Favored by the Family That Will Become the Strongest! - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“You know it well enough. So let go.”
“Don’t use that.”
“What?”
“Ultimate-Class Ability Users don’t benefit from the Magic Tower’s Side-Effect Suppressant anyway—it only makes you feel worse. The darkness settles for just a moment. It’s practically defective compared to the Divine Temple’s suppressant.”
“If Grandfather Malkar heard that, his heart would break. He was so proud of refining that suppressant.”
“He hasn’t perfected it yet, so there’s no help for it. Please don’t use it.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? But I have to use something—”
He had not become a monster.
But instead of saying so, Varcan tried to pull his hand free from Diana’s grip.
Now that he thought about it, the whole thing was almost laughable. He could have just wrenched away instead of wasting time talking.
Yes, he should just pull free.
He was steeling himself to do exactly that when—
Diana spoke first.
“Let me use my Ability on you. Sleep for a while, and wake refreshed.”
But in that instant, something inexplicable flowed into him—a peculiar, immaculate current that began to quell the roiling darkness.
The lightning-sharp pain drained away like a receding tide, leaving behind a strange sense of release he’d never known before.
At the same time, a drowsiness he hadn’t felt in years came pouring down upon him.
“What is… this…”
His eyes slowly closed.
Varcan found himself slipping helplessly into a sweet sleep he could not resist.
* * *
She gazed down at Varcan’s sleeping face.
In the past, Varcan had only managed deep sleep when she used her Purification Ability on him. The darkness of the Rothwell Family ran that deep and strong.
But since he had refused her power, she’d had no choice but to use it in secret. Likely Varcan had slipped into sleep without even understanding why.
Diana held her breath and examined his face carefully, stretched out beside him in slumber.
With those sharp, cold eyes closed, thick dark lashes cast shadows beneath them.
‘Even Varcan was young once.’
The sight of him asleep felt unreal.
‘He was beautiful as a child.’
The adult Varcan radiated maturity and easy charm, but the boy before her now possessed a fragile, poignant beauty.
“Fool.”
Looking at him, a soft smile escaped her unbidden.
The sharp, taut line between his brows had relaxed—proof that her Ability was working well.
‘It’s good that I took care of Matilda quickly.’
Before coming here, Diana had known to some degree how chaotic things would be in Kardian at this time.
Varcan’s condition was at its worst during this period. Managing the Family while in such a state, he couldn’t properly attend to household matters.
‘That’s why his guard was always so high.’
That was why she’d kept provoking Matilda—it was the fastest way to persuade someone as wary as Varcan.
Show rather than tell.
Diana had known that Varcan would meet the people in the Imperial Capital and arrive at the Estate earlier than scheduled.
And she could sense the darkness. The moment he arrived at the Estate, she felt a thick, dark presence. That’s why she’d let herself be led away by Matilda’s hand without resistance.
‘Of course, fainting was unexpected.’
Diana hated dark, enclosed spaces. Even at the Rothwell Family, her aunt used to lock her away in solitary confinement.
Each time confined to that cell, Diana suffered excruciating migraines. On top of that exhaustion from healing Bianca’s darkness corruption, she’d collapsed.
A side-effect of the Purification Ability.
But even after losing consciousness, her mind had stayed awake. Thanks to that, she’d been aware of Matilda dragging her to the Underground Prison.
‘What Matilda said about being wronged wasn’t entirely a lie, either.’
Matilda had only locked her away—she truly did nothing else.
‘Well, she brought it on herself.’
After all, Matilda had driven Bianca to death. Diana couldn’t even find it in herself to pity her.
“Mm.”
Diana frowned. Whether from straining to stand while collapsed, or from checking Varcan’s condition—she felt a sharp headache.
Still, it was bearable.
She could endure far greater pain for his sake. But—
‘I wish you weren’t in pain.’
Diana looked at his peaceful face. Words the Varcan of her previous life had spoken came back to her.
“I was truly pitiful back then. Father got so busy that I inherited the Family, but it was completely different from running the company. There were so many people in the Rothwell Family. It felt like I was surrounded by enemies.”
“Nothing went the way I wanted. I was in pain every single day.”
“I’ll take that pain away.”
The words had spilled from her lips unbidden.
“And I’ll make sure you sleep deeply every night.”
Just as you protected me before.
“I’ll protect you.”
Without meaning to, Diana was seized by the urge to reach out and brush back his disheveled hair.
Just as she hesitated between doing so and stopping, Varcan’s eyes snapped open.
“…….”
He jerked upright, startled, raising his torso.
“You…….”
He looked confused, opening and closing his palms as if checking his condition.
“I slept……?”
“Yes, you did.”
Varcan’s face hardened instantly. He couldn’t believe he’d actually fallen asleep.
“How long?”
“About ten minutes. You likely woke up quickly because you’ve been deprived of sleep for so long—your body was in a hyperalert state.”
Varcan traced back his memory, his brow furrowing deeply.
His body felt remarkably light. The vicious migraine that had been pressing down on his head had vanished like a mirage.
Varcan’s gaze returned to Diana.
“How did I fall asleep?”
“Because of my Ability.”
“That’s the power of your Ability?”
“Yes.”
“This is completely…”
“Unfair?”
Varcan let out a hollow laugh. Diana had read exactly what he was about to say.
“No, seriously? Now I understand why you were so confident.”
An Ability that purified darkness—he’d never even heard of such a thing.
The pain that had tormented him his entire life had vanished in a single moment the instant she used her power.
Varcan stared at Diana for a long moment, then let out a self-deprecating laugh and roughly splashed cold water on his face.
‘Worth keeping secret from the Rothwell lot. Even I feel a desperate… hunger for this.’
The relationship with his uncle’s family didn’t seem close at all.
A noblewoman taking on maid’s work and staying here revealed her position within the ducal house.
But if she possessed an Ability like this, he could guess exactly how the greedy Rothwell Duke would act. He’d try to exploit her, just as Diana had expected.
The sensation of skin beneath his palm felt foreign. It was truly a refreshing feeling unlike anything he’d experienced before.
Being an Ultimate-Class Ability User, Varcan felt it all the more keenly—like an exquisite sweetness.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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