Theorban scanned Navia from head to toe, then sneered contemptuously.
"Ever since Nikan adopted you as his foster daughter, information about you has been hard to come by. Rumors have it that you're exceptionally beautiful."
'At the end of the day, a child is still a child.'
Theorban, having thought this way, was taken aback upon seeing Navia today.
‘She will undoubtedly be the most beautiful in the capital within five years.’
‘He may be a prince, but as a man, he can't help but desire beauty.’
As the successor of Eseled, he planned to establish his daughter as the head of the family and eventually make her the empress.
Theorban's plans were disrupted by the morning news of Agnes’ heirs encroaching on Eseled.
Theorban burst into laughter upon hearing hearing this.
"The heavens are aiding me!"
His competitor for the queen's position becoming an invader was an unexpected turn.
Navia's extraordinary beauty, in the end, is a useless weapon.
"You're Agnes's foster daughter? Your pajama attire speaks volumes about your level."
Theorban relished mocking Navia's pitiful state.
"Of course, from a low noble family, what can be expected? I can only imagine how pathetic your parents were!"
Navia just stared blankly at him.
Indeed, she was neither from a low noble family nor knew her biological parents. She didn't care about slandering her adoptive father.
Theorban, considering Navia a mere scarecrow, glanced around without concern.
"Lark is a broken man. Did he give shelter to a criminal who daringly attacked another household? Insane."
Navia, standing gracefully, picked up pieces of information from his rant.
‘Eseled Duke is completely disregarded.’
But the red-eyed man didn't seem like someone to be ignored.
'Rather, he had an aura of having killed several times.'
Was Theorban left unchecked deliberately?
If so, why? Navia pondered, sensing the faint smell of anesthetics emanating from her body.
Theorban had a farm of anesthetics, a fact she accidentally learned in the eighth chapter.
Anesthetics.
She felt a connection there.
Theorban murmured ominously with a sinister smile.
"A girl like you taking the place is absurd. Tomorrow, the letter will…"
He chuckled, leaving his sentence unfinished.
'Letter?'
As Navia reacted to this word and looked up, Theorban suddenly grabbed her arm.
'Ouch…!'
A sharp pain pierced through the mild anesthetic under his rough grip.
"So, you're going to jail. Come with me!"
Navia wanted to resist, but she was no match for an adult man.
Moreover, the opponent was not a mage, so the power of Black Moon was ineffective.
Navia thought of something to force Theorban to release her.
"Let me go! Duke Eseled himself allowed me in!"
But Theorban snorted derisively.
"Lark? He doesn't care about others, you fool. He wouldn't blink if you died. What a pathetic lie!"
Theorban shouted threateningly.
"Trying to save your skin with such a stupid story!"
Navia was about to retort when she sensed a cold, pungent scent from behind.
And then.
Thump!
A large hand suddenly grabbed and twisted Theorban's arm, pulling it upwards.
Navia widened her eyes and turned around.
The other hand was rubbing his eyes, and the man grimaced fiercely.
"Shut up."
"Ah! How dare you-!"
Theorban groaned in pain and tried to curse his opponent. But upon recognizing him, he clammed up.
The imposing tall figure with long black hair.
A sharp nose and strong jawline accentuating his handsome features.
A perfectly balanced physique.
'It's him.'
The red-eyed man who had saved her.
As a regressor, Navia's perception was far superior to ordinary people. Her wealth of information was incomparably greater.
The man's physique wasn't just aesthetically pleasing.
It was built for 'combat'.
Theorban forced a smile and said.
"……Lark."
'As expected.'
As Navia guessed, the red-eyed man was Lark Eseled.
'How did he appear behind me…?'
There was no sign of him, nor stairs leading to other floors behind her.
Was there an unknown staircase?
"Cough. Oh, you're up early today."
Theorban internally spewed out annoyed curses at Lark, who had appeared like a ghost.
‘That drug addict dares…’
He tried to casually remove his arm, which was tightly grasped by Lark, with a tense look in his eyes.
However, Lark did not let go. He tilted his head slightly and looked down at Theorban with just his eyes.
"That's what I'm saying. Who woke me up?"
Theorban swallowed dryly.
Lark was undoubtedly a powerful mage, although the exact nature of his abilities was unknown.
‘But it's certain that his magical ability has caused problems.’
Despite his decent appearance, Lark was a person who stayed cooped up at home, helplessly dependent on drugs.
Theorban thought this was fortunate. He could control such a fool like a scarecrow, moving him according to his will.
Theorban encouraged himself by remembering that Lark was socially considered as good as dead.
"It's good that you came just in time. How surprised you must have been to hear today's news..."
Lark silently stared at him, as if asking him to continue speaking.
"This woman dared to launch a surprise attack on the estate. Why did you offer a guest room to such a criminal? If this gets out, our family will be ridiculed."
Navia silently observed the situation with her lips sealed.
She felt a very familiar sensation from Theorban's behavior.
‘...Agnes.’
Humans who deceive others while believing in their own insignificant status.
Navia felt a deep disgust at that moment.
Despite his lower status, Theorban was acting as if he was the master of Eseled.
He was accustomed to enjoying the place, what Lark possessed.
Navia drew a sneer above her lips.
Even if she ran away from Agnes, the aristocratic society was ultimately dominated by the same kind of people as Agnes.
But Theorban had definitely chosen the wrong opponent this time. She was a regressor and knew his weakness well.
With an innocent expression, Navia asked with concern.
"Umm... wouldn't Count Alvin be in trouble...?"
As her frail voice flowed, both men's gazes dropped.
Theorban glared at Navia, who was making incomprehensible remarks.
"Nonsense!"
"The Duke of Eseled is the head of the family, and Count Alvin is the representative. If this situation leaks out..."
Navia deliberately paused before continuing.
"It would seem as if the hierarchy of the great ducal family is being disrupted from within."
There was a chilling resonance in her soft voice, enunciating each word precisely.
"After all... the aristocracy is sensitive about such matters, aren't they?"
Aren't they, Count Alvin, the representative of the head of the family?
As Navia continued, Theorban's expression became increasingly distorted and eventually flushed red.
Theorban himself knew that society gossiped about how pathetic it was for the family representative to act as if he was the head.
But he ignored it.
This family would soon be his!
‘Just wait and see. The moment I devour the Eseled ducal family, I'll kill all of them!’
He endured the current humiliation with that single thought. But Navia blatantly exposed his shame.
Theorban trembled with rage.
How dare a lowly noble criticize me?!
Seizing a moment when Lark's grip loosened, Theorban freed his arm and shouted.
"Yuck! I've seen enough. Kill her right now and send her limbs to Agnes!"
Theorban raised his hand to strike Navia.
He intended to properly punish the insolent woman who dared to speak so cunningly.
Just as he was about to slap her.
"I said it's too noisy..."
A suffocatingly dense killing intent emanated from Lark.
Theorban, crushed by this killing intent, felt as if chains were wrapped around his body, rendering him unable to move.
His eyes shook violently, and his voice trembled pathetically.
"La, Lark...?"
"I'm not sure how much you want to test my patience."
Theorban clearly saw a black energy flickering in Lark's eyes.
But in the end, he needed him.
Otherwise, how could he obtain a large quantity of anesthesia herbs at such a cheap price?
Theorban forced down his fear. The strong conviction that the other person couldn't harm him gave him the courage.
Still, his instinctual fear was unavoidable, so he trembled while trying to appear nonchalant as he said, "Oh, right. Haha... My younger brother will handle it on his own, after all. I might have overreacted a bit."
Lark slightly lowered his upper body, speaking with a menacing tone.
"So, brother."
Navia couldn't understand why the word "brother" sounded so foreign.
"Now, get out of my house."
