Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Unexpectedly, Ryan Winterbell’s reaction was calm. It was so calm that it made me even more uneasy.
“Very well. Go on and do your best, youngest.”
His voice was filled with leisure. As if an adult were listening to a child’s tantrum.
“…If you have nothing more to say, may I take my leave?”
Ryan Winterbell nodded. His pitch-black eyes were observing my every movement.
Without hesitation, I rose from my seat and opened the door. The handle of the heavy wooden door felt cold. At that moment, a voice came from behind me.
“Youngest.”
“Yes.”
“Do not overestimate yourself.”
His words were mixed with warning and mockery. As I pulled the doorknob, I said,
“You as well, hyungnim.”
As soon as I closed the door behind me and stepped out of the room, loud laughter rang out from inside. The laughter echoed along the long corridor.
Well.
From his perspective, how ridiculous must my provocation have seemed? It must have looked like a cub baring its fangs at a full-grown lion.
‘What an unpredictable man.’
At times he appeared to show goodwill, yet when I looked into his serpent-like gleaming eyes, I felt he was hiding sinister intentions. Every one of his actions seemed like a perfectly calculated performance.
Perhaps…….
The thought occurred to me that Ryan Winterbell might also be a reincarnator like myself. The moment that thought surfaced, a chill ran down my spine.
‘According to the servants, he too suddenly changed as if he were a different person.’
In a world where even gods openly existed, if I had reincarnated, why not someone else? Surely, far more bizarre things than I imagined must be happening. This world was likely filled with secrets far deeper and darker than I had ever known.
My head felt complicated. Countless questions and suspicions swam through my mind.
I gazed at the blue moon hanging in the sky and let out a sigh. The moonlight felt like someone’s cold gaze.
“How did I end up being born into a family full of nothing but lunatics…….”
At that moment.
A voice came from behind me. Sweet yet sharp, like honey laced with poison.
“So, are you dissatisfied?”
I was startled. It felt as if my heart had stopped.
‘……I didn’t sense a single presence, not even until the very moment she approached right behind me!’
That meant that if the one behind me had wished, she could have killed me at any time. Cold sweat ran down my back.
“Aunt.”
I tried to keep my voice from trembling. Of all things, to have those words overheard by one of the elders of the family. I had made a mistake in front of Izumi, one of the strongest figures in the Winterbell family.
‘Should I apologize even now? Or should I add some plausible excuse?’
My mind went blank. Countless words of excuses and apologies rose to the tip of my tongue, only to disappear.
Izumi Winterbell smiled with a playful expression. Beneath the moonlight, her smile looked dangerous, like a cat toying with a mouse.
“I can hear your brain turning all the way from here.”
Her voice was full of laughter, yet her eyes were serious. For a moment, I wondered whether this encounter was not a coincidence. In the Winterbell family, especially when it came to Izumi Winterbell, there was no such thing as coincidence.
‘Since when has she been following me?’
I could not tell. I retraced my movements in my head, but it was useless. If she had truly intended to trail me, no matter how hard I tried, there would have been no way for me to notice.
“Calm down, nephew. I understand better than anyone how damn this family is. Do you think I would cut off your head over something like that?”
Her voice was sweet, but the sharpness hidden within it remained. Like a dagger wrapped in velvet.
“…….”
“Oh my, can’t I even make a joke?”
Izumi’s eyes curved playfully. Beneath the moonlight, her white hair swayed softly.
“…Haha.”
My laughter rang out awkwardly. Cold and clumsy, like dew falling onto the grass.
“Pfft. How cute.”
Izumi reached out with both hands and ruffled my hair roughly. Her touch was warm. Fortunately, she did not seem to harbor hostility. But I could not help thinking that this too might be part of her act. Could something like pure goodwill even exist in the Winterbell family?
There is a saying:
If one becomes suspicious, even a ghost that does not exist will appear. In other words, the more one doubts, the more anxious one becomes.
However, once suspicion begins, it cannot be stopped. One comes to doubt everything and ultimately drives oneself to ruin.
It is an incurable disease that not even the God of Medicine could heal.
I asked cautiously.
As if walking on ice.
“…What brings you here?”
“Hmm. I was just bored?”
Her answer was light and playful.
“…….”
“I’m joking. It looked like you were meeting with the eldest, so I came to secretly eavesdrop on what you two were talking about. But it was already over?”
Was that the truth?
A cold sensation ran down my spine. I could not shake the thought that she might have already heard my conversation with Ryan Winterbell and was simply pretending not to know.
If it was Izumi, it would be entirely possible. I could not discern the truth hidden behind her smile.
“What were you two talking about so enjoyably?”
Her voice was light, but her eyes were sharp. I hesitated for a moment. If I lied, she might already know. If I told the truth, it could be dangerous. In the end, however, I chose honesty.
“We spoke about Pandemonium.”
For an instant, Izumi Winterbell’s face turned cold. Beneath the moonlight, her expression froze like ice, then returned to a springtime smile. But the killing intent I felt in that brief moment was unmistakable.
She growled low, like a beast stalking its prey.
“Those vermin…… They keep getting on my nerves. Don’t they?”
I could feel the killing intent contained in her voice. Was there some particular reason? Or did she simply want to slaughter them? I could not tell.
“Yes.”
“……If it were up to me, I’d grab them and tear off their limbs. But they’re unnecessarily meticulous. It’s not as easy as I thought to gather information. I suppose their leader is more capable than expected.”
Her tone was light, yet the murderous intent within it was sincere.
If even high-ranking demons were among their ranks, then their leader must be a far more extraordinary being than we anticipated. In many senses. The thought crossed my mind that perhaps their leader, like us, might also be a reincarnator.
The moonlight shone down upon us. Under the blue glow, Izumi’s white hair fluttered in the wind. Her appearance was so splendid that admiration rose naturally.
After a brief hesitation, I opened my mouth.
“I do not know if you are already aware, but among the members of Pandemonium, there is a demon. And not just any demon…… a high-ranking one.”
Izumi asked calmly. Her eyes were as tranquil as a deep lake, yet their depth could not be measured.
“Did you hear that from the eldest?”
There was a faint tremor in her voice. I could not tell whether it was anger, anxiety, or simple curiosity.
“……Yes.”
My answer was short. There was no need to add more. Sometimes silence became the strongest shield.
“And why are you telling me this?”
Her question was sharp. Like a dagger hidden in secret.
I took a brief breath and answered honestly. At times, the truth could become the best lie.
“When considering the future of the family… I judged that it was not information that needed to be hidden. And I believed that you, Aunt, are someone I can sufficiently trust.”
The words leaving my mouth were like sweet poison. To be honest, half of it was sincere, and half was false.
Of course, the part about her being ‘someone I can sufficiently trust’ was the lie. There was not a single person in the Winterbell family whom I truly trusted. In this place, trust was a luxury, and naivety meant death.
Ah, except for Cecil and Attica.
Izumi Winterbell stared at me with an expressionless face. Her face was like a perfect mask. From the subtle twitch of her expression, I could read nothing. It was as ambiguous and indistinct as moonlight reflected upon a still lake.
‘Is she doubting me?’
Tension crept up my spine. A mistake at a moment like this could prove fatal.
Then, the corner of Izumi Winterbell’s lips curved upward. Smoothly, like elegant brushstrokes.
“Oh my, how adorable.”
Before I could process the unexpected reaction, her hand approached my cheek. Then she pinched it.
A gesture as if handling a child. But I had no idea what kind of danger might be hidden in that touch.
I was flustered, yet I was in no position to refuse her hand, so I remained still for the moment. My heart was racing, but I tried to keep my expression calm.
“Such a commendable way of thinking. Hmm.”
There was amusement in her voice. But I could not tell whether that amusement was genuine.
“Is that why my older brother cherishes you? Well, seeing as even that old man Darkin accepted you as his disciple, there must indeed be something about you.”
A sharp perceptiveness lay hidden in her words. She appeared chatty on the surface, but every word carried meaning.
“…….”
At my silence, she smiled as if finding it even more interesting.
“That was information I already knew. You may not know it, but I also operate an intelligence organization independently. Well, it’s not very large, but it’s fairly capable in its own way.”
At her words, cold sweat ran down my back. To think Izumi Winterbell was also running an intelligence organization. This mansion was filled with information networks tangled like a spider’s web.
What is this, does every dog and cow run an intelligence group?
‘I should make one as well.’
It was an unavoidable choice if I wished to survive.
“Well, that’s not what’s important. What’s important is that our adorable youngest trusted this lovely aunt enough to confide in her.”
Her tone was affectionate, yet the meaning hidden within was cold.
“That rude eldest brat of ours would never tell me something like this. Tsk, that ill-mannered bastard.”
Resentment lingered in her voice. Unexpectedly, it seemed that Ryan Winterbell and Izumi Winterbell were not on good terms. There was an invisible but deep crack between them.
“Are you not on good terms with the eldest brother?”