Frondier finally stood up after a very long time.
Despite having watched Atjie’s corpse for so long, he had not found out a single thing.
“...Even so.”
However, it had meaning.
He had thought up tens, hundreds of thread-thin possibilities, smashed them, and then thought up new ones, over and over.
That was the only reason Frondier could finally leave this place.
“Let’s go home first.”
Frondier spread his wings and took to the sky.
From the moment he had come flying back here, he had long since given up on hiding his wings. It did not matter to him if people whispered that they had seen a demon.
To the people here, Frondier was a demon anyway.
“I never thought I’d end up thinking like this, but—”
Frondier once again flew at high speed toward the mansion.
“I’m worried about Father.”
By the time Frondier arrived at the mansion—no, even from far away, Frondier could feel it.
The tremendous pressure emanating from the mansion.
Frondier had not even set foot on the ground, and yet he could feel the weight this much. The people inside the mansion were not just in trouble as a joke; they might truly be in danger.
'That’s some insane rage.'
It was the anger pouring out of Angfer. That was not something ordinary people could endure.
Frondier genuinely worried for the butler and maids of the mansion as he looked it over.
As he approached the entrance, he saw the maids, faces contorted under Angfer’s pressure.
They spotted Frondier and, startled, hurriedly ran over.
Frondier was just about to ask if they were all right, worried for their condition.
Until they all lined up calmly and said,
“You have arrived, Young Master.”
“...What?”
Frondier repeated back,
Thud.
And instead of answering, the maids all collapsed to the floor, fainting.
“...Ah, damn it.”
Frondier had been worried about the maids, but in the end, Frondier’s own killing intent erupted and knocked them all out.
Frondier closed his eyes and took a deep breath. At the same time, his eyes checked over the maids.
“Good. It looks like they just fainted. That’s a relief.”
He had not used Ecleksis, so there was no need to worry that much. They had already been suffering under Angfer’s pressure, and it felt like Frondier had just delivered the final push.
And more than anything, Frondier did not particularly feel sorry.
Just then, Bikar noticed the scene and approached in shock.
“Wh-what in the world happened, Young Ma—mmph.”
Frondier blocked Bikar’s mouth with Heukcheon.
Frondier looked at Bikar with cold eyes.
“Bikar, was it you who ordered them to call me Young Master?”
“Mm, mmph.”
When Frondier released Heukcheon, Bikar steadied his breathing and replied,
“I did not give such an order.”
“Then who did?”
“It was the head of the family’s order.”
“...Father?”
Angfer had made them do that? To call Frondier Young Master?
“That can’t be. That is not the kind of man he is.”
“...Lord Frondier. It is only natural.”
“Shut up.”
Frondier spat the words out in a rough voice.
“I’ll have to see him myself. Is Father in his room?”
“Yes.”
At Bikar’s answer, Frondier headed straight there.
The closer he got to Angfer’s room, the heavier the air became. The pressure Angfer exuded no longer allowed anyone to come within a certain radius.
Forcing his way through that air, Frondier knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
“Father, it’s Frondier. I’ve just arrived.”
In fact, quite some time had passed since he returned to the continent of Falind, but it was true that this was the first time he had entered the mansion.
“...Frondier.”
A voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
“...”
He told /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ him to come in.
Angfer, who always finished all reports from outside the door and then dismissed people like he was banishing them.
Frondier swallowed once, then opened the door.
Creak.
Inside the room, Angfer sat still.
His face, seen for the first time in a long while, looked older than Frondier remembered.
Frondier knew very well that this was not merely a trace of time.
“...It has been a while, Father.”
“Yes.”
Angfer’s voice was sharp, yet it lacked strength.
Only then did Frondier see the desk piled high with bottles. Enough that an ordinary person would have passed out already.
But Angfer probably would not get drunk from this much. Regardless of being strong or weak to alcohol, the pure aura in his body would keep detoxifying him.
Even so, perhaps he was drunk after all.
“Frondier, I did not wish for such a reunion.”
Angfer’s way of speaking was a little different from usual.
“...Nor did I.”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Flinch.
Frondier was slightly taken aback, but soon answered calmly.
“No, I am fine.”
“...I see. I am glad.”
Pour—
Swish.
Angfer poured himself another drink and emptied the glass.
When Frondier took a step closer at the sight, Angfer raised a hand to stop him.
“...Frondier. From this point on, you must steel yourself.”
“...”
“You have done well until now. As your father, I am proud of you. No one, whoever they may be, could have a child as excellent as you. I say this with certainty.”
Had there ever been a day when Angfer praised Frondier this highly?
Yet Frondier’s face only stiffened further.
“...Father.”
“Even so, my heart is heavy at the thought of placing even more responsibility upon you. Frondier, your role will change slightly from now on. You must understand that your conduct is now the honor of the family itself. Of course, there is nothing to worry about. If you simply continue as you have been, there will be no major issue, so—”
“Father.”
Frondier cut Angfer off.
Normally he would never do such a thing, and Angfer would have immediately thundered down in anger.
But Angfer neither got angry at his words being cut, nor raised his voice. After a brief silence, he spoke again.
“Frondier, from now on, as the Young Master of House—”
“I am not the Young Master.”
Frondier cut off Angfer’s words once more and denied them at the same time.
Only then did Angfer’s gaze finally land on Frondier.
“I have come today to ask for permission.”
“...Permission?”
At Frondier’s words, Angfer felt something ominous and his eyes twitched.
Frondier dropped to one knee. He even bowed his head.
“I know very well how difficult a situation you are in right now, Father. As the head of the house, as my father, I know you are speaking from a pain like having your bones scraped away, doing what must be done and saying what must be said. Knowing this, please understand me for making such a decision.”
“...Frondier, what are you planning to do?”
“I am going to save my brother.”
Bang!
Angfer shot up from his seat. There was no joy on that face.
Angfer understood what Frondier’s words meant.
“...What in the world are you talking about.”
“If it is to save my brother, I will do anything.”
Anything.
The instant he said that, Angfer moved.
Staggering—whether that was because of the alcohol or something else—
Angfer walked toward Frondier in a way that was so unlike him.
“No. I cannot allow it!”
“The young head of House Roach is my brother. My brother will succeed you one day and keep House Roach shining. I am nothing more than his support.”
At that moment, Angfer’s aura flared.
“Your brother is dead!!”
“...”
Frondier only bowed his head deeper without answering.
Angfer shouted,
“What are you thinking! No, it does not matter what you are thinking! I will not permit it! Do not even think of doing anything foolish!”
“...I am sorry.”
“Frondier!!”
Crash—!!
The floor under Angfer’s foot caved in deeply, and at the same time, every window by the wall shattered.
“Why are you doing this! Even if—by some one-in-ten-thousand chance Atjie were to return alive, you know what that would mean! How high do you think the chances are that Atjie can be brought back!”
“...”
“If Atjie comes back alive, can you come back alive as well!”
“...”
Frondier did not lie.
That was why he could not answer either of those two questions.
“Just once, just this one time, listen to me! Frondier! Why will you not! All I ever wished was for you to live well! Then why!”
Angfer’s voice reached his ears, his eyes, and the deepest part of Frondier’s heart.
Frondier knew that.
How could he not.
How Angfer had raised Frondier, with what feelings, and how he had eventually tried to send him away from the family.
And why he regretted that now.
He knew all of it, and so there had not been even a speck of resentment toward Angfer in the days that had passed.
Angfer shouted,
“I cannot lose you as well!!”
At those words, Frondier merely bowed his head even deeper.
Frondier had never seen Angfer this agitated. He had never heard him speak like this before, either. These words were so unlike Angfer.
...No. That was not it.
It was precisely because of this that he was Angfer.
This was why he was the Iron Wall of the North. Why he was stronger than all the Zodiacs combined.
The reason was right here before Frondier’s eyes.
“...Father.”
Frondier lifted his head. He raised it and looked at Angfer.
And Angfer, at that sight, froze completely.
Angfer knew Frondier’s face. It was his son’s face.
Frondier wore a peaceful smile.
“I’ll be back.”
***
At Constel, a deep and heavy air lay over everything.
Atjie’s death cast a dark cloud over the entire Empire, but at Constel, that air was especially thick.
Atjie had been Constel’s object of admiration.
If you wished to wield a weapon and stand against monsters, you had to follow after his back.
That was the resolve of all the students, the exemplary model the teachers encouraged, the “correct answer” written in the textbook.
Thus, the fact that Atjie had died was no different from there being something out there that they could not stand against no matter what they did.
No one yet knew how Atjie had died, or who the culprit was.
However, everyone knew it was neither suicide nor an accident.
It went without saying that he was not the type to fall victim to such a thing, and rumors had already spread everywhere that the state of Atjie’s body was abnormal.
A corpse that could not be touched. That was why his body still lay at the very place where he had died. And the longer that went on, the more the Empire watched Roach’s reaction.
Their son’s corpse lay on the ground without even being collected. People all spoke with one voice that it was a miracle Angfer had endured this long.
“...He was our idol. His every action became a model for us—”
And so, Constel was now holding a memorial ceremony for Atjie.
The representative of each year read the piece they had prepared. At the sincerity in their words, some shed tears, and soft sniffling could be heard. There were even those who could not hold back and sobbed loudly.
In one sense it was quiet, and in another sense it was noisy, in the auditorium.
“...Next is the third-year representative, Dierre Aiger.”
And the one who walked up onto the stage next was Dierre.
Dierre, whose skill had grown by the day to the point of now serving as the representative of the third years. He still did not possess overwhelming talent compared to others, but the completeness of his technique was already at a pro level.
In truth, he was the current Constel student who resembled Atjie the most.
“...I am Dierre Aiger.”
Dierre calmly opened his mouth before everyone.
“As I’m sure it is for all of you, I still can’t believe it. Senior Atjie was the idol whose back I would always have to chase. Therefore—”
Vrrr—
At that moment, the vibration of a phone with no sense of timing rang out. It belonged to none other than Dierre.
Dierre hurriedly opened his phone and checked the screen.
The other students assumed Dierre had simply made the mistake of leaving his phone on.
But in fact, it was no mistake at all.
“...Therefore.”
After checking the contents, Dierre spoke before everyone.
“I am going to go save him.”
Tap!
With that, Dierre finished speaking and—
While everyone else stood frozen, he sprinted at full speed through the auditorium and out the door.
Students and teachers alike could only stare blankly after him, utterly dazed.
