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– Wake up, Helga.

– I… I can’t, Father…

– Stop whining. If you’re my daughter, you can do it.

Gale spoke sternly to Helga, who was lying on the ground.

– Huh?

When she realized it, everything around her was in black and white. What’s going on? The surroundings were fading, like an old photograph. And for some reason, Helga in front of her had turned into a child.

– Ah…

Yes. This is the past. The day Gale was training young Helga.

– Sob…

Helga, battered and bruised, was crying. The terrifying figure who had just been in a fierce battle was gone, replaced by a young girl shedding tears.

Her resemblance to May kept weakening Gale’s resolve. But it was only for a moment. Gale shook his head.

– Helga, listen carefully. You must become strong.

– Why…? Why do I have to become strong…?

– So that no one will look down on you…

Gale hesitated.

No. That’s not it. That wasn’t the real reason.

– Sniff… Father?

Helga wiped her tears and looked up. Gale, facing those innocent eyes, revealed his true feelings.

– So that… you can survive.

– Survive…?

– Yes. From those who would threaten you in our family. That’s why you must become strong. Stronger and stronger, until someday… someday…

Gale swallowed hard. But the words he had hidden in his heart finally spilled out like a sigh.

– Helga. You… must succeed me as the head of our family.

That was Gale’s wish.

But it was his greed. A burden too heavy for young Helga to bear.

Gale reached out and touched Helga’s cheek.

– Ah, Father…?

For a moment, he silently gazed at Helga’s left eye. The same violet eyes as her mother, May…

Knowing the future that awaited, Gale could only force a bitter smile.

He would probably never be forgiven.

Helga losing an eye was entirely his fault.

No matter how much he apologized or what he did, Helga’s ruined eye could never be restored.

Gale remembered.

When he faced Helga again in the Head of House Duel, she had become astonishingly strong.

Though he didn’t know what had happened in the ten years since, the Helga he met again was no longer one-eyed.

Helga’s left eye now held a translucent obsidian hue, like the night sky. Seeing that, Gale vaguely understood.

The reason she had become so strong.

It wasn’t May or Gale—it was Count Ruelberta’s eye.

It was Tristan who had filled Helga’s weakness.

At the time, Gale didn’t realize it, but looking back, the emotion he felt was emptiness.

Now, there was only one thing left for Gale to do.

– Helga.

– Yes…?

– The only thing I can do for you now is to become your stepping stone.

Gale spoke to the young Helga in his memory.

– Kill me and become the head of the family. That is this unworthy father’s last… wish.

– Father…!

As Helga tried to shout something, Gale’s vision flipped. At the same time, his body fell onto a soft surface.

– …Huh?

When he opened his eyes, he saw the white ceiling of a hospital room.

*

As expected, the Wolfbert family was in chaos.

No one except me had anticipated Gale’s defeat. Considering Gale’s superhuman physical abilities and overwhelming presence, his loss was something that should never have happened.

In terms of pure strength, Gale was unmatched, but his opponent was unfortunate.

The original Helga was a top-tier character in terms of combat ability. As the wielder of the Thunder God’s lightning, she was a cheat-level character who could rival gods. Her abilities were too valuable to be left as Tristan’s subordinate.

And that was an assessment made when she had lost an eye and couldn’t fully control her magic power. Now, with my eye transplanted, she would be even stronger than I knew.

In other words, Gale’s defeat was already foreseen.

Right after the match, Hildegarde looked like she had a lot to say to me.

If it weren’t for the cleanup, she would have immediately snapped at me.

Helga was seen as a half-baked member of the Wolfbert family who couldn’t even control her own magic power properly. And Hildegarde’s thoughts weren’t much different. That was her big mistake.

By now, Hildegarde must be busy stabilizing the chaotic Wolfbert family.

I, too, had prepared myself for the cleanup. There was no telling what an enraged Helga might do in the Head of House Duel.

In the worst-case scenario, I had even considered the possibility of Helga taking Gale’s life.

If that was Helga’s choice, I was prepared to accept it.

But Helga didn’t kill Gale, as I had expected… or rather, as she had in the original story.

Not only that, she even made a bombshell announcement in front of everyone.

– Are you okay?

– Ugh… No. If the Count would just pamper me a bit, I think I could get up right away…

– …You’re healthy.

I looked down at Helga lying in the hospital bed.

Right after the Head of House Duel, she was admitted to the university hospital run by the Ruelberta family.

Despite suffering full-body fractures and injuries that would have killed an ordinary person dozens of times over, Helga was smiling brightly at me.

– Count~.

– What is it?

– Since I’ve been disowned, will you call me Helga Ruelberta from now on?

– I can’t accept that.

It wasn’t me who said that, but Gale lying in the next bed.

He seemed to have been asleep until just now, but he had opened his eyes.

– Ah, why not? Didn’t you disown me?

– Nonsense! No matter what anyone says, you’re a member of the Wolfbert family!

When Helga was brought in, I made special arrangements for Gale to be treated at our hospital as well.

The two seemed to have reconciled to some extent, and I had suggested hospitalization as a gesture of goodwill. I had worried that Gale, with his strong pride, might refuse, but surprisingly, he quietly agreed to be hospitalized alongside Helga.

– Don’t deny the blood flowing in your veins. You must become the head of our family.

– Ugh. That bloodline talk again. I’m so sick of it!

– Hmph… You should be grateful to have been born into the Wolfbert family… Don’t try to be a puppy when you were born a wolf.

– What’s wrong with being a puppy? They’re cute.

– You’re not a puppy. You’re a wolf. You must never abandon the name Wolfbert. That would be abandoning your pride.

– Then it’s okay if I become the head and disown myself, right?

– Don’t play word games!

As Gale sat up, the bed creaked as if it might break at any moment.

To accommodate Gale’s large frame, three hospital beds had to be pushed together.

Looking at it now, even three beds seemed a bit small.

– Ah, really! You don’t have to shout so loud, I can hear you just fine! And since I defeated you, Father, I should get to do things my way, right?

– There’s a limit to being self-willed. Disownment is impossible in our family!

– Ah, fine. If you insist, I’ll just become the Count’s concubine. That way, I can live under the Ruelberta name.

– Tristan…! Are you out of your mind, taking a girl who hasn’t even matured as your concubine?

Gale glared at me with piercing eyes.

Wait. Why me, when I’m just standing here…

Not only am I not taking a concubine, I’m not even married, and now I’m being misunderstood like this.

Besides, she’s only a year younger than me.

Though it was unfair, I spoke in a low voice.

– Don’t jump to conclusions. I didn’t come here to talk about such trivial matters.

– So you were worried about me after all.

– No.

– Hmph…

Ignoring Helga’s pouting, I spoke to Gale.

– There’s something I want to ask you, Gale.

– …Me?

– Yes. When I went to Tangmar a while ago, I saw some of your vassals moving your wife’s grave under your orders. Do you remember?

– …!

At the mention of her mother’s grave, Helga flinched.

An incident that could have been the spark for Helga to kill Gale.

I wanted to know the full story.

Gale lay back down on the bed and spoke.

– Yes. But that wasn’t my order. Hildegarde used my name to give that command.

So Hildegarde was behind it after all.

I had expected as much, but it seemed Hildegarde had no intention of leaving anything related to Gale in the Wolfbert family.

– From Hildegarde’s perspective, it must have been like a thorn in her side. Bringing the grave of a mistress she’d never even met into the family’s sacred grounds was unacceptable.

– So it wasn’t you?

Helga, who had been listening, asked in surprise.

– Father… You really didn’t try to remove Mother’s grave…?

– Why would I do such a thing? Do you know how much opposition I faced to build that grave? Even if she was a mistress, May was my—

– Gale.

– What is it, Count?

– Was that woman, May, really your mistress?

I brought up something that had been bothering me for a while.

– …What are you suddenly talking about, Count?

– I’m just curious. I did some investigating, but there’s no record of a woman named May anywhere.

The reason I found it suspicious was when I saw the empty coffin in Tangmar.

At first, I suspected Hildegarde. Maybe she had moved May’s body somewhere. But the inside of the coffin, visible through the cracks, was clean.

As if it had been empty from the start.

– No matter what her status was, if she became your mistress, there should be records of her. But strangely, I couldn’t find any trace of May’s past anywhere.

– ……

For a brief moment, I caught a flicker of unease on Gale’s face.

Seeing that, I became certain.

– The story of her dying after giving birth to Helga was a lie. Is she… still alive?

– …!

Gale swallowed hard, as if he had been expecting this.

– Father…? Is what the Count said true?

Helga, who had been listening, couldn’t hide her shock.

– That’s…

– Don’t hide it, tell me! If it’s about Mother, I have the right to know!

The possibility that her mother, whom she thought was dead, might still be alive made Helga look like she was about to pounce on Gale.

But Gale shook his head.

– I don’t know.

– Father!

– I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. I don’t know if she’s alive or dead. But… I think she’s probably alive.

It was a strange thing to say.

He didn’t know if she was alive or dead, but he thought she was probably alive.

But Gale’s face was so serious that I couldn’t dismiss it as just a strange remark.

– What… makes you think that?

– I know. She’s not the type to die easily. Because…

What came out of Gale’s mouth was a hidden backstory of this work.

– Your mother, May… was the infamous pirate Maible, who terrorized the Empire.

The moment I heard that name, one event came to mind. And seeing my expression, Gale nodded.

– Yes… She’s known as the mastermind behind the “Pirate’s Night.”

The Pirate’s Night.

A notorious incident where ruthless pirates invaded a city, resulting in countless deaths.

The reason this incident became famous wasn’t just because of the shock of pirates attacking a city, but also because the former Emperor happened to be on an inspection tour there at the time.

In other words…

– …An attempted assassination of the Emperor.

I muttered, almost groaning.

 

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