Lark suddenly asked, "The child?"
"What time is it now? She must be asleep," replied Suleiman, then added, "The lady kept looking for you, saying she had something to tell you."
"Something to tell?"
Lark guessed that it might be about the secret Navia said she would reveal last night.
"She's become quite courageous quickly."
Suleiman didn't understand the meaning of Lark's mutter.
"Any other reports?"
"Nothing else. How about we throw a formal party to celebrate the lady's official enrollment in Eseled?"
A party in this dark house.
He disliked noisy events, but the thought of Navia trying to look solemn while actually being overjoyed amused him.
'Funny kid.'
Lark raised an eyebrow.
"If we're doing it, we should do it right."
He decided to throw a grand party, one that would prevent any solemn pretense. Selling one of his magical artifacts would bring in a fortune.
He hadn't done so for a reason.
Eseled's magic was far more advanced and dangerous than the Empire's.
In fact, Lark had seen this world destroyed by war many times.
It was a relief that Eseled was more interested in complete conquest than world destruction.
"Let's have the party tomorrow evening."
Lark fiddled with a black bracelet in his hand.
Once the bracelet was filled, Creed's magic would not flow into the mansion for half a day.
After the bracelet and Creed's magic fully combined, activating the formula, the maintenance and restoration magic on the mansion could be doubled.
Until then, it was dangerous.
'The effects of the last major rift haven't healed yet.'
While Creed's magic was tied to the bracelet, Lark planned to stay in his laboratory.
Unaware of Lark's intentions, Suleiman thought of a feast when hearing about the evening party.
"Then, my lord, you should dress in fancy clothes suitable for the feast."
Lark looked down at his clothes.
Black robe, black pants, and black leather slippers.
"This is fine."
"My lord, who attends a feast in a robe? Knowing you'd say this, I bought a formal suit for you."
Lark clicked his tongue at Suleiman's needless meticulousness.
Suleiman opened a box below, revealing a formal suit.
"Through the Alchemist Guild, it's easy to get good items. I also got cufflinks and shoes to match."
Lark's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Alchemist Guild.
"That silver-haired one…"
It was likely that the silver-haired man was involved with the Guild.
'So far, the Guild has never crossed paths with me.'
This meant that because of Navia, the Guild got involved with Eseled.
'I need to find out who this silver-haired man is.'
A silver-haired man. Who could it be? The first thing that came to Lark's mind was the Duke of Vladina.
'Is it inevitable? That family is peculiar, with all descendants born with silver hair.'
The hidden Vladina.
Despite his numerous returns, Lark never interacted with them due to their seclusion.
But in this life, they became deeply entangled.
Camilla Vladina.
It was because of her.
'Could it be that Navia asked the Campanella information brokers to seize the narcotic herb farm?'
If so, everything fit perfectly.
Erkin Vladina, Duke.
Camilla's younger brother, Erkin, might have thought the same upon seeing Navia.
'Navia resembles Camilla.'
Erkin, who had grown up seeing his sister, would have recognized it even faster.
Tap. Tap.
Thinking this, Lark felt strange.
‘Could Navia be Camilla's daughter? Then where is Camilla?’
'The fact that Campanella the informant is still around means they still haven't found that woman......'
Lark, who couldn't take a step outside his house, had a reason to know about this informant.
"Has Camilla been here?"
Eight years ago, Erkin had come looking for him.
Saying he was looking for his sister.
While Lark was lost in thought, Suleiman took out and spread clothes and shoes, speaking to him.
"My lord, please try them on. If they don't fit, I will come tomorrow morning to quickly change them."
Lark, immersed in serious contemplation, suddenly looked utterly fed up.
"Even if it's small, I can wear it small, and if it's big, I can wear it big. Why try it on now? It's annoying. Leave it and go away."
"Miss Navia will surely attend the banquet in the cutest and most adorable appearance... I'm really looking forward to it."
Suleiman continued with a very regretful expression.
"Surely she will wake up early in the morning, prettily do her hair and wear the prettiest clothes. But how sad she would be if you, my lord, show no interest and appear in a strange outfit?"
"Alright, alright!"
As time with Navia increased, Suleiman seemed to become more and more foolish.
Lark threw off his robe with an irritated expression.
"My lord, look here. I have also bought a new mirror. Ah, and I replaced the broken window glass in the lady's room with exactly the same size."
"You've become terribly talkative, Suleiman."
At that, Suleiman laughed heartily.
"Indeed, I have."
Suleiman had also felt more at ease lately, a relaxation he hadn't known before.
The shaky fence that was Eseled seemed to have turned into a solid wall with Navia's arrival.
Although it may not seem perfect to others, he thought that this was what a home, a family, might be.
"Wearing such a thing after a long time is so uncomfortable."
Suleiman smiled slightly.
To his knowledge, Lark had never worn formal wear before.
He faintly suspected that Lark might be a 'returner'.
It was an unbelievable assumption, but there was no other way to explain Lark.
Lark covered his upper body, perfectly shaped by muscles, with a pale silk shirt with a subtle sheen.
Then, with skilled hands, he stood up the shirt collar and wrapped a tie of the same material around his neck.
He also neatly wore a vest and jacket, and when he brushed his hair behind one ear, he overflowed with the dignity of a 'duke'.
"If you go out like this, the capital will be turned upside down."
Suleiman said teasingly, but it was a sincere exaggeration.
Lark, usually due to his mood and dress, looked strangely decadent.
Now, dressed so primly that he seemed ascetic, he gave off an oddly exciting vibe.
It meant that anyone would surely be captivated by his appearance.
Lark smiled lopsidedly in his elegant attire.
"It's a pity I don't have the opportunity to turn the capital upside down with my beauty."
"Ha ha!"
Suleiman burst into laughter at his words, but he couldn't hide a bitter feeling.
'But I should be content with this happiness now...'
Even this much change in Lark was already a miracle.
Suleiman felt gratitude again for Navia, the savior who had brought about this miracle.
"Then, please attend the banquet tomorrow in such a splendid outfit."
"Fine, now go."
"Yes, my lord."
Lark sent Suleiman away and loosened his tie casually.
"I should change after putting on the bracelet."
He had been wearing loose-fitting clothes that hardly constricted his body, and now wearing a formal suit that fit perfectly felt a bit suffocating.
"Still, if my child is happy seeing me like this, I can endure it," he thought.
"…Will the little one like it?"
Standing in front of the full-length mirror that Suleiman had recently acquired, he casually turned around to examine myself.
A coat or a cloak would make this look much more impressive.
After some thought, he flicked his fingers and wrapped myself in the black cloak he had received as a gift before.
It was from Camilla.
"Well, this isn't too bad"
Lark arrogantly tilted his chin up, appraising his appearance, and then headed to the dungeon.
Snap!
He waved his hand once, illuminating the interior of the dungeon like a laboratory with a brilliant white light.
Thud, thud.
Lark stood in front of the cell where Creed was imprisoned.
At that moment, Creed thrashed about and glared at him with hostility.
"Grrr!"
Clang!
A thick blanket lay on the floor, signs of wound treatment visible.
'Was it Margaret?'
That seemed unlikely.
"Don't come near until you have full control over your magic. If you're a magician, you could lose your mind due to continuous exposure to that kind of magic."
That was the warning he had already given.
"Hmm."
It wasn't like Minerva, who was timid and easily frightened.
'There's the answer. She's my daughter.'
Lark narrowed his eyes.
"Claiming not to be smitten, was that just a blatant lie?"
"Grrr!"
"Why would she like someone like that? My daughter must have poor judgment in men."
Lark observed Creed, who was attempting to charge at him, with sharp eyes.
"Short as a bean, skinny, and black hair... quite charming. Blue eyes... not bad."
Camilla had silver hair and blue eyes as beautiful as a clear day's sky. Those were the colors that hurt Lark the most.
His mother was the same.
"Unlike that woman, my mother came from a humble family."
That's why she said she was lucky to marry my father.
She said that she felt like she had become a proud daughter and a woman with the greatest fortune.
Lark's mother, when she was in a good mood, used to tell him those stories, although her good mood never lasted long when she saw Lark.
Anyway, that guy sucked unconditionally. It was just like the intuition of a regressor.
Clank. Lark opened the prison and went inside.
The closer he got, the more intense the dense magic power felt like a refreshing rain on the mansion and my body.
Creak!
Lark met Creed's gaze with his calmly sunken eyes.
"He's under mental manipulation. If he continues to emit magic power like this, he will surely die."
The aftermath of extending his lifespan by 15 years was not easy, but originally, the one who regrets more should be the one to move.
He forcibly stabilized the magic power that surged in like a waterfall while he untied the restraints on Creed's left wrist to put on the bracelet.
"How terrible."
Lark put the bracelet on Creed's wrist, feeling as if his whole body was soaked in water.
'Why do I have to take care of someone else's son?'
If it wasn't for the 15-year lifespan, it would have been ridiculous.
Lark grumbled irritably at Empress Estelle as he put the restraints back on Creed's wrist.
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
It was then.
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
"This seals the deal, Estelle."
Lark flinched and looked around.
'What was that just now?'
His voice, with the exact same intonation and without a single different syllable, precisely echoed in his head 8 times.
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