I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills - Chapter 43

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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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Episode 43. A Matter of the Heart

The eldest son’s office in Hadenhartz.

When Jenika arrived, and Bianca followed shortly after, Meliocan smiled.

“It’s been a long time since the family gathered like this.”

Jenika said nothing.

Meliocan was a man who placed the house above family bonds.

Born as the eldest son, destined to lead Hadenhartz, he had been raised with such principles since childhood.

So when he spoke like this, Jenika knew nine times out of ten it concerned house matters.

“The reason I’ve called you both is a matter of house business.”

Sure enough, the word “house” fell from Meliocan’s lips.

He was acting head of house in the elder Douglakan’s absence.

He had the authority to discuss such matters.

“What is it.”

Jenika’s tone turned slightly curt.

Being in this room with Bianca made her uneasy.

“It concerns Valhime’s betrothal arrangement.”

Jenika tilted her head.

Why would he need to bring up Valhime’s betrothal now?

“Jenika, I think we’ll need to change the betrothed from Bianca to you.”

But the words that followed made Jenika’s eyes widen in shock.

For a moment, she was so taken aback that her voice caught in her throat.

It was as though he were selling her off in a political marriage.

“Meliocan——”
“I don’t like that idea.”

It was Bianca, not Jenika, who voiced her objection first.

Even Meliocan hadn’t anticipated this; he turned to Bianca with surprise in his eyes.

“Bianca?”
“I don’t like it. I’m the one betrothed to Krashu.”

Her eyebrows lifted slightly, visibly furrowing with displeasure.

But Meliocan, who paid no mind to her usual expressions, failed to notice.

But Jenika was different.

“Bianca, you…….”

She was the only one in Hadenhartz who watched Bianca most closely—precisely because she had hated her so fiercely.

She had noticed a flicker of emotion in Bianca’s words.

“Bianca, this is a matter of House business. There is no room for your personal opinion.”
“Then where exactly am I supposed to voice my opinion?”

Bianca had never spoken her mind anywhere before.

She had lived her entire life cast aside by the family.

There had been no opportunity for her to express herself.

Perhaps because he understood this, Meliocan too found himself at a loss.

This was the first time Bianca had asserted her will so openly, and he had no words with which to counter her.

And yet the decision had already been made in council.

Once a decision was reached, it could not be reversed.

“No. Don’t act like a child.”
“I am a child. I was before, and I am still now.”

But Bianca did not yield.

“So I’ll make a fuss. Children are the age that say what they want—I’m only saying what I want.”

Bianca met Meliocan’s gaze directly.

“And the one thing I want to keep—the only thing I’ve ever wanted to keep—is to be Krashu’s betrothed.”

There was no place in Hadenhartz where she could find peace.

There was only one place where she could be at ease.

By Krashu’s side.

He alone understood her, for he was like her in so many ways.

So she was resolved to remain at Krashu’s side, no matter what House business demanded—she would insist on it if she had to.

“Bianca!”

Meliocan’s voice sharpened with anger as he stared at her.

His eyes blazed with fury.

“Listen here—this is not your place to interfere! This is a grave matter of House significance. Krashu of Valhime’s bloodline awakened late, which means he will hold great sway in Staron as a true member of Valhime. Do you truly believe you can remain by his side? You will only suffer for it. That Curse you carry—in the end, he will abandon you as well.”

Children easily cling to those beside them.

Meliocan had judged Bianca’s will as nothing more than childish desire.

“You bear a Curse—he will inevitably cast you aside.”

So it was with a tone meant to shock her back to reality that Meliocan spoke.

“Wait, you’re being too harsh!” Jenika protested.

His words were so severe that even Jenika flinched—they were not things to be said before Bianca.

Yet Meliocan turned to look at Jenika with a darkened expression.

“It’s not harsh. I’m simply stating the facts. And Jenika, you’re no different. When I consider what you’ve done to Bianca all this time, you should recognize that you going to Valhime would actually be better for Bianca herself. It’s shameful that a grown woman cannot prioritize her own family.”

Meliocan covered his face with his hand and exhaled a long, weary sigh.

Two younger sisters—they were nothing but a source of torment.

“Both of you understand now. Leave. I have correspondence for Valhime to draft.”

At his sharp dismissal, Jenika’s brow furrowed deeply as she glared at him.

But despite his harsh words, Bianca did not even rise from her seat.

When Meliocan belatedly noticed this fact and turned to look at Bianca, his rage surged.

“Bianca!”
“Don’t shout. I have ears.”

Yet for all his fury, Bianca did not so much as blink.

True to the name “Snow Maiden” by which she was known in private, her face was ice-cold as she fixed her gaze upon him.

“I don’t care about the family.”
“What? Does that even make sense? You are Hadenhartz!”
“There is no place for me in Hadenhartz.”

She cut him off decisively.

“This is Father’s house, your house, and your house. It’s not mine.”

Jenika’s body stiffened.

The conscience buried deep within her heart struck at her mercilessly.

“So I have no intention of surrendering my convictions.”

And seeing Bianca speak thus, she came to understand something.

This girl had changed.

“Even if Hadenhartz were to cast me out, even if I am no longer betrothed—”

Bianca’s blue eyes shone with a clarity unlike any before.

She knew this resolve better than anyone, for it was the same as her own—a will that would not bend under any circumstance.

In this moment, she too spoke her mind with crystal clarity, as much as he did.

“I will stay by Krashu’s side.”

It was the instant before Meliocan could cry out in response to her next words.

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking echoed through the room.

Meliocan, his fury mounting to a fever pitch, turned toward the door.

“I’m busy now! Whatever it is, it can wait!”
“Um, well, Meliocan, Krashu requests a word with you.”
“What?”

Meliocan’s body stiffened.

Krashu was of Valhime, youngest or not.

Though he bore the stigma of being a Half-blood for now, it wouldn’t be long before that name carried weight throughout the realm.

Age was no excuse for carelessness in his treatment.

Meliocan mastered his rising anger.

The way he could so clearly separate public from private showed he had the makings of a true house regent.

“Krashu?”

Bianca, by contrast, opened her eyes wide with surprise.

What could he possibly want with coming here?

“Let him in.”

At Meliocan’s words, the door creaked open.

Krashu stepped through, hands clasped behind his back.

Even as he entered the study, his expression remained remarkably composed.

Meliocan read it clearly enough.

The boy was beginning to show the bearing of true Valhime blood.

“Forgive my sudden intrusion. I hope I haven’t caused undue disruption.”

And his tone, when he spoke, proved far more formal than expected.

Bianca felt an odd chill at words so unlike Krashu himself, though the boy grinned with easy confidence.

After all, Meliocan was the brother of his betrothed.

As Krashu’s elder, it was only proper to address him with respect.

“No, not at all. I’m the one who should apologize—I’ve been so consumed with the Hadenhartz crisis that I haven’t made proper time to see you. My fault entirely.”
“Not at all. You’ve already gone to such lengths treating my injuries despite being so pressed with Hadenhartz matters. If anything, I’m the one who should apologize for arriving so suddenly.”

Meliocan found Krashu more articulate than he’d expected.

By all reports, the boy had been reckless before, but standing on the threshold of adulthood, he’d finally found his footing.

“But what brings you here?”

That left only the question of why Krashu had come at all.

There was no reason Krashu would have sought him out otherwise.

“I actually came to ask a small favor.”

As he spoke, Krashu’s eyes flicked toward Bianca.

“I have no intention of entering a Betrothal with someone who torments others. Stop dreaming of swapping out a fiancée.”

In that instant, Meliocan’s entire frame went rigid.

Jenika was no different.

“W—what did you just say?”

Meliocan asked, bewilderment flooding his voice.

But Krashu’s expression remained unmoved.

“Exactly what I said. What I did in Hadenhartz—felling that Butcher Beast—can be told two very different ways.”

Krashu continued, indifferent to Meliocan’s shock, laying out his position with cold precision.

“One: Krashu Valhime stepped forward to save his fiancée, and though he lost an arm, he protected her and brought down the Butcher Beast.”

That version would please Hadenhartz.

It would prove Krashu’s devotion to his betrothed beyond question.

The Betrothal between Hadenhartz and Valhime would only grow stronger—

Assuming, of course, that Krashu didn’t abandon Bianca.

“Two: Hadenhartz maintains such sloppy defenses that a Butcher Beast infiltrated undetected, and the direct bloodline of Valhime—Krashu Valhime himself—nearly died.”

The second story would be catastrophic.

To hint that Hadenhartz’s security was compromised, that a Valhime heir had nearly been slaughtered—that would not merely break the Betrothal. It would shake Hadenhartz’s political foundations to their core.

“I imagine you, as acting head of house, can figure out which version serves you better.”

Krashu smiled as he posed the question—a smile that carried no warmth.

When he heard this, Meliocan nearly choked on his own breath, but he swallowed it down with an effort.

“What do you want.”

There was no reason to let this relationship deteriorate with Krashu.

And Krashu felt the same—Meliocan was certain of it.

The fact that he’d made this brazen move now meant he wanted something. That was all.

Meliocan decided there was no use in pride. He’d simply hear what Krashu wanted and grant it.

“Nothing grand.”

Krashu turned to face Bianca.

“Let Bianca do what she wants.”

Whether it was a betrothal or a dissolution of betrothal—it didn’t matter.

So long as she could do what she wanted, that was enough.

Bianca’s eyes widened.

Meliocan watched the two of them and let out a low swallow.

‘……I hadn’t considered this part at all.’

The betrothal had lasted only a year, at most.

Given Bianca’s temperament, he had never even thought the half-blood of Valhime would treat her well.

So he’d rushed ahead with his scheme.

But the bond between these two ran deeper than he’d imagined.

‘I’d thought Bianca was merely sulking because she didn’t want to be in Hadenhartz. So it went both ways.’

Ironically, Meliocan felt reassured.

At least now he knew there would be no risk of the betrothal between Hadenhartz and Valhime breaking apart.

“……Bianca is under a Curse.”

So Meliocan turned to Krashu once more to confirm something.

Whether he could carry Bianca forward, Curse and all, to the end.

“Forgive me, but it seems you don’t understand family.”

It appeared that even from their exchange just now, Meliocan had failed to sense Bianca’s feelings at all.

Meliocan regarded Krashu’s unexpected retort with bewilderment.

“A Curse? That was never my concern to begin with.”

At Krashu’s flat assertion, Meliocan exhaled a long breath and slumped back into his chair.

“……I understand.”

Meliocan decided to accept what he was being told.

Krashu’s will mattered far more than Bianca’s wishes in this matter.

Only one thing—the notion he’d drawn out as a card to achieve his goal had been disturbingly childlike in its conception—remained, unspoken, at the back of his mind.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Krashu turned to go, as though he’d said all he meant to say, then paused.

“Ah, though—would it be all right if I said one more thing?”
“What is it.”

Meliocan felt an uncertain tension rise in him, unsure what words might come next.

“Could you tell them that my arm was safely treated by a Priest hired by Hadenhartz?”

He spoke while gesturing toward his empty right sleeve.

Meliocan, too, showed signs of doubt at this point.

What was he talking about—claiming an arm had been healed when it had never been repaired?

“The results will be in within two days. You can see them then and report to Valhime if you wish. Since there won’t be any expense for hiring a Priest, it shouldn’t be bad for Hadenhartz either, I’d say.”

Two days wasn’t exactly a shortage of time.

Whatever he was thinking, Krashu didn’t sound like he was lying.

“Fine. We’ll talk after I see the results in two days.”
“Thank you.”

Krashu walked out as though he’d truly finished saying what he’d come to say.

Once the door closed behind him, Meliocan turned to Bianca.

“…Bianca.”
“Yes.”
“Do as you see fit.”

It was something he’d already said before, but when permission came again, Bianca shot up from her seat.

“I will.”

With that, she flung open the door and bolted outside.

She showed none of the decorum that a daughter of Hadenhartz should have displayed, yet Meliocan made no move to stop her.

He simply turned to Jenika instead.

“…Jenika, has something changed about Bianca?”

The woman she normally was would never have run off like that.

What he’d just witnessed was far more emotional than anything he’d seen from her before.

“She has changed.”

Jenika was gazing blankly at Bianca as she departed.

“Quite a lot.”

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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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