Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 76

His eyes were terrifyingly sincere. That made me confused. Why is the crown prince, who always hid his true intentions, saying this to me? Is it okay for him to reveal his ambitions so openly? Does he trust me? Or does he think I’m someone it doesn’t matter to tell?

 

“So please, help me, Lady Epirosa,” Ludwig spoke earnestly.

 

“What can I do to help? I’m not the successor chosen by the divine beast.”

 

“That’s true. You’re not the successor, but you do possess ‘something’ of the divine beast.”

 

His gaze shifted to Ppinix, who was still sulking with its rear end sticking out. “So, with your power, help me hatch the Unicorn’s egg.” Ludwig’s crimson eyes moved from Ppinix to me. They burned with an intensity that felt like they could ignite.

 

“I want to help, but I don’t know anything. I don’t even know how Ppinix hatched.”

 

Ludwig smirked. “That’s the key point.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“You have a special ability, one that even you are unaware of. The ability to connect with the divine beast and hatch its egg.” He pulled something out of his coat. A bluish egg, about the size of a fist.

 

“T-This is…!”

 

It was the Unicorn’s egg. It was smaller than the egg Phoenix would give to its successor, but much larger than the egg from which a Phoenix hatches.

 

“Touch it.”

 

“What?”

 

“Go on.”

 

Ludwig held out the Unicorn’s egg to me. I cautiously reached out and touched the egg with my finger. Zap! Suddenly, I felt a connection, which startled me, and I pulled back my hand. Then I looked at Ludwig with confused eyes.

 

Ludwig was smiling. “See? I told you, there’s something special about you.” His face was filled with joy.

 

* * *

“Uh, ugh!” I-I was wrong. Stop, please stop hitting me!”

 

Maddux, who was coughing up blood on the floor, clasped his hands together and begged. Having been kidnapped by Wise, he was dragged before the Gale family and was now being beaten.

 

This place was the underground prison beneath the servants’ quarters where Wise resided. The prison was meant to hold servants who had committed crimes, but at the moment, it was completely empty. Outside, Wise was keeping watch. In other words, Maddux had no one to turn to for help.

 

“This b*stard still hasn’t come to his senses?” Nicholas, who had been beating Maddux, raised his fist again.

 

Maddux screamed. “Uaargh! Please!”

 

“That’s enough,” Gale ordered his son.

 

Nicholas stepped back, looking disappointed. Then, Stella approached Maddux.

 

Maddux clung to Stella. “S-Stella! I said I had nothing to do with you, even if it involved Duchess Clementi! Please, believe me…!”

 

Stella threw a piece of paper and a pen at the pleading Maddux. “Write exactly what I tell you.”

 

“F-Fine! I-I’ll do whatever you want!” Maddux grabbed the pen with trembling hands.

 

Stella recited in a cold voice. “I, Maddux Luiji, hereby confess all the sins I have committed and am prepared to go to the side of God. My true lover is Epirosa Blanche, and at her request, I framed the innocent Lady Stella and—”

 

“W-Wait! Go to the side of God? You’re not saying you’re going to… ri-right?”

 

Maddux begged, his voice trembling. But the Gale family only stared at him with cold eyes. Terrified, Maddux threw the pen away.

 

“Are you telling me to write my will right now?”

 

“Did you really think you could slander our Stella and the Duchess Clementi and still live to tell the tale?”

 

Gale sneered as he asked, and Maddux let out a scream.

 

“N-No! I can’t die yet! My family back home is counting on me!”

 

“Then why did you commit such a foolish act of framing me, knowing all that?” Stella spoke irritably. Her tone, devoid of any sympathy, left Maddux in despair. “Father, just deal with Maddux here and hire a ghostwriter. Dealing with him is so annoying.” She spoke.

 

Maddux was about to grab onto Gale’s pant leg in desperation when a memory, like a lifeline, flashed through his mind. “I-If you spare me, I’ll give you valuable information! Information so huge that the current rumors will be buried in no time!”

 

“And how would someone like you know such important information?” Nicholas kicked Maddux again.

 

Maddux screamed and rolled on the ground, but he didn’t stop pleading. “I-I mean it! How else would I have picked up the bracelet Epirosa dropped? I was following her around when I found it! And while following her, I discovered something! What Epirosa did in the imperial palace!”

 

“What did Epirosa do in the imperial palace?” Stella’s eyes gleamed as she asked.

 

“T-That involves the Unicorn in the imperial palace…”

 

“The Unicorn?!” At the mention of a divine beast, Gale’s attention sharpened as well. “Go on, tell me more. What happened between Epirosa and the Unicorn?”

 

“That… I’ll tell you if you promise to spare my life.” Seeing Gale respond, Maddux, thinking ‘got him,’ set his conditions.

 

“I promise.” Gael spoke without much sincerity.

 

Maddux wanted something more concrete. “Let me out of here! Then I’ll tell you.”

 

“What? This b*stard!”

 

Nicholas stepped forward, ready to hit him again. But Stella stopped him. She then whispered to Gale. “Father, I don’t think Lord Maddux is just saying this for no reason. With his brain, he wouldn’t be able to make up a story connecting Epirosa and the Unicorn out of thin air.”

 

“That’s true.” Gael agreed with Stella’s reasoning.

 

If it were a lie, it would be exposed once they heard the story. Maddux, a countryside noble who had never seen a divine beast nor had any information about them, couldn’t possibly deceive the Gale family, who were part of the divine beast lineage.

 

“So, what should we do?” Gale whispered to his daughter.

 

Stella spoke softly enough that Maddux couldn’t hear. “For now, let him go and have Wise keep an eye on him. Then kill him.” Her voice was chillingly cold.

 

“Alright, let’s do that.”

 

The Gale family dragged the bloodied Maddux quietly out through the back door of the mansion. Maddux quickly distanced himself from the Gale family.

 

“We won’t kill you, so just spit it out.” Gale urged Maddux.

 

Maddux glanced around nervously before opening his mouth. “I saw Epirosa being attacked by the Unicorn.”

 

“What?”

 

Gale’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpected statement. Stella and Nicholas were just as surprised.

 

“Why would the Unicorn attack Epirosa?”

 

“I don’t know for sure. But it didn’t seem like it was just because she trespassed into its territory.”

 

“Why do you think that?”

 

“It wasn’t trying to drive her away. It was clearly targeting Epirosa, attacking her as if it wanted to kill her. The Unicorn definitely hates Epirosa!”

 

Gale’s sly eyes met those of his daughter, who had inherited his cunning gaze.

 

Taking advantage of the moment, Maddux limped away, escaping. But to the Gale family, who had just heard such significant information, Maddux’s presence no longer mattered.

 

Gale spoke ominously. “Long ago, there was a time when a divine beast attacked a prince. It turned out that the prince was plotting to assassinate the emperor.”

 

“Does that mean divine beasts don’t attack just anyone?”

 

“Right. It attacks truly wicked beings, especially those who pose a threat to the masters of divine beasts. It doesn’t matter if it’s the master of the Phoenix or the master of the Unicorn.”

 

“So, you’re saying Epirosa is a dangerous existence to both Grandfather and the emperor.” Stella curled her lips into a cold smile.

 

Nicholas, who had been listening to the conversation, interjected. “But can someone like Epirosa really harm Grandfather or the emperor?”

 

“The important thing isn’t the truth. Even if it’s not true, you just have to make it so.” Gale spoke. “More importantly, if it becomes known that Epirosa was attacked by a divine beast, any scandal involving Stella and Duchess Clementi will be buried.”

 

Stella, who had been listening to Gale, shook her head. “Just becoming known won’t be enough.”

 

Gale raised an eyebrow. “Not enough? Then what are you suggesting?”

 

“Make Epirosa get attacked by a divine beast again, in front of everyone.” Stella wanted to destroy Epirosa more thoroughly, utterly in front of everyone, just like what Epirosa had done to her.

 

“But what if Maddux was mistaken?”

 

“There’s a way to confirm it,” Stella said confidently.