He turned to see Yolanda staring daggers at him. Her expression made Westheid suspect she was biting down on a hand grenade, ready to lunge at him and explode at any second.
"Brother... explain."
The girl, who had been silent for the entire journey, finally gazed reproachfully at Westheid.
"I truly can't believe it. What have you done?"
Yolanda said through gritted teeth, "Because of your wanton actions, you've antagonized all the nobles in the Imperial Capital. The aid that could have revived our family has been ruined because of you... Brother, do you even care about the Qinghui Clan?"
'How could I not? Of course I do!'
After transmigrating to this world he had dreamed of day and night, and merging with the soul of the original Duke Qinghui, Westheid had completely accepted his current identity.
Even setting aside the Sword of Damocles that was the Chaos Corruption hanging over his head, Westheid himself wanted to unleash and elevate the Holy Spirit Bloodline of the Branch of Prosperity. To do so, the Qinghui Territory had to be reclaimed, and the clan would be revived.
Westheid said, "What are you talking about? I *am* working to restore the clan."
Yolanda sneered, "Forgive me for being blind, but I've yet to see you take any concrete action, Brother."
"I am. Tomorrow, I'm going to the Holy Tree Palace to see Reiya."
Yolanda finally couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Westheid by the shoulders. "Brother! Must you remain so obstinate?!"
The girl's violet eyes blazed with fury. "What's so good about that half-breed?! Stop seeing her!"
"Yolanda! You've crossed the line!"
Westheid's voice was heavy as he shook off the platinum-blonde girl and stared at his kinswoman with a severity he had never shown before.
"Who am I?"
He was emphasizing his status.
The girl, elegant and ethereal as a Fairy, understood his meaning. After a moment's hesitation, she knelt on one knee before him and spoke slowly.
"...You are Duke Qinghui, the Imperial Branch of Prosperity, the Clan Leader of the Purity Forest... and you are my brother, whom I serve."
Yolanda, who valued clan tradition and honor above all else, would not disobey the Patriarch.
Westheid asked, "Then do you presume to question the Patriarch's decisions?"
Yolanda replied without looking up, "I would not dare. But as a member of the clan, it is my responsibility—my duty—to offer you counsel. When my brother acts in a way that clearly harms the clan's interests, I beg you to forgive my impertinence... Everything is for the sake of Qinghui."
"I grant you the right to offer counsel and corrections, but until I am proven wrong, you will remember your place."
The platinum-blonde girl bit her lower lip. After a long moment, she said, "Yes... But would our wise and brilliant Patriarch deign to explain to his ignorant and foolish servant just how he plans to restore the clan?"
'Getting an attitude, are we.'
'If you dare to be this passive-aggressive with me now, I can't even imagine what you'll try later!'
Westheid sighed. It couldn't be helped. Yolanda was his sister, after all, and his most trusted confidante in this world.
He softened his tone, trying to placate her.
"You don't understand what I'm doing simply because there's a chasm of information between us... Yolanda, do you really believe Reiya has been forsaken by the Radiant Holy Tree?"
'She's in such a tragic state. Why are you asking something that's common knowledge?'
Yolanda raised her eyebrows in confusion and said:
"Brother, are you not aware that the Fourth Princess's crippled state was caused by a punishment from the Divine Ancestor?"
Reiya's horrific injuries weren't actually the result of abuse from others. She was, after all, an Imperial Princess. Though anyone could kick her around and bully her a little...
...it was limited to things like pulling her hair or slapping her. Under the Holy Law, no one dared to cause any real, severe injuries.
Her irreversible mutilations were all inflicted by Divine Punishment.
Beyond the external disfigurement and scars... many of her afflictions were internal and unseen. Her organs had probably long been hollowed out.
The only reason Reiya wasn't dead was that the Divine Power infused into her by the Radiant Holy Tree was keeping her alive... as if to deliberately prolong her torture.
Being one of the Dragon Descendants alone wouldn't have made everyone treat her as such a taboo; at worst, it was a blemish. But a Dragon Descendant forsaken by the Divine Ancestor... her very existence was considered irrevocably tainted.
"Inflicting Divine Punishment does not equal hatred."
Westheid smiled. "Mortals always try to fathom the divine through the lens of their own perception. But the supreme Celestial Gods... They are terrifyingly capricious. How could you possibly distinguish between their goodwill and their malice?"
"Perhaps the Radiant Holy Tree doesn't despise Reiya at all. What if, on the contrary, it loves her beyond measure?"
............
"CLATTER—"
The exquisitely crafted wheelchair was violently shoved onto the courtyard in front of the bedchamber, sending Reiya tumbling onto the hard ground.
"Half-breed! Go back where you belong!"
The Royal Guard who had pushed her there spat in disgust. As if he had touched something utterly filthy, he wiped his hands over and over with a handkerchief before leaving without a backward glance.
Reiya remained silent. She crawled with great difficulty across the marble tiles, slowly making her way to the wheelchair. She struggled to right it, then hauled herself back into the seat.
Completing these simple actions, which an ordinary person could perform in an instant, took Reiya a very long time.
Reiya wiped the sweat from her forehead. The silver-haired girl's face showed not a hint of resentment; she was long accustomed to this kind of treatment.
In fact, compared to the more insidious torments she endured, the Royal Guard's brutishness seemed almost forthright.
She wheeled herself into her bedchamber. It was located deep within the Holy Tree Palace and wasn't much different from the other chambers, save for one detail: it was utterly devoid of the lush flowers and greenery that were standard throughout the rest of the palace. Surrounded by cold stone walls, it was a magnificent cage.
A being forsaken by the Radiant Holy Tree was not worthy to gaze upon flowers and foliage.
She didn't even have servants, only a few minimal magical constructs to tidy the chambers and prevent any part of the Holy Tree Palace from falling into squalor.
As Reiya entered the prison-like chamber, the surrounding silence felt strangely unfamiliar for a moment. Then, the silver-haired girl let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Why am I being so sentimental? It's always been like this."
'Yes, because no one ever wants to come near me, I've always been alone.'
But the warmth and excitement of the plaza still lingered in her memory.
Reiya replayed the feeling of dancing with Westheid over and over in her mind.
His incomparably handsome face, his passionate and sincere eyes, his confident yet gentle words, his citrus-scented breath... and the warmth of their bodies pressed close.
Reiya couldn't help but touch her cheek, feeling her own temperature steadily rise.
A flutter she had never known before welled up in her heart with the memory, like a fleeting electric shock that left a long, sweet aftertaste.
The silver-haired girl mulled over Westheid's words from before they parted, and a thought she had no right to entertain began to form.
'Duke Qinghui... Will he really come again?'
'Don't hope. Don't look to tomorrow. This world has never been kind to me. All fantasies of the future will betray me... I understood this long ago, and yet I can't suppress this budding sense of longing.'
"Duke Qinghui is just a strange, kind man who invited me out of a momentary pang of pity... Nothing more. We'll almost certainly never see each other again."
Reiya muttered, as if trying to convince herself.
She ignored the undisguised affection in Westheid's actions. Even though his oath had been verified by the Divine Ancestor, making it highly credible, Reiya couldn't bring herself to believe it.
'For someone to show me kindness is a miracle in itself. But for someone to *like* a half-breed Monster, a pariah forsaken by the Divine Ancestor, a blight upon the Imperial name... I've never even dared to have such a dream.'
"Even if Duke Qinghui truly is willing, he would have to bow to other pressures. He's a Patriarch, after all... So... just stop thinking about it!"