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Sureureuk.

A faint figure appeared from the darkness.

Wearing a robe and hiding his face, he lifted his hood, revealing his bare face hidden behind the veil.

Even in the pitch-black darkness where only moonlight barely illuminated the surroundings, his golden hair, shining nobly, was soaked with sweat and fluttered lightly like dewdrops on a blade of grass.

Vermilion, the man in the robe, exhaled a small, ‘Hoo,’ and lifted his head to look at the castle towering across from him.

Lebert Castle, where he was born and raised, and which could be called the main castle of the Drake family, came into view.

‘It feels like I’m coming back after decades.’

He had only left the family a few months ago, at most, and it couldn’t have been more than a year, even roughly.

For some reason, it felt like he was returning after a very long time.

That probably means a lot has happened in the meantime.

With a bitter smile, Vermilion spread his magic around, hiding his figure in the darkness.

Then, through a secret passage known only to the family members, he lightly avoided the barrier spread around the castle and moved inside.

“Hey, it’s time to change shifts.”

“Is it already that time?”

“……!”

At that moment, he flinched and observed the familiar family soldiers passing by.

It wasn’t exactly that he was looking around to avoid being seen.

It was just that it was his first time returning to the family in a while, and they were familiar faces he hadn’t seen in a long time, so he just wanted to appreciate the sight without thinking.

‘Chester and Roban, huh.’

There were quite a few soldiers in the family, so it was difficult to remember everyone’s names, but he still remembered the names of the faces who often guarded the castle.

Among them, Chester and Roban were quite seasoned men who had been with the Drake family since he was a little kid.

Unlike now, Vermilion was quite reckless when he was young, so he would often go to the soldiers and ask them to play with him, acting like a spoiled brat.

Those were the people who cherished and played with him like a younger brother or a son every time.

“What are you doing instead of going back to rest?”

“Just… I’m feeling down.”

“Why? Did your wife nag you or something?”

“If I was going to feel down about that, I would have split up a long time ago. Tsk.”

Roban clicked his tongue at Chester’s words, who had strong facial features, and shook his head as if to say that wasn’t the case.

Vermilion also forgot that he had to sneak into the castle soon, and unconsciously watched the scene and began to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“These days, the Lord’s complexion doesn’t look too good. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“He can’t be doing well. It’s not just anyone, but Vermilion Doryeon-nim, whom he cherished the most, has passed away.”

Vermilion felt his heart pounding when his name popped out at an unexpected moment.

On the one hand, he felt sorry that his father, Persis, seemed to be deeply worried because of his absence.

Although it is not yet known whether the cause is really because he is worried about his son, or because he failed to carry out the orders of the Eyes of Dawn.

“Hey, you. Passed away? He’s just missing. What are you going to do if he comes back alive right beyond that door?”

Meanwhile, Roban put strength into the hand holding the spear and retorted nervously.

There has been no official news that Vermilion has died yet.

He has only been out of contact and has not been able to return to the family for a long time.

The hope that he might be eating well and doing well somewhere was prevalent among the soldiers in the family.

“Who would say such a thing if they liked it? It’s just, that’s the situation. Damn it.”

However, it wasn’t that Chester had said these words with any bad intentions.

No, rather, he was also one of the soldiers who had been close to Vermilion, and he sincerely wished for him to come back alive.

However, the reality that all the circumstances pointed to was that.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Vermilion Drake, the family’s pride, had already passed away.

It felt like the whole world was telling him that.

“…Tch. Sorry. I reacted too sensitively.”

Only then did Roban realize his mistake and offer an apology, and Chester rather smiled and scolded him jokingly.

“If you know you’re sensitive, just have a drink today and pass out for a nap.”

“A drink, my ass. Do I have to get nagged by my wife again? Coming home in the middle of the night and drinking. She’ll make a fuss.”

“I didn’t expect that.”

With that, the relief team finished their conversation and changed places, and one person left the castle.

Vermilion, who was watching the scene, felt various emotions crossing his mind and clenched his fists so hard that they were crushed.

He wanted to reveal his face right away to reduce their sadness, but it was difficult to endure it.

The more he did, the more hatred for the Eyes of Dawn, and furthermore, for his own weakness, welled up.

‘Would the situation have improved if I could have persuaded Father?’

The shock of realizing that the family was still being swallowed up and manipulated by the Eyes of Dawn group is still vivid.

But at that time, Vermilion was still quite young and just a naive boy who only knew magic.

That’s why he rather thought of the situation as a stepping stone to achieve his ambitions.

When he heard that his grandfather, who had borrowed their power, had risen to the position of Magic Tower Master, it seemed like there was hope.

Looking back now, it was a truly ugly inner thought.

If he had started persuading his father, Persis, with a grand dream of overturning this family again with his own power at that time, it might not have come to this point.

Feeling truly sorry for that fact, Vermilion raised his head.

At the end of his gaze was a window with faint light leaking out.

Beyond that is the study that Persis uses as a personal space.

A secret place where even his wife and children are not allowed to set foot.

Since he was young, Vermilion had always been curious about what was beyond that.

He never dreamed that he would solve that curiosity in this way.

‘Just in case, let’s go up after making full preparations.’

Vermilion immediately cast all kinds of enhancement magic that he could use on himself, swallowed a handful of catalysts, and moved his steps.

He also installed a warp magic circle in the forest quite far from here so that he could escape even if something went wrong, so the preparation is complete.

Now, all that’s left is to face the hidden truth.

＊＊＊

“Hoo….”

A slender sigh flowed out through his mouth, filling the study.

Persis gazed at the moon rising beyond the window frame with a worried expression and was lost in thought.

What is his precious son doing right now?

Still, he is entrusting himself to the Lyad family, so I hope he is eating well.

He doesn’t really like the saying “no news is good news,” but at this moment, he has no choice but to hope for it.

In fact, it was not wrong when viewed in the current situation.

If those guys had found Vermilion and killed him, the news would have been heard in his ear right away.

The fact that it didn’t means that Vermilion hasn’t been discovered by the Eyes of Dawn yet.

So, Persis, who braced himself, saying that he had no choice but to wait now, was about to move to the terrace to get some fresh air.

Hwirik!

“……!?”

In a fleeting moment, it was hard to tell whether it fell from the sky or sprang up from the ground.

Persis widened his eyes and stepped back at the unidentified figure who appeared fluttering his robe.

The fact that he trespassed into this secret study, which even family members do not visit carelessly in the middle of the night, means that it is not a good business, at least.

‘Is it an assassin?’

With a doubtful thought, Persis rapidly raised his magic power and tried to respond to the existence in front of him.

But the other person’s mouth opened a little faster than that.

“Father, it’s been a while.”

“That voice is….”

Persis’ pupils widened twice as much at the calm yet somewhat sad voice.

How could he forget this voice?

Isn’t it the voice of his eldest son, whom he missed so much, that he heard in his dreams last night?

“Vermilion…. is that you?”

“Then who else would it be?”

Vermilion raised the hood of his robe and gave a bitter smile to him, who was asking his identity with an unbelievable expression.

Only then did Persis barely endure the feeling of exhaustion that covered his whole body and approached Vermilion.

His hand, which had been somewhat fleshy until recently, had become even more wrinkled and dried up, making him feel sorry for the hardships he had suffered during that short period of time.

But he didn’t seem to care about that at all, and he brought his hand to his son’s face and let out a sigh.

“Ah, Vermilion. So you were alive. My son. Thank you, thank you…!”

Vermilion felt a slight sense of incongruity because his father’s touch, which had felt so strong, seemed weak today.

And he realized that Kyle’s thoughts were correct.

Even just by looking at this short conversation and the faint moisture in his father’s eyes, he could tell that he was desperately looking for him and longing for him.

In other words, he had not betrayed him.

He was so overwhelmed by the fact that his throat was choked up, but just as he was about to part his lips.

Jieeing.

“……! Vermilion, hide here quickly!”

“Father…!?”

Suddenly, a faint light flowed out from the corner of the study, and Persis abruptly covered Vermilion with his hood again and put him in the closet that was in the corner.

Vermilion was about to express his doubts, wondering what was going on.

“…Were you enjoying the scenery? Persis Drake.”

“……!”

He felt that the woman who had appeared from beyond the magic circle just before was similar to someone he remembered, and he immediately held his breath.

That’s right.

That voice was the same as the voice of the ‘owner’ of the Eyes of Dawn that he had heard when he infiltrated the base of the Eyes of Dawn.