/
Then, in this world of unconsciousness, a distant hallucination echoed.
‘If it wasn’t for sister—if you hadn’t been born such a monster… … !!’
Perhaps it was an old memory of Sienna’s.
‘You can just say whatever you want. Why are you so stubborn? Because of you—I… … !!’
The young voice belonged to Akkard. It was clear that the words he uttered were before he became an adult and then mixed with the iron sound characteristic of puberty.
‘Yeah, Sienna Valerian is amazing— But why couldn’t you save me with that amazingness, huh?’
It was a slightly more mature voice. However, it was still not as rich as the present Akkard. She thought maybe he was around the age of twenty or so.
Damia listened to this silently and could feel that the conflict between the two siblings had been around for quite some time.
‘Are you okay?’
Damia looked at Sienna with worried eyes without realizing it.
As the queen’s favorite, her closest friend, and the kingdom’s greatest prophet…. she had no idea that such a deep and dark pain lurked under her splendid name.
“I’m alright. I was hurt at first, but… … I know. That kid regrets it now,”
replied Sienna softly as she shrugged. In the meantime, the scenery of the past was changing again.
‘This place… … is this the royal palace?’
This time Damia had different visions on both sides of her path.
On one side of her, an adult Sienna was kneeling before the queen, accepting her token of trust. Sienna’s doll-like face as she kissed her queen’s hand was full of tender affection.
On the other side, Akkard bowed his head in front of Heinrich, offering an oath of allegiance. However, unlike Sienna, his expression was blunt and impassive.
Both scenes were impressive. As Damia watched, the scene flickered, and eventually reflected back on their predecessor, Duke Valerian.
“Ugh… … !”
He, who had been such a vicious tyrant, was, to his surprise, being driven out by his children. His clothes were torn as if he had even been whipped, and blood was all over his face.
“How dare you… … Do you think you’ll be safe if you do this to your father?!”
The former Duke, crawling on the hard stone floor, raised his head and shouted. A cold snicker came from somewhere at those words.
“Are you a father? That’s funny.”
Then there were heavy footsteps, and Akkard, now an adult, walked out full of strength.
“You’ve been doing such things for decades, and now you’re talking about my father. What great shamelessness.”
—Well, I guess it’s due to your extraordinary brazenness that you can do the unscrupulous thing of flogging your little boy to intimidate your daughter.
Akkard sarcastically whispered, looking down at his father with derision. A blood-stained whip was clenched in his playful grip.
“So why didn’t you get in line, old man? I think that’s what he always said to us, is not it?”
Far from feeling guilty, his face as he drove out his defeated father was filled with only joy.
Sienna, who appeared later, did not stop her younger brother. Instead, she squatted before her shabby father and licked her lips with a calm face.
“Thank you for putting your life on the wrong side, father.”
Unlike their helpless childhood, they now had power. It was the power they gained by wisely choosing to be loyal to and tossing their lot with them.
The previous Duke realized this and bit his mouth tightly. To such a father, Sienna gave a cold notice.
“I want to expel you like a criminal, but if I do, the honor of the family will be damaged. So, formally, I will say that the ducal couple went abroad for recuperation.”
After all, the Duchess, who had also closed her eyes and covered her ears, was an accomplice with the tyrannical Duke. She ignored them, no matter how young her son cried and asked for her help, and Sienna’s eyes were slowly dying.
‘He’s doing it all for us. So accept it.’
Therefore they couldn’t foster any particular affection for their mother. There was no hesitation in the siblings’ mutual decision to oust their biological parents.
“Don’t ever think about coming back again.”
Akkard stepped on the hand of the previous Duke, who was crawling on the floor and crushed his jaw with the whip’s handle. And he growled with a wolf-like glare that took the last breath of its prey.
“If you try to play stupid tricks or come back on your own, then… … .”
All of the recollections broke off with his terrifying threat that could not be said.