CHAPTER 52

The letter, which doubled as a testament, had plunged everyone into shock and filled Duke Panteur’s chamber with sobs and sighs. The words written haphazardly, as if foreseeing one’s death in the war, merely caused heartache.

“I think our daughter left something for you to read too, don’t you? Perhaps I should take a look.” 

“You can go ahead and read it. Please show me yours in return.”

Since there was no need for secrecy, they each examined the message Seraphina had left. Upon reading the message, Duke Panteur’s brow furrowed with a thin crease.

“What does this mean, a necklace?”

“It was given to our child when she was young. It’s the necklace that’s descended in legend from the Tigris Duchy. It’s made with a purple diamond, and there’s a saying that it grants wishes.”

It was the necklace written in the Tigris family’s history books. Therefore, no one knew if these words were true or not. They merely hoped that by wearing this necklace, Seraphina could live even a bit more safely.

“So, are you saying this necklace can save a person’s life?”

“If that’s the wish, then yes.”

“If that legendary tale is true, then why didn’t Seraphina use it to save herself? If she survived, her unborn child could have survived as well.”

“My daughter, Seraphina, had strong principles. Perhaps she only made the wish right before her death. Faced with the choice of dying together with her child or surviving on her own, she couldn’t abandon her child to save herself.”

Even though she became Duchess Panteur, she was a knight who remained loyal to the imperial family and followed the Emperor’s orders. That’s why she participated when there were campaigns and battles organized by the imperial court.

The Duke of Minerva, Rufino, in the western region, couldn’t participate due to childbirth and the internal affairs of the household. Instead, he sent the elite corps of knights. Duke Draco in the central region firmly stated that he had to protect the imperial capital and also chose not to participate.

Duke Tigris in the northern region was occupied with overseeing the border duties of the upper region and couldn’t leave casually. Instead, he dispatched magicians to assist. Duke Aquila in the southern region fell in battle during the campaign. Thus, Jerome should have taken his place, but Duke Panteur exerted pressure and prevented him from moving due to the ongoing funeral.

Perhaps fearing an unfortunate twist of fate that might leave the aged son-in-law dead, resulting in his daughter living as a widow while raising her son, Duke Panteur wouldn’t be able to witness such a sight even if he died and came back to life.

Duke Panteur in the eastern region was also engaged in campaigns elsewhere, which prevented him from openly acting in the royal court and temple. Thus, the order to participate was given to Seraphina, who had a reputation as an upright knight.

If Duke Panteur had known this fact in advance, he might have stopped it, but by the time he learned of it, it was already too late. Following the royal command, Seraphina led the eastern nobles, knights, and soldiers, participating in the so-called holy war and deliberately provoked conflicts with other kingdoms.

Duke Panteur couldn’t be unaware that all of this was an attempt to weaken the uncooperative power of the noble houses.

Caught in the enemy’s trap, Seraphina fought to the end, managing to save the last remaining soldiers before falling in battle with her abdomen pierced. Later, Duke Panteur went to that place through a warp gate.

As he gazed upon Seraphina’s body, unable to shed tears, one of the medical officers in the duty room spoke.

‘Seraphina is pregnant. She discovered it here.’

Upon hearing these words, Duke Panteur turned around and headed straight for the royal court, his hands tightly gripping the hilt of the sword that would soon find the neck of the king who had killed Seraphina. 

Originally, if the Five Dukes couldn’t participate, it was the Emperor or the Crown Prince who should have led the battle directly. However, the Emperor declined due to his old age, and the Crown Prince refused, citing that his Crown Princess was expecting a child.

While the reasons may have been different, it was because of these refusals that the pregnant Seraphina met her demise. Duke Panteur was not one to remain idle.

Gathering all the nobles of the imperial family in a place to discuss the victory of the holy war, Duke Panteur entered and threw the price of the king’s head, who had ordered Seraphina’s death, right in front of them. 

For a moment, tension hung heavy in the air, but Duke Panteur walked silently to the podium and looked at the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

‘Are you so pleased even though my wife and child are dead? The nobles should have led the battle themselves. And if it’s a holy war, the paladins should have been deployed. Why were those brats just standing still?’

With bloodshot eyes and tears of blood streaming down every time he blinked, Duke Panteur’s anger was palpable.

‘Is it so enjoyable for you to push my child and my wife into death? Crown Prince, you should say something too. It’s a holy war, so why were you all cowering in the corners?’

In a voice devoid of emotion, Duke Panteur’s tone made the Emperor flinch, and even his accustomed eloquence couldn’t save him from stuttering. Instead, it was the Crown Prince who stepped forward as a spokesperson.

‘Duchess Panteur is pregnant…’

‘Even if you knew, you think I wouldn’t have found out that you told her to participate? I’m not that foolish.’

‘Enough, Duke! Even so, threatening the imperial family…’

‘Threatening? Ah, so this is called a threat. I just learned that. Well then, let me show you how to threaten.’

With a wry smile, Duke Panteur looked left and right and addressed the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the High Priest.

‘From now on, when there’s a holy war, don’t involve us. Let the pure paladins fight it out.’

‘But a holy war is sacred…’

‘That’s why I’m saying to let you handle the sacred war! Why do you force my innocent subjects and knights to die? High Priest, my words aren’t over, so listen until the end. If you want your head to remain intact!’

Seraphina and the child whose name hadn’t even been given died. Duke Panteur, who had lost everything visible, spoke with an eerie smile.

‘Henceforth, all the eastern temples will be closed. If you don’t leave within a month, I will become a demon and slaughter the priests.’

‘That’s sacrilege… Heek!’

The High Priest attempted to speak but halted as he saw the sword at his throat, even his breath freezing. The sword’s blade still glistened with undried blood.

‘Your Majesty, and Your Highness, you as nobles have not fulfilled your duties properly. Therefore, from now on, if war breaks out, take the imperial army and the forces of Duke Draco to fight.’

‘Duke. Duke Panteur! Pull yourself together!’

‘I am perfectly rational right now. Even though my wife and the child who never had a chance to be born are dead. If I weren’t in control, the people here would not escape my wrath.’

Seeing the Emperor in a state of frustration and unable to speak properly, Duke Panteur shrugged his shoulders. Then he delivered his final words.

‘The east is now seething with poison. If you wish, you can come to fight. You’re always welcome. I don’t know if a peace-loving alliance can overcome the war-hardened East, but who’s to say?’

With those words, Duke Panteur left the palace.

For a moment, lost in old memories, Duke Panteur clenched his lips and chewed. Those memories were something he didn’t want to recall.

“Are you alright?”

“To be honest, I’m not alright. Four years ago, I should have slapped the Emperor and the Crown Prince, but I didn’t, and now my anger is exploding.”

Duke Panteur closed his eyes and held Erica with Rafi in his arms, silently shedding tears.

“It was a real mess back then. He threw the head of the enemy king and shed tears of blood, all in one go.”

Vance, who was present at the time, explained everything that had happened that day. Duke Tigris and Erica, who weren’t there, turned pale.

“Why did you do something like that all alone!”

“Father, to shed tears of blood… how much pain you must have felt… If I had known, I would have gone with you.”

Seeing Rafi and Erica, who had fallen asleep, Duke Panteur spoke softly. He wore a faint, almost fleeting smile that seemed like it would disappear with the wind.

“I alone am enough to be resented by the royal family. There’s no need for it to extend to the northern and southern regions unnecessarily.”

Thanks to Duke Panteur’s unspoken expressions, Duke Tigris and Erica were unaware of what had happened at that time. And rightfully so, as the nobles were ashamed and had concealed everything that occurred that day.

“In the future, if something like that happens, please tell us immediately. Who are we to you? Not just family.”

“That’s right. Father! You’re not alone. And as Mother said, please express yourself. Otherwise, misunderstandings might arise.”

Seeing that they were willing to rush to the palace and cause a commotion right away, Duke Panteur shook his head from side to side.

“But that’s not the issue right now. The question is, is Rafi really Seraphina’s reincarnation? I thought of her as a child who resembled Seraphina, dropped from the sky. So, I tried to love her in place of Seraphina…”

This was the belief shared by the entire Panteur family. Rafi was seen as a child resembling Seraphina. Although Duke Panteur had acknowledged her as his daughter officially, he believed they didn’t share the same bloodline. However, those who had sinned against the Duchess showered Rafi with affection and treated her with love.

“At first, I didn’t know either. Seraphina’s nanny told me that she saw Rafi with her own eyes. It’s about that necklace.”

“Isn’t that just an imitation? Rafi has been wearing that necklace since she fell.”

“No, that diamond might look like an imitation at first glance, but it’s purple. We believe that the child lived in another world, and when her life was in danger, she fell here, powered by the gem’s magic.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I was afraid you would be too disappointed if our theory was wrong. Anyway, Rafi is Rafi.”

It made sense that a child who had never learned to read was reading ancient languages. Perhaps she learned it in that world. Besides, sometimes she had thoughts that were beyond her age as if she had lived a long time in this world.

It seemed like an adult soul inhabited the child’s body. Everything fit perfectly with Duke Tigris’ words.

“So, is our Rafi truly my sister? I did read the letter Mother wrote, but I had my doubts…”

“I anticipated that, so I brought this.”

Daniel, his tears held back, took something out of his bag. It was a small glass vial containing a clear liquid.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a kinship verification solution that I brought just in case. Grandfather opposed it, but I thought it would be better to verify it once, despite that.”

What if Rafi wasn’t a blood relative? Even so, Rafi would continue to be called Rafi and grow up as such. Knowing that, Daniel placed the kinship verification solution on the table.

“How do we do it?”

“We need a drop of my aunt’s blood. Since my aunt is not present, I need a drop of my grandfather’s blood instead.”

As Daniel finished speaking, Duke Panteur ominously drew a dagger. Just as he was about to cut his arm, Daniel intervened, asking him to drop just one drop of blood. Vance, who seemed to have quickly procured it from somewhere, replaced the dagger with a sterilized needle.

When the fingertip was pricked, a droplet of red blood formed and fell into the solution. Using a sterilized needle, Duke Tigris pricked his finger as well. As expected, when a drop of red blood entered the mixture, it coagulated into a sphere, but the two drops of blood did not merge into one.

“When it’s a blood relationship or kinship, a certain degree of mixing occurs. Lastly, we need Rafi’s blood…”

“Our Rafi might feel pain.”

“I anticipated that and brought anesthesia.”

Prepared as ever, Daniel applied anesthesia to Rafi’s sleeping finger. Beside her, Ciel bristled its fur and got ready to pounce if Daniel made any wrong moves.

“I’m not trying to harm your master. I just need a drop of blood to verify something, so stay still.”

Daniel’s gentle voice made Ciel flatten its fur, but it still glared at him. Behind Ciel’s gaze, even more intimidating were the gazes of Duke Panteur and Duke Tigris. Nonetheless, Daniel pricked the needle into Rafi’s tiny hand.

“Ouch!”

As if she had been pricked, Erica let out a soft moan. Just a light touch seemed to trigger Rafi’s imminent awakening as if she were about to sneeze. A tiny droplet of blood formed on Rafi’s fingertip.

When Rafi’s blood dropped, the two separate droplets of blood reacted instantly. Half of Duke Panteur’s blood mixed with Rafi’s blood, and a portion of Duke Tigris’ blood also mixed.

Seeing this, everyone was extremely astonished and remained speechless for a while. Duke Panteur, his eyes blinking rapidly, managed to exhale and said, 

“M-Mine, my child…”

“Mine too. It’s my child that our child gave birth to. Oh, my word! Praise the gods. Thank you so much. Hmph… My child, my child… ohh.”

With Rafi’s birth revealed, everyone was overwhelmed with emotions, shedding tears of joy and disbelief. Then, they gently kissed the sleeping child’s forehead and embraced her with their hearts.