CH 90

The Heart of a Childless Parent

The Marquis murmured, fiddling with his beard.

“Yeah, that bitch couldn’t have even thought of that…….”

“No.”

“No, what…..”

The Marquis did not answer, but stiffened.

‘A childish voice?’

When he turned his stiff head, there was a little girl dressed in black and draped in a white veil, staring at him with a blank face.

“She expected everything.”

The Marquis, who did not understand the situation for a moment, opened his mouth belatedly.

“Security……!”

“Oh. Mistake.”

MarryAnne clenched her fist. The Marquis’ memories ended there.

***

The unconscious Marquis of Vermont was tied up.  Next to him, MarryAnne was watching him.  The exhibition hall of the Pronoia Grand Library that tied him up was empty except for a few people. There were only a few executive-level scholars who participated in the countermeasure meeting. People murmured and whispered about MarryAnne.

“Did you say that the maid brought him?”

“She seems to be of mixed elf blood, but as expected, the elves’ magic is amazing……”

“Even so, I didn’t know that the situation would be resolved so quickly.”

People remembered Kyrie Buchanan, who commanded like a nobility without emotion at meetings.

“I know right. On the day she won, when she insisted that we should attack right away, I honestly thought it was too hasty…….”

“It seems that our new lord is a bit daring.”

“Lord……”

The wizard’s representative, who had a golden rose attached to his long beard, brushed his beard.

Pronoia has traditionally been an autonomous city. For a long time it was the territory of the Lord Protector, but he neglected to allow scholars to freely discuss and develop the city.  So the scholars were uneasy about the fact that the lord of the territory had changed to Buchanan. Because they knew just how playful Cesar Buchanan, the husband of Zhenya Hartwood, was.

But the old wizard who remembered his daughter, Kyrie Buchanan, smiled.

“I had a lot of worries, but it seems like it was just useless thoughts.”

Dr. Hawksong smiled, and Chairman Temer added with a look of anticipation.

“Besides, she said she would give Pronoia a huge amount of money. She seemed to have an interest in science.”

“And there it is. Did you hear, everyone?”

One of the scholars who spoke out whispered in a low voice.

“It is said that the eldest son of the Duke of Buchanan has stepped down as heir this time.”

“……!”

“You mean, she’s now…….”

At that moment, a sharp voice interrupted the secret whisper. It was Kyrie.

“The Marquis?”

She walked in confidently enough that the cane she was holding looked like a sword. Her gait was slow due to a leg injury, but she seemed to have a deliberate slack. Her face, which looked a little red from her heat, made her more beautiful.

Kyrie walked to the center and looked at the fainted marquis in the middle of the dungeon.

“Wake up.”

Kyrie gave a cold command.

MarryAnne pulled a small scarab with a turquoise shell out of the saline bag. And put it in the ear of the Marquis of Vermont.

(T/N: Sacrab: large dung beetle of the eastern Mediterranean area, regarded as sacred in ancient Egypt.)

A few seconds later, the Marquis woke up in awe.

“Oh, Ah! Ah! My ears! My ears!”

The scarab flew out of his ear while he struggled. After a while, the Marquis calmed down and looked around. And found Kyrie.

“Who is this! Aren’t you Miss Kyrie Buchanan?”

The Marquise’s eyes gleamed fiercely. He swung his head like a snake and looked around.

“I heard you were caught by Lord Legend, did you just decide to put him under your legs?”

People took a breath. It is said that the Marquis of Vermont was strong, and it must have been true. But Kyrie didn’t even flinch.

“Well, isn’t it you who wants the Legendary Lord under your legs? I admire the enthusiasm of the great soldier.”

At Kyrie’s answer, the Marquis smiled cunningly.

“Oh, Kyrie Buchanan…….don’t be stupid  To be so deceived by his looks, power, and wealth.”

“If there’s one person in the world who won’t be fooled by it, it’s probably me.  But I don’t need your understanding, so let’s get to the point.”

Kyrie hit the floor hard with the tip of the cane.

“What did you talk about with the Emperor?”

The Marquis of Vermont laughed.

“Are you curious about that? My deal with the Emperor?”

“Yes.”

“Apparently, the Emperor said she would not meddle in this matter.”

“Yes, that’s correct. It’s unusual for the emperor to sit idly as a militant group to invade a civilian-only city, it’s a thing that shouldn’t happen. Something must have happened. I have an inkling of what that was.” 

“If you predicted that far, wouldn’t it be a problem to solve on your own?”

“There is a leather ball in front of me that gives the correct answer when I tap on it, right?” 

MarryAnne, who received Kyrie’s glance, threw the Marquis of Vermont to the ground. The Marquis slapped his chin to the ground, and soon he rubbed his eyes and began to grind his teeth.

“Do not disturb me, Buchanan.”

“I think I should elaborate on the question a bit more.”

Kyrie came a little closer to the Marquis.

“The Marquis of Vermont.  I mean, I still don’t understand. How on earth did the Emperor instigate you?”

“…… instigate?”

“Yes. There was no way that you were trying to subdue the Legendary Lord with just an army like that. Was I the real reason?  Or something else? But even then, I don’t understand. The marquis Vermont’s house name is not as valueless as to cause a commotion like this.”

That was Kyrie’s question. The Marquis of Vermont, why did that serpent-like man try to do such an unreasonable thing?  He has too much to throw everything away for his son’s revenge. The Emperor must have encouraged him from behind. Or something is happening in central politics.

‘Or maybe the Emperor is wasting time preparing something with the magic of the Valabriga.’

It’s irrelevant now, but Buchanan was already in the Eye of the Storm, so she couldn’t be ignorant.

But the Marquis of Vermont’s expression on hearing Kyrie’s words grew more and more bizarre. The Marquis started to laugh and salivate.

“pfft, pfft, ha……., haha!  Ha ha ha ha!”

Kyrie raised her eyebrows slightly. Soon after, the Marquis said with a smile full of compassion and contempt.

“Kyrie Buchanan. You are definitely Cesar Buchanan’s daughter.”

“I know that I have never denied my biological origin.”

“pfft, hahaha……Kyrie Buchanan……..”

The Marquis shrugged his shoulders. He spit on the floor with a smile on his face that disappeared in an instant.

“Poor bitch.”

“Miss, give the order.”

MarryAnne, hard-faced, clenched her fists and grabbed the back of her marquis.  Kyrie shook her head.

“Listen. Where am I so pitiful?”

“pfft.”

The Marquis let out a laugh that seemed to resonate from the depths of his throat.

“Yeah, you don’t even know.  It’s reasonable to think that I did this ‘hopeless’ thing because I was ‘incited’. Well, you’re Buchanan……pfft!”

“Get to the point.”

“pfft ha ha!  I never lied, Buchanan!”

After a moment, the Marquis began to struggle like a madman. MarryAnne grabbed him from behind and pressed him down, but the Marquis’ reaction was strong as if fighting for his life

(T/N: It means like struggling to survive until just before you die )

“I!  I literally came to kill the Legendary Lord!  Do not disturb me, Buchanan!”

Kyrie thought about Leshaux for a moment.  He would be the only one who could even pretend to subdue the Legendary Lord.  Kyrie shook her head.

“Did you perhaps develop a psychological problem while I was away? Or, has no one ever told you the proverb, ‘beating a rock with an egg’?  It’s impossible to kill him, Marquis.”

“Of course that would be impossible!”

There was an animal-like howling in the Marquis’ neck, and a vein protruding out. Kyrie’s face hardened. Those who watched it also opened their mouths. The air became desolate.

The Marquis of Vermont spit and looked at MarryAnne.

“Get down from me, maid. It’s not a stage for you to step in.”

MarryAnne’s pupils grew and her fists tightened. But Kyrie raised her hand. MarryAnne looked as if she wanted to blow the Marquis of Vermont’s throat right away, but she let him go and rushed to Kyrie’s side.

The Marquis wriggled up and sat down. His wrists and ankles were tied, but he didn’t look too tired. But given that the motions that should have been trivial and ridiculous but didn’t feel that way, he was certainly a great nobleman. 

(T/N: if you tied up a person and if they try to sit properly, it would look funny but when Vermont was doing it, it didn’t feel that way, ig there was elegance(?))

After taking a moment to catch his breath, the marquise’s eyes became as sharp as the tip of a spear.

“It’s impossible, of course. Don’t you think this Valencia Delano Vermont doesn’t know what a girl with no experience knows?”

Kyrie stared at him silently. The Marquis of Vermont caught Kyrie’s gaze with a posture like a spear pointed towards the sky.

“But you will never know, Kyrie Buchanan.  Because you are a Buchanan.”

“I don’t understand. Did you know that you tried the impossible?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

A great emotion flashed on the face of the Marquis of Vermont, who was immediately questioned. He seemed to be left with only a shell in an instant.

“Gladioso is my son whom I love.”

Kyrie’s eyes widened slightly. She quickly hid her embarrassment and frowned.

“Then the word games were real?”

“pfft, pfft haha! It’s a game of words….Right, that’s right. You’re the daughter of that wild wolf. Since the father is like that and the mother was a crazy genius, it’s understandable if you didn’t know!”

“However.” (Kyrie)

Kyrie stopped his speech. She still didn’t understand.

‘Really? Is it really your son’s revenge?’

She thought for a moment of Cesar Buchanan and Zhenya Hartwood. And she snorted.

“You seem to lose your talent for jokes as you get older.” (Kyrie)

“You think so?” (Vermont)

“Of course. The Marquis of Vermont……” (Kyrie)

“It’s the seventh generation. Who’s founding father Pezniak, and has produced excellent knights from generation to generation.” (Vermont)

“Are you going to throw it all away? For an unattainable revenge? Because of your already dead son?” (Kyrie)

“Is there a problem?” (Vermont)

“Yes.” (Kyrie)

“Tell me.” (Vermont)

Kyrie responded calmly to the Marquis’ suggestion mixed with a strange mockery.

“How can a parent throw away everything they have just because they’ve lost a child?”

The surrounding area, which was still quiet, became quieter. The facial expressions of the people around her were also strange. They looked at Kyrie with a face not knowing what to say. Not to the Marquis of Vermont but at her. The socialite Kyrie noticed right away that it was because of her own remarks, but she couldn’t figure out why they were so quiet.

The face of the Marquis of Vermont was now surprisingly calm.

“Yes. You won’t understand. The heart of a parent who throws away everything they have to get revenge on their dead child. You have never been loved that much.”

The image of Cesar Buchanan came to mind at the same time in the minds of the Marquis of Vermont and Kyrie. An arrogant great aristocrat who always wants to bite his surroundings with his pale purple hair neatly pulled back.

In Kyrie’s mind, Zhenya’s image also came to mind. A geek and genius who devoted her life to research. She raised Kyrie until she was ten, but the young Kyrie knew. She(mother) said she would have left Kyrie sooner if she hadn’t been smart and quick-witted.

Kyrie didn’t know why her own breath was suffocating. She was just frustrated with her stomach. The indifferent, and somehow compassionate eyes of Marquis made her more confused. 

It was not the eyes of the nobles looking at the nobles. It was as an adult looked at a child, he pierced the wedge with his eyes full of magnificence that could not be captured except for the same age.

“Poor and stupid. I can see why you lived so fiercely.”