CH 64

After May closed the door and left the room, Jed looked down at his hand in silence. The warmth that May’s hand had touched.

The vivid warmth made his brow furrow. Jed shook off the warmth and went downstairs to the main room to enjoy the whiskey he hadn’t finished earlier.

As he entered the main room, the members were enjoying a game of billiards, and Diego was sitting alone on the couch. The princess seemed to have gone to sleep.

Jed approached the couch, and Diego spoke up.

“Why did you involve May Flotina in this without discussing it with me? We don’t really need May’s help. Milo is sending someone to search. Even though I said I would fully support your opinions on this matter, I don’t like it.”

Diego also sat on the couch.

“I thought we could find them faster if May cooperates.”

“Just because of an uncertain prediction like that?”

“…”

There was a bigger reason than that. Jed wanted to play with May’s feelings.

May Flotina was loved by Iris and Cassius, and she also had the qualities of a guardian knight.

If he became the object of affection for such an outstanding girl, he would become even more perfect.

To be able to manipulate her feelings according to his own will, they needed to spend more time together, so he deliberately got her involved in this matter.

“Even if May Flotina helps me, I still won’t like that girl. She doesn’t have the qualities of a guardian knight, yet she tries to become one.”

Whether Diego agreed or not didn’t matter to Jed. As long as he didn’t interfere with his manipulation of May’s feelings.

It was Jed’s cowardly desire to always be the protagonist and not lose to a mere cross-dressing girl.

〈Jed Knows now that may is a girl so he is saying she is a girl here no need to focus on pronouns〉

* * *

Persis returned to Flotina late at night due to demon hunting. He had been hunting demons all day, but his clothes didn’t have a drop of blood on them.

He always looked for his child first when he returned home after hunting.

“May…”

If it were the usual, the butler would have responded with something like, “She’s asleep in her room.”

But today was different. The butler hesitated for some reason.

“Well…”

Persis could immediately sense what was going on.

“She’s still not back from Nine, is she?”

There was bitterness in his words.

As a father, it was only natural for him to do what he could for his child. He knew that well. He also allowed May to do what she wanted because he didn’t want to incur her resentment by blocking her desires.

But the thought of his own child being in a place filled with employees, even the Second Prince who enjoyed entertainment and was the chairman, made him sigh.

The butler answered, sensing Persis’s mood.

“She’ll be back soon. Probably…”

Unable to wait any longer, Persis was about to go and fetch May when Flor appeared.

“It’s late, so I’ll go and get her.”

Floa could teleport, so it was much more efficient than Persis going himself.

“Very well. That would be good.”

Just then, a sentry knight opened the front door and entered the courtyard where Persis and Flra were.

The knight bowed in front of Persis.

“Master, a guest has arrived.”

“…At this hour?”

It was 9 p.m., too late for a guest to visit.

“Who is it?”

“Countess Penso.”

Persis’s face grew cold. Why would she come here?

“Send her away.”

Persis couldn’t even bear to see Countess Penso’s shadow.

“She says she has something to discuss about Viche Yuriette.”

When the name Viche was mentioned, Persis stiffened. Even the mention of his beloved woman’s name coming from her mouth was contemptible.

But he couldn’t ignore the fact that she had something to say about Viche, the woman he had loved.

In the end, Persis told them to let Countess Penso into the house.

“Lead her to the parlor on the first floor.”

Inside the parlor, Persis greeted Countess Penso with a cold expression.

Elisa Penso, the wife of Count Penso and Clovin’s stepmother. She had dirty blonde hair and a distinctive mole under her left corner of the mouth.

Elisa greeted Persis with a curtsy.

“I greet you, Duke Flotina. It’s been a long time since we last met.”

Persis’s voice revealed undisguised hostility.

“Why are you here? Elisa Yuriette.”

Elisa smiled lightly.

“Oh my, when will you drop the hostile tone? You should call me Elisa Penso now.”

Elisa and Viche were half-sisters. It was surprising that they had the same blood running through them, as their looks and personalities were completely different.

“Well, at least I don’t want to be called that by you. If you’re aware of the shameful things you’ve done.”

There was a woman who had been chasing after Persis since he first set foot in society 20 years ago. That woman was Elisa Yuriette, now Elisa Penso.

Elisa had persistently sought Persis’s love and tormented the women who admired him. She even resorted to using people to kidnap, imprison, and threaten others.

And that wasn’t all. When Elisa realized that Persis wasn’t paying attention to her despite knowing her maliciousness, she even resorted to arson to attract his attention.

Such psychotic behavior continued until the Yuriette family collapsed, and the family members scattered.

And now, that woman had come, claiming to have something to say about Viche.

“Just today, I hope you won’t show me your hostility. I’ve come to help you, Your Highness. Perhaps I could even become your ally.”

“Not necessary. Just say what you have to say about Viche and leave.”

Persis and Elisa sat facing each other on the sofa and began their conversation.

“My deceased sister, Viche Yuriette… Do you still love her?”

“…”

He didn’t love her. In fact, he felt hatred for her for leaving him behind.

Elisa asked again.

“Do you raise the child she gave birth to because you love her?”

“How did you know that my child is Viche’s?”

“Oh my, don’t some people know? She was a woman you loved and a panther.”

As they closely resembled each other, everyone was convinced that May was Viche’s child.

“I’m not raising the child because she gave birth to it. It’s just something I wanted.”

“Is it because you hope it’s your bloodline?”

“…Maybe that was the case at first, but not anymore.”

Elisa raised the corner of her mouth in disbelief.

“Too bad if it’s because of your expectations.”

She placed the envelope she had brought on the table and pushed it towards Persis.

“Take it out and see.”

Persis looked at Elisa with a guarded gaze and then lowered his eyes.

As he opened the document, he found two photos inside. The first photo that came into view when he took it out was a picture of a man.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but this is Count Materozin Kishel of the Third Guardian Knight Division.”

“Materozin Kishel…”

He had heard of him. Occasionally, their activities overlapped as Persis caught demons for money, and it was uncommon to find someone with heterochromia like him.

“Look at the other photo too.”

Persis set aside the photo of Materozin and looked at the other one.

“!”

Persis’s pupils began to shake restlessly.

Viche and Materozin sitting side by side on a bench. They looked affectionate as if they were clearly lovers.

Unlike in the first photo, Materozin in the second photo didn’t have heterochromia.

“Are you shocked? It’s strange. Didn’t you know that Viche had many men around her?”

She did have admirers. Despite knowing that no man could resist her beauty, she was kind and gentle to everyone…

“Perhaps she enjoyed monopolizing men’s attention.”

Persis ignored Elisa’s words.

“…What am I supposed to do with these photos you’re showing me?”

“Look at the first photo again.”

Persis tore the second photo of Viche and Materozin and looked at the first photo again. Materozin Kishel, as a member of the Knights led by Hestia, was handsome even with one eye covered.

The more he looked at the photo, the more irritated he became.

“What am I supposed to do when I see this man?”

“Take a closer look. Doesn’t he resemble someone in appearance?”

Persis, feeling like he had unnecessarily engaged with Elisa, ran his fingers roughly through his hair and shifted his gaze back to the photo.

And soon, he realized.

Platinum hair. Straight bangs. By the looks of it, they were the same characteristics as his daughter, May.

The corners of Persis’s mouth tightened, and Elisa smiled satisfactorily.

“It seems the family’s power, which usually manifests around the age of five, hasn’t manifested yet. The answer lies in that photo.”

Because she shares the bloodline of Materozin Kishel, not yours.

“Do you want to raise a child born from a woman you loved and another man? Even if you took her in because you needed an heir, there’s no need for that child, right?”

He already expected that she wouldn’t be his own bloodline. He didn’t mind if she wasn’t his own. But now that he knew about the existence of a biological father he didn’t want to know, and moreover, that he received Viche’s love and was chosen differently from himself, his heart felt unsettled.

Elisa struck a nerve.

“Think it over. There’s nothing more foolish than raising that child as a Flotina descendant.”

Foolishness. A word he despised so much.

As soon as he heard that word, stress-induced headaches came, and he closed his eyes tightly, pressing his forehead.

Even after Elisa bid her farewell and left, Persis’s headache remained.

“Viche, why…?”

You said May was my child.