Turning Chapter 822

Chapter 822

"Are you a worker at the temple? Or a servant of someone inside?"

"I, I am..."

The man stammered and averted his gaze from Myra, bowing his head. Upon closer inspection, he was drenched in cold sweat. Myra frowned at his appearance, looking as if he was on the verge of collapsing, exhausted from wandering around.

"If you are someone's servant, declare your allegiance, and if you work in the temple..."

"Oh, no, no. I am not. I am....!"

The man shook his head and stumbled back.

"I, I am....."

Myra saw fear and terror in his fleeting gaze and was gripped by curiosity.

'What is this? It's not just fatigue... he is afraid of me?'

Myra was perceptive. Even in a tense situation, she could distinguish whether the person before her feared a strange noble or specifically feared her.

It was common for ordinary citizens and servants to fear any noble, but the fear directed at Myra herself felt unusual.

'Have I seen this man somewhere before?'

Narrowing her eyes, Myra stared intently at the unfamiliar face of the young man from the southern lands.

'It seems like I'm seeing him for the first time...'

Thinking about it, it seemed unlikely that a noble would bring such an ordinary-looking southerner as a servant to Ashrav's funeral. Could this man be the servant of the deceased Ashrav, related to the merchant who was said to be behind him?

In that case, it made sense why he was terrified upon seeing Myra.

At that moment, as Myra's gaze sharpened in front of the frozen young man.

"Damn it! Of all days, Duke Herne's carriage wheel breaks!"

"Fetch a new wheel! Or someone to fix it!"

"Lady Yellen is fighting again with other young ladies over the issue with the Second Prince!"

'What? Father's carriage broke down?'

Distracted by the shouts nearby, Myra felt a strange sense of foreboding from those words.

Duke Herne, her father. Madame Yellen, Ashrav's mother. The young ladies.

And the southern young man, hunched over as if guilty of some crime.

Sometimes, people find commonalities between seemingly unrelated elements. For Myra, this was one of those moments.

'Yes, I've seen this attitude, these eyes before... because of my father.'

Duke Herne, always surrounded by women since Myra's birth.

Despite being the head of a prestigious ducal family, his unchaste behavior was often excused as a necessity due to the short lifespans in their family.

But to Myra, these were mere excuses. If the goal was to produce many heirs while alive, it should have been through his lawful wife. However, the women her father involved himself with were not only his wife but also varied in age and social status.

Even the young ladies he brought recently were not only nobles' daughters but also merchants', mages', knights', and even commoners'. Lady Yellen, Ashrav's mother, also came from a declined baronet family in the south, having Ashrav out of wedlock before marrying and divorcing before Ashrav turned one.

Ashrav, who was at least recognized as a legitimate son, was considered fortunate. Duke Herne, known for his numerous dalliances with women, had countless unacknowledged bastards. It was doubtful if even he knew the exact number.

Some of these bastards were at least recognized to the extent that they received help to survive. However, those who did not inherit any of Herne family's distinctive traits were not even that fortunate and lived miserably, unaware of their father's identity.

Legitimate children like Myra often had to deal with problems caused by these bastards, especially when it seemed like the family might get entangled. After all, these were their half-siblings and potential competitors or scandals for the family, so it was better they handled these matters themselves rather than entrusting them to unreliable subordinates.

Myra's elder brothers, still alive at that time, had never shown any sympathy towards these bastards. However, Myra always felt a pang in her heart when she saw these unrecognized children, as their plight didn't seem much different from her own.

During the time when Emperor Keilusa was still the Crown Prince, Duke Herne had temporarily adopted a distant relative's daughter for the position of Crown Princess, solely because there was no suitable daughter in the Herne family with the appropriate age and their signature platinum hair. The girl's own wishes were completely disregarded in this process, and Myra, despite being a legitimate daughter, also faced disdain for not being useful to the family, even though the timing of her birth was beyond her control.

Duke Herne viewed his legitimate children, bastards, and even his precious daughter, born after decades, as no different from objects. Myra deeply felt this harsh reality, appalled at how one man's recognition could instantly alter a person's life and status. Therefore, she secretly took care to ensure that the bastards she met did not suffer mistreatment.

Among the many bastards, there was one who, despite not inheriting the Herne family's physical traits, was peculiarly well cared for, even having a servant assigned to him. The existence of this bastard was kept hidden, manipulated through other nobles, and Myra only learned about him much later.

What she knew about him was limited. He was a son, probably older than herself. He lived out of sight, not venturing outside, but he had tutors and even a personal servant.

Myra felt compelled to understand why this particular bastard received such unusual treatment. Her investigation led her to suspect the reason.

The bastard was of mixed heritage, likely with someone from the southern countries. Duke Herne had briefly engaged in trade with the South in his youth, and he was often accompanied by a woman of considerable status from there. Although finding information after so long was challenging, rumors persisted that she bore Herne's child. Not long after, Herne completely withdrew from the southern trade.

For the Herne family, a prestigious noble house guarding the southern part of the empire, the fact that Duke Herne fathered a child with a southern woman was a scandal that could upheave the entire empire. It was a wonder the child wasn't killed immediately after birth.

Myra decided she needed to find out where the bastard was and sought out the noble who seemed to be in charge of him. The noble was taken aback by her visit, but upon hearing the information she had gathered, he sighed as if there was no helping it.

"Little Lady. Why does it matter so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't even know who he is. Officially, he grew up in a villa owned by my family, so in the worst case, if someone finds out, they'll think he's my bastard. He thinks the same, and in case of any eventuality, I've made sure he can't even speak a word about the Herne family. It's impossible for anyone to guess who he is."

"But isn't it better to send him back to the South rather than keep him imprisoned like this? What on earth is my father thinking?"

"I don't know. Maybe he plans to use him as a link to the South once he grows up. If that's not feasible, then there's nothing to be done."

What kind of reasoning is that? To lock away and hide a person just for a 'maybe' seems absurd. Even if he wanted to hide a potential scandal, this is treating a person like an object. Myra knew her father's nature, but this realization still took her breath away.

"This is not right. Just send him back to the South. It's better for him, especially if he doesn't even know he's of our bloodline."

Despite Myra's insistence, the noble dismissed her concerns, suggesting that her visit was more harmful than helpful, and turned her away.

As Myra was being turned away, she caught a glimpse of a skinny Southern boy cautiously entering the door. Initially startled, thinking he might be the bastard, she realized he looked more like a servant.

"Could he be the bastard's servant?"

Considering they specifically employed a Southern boy, it was a possibility.

"You there."

Myra called out to him, but the boy, startled upon making eye contact, was terrified and mumbled something in his native Southern language before running away.

"Aaaah!"

Myra returned home, deeply shaken by the look in the boy's eyes, which regarded her as some kind of monster. She planned to follow up, but the opportunity never presented itself.

A few days later, the noble and his family disappeared as if they had evaporated.

Myra could no longer find any traces of the bastard or learn more about her father's past. Her father continued living as he always had, and her few legitimate brothers died one after another at a young age for no apparent reason. As her brothers passed away, the weight on Myra's shoulders grew heavier with the many responsibilities she had to shoulder, causing her to gradually forget about that day.

However, the moment she saw the Southern young man before her now, the memories and feelings of that day resurfaced.

The image of the skinny Southern boy servant from her memories slowly overlapped with the young man in front of her.

"You…"

Just as Myra was about to speak, another explosion resounded behind her. It was as loud as when the giant temple windows had shattered, causing people to scream again.

"Ah!"

Startled, Myra stumbled, and the Southern young man regained his senses and fled. After a moment, he started to run towards the inside of the temple.

No. Just as he seemed to be running away, he suddenly vanished from sight.

"Wait...! Stop there!"

"First Princess! Are you alright?"

The one who caught and supported the shouting Myra was General Gino.