CH 43

Just as Roiqan was trying to come up with a way out of this situation, his pendant became hotter.

「 Roiqan, if you want to have the last direct descendant of Pilsburg, inject divine power into what you took earlier. 」

There was no other way. Roiqan pushed divine power into the ring that he took from Cardiago’s exclusive study.

At that moment, it was engulfed with a great deal of divine power, burning up.

“Ugh…!”

Isabelle faltered where she was as she cradled her forehead, a sudden onslaught of nausea coming at her. When she closed her eyes reflexively and then opened her eyes again, she suddenly saw a completely different view surrounding her, as if it was a different dimension.

The sunlight coming through the high windows of the study just now disappeared as if it had been cut off. The books that used to show off a wide array of colors all turned reddish brown at one.

Lizzie’s retainers, who were preparing for a defensive magic spell beside her, all disappeared. The only one left here other than her was Roiqan.

‘Did he conjure a different spatial dimension?’

Isabelle would have been distraught if she was the same person before, but she now had the necessary skills to protect herself.

‘Tch. Shame or not, I should have let Goddess Isis come with me…’

She followed Roiqan’s movements as he approached her and eventually grabbed the necklace of Isis’ Tear around her neck.

He was just smiling kindly. When he first arrived at the Cardiago estate, he seemed to have just been hiding his true nature like this.

“What a pretty necklace you have here.”

“If you come any closer, I’ll call for help.”

“You must know by now that you cannot. This is a place where time and space have been distorted.”

Isabelle clearly felt the power of the underworld. This distortion of time and space was not made using the power of Pilsburg.

‘But there’s no way he can use inferno.’

Realizing that he must have had an accomplice, however it’s something she couldn’t focus on right now. She spoke determinedly.

“So I see that you are displaying a clear intention of betrayal. Your Lordship deliberately approached me to do this.”

“……”

Roiqan stopped at that spot without coming closer. Isabelle was rather nervous because everything he did was in such a calm manner. Why was he so relaxed?

“Duchess Cardiago.”

“……”

“No, Isabelle Pilsburg.”

The way he said her name induced goosebumps.

They had the same features and so they resembled each other, even when they weren’t closely related. They both had the same faint hair color and blue eyes.

So, this trick of using her for his own gain was even more disgusting.

“You pretended that you didn’t know when you first came, but you indeed know that I am, in fact, a Pilsburg.”

Isabelle responded with a cold voice. Roiqan looked at her as if he already expected that she would react this way.

“I’m afraid so.”

“……”

“It was decided that letting your bloodline be known in a public setting would only pose a danger to you, Isabelle. Please do forgive me for my disrespect.”

“You’re showing courtesy here when it’s clear that you don’t mean it. You’ve even forced me into this spatial distortion.”

“My duty as a man of the indirect line of House Pilsburg is to serve those of the direct, imperial lineage that has been blessed by the Goddess Isis. It is only natural for me to show only courtesy to you.”

He was looking straight at the necklace Isabelle was wearing.

“Especially towards you, Lady Isabelle, as you have been chosen by Goddess Isis herself. I should of course be more courteous.”

“……”

Isabelle pressed down the urge to laugh. Had he been planning to single her out like this in advance? He changed his attitude so frivolously, but he didn’t seem to be struggling with it at all.

“Lady Isabelle, I know that I have committed undue rudeness towards you, but there is something that I must tell you.”

His tone of voice reminded her of Saintess Mary, who Isabelle considered to be the warmest of all the saintesses. His words also sounded saccharine.

“Everyone in Pilsburg is waiting for you to come back to us, Lady Isabelle.”

“……”

“Lady Isabelle, please save your faithful brothers and sisters. Only you can make the choice that could save Pilsburg.”

“You sound as if you’ll all die if I refuse.”

“That is the truth. A few years ago, an unfortunate incident happened where the immediate descendants of the Pilsburg Imperial Family had been wiped out. Right now, the only ones left of the direct bloodline are His Imperial Majesty and you, Lady Isabelle.”

Wiped out? Isabelle was standing firm, but her curiosity had been piqued because of this. She thought that Saintess Mary had already taught her everything about the imperial family, but she had never heard of anything like this before.

‘Who wiped out all the people in the imperial family? Aren’t they on the verge of extinction now because it’s difficult to conceive? Why wasn’t I told about this?’

It was the first time she heard that the imperial family was wiped out because of a certain ‘incident’. Roiqan’s words intrigued her, so Isabelle grimaced.

As she tilted her head to the side, her silver hair cascaded down and exposed her shoulder blades at the neckline of her dress. In a moment’s fascination at the scene that seemed as if it happened in slow motion, Roiqan spoke.

“I do not know whose decision it was, but I do know that you were brought to a temple in the Cardiago Duchy’s domain as a preventive measure. I believe that you’ve escaped the harm of wrath in order to succeed Pilsburg now.”

“I had no idea. Lord Pilsburg, since when have you exactly noticed that I am a member of the Imperial Family?”

When Isabelle slowly voiced her interest in the imperial family, a peculiar expression of joy sprang up on his face.

“Lady Isabelle, you know who Reverend Matteo is, correct? I was able to determine that you are a direct descendant of the Imperial Family thanks to a report from him. He is a priest under my command.”

The moment he mentioned Reverend Matteo, Isabelle became visibly upset. How could he bring up that man’s name in front of her so calmly? At a time like this, it was difficult not to show her displeasure.

“Mmh… So I guess the Imperial Family’s situation isn’t as good as I thought. I had no idea.”

With blue eyes that shone with clarity, it’s as if they held no lies at all. As Roiqan made eye contact with Isabelle, he somehow relaxed further.

“Lady Isabelle, you are a sacred individual who has been blessed by Isis. Pilsburg needs your help.”

“What kind of help are you talking about…?”

“Please come to Pilsburg and give birth to a son who will be the future emperor. Since you are the mother, and you have been blessed by Isis, the bloodline of the father will not matter.”

Isabelle had been maintaining a neutral expression up until now, but she really couldn’t help but scowl this time. A son. She was already expecting him to say something outlandish, but this was so much worse.

“So are you saying you’ve heard some groundless rumors that I’m with child?”

“A son that you will conceive with a man who wields the power of the underworld cannot be the next master of Pilsburg.”

“…You’ve committed a grave act of impertinence just now. Will you say it’s just a mistake?”

Isabelle looked him dead in the eye. Her husband was Riggs and Riggs alone. Everyone knew that he was the head of House Cardiago, who wielded the power of the underworld.

The problem with Riggs’ lower body notwithstanding, asking her to give birth to a son that would not inherit the blood of Cardiago was tantamount to saying that she should have an affair.

“What you said just now is a serious insult to my husband, the Duke of Cardiago.”

Roiqan still continued to regard Isabelle as a mere tool. Therefore, she had no choice but to borrow her husband’s name in order to express her strong rejection.

However, it looked like Roiqan didn’t care about insulting the duke. He continued to appeal to Isabelle.

“Lady Isabelle, this is to save Pilsburg. Isis, the goddess of the earth, will also surely venerate your union with me.”

“Union?”

What was this guy saying?

“His Imperial Majesty has had several health complications already, and it would be difficult for him to produce any more successors.”

Roiqan reiterated that all the other people who remained now from the Pilsburg bloodline was those from the indirect lineage, and that he was the most appropriate partner for her.

“Birthing successors has been a long-standing obligation of all the women from the Imperial Family. Therefore, since you have the blood of House Pilsburg, it also concerns you, Lady Isabelle.”

“……”

“Yes, an obligation that’s yours to fulfill.”

Roiqan leered at Isabelle all over.

Unlike how it was in the Pilsburg Palace, where Goddess Isis’ divine power flowed, underworld powers were encroaching everywhere in this place.

“You have been blessed by Goddess Isis, so you do not need to spend the rest of your life in the cruel clutches of the Cardiago Duchy.”

“……”

“You are part of House Pilsburg. Please know that your family is waiting for your help. Please.”

“…Family.”

Isabelle smirked. It was the first time she was hearing the word ‘family’ mentioned in this context. The three syllables of this word always evoked a warm, sentimental feeling, however all she could hear right now was contrived nonsense.

“Lord Pilsburg, you said that it’s been a long while since you found out that I have the blood of Pilsburg. And yet you never showed your face to me.”

“Because it is a matter of your safety, so—”

“So you say, you’ve really been thinking about my safety more than anyone else, and yet you sent the terrene troops to ambush me.”

“If there is no physical evidence, it’s not good to make such vague assumptions about these things.”

“If there is any physical evidence, Your Lordship would not even you’re your face here at the Imperial Conference.”

As decisively as a sharp blade, Isabelle handed down her rebuttal.

“I am the Madam of this Duchy. On top of forcing me into this unfamiliar space, have you not committed enough disrespect that you’re even proposing that I betray my husband and join hands with Pilsburg?”

“But, you are someone from Pilsburg—”

“Did you really think that just because I have the blood of Pilsburg in me, I’d willingly throw away the life I have now?”

Roiqan froze in his place as he stared at Isabelle. This woman could very well attack him at any given time now, so he was on high alert.

“When all I wanted was my family, where was Pilsburg back then?”

At this question, there was no warmth left in her eyes.