Chapter 45: Forbidden to Love Him

Just then, Kebel looked down at his hand before clenching it tightly.

That light that had poured from his palm. Osh’s wound that had closed.

There was no doubt about it. That light had healed Osh.

The Duke had said that Manifestation granted no special abilities, but this was clearly a power that had awakened alongside his own Manifestation. If that was true, then he needed to learn how to use it.

If another life-threatening situation arose, he couldn’t afford to stand there helplessly again, unable to do anything.

Kebel hurried out of his room.

After ordering preparations for an outing, he headed toward the kitchen. He needed a reasonable excuse, so he decided to make walnut cookies with the head chef himself.

Unfortunately, he ran into the Duke on the way.

“A carriage has been prepared. Where are you planning to go?”

“Ah, well… I was thinking of going out for a little while…”

“Kebel. Listen carefully. From this moment on, I forbid you from meeting Osh.”

“What?!”

Kebel rarely raised his voice.

But this time, shock escaped him before he could stop it.

Seeing the countless questions written across Kebel’s face, the Duke clicked his tongue and turned away.

“Follow me.”

Without another word, he headed toward his office.

Sometimes silence was terrifying.

This was one of those times.

The Duke’s order to stay away from Osh had to be connected to what happened last night. Anxiety twisted inside Kebel’s chest.

At the same time, the realization that he would no longer be allowed to see Osh made an unexpected sense of sorrow well up inside him.

He fiddled nervously with his fingers as they walked.

Then a servant came running toward them from the far end of the corridor.

“What is it?”

The Duke’s voice remained calm.

Rather than annoyed, he seemed almost as though he had expected this interruption.

The servant stopped immediately and bowed.

“A letter has arrived from Count Sulleban’s estate.”

“And? Surely a single letter isn’t reason enough to be running through the halls like this.”

“Well… the thing is…”

The servant glanced uneasily toward Kebel.

The timing could not have been worse.

A letter arriving right after Osh had appeared wounded in his room.

Kebel’s stomach dropped.

He looked toward the Duke, hoping to stay.

The Duke rejected the request before he even voiced it.

Reluctantly, Kebel stepped back.

Or rather, he pretended to.

The moment the Duke disappeared from sight, Kebel quickly summoned Ida.

“Ida. Could you find out what information that servant brought?”

“Of course, Young Master.”

“Please.”

At Kebel’s earnest request, Ida immediately departed.

Unable to return to his room in his current state of mind, Kebel wandered toward the small garden.

It remained exactly as it had been when eleven-year-old Osh had visited it.

Well, almost.

Now the garden was overflowing with a single kind of flower.

Yellow tulips.

Spring pollen drifted through the air.

Though the garden was carefully maintained, a thin layer of pollen still coated the bench.

Kebel brushed it away and sat down.

His gaze settled on the sea of yellow blossoms.

Tulips.

The same flower he had once casually picked for Osh.

Reaching for a pair of gardening shears nearby, Kebel stood.

The Duke had forbidden him from seeing Osh.

Even so…

Just once.

He wanted to speak with him one more time.

Carefully, Kebel cut several tulips at an angle and wrapped them in paper.

As he turned to leave the garden, he spotted Ida hurrying toward him.

Her expression was unusually urgent.

Kebel stopped dead in his tracks.

The flowers in his hand crumpled beneath his grip.

“I’m back, Young Master.”

“You found something?”

“Yes. I couldn’t learn the contents of the letter… but Count Sulleban’s household sent a dagger along with it.”

“A… dagger?”

“Yes. And apparently… it was your dagger.”

Ida trailed off, watching him carefully.

Kebel barely heard her.

A dagger.

His dagger.

Why?

His hands began to tremble.

The tulips slipped from his grasp.

Petals scattered across the ground.

Without another word, Kebel turned and sprinted toward the Duke’s office.

An explanation was needed.

The dagger undeniably belonged to him.

But Osh’s intrusion into the estate was an entirely different matter.

If anything happened to Osh…

Ignoring the servants stationed outside, Kebel threw open the office door.

Breathing hard, he searched immediately for the Duke.

The Duke sat quietly with his eyes closed, as though he had been expecting him all along.

“Sit.”

Without opening his eyes, the Duke spoke.

Kebel obeyed.

Only then did the Duke open his eyes and look at him.

“You seem to have something you wish to say.”

“Osh came to see me last night. But he didn’t break in-”

“You don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you?”

The Duke’s gaze was colder than Kebel had ever seen.

Never before had he looked at him this way.

Kebel immediately understood that this situation would not be easily resolved.

Still, he clenched his fists and forced himself to continue.

“Osh-”

“Count Sulleban sent the dagger. According to the letter, you stabbed Osh with it.”

“…”

“Think about it. The very idea that you, who cherish him so much, would stab him makes no sense. And even if you did, there must have been a reason. But Kebel… before anything else, I am disappointed in you.”

“…”

“You are the future head of House Ilya. Yet you are this easily swayed by personal feelings. It disappoints me deeply to think that this is how I have raised you.”

The Duke had never reprimanded him like this before.

Kebel knew just how serious this was.

Yet he couldn’t abandon Osh.

‘Not now.’

No matter how foolish it sounded, he asked again.

“What will happen to Osh?”

The Duke sighed heavily.

“Last night, His Highness the Crown Prince was also attacked by an unknown assailant. At the same time, Osh was discovered infiltrating this estate. According to the current account, you injured Osh while defending yourself.”

Kebel’s eyes widened.

“This matter may even involve Her Majesty the Empress. It is no longer something that can be quietly overlooked.”

“The Empress…?!”

The Duke leaned back in his chair, looking exhausted.

The letter from Count Sulleb.an was filled with lies.

And just as planned, Osh had arranged for the dagger to be delivered publicly alongside it.

Exactly as they had agreed.

The Duke intended to honor that agreement.

“Having compassion is not a flaw. But there are times when you must be able to distinguish right from wrong.”

“…”

“Osh is not as badly hurt as you fear. The fact that you are sitting here unharmed proves that he never intended to harm you.”

“Then… what will happen to him?”

“I cannot tell you that yet.”

The answer did little to calm him.

Kebel’s hands trembled.

There was nothing he could do.

Nothing at all.

All he could do was pray that Osh was safe.

That nothing would happen to him.

Once again, Kebel felt painfully aware of his own helplessness.

If only he were smarter.

If only he had understood sooner.

Would things have turned out differently?

No.

The outcome probably would have been just as terrible.

After all, he and the Duke were both still alive despite having been fated to die.

And more than anything…

He was grateful.

Grateful that Osh had chosen not to kill him.

“If he truly wanted me dead, he wouldn’t have needed to sneak into the estate.”

“…”

“So please. Please save him, Father.”

“Kebel.”

“I know he must answer for what he’s done. But last night… something was wrong with him. He looked like Osh, but… it didn’t feel like him at all.”

“Enough.”

The Duke cut him off.

“I know what you are trying to say.”

“…”

“But stop there, Kebel. From this point onward, do not think about him. Do not dwell on him. Do not seek him out.”

“What are you saying…?”

“I am forbidding any further contact with Osh.”

The words struck like a bolt of lightning.

Kebel could only stare.

“Starting today, your schedule has changed. You will begin learning court etiquette befitting the future partner of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“That’s ridiculous! I’m not-”

“I asked you once before if you were truly prepared for that future.”

The Duke rose from his chair.

“Your birthday has passed. You are now an adult. It is time you accept the responsibilities that come with it.”

The conversation was over.

The Duke sat back down, put on his glasses, and turned his attention to his work.

Slowly, Kebel stood.

Each step felt unbearably heavy.

Like weights had been shackled to his ankles.

Yet before leaving, he asked one final question.

“…Is Osh really okay?”

The Duke’s expression softened ever so slightly.

“Yes.”

That was enough.

It should have been enough.

Osh was alive.

That should have comforted him.

So why did his eyes burn?

Why did tears threaten to spill over?

Unable to bear the possibility of breaking down in front of the Duke, Kebel turned and fled the office.

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