“Then how did you end up here…?”
“Right after awakening, I killed the family head and everyone living in the mansion, then fled. That’s when I met my older brother. Banteon’s father, isn’t he? It was by his will that I was adopted into the Esrante family.”
It was extremely rare for an Esper family to adopt an outsider as a child. It was common to bring in a child from a collateral branch if the main bloodline was in danger of ending, but to take in someone completely unrelated and adopt them as a direct heir?
How could something like that have happened without anyone knowing?
“The head of the family at the time—Banteon’s grandfather—also approved it. He didn’t want the world to know that someone could awaken as an Esper under threat of death. He wanted to avoid chaos. They even told the Elders’ Council that I was the illegitimate child of the family head and brought me in that way. So now, I’m the only one who knows the truth.”
“That means…”
His head spun. It wasn’t the revelation that Pellato wasn’t a blood relative that was throwing him off.
If what he had just heard was true, if Pellato wasn’t actually related to his father by blood…
“Then Tearot and I aren’t blood-related.”
“Correct. Not a single drop of shared blood.”
The strength drained from his hand, and he leaned back against the armrest. If that were true, what did that make all of Tearot’s anguish up to this point? Why had he risked everything to do what he did?
“Why… why didn’t you tell me until now? You knew how Tearot felt, didn’t you?”
“If I had told you—if you had known you weren’t blood-related—would you have accepted Tearot?”
Delroz, who had been standing quietly nearby, stiffened.
“That’s…”
He forced himself to calm his churning emotions. If Tearot wasn’t of his bloodline, if there were no legal restrictions between them, would he have accepted him?
As the nausea that felt like he was about to vomit slowly subsided, his mind cleared. The burning in his chest, like he had swallowed lava, cooled as if doused in ice.
“No… I don’t think I would have.”
Even now, thinking it over again, the answer remained the same. Banteon had never looked at Tearot that way. Even when he became aware of his feelings, all he could think about was putting an end to it and returning to how things were. It had been selfish.
“That’s why I didn’t tell you. Without the shackle of blood ties, Tearot might have tried to force his feelings onto someone who didn’t want him.”
In the end, those feelings had exploded in another direction. To break free from the chains of blood, he had made the decision to throw everything away.
“Tearot is my son, so I thought with time, he would let go of that desire. My decision was the penance of a father who couldn’t even protect his own child. From the beginning, someone like me should never have entered the Esrante bloodline.”
“Please… don’t say it like that.”
Pellato hadn’t made the wrong choice in the past. Even he couldn’t have predicted Tearot would go to such extremes. If not for Rohan’s temptation pushing him forward, he wouldn’t have suppressed his emotions so forcefully or decided to leave the capital.
“Banteon. There’s no need to defend Tearot. He and I were just clinging to this place where we didn’t belong. It’s time we returned to where we came from. Please, strike us from the name of Esrante.”
At his firm words, Banteon lowered his head and shook it. Clinging? Tearot had been the one to support the young Banteon when he was lost after the death of their parents.
When they died, Banteon had still been a child. He didn’t know anything, couldn’t fulfill even the most basic roles expected of him as a direct heir. Pellato had taken care of everything behind the scenes. And when Banteon had fallen into despair after awakening as a Guide, it was Tearot who had comforted him. Without those two, Banteon would never have made it this far.
Even if they weren’t blood-related, even if crimes had been committed, it didn’t change the fact that Banteon owed them both deeply.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear any of this.”
He turned his head to the side, and Delroz nodded as well. It was a silent agreement.
“I will treat you exactly as I always have, Uncle. I can respect your decision to step down as acting head and to relinquish your position. But I cannot accept that you are not of the Esrante bloodline.”
At Banteon’s resolute declaration, Pellato gave a bitter smile. As if he had already predicted this outcome, he bowed deeply once again—at a perfect ninety-degree angle.
“I know well the kindness in your heart. I’m grateful. Truly.”
“So what will you do now?”
Banteon’s body would recover fully with another month or two of rest. He was asking what Pellato planned to do once he stepped down from acting as head.
“I’m going to look for my son.”
“……”
“Even if I have no choice… I’m still his father. Until I see a corpse, I’ll keep searching.”
Pellato gave a hollow laugh, his face looking lighter than before. It was the face of a man who had finally unburdened himself of long-hidden truths and was now preparing to handle what was left alone.
A father…
Banteon had one, yet never truly experienced what that meant. He clicked his tongue, thinking of Tearot, who had committed such foolish acts without ever understanding that kind of love.
“If you happen to hear anything…”
“Pardon?”
“If you find Tearot… just hit him once—hard—and bring him back.”
Caught completely off guard by those words, Pellato’s eyes widened in disbelief. He stood there, frozen, before finally regaining his senses. Clutching his trembling hands tightly together, he bowed his head low.
“Yes. Thank you.”
Officially, they had testified that Tearot had been manipulated by Rohan, but the crimes he committed could not be taken lightly. He would be seen as an accomplice to a rebellion that threatened the kingdom. If he was found alive, even if he escaped execution, his final destination would be the underground prison beneath the royal capital.
What Banteon was offering implied that as long as Tearot was brought back to Esrante, he could at least guarantee his safety. Pellato bowed once more.
If his previous bows had been the courtesy of a criminal before the future head of the family, this one revealed the back of a father desperate to save his son.
After Pellato withdrew, only Banteon and Delroz remained in the now silent study. His mind was still reeling, and his hands wouldn’t stop trembling.
Had he ever been this shocked before? Even when he’d discovered Rohan’s true identity, he felt more composed than this.
“Want more tea?”
“Sorry… yes, please.”
The cold tea was poured out, and fresh hot tea filled the cup. As he watched the steam rise, trying to calm himself, his eyes met Delroz’s.
Delroz stood silently, his expression unreadable. Tearot’s situation… it was far too late to hide, but showing it in front of Delroz felt uncomfortable.
It was a matter internal to the family, and he also knew that Delroz never fully accepted Tearot.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Perhaps sensing what Banteon was thinking, Delroz spoke first. His voice was calm and quiet, his eyes subdued and unreadable.
“…Not today. I don’t have the strength.”
He didn’t want to show how shaken he was in front of Delroz—not over Tearot. Even if it wasn’t love, Delroz would take it to heart. And yet, despite knowing this, Banteon didn’t have the composure to pretend anymore. His hand trembled as he tried to lift the teacup and eventually gave up, lowering his head again.
“He’s someone who already gave up and disappeared. It doesn’t matter.”
There was no emotion in his voice. Delroz’s words felt cold—and yet, for some reason, they also felt like comfort. With his head lowered, Banteon felt a hand gently embrace him. Warm arms pulled him in, patting him softly as if to soothe.
“……”
The rhythm of the gentle, wordless embrace, like comforting a child, broke what little resistance he had left. In the end, Banteon cried for a long time—until Delroz’s broad chest was damp with tears.
***
“I’ll take the completed documents with me. Fortunately, everything was finished within the deadline.”
The Finance Officer, who had been assisting from the side, gathered the towering stack of papers up to his chin and left. It had already been a month since Pellato had finished the handover and stepped down as acting head. It was time for the official inauguration, but it kept getting delayed under the excuse of his poor health making royal attendance difficult.
The bittersweet feelings he’d had watching Pellato leave a month ago had gradually faded under the pressure of overwhelming duties. It was impossible to handle the responsibilities of a family head perfectly, so he prioritized the urgent tasks first—but even that was exhausting.
Maybe it was time to call his younger brother back from the North.
With both Pellato and Tearot—who had been pillars of the household—gone at the same time, the number of things that needed attention skyrocketed. Bringing in someone new wasn’t feasible due to how sensitive the tasks were. On the other hand, finding someone from a collateral branch who was both trustworthy and uninterested in power was even harder.
At first, he had missed them and felt regret at their absence. Now, he simply needed them—desperately. Dying from overwork was not something he wanted.
Traditionally, once someone became the head of a household, internal affairs of the mansion were handled by the lady of the house. Banteon wasn’t married yet, and even if he were to marry, the lady of the house would…
