Diena let out a long sigh of relief. Inside the carriage, Malakar cast a spell to prevent any noise from leaking outside.
"Shh, you just need to stay quiet for a moment."
"I am……."
"You don't have to say a single word. So you ran away because of this. You've awakened your ability, haven't you?"
Diena nodded cautiously. "Yes. I possess the ability to purify darkness."
"The ability of Purification?"
"It’s a power that allows me to draw in darkness and eradicate it, or transfer it to another ability user."
Malakar’s jaw dropped, his face blank with sheer shock. "To think such an ability even exists……."
"I will purify the darkness inside Lord Malakar. In return, could you please ask Lord Varkan to take me with you?"
Malakar thought of Varkan and the people around him, who all suffered from severe side effects due to their immensely powerful abilities, just as he did. If not only himself, but all of them could receive her purification—
'It would be an incredible help. Enough to strike fear straight into that bastard Duke of Rothwell.'
Of course, even without that reason, he had already intended to help Diena escape. He was not a heartless man who could look away from a young girl trapped in such a pitiful plight.
"I will make the request, but……."
It was still a complete mystery whether Varkan would actually take her along just because he asked. That headstrong brat would stubbornly ignore anyone’s advice if he simply didn't feel like doing it.
Just then, a loud, clamorous commotion echoed from outside the carriage.
"Stop right there!"
Diena instinctively pulled the blanket tighter and curled her body up.
"His Grace, the Duke of Rothwell, arrives!"
Shortly after, Balthazar’s low, rage-filled voice cut through the air.
"What business brings a member of the House of Kardian all the way out here?"
Diena focused entirely on the conversation outside, refusing to miss a single word.
Varkan replied in a blunt, flat tone. "I see no reason why I should explain myself to you line by line."
The retainers standing nearby held their breath at his arrogant attitude. His tone was entirely too casual and disrespectful to be considered a proper response to the Duke of Rothwell.
Balthazar made no effort to hide his displeasure as he spoke. "If you refuse to explain your reasons, it means I am free to act as I please."
Varkan countered without yielding an inch. "You cannot do that. This procession is authorized by His Majesty the Emperor."
"By His Majesty the Emperor?"
"Lord Malakar is currently inside this carriage."
"……."
"He is one of the five elders of the Magic Tower. His Majesty has entrusted his escort to us."
Balthazar shut his mouth for a moment at those words. However, his furious voice flared up again almost instantly.
"This is my territory. Since you are within my domain, I have every right to inspect the carriage. Open the carriage door this instant."
"I am afraid I must decline." Varkan remained resolute. "No matter if you are the master of the House of Rothwell, you have no authority to search a carriage of Kardian. Under what exact pretext do you intend to conduct a search?"
"Young Master Kardian! How can I trust your word that Lord Malakar is truly inside?"
"I don't recall ever asking you to trust me, though?"
A heavy silence stretched over them for a long while. After a few moments, Balthazar spoke up again, his voice notably softened.
"You must already know. There is a daughter in our house who failed to awaken an ability. She made a minor mistake this time, and my wife disciplined her."
"……."
"Yet, it seems she was unable to accept that discipline and rebelled." He shook his head, continuing his narrative. "She fled straight from the site of her discipline. I am inclined to believe that she has sneaked into that very carriage."
Realizing that intimidation wouldn't work on Varkan, Balthazar was now shifting to coaxing him.
"I am asking this of you as a favor to return a member of my house. Wouldn't the House of Kardian be just as worried if one of your own family went missing?"
Varkan offered no reply.
Balthazar let out a frustrated sigh. He had finally realized that Varkan would never willingly open the carriage door. He fixed his gaze directly on the carriage and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Diena! That's enough, come back home! Your aunt is worried about you as well!"
Diena held her breath. A serious look settled over her face as she thought:
'If Uncle acts like this……'
Given Varkan's personality, she could easily predict how he would react to such behavior.
"The world is a much colder place than you think. No matter where you go, there is likely no place that will welcome you and take you in."
To an outsider, it might have sounded like genuine worry, but Diena knew the hidden venom laced within those words. It was a sneer, mocking her by asking if a powerless non-ability user like her honestly believed she could ever receive proper treatment out there.
"A member of a house shines brightest within that very house. Do you truly believe people who aren't even your family would bother taking in someone as utterly useless as you?"
Balthazar's voice grew increasingly icy. The fact that he was getting absolutely no response despite speaking so bluntly was clearly grating on his nerves.
At that moment, Malakar shook his head and gently covered Diena's ears with his hands.
"Do not listen to him. It is all absolute nonsense."
He was trying to shield her, worried that she would be hurt by the cruel words.
'To think someone is actually taking my side.'
Diena, who had been about to tell him she was perfectly fine, closed her mouth.
Even though Malakar was blocking her ears, Varkan's voice responding to Balthazar carried through with crystal clarity. His irritated voice had risen sharply.
"That is merely your own opinion."
The outside area fell dead silent in an instant.
"The lady is not inside my carriage. But even if she were, and even if she possessed absolutely no ability whatsoever—" Varkan's voice was calm, yet incredibly firm. "If she had asked for my help, I would have helped her. Because that is exactly how my parents raised me."
Pausing for a brief moment, he continued. "I also awakened my ability late. Yet, not a single person ever told me that I was useless."
"Varkan Kardian!" Balthazar barked in a furious, booming voice.
But Varkan ignored him entirely, delivering his final blow. "So, I would appreciate it if you didn't speak as though Your Grace's opinions are the absolute truth."
Diena, who had been burying herself under the blanket up to the very top of her head until now, peeked her face out slightly.
'Thank goodness.'
With this, she no longer had to worry about being dragged back to Rothwell right away.
'Thank you, Uncle. For working so incredibly hard to explain to Varkan exactly how you view me.'
A bittersweet warmth surged through her chest, and the tip of her nose tingled. It wasn't because she was hurt by her uncle's words. If she didn't possess her past memories, it might have been different, but since she already remembered everything, his insults failed to inflict even the slightest scratch on her.
The reason she felt like crying was because the Varkan of right now overlapped perfectly with the Varkan of her memories.
The way he stood his ground so proudly was exactly the Varkan she knew. In fact, her uncle's toxic words had likely only solidified Varkan's resolve to take Diena away with him.
'Classic Varkan.'
The reliable ally of hers who always showed a ruthlessly sharp side whenever he dealt with the House of Rothwell. Seeing that familiar side of him made it somehow difficult to hold back her tears.
The carriage rattled as it finally crossed past the boundaries of the Rothwell Duchy. Staring out the window at the estate's rooftops fading into the distance, Diena let out a long, heavy breath.
A wave of relief washed over her at the realization that she had barely managed to escape, but the underlying anxiety still lingered. She carefully raised her head to look at Varkan, who was sitting directly across from her.
"Why did you help me? You told me to just return to my family quietly earlier."
Varkan stared out the window for a long time before slowly shifting his gaze back to her.
"I told you. That's how my parents raised me. I despise the House of Rothwell, but you haven't committed any crimes."
"……."
"And besides, I just didn't want to give Balthazar what that man wanted."
It was a remarkably simple answer. Yet, Diena clenched her hands tightly together. She knew exactly how profound the words he had just casually tossed out truly were.
'To think he would actually help me, a member of the House of Rothwell, despite everything……'
Ability users suffered from the side effects of darkness for the rest of their lives, and they required suppressants to alleviate that agony. The House of Rothwell held the monopoly over the supply chain of those very suppressants, and they were currently using that leverage to choke the life out of the House of Kardian.
