I Reincarnated as a Noble Bastard, So I'm Seducing All the Villainess-Chapter 109: Half-Demon Blood

"Dear, is everything alright?"

My senses waver before the piece of meat in front of me, small black spots occupy my vision. I try to rub my eyes to remove them, but it's no use, they remain there like flies preventing me from having complete clarity.

Leliana, my wife, is across the table, looking at me with concern. When was the last time I caused someone so much fear because of my condition? I'm getting old with the days, this truly is sad...

"Torvek" she calls me, and I look up. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep after our dinner? You need rest, your face looks terrible."

Does it? It must be because I'm old. I take a deep breath, leaning back against the chair and resting my elbow on one of the armrests. Since Darius left, I've returned to the logistical and political work to control the Moonlight dukedom and ease my brother's burden, but it has drained my energy.

Speaking of him, that boy must be having an incredible adventure. I look at the letter I kept inside my cloak. It has Elizia's signature, but the content inside satisfied me quite a bit when I read it... to think that this boy would show so many flaws in our system that had gone unnoticed.

A presence passes by my side. What was that? I didn't even sense it. My first reaction is to strike whoever is near me, but the hands that touch my face and neck are too charitable to belong to an assassin. Looking up, I see Leliana above me, caressing me with her maternal way of treating others.

"I'm fine" I comment, easing the tension in my shoulders. "Just a little worried about what that idiot son of mine might be doing."

"Hmm, you always worried about him, haven't you? Especially after finding out about his existence... I see him as a son too, my love, so I prefer you avoid calling him an idiot in front of me."

"You know he hates us, right?"

"I don't believe someone who hates us would go so far to make the Empire a better place."

Well, I can't argue against that fact. Darius really did more than I imagined, even if his sudden change and less reckless behavior is strange. Leliana's fingernails continue to play with my hair before she withdraws them, returning to her seat across the table.

"Do you remember when you wanted to marry him to Miss Lázara, dear?"

"Yes, I remember that girl. Count Lázaro is a very honest man, I believe Darius would learn a lot having him as a father-in-law. It's a shame that... Darius caused so much chaos." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Hahaha, yes. He never accepted you putting him near another girl, no matter how beautiful she was. I think that boy never believed he was good enough for anyone, and that he preferred to live alone rather than stain someone else's legacy with his vices."

"I don't believe Darius is that altruistic."

"Are you sure? From what I've seen in recent months, our son is much kinder than he appears. Don't you consider yourself lucky to have a boy who is practically just like you when you were young?"

"No."

With that answer, I return my attention to the fillet. Darius and I are similar... I never imagined hearing such a thing coming from Leliana. Yes, I was indeed reckless in my youth, but not to that extent.

But... if I had been more attentive, he would never have been born and wouldn't have to go through so many problems. I bear a lot of responsibility for what happened, if I had been more mature at the time, I believe the dukedom and my brother would also be more at peace.

I get up from the table, leaving our dinner incomplete.

"I'm going out for a walk."

"Come back soon, dear."

Leliana nods and lowers her eyes, and I leave the room, heading outside. I believe the servants are resting, as I requested, so I could have some peaceful time with my wife, away from the intrusion of subordinates.

Fortunately, the garden is also very quiet, with no moon to light the sky except for the stars shining brighter today than on any other day. The roses look in great condition, should I increase the gardener's salary for such excellent work? I'll think about that later.

My steps cross the lawn in circles, with no specific destination other than to free my thoughts to a state of peace. I've had less and less time to think coherently, and with Darius causing so many problems left and right, I found myself having to accept the absurdity of the routine.

The silence accompanies me along with the pruned trees decorating the environment, as I find myself rewinding to a distant time, when my daughter was born. It was a good time, a time when I was very happy to hold a girl in my arms... until I found out about my son.

From then on, I think our good relationship collapsed, and I never managed to swallow my pride to fix what I had done wrong. I also believe it's too late now.

What kind of son would forgive his father for taking more than ten years to realize he made a mistake?

I take a few more steps, until I stop in front of a stone bench that seemed tailor-made for a Duke to sit on. It wasn't. The bench was simple, without luxurious ornaments, perhaps a remnant of an earlier time under my father, who valued a less flashy lifestyle.

I sit down, my back hunched and my arms resting on my thighs.

The image of Mia comes to me, clear and defined as if she were being forced to materialize in my mind. I remember that brown hair flying in the wind, which in certain angles seemed to have streaks the color of blood, and her eyes that were an unusual green, almost golden under the sunlight.

She was not an ordinary woman, I knew that the moment I first saw her, but for some reason, I was attracted by her beauty and was pulled into an abyss.

"Torvek, you can't stay with me. You know you'd be putting both of us at risk by continuing here." Mia's voice, full of pain and fear, resonates in my head.

I remember the day I left. I promised once to return to fix my mistake, maybe make her a baroness and thus formalize a marriage, but in the end, it would never work.

"We will be together, I promise", that was the lie I told myself for years, until I couldn't hold onto it anymore. Mia became a fragment of my memory shortly after, and we never saw each other again, but I knew from the beginning that I got involved with someone I shouldn't have.

"Duke... no, Torvek Moonlight."

I startle, lifting my gaze toward the cold, cutting voice. It's Ravenna, the witch who was involved with my son.

How did she get in? She was there, standing a few feet away, wearing a dark cloak that merged with the shadow of the trees, with a hood covering most of her face, but allowing her pale, thin lips to form a cruelly satisfied smile.

"What do you want?" My voice comes out low, almost a growl.

I maintain my posture, trying to convey the authority I felt slipping through my fingers.

"What do I want? The truth, of course, and it seems you've hidden it very well." She takes a step forward, which makes me clench my fists tightly. "Duke... no, Torvek Moonlight, how much did you hide to involve yourself with someone possessing demonic blood?"

I remain silent. The mention of "demonic blood" hits where it hurts the most, not because of shame, but because of the weight of the responsibility and the danger I bore when I tried to interact with someone like that.

Ravenna laughs, a dry, shrill sound that echoes in the silence of the garden.

"I now understand why Darius is so different, or why he has some kind of infinite resistance, he is not entirely human, in fact, and you knew this the moment you found him."

Yes, I knew. The image of Mia, pale and on the verge of collapse, pleading with me to abandon her as soon as possible, came to me in a flash of memory. I ignored it as long as I could, then fled when I could no longer stand to see her like that.

"You remember, don't you? Mia. We say each other too, and I also considered her very beautiful, but I never imagined someone like her would be capable of carrying a burden similar to mine after performing the Silver Scar ritual. Did you use her, Duke? Or did you love her enough to ignore the consequences?"

I see another flash pass before my eyes. Mia smiling, long before I discovered all her secrets, on the day we first met in a wheat field. I loved her, or at least, the part of her that pulled me away from my tedious life.

"You don't need to answer me. I know the memory is difficult." Ravenna clicks her tongue with disdain. "But answer me this: does the boy have the heart of a demon? Or the soul of one? Because if he is what I suspect, his infinite resistance is the least of your worries, and you have just condemned humanity because of a youthful fling."

My head spins. My hands tremble.

With a silent roar, my self-control is undermined to the point that I see nothing but blind rage. The veins in my arms bulge, and a dark, unstable, and dense purple energy erupts, enveloping my forearms.

"Silence!"

I launch myself from the bench toward Ravenna. The beam of energy, more like purple lightning than a controlled magical attack, is fired. Ravenna doesn't even move, but at the last instant, she dematerializes into a black shadow that dissipates in the cold air.

The attack hits the nearest tree, which groans and falls to the garden floor with a dry, violent crash, revealing a smoking hole where the trunk stood.

I am panting, my heart won't stop hammering against my ribs. I am afraid, yes, afraid. Those words won't stop poisoning my thoughts, like a viper that bit the heel and refuses to let go.

"Your answer is enough for me, Duke."

I turn my face one more time, that damned witch provokes me with a more serious expression, unlike the provocative one she used to elicit my reaction.

"I will not touch this hornet's nest again. I have already discovered what I wanted, and I won't love Darius any less because of it. I worry about him just as much as you, perhaps even more, so I will make sure to keep him under control, but never forget, Duke, your mistake of having a relationship with a half-demon risks tormenting this world forevermore."