Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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"Dielo Argenta is definitely head over heels for Krua Alroze."
Alloze's informant said in a fervent voice inside the swaying carriage.
"Their atmosphere was that of a newlywed couple."
He didn't add that the infiltration was embarrassing.
But Duke Alroze and Pentas Alroze already seemed to hear what was in his heart.
Because the informant's face was flushed.
"The Lily?"
Duke Alroze asked about the important thing.
Since they were so close, it was only a matter of time before the Lily disappeared, but he still had to check on the progress.
"One was definitely erased. I confirmed it with my own two eyes."
The Alloze informant said.
"Then that's enough. You may leave."
Duke Alroze gestured.
After the informant jumped out of the slowly moving carriage, the carriage's speed increased.
"Now, as soon as the Lily is completely erased, we can sweep away the Argenta."
Duke Alroze said with a satisfied face.
It was only natural that water was overwhelmingly advantageous when fire and water clashed.
What if it was the flame of a weak head who hadn't even fully awakened?
Duke Alroze himself would be enough.
The problem was.
"The mark of the head hasn't appeared on you yet?"
Duke Alroze's gaze turned to his son.
Pentas Alroze scratched his dark blue hair irritably.
"It seems to be a little late."
"Hmm."
Duke Alroze clicked his tongue.
Unusually, he was waiting for the mark of the head to appear on his son as soon as possible.
Other heads would have worried that the mark might appear on a collateral blood relative, but he was different.
In the first place, there were few collateral blood relatives, and they had such poor qualities that they were only impressed by Krua's Water Manipulation Ability.
"But Father, do we have to strike after the mark of the head appears on me? Wouldn't it be better if you just swept them away while you're still the head...?"
Pentas asked then.
It was easier for him to push Argenta away and become the head of a stronger Alloze, so he couldn't help but be impatient.
"Foolish fellow."
Then Duke Alroze clicked his tongue.
Usually, current heads don't like the mark of the head appearing on their successors.
That's because the head's own power gradually weakens afterward.
But Duke Alroze didn't regret that. Rather, he considered it an opportunity.
Wasn't it obvious that the mark would appear someday anyway?
The time for the mark exchange.
When the successor takes the mark of the head, their power becomes overwhelmingly strong at that moment.
Moreover, the current head's power doesn't weaken much immediately after taking it.
In other words, that was the time to have the best power.
That meant it would be the perfect time to strike down Argenta.
He intended to achieve the feat of extinguishing Argenta's flame while he was still above the Duke.
"Tsk, it's about time it appeared."
Duke Alroze smacked his lips as if he was disappointed.
Well.
There was still plenty of time since the Lily hadn't been completely erased yet.
"There's no need to be impatient."
Duke Alroze smiled silently.
Thus, the Alloze ducal family's carriage slowly moved away from Argenta.
"Dielo Argenta's atmosphere has changed a lot from before."
The Cartiel family's carriage.
Siete Cartiel's voice echoed.
His Pero, the Duchess Cartiel, who had hardly spoken throughout the banquet, looked at him.
"I felt it too. The momentum of the flame seems to have become fiercer."
If Pero felt it, it was certain.
Siete Cartiel was lost in thought.
He and his Pero were more like business partners than a married couple.
A relationship formed solely to pursue Cartiel's prosperity and power.
As such, the Duchess Cartiel's discernment was also excellent.
"Hmm..."
Siete narrowed his eyes.
He recalled last night.
'They are moving in Alloze. They stole Duke Argenta's formal attire.'
As soon as he heard that report, the Lily was what came to mind.
'So they're trying to see if the black Lily has disappeared.'
'Then let's send people from our side too. So as not to be noticeable.'
Was Dielo's personality really changed because the Lily disappeared?
So, did Argenta's aggressive personality begin to emerge?
He sent someone to find out about the Lily.
And the person who was dispatched at the time was now standing before him.
"How was it?"
Since they had the ability to control the wind, Cartiel's informants were bound to have better hearing than other families' informants.
He cleared his throat and said.
"It was definitely a newlywed's... night. It was embarrassing to listen to."
"Was he that aggressive?"
Duchess Cartiel asked.
Her question contained no emotions such as embarrassment.
She was only asking for pure information. Whether Dielo Argenta had really changed.
Cartiel's informant nodded.
"Yes. I wondered if he was the Dielo Argenta I had seen so far."
"It's common for personalities to change upon awakening, but."
Siete thought it was strangely unsettling.
He was a man with good instincts, and he trusted his instincts.
Was this really a change that occurred because Dielo Argenta met Pero and the Lily disappeared?
He, who couldn't know about Alloze's fake Pero plan, could only think within the limits of what he knew.
'Krua.'
Dielo Argenta's voice sweetly calling his bride.
It was clearly the voice of a fool who was hopelessly in love.
With Dielo Argenta so eager, it would be a matter of time before the Lily completely disappeared.
What would happen to Dielo Argenta's ability when the Lily disappeared?
How strong would he become?
He thought it would be useless even if he awakened properly since he was a weak head anyway.
"Hmm."
Why did he feel so bothered?
He recalled the look in Dielo Argenta's eyes as he glared at Pentas Alroze while embracing his woman.
Wasn't it like a foolish beast trying to protect its family?
Siete Cartiel smiled slightly.
Pero, Duchess Cartiel, who was next to him, was startled by the smile and lowered her eyes.
"Family."
It was a word that had little meaning in Cartiel, but Argenta was different.
Argenta was a family with particularly strong bonds.
But it was also a family that wanted a strong head.
Therefore, the weak Dielo Argenta was the most ostracized among the Argenta heads in history, and he had been so until now.
But.
"He's changed..."
Regardless of what happened to Dielo Argenta's power, the fact that he was trying to protect something bothered Siete Cartiel.
This change was not good.
And what brought about that change was.
"...Krua Alroze."
The Alloze's illegitimate daughter with dark purple hair who was in his arms.
The woman who had now become Krua Argenta.
"It's funny that Alloze's daughter is having a love affair with Argenta, isn't it?"
Elin Cartiel seemed to believe in the word 'love marriage,' but Siete Cartiel didn't believe it.
Of course, the Duchess Cartiel, who was listening to the story, was the same.
In the first place, the relationship between Pero and the head was not that romantic.
No matter how much they said that they had to genuinely connect with Pero to awaken, there were too many kinds of love.
It meant that awakening was possible even with conditional love, such as Siete Cartiel's love for 'Pero's ability' rather than Pero itself.
'I will give you the position of the best Duchess, not love.'
'How about a relationship that seeks practicality rather than vain things like love?'
As long as the head and Pero were on the same page.
Just like the Cartiel ducal couple, themselves.
Siete Cartiel, who didn't believe in love, created the strongest Cartiel with a thoroughly ruthless choice.
He had purged all the blood relatives who had no potential in order to concentrate power on the head, and he was watching Elin, who was born with some ability.
That was why he couldn't help but be concerned about Argenta's change.
Duchess Cartiel noticed Siete Cartiel's sensitivity and held her breath.
Her husband kept her by his side as an advisor and Pero.
If she was judged to be worthless as an advisor, she might be reduced to just a tool called Pero and confined to the mansion, so it was better to hold her breath at times like this.
"..."
And as she expected, Siete Cartiel was very upset.
"How much of an amplifier will Krua Argenta be as a Pero?"
He said in a gentle but heavy voice.
He needed to find out what kind of person Krua Argenta was, who had changed Dielo Argenta, who had rarely confronted others, so much.
She was clearly an insignificant woman who didn't need to be bothered with, but he didn't know how she had changed Dielo Argenta.
One thing was certain, Krua Alroze was a useful Pero beyond his expectations.
Even if he didn't discuss Pero's amplification power, if she could change Dielo Argenta just by herself.
It's better to kill her early.
He didn't want the political situation of the three families to change now.
"Send people to Argenta secretly. And."
He ordered coldly.
"Eliminate Krua Alroze."
"I understand."
Cartiel's informant bowed deeply.
We returned to the Argenta main family's mansion.
But from the day after we came in, the atmosphere of the mansion began to change subtly.
"I thought the atmosphere would change."
Of course, I knew that the two families would somehow move as Argenta welcomed Pero.
I wanted that to be in a direction that underestimated us as much as possible.
And in fact, Dielo didn't show the proper appearance of a head at the meeting.
So I thought it was enough to put the enemy off guard.
The problem arose at the dinner table a few days later.
"I told them to bring out what Krua likes today."
Dielo said with a happy face. His voice was full of joy, as if he couldn't be more lovely.
"Didn't you do that yesterday too?"
Dielo, who told them to prepare only what I liked every day, was a doting new groom no matter how I looked at him.
Dielo smiled softly at my words.
"Krua doesn't just like one kind of food, does she?"
I always want to make Krua happy in new ways.
He said in an excited voice and pointed to the plate placed on the table.
"It's a mushroom that only grows in the Tilla Pass. I heard that it has a strong scent that is polarizing, but Krua likes it, right?"
I think I saw a story in the original work that Krua enjoyed mushroom dishes.
And I don't dislike mushrooms in reality.
I nodded.
"Yes. But this..."
But Krua only liked mushrooms that were difficult to obtain?
"I picked them myself."
Dielo smiled brightly.
...Mushrooms that only grow in the middle of a cliff?
I blinked blankly.
Also, seeing that the mushroom cap was large, it seemed like he had gone into a fairly deep place.
"What if you slipped while doing that?"
"I haven't been neglecting my training that much."
Dielo, who said that, seemed very... proud.
"Oh my."
He went to such lengths to get them, so I couldn't not eat them.
Above all, my favorite sweet and spicy sauce was placed on top of the lustrously shining mushrooms.
"Would you like to try it?"
It was when Dielo cut the mushroom.
"......?"
He paused for a moment and tilted his head slightly.
Then, he suddenly put a piece of the cut mushroom in his mouth.
"Dielo?"
Did he smell a strange scent?
He raised his eyebrows and suddenly pushed the mushroom dish aside.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up from his seat.
"I told them to bring out what Krua likes..."
The corner of his mouth curled up strangely.
"It seems the chef made a mistake."
