“…Hmph.”
Lady Meredia, who had just dropped a bombshell, suddenly blushed and darted away in the opposite direction, leaving me alone in the garden.
In the silence that followed, I stood there blankly for a moment until I suddenly turned my head at a voice behind me.
“Sir Whitney, have you cooled down a bit?”
Salem, who had returned to the form of a child around Sasha’s age, was walking toward me with the elders.
“I hope you make the right decision. From here on, one wrong word from you could cost you the support of all of Lumen Ordo.”
“…My decision hasn’t changed.”
I quickly gathered my thoughts and opened my mouth in response to his solemn tone.
“Thank you for offering help, but I cannot comply if it interferes with treating Lady Meredia.”
I never intended to follow their will anyway, but what just happened solidified my refusal even more.
“Haa….”
“…It seems we won’t be able to persuade him.”
“Hehe, so it seems.”
Though their expressions darkened at my unwavering response, I thankfully didn’t sense any hostility.
Only a clear look of disappointment was evident on their faces.
“I’ll ask just one thing.”
“…Go ahead.”
I posed a question that suddenly came to mind.
“My power—the so-called ‘power of dominion’—wasn’t necessarily what alleviated Lady Meredia’s curse, was it?”
“……”
“Couldn’t it have been the power of pure white magic that lessened the curse? If we researched that further…”
At that, the disappointment on the elders’ faces slowly turned into bewilderment.
“…I’m not sure if we should say this or not.”
“Wouldn’t it be stranger to hide something now?”
“…Perhaps.”
Their eyes slowly turned toward me as they exchanged murmurs among themselves.
“Have you ever wondered why the Guardian of Radiance used to visit the Lingard estate so often when you were young?”
Then Salem stepped forward and threw a cryptic question at me.
“That was… simply because of my father’s request for interaction…”
“No. That was the official explanation.”
His expression was darker than ever, and I stood there with a confused face.
“The curse of limited lifespan was first discovered around twenty years ago.”
“…What?”
“And the only known bearer of that curse… is someone you know very well.”
As his words continued, one conclusion became clear, and I couldn’t help but clench my fists.
“No way.”
“The late Countess of Lingard suffered from the exact same curse as Lady Meredia.”
And, just as I feared, Salem uttered exactly what I had suspected.
“…I’m sorry you had to find out this way, Sir Whitney.”
“……”
“Naturally, your father turned to Lumen Ordo for help, and we poured all our resources into aiding her.”
When I didn’t respond, Salem watched me carefully and continued speaking.
“…We identified the nature and source of the curse around ten years ago, but the research into lifting it halted with the Countess’s death.”
“Because the host of the curse disappeared.”
“We wanted to continue, but we couldn’t.”
Aurora and Celeste added some explanation, nervously watching my reaction, but their words didn’t really register with me.
‘The reason Mother died… was because of the curse now on Lady Meredia?’
I wasn’t loved by my family in my previous life, which is why I now consider my current family as my true one.
So when I heard the truth behind my mother’s death, I couldn’t even think straight.
“And what does that have to do with what’s happening now?”
“Countess Lingard was one of the most brilliant and capable curse researchers in the Lumen Ordo council.”
Still trying to keep calm, I asked the question, and Salem let out a sigh as he replied.
“We were her students.”
“Even now, we can’t come close to her brilliance.”
Just like the gifted siblings behind him said, my mother had been a renowned white magic researcher.
That made it even harder to believe she died from a curse.
“Before her death, the Countess left us with a final request.”
“……”
“She asked that we not use your power in her treatment.”
When I heard that, I couldn’t stop myself from biting my lip and closing my eyes.
“The theory that both pure white magic and the power of dominion resided in you—she was the one who proposed it. She also suggested that dominion came from the dark god.”
“…Haa.”
“For her to make such a request…”
I could already picture what Salem was about to say next.
“…Does that mean Mother already knew my dominion power could suppress the curse?”
I softly cut him off and asked the question, and Salem closed his eyes for a moment in silence.
Anyone could tell he was avoiding the answer, but his silence said it all.
“I’ll be honest. She deliberately omitted parts of her research records, so we can’t be entirely sure.”
“……”
“But… the woman I knew would have chosen to sacrifice herself rather than let her child become a demon king.”
With that, it was clear he was all but confirming my suspicion.
“Now do you understand why we’re being so forceful, Whitney Lingard?”
As I stood there speechless, Salem spoke again with a slightly weary look.
“The power of dominion you possess may be so dangerous that your mother gave up her own life to keep it sealed.”
“That’s…”
“…In order to carry on her will, we are doing everything we can to stop your decision.”
Each word he spoke felt like a blade, piercing my heart.
“Does your decision still stand?”
“……”
“There’s still time, so think carefully.”
It was as though he was trying to be considerate of me, yet he seemed to already know what I needed to say.
At that moment, something unusual crossed my mind.
“…There’s still one thing that’s bothering me.”
“What do you mean by ‘bothering you’?”
“My father left me a message through the former butler of the estate, Alfred.”
As I raised my head again and spoke, Salem stopped in his tracks, tilting his head with a look of suspicion.
“It was that the key to controlling my power is hidden in the Embergreen estate.”
“…What?”
“And when I piece everything together, that key is most likely tied to Lady Meredia.”
His expression grew more confused as I continued.
“As you must have realized by now, this contradicts what you have been claiming.”
The same went for the elders behind him as well.
“Lord Lingard… surely wouldn’t say anything without basis.”
“But would he leave such a message…?”
“Well, indeed. After her death, he…”
“…Shh.”
Seeing their exchange, it seemed that my father’s secret message was news to them as well.
“See? There are still things you don’t know.”
“Therefore, my thoughts haven’t changed.”
As I pressed this point, Salem and the council’s gaze sharpened once more, focusing on me.
“If that’s how you feel, then I suppose there’s nothing more to be said.”
A few seconds later, Salem, furrowing his brow as if his head was pounding, grabbed his forehead and spoke again.
“We won’t stop you from personally treating Lady Meredia’s curse.”
“…Thank you.”
“However, we cannot officially support it. Please understand that.”
Though it wasn’t the best possible answer, given the situation with Lady Meredia, I had to accept it and quietly nodded before turning away.
“Then, is this the end of the matter?”
“…….”
“Well then, I’ll be on my way…”
I started to move toward the direction where Lady Meredia had run off, but then—
“Wait a moment.”
Salem’s serious voice halted my steps.
“…What I meant was, we cannot officially support you, but that doesn’t mean we won’t help you unofficially.”
“What?”
I turned my head and saw a rather complicated expression on his face.
“We, too, have lost someone dear to us because of that damn curse.”
“…”
“Let’s see if we can find a way to help.”
I wasn’t sure, but I could tell that the emotion closest to his expression was likely sorrow.
“Are you sure about this? You’re aware that Lady Meredia is a potential demon king, right?”
“Yes, that’s true. Until recently, we classified her as a definite threat.”
I felt a little guilty about burdening these kind-hearted people, but Salem, surprisingly, relaxed his expression and replied in a quiet voice.
“However… I don’t think that’s the case anymore.”
“…What?”
“Who would have thought such words would come from that fearsome villain?”
As soon as he said that, the shock of what had happened earlier washed over me again.
“Lady Meredia… must have used soundproofing magic.”
“…Tell her not to rely too much on her eye power.”
“Hehe. The ancient magic that’s sealed in Lumen Ordo can even neutralize the demon king’s power.”
Even with all the chaos, these people were remarkably sharp.
“Because of that, our Guardian of Radiance was so shocked, she ran off somewhere.”
“Ah.”
“Honestly, I didn’t want to say this… but you’re being a bit much, aren’t you?”
As I gave a wry smile at their difficult decision, I froze in place when I suddenly heard news about Tiffany.
“I should go and offer my condolences…”
“No, don’t do that.”
“You really don’t have a clue. Offering condolences to someone who dumped you? Worst idea ever.”
Honestly, this was unfair.
How could I have known that someone I thought was just a childhood friend was secretly dating me?
“I’ll leave for now. We’ll figure something out and send a letter soon.”
“…Understood.”
I had a lot to say, but the cold stares from the female elders made me agree with Salem’s conclusion.
“Well, I’m really leaving now…”
“No, not yet.”
Just as I thought my time at Lumen Ordo was finally over—
“There’s still one more thing I need to say.”
“……!”
I was quietly walking away when suddenly someone spoke to me, causing me to stop and freeze in surprise.
“It’s about your father, Count Lingard.”
Alastor, the northern head, who had remained silent even when he was about to be killed by Lady Meredia, was now speaking about my father.
Cliche Novel 