Jared and Johan, on the verge of a confrontation, were stopped by Olivier, who worried about their prolonged absence.
Jared couldn’t stand it when Johan, his own father, seemed ready to abandon the children, let alone Annette. Annette insisted she knew nothing. But the children were different. They likely had no idea what was going on. Therefore, they should be saved.
Even if Jared didn’t think of Johan as a brother, he couldn’t stand by and watch his own blood siblings die.
Jared didn’t know what his father truly thought of the children. However, after merely speaking with Annette—even if he was fed up with her refusal to admit her guilt—he should have at least spoken to the children.
“It looks like Father-in has tidied up my belongings nicely.”
“It does.”
While Olivier’s intervention prevented a clash, Jared couldn’t bear to be in the same place and headed to his room. He heard Olivier’s footsteps following him from behind and his father’s words, “I am in my room, come when you’ve calmed down,” but he didn’t look back.
His room, visited after a long time, was impeccably clean.
There was no dust, suggesting it had been cleaned regularly. The unused bed and desk were the same.
“It’s good that you were loved—would you be angry if I said that?”
Olivier smiled, taking out a small ball from among the belongings his father had apparently organized. It was something he had bought somewhere, a gift from his father who used to ignore him. However, he never played with the ball his father had given him. It was his mother who played with him. He still vividly remembered the image of him running around the garden like a boy, throwing the ball.
“Angry… but I don’t know. Because of Wahash, I don’t have time to think about Father.”
However, it was also true that thanks to Wahash, he had learned the truth about his mother’s death. If he hadn’t been at this mansion today, there was a possibility that everything would have ended without him ever knowing.
If he had learned the truth later, after everything was over—he would have had no end to his regrets.
“I’m sorry about Mother.”
“I am too.”
“I wish I could have met her.”
“I wish I could see Mother again.”
Though less frequent than before, he still thought of his mother. What would she think of him, now that he was decided to become a Court Mage? Would she be happy? Would she be proud?
“This might be cruel to ask you now, but what are your intentions regarding Karina?”
“As Mom promised, I can’t hate someone who truly loved me. I don’t know what you’ll do, Father, but I forgive her. Besides, she’s also a victim.”
She had tried to poison his mother to protect her precious son. However, the small amount of poison didn’t kill her, and she failed. It was Mother’s own will that she chose death by drinking a lethal dose. Although Karina was the trigger, she didn’t kill her.
“In the first place, the root cause is Annette and the Paggio Viscountcy.”
The mere utterance of the names of those who were the root cause of his mother’s death, even if she was a consort, filled him with anger. He could only endure it because he kept telling himself to calm down, but even moments ago, seeing her persistence in denying everything, he didn’t know when his emotions would explode.
“What are your intentions regarding her? I understand leaving it to the justice system, but what are your feelings, Jared?”
“Of course, I can’t forgive her—I want to kill her. That’s my true feeling. However, it feels wrong to be killed by Wahash. More than anything, it’s wrong to kill innocent children, let alone just Annette and Viscount Paggio.”
“Yes. I can understand his anger, but it was excessive.”
Perhaps it was Wahash’s declaration of intent to kill that made Jared desire the opposite outcome.
Perhaps the unwillingness to accept the truth that Wahash, who claimed to be his grandfather, had told him, led him to decide to leave it to the justice system rather than seek revenge on Annette.
However, it made no difference either way. Whether Annette was judged by Wahash or by the justice system, it was meaningless if she herself didn’t admit her guilt. He absolutely could not agree to killing Rex and Claire too.
While thinking this, if Annette intended to deny her involvement in his mother’s death until the very end—he also found himself contemplating killing her with his own hands.
Jared’s mind was a mess.
He hated Annette, his mother’s enemy, but his mother chose to die herself. He couldn’t forgive the murder of his younger siblings, nor could he forgive the involvement of his cousin Rena. But, if possible, he wanted to inflict punishment based on his emotions—his emotions swayed back and forth.
Perhaps if his mother had truly been murdered rather than committed suicide, he wouldn’t be agonizing like this.
“You must have calmed down by now. Shall we go to Father-in?”
“I might lose my composure if I see Father. I don’t want Rex and Claire to die, even if it’s another matter with Annette.”
“The blood ties can’t be broken easily. You might even wish they were unrelated. I too have agonized over matters concerning my siblings many times. But, after all, a younger brother is a younger brother, and a younger sister is a younger sister. Even if I found them annoying, I never wished for their death.”
“I’m the same. They probably don’t think anything of me, but I am still their older brother.”
He had no memory of doing anything like a proper older brother. Even with Roik, who saw him as an older brother and was the only one who did, he had only played with him occasionally from childhood until about two years ago and protected him from bullying. If we consider the time spent interacting, he had spent more time with Yeny at his grandfather’s mansion.
He wasn’t even sure if he had ever had the awareness of being an older brother. It was after meeting Luzer at the facility and seeing his back as he protected him like an older brother that he wished to be like him. That wish remained unchanged. His strength and kindness, which had greatly influenced him, were also the reasons why Jared was fighting now.
“We’ll get your belongings later. Now, talk to Father-in one more time.”
“I understand.”
His hesitation in facing his father and his inability to accept him were all because Wahash pointed out that there had been affection, without denying it, but he said nothing else.
He couldn’t help but think that it would be easier if his father had just said something.
What would their deceased mother think if she saw them now? Would she be exasperated, lament, or perhaps laugh at them for being fools?
If possible, he wanted to be someone his deceased mother could be proud of.
