Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 75

“When I was in the royal capital, I felt something strange. Maybe… a demon was there.”

“According to His Majesty of the Kingdom of Elver, Prince Leinfelt, who was being controlled, was supposedly gathering Eranda’s remains. Maybe that’s what you sensed?”

“That makes sense.”

But what were they hoping to accomplish by following Eranda’s trail?

“They are likely trying to use a corpse of the late daughter of Riofendarl as a vessel,” they had said.

But was such a thing even possible?

If it was just a corpse they needed, wouldn’t the burial site be enough?

Why go to the trouble of tracking Eranda’s movements?

So much remained unclear.

If they really had been following Eranda’s trail, then they had probably already obtained what they were after.

Which meant they might have already left, moving somewhere beyond our ability to track them…

And then, a sudden wave of dread washed over me.

An overwhelming chill surged through my body.

I instinctively heightened my magical awareness, jumping to my feet in an instant.

Of course, I positioned myself between Shifa and whatever threat was coming.

I scanned my surroundings—nothing.

For a brief moment, I thought I had imagined it.

The room was unnervingly silent.

But then, it came again.

Another pulse of that wrongness.

And then, as if responding to my thoughts—

Someone casually walked into the room.

The very thing I had been thinking about.

The one whose execution I had witnessed.

Eranda…

No—

A demon wearing Eranda’s face.

The aura was completely different, but the appearance was identical.

How?

“The answer is simple. Why do you think past generations of Riofendarl were always sisters? Why do you think we lured Eranda into a trap and ensnared her? Demon Search alone would never be enough. That skill may locate lesser beings like the Ruin Demons, but it cannot find me. This girl’s power is far greater.”

Its voice was arrogant.

Its way of speaking was nothing like Eranda’s.

“Why reveal yourself? There must be a reason.”

“Hmph… At least you are quick-witted.”

If it was mentioning skills, then there was only one thing it could mean.

I needed to test my theory.

“That greater power you speak of—Shifa hasn’t unlocked it yet, has she? That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

“You understand quickly. Then, die.”

“I won’t let you—…what?”

Instead of attacking, the demon simply walked out of the room.

What?

Why?

For a brief moment, I hesitated—

And that hesitation cost me.

“Ah…”

Shifa suddenly gasped and ran toward the depths of the estate.

I immediately followed.

Could it be… the viscount!?

Realizing what was happening, I grabbed Shifa’s arm and rushed forward.

But we were too late.

In his private chamber, Viscount Riofendarl lay mortally wounded.

He was on the brink of death.

I had failed.

The ominous feeling I had sensed just before Eranda appeared—it had been this.

She had deliberately shown herself to distract us.

To ensure the viscount wouldn’t survive.

I could see it immediately.

He had been run through.

There was no saving him.

Shifa knelt beside him, desperately casting healing magic, but it had no effect.

Had the demon been buying just enough time to make sure he wouldn’t make it?

“Viscount!”

Michelle arrived, casting healing magic as well, but it was useless.

I wasn’t skilled in healing magic myself.

There was nothing we could do.

“Shifa… Lax…”

The viscount weakly opened his mouth.

“Father!”

“Shifa… you must… do it…”

“What…?”

His lifeless eyes gazed into the void.

And then, barely a whisper—

“It is… necessary…”

“Father!?”

What did he mean?

Did this have something to do with the greater power the demon had mentioned?

Did Shifa have to kill her own kin to awaken it?

That was a cruel condition.

“Steel yourself… Shifa. Do not… waste… me…”

“Father…”

“Shifa…”

But he was dying.

We couldn’t stop it.

If we waited, he would simply die for nothing.

With a heavy heart, I pulled out a small knife and handed it to Shifa.

I was the worst.

If I could take her place, I would.

But she was the one with the Riofendarl bloodline.

If this was truly a requirement of her skill, then…

“Father… I’m sorry…”

“No… I am the one… who must apologize… You have grown strong. Take care of what comes next.”

“Father!?”

Suddenly, with what little strength he had left, the viscount thrust himself forward—

Gripping Shifa’s hand as she held the knife—

And drove it into his own stomach.

And with that, the viscount passed away.

A new skill appeared on Shifa’s skill list—

“Advanced Demon Search.”

What the hell kind of skill was that?

This was too cruel.

Had the Riofendarl family always gone through something like this?

For a moment, I thought so.

But I was wrong.

The people of Riofendarl had always been warmer than that.

Among the possessions left behind in the viscount’s vault, we found an old book.

It described this process as a trial.

Whenever two sisters were born into the Riofendarl lineage, their parent or grandparent, upon death, would receive a symbolic wound from a knife.

It was a way to minimize the harm while still passing on the inheritance.

And the book made one thing clear—

The sisters shared the same set of skills.

There was no difference in ability between them.

In other words, Doll and Seeker were merely roles assigned within the Riofendarl family.

The skills themselves had always been inherited equally.

And yet, Disemna had targeted that very tradition.