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Chapter 275

Armstrong bowed his head to Aden; the young knight didn’t even think about pausing to wipe the blood off his body.

“The mission has been completed, and everyone has returned safely, My Lord.”

Aden examined the unconscious woman Armstrong had brought him. His eyes held two distinct emotions: one was a deep rage that the average person would never comprehend; the other…

“Armstrong.”

The knight raised his head, but when he saw the fire in Aden’s eyes, he couldn’t help but flinch.

“Yes, My Lord?”

“What else happened?”

“If you’re asking about the aftermath, you don’t have to worry about anything. As you ordered, we killed everyone who got in the way.”

Armstrong casually spoke those terrifying words; it was as if nothing was wrong with what he had just said.

“But,” the knight warily continued, “Something went wrong with the Princess during the kidnapping.”

“Something went wrong?” Aden asked, his brows furrowed.

“She’s mentally unresponsive, like she received a mental shock. Her injuries, if any, are minor, but seeing that she’s not woken up yet—”

“You’re saying that she might not wake up?”

Armstrong shook his head.

“That is not the case, My Lord. I had a doctor check her before bringing her here. The result was as I said: her body is fine, but there may be something wrong with her head—”

“Good,” Aden interrupted.

“...Sir?” Armstrong blankly asked.

“If she was fine, I would have decocted Sanders, the flower of oblivion, and made her drink it.”

“...!”

The knight\'s eyes widened slightly. Aden only spared Armstrong another moment of his attention before immediately turning to the unconscious woman.

The second emotion his eyes contained was “contempt.” Aden looked at her like she was a filthy insect.

“I want detailed, regular reports on her from the moment she wakes up.”

“Yes, My Lord.”

“And,” Aden spat, a light flashing in his eyes, “from this moment on, the name ‘Asiru ben Britten’ will be erased from the world.”

“....”

“But, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to leave at least a trace of her name for future use,” he muttered as he glanced at the woman again. “Strip her of her Britten name. Change her from a princess to a maid. Her new name will be… Lucia.”

Aden\'s voice hung quietly in the still air.

The name Lucia had no meaning; it was just a reverse of her old name, Asiru.[1] Aden simply despised the Princess, even if his burning need for retribution was impossible to fulfill.

“I will inform the main house. Once she recovers, report her state to me and then take her straight to the head maid.”

“I understand, My Lord.”

Aden turned around with a certain finality. The sharp motion seemed to whip up a cold wind, making Armstrong shiver slightly.

One person\'s destiny was completely altered by a single word. The apex of Imperial society fell to the lowest of the low in an instant. And yet, she never stopped being the princess she was born as, even if she lived the life of a maid.

Revenge and plots. It was a truly cruel method of playing god.

Or maybe the man\'s need for revenge had grown too strong? Had he become a monster?

“My Lord…”

Armstrong looked at Aden’s back as he walked away. A ray of moonlight clearly illuminated the worry in Armstrong’s eyes.

****

Years passed again, and in that time, there was more news.

“I’m still lacking, so I hope everyone will help me.”

“Glory to the new head of the household!”

In a banquet held in the duchy, the knights cried out in exultation and raised their swords to salute their new master, Aden von Agnus, a Master and the new head of the Agnus Duchy.

“AH!”

Aden was walking through the mansion with an expression rich with emotion but stopped walking when he bumped into someone: a familiar woman with blue hair wearing an unassuming maid outfit.

“I-I greet the Duke,” the woman stuttered.

Duke Agnus looked at her with deep, inscrutable eyes.

“What is your name?”

The startled woman raised her head.

“My Lord?”

“I asked you what your name is.”

“A-Ah!”

She wanted to ask why a duke would want to know the name of a maid like her but managed to swallow the question down and answered.

“I… I am Lucia, My Lord…”

Aden flinched.

“I see… Lucia…”

Aden\'s heart began to throb as he muttered that name. Something rose up in him again—a new, twisted longing that brought dark thoughts to his mind.

‘Is this carnal desire I feel? I thought I was beyond this.’

His eyes began to regain life.

His need for revenge had been fading after he became a Superhuman. But recently, that need had been rekindled after he had heard the news about his mother and the fate she had suffered.

‘They said that mother… was still alive for two years after I got out of prison.’

Aden’s expression darkened as he remembered. For the atrocities committed by her child, Aden’s mother was given neither the death penalty nor a prison sentence as Aden had been given.

Instead, the moment she entered the Imperial Palace, she went from the lady of the Agnus house to one of the Empress\'s ladies-in-waiting… for five long years at that.

Aden was aware of the stories circulating in the Empire about the incident involving Duke Agnus, Emperor Douglas, and his mother. It was obvious what the Emperor had done to his mother.

‘They said that she tried to kill herself multiple times but failed every time because the Emperor would always threaten her with her child… She suffered for that long because of me…’

Aden\'s eyes slowly turned bloodshot.

‘I will hurt you worse than you hurt her… I will purge your rotten blood, Britten.’

Aden grounded his teeth against each other.

“Follow me.”

The woman felt a chill and froze in place like a stone statue.

“Can’t you hear me?”

“Oh… Yes…”

“If you make me repeat myself again, I will cut off your dysfunctional ears.”

Aden’s freezing voice made Lucia tremble.

“I-I will keep that in mind, My Lord.”

After speaking, Aden turned around.

Their destination was the Duke’s chambers at the end of the hallway.

The woman anxiously chased after the sound of Aden’s footsteps.

***

Aden was in a small training ground reserved exclusively for the head of the household. He had just finished his training.

“My Lord.”

Someone was waiting for Aden to exit the training ground. The Duke recognized the voice.

“Armstrong, what are you doing at this late hour?” Aden asked.

“There is a problem, My Lord.”

Seeing the man\'s serious expression, Aden straightened.

“A problem?”

“The… Princess... No, Asiru... gave birth to a child.”

Armstrong saw Aden’s eyes slowly narrow.

“I knew this would happen,” the knight quickly added. “With her good looks, everyone—even all the knights and soldiers—was seduced by her beauty. They were all looking for an opportunity… If I only paid more attention to that…”

The man prostrated himself.

“My ignorance has brought this shame—”

“Is that so?”

“Sir?” the knight returned, completely taken aback by Aden\'s unexpected response.

“I violated her.”

“...!”

Armstrong stiffened like he’d been struck by lightning.

“That is my seed she is growing.”

Armstrong’s eyes grew wide with shock and astonishment.

“That… wha— huh?”

“Apart from being a tool for my vengeance, she was a reserve in case of an emergency… in case I go wrong. Of course, the chances of that happening are extremely low.”

The silence was suffocating.

“If she conceived a son… Then maybe that child will even surpass me… like fate.” Aden closed his eyes for a moment as he trailed off. “And that fate is something I can utilize.”

“....”

“But I have no intention of doing so from the beginning. After all, the boy is also undeniably half Britten.”

Where else on the continent would you find a father who speaks so cruelly about his unborn child?

Armstrong couldn’t understand Aden’s thoughts.

“If you’re planning on going for revenge, why not Young Master Babel–”

“You should already know that he\'s not my child, Armstrong?”

“....”

“If I do as you say, then in the end, a pure-blooded Britten will take over the country again. That would be meaningless, wouldn’t it?”

It felt excessive to Armstrong, but he couldn’t deny the logic, so he had no choice but to remain silent.

“There is nothing complicated about it. It seems that the first in line for the throne, Marcus ben Britten, wants to use me again to destroy my family.”

“....”

“We are merely returning the favor… using the same method.”

Aden resumed his walk.

“As soon as you return, let the whole family know that she carries my child.”

“B-But if you do that,” the knight stammered, “Princess Vanessa will not leave her alone—”

Armstrong’s jaw dropped. He seemed to have realized something.

“Oh, no.”

“From now on, I don\'t care what happens to her, so just leave her alone. Let destiny take its course. Besides, aren’t Vanessa and Asiru blood sisters, strictly speaking?” A cold smile hung on Aden\'s lips. “It’s a pretty good revenge…”

“My Lord…”

Armstrong\'s voice slipped quietly into the night sky. He suddenly couldn’t recognize his lord anymore.

***

Duke Agnus finally freed himself from his thoughts and quietly opened his eyes.

Britten eyes—those disgusting eyes—looked back at him.

“What do you want?”

“Give me the Agnus Duchy right now,” Babel answered without hesitation.

“You are the heir to the Duchy, aren’t you?”

“You must know that I’m not talking about anything that shallow. I want the Duke’s ‘true’ feelings.”

Babel looked straight into Duke Agnus’s brooding eyes as he finished.

“That and the Deon ring that represents the great Agnus family. Give me both.”

1. 루시아=Lusia/Rusia 아시루=Asiru/Asilu ☜