Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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"I heard it was a grand wedding, but surely, you weren't foolish enough to give away your purity already, were you?"
She swept back her hair as if she couldn't believe it.
"Judging by how you're not surprised to see me, you already knew she was a fake. I don't know what you're thinking, though."
Bennia waved her hand dismissively, as if shooing away a fly.
"Just kill her quickly and prepare the bridal chamber. We're in a hurry here. Even if you're newlyweds, who would say anything if it was just an unfortunate accident? They'd mourn for a bit and then move on."
She shrugged.
"If it's too much for you, shall I kill her?"
There was a clear murderous intent in her eyes as she said that.
Regardless of how strong her water control was, Bennia had once trained with the Argenta assassins.
Krua could be in danger.
The unpleasantness, no, the murderous intent he felt at that moment was something Dielo himself was taken aback by.
"What's the rush?"
Dielo blurted out. Bennia raised an eyebrow.
"Well, there's so much the Argenta Duchess can enjoy, and because of you, I've been on the run for over a decade. And to see a fake taking my place… No, wait."
Bennia suddenly sensed something was off. She stared at Dielo.
"Isn't Pero more urgent to Argenta than I am?"
She frowned.
"Hurry up and prepare my place. Or else, I don't know what kind of rumors I might spread in this peaceful Argenta."
Argenta valued the custom of treating fellow Argentas like blood relatives.
Of course, harming a fellow Argenta, let alone killing one's own kin, would be a fatal flaw for the head of the family.
Of course, this was true for other families as well, but Argenta would be even more inflamed.
But Dielo tilted his head at the obvious threat.
He didn't look flustered. Rather, he seemed to be slowly mulling over one of the questions that had come out of Bennia's mouth.
Then he opened his mouth.
"Do you know why I stood by and watched when the previous Duke and Duchess died?"
He was saying 'previous Duke and Duchess,' not 'my parents.'
As if trying to distance himself.
Bennia frowned.
"You wanted to become the Duke, I suppose."
"No. The Duke position would have been mine even if I did nothing, so there's no reason for me to do that."
Dielo smiled coldly.
It was the moment Bennia's eyes widened.
Dielo leaned slightly towards her and whispered.
"I think there's fun in watching a rabbit that doesn't even know it's frolicking in front of a beast's maw."
The expression instantly disappeared from his face.
"But I don't like moths that rush in without thinking."
A chilling murderous intent filled the room. Dielo's cold words continued.
"Do you remember that my life was in danger back then?"
At those words, Bennia, who had been frozen, nodded slightly.
"...Your body, it was weak, wasn't it?"
"No."
Dielo shook his head.
"There are hardly any cases where someone who strongly inherited the Argenta bloodline is born with a weak body."
—Fwoosh!
He said, conjuring fire at his fingertips.
"Because basically, you can't overcome this magic if your physical strength doesn't support it."
At those words, Bennia paused. Dielo smiled.
"I wonder who it was that poisoned the next Duke?"
He himself knew the answer to the question.
From his mouth, the secrets of the past flowed out.
The previous Duke, Dielo's father.
He was an ordinary head of the family who hadn't particularly stood out. Even after meeting Pero and reaching enlightenment, he was still the same.
But Dielo was different.
The moment he wielded fire control, the previous Duke recognized his outstanding talent.
Unfortunately, too early.
'…Dielo has too much outstanding talent.'
That his son possessed a power that was incomparable to his own.
And he knew that in such cases, the mark of the head of the family could be transferred early.
'If my mark is transferred to Dielo…'
His father feared that fact. The fact that his abilities would become weaker.
He had excessively forced Argenta's loyalty with his meager power, so he feared losing everything.
And his wife, Dielo's mother, Pero, was the same.
'If the head of the family changes, what about me, Pero?'
If the head of the family changed, the previous head of the family's Pero would naturally become unnecessary.
Naturally, she did not welcome Dielo, who was not only too outstanding but also not her own child.
"If I need to hesitate to kill those who tried to kill me, life would be too tough."
Dielo's cold words, having finished his reminiscence, fell.
Bennia's face turned white.
"That…"
This was something that would turn Argenta upside down if it were known.
But Dielo made sure to let it flow into her ears.
Even with a relaxed voice.
As if he didn't care if she knew.
As if he was confident that she wouldn't be able to tell anyone else, even if she knew…
Bennia desperately suppressed her fear.
I'm Pero anyway.
There's no way he can kill me.
"...Enough. Let's prepare for the wedding. Before it's too late, Argenta needs to welcome Pero, right?"
Bennia said, waving her hand.
Before it's too late.
Dielo, who smiled faintly, got up from his seat.
—Tap.
His footsteps, leaving a clear sound, slowly moved back and forth behind the sofa where Bennia was sitting.
"Before it's too late…"
It wasn't too late yet; it was too early.
To welcome the real Pero.
Duke Alroze and Duke Kartiel hadn't let their guard down enough, and he hadn't properly cleaned up the inside of Argenta.
Above all…
Even thinking rationally, there were many points that bothered him.
Bennia, who was strangely using Alloze's power.
There was no guarantee that she wouldn't contact Alloze with her water power if things went wrong.
Would it be difficult for someone who had betrayed once to do it twice?
It would be dangerous if she leaked his plans to Alloze.
And… could she survive in that process?
Would the Duke, who sent his daughter as a fake Pero, let her live?
From the moment the real Pero appeared, until this moment when he was facing Bennia, his mind had been filled with only one thing.
He looked out the bright window.
The person he thought of whenever he saw it shining brightly lately.
'Use me. Until you find the real Pero and gain power, Duke.'
The voice saying that kept ringing in his ears.
The deadline was until he found the real Pero…
If he heard the news that the real Pero had arrived, she would immediately ask to fulfill the contract.
Moreover, she was still thinking of leaving Argenta.
He wished he had more time to persuade her.
Above all, how nice would it be if someone suitable for Argenta, not someone like this, was Pero.
…How nice would it be if she were the real Pero.
Dielo, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
"Argenta's fence is sturdy."
He stopped walking and turned to look at Bennia.
"So it doesn't open easily. Especially not for traitors."
"...What?"
Could it be? Bennia understood his words, but she couldn't understand.
The head of the family would refuse Pero?
"What do you think is the reason I told you a fatal secret?"
At Dielo's words, the blood completely drained from Bennia's face.
This was absurd. She repeatedly rolled up her sleeves.
"You're not going to do something to the real Pero, are you?"
Around that time, Dielo's gaze was outside the window.
Was Krua still in the garden?
"Why, of all people, was it you?"
Dielo narrowed his eyes. Bennia flinched.
It felt like a cold murderous intent was piercing her neck.
"What's the difference between you and Krua?"
He turned back to look at Bennia.
"What do you have that Krua doesn't, that made you my Pero… If I could only figure that out."
Wouldn't he be able to make the person he wanted into Pero?
A cold gaze turned towards Bennia.
"Investigate thoroughly."
The Argenta knights answered silently to his words.
Composed only of knights from the 4th floor, they were surprised by the head of the family's plan to refuse Pero, but they faithfully followed his words.
Because they trusted the head of the family.
Above all, this woman was too dangerous and frivolous to become the mistress of Argenta.
Dielo looked at Bennia.
"Search through this traitor's entire life, and find out."
Cold words fell.
"What kind of people are chosen as 'Pero'."
What was the difference between her and that woman?
What rules were there for becoming Pero?
The moment he had that question.
—Swish…
Dielo once again heard the sound of the sea.
The sea he hated even seeing in his dreams.
But he didn't hate the person who made him think of the sea so much.
No, he kept thinking about her.
What was so different?
The endless questions left him with only one realization.
He wanted to have her.
He realized it at that moment.
The reason why her 'future plans' had been bothering him all along.
Subtly, like a sandy beach that was slowly disappearing with the tide, and then suddenly he realized it.
He laughed without realizing it.
Soon, his gentle voice echoed in the room.
"I've come to want something perfect."
Not a 'Pero I have to love,'
But a 'Pero I can't help but love.'
