62 – 28. Memories of that day (2)
“Kill me? What on earth are you saying….”
I simply couldn’t understand.
Why is Father bleeding and lying there, and why is Ian pointing a sword at him?
I already knew that her father had died in his study.
The Emperor ordered a harsh response and eradication of the mine, and as soon as it was known that her father became a mine, various knight orders rushed to their house.
“But I never thought that Ian would be the one to claim his life.”
Why is Ian standing right there? Why is Father begging to be killed?
In the confusion of emotions, my mana fluctuated for a moment, almost causing my magic to falter. But I regained my composure and focused.
Meanwhile, they continued their conversation.
“Why did you become a mine? Weren’t you the one who guarded against mines and led the charge against them? Why!”
“If becoming a mine was not my intention… will you believe me?”
“What…”
Father, gasping for breath, smiled slightly as he faced Ian, who was on guard.
“You know as well as I do. I hate mines more than anyone. But not because of loyalty to the royal family, but out of desire.”
“Desire… what do you mean?”
“If I exterminate them, the enemies of humanity. Perhaps the abhorrence towards our black sorcerers could be lessened even a little. I didn’t want to pass on the terrible experiences I’ve had to my daughter.”
He tried desperately. Even the genius of effort and the master, Kiline, would be shocked.
Whenever news of a mine being discovered reached him, he immediately moved and hunted them down.
He attempted to extract and kill the demons, who were not just in the Empire, but throughout this continent.
“I gained a lot. It was like telling me that my path wasn’t wrong.”
The finger-pointed Mathieff family became an influential prestigious clan that no one dared to ignore and, furthermore, became the representative figure of black sorcerers.
Is that all? All the mines in the area had hidden their traces and the beloved daughters grew up only hearing of the existence of mines in books.
They thought they were on the right path and doing well, but… the mines were more wicked than they thought.
“I immediately moved my body when I heard the report that the mines had occurred some time ago. I thought it was a place where the remaining mines were hiding. All those in this area were wiped out.”
“Wasn’t that true?”
“I was completely wrong. What was there was not mines… it was demons.”
What the Marquis Mathieu saw was a demon, a prideful demon king. Lucifer.
Despite the overwhelming difference in power, the Marquis had no choice but to kneel and when he stood up, the demon was already gone.
“I barely returned to my family alive. It might have been fortunate, but it was not a mere defeat with wounds. I realized my shortcomings and planned to train and challenge again. I just couldn’t do it.”
I thought nothing had happened. I thought I was lucky to have survived face to face with the demon king.
But Lucifer hadn’t done nothing.
“The next day. That’s when the disaster began.”
“Really… that time.”
“You’re right. It was the moment when the key figures of our family began to turn into mines.”
What the Marquis saw when he woke up was people biting their own flesh to resist turning into mines.
It was a pain that was close to self-harm and it pressed on their minds.
However, he had a premonition that their struggling wouldn’t last long and the Marquis Mathieu moved quickly.
“My wife begged me to save her. She didn’t want to become a mine, but I thought I had to save my daughters first. So I sent those who hadn’t turned into mines outside the territory.”
When he returned from refuge, he faced his wife who had fallen with a sword in her chest.
She had resisted as a human until the end.
“I had a premonition then… that I had failed to protect the family.”
But. He couldn’t collapse in despair here.
Did he not remember? He wanted to show his daughters a better world.
For that to happen. He couldn’t let the fact that he became a mine get in the way.
“So please kill me. I can no longer hold onto Bianca and Vanessa.”
“They still need the Marquis.”
“No… it’s right for me to die. His Majesty emphasized a strict response to the mines. I have to die here. To avoid the girls living under suspicion.”
They had to somehow hide the fact that they had become mines because of Lucifer.
If that fact were to reach the Emperor’s ears, the girls might have to live under the supervision of the imperial knights until they died.
That’s why.
“
“But it may seem foolish. Understand that it was the best I could do in that moment.”
The reason I lost my hard-earned reputation in an instant.
It’s regrettable, but it was something I could endure for the sake of my daughters.
“Ah, Father….”
Bianca continuously wiped away her flowing tears.
Did they hide such circumstances?
She resented endlessly. Why did I become a mage? What made me make that choice, filled with regrets?
If such a thing had not happened, our family would have been strong, and we could have lived a life just as good as anyone else’s.
But since that hidden truth emerged, Bianca couldn’t bear it any longer.
“For my sake until the end.”
Her father sacrificed unilaterally.
Everything he had done, from exhausting himself to seeking death, was all to protect her.
“Foolishly, without even knowing that.”
Hadn’t she been living by denying the truth? She was ashamed of using dark magic, so she learned ordinary magic instead.
To conceal the fact that she belonged to the Matief family, she even changed her hair color.
Knowing that she had committed such actions… it made her unworthy in front of her father.
She wanted to give up everything. But Bianca focused once again. She couldn’t stop now.
“Then… was it because of that situation that Volkov changed his stance?”
The betrayal of the clan that was akin to a covenant, something that she couldn’t fathom at all.
Now, when looking back, it wasn’t incomprehensible.
“It had to be done… to be able to join them in attacking our family.”
If Volkov had kept his loyalty until the end, perhaps he wouldn’t have joined the knights who assaulted their clan.
Because she had to conceal the fact that she had no choice but to become a mage even if it meant abandoning her family… It was possible that her father asked Volkov to quickly change his stance.
“If we do that, we can receive assistance from those who come to attack the clan.”
It wasn’t betrayal. Volkov had no choice but to attack Matief, swallowing his tears and all.
The reason Ian came might also be because of that.
“I’ve heard stories about someone who wandered around without a fixed position in the past. They said there’s someone who obtained excellent grades at the prestigious academy, Volkov.”
He may not be at Arc’s level, but he was a man updating all the historic records of that place where descendants of high-ranking nobles gathered.
Back then, I didn’t know, but it was probably referring to Ian.
Since he was such a talented individual, they must have thought of raising him properly even in the royal palace and brought him to subjugate the Matief clan.
‘Ian, who participated in conquering our family, met his father and fulfilled the last request, remembering the alliance as a Volkanov person.’
The situation where Ian Volkunov was the person who killed his father.
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However, Bianca couldn’t be angry at that fact. Ian not only killed his father but also took his life, hiding the secret in history.
If it wasn’t him.
‘I would have lived under the surveillance of the Royal Knights.’
It could have been a more desperate life than now.
If Count Matyuf had endured a little longer, he would have gone up and down in the minds of the empire’s people.
‘Without even knowing that…’
She was endlessly grateful. However, expressing gratitude was the same for her father.
“I first saw you when you were young. You had the expression of someone who had lost everything…. I didn’t expect you to grow up so well.”
“…Lord Earl.”
“I even thought about seriously connecting you and Bianca…. But now it has become something that can no longer happen.”
Count Matyuf swallowed his breath and shed a tear as he spoke.
“I’m sorry for asking until the end… but can you protect my daughter?”
“Don’t worry. I will protect her.”
“Thank you…. thanks to you, I can close my eyes comfortably.”
“…”
There was no more conversation after that.
Swoosh!
The moment the count closed his eyes.
A sword enveloped in mana moved quickly,
Thud!
His father’s neck hit the ground.
“Ha…. Haah…”
Ian took a deep breath. How long had he been like this?
Holding the device, Ian contacted someone.
“I encountered Count Matyuf at his office… However, the capture he mentioned… failed. The battle was urgent. There was a mistake. Yes, I will accept the punishment. I apologize. I will return immediately.”
Ian reported the situation to his superior.
He was trying hard not to show any emotions in his voice, but…
At least Bianca could see it.
“Yes, I understand. I apologize once again.”
Tears flowed uncontrollably as if they wouldn’t stop.
Ian, who had been staring at the marquis with bloodshot eyes, left the room.
“Ah… Ah….”
Bianca, who realized the whole truth, also shed tears.
“How could this happen…”
Gratitude towards her father, who sacrificed everything to save her. And…
“I’m sorry, Ian… I didn’t know any of this until now.”
Dedication from Ian, who worked hard for her even though he didn’t know her face, in order to establish his reputation.
“I’m sorry, Ian…”
Bianca could only cry endlessly.
