Chapter 91

In response to Caverion’s words, the dark aura surrounding Aiden gradually receded. 

Seeing this, Caverion relaxed his furrowed brow and muttered, “So it wasn’t Damian, but you who was the Awakener.”

At that moment, Raylenne bent over, coughing violently. 

Caverion quickly bent down and brought his face close to hers. “Raylenne, are you alright?”

“Yes…”

As the aura dissipated from Aiden, Raylenne felt she could finally breathe a little easier.

“What exactly is going on?” Caverion asked.

“Father… he tried to kill me,” Raylenne whispered, gesturing towards Duke Ergen, her voice barely audible but sufficient for Caverion to hear.

There was much more she wanted to say, but for now, this explanation seemed to suffice.

In the meantime, Duke Ergen was slowly pushing himself up from the floor.

Unaware of Caverion’s cold expression, Duke Ergen let out a sigh of relief. “You’ve come at the right time, Caverion… Thanks to you, I’m alive.”

Despite being crushed by Aiden’s presence earlier, Duke Ergen’s demeanor had shifted to one of arrogance now that Caverion had arrived.

Caverion told Raylenne, “Please wait here for a moment,” and turned his attention to Duke Ergen.

Caverion’s blue eyes appeared darker than usual. However, Duke Ergen, still not grasping the situation, began to fidget with his neck and glared at Aiden.

“How dare you… trying to kill me, a Duke. You deserve execution!”

“No, you are no longer the Duke of Ergen,” Caverion responded.

The Duke’s head snapped around to look at Caverion, confusion and anger evident. “What do you mean by that…?”

Caverion pulled out a bundle of papers from the inside pocket of his jacket and scattered them over Duke Ergen. The papers fluttered and fell slowly to the ground.

Duke Ergen, turning his head repeatedly, tried to identify what the papers were. As he picked one up and began reading, his expression grew increasingly strained.

“What is this…?”

“It’s a pledge from the knights of the house acknowledging me as the new master,” Caverion explained, walking slowly until he stood directly in front of Duke Ergen.

“Not a single knight is missing from this pledge. They’ve all sworn to leave the estate if you continue to hold the title of Duke.”

Even Raylenne, who had been silently listening, could not help but be surprised. 

‘So, this is what Caverion had been preparing for…’

The money for persuading Lavita and the funds collected in secret to plan the rebellion were all part of this scheme. She was only now realizing how Caverion had managed to gather all the pledges from the knights by today.

It was highly unusual for knights, who are loyal to their masters, to turn their backs on him. This made it all the more devastating for the head of the house.

Not only would his authority as a noble be weakened, but with reduced security, there was a risk of attacks from surrounding enemies. Especially in the current tense standoff with the Bedeusian family, if the knights left, the Bedeusian family would likely seize the opportunity to wage a territorial war.

Caverion had hinted that it would be difficult to secure the knights’ pledges in time, but it seemed he had managed to do so by today.

“I won’t say more. Just hand over the title of Duke to me.”

“What… you’re betraying me…!”

“It was always meant to be passed down to me anyway,” Caverion said with an icy tone. 

“All you need to do is quietly step down. If you do, the knights will stay at the estate, and we will continue to be the esteemed Duke’s family.”

“No… I can’t do it.”

“Yes, you must,” Caverion insisted, firmly gripping Duke Ergen’s shoulders. “Unless you want to face even worse consequences.”

Duke Ergen hesitated at Caverion’s changed demeanor.

“W-What… what do you mean? I’m your father…!”

“Now you speak of family? I know you killed my mother.”

“You’re talking nonsense with Raylenne…! When did I… Nadia… ugh!”

Caverion tightened his grip on Duke Ergen’s chin. The Duke’s face contorted in pain.

“This is the end of your paternal authority. I know you tried to kill not only my mother but also Raylenne.”

“…”

“The magnolias.”

Caverion’s hand, still gripping the Duke’s chin, began to tremble. It seemed as though a slight misstep could crush it.

“There were always white magnolias in my mother’s room, just as there were in Raylenne’s room.”

Raylenne, realizing what Caverion was implying, instinctively began to speak. 

‘Magnolias…!’

“You used the scent of magnolias to poison my mother’s body just as you used it to poison Raylenne’s.”

“…”

“The magnolia scent masked the smell of Sana grass, making it hard for anyone who wasn’t extremely perceptive to notice. General physicians rarely used Sana grass, so it was difficult to detect. You took full advantage of that.”

Raylenne felt her strength drain once more. 

‘So Nadia was poisoned in the same way as Raylenne…’

To think the true culprit who had tried to kill her was so close. The shock left her head spinning.

As Caverion released his grip on Duke Ergen’s chin, the Duke rubbed his sore jaw and looked up.

“…Yes, it was me.”

“Why did you try to kill Raylenne?”

As the Duke remained silent, Caverion’s threatening voice cut through the air.

“You’d better speak quickly. I lack patience, just like you.”

Seeing the menacing look in Caverion’s eyes, Duke Ergen stammered and finally began to speak.

“Once, Raylenne caused a commotion, saying she was too distressed and wanted to leave the estate. At that time, I used Sana grass to make her a bit more docile.”

Raylenne clenched her teeth.

‘All for such a trivial reason…’

“And then one day, when Raylenne found Nadia’s diary and started interrogating and threatening me, saying she would reveal its contents to others, that’s when I decided I needed to kill her.”

The Duke recounted the events of that day with a disturbing calmness.

“That night, I ordered Raylenne’s maid to apply five times the usual amount of Sana grass. Yet, Raylenne did not die.”

It wasn’t that Raylenne didn’t die; rather, her body had died, and her soul had been replaced by mine. However, unaware of this, Duke Ergen simply thought she had survived.

Continuing his story, Duke Ergen laughed incredulously. “I tried again, but Raylenne still didn’t die.”

Raylenne remembered that day vividly. It was only a few days after her soul had entered Raylenne’s body, and she had felt extremely ill. So, Duke Ergen was the one speaking with Helen in her room that day, Raylenne realized.

Listening, Caverion furrowed his brow and asked, “Then why did you stop trying to kill Raylenne after that?”

Raylenne was curious about this too. After Helen disappeared, Duke Ergen never made another attempt on her life.

“Because she stopped opposing me, and I thought it would be a waste to kill someone with such a pretty face. I figured I could use her in some situation.” Duke Ergen laughed again, this time a more derisive chuckle.

“But that was a mistake,” he added.

The pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place for Raylenne. She recalled the words spoken by the Raylenne from her dreams:  

[If you find the truth about our mother’s death, you might also find the answers to your questions…]

Raylenne now understood that her lingering question was about the real culprit. Just as the original Raylenne had suggested, finding clues about Nadia’s death led her to the true culprit who had tried to harm her. Although she had found the culprit, she felt an unexpected emptiness rather than joy. Meanwhile, Duke Ergen continued to smirk, his laughter now tinged with mockery.

“Haha, but what can you do with this knowledge? Are you going to kill me? No, Caverion, you can’t. You know that would lead to your downfall.”

“…”

“Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to prove Nadia’s death. It’s been too long, and one witness won’t be enough.”

In truth, Duke Ergen was right. Raylenne had been worried about how to prove Nadia’s death. The incident was too old, and a diary or testimony from an undertaker wouldn’t be enough to convict Duke Ergen of murder. But that was until now.

Raylenne managed to speak despite her dry throat. “No, Father, your own words will serve as evidence in court.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Raylenne as she revealed a small green gem hidden in her sleeve.

“That is…”

“A magic device that records voices.”

All the conversations that had taken place had been recorded by this small device, which Raylenne had acquired with Tantan’s help. Duke Ergen’s face crumpled like a piece of discarded paper as he realized he’d been deceived. Raylenne gave him a faint smile.

“The only thing I learned from you was how to deceive others,” she said.

She then addressed Caverion. “Brother, lock him up in the underground prison immediately.”

Caverion nodded and called out loudly towards the door, “Guards, take him away…”

“Wait.”

At that moment, Aiden interrupted, catching Caverion’s attention. Caverion looked at Aiden with a frown. Aiden’s body was emanating a powerful aura, much stronger than before.

“I can’t let him go like this.”

Aiden’s body emitted cracking sounds as he continued, “He’s tormented Raylenne for too long. I can’t let him live out his days comfortably in a cell.”

“So, what do you intend to do?” Caverion asked.

“I’m going to end his life,” Aiden declared, his eyes flashing. He moved with blinding speed, his aura darkening as he lunged at Duke Ergen.

But this wasn’t what Raylenne wanted. They had just found a lawful way to bring Duke Ergen to justice…!

“Aiden!” Raylenne shouted in alarm, but it was too late. Aiden struck Duke Ergen, sending him crashing to the floor. Aiden’s eyes were unfocused, seemingly lost in a haze of rage.

Fortunately, Duke Ergen wasn’t dead, coughing as he lay on the ground. But there was no time to feel relieved as Aiden immediately grabbed the Duke’s throat. Thankfully, Caverion moved just as quickly, using his awakened power to grab Aiden’s arm, his blue aura flaring up.

“You’re not helping anyone by doing this,” Caverion said coldly.

Aiden sneered, “So you were just watching while Raylenne suffered?”

“…”

“Move,” Aiden said, pushing Caverion away. Caverion crashed into the wall with a loud thud, groaning in pain.

“Kugh…”

Aiden was determined to kill Duke Ergen. His movements were swift and decisive, with no hesitation. Not even Caverion could stop him, meaning it was only a matter of time before Aiden succeeded.

Raylenne, struggling to her feet, rushed forward and embraced Aiden, shouting his name. “Aiden!”

She fell to the ground with him, feeling the pain where her body met the floor, but she didn’t let go. While she was deeply grateful that Aiden was angry on her behalf, she couldn’t let him go through with it. Killing Duke Ergen now would only create more problems.

The aura emanating from Aiden felt like a wild, starved beast. He let out a loud scream, “Aaaaaah!”

Aiden seemed unable to control his overwhelming power or his anger. The dark aura surged out, threatening to consume everything around it.

With a loud crash, part of the wall crumbled, and the windows shattered. Raylenne tightened her grip on Aiden, whispering softly.

“Aiden… It’s okay.”

As if responding to her voice, Aiden’s heaving chest began to calm. Raylenne whispered again in his ear, “Aiden… everything’s going to be okay now…”

The raging black aura around him slowly subsided, and finally, the dark energy dissipated completely. Seeing this, Raylenne closed her eyes in relief.