The Duke Germo asked me, “Was this helpful?”

“......”

“It would seem so.”

“Quiet.”

I hated to admit it, but...

‘It really was tremendously helpful.’

Of course I would side with the Empress Dowager. Yet outwardly I maintained a foot in Salvatore’s camp. In the worst case, even if Salvatore won the war, I’d have an escape hatch. Above all, House Astra had expended nothing in this conflict—no troops, no treasure. The Dowager would be anxious, but since they’d “abducted” me, it made a convenient excuse.

“When do you intend to release me?”

“Whenever we deem you safe.”

At Germo’s words, I huffed. “I can see my grandfather, yes?”

“Certainly. We will show you.”

My father, my brothers, and I followed the Mashitavbas through the corridors. As we walked, I stole a glance at Father. ‘He says nothing.’ His expression was rigid. Feeling their gazes, I bowed my head—and Balzac whispered to me, “You’re angry—stay calm or you’ll get struck by lightning.”

“Hmm?”

“The Chronot Council is entwined with you now.”

“Oh...”

I flinched. Father already knew I was the Messiah. Ever since I’d revealed my dimension-hopping and time loops, we’d shared countless discussions. Naturally the topic arose: how Grimie had gained his power.

“It began with the raid on the Chronot Council stronghold,” Father had explained.

“A raid?”

“Yes. From there, he obtained all the Council’s secrets. That must be the basis of his might.”

“And from that, he learned of the Messiah’s existence. Later he forbidden the knowledge to prevent interference.”

“Exactly.”

At the time I hadn’t realized the “Veil” referred to the Chronot Council. Nor that Grimie had duped Dalia into claiming to be the Messiah, seizing control. I’d assumed he simply gained vast arcane power from the Council’s archives. ‘I thought it a suppressed religion—if I stayed silent they'd ignore me....’ But they thrived openly, and so many knew of the Messiah. From Father’s perspective, protecting me had become all but impossible. And now I’d been kidnapped... ‘We’re doomed.’

The guardians glanced at me. I met their eyes with a fierce stare, then quickly dropped my gaze. We arrived before a door, and Germo announced, “This is the place.” Grandfather was within. We knocked and entered. He sat alone at the great round table.

“Grandfather, it’s me—Erilot.”

“......”

He stared fixedly at a single point, without turning.

“Grandfather...”

“Astonishing.”

I froze midstep. My brothers also looked on with grim faces. I forced a smile. “I’m not sure what you mean—”

“The Messiah, the foretold calamity, your vow to destroy Grimie, your true identity.”

“G-Grandfather...”

“You have made quite the stir within my domain.”

He finally met my eyes—a gaze colder than any I’d felt even in the Twelfth Tower.

“Did you think I would let you roam free?”

“......”

“Yes, the Intelligence Section often brought shocking news: that you had not merely studied on the Kansis Continent, but entered the Imperial Court as a lady-in-waiting, and even—at only ten years old—wrought deeds no child could.”

He knew. He had guessed some of it. I stiffened and clutched my skirts; my brothers closed their eyes or swallowed hard.

“The reason I left you unfettered is because red blood runs in your veins.”

“......”

“A notorious villain in his old age, a monster born of my line—yet still, some semblance of human affection remained.”

“......”

“I waited for the moment you would come to me of your own accord.”

He held my gaze, and I could see my own reflection in his hardened pupils. Then he asked quietly, “Tell me—was my imprisonment your scheme?”

“T-That—!”

I tried to speak, but Grandfather’s voice remained flat: “Did you seek to kill my son—for the sake of a ducal title?”

“My uncle Grimie’s affairs were—!”

“He was indeed suspicious, yet it was you who twice ensnared him in traps.”

“That—was not my intention...”

“Answer me.”

“......”

What could I say? That Grimie had killed me in my first life, and destroyed House Astra afterward? That I fled to another world as Yuhye-min, then returned? Would he believe such a tale? I stammered and he chuckled.

“I asked if my imprisonment was your ploy.”

“......”

“And yet, seeing this old man run here barefoot, thinking it might be so—what crossed your mind?”

“It—It truly wasn’t! I have so much I couldn’t tell you. I know I appear suspicious, but—!”

The guardians of the Chronot Council, too, sensed something amiss. The Duke Germo interjected: “The matter was urgent, sire. We couldn’t provide full explanation. But rest assured, this was never the Messiah’s will—”

“When did you learn that you are the Council’s Messiah?” Grandfather cut in, staring at me. I turned pale.

Long ago. Very long ago I knew. ‘Yet I told only Father and my brothers—not Grandfather.’ I distrusted them. I had believed in Grimie rather than in him, fearing he’d side with Grimie. The Messiah could have shattered House Astra in one blow. So I pretended ignorance, feigned innocence, smiling before him—even as I brandished the blade of my existence at his throat.

“Grandfather, I know you’re angry. But truly, no— I was kidnapped by the guardians—”

“Why should I believe the words of one who has deceived me all this time?”

“I’m sorry. I never meant this. Even my abduction... was foolish—I was powerless, they captured me, and now I’ve caused you great harm—”

“......”

“I’m sorry I lived suspiciously, and wrong to say nothing. Grandfather, I’ve been a fool—”

Before I could finish, my father’s roar cut through the silence: “Why are you apologizing?!”

He strode forward, shielded me with his body, and glared fiercely at Grandfather.

“Why should a child be the one to earn trust?”

“Daimond.”

“She struggled alone to survive because you adults failed to trust her.”

“To deceive me and drive my son to the brink—was that her only recourse?”

“You left her no choice but to fight alone! If you wanted trust, you should have given it! I failed her as a parent, forcing her to bear her burdens alone!”

“You—”

“From the moment she learned to walk, she never slept soundly!”

“......”

“You raised her to compete daily with her cousins, teaching her that failure meant obsolescence!”

“......”

“And now you speak of trust and affection—!”

His voice reverberated through the round room. I turned pale and clung to his arm.

“Please—stop! Don’t do this!”

“Who forced her to live this way, stumbling in fear day after day?”

“Father!”

“A child raised without a single adult’s embrace cannot learn trust!”

“Father, please—!”

“No /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ one can judge Erilot—you have never fought so desperately to live as she has!”

“Then—!!”

Grandfather leapt to his feet, voice thunderous: “What should I have done?!”

“What?”

“What could I have done differently? I was powerless—torn apart and reassembled by my forebears, subjected to horrific experiments until mind and body were tatters! That is why I struck out at my lineage! I forced you to protect yourselves, to compete ruthlessly—”

“......”

“I did so lest you become prey for those rogues! I could not send you to the Academy—any noble loyal to my forebears would have targeted you!”

“......”

“Did you think I slept well, caging you under the pretense of ‘kin education’?”

“......”

“Do you think it was easy to leave an infant granddaughter in the Twelfth Tower?!”

We had no words. Grandfather panted and pressed his palm to his brow.

“Did I err in not raising you with kindness? Did I expose my weakness—my children and grandchildren—upon attaining the dukedom?”

“......”

“And if I had, they would have targeted you—to strike me through you!”

“......”

“I could not spare you from bloodshed in the Academy’s halls—trusted my forebears’ allies would corrupt every guardian’s spirit!”

“......”

“Do you think I was at peace, caging you all for ‘bloodline training’?”

“......”

“It was no easier for me to entrust a babe to the Twelfth Tower!!”

At last, Father and my brothers remained silent, choked by emotion. I took a trembling step forward, towards the fragile old man whose wrinkles told of endless anguish.

“Becoming a parent is never taught,” he murmured.

“......Yes.”

“No one taught me either—even I strove desperately—”

“I know.”

He met my eyes. I gently grasped his wrists.

“Just as it was your first life as a father, this was your first life as a grandson’s grandfather.”

“......”

“You must have fought to protect what mattered most. For you, it was family’s safety; for Father, pride—the only thing left in his life...”

“......”

“And for me... even though this is my third life, it’s hard.”

“...What?”

“You cannot expect me to have done it perfectly from the start. I know.”

“What are you saying?”

“And I’m sorry—so sorry, Grandfather. My life, my family... they are so precious that I couldn’t bear to cause you more pain.”

Tears fell. The sobbing child before him, he watched in silence.

“What nonsense.”

“In my first life, Uncle Grimie killed me—killed you, Father, and the entire house.”

Grandfather’s pupils dilated. I, tear- and snot-streaked, cried out:

“I died then, and was taken by a guardian to another world. I lived and died there, then returned here.”

“...!”

“So I’m sorry—I couldn’t tell you... I couldn’t say it! I didn’t trust you! Sniff... I—”

He stared at me, stunned, as a child’s tears streamed down. I gasped on, choking:

“I thought you wouldn’t believe me without proof... sniff... Since I couldn’t show you proof that ‘Uncle Grimie killed your child,’ I—”

“Grimie was the one who forbade you?”

“...Y-Yes?”

I sniffed. “You knew I was forbidden?”

“Of course. You are my child and of Laontra’s royal line. By blood alone, you could not fail to bear a boon.”

“Laontra royalty... how do you know?”

“Your mother revealed her status and entrusted you to me!”

“What...?”

“Now speak truly: was it Grimie’s doing?”

“Well, he commanded a guardian to do it. They did not know I was the Messiah—”

“You didn’t know? What foolish talk is that?”

“Grimie deceived Dalia into being the Messiah—”

Grandfather pressed his hand to his forehead. “They, too, are fools—”

“Still....”

“Then you know who concealed you?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Bring them here.”

“They’re over there.”

I pointed to the guardian who had bound me. The guardians flinched. Grandfather produced something from his robe.

“What is that?” I asked.

“The predecessor’s experiment records—secretly kept by Lissian.”

“Uncle Lissian...?!”

Father’s twin and Balzac and Joshua’s father—Lissian? Shocked, I stared, and Grandfather leafed through the notebook:

“When Lissian died, nearly all the experiment logs were lost. But this—the one he hid in the hearth—I recovered it.”

“What does it contain?”

“The methods for creating artificial beast-folk, and countless forbidden techniques.”

Artificial beast-folk production methods! Our family gasped.

‘He must have stolen Uncle Lissian’s records. Did he even kill Uncle Lissian...?!’

“This manuscript records your prohibition. If Grimie possessed this codex—”

His voice dropped to a whisper: “You, too, hold another prohibition you do not know.”