Chapter 67

Thank you for reading.

The story that Yusei had heard from his mother before was:

"Lucian's mother cannot be by Lucian's side."

If it had been said that she "had passed away," he would have forgotten it right away. But it was "cannot be by his side."

After that, Yusei had heard rumors from elsewhere.

"Prince Sariel, who inherited the Vione family, seems to have adopted a child from a relative of the Vione family."

Yusei knew that this was not true.

Because Sariel and Lucian looked very similar.

Their eyes, well-shaped noses, jawlines, and beautiful foreheads. They looked like father and son at first glance.

Yet, they claimed it was an adoption.

This wasn't something to be curious about.

But the situation was too ambiguous, and the mystery of his childhood friend was right in front of him.

However, Yusei had access to information because of his position.

His mother Noelle was very concerned about Lucian.

He had heard from a maid that, "The queen has been concerned about Lord Lucian since he was just a baby."

Similarly, his father, the king, also cared about Lucian.

Yusei also investigated his uncle Sariel.

The closed-stack library of the palace stored old magazines with many articles related to the royal family. There was a magazine that featured the royal family in every issue, as if it were an official publication.

It contained articles about Uncle Robert's scandalous affairs, the women Uncle Jules dated before falling in love with Empress Amalie, and the rumors about his father's romantic entanglements during his studies in the Alres Empire.

It was quite interesting.

However, no matter how much he searched, there was not a single article about Uncle Sariel's "such" affairs.

There was only mention of his difficulty in choosing a fiancée.

According to the records, Uncle Sariel was severely injured in an incident before Lucian was born.

He would have died if not for a skilled healer, as reported in the newspaper at the time.

Most likely, that skilled healer was his father.

He was injured while trying to protect a fiancée from a fire attack during a fight.

If you think about it normally, the aggressor, the fiancée, could be Lucian's mother, and Lucian could be her child with Uncle Sariel.

However, Zeraphi, Noelle's sister, was not executed but sent to a harsh prison.

In such cases, most children do not survive, even if the mother is pregnant. Although the baby is innocent, it often ends up that way.

The exception is when the execution is carried out just before childbirth, allowing the mother to give birth without spending much time in the harsh prison.

But there was no record of her being pregnant.

There was no mention of it anywhere.

Therefore, no one thought that Lucian's mother was the fiancée.

--- But if you consider that the woman gave birth in prison, it all makes sense.

Yusei also investigated the prison where she was held.

How harsh it was.

The death rate among prisoners was abnormally high.

This was due to the extremely high rate of incidents and accidents within the prison.

The prison work assigned to the inmates was also quite severe.

However, the incidents and accidents were not related to the work.

It was a problematic prison.

All the incidents that occurred within the prison remained unsolved. Accidents were often dismissed as cause unknown.

The mental stress on the guards and staff, who encountered gruesome scenes daily, was severe, leading to a high turnover rate.

The state did not want to place even the most heinous criminals in such a harsh prison.

They wanted them to work hard for the country and society, to atone for their sins.

They did not want the prison to be a dangerous area with frequent murders.

Looking at the records of the prison, which were filled with gruesome incidents and accidents, there was a sudden stop to the incidents at a certain point.

Unexplained accidents also ceased.

The death rate among prisoners returned to a normal level.

How did they improve it?

There was no special note about it.

However, from that year, Lucian's mother entered the prison.

Soon after Zeraphi's admission, a fight involving one against seven occurred.

It was more like a beating than a fight.

However, the seven were the ones injured.

The one who fought alone was "slightly injured."

The seven were "severely injured with complex fractures and internal organ ruptures, requiring more than six months of treatment."

They were in a critical condition, hovering between life and death.

With "complex fractures all over the body," it would be difficult to return to a normal life even if they recovered.

The seven, who initiated the fight and had weapons, were not questioned due to excessive self-defense.

After that, there were no more "murder cases" in the prison.

The turnover rate among staff also improved.

Yusei thought,

--- Lucian's mother (hypothetically), is awesome.

Therefore, Yusei couldn't help but think.

Such an amazing woman could have given birth even in a harsh environment.

About four years ago.

The woman believed to be Lucian's mother had passed away.

The mine accident was reported in the newspaper, and it was noted that Zeraphi had saved many prisoners and staff, earning a pardon.

Lucian's mother was a hero.

Yusei understood why his father cared about Lucian.

The state wanted to show gratitude to the woman who had improved the harsh prison and saved dozens of prisoners and staff before her death.

Yusei, as the son of the king, could understand this sentiment.

Even if Yusei were in his father's position, he would want to protect Lucian in her place, even if Lucian were not his nephew.

The Kingdom of Anzela had a strong belief in accepting all those who had served their sentences and atoned for their crimes. This was due to the teachings of the state religion.

In return, those who tried to hide their crimes and escape were viewed harshly.

Different countries had different views or values.

Yusei thought the Kingdom of Anzela's approach was good.

Therefore, he believed Lucian could reveal his mother's secret—if his hypothesis was correct.

--- But Lucian doesn't know...

If that's the case, it's not his place to say. He wanted to tell him, but it wasn't his role.

Yusei decided to change the topic.

"It must be concerning. Even I rarely get Vione family's herbal tea."

He used a hastily made-up excuse to cover up.

"Did you know the package contained herbal tea?"

Lucian turned to Yusei, who was walking beside him.

"You know my magic attribute, right?"

Yusei lowered his voice.

"Oh, I see..."

Many of the magical herbs that Lucian had carefully cultivated were strong in light magic. Yusei could sense it.

"Heine is impressive.

Professor Levania was known as an unfortunate researcher. My father told me."

"Unfortunate?"

Lucian opened his mental dictionary at the unfamiliar word.

Why was the famous researcher unfortunate?

"Didn't you know? There was a time when a notorious plagiarist was the deputy director of the Royal Research Institute.

At that time, Professor Levania was a researcher there. He was stealing the professor's work."

"Really? That's a crime, isn't it? Plagiarism?"

Lucian's voice became rough.

"You're right. Uncle Robert noticed it, but it was too late.

Professor Levania had already quit and was working as a technician in another facility.

His former colleagues invited him back after the deputy director was dismissed, but he refused because he liked his job as a technician.

However, that workplace often caused health issues, and the professor also fell ill and quit."

That workplace was where Lucian's mother was, Yusei thought to himself.

"When I met him, the professor seemed to be in good health."

Lucian recalled their first meeting.

"Isn't it because of Lucian's magical herb tea?"

Yusei gave Lucian a sidelong glance.

"Oh... Now that you mention it, Heine said the professor was grateful for the magical herb tea... Is that what you mean?"

Lucian's eyes widened as he realized.

"You're too slow."

--- It's because Heine didn't say it clearly!

Yusei inwardly complained as he was harshly criticized by his cousin.