Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 126

“Father, I-I didn’t mean for this to happen! The emperor used me!”

 

It was the underground prison of Blanche. Gale clung to the bars, pleading desperately. But Hubert only looked down at his son with a cold, detached gaze, as if he were a stranger.

 

“For Stella and Nichola’s sake, please show me mercy! Without me, my children will be orphans!”

 

“My grandchildren are better off without a parent like you.”

 

The strength drained from Gale’s hands, crushed by despair.

 

Indifferent, Hubert tossed something through the bars. With trembling hands, Gale picked it up. It was a small vial filled with pitch-black liquid.

 

“Fa-Father surely this isn’t…”

 

“Decide whether you’ll rot here for the rest of your life or take this and leave peacefully.”

 

What Hubert had thrown was poison. It was the final mercy he would grant his son as Grand Duke Blanche.

 

“Father!”

 

Gale screamed, but Hubert turned away without hesitation. The door slammed shut with a deafening bang, and the underground cell was swallowed by pitch-black darkness, devoid of even a single ray of light. It was a darkness so profound that Gale couldn’t even tell if he was alive or dead. He sobbed in the darkness, screamed, raged, and eventually collapsed in exhaustion.

 

I can’t, I can’t die like this… Gale groped through the darkness and forced himself to stand. “Father! Father! I have something to tell you! There’s another person behind all of this!”

 

He would reveal everything about the role Kobel had played in this. Everything that b*stard had done to Leonoe, too! Then maybe, just maybe, he would be shown a sliver of mercy!

 

The only reason Gale had kept his mouth shut until now was that he thought Kobel would help him. But seeing how Kobel stayed quiet until things got to this point, it was clear he wasn’t going to help him but instead was going to pin everything on him. That wretched Kobel! Just you wait!

 

He was shouting at the top of his lungs when it happened. The underground door creaked open, and someone holding a small lantern walked in.

 

“Fa-Father!”

 

Gale felt like crying. A sense of relief washed over him, thinking he was finally saved. But the person who approached the bars wasn’t Hubert.

 

“Brother.”

 

It was Kobel.

 

Gale’s eyes widened in shock. The very person he had been planning to accuse was now standing right in front of him.

 

“How much have you suffered?” Kobel asked with a concerned tone, as if he had no idea what was going on.

 

He must not have heard me earlier. Thinking that, Gale shouted boldly, trying to keep his composure. “Because of that secret letter you told me to write, I ended up like this! How are you going to take responsibility for this?”

 

“I’m sorry, Brother. I only did it because I thought Paterson wouldn’t cooperate without seeing the letter. I didn’t expect that fool Paterson to get caught with it.”

 

In truth, Paterson hadn’t been very cooperative with Kobel. He found Kobel to be shady and ominous, keeping his distance from him. It wasn’t until Kobel showed him Gale’s handwritten secret letter that Paterson fully agreed to cooperate.

 

I told him to burn it after reading. What Kobel didn’t know was that before Paterson could burn the letter, Benjamin had stolen it.

 

“Where’s that idiot Paterson?”

 

“Looks like he ran away. I can’t find him anywhere in the mansion.”

 

“That sly b*stard! He screws everything up and then hides himself.”

 

With Paterson gone, Gale’s fury was now fully directed at Kobel.

 

“So what are you going to do now? Father threw poison at me and told me to die!”

 

“Brother, calm down. If I’m outside, I can think of a way to get you out, can’t I?”

 

“Last time, you said you’d get me out and shoved me deeper into hell! How am I supposed to trust you?” The more Gale thought about it, the angrier he got, veins bulging in his neck. “Get me out of here! Right now! I can’t wait any longer! If you don’t get me out, I’ll have no choice but to tell Father that you’re involved in this too!”

 

At those words, Kobel’s eyes changed. “You’re going to tell him about me?” A sinister smile curled at his lips. “Brother, there is one way.”

 

“What is it?”

 

Kobel pulled out a water bottle he had brought with him. Then, he dropped a magic scroll with bright red letters written on it over the bottle. In that instant, fwoosh! The scroll erupted into pitch-black flames, burning away until its ashes seeped into the water bottle.

 

“I’ve cast an escape spell on this water.”

 

“Escape spell?”

 

“Yes. If you drink this magical water, you’ll be transported to a safe place I’ve prepared in advance.”

 

“Isn’t that an incredibly difficult spell? Are you even capable of something like that?”

 

“I learned it during my time wandering and researching. It’s magic I mastered thanks to you, and now I’ll use it for you.”

 

Gale took the bottle of water handed to him through the bars. “Where exactly will I be transported if I drink this?”

 

“To a very cozy place. Somewhere no one will ever find you.”

 

As Kobel whispered sweetly, Gale’s doubts faded, replaced by his usual arrogance. There was no way his insignificant little brother, who always obeyed him without question, would dare deceive him. Thinking that, Gale downed the potion in one gulp.

 

“Ugh, gah…!” Gale gagged as soon as he drank it, black liquid spilling from his mouth. “T-This… Are you sure, this is okay?”

 

“Of course. It seems to be working perfectly.”

 

“W-Where am I being transported to… Ugh! Why is it so painful!” Gale screamed, writhing in agony.

 

Kobel sneered at his brother’s suffering and spoke. “It’s a dark magic spell that traps your consciousness in your body forever.”

 

“W-What…?” Gale looked up at Kobel with disbelief in his eyes.

 

Kobel then burst into a maniacal laugh. “It’s the same curse I cast on Leonoe. Leonoe was a child chosen by the divine beast, so it only went that far for her. But you, Brother, will wander in even greater torment for eternity!”

 

“Y-You b*stard! Y-You tricked me…!”

 

“You shouldn’t have thought about betraying me in the first place.”

 

“Ugh, uurgh…!” Gale could no longer utter a single word. His entire body was seized by pain, his eyes rolling back, and his limbs trembling uncontrollably. The agony persisted, and his consciousness sank deeper and deeper until he could no longer control any part of his body.

 

Kobel watched Gale convulsing like a squid and began to mutter. “I offer this sacrifice, so please respond.”

 

At that moment, black smoke flared up with a crackling sound above Gale before extinguishing completely.

 

Kobel clicked his tongue. “It didn’t work with Leonoe, so of course, there wouldn’t be a response with such a pathetic offering.”

 

Leaving the twitching Gale behind, Kobel exited the underground prison.

 

* * *

I had been hiding behind the door, watching the entire scene unfold. Since Kobel was one of Gale’s subordinates, I figured he would show up eventually, so Mizulin and I had been taking turns staking out. And today, the day I was on watch, Kobel finally appeared.

 

But is Kobel not actually Gale’s subordinate? Did he have some other hidden agenda?

 

I covered my mouth with my hand and stared at Gale, writhing in pain. Just watching it was horrifying. Is this the same curse he placed on Mom?

 

I didn’t feel any sympathy for Gale. Living in eternal pain without being able to escape, that punishment suited Gale perfectly. I only felt sorry for my mother, who had suffered under the same curse.

 

She seems fine now, but I can’t be sure if she’s completely free from the curse. I couldn’t let my mother fall into that kind of suffering again. And if Kobel had some other hidden agenda, I had to find out and stop it.

 

What exactly is the entity Kobel was trying to reach? Kobel’s true goal might not have been helping Gale through his dark magic research but rather receiving a response from ‘that entity.’

 

I slowly approached Gale.

 

“Ugh… Hah…!”

 

Sensing my presence, Gale looked at me with pleading eyes.

 

“Are you asking for help?”

 

“Keugh… Ugh!” The way he barely managed to nod his twisted neck was pathetic and shameless.

 

I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile. “I’ll help you.”

 

“Huhuk…!”

 

“I’ll have Mizulin secretly feed you water and food.”

 

“!”

 

“Uncle will live for a long time. During that time, you will feel every bit of pain.”

 

Gale’s face slowly twisted into despair. Leaving Gale to suffer eternally, I made my way out of the underground.