Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 130

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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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“Hmm.”
The Emperor of Devrika regarded the three notes laid before him with considerable interest. They were messages from those he had planted in various regions.
Duke of the Western Region Schweis Family, heading toward the Capital.
Duke of the Southern Region Nora, arrived at the Capital.
Duke of the Eastern Region Elkein, already in the Capital.
“All three dukes have come to the Capital, then.”
At the emperor’s question, an aide who had been standing quietly to one side opened his mouth.
“Yes, that is correct, Your Majesty.”
“Is this because of the S-Rank Black Forest incident?”
“That does not appear to be the case, Sire.”
“…I suppose not.”
These were the very men who always left Capital matters to their own devices, making little fuss about them.
Of course, had they known that the Black Forest that appeared in the Capital this time was S-Rank, they would have rushed here faster than anyone. But by the time word reached them, the threat had already been neutralized. There was no reason for them to make such a hurried journey to the Capital now.
“There have been signs of them attempting to come to the Capital for several months now, according to reports.”
“The reason?”
“I have not yet been able to ascertain that much, Your Majesty.”
The Northern Region was unquestionably where monsters appeared most frequently in the empire. The situation there must have been dire indeed for the emperor to have ceded it as a principality and left all its defense to the Persha Family.
Yet even in the Western, Eastern, and Southern Regions—while not as severe as the North—monsters continued to appear without cease.
And it was the families of these three dukes who defended and protected those regions.
The Schweis Family of the Western Region.
The Elkein Family of the Eastern Region.
The Nora Family of the Southern Region.
These three, together with the Grand Duke Persha Family who oversaw the Northern Region, were collectively known as the Four Great Families that protected the empire.
In recent years, the frequency of monster appearances had doubled, and these three dukes had been so consumed with defending their own territories that they had not set foot in the Capital even once.
Yet now, impossibly, all three had arrived at the Capital simultaneously. The troubling part was that he could divine no plausible reason for this unexpected move.
“Send word that I wish to see the three dukes.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And find out what they are all doing at present.”
“I shall see to it at once, Sire.”
* * *
“Open it.”
“Yes.”
Creeeeak!
The heavy iron door swung open, and a man stepped inside. A middle-aged man with striking black hair and black eyes.
Beinelr Schweis.
The ruler of the Western Region took long, purposeful strides toward the figure hunched in the corner of the cell.
At the sound of someone entering, the woman cowering in the prison slowly lifted her head to see who it was.
Despite her snow-white hair, the face of the woman who raised her gaze was far younger than one might expect.
“……! Y-you are……!”
Agne, Seres’s aunt, felt her eyes widen. Finding herself face to face with Duke Schweis, who had come so close she could barely see him, she drew in a sharp breath.
“You’ve deceived me quite well all this time.”
His voice was so monotone it barely registered as emotional, yet the deep, seething anger contained within it was unmistakable.
“D-deceived? It’s all a misunderstanding!”
“A misunderstanding?”
Thud.
As Duke Schweis stepped closer still, a sudden violent wind erupted around him.
The unique power passed down only to the true firstborn heir of the Schweis Family—Wind Manipulation itself.
The force of that wind sent Agne’s snow-white hair whipping wildly in all directions.
The moment her skin felt the sharp sting, blood began trickling down her face and neck. Her complexion drained to a sickly pale blue.
“Are you claiming the money you extorted from me for the child’s treatment was not false?”
“N-no, the child really was ill!”
“Yes. Poisoned by someone’s hand.”
“That is…….”
As she struggled to offer some excuse, the moment she met Duke Schweis’s seemingly indifferent gaze, her knees buckled and she prostrated herself on the ground. She had realized that no words would sway him any further.
“Please, spare my life!”
Begging for her very existence was the only recourse left to her now.
“How dare you…….”
So I was deceived by this worthless insect.
Watching Agne tremble as she lay prostrate on the floor, Duke Schweis clicked his tongue softly.
“I’ll return every last coin!”
At Agne’s cry, the Duke of Elkein’s eyes grew colder still. The wind that swept through the prison intensified, mirroring the deepening of his rage.
“Is that woman truly an idiot? Does it look to you like he’s angry over money?”
“Being so foolish, she had no fear in attempting something like this.”
Then two more figures entered the prison—a man and woman who appeared to be of similar age to the Duke of Elkein.
The Duke of Nora, who protected the Southern Region.
The Duke of Elkein, who guarded the Eastern Region.
The man with an especially striking smile in his eyes, the Duke of Nora, kept chuckling as if the current situation was highly amusing.
Meanwhile, the woman glaring down at Agne, who knelt trembling on the ground—the Duke of Elkein’s eyes blazed with such fury she looked ready to kill on the spot.
“Isn’t it ridiculous that we were all swindled by such a fool?”
The Duke of Nora crinkled the corners of his eyes further and let out a low laugh. The Duke of Elkein, meanwhile, took a stride forward and seized Agne by the collar.
“Hack!”
“You want to die that badly? Did I amuse you? How dare you think to deceive me?”
“P-please… save me…!”
Around the Duke of Elkein, transparent streams of water spiraled upward, coiling tightly around Agne’s body. It was the Water Manipulation passed down through the Elkein Family, guardians of the Eastern Region.
“Urgh…ack!”
Agne gasped as if drowning.
“Enough. That’s enough.”
The Duke of Nora, stopping the Duke of Elkein, pulled Agne from her grip.
“Haa… haa….”
As she collapsed on the ground, breathing hard, the Duke of Nora patted her back gently and smiled softly.
“We were at fault for believing this woman’s words so readily.”
“How could we not? Yulia—that girl was in pain!”
The Duke of Elkein ground her teeth, as if heat were rising through her once more.
“I told you from the start not to get entangled with those people through marriage.”
Recalling a memory from long ago, the Duke of Elkein let loose a stream of curses.
The one she had been closest to, her only true friend, was Seres’s mother.
And one day, that friend brought along a man who seemed gentle and docile, declaring she would marry him.
He came from a mercenary family—truly a man of no consequence. His only virtue was his kindness. What possible use could such a man have that warranted marriage?
She had chased after them for days trying to dissuade her, but to no avail. Already thoroughly besotted, her friend had merely smiled radiantly, asking only that she attend the wedding. Faced with such determination, the Duke of Elkein eventually had to surrender entirely.
But now, hadn’t she been forced to witness this spectacle? That woman called an aunt—that man’s bloodline had been preying on her friend’s children all this time!
“I should have talked her out of marrying that bastard until the very end!”
“Don’t insult him.”
At last came the voice of the Duke of Elkein, who had remained silent and unmoved throughout the two dukes’ chatter.
“He is not a man who deserves to hear such things.”
Just as the Duke of Elkein had opposed Seres’s father’s marriage by constantly interfering, the Duke of Elkein had felt the same.
When Seres’s father had brought that vague, scattered woman and announced his intention to marry her, he had made his displeasure clear.
Though unlike the Duke of Elkein, he had not openly chased them about trying to obstruct their union.
He could not fathom why such a brilliant and kind man would marry such an unremarkable woman.
“Not a man who deserves it? What doesn’t he deserve? And you say this after seeing what’s happened?”
“Why is this situation his fault? Stop being stubborn. You sound ignorant.”
“Ignorant? Ig-no-rant! Want me to show you what true ignorance is?”
In that instant, a violent wind and current of water whipped through the prison simultaneously. The guard standing outside could be seen fleeing in terror.
“Enough, enough. This isn’t the time for us to fight among ourselves, is it?”
The Duke of Nora, stopping both of them, shook his head lightly. More than twenty years had passed, and still these two friends were quarreling over that marriage.
Unlike the other two dukes, the Duke of Nora maintained deep friendship with both of Seres’s parents. He had been the only one to offer them genuine congratulations at their wedding.
“It seems you haven’t heard yet.”
The Duke of Nora’s gaze turned toward Agne, who crouched on the ground, trembling with fear.
As he looked at her, a smile full of playfulness habitually crossed his lips. But those who knew him well understood the truth—his eyes were not laughing at all.
“Our Seres attempted to take her own life.”
The words tumbled from his mouth.
“What?”

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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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