Chapter 11
Sioern Archaights Basteban could not endure the suffocating anguish rising to his throat and came to a halt.
“‘I’ll go with you, uncle.’”
His precious granddaughter, Edith, whom it would not be an exaggeration to say he loved more than life itself.
“‘I’ll go to the Grand Duke’s house. As you wish, uncle… no, father.’”
The words she had forced out while concealing her trembling felt like a thousand needles stabbing into his heart.
She had done it to protect him.
That child—going as far as to follow a man no better than a father, just to protect her worthless grandfather…
Powerlessness, as if he could do nothing at all, and the rage toward the one who had reduced him to this state surged up from his feet and consumed his heart.
In the end, even Edith had been taken away.
Roberic Arne Heilian.
By the hands of that disgustingly greedy and ruthless bastard.
“‘Uncle Basteban!’”
In that moment, as he trembled with hatred, a memory from what now felt like a distant past surfaced.
A young boy with white hair that shimmered brilliantly under the pouring sunlight, clinging to his trouser leg and smiling brightly.
And then reality layered over it, and the memory vanished like a fleeting mirage.
“…How did it come to this?”
Sioern muttered bitterly.
It had not been a time that could be called perfect, but it had been a time he believed would one day become whole and happy.
“Giovan…”
He called the name of his long-departed friend.
Giovan. Giovan Akancha Heilian.
The former Grand Duke of Heilian, and the father of Roberic Arne Heilian.
Roberic was Giovan’s only son, born late in life and cherished deeply.
Until the blade of the deranged Emperor, drunk on jealousy, turned toward the former Grand Duke of Heilian, Giovan had loved Roberic dearly, never letting him out of his sight.
But that happiness did not last long.
The monstrous tyrant consumed by madness ultimately tore into the Heilian ducal house.
And ten-year-old Roberic was left alone.
“‘I’m glad… I’m so glad you’re alive… truly glad…’”
Sioern, who had rushed after hearing of the tragedy too late, took in the lone child.
The Emperor raged as if he would not rest until the last heir of Heilian was also killed, but…
“Your Majesty. This subject still clearly remembers the day I swore loyalty to Roshan and the Imperial House.”
The Sioern Archaights Basteban who stood by that child had not yet lost his sanity enough to be dragged out.
“I wish to uphold that oath until the end of this life. Please grant me the mercy to do so.”
Fortunately.
Thus, Roberic survived under Sioern’s shadow and grew up safely.
The son of his deceased friend, slain by the mad Emperor.
He resembled his dead father so much that it pained him, making Sioern want to give him everything he could.
Because of that, Sioern raised Roberic like his own child, without distinguishing between him and his own daughter, Mariette, whom his beloved wife had left behind.
Perhaps because of that effort, the young Roberic used to call him “Uncle” and followed him closely.
The memory of Roberic and Mariette running through the garden together still vividly unfolded before his eyes.
“…Damn it.”
As he recalled the past, the stone fragments crushed in Sioern’s grasp crumbled into dust.
The more he revisited those memories, the stronger his hatred for Roberic grew.
Everything had once been smooth.
But it was all shattered in an instant by Roberic’s betrayal.
The broken engagement.
All trust built over the long years collapsed in a single moment.
Sioern felt deep disappointment and fury toward Roberic, who had made the worst possible choice.
Watching Mariette suffer from the pain of the broken engagement only fueled unbearable resentment in his heart.
But if it had only been that much…
Sioern would not have torn apart all affection he once held for Roberic.
Even though Roberic had betrayed every kindness and grace given to him, it could not be denied…
He had once raised him like a son.
How deeply must he have loved that woman to make such a choice?
At times, Sioern even tried to understand Roberic, despite Mariette’s suffering.
But Roberic crossed a line that must never be crossed.
The newly ascended Emperor, Osvald Tristan Rueiri, who had not yet reigned even a year, desired to dismantle the past glory that towered above imperial authority.
Thus, the Emperor subtly conveyed his will to his close friend, Roberic Arne Heilian.
It was Sioern who had once brought the Emperor, then crown prince, into the palace so he could become his companion.
Yet Roberic abandoned the past and joined hands with the new Emperor.
He orchestrated a scheme that would bring down the House of Basteban and Sioern Archaights Basteban.
The cunning Emperor gradually cemented a new image—Roberic Arne Heilian, the new hero replacing the corrupt hero of the past who coveted power.
All of it was carried out so secretly, so quietly, beneath dark waters, that Sioern—whose mind had been consumed by concern over his daughter’s broken engagement and Roberic’s departure—only realized the truth after a long delay.
“‘The prestige of House Basteban is a thing of the past.’”
“‘If they raised their only daughter so poorly… it’s said the Basteban lady is arrogant and unruly.’”
“‘Even if she was the woman your fiancé fell for, isn’t that abuse a bit much?’”
Rumors surrounding Shastia Fraim and Mariette were increasingly distorted and maliciously exaggerated, turning public sentiment among commoners hostile.
Only too late did Sioern realize that Roberic had not only broken their trust through the broken engagement, but had also joined with the new Emperor to destroy the House of Basteban entirely.
Thus Sioern, together with his daughter Mariette, resisted them—but…
“From this moment on, you are no longer needed in the Roshan Empire.”
The Emperor had already set the stage.
“Past achievements are only the past. However, in consideration of your merits, your life and that of your daughter will be spared.”
Under the Emperor’s will, Sioern was ultimately defeated.
“……”
Kneeling on the cold ground, Sioern thought in a daze.
He had saved a boy who would have certainly died if left alone.
He had loved him like a son and given him everything he could.
Yet that boy, blinded by love, betrayed everything they had built together.
And even so, he could not cut away the lingering attachment and properly resent him.
And yet.
And yet…
“I gave you… everything.”
Sioern, who had fallen into ruin after losing everything, spat out the words while swallowing tears of blood.
“You… in the end, took everything from me.”
Toward the hateful traitor.
That was the end.
Roberic no longer looked back at Sioern or Mariette.
The Emperor was satisfied with having removed the once-invincible hero who had never been encroached upon.
Sioern and Mariette barely managed to continue their pitiful lives.
From afar, rumors said Roberic had become the Emperor’s closest friend and political partner, rising as a new hero and living happily after taking a duchess as his wife.
Ah, it was truly a perfect betrayal.
Stripped of everything he had built over a lifetime and cast aside, the hatred lodged deep in Sioern’s soul gnawed at him every day, carving itself into his bones.
At last, Sioern tore apart all remaining affection in his heart.
And he shouted in anguish.
Roberic Arne Heilian.
You are no longer mine.
Only my enemy—who stole everything from me, a wretch who deserves to be torn apart and killed.
Yet misfortune did not end.
His daughter left.
And in his arms remained only a small, young life, just as in the past.
“Grandfather!”
A granddaughter who resembled Mariette, yet with eyes that shone red like Roberic’s.
And yet undeniably…
“Come here, Edith.”
She was precious.
While raising his granddaughter, Sioern gradually began to forget the bleeding wounds of the past.
It felt as though he might be able to live without revenge after all.
But.
“…What should I do? The one I want is that child.”
“Then what will you offer in return? No, do you even have anything left to offer?”
“Ah, I misspoke. There is one thing you still have.”
Like a nightmare returning once more, Roberic Arne Heilian.
Once again shattered Sioern’s happiness without mercy.
Ah, yes.
Sioern thought.
In the end, we are bound by an unbreakable curse of fate.
Roberic.
Unless this cursed bond is torn apart, we will always be entangled.
“You…”
“I’ve come to see the Grand Duke of Heilian. Move aside.”
In the dead of night, Sioern, who had come to the residence where the Grand Duke of Heilian stayed, looked at Roberic’s guards.
The knight, well aware of the uneasy history between the former Duke of Basteban and the Grand Duke, avoided his gaze and replied.
“…Please wait a moment.”
Wait.
“Not even a dog you raise would be treated like this.”
“Pardon?”
Sioern no longer intended to show any courtesy to Roberic or his people.
Bang—!
After muttering coldly, Sioern shoved the knight aside and kicked open Roberic’s door.
“…What? You are?”
Roberic, who had been sitting at his desk reading something, jumped up in shock.
Seeing that face filled him with such disgust that Sioern twisted his lips.
“…What brings you here…?”
“Let me be direct. Why did you come looking for Edith?”
