defeated Courtney in an argument.
The fact that he’d retained such intelligence despite never learning to read was impressive.
Truly, he wasn’t a protagonist for nothing.
But rather than admiration, Elena felt conflicted.
There was no doubt the emperor had intervened in making the prince illiterate.
She knew how Sirius had been treated by his father—but seeing concrete evidence made her heart feel… heavy.
“Up until now, I’ve just learned by watching what other people do.”
“You never told your father about this, did you?”
“That’s the kind of weakness you shouldn’t reveal carelessly.”
Then why was he telling her so openly?
As she tried to ignore that unsettling thought, his next words left her even more stunned.
“So teach me how to read. Until the teachers my tutor called arrive.”
And so, from early morning, Elena found herself sitting face-to-face with Sirius.
Teaching Sirius how to read.
It was dizzying—and her future looked utterly dark.
But she couldn’t refuse the request.
She’d received too much from him.
He had scolded Joseph for her.
He had arranged for a private tutor.
She was deeply grateful.
Still, her connection with Sirius had to end here.
‘This is the last time. After this, I really won’t get involved with him at all!’
Elena steeled herself again and again.
Unaware of her resolve, Sirius looked unusually cheerful as he opened his notebook with sparkling eyes.
As she looked at him, something she’d been wondering about suddenly came to mind.
It had been bothering her for a while.
