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Although bathtubs that could fit two people were the standard in the Cardiago residence, the reapers prepared a single-person tub this time. There in the hot water, they left behind the leaves of Cardiago berries.
Kiel, who came running after hearing the news, set the temperature by stirring one slender hand into the bathwater.
As Riggs soaked himself, blood seeped out and rippled through waves. The healing power of the berries then activated, and it was only when the wound stung that he realized he really was injured.
He hadn’t had such a large wound in a long time.
He didn’t know what happened, but if this was a wound caused by his uncle’s power that was hovering around Roiqan, then his body would have reacted first.
However, as he observed the spread of the poison, he realized that it was likely the power of the ring that had been hidden deep in the study.
As if he read his master’s mind, Kiel asked first.
“But, Hyung. You’re not going to tell the three-syllable woman about the ring?”
“It’s not a good thing to hear about, so why should I.”
“But Hyung, you even sought out the racy book that three-syllable Noona read before because she got punished with collecting herbs because she was caught by the saintesses back then.”
“……”
“Don’t you think that three-syllable Noona would be curious about the story about the previous Duke and Duchess Cardiago? Since you’ll talk to her about the ring, why not talk to her about your parents, too?”
For a moment, Riggs stared at the leaves that floated on the water. He faintly recalled the voice of Roiqan as he said this.
[ But Lady Isabelle, have you ever asked directly? Even when the Cardiago family has been staying at their large mansion in the capital, why is it that they suddenly moved back to their estate? ]
He had always wanted Isabelle to be curious about him. Curiosity would translate to affection.
However, he was still wary about bringing up anything about his parents and uncle.
Riggs looked down and briefly remembered his childhood at the capital.
[ “Your name ‘Ephelix’ is a word in the ancient language that means ‘fruit’. You are the fruit of Cardiago’s labor, so act accordingly.” ]
Though they were only three steps away from his younger self, he couldn’t remember the faces of his parents as they were shrouded by darkness. He didn’t even know what it was like to hug them.
The only time they ever gave him attention was when they extracted poison from him.
It pleased his parents very much that he went into a large, splendid cage. Even as he would silently endure the enormous amounts of underworld power into the cage, a satisfied smile rose on the faces of both people.
To withstand their own poison, his young body reflexively emitted the power of the underworld that was condensed beneath.
[ “Your poison is wonderful, Ephelix.” ]
His father said so, then put that power into a glass bottle. Riggs did not know where the poison from his heart went.
It brought him pain when he had released this underworld power when he hadn’t yet developed them properly, but Riggs did it.
‘…What’s the point of laughing about it.’
Vis Cardiago, his uncle, was the only one who ever held Riggs in his embrace. It was not in the arms of nannies or any other servant, but the arms of his family.
So, Riggs did whatever his uncle asked without any shadow of doubt.
[ “Ephelix, go and give your parents this tea. I’m sure they’ll like it if you personally bring it to them.” ]
[ “Okay!” ]
Even until now, Riggs could clearly remember his parents drinking that tea.
The tea was lukewarm enough that they drank it immediately. If only they had noticed that no steam was coming from the tea, then it might not have happened.
In an instant, blood spurted from his mother and father’s bodies.
His father, as he collapsed to the floor, looked straight at Riggs. In those eyes were betrayal, shock, and then joy.
[ “You’ve finally become a person of the underworld.” ]
Fearing that his parents might disappear forever, he sealed both their souls in the wedding rings that were passed down for generations in the Cardiago family.
The tea contained the poison that had been extracted from his body, and it was his uncle who put that poison in there, wanting to be the head of the family.
Riggs couldn’t stand knowing this, so he went directly to him and grabbed his uncle by the sleeve. However, he was pushed away coldly.
[ “After drinking the tea that uncle gave, Mother and Father…” ]
[ “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You did that.” ]
His uncle had pronounced each word of the sentence cruelly. Ironically, Riggs refused to listen to that voice as he tried to go into his uncle’s embrace.
However, his uncle once again pushed him away. Then, he said,
[ “You monster. No one will want you in their arms anymore. No one will teach you what warmth and love are.” ]
His return to the ducal estate was something that was decided even before he could recover from the shock. It happened so fast, as if everything had been prepared in advance.
From that day onwards, Riggs lived like a soulless doll. That was until his uncle, who was temporarily in charge of the household’s internal affairs, tried to kill him on his way to the estate.
If Isabelle hadn’t shown up when he was about to lose his breath, when he was about to give up on running away, what would have happened?
While Riggs brooded over this, Kiel smiled and said sulkily.
“So, you’re never ever going to talk about it with her? It’s a matter between the married couple ruling over this duchy though. And isn’t it about time that you started explaining yourself regarding those rumors about your lower body?”
“……”
“Whenever I see Hyung clothed so scantily every morning, waking up on the couch instead of the bed, I feel a little bad for you. And when that stands, it doesn’t just stand, it even goes boing, boi—”
“Shut up.”
“I know it’s not good enough to just think about those rumors. Isn’t there a reason why the Goddess Isis bestowed language upon humans?”
Riggs stared daggers at Kiel. It was a ferocious expression that would never come out as long as he was thinking of Isabelle.
Kiel left the bathroom with a sullen face, however, his steps as he skipped down the hall were playful.
* * *
At about the same time, Isabelle got ready to sleep and went to the bedroom. She was still trying to shoo away her complicated thoughts. Goddess Isis would be sad to hear this, but because she wasn’t there to help Isabelle prepare for bed, it finished twice as fast as usual.
For Isabelle, her first instinct whenever she had melancholy thoughts was to go to her soft bed and cover herself with a soft blanket. When she felt depressed after thinking about these things more, she usually covered her face with the blanket and cried a little before she went out again.
Her room at the temple wasn’t soundproof, so this was the best way for her to let out her tears without the saintesses hearing.
‘But they always notice anyway and come to comfort me.’
As she recalled what Roiqan had said, Isabelle tried to raise the corners of her lips. He said that her mother had left her belongings behind for her, and they were in Pilsburg.
Even if they weren’t really left for her, she wanted to get them.
If it was something that her mother had touched from before Isabelle was born, if only she could have one thing of her mother’s, wouldn’t it feel comforting how she finally had roots on this earth?
In the past, as soon as she heard about this from Roiqan, she would have headed straight to Pilsburg even though she knew that it was a trap.
‘Because I’m a direct descendant, I have a duty to give birth to a son, he said.’
It was thanks to Riggs that she didn’t fall for his tricks. Without Riggs by her side, she would have chased down her mother’s tracks—hook, line and sinker.
Looking back, as she was floating though without a place to sink her roots in, Riggs had always been her safe place.
Before coming to the Cardiago Castle, she thought it was her role to help the somewhat foolish Riggs. But in fact, it was the other way around.
‘…I thought he was a baby deer, but it turns out, he’s a baby lion.’
Riggs was strong. Isabelle also noticed that it wasn’t Roiqan’s powers that injured him. Something in Roiqan’s pocket caused a sharp manifestation of underworld power, and it was the same power that distorted time and space back then.
‘I felt like I needed to run towards Roiqan to shut his mouth just to stop him from revealing the past.’
Roiqan threatened her with Riggs’ past. It was a memory that even Riggs seemingly wanted to hide, so he must have been so lost in thought that he didn’t notice how deep his wound was.
Roiqan new something from Riggs’ past that Isabelle didn’t know. This thought made her somewhat sad.
It was around that time that someone knocked on the tightly closed door.
“Isabelle Noona! It’s Kiel… But there’s something about Hyung, what do we do?”
“What’s wrong with Riggs?”
“The wound isn’t healing. Can you go and help him?”
Shocked after hearing that Riggs’ injury wasn’t closing, she couldn’t even hear the mischief in Kiel’s tone.