Chapter 59
Levina staggered down the hallway.
After Lavin left the room, she took a very brief moment to catch her breath, then continued.
Her chest, where she had been shot, throbbed.
Blood still seeped from the hastily patched-up wound, staining her blouse red.
She had long since shaken off the support of the startled servants who had approached her.
It was a hindrance.
The sluggishness of her steps felt stifling.
Strangely, no servants were in sight.
And for some unknown reason, the floor was slippery.
Levina nearly slipped several times, but she held onto the wall and continued to move forward.
Finally, a broken door came into view.
It was the Duchess's room.
Levina caught her breath for a moment.
And then, she stepped inside.
The scene inside the room was far more horrific than she had imagined.
The floor and walls were entirely stained with blood, and the air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and gunpowder.
Her mother and uncle lay sprawled on the floor, covered in blood.
And in the center of it all, Lavin stood.
He was leaning his back against the windowsill, staring blankly into space.
His face and clothes were splattered with red blood.
In his hand, he still held the revolver.
In front of Lavin, Kyle stood.
He was staring, his face dazed, as if he couldn't believe the sight before his eyes.
"But, I'll try to do better next time."
Lavin said to Kyle.
His voice was strangely calm.
And just like that, he tilted his body backwards.
There was no hesitation.
His body fell backward naturally, as if embracing a moment he had long awaited.
"Ah......"
A short gasp burst from Levina's lips.
She tried to shout something, but no sound came out.
Lavin's laughter was heard.
It was clear, relieved laughter.
The laughter echoed in the air for a moment, then was abruptly cut off by a dull thud.
Thud.
After the sound of something hitting the floor echoed, the mansion fell silent.
Only then did Levina come to her senses and rush to the window.
Kyle followed her, approaching the window.
They looked down.
In the mansion's garden, Lavin lay fallen on a well-tended flower bed.
Outwardly, he appeared unharmed.
His clothes and hair were not disheveled.
But his body was twisted at a grotesque angle.
Like a doll that had been carelessly crumpled.
His two eyes were wide open, staring blankly up at the blue sky.
From beneath his body, red blood slowly seeped out, staining the white petals of the garden flowers.
Levina gazed down at the sight for a long time.
She didn't make any expression.
No tears flowed.
She merely stared blankly at what had once been her brother.
She walked out of the room listlessly.
Shaking off all the servants who insisted she needed treatment, she headed for the garden.
And then, she tightly embraced Lavin, who was starting to grow cold.
The smell of blood rose intensely.
Levina inhaled deeply, and stroked Lavin's hair for a long time.
Somehow, she felt as if she had seen this sight many times before.
Even though it was her first time experiencing it, a familiar sadness washed over her.
The thought of wanting to blame someone came to her.
Her mother, father, uncle, Seraphina, Kyle, Lineta.
But all her thoughts ultimately returned to herself.
Everything ended with the conclusion that it was all because she had brought Lavin to her side.
She wished she could become stupid.
She didn't want to think about anything.
But being already so foolish, a damned idiot who couldn't protect her beloved brother and let him die, she felt it wouldn't be easy to become any stupider.
Levina tightly hugged Lavin and stroked his hair until blood welled up in her mouth and her vision blurred.
She didn't want to let go of his body, which was growing colder and colder.
****
Even though it was a major incident with the deaths of the Duchess, family relatives, and the illegitimate child, the matter did not escalate and was very quietly hushed up.
Because neither Levina nor the Duke wished for it to.
The mansion's servants kept silent, and rumors could not cross the mansion's high walls.
A few days later, Levina had a meal with the Duke, just the two of them.
In the enormous dining room, there were only two people.
Only the clinking of knives and forks against plates broke the silence.
"Are you doing a little better these days?"
The Duke spoke first.
"There's nothing left to be alright."
Levina replied without raising her head.
"By the way, is it alright if I call you father?"
Her voice was calm, as usual.
The Duke stopped the hand that was cutting his steak.
Without a hint of surprise or anger, he looked at Levina.
"You ask quite directly."
He picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
"You are indeed my daughter. And my own blood.
If you're truly doubtful, bring in even a skilled priest.
Even if that woman is repulsive, she isn't that foolish, Levina.
You know that well, don't you?"
"Do you know that your not-so-foolish wife was found having been sleeping with my uncle?"
Levina asked.
The Duke shrugged as if it wasn't particularly important.
"When two beastly individuals, blinded by greed, become entangled, such things can happen.
At least it doesn't seem to have been happening when you were born."
"You speak as if you knew all along that my uncle and mother were in such a relationship."
"Is that important?
Honestly, even hearing that a woman I don't particularly love is my wife doesn't really strike a chord.
Even if I can pretend to love her."
The Duke continued.
"Such trivial matters aren't particularly important.
What's important is... the fact that my son is dead."
He gulped down the wine in his glass in one go.
And then, he personally picked up the bottle and refilled his glass.
"I love you too, because you are my child, but not as much as Lavin.
Because he was the child born of the woman I loved.
Thanks to that, your mother's jealousy was quite severe, though."
There was no emotion in the Duke's voice.
He was calm, as if simply telling an old story.
"Rather, I thought it was a relief that he was an illegitimate child.
So he wouldn't live in this terrible place, but somewhere suitable and secluded, yes.
I once visited the Beluze family's estate, and it seemed truly peaceful, secluded, and livable.
And coincidentally, there was also a girl of a suitable age there."
"If that was the case, you shouldn't have brought him into this mansion.
Secluded places aren't exclusive to distinguished noble families; even wealthy commoners have plenty of them."
Levina said.
"If you had done that, Lavin would have grown up happier, rather."
"A child who doesn't grow up in their parents' care can't possibly be happy."
The Duke replied indifferently.
"Even children who grow up in their parents' care, many of them aren't particularly happy."
At Levina's reply, the Duke looked at her for a moment.
His gaze seemed to waver ever so faintly.
"Levina, did you love that child as a sister?"
Levina paused for a moment.
Even after seeing her reaction, the Duke didn't utter another word.
"My beloved son, the son I couldn't help even when I wanted to, is now completely dead."
He said he was sad, but no sadness could be found on his face.
"If you loved him so much, you should have helped him when he was being abused by Mother. And when he was being pushed around by me."
Levina's voice rose slightly.
"The only reason I'm sitting in this seat is because your mother put me here.
I can't get up as I please, nor can I hand it over as I please. You know that well, don't you?"
The Duke said in a low voice.
"But you were still the Head of the Household!"
"Born as Edelgard's legitimate daughter, relying on distinguished maternal relatives, did the world seem easy to you?"
"Yes, it seemed very easy."
"If I sat in the seat you're occupying, it literally seemed I could do anything."
Levina replied without hesitation.
Hearing those words, the Duke smiled faintly.
"You seem to be the kind of person suited for this position.
Your mother chose me because I wasn't the kind of person fit to sit in this position."
"Father, if you, if you say that, then what on earth am I?"
The Duke didn't answer.
He left, telling her to prepare to become the Head of the Household soon, and then rose from the dining table and departed.
It was as if he had answered that she wasn't quite human, and Levina felt as though her already empty heart had become even more profoundly hollow.
She was left alone in the dining room.
She stared blankly at the cold food.
After that, Levina called for Kyle, who was still remaining in the mansion.
She knew he was only waiting for Lineta's funeral, but in a situation where she couldn't even hold Lavin's funeral properly, she didn't want to exert herself for the funeral of that mere maid whom Lavin had liked.
"Lineta has been nicely placed in a coffin and embalmed, so take her as you see fit.
I'll even lend you a carriage, so whether you abandon her by the roadside, throw her into the water, or hold a funeral, do as you please."
Kyle made no reply to her words.
He simply stared blankly at Levina.
"You speak as if I'm burying some bastard dog I raised."
Kyle said in a low voice.
"What's the difference?"
Levina replied.
There was no emotion in her voice.
Kyle was speechless for a moment.
He stared blankly at Levina, then let out a hollow laugh.
"Suddenly, all the villagers were dead, accused as heretics, and when I came here after hearing that my cherished childhood friend, whom I considered family, had committed suicide in this mansion, I watched that trashy bastard punk kill distinguished noblemen; yes, people just like you and then commit suicide right before my eyes.
Are all nobles originally like this?"
"I thought they weren't."
Levina took her eyes off the documents and looked directly at Kyle.
"It seems so."
She stood up from her seat and slowly approached Kyle, who was glaring at her.
And then, she stopped right in front of him.
"All of them are hideous, like vermin.
They're just idiots who know nothing of honor, utterly devoid of nobility, swaggering around as nobles just because they happened to be born to good parents.
And from now on, I will be like that too."
Levina said, looking directly into Kyle's eyes.