Chapter 16
The next day, Raylenne woke up to the urgent shaking of her shoulder.
‘Who could it be…?’ she thought, still groggy. Perhaps it was Helen, but then she remembered that Helen had disappeared. It must be the new maid.
Not wanting to open her eyes, she lazily guessed who was waking her up until she heard the voice.
“Miss, please wake up! The Duke of Ergen has summoned you.”
The Duke of Ergen? Her father? She hadn’t heard his name in a long time, as he was often away from home. Raylenne’s eyes shot open.
She saw the maid, Shana, standing before her. Raylenne slowly sat up and asked, “Why is my father calling for me?”
“I’m not sure, miss. He just told me to gather all the young masters and you…”
Raylenne got out of bed and quickly dressed. ‘All of us?’ she thought, feeling a sense of foreboding. She hurried out of her room and saw Caverion walking ahead, also heading to the Duke’s study.
“Brother,” she called out.
Caverion turned to look at her. “Raylenne, it seems you were summoned too.”
“Yes, do you know why father is calling us so urgently?”
Caverion’s eyes showed concern. “It’s something to do with Aiden Bedeusian, but I don’t know the details.”
Raylenne’s eyes widened. “Aiden…?”
She quickened her pace, worried about what might have happened. When they reached the study and opened the door, two people were already there. One was a surprising sight.
“Haele…?”
“L-Lady Raylenne.”
Haele looked troubled as she glanced at Raylenne. Raylenne’s gaze shifted to Helis, who had a bandage on his nose, looking very upset. Her heart started pounding with anxiety.
Caverion, sensing the tension, quickly approached the Duke.
“What is going on, Father?”
“Sit down, quickly.”
The Duke pointed to the sofa with a stern expression. Once seated, Raylenne had a better view of Helis’s angry face. Haele looked distressed, while Helis seemed furious. Raylenne instantly suspected something bad had happened to Aiden. Caverion spoke up again.
“What happened to Helis?”
The Duke sighed deeply. “Aiden Bedeusian did this.”
Raylenne closed her eyes in distress as her fear was confirmed. Beside her, Caverion’s puzzled voice questioned.
“Aiden Bedeusian did this to Helis? But he’s shackled in the dungeon.”
The Duke simply frowned, offering no further explanation, prompting Caverion to turn to Haele.
“Haele, explain.”
“Th-that is…”
Haele glanced nervously at Helis, who had his arms crossed and was looking away.
“Tell us everything, without leaving anything out.”
Under Caverion’s stern command, Haele closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them and began to speak.
“Early this morning, Lord Helis came to the dungeon.”
Raylenne glared at Helis. She had told him that the key was with her and that he needed to go with her, yet he had gone alone.
“He wanted to see Aiden Bedeusian, so I opened the door. But…”
Haele glanced at Helis again.
“Continue,” Caverion pressed.
Haele swallowed hard before continuing. “Aiden Bedeusian glared at Lord Helis… Lord Helis didn’t like the way he was looking at him. After hearing that, Aiden attacked him.”
The story seemed full of holes. Aiden would never attack over something so trivial; he was more likely to remain unresponsive.
“That’s all it took for Aiden Bedeusian to attack Helis?”
Fortunately, Caverion seemed to think the same.
Helis, looking angry, cut in. “Do you think a beast needs a reason to attack a person, brother?”
Caverion ignored him and leaned closer to Haele. “Haele.”
“Yes, sir?”
“I’m giving you one more chance. Tell us exactly what happened.”
Caverion’s eyes communicated that this was her final chance. Despite his calm tone, the pressure was unmistakable.
“Y-yes.”
Haele stammered before continuing. “So, Lord Helis went into the cell to see Aiden and called out to him. But Aiden ignored him, and Lord Helis grabbed his hair.”
The omitted truth began to emerge.
“So that’s when Aiden Bedeusian attacked?”
“No… When Aiden still didn’t respond, Lord Helis hit him.”
“Helis did?”
“Yes… But Aiden dodged and hit Lord Helis in the face, knocking him down.”
Haele looked at the floor, her voice barely a whisper. “That’s how Lord Helis’s nose got broken…”
“You…!”
As the truth came out, Helis glared at Haele with murderous eyes.
‘Of course,’ Raylenne thought. Finally, Haele had revealed the exact situation. There was no way Aiden would have attacked over a few words.
“Brother, what’s important right now is not why I’m in this condition,” Helis said, leaning toward Caverion. “What matters is that Aiden Bedeusian still holds our family in contempt.”
What a leap of logic! Aiden’s actions were technically self-defense.
“You’re right, Caverion,” said the Duke of Ergen, who had been observing the situation quietly, agreeing with Helis. “How lightly must Aiden regard us to attack Helis while shackled?”
Though Caverion didn’t agree with them, he still seemed displeased. Regardless of Helis’s mistake, the idea that Aiden looked down on their family was not pleasant.
“Brother, I have an idea. I know a way to teach that insolent Aiden Bedeusian a lesson he’ll never forget,” Helis said, holding his injured nose and glaring.
When Caverion didn’t respond, the Duke spoke again. “Yes, this matter cannot be overlooked. Caverion.”
“…”
“Let Helis handle this,” the Duke said firmly.
“…Understood,” Caverion finally relented, stepping back. Only then did the Duke’s stern expression soften slightly.
“Alright, that’s settled then. We have guests arriving soon, so everyone, please leave.”
With that, the brief discussion ended. Everyone stood and left the Duke’s study. Caverion seemed deep in thought, not even noticing Raylenne beside him as he walked off. Raylenne, on the other hand, couldn’t bring herself to return to her room. She paced nervously in front of the study.
‘What should I do?’ she wondered, pale with worry. She had no idea what Helis might do to Aiden.
As she bit her lip in contemplation, Helis approached, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Sister, may I speak with you for a moment?”
“…Alright,” Raylenne replied, thinking it might be better to confront him directly. She swallowed nervously and followed him to a dark, secluded corner.
As soon as they stopped, Helis put his hands on his hips and asked, “Why did you lie to me?”
“…What lie are you talking about?” she replied.
“The key. The guard had it.”
Raylenne had lied to prevent him from going to the dungeon alone. Even though he had caught her in the lie, she furrowed her brow in irritation.
“I wanted to go with you because I was afraid you’d do something reckless. Helis, why did you ignore my words and go alone?”
“That… that was…” Helis stammered, flustered, but quickly found his words again, smirking. “But that’s not the point now! The important thing is that Aiden looked too well.”
Suppressing her anxiety, Raylenne feigned indifference. “What do you mean by that?”
“Not only was Aiden in good condition, but the lights were newly installed, and his clothes and blankets were new too. It’s almost as if…” Helis’s snake-like eyes scrutinized Raylenne. “Someone’s been taking care of him.”
Raylenne felt sweat on her palms. ‘No, I must stay calm,’ she thought, trying to steady her racing heart. She replied slowly, “The lights were installed to monitor Aiden more closely, and the clothes and blankets are due to my obsession with cleanliness.”
She remembered her own meticulously clean room. The original Raylenne had an obsessive cleanliness and an eye for aesthetics. This part of her personality was now coming in handy.
“You know how I can’t stand dust or dirt,” she added.
Helis squinted his eyes, making a thoughtful noise. “Hmm… And how do you explain Aiden’s healed bruises and improved physique? He seemed to have put on some weight.”
“Do I have to explain Aiden’s rapid recovery too?” Raylenne said with a hint of exasperation, letting out a hollow laugh.
Helis, still doubtful, nodded. “Alright, since you insist so strongly, I’ll believe you, sister.”
Though he didn’t fully trust her, he didn’t have enough evidence to press further for now. But it was too soon to feel relieved.
“Helis, you said earlier you planned to teach Aiden a lesson?”
“Yes, that’s my intention,” he replied.
Raylenne cautiously asked, “What exactly are you planning to do?”
Helis’s lips curled into a smile, as if he were enjoying this. “I’m going to make him eat Hayashin fruit.”
“Hayashin fruit?” It was an unfamiliar term.
“It’s a fruit that causes excruciating pain when consumed. Legend says it was created by the gods to punish humans.”
And you plan to feed that to Aiden? Raylenne’s expression hardened.
“With that, even Aiden Bedeusian will beg for mercy,” Helis said, his eyes wide with delight. “Oh, I have a good idea,” he added, placing his hand on her shoulder again. “Since you are Aiden’s overseer, you should ensure he doesn’t take you lightly.”
“…So?”
Helis’s smirk widened. “Why don’t you be the one to feed him the Hayashin fruit?”
