– Phoenix, he is my son.
It was true that Marchioness Ludvecia was Regif Habsderk’s mother, but separate from that fact, I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh at the motive behind her sudden statement.
“She didn’t discuss this with me beforehand, and the impulsive declaration just so happened to strike the truth.”
[It was a comment made to protect the student known as Phoenix, but it seems it wasn’t taken quite as intended.]
I was eavesdropping on the situation through Kim Fenrir, but the Marchioness’s statement was borderline absurd.
No, it wasn’t just absurd—it was closer to a baseless tantrum.
Had someone other than Marchioness Ludvecia made such a claim, it could have easily been dismissed as the ravings of a lunatic.
– What are you saying right now, Marchioness?
See?
Even Yurha, who once had a connection with Regif, was immediately questioning it.
– Does this mean you’ve been deceiving me for ten years?
“Huh?”
Yurha Silverstar’s words struck me as odd.
Her voice trembled as if she was deeply shaken, and there was a sense of betrayal directed at the Marchioness.
‘No way.’
[She seems to want to believe it’s true. How strong an impression did you leave on Yurha Silverstar?]
‘I didn’t do much.’
All I did was show the subservient and desperate behavior of a traitor willing to betray their country in an attempt to survive.
Back then, I was driven solely by the determination to destroy the Habsderk family and escape the curse of incest, even if it meant becoming a turncoat.
I tried to persuade Yurha Silverstar under the guise of doing just that.
Did Yurha think that was like a confession?
Maybe she thought my willingness to sacrifice my family for her was akin to a proposal. That might explain why the phrase “Regif is actually alive“ was hitting her differently.
– Can you take responsibility for those words, Marchioness Ludvecia?
Or perhaps she was enraged that a deeply buried memory had been brought up by none other than the Marchioness.
– Of course, benefactor.
– Um, well… we…
The hunters who had been trying to sway me moments ago immediately backed down, stepping away from the conversation’s focus.
Until now, they had been shouting at the Academy staff, declaring, “We will take Phoenix with us!”
But they quickly sensed the situation growing peculiar and withdrew.
– Someone who disappeared ten years ago suddenly shows up under the name Red Sol Phoenix?
– That’s right.
– And where has he been all this time? Marchioness, were you aware of all this and kept silent?
– No, not at all. I actually only just found out myself.
Marchioness Ludvecia answered Yurha’s interrogation in a calm voice.
[Shouldn’t you intervene? This seems like it’s getting unnecessarily complicated.]
“Hold up. Let’s see what excuse the S-rank Grand Mage has cooked up.”
I had a vague idea of what she was planning, so I decided to leave the situation alone for now.
[What do you think she’ll say?]
“Even if she doesn’t believe I’m her real son, she’ll act like she does to protect me.”
[Hmm…]
Her true intentions were unclear since I didn’t have enough evidence to judge, but the fact that she claimed I was her son showed her intent to protect me.
What mattered now was how well she could connect the dots.
How logical and convincing her explanation would be to others was now up to the S-rank Grand Mage.
– The truth is, my son was flung into another world ten years ago.
“…Huh?”
– Ten years ago, when the blue flames engulfed this place and a colossal beast appeared, that child tampered with forbidden magic to save his family.
– Forbidden magic…?
– Yes. To defeat the monster that devoured my husband, he made a pact with a demon to protect his loved ones.
“What.”
[That woman, doesn’t she already know everything?]
“Impossible.”
– Those who were present at the time would know. Though the Church of the Goddess tried to keep it secret, it’s no hidden fact that angels descended from the heavens back then.
– Wait a minute, Marchioness. Are you implying…
– The Church ordered us not to speak of it, but the descent of angels itself couldn’t be concealed, could it?
Instructor Esta tried to interrupt the Marchioness, but as a “mother”, Ludvecia was determined to continue the conversation.
– I didn’t speak of the details the Church is sensitive about.
– That’s…
– I have no intention of going that far, either.
The descent of angels.
When the seal of Rattatosk was broken, countless angels had descended from the sky.
No matter how much the Church tried to control the information, they couldn’t erase the memories of those who had witnessed it.
Even if they used magic to erase or manipulate memories, they wouldn’t dare tamper with the minds of S-rank individuals.
Instead, they likely agreed to keep it as an unspoken secret, a taboo never to be disclosed.
A secret that the Goddess Church wanted to hide.
Who, exactly, were the angels targeting during their descent back then?
Were they attacking the monstrous being Rattatosk, a demon that devoured humans and wreaked havoc?
Or were their concentrated attacks aimed solely at the individual who had made a pact with a demon to destroy that very beast?
While no one could have directly witnessed the battle, the aftermath would have allowed for educated speculation.
The damage inflicted upon the armored angels couldn’t have come from something like Rattatosk.
Instead, it bore the marks of an attack fundamentally opposite to the nature of angels themselves.
[Isn’t this risky? Admitting that your son made a pact with a demon?]
As Kim Fenrir pointed out, Marchioness Ludvecia was effectively making a risky move.
Whether this was out of a desire to protect me as a student or because she genuinely believed I was her son remained unclear.
– My son spent ten years living in the Demon World. He survived by clinging to life, running and enduring, and ultimately managed to escape that hell.
– Do you even realize how absurd that sounds?
– But that’s how it happened. Of course, I can’t elaborate on how he escaped. Even he might not be able to fully explain it.
– …Hah.
Yurha sighed deeply.
– To be honest, it’s more logical and reasonable to assume that Marchioness Ludvecia, after losing her son, developed delusions and is now projecting the identity of Regif Habsderk onto Red Sol Phoenix, a completely unrelated person.
[Isn’t that a bit harsh?]
“But it’s the most reasonable statement to make.”
– Fine, let’s go with that.
[Huh?]
“What did she just say?”
– Phoenix will undoubtedly attract all sorts of attention moving forward. Some might even try to claim him for their own by leveraging their background. It’s better to establish Marchioness Ludvecia as a powerful barrier to deter such attempts.
[Wow. She knows it’s a delusion but plans to exploit it? That woman is terrifying.]
“It’s all about money. More precisely, she wants to keep Phoenix under Ludvecia’s influence rather than risk him falling under another noble family’s control, which would cause significant complications.”
It was a pragmatic decision, and not necessarily a bad one.
– A pact with a demon to save his family… Well, it happened ten years ago, and the Church likely wouldn’t label him a heretic over it now. As Marchioness Ludvecia said, enduring ten years in the hellish Demon World and barely escaping would make for a compelling tale of hardship.
[Are we being mocked right now? Do they all know the truth and are just messing with us? What if they’re aware we’re listening and are carefully orchestrating their words?]
Even Kim Fenrir couldn’t help but laugh at the “Phoenix becoming Regif” narrative unfolding in the reception room.
“They might suspect we’re eavesdropping, but they wouldn’t know anything specific about the Demon World.”
[Then what’s this story even about?]
“In plain terms, everything is just lining up conveniently.”
If the concept of “another world” existed in Marchioness Ludvecia’s mind, she would’ve framed it as Regif spending ten years adventuring in another world and returning.
In modern terms, it would be like a seven-year-old kindergartener making a pact with a demon to save their family from a monster, only to be whisked away to another world for ten years before returning.
But to Ludvecia, the only “other worlds” she knew of were places like the Spirit World or the Demon World.
“Perhaps her reasoning is purely instinctual.”
[Why do you think so?]
“Because of your existence.”
The presence of Kim Fenrir might’ve subconsciously influenced Ludvecia’s reasoning.
“By defeating Rattatosk, she detected an alien mana distinct from the angels’ abilities—a mana from another world, not found on this one.”
[Hmm…]
“If she officially claims I’m Regif, then she might say I escaped the Demon World thanks to you.”
[So, you’re saying I could materialize without issue?!]
Kim Fenrir’s ears perked up as her eyes sparkled.
[That would make me your savior, and with the support of the Ludvecia family, I could start a mint-chocolate empire!]
“Hold on.”
[Since it’s already come to this, why not go along with it and come clean?]
“No.”
I went through so much to avoid the Habs name—
[Your body doesn’t even have a single milligram of Habs DNA, so why worry about incest?]
“…”
[Changyeom told me. Even though your body is composed of ether, it was reconstructed based on your “original body”. It’s like a form of cosmetic surgery.]
“…”
[So why insist you’re a Habs?]
Habs.
…Maybe not?
[Anyway, you’re not a Habs!]
The truth is…
[As long as we keep it a secret, it’ll be fine. Cute Fenrir is the truth of the world.]
“Right.”
All for the sake of love and happiness.
“At least it’s clear I’m not truly a Habsderk.”
(TLN: Author Hiatus until Dec. 22!)
