In the dead of night, an unbelievable news occurred in the very estate of the Lyard family, the Kaintreche Castle, turning the household upside down.
Dver suddenly heard that his wife and son had been attacked by assassins, and he rushed out of the bedroom barefoot.
Afterward, he found his wife lying on the bed with severe wounds, unconscious, and nearly fainted, but he barely managed to endure it.
Fortunately, the family’s healers and Kyle rushed in, extracting the poison, and with their tireless efforts throughout the night, they managed to save her from the dangerous crisis.
However, the events of the previous night were not so easily forgotten.
“I’m sorry, father. Because of me, mother…”
“How many times do I have to hear an apology from you? I told you it wasn’t your fault, so don’t worry about it.”
“Still…”
“Enough. Roxanne is my beloved wife, but you are also my cherished son. As long as you’re awake, that’s enough for me.”
Dver, hearing his son’s repeated apologies, tried to hide his sorrow, lowering his gaze, pretending to be calm.
If Roxanne had truly been harmed, he would be drenched in tears by now, but fortunately, her life was spared, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Moreover, after hearing that Kyle had inhaled poison while protecting the other two who were with him, Dver realized that Kyle had done his best under the circumstances and found himself proud of his son.
“Master, how should we inform the eldest son…”
Soon, the butler, Heitz, approached and asked.
Hassel had been absent from the castle since early yesterday morning due to a sudden schedule change.
“Let him know. But since his mother is safe, there’s no need to rush back.”
“Yes.”
In most households, the mother would have been seriously injured, and the son would be told to return immediately to be by her side. However, Dver was a man of cool-headed judgment.
Even if Hassel returned right away, there was nothing he could do.
He didn’t want to inconvenience his son, who had just left the castle a day ago for his scheduled tasks.
“Sylvia, go back to your room and rest. Only my father and I need to be by mother’s side.”
Meanwhile, Kyle, feeling uneasy that Sylvia, who was not even part of the family, had stayed by Roxanne’s side all night, spoke to her.
While Dver also hoped Silvia would rest, he could not bring himself to say it aloud given the current state of his wife’s condition.
However, despite his suggestion, Silvia was adamant.
“I’m fine. Kyle, you’ve been up all night working to heal. I’ll stay by mother’s side. You should rest for a while.”
“No. Even though the dangerous moment has passed, we still don’t know what might happen…”
“Then I’ll stay with her. At least I’ll feel at ease knowing that I saw mother wake up before I leave.”
“…Do as you wish.”
Kyle, who found Silvia’s stubbornness to be the strongest he’d ever seen, nodded with a bitter smile.
Outwardly, he acted indifferent, but deep down, he was extremely grateful for Silvia’s dedication.
She had diligently cared for Roxanne all night, replacing bandages soaked with blood and flesh without any signs of disgust and even changing wet towels to ensure Roxanne was comfortable.
“By the way, Kyle, what about the remaining assassin from last night…”
At that moment, Silvia suddenly recalled the lone assassin who had survived the previous night’s attack and cautiously asked.
In that instant, Kyle’s gaze turned cold as ice, before quickly softening again.
“I’ll take care of it. For now, we should focus on mother’s recovery.”
“…I see.”
Although the change in topic was abrupt and lacked any explanation, Silvia quickly deduced Kyle’s course of action.
He must have planned to extract information from the assassin, even through torture.
Although the assassin was an enemy, Silvia did not want Kyle to dirty his hands with such vile acts.
However, she could not think of a valid reason to stop him.
In fact, perhaps stopping him now would be more hypocritical than anything.
All she could do was hope that he wouldn’t be consumed by the darkness.
“Ugh…”
“Roxanne!”
“Mother!”
How much time passed in that eternal moment?
Roxanne, who had been lying peacefully with her eyes closed, suddenly grimaced, and a groan escaped her lips, causing everyone in the room to be filled with joy.
As she turned her body due to the pain in her chest and finally opened her eyes, Roxanne stared blankly at the scene before her.
Memories of the previous night briefly flashed through her mind.
‘I definitely was stabbed in the chest with a dagger…?’
She remembered throwing herself in front of her son to protect him, taking the dagger in the process, but after that, her memories grew hazy, suggesting she must have lost consciousness at that point.
As she slowly pieced together her fragmented memory, she began to recognize the familiar ceiling and faces, realizing that she had not yet reached the afterlife.
Had she simply closed her eyes, perhaps she would have at least seen her son one last time, but in a way, she felt regretful.
“Dearest, are you awake? Do you recognize me?”
“…How could I not recognize you? Oh, you…”
Dever, rushing to his wife’s side, asked with a relieved voice, and Roxanne nodded with a wry smile.
It wasn’t common for her husband to raise his voice, so she was certain he must have been extremely worried about her.
Even from the past, he may have seemed cold on the outside, but he was a warm person at heart, so it was only natural.
As Dver moved aside, the face of the son who had been hidden behind him was revealed clearly.
Not knowing what to say, Kyle, wearing a conflicted expression, watched as Roxanne carefully parted her lips.
“You’re safe, Kyle?”
Even though it was just a single sentence, Kyle felt as if a dagger had flown straight into his chest.
It was because the woman he had known as Roxanne and the “mother” lying before him felt so vastly different.
Even though her own life had been hanging by a thread just moments ago, the first thing she did upon waking was ask about her son’s condition.
That act was too unfamiliar.
“…Why did you do this?”
Unable to endure the strangeness any longer, Kyle finally spoke, but the words that emerged felt out of place for someone speaking to a mother who had just regained consciousness.
However, everyone present could infer the meaning behind his words, so no one questioned it.
Roxanne, too, quickly understood his words and simply gave a faint smile.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
“…You were too late.”
“Yes, I was late. Too late.”
She knew.
She knew that such a small gesture, just a mere verbal apology, was nowhere near enough to heal the wounds she had given him.
But even so, this was all she could offer, so Roxanne could only continue apologizing as she gazed at Kyle.
Then, at last, Kyle’s hand, which had seemed as though it would never reach, softly covered the back of Roxanne’s hand.
“…For now, this is enough. When you have fully recovered, you can tell me again then.”
“Ah…”
How warm that touch was, how kind that heart was, how much those words ached.
In the end, unable to hold back the surging emotions, Roxanne covered Kyle’s hand with her own and shed tears.
“I’m sorry, Kyle… I’m so sorry…”
Kyle, unable to face the sight any longer, turned his head away, his gaze landing on the dawn slowly rising between the mountain ridges.
In front of the softly glowing torches, with a statue standing in the center, a woman sat.
Due to the backlight, her face was not clearly visible, but the man kneeling before her didn’t even dare to look up.
Instead, he merely trembled violently.
“…You failed?”
“Y-yes… Apostle. I have no excuses.”
“Was the information you received incorrect?”
“N-no, that was not the case. The information was accurate, but it seems the enemy had already caught onto our movements. Their resistance was also stronger than expected…”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The woman, tapping the armrest of her chair at regular intervals, quietly looked down at the man bowing before her.
Even after deploying as many as eight watchers, they had achieved no significant results—this was unexpected.
Moreover, they had thoroughly analyzed the castle’s layout through a reliable informant and had even devised countermeasures against the barrier.
Despite all this careful preparation, their efforts had resulted in such a pitiful outcome.
“…Is he on his way? I would like to hold him accountable for this failure personally.”
“H-he should be arriving soon.”
“…I see. For now, you may leave. Next time, I expect you to handle things more thoroughly.”
“Th-thank you for your mercy! Thank you, Apostle!”
The man, who had been prostrating himself, immediately scrambled to his feet at her dismissal and fled the room without even looking back.
Today, he had merely been lucky enough to keep his life.
There would be no next time.
With that grim realization seared into his mind, he rushed toward his quarters as if running for his life.
Meanwhile, the woman left alone in the chamber quietly gazed at the door the man had exited before reaching for the table beside her.
Clang!
“…Tsk.”
But before her hand could reach it, the glass shattered.
Though she displayed a hint of disappointment, she slowly closed her eyes.
She could always replace it.
That was the nature of tools, after all.