Swan Grave - Chapter 36

“At first, I thought it natural to flounder for a few years, so I let it be, but before long she grew complacent in her failure.”

Rose thought she had hidden her deliberate failures in the summoning spell flawlessly, but all of it had been within Rothbart’s grasp.

Odile shuddered with disgust. “To have kept such a sinister thing by your side, you truly are generous, Lord Lohengrin. For me, it is unimaginable.”

“Until now, there was no one but her who could retrace the traces of the summoning spell, so there was no choice.”

Black magicians could not be brainwashed, so it was impossible to forcibly extract information. Enchantment was possible, but that didn’t mean it would move according to Rothbart’s will. Because of that, even embezzling from the summoning ritual had to be done in roundabout ways.

Neither could the swan be brainwashed, nor was the great demon’s power of any use where it mattered most. Rothbart’s lips twisted.

“But if she was never sincere in succeeding with the summoning spell, then how did she manage to summon the swan at all?”

“She kept holding on to the research for restoring the summoning spell because she needed at least one card to play when the time came. She simply had no intention of sharing it with me. So… my son did the work.”

At the end of Rothbart’s words lingered a trace of pride for his son.

For the first time, surprise spread across Odile’s face. Rothbart laughed aloud as if amused, then carefully explained the circumstances. Though both were demons, Odile was a loyal subordinate who obeyed Rothbart, and a political partner aiming for shared interests.

“At first, I tried to steal the experimental records through the butler, but it wasn’t easy. Then one day, Svan came to me with a proposal. He said he would try it himself. So I agreed. Children usually invite negligence.”

“Wasn’t he only eleven at the time?”

“The child of a demon will always become a demon. Blood doesn’t betray its nature.”

Children learned by watching their parents. Just as Rothbart had learned his malice from his own father, Svanhild, raised by the demon Rothbart, was also a being far removed from an ordinary child.

Even Odile, herself a demon, wouldn’t have easily suspected that the young Svanhild might be a spy. Moreover, he was Rothbart’s son, someone Rose had to remain in favor with. Rose had forgotten that she also needed to guard against Svanhild.

The clever Svanhild did not betray Rothbart’s expectations, and he stole the summoning ritual that was nearly perfected.

With the black magic knowledge he had learned over the shoulder, he perfectly drew the summoning circle. But even so, he couldn’t summon the swan in one stroke. Something was surely missing. Perhaps another method would appear, so there was no choice but to keep Rose in the mansion…

And that variable was blood.

When Duke Albert had first summoned the Marchioness, he had used Rothbart’s blood as a demon. Following that precedent, blood had been spilled several times in later experiments, but the summoning circle did not respond to that alone.

Then, suddenly, it was realized. There was something more certain than Rothbart’s blood: the blood of Svanhild, in whose veins flowed both Rothbart’s blood and Ianna’s. And the guess proved true.

It was only that the place and time Anna had fallen into this world had been outside the expected range, so at first they thought the experiment had failed.

At that time, Svanhild, with blood dripping from his palm, looked up at Rothbart with a faint smile.

“It’s all right, Father. We have plenty of chances… We can just try again and again.”

At the sight of Svanhild, Rothbart, for the first time before his son, burst into loud laughter. Truly, the spirit of a demon’s child.

The swan’s summoning was an achievement wrought by the determination of father and son. Even a father with little affection for his child couldn’t help but feel proud. Rothbart’s red eyes sank deep as he recalled the past.

Understanding the situation well enough, Odile nodded instead of prying further. “Very well. Since I am only providing money and materials, all experiments are left in Lord Lohengrin’s hands anyway. Then, when do you plan to attempt the second summoning?”

Her blue eyes now gleamed with the desire to finally produce an heir.

Though the qualities of a demon are revered, not every family into which one is born prospers. More often, it’s the shortest path to annihilation.

For a demon to be born into a house meant its lineage would be cut off. It wasn’t only because demons found it difficult to bear children.

A demon does not share what is theirs. The very first thing a demon devours after birth is the siblings who vie with them for their parents’ love. Most of a demon’s siblings met a gruesome end. Parents were no exception.

Thus, the majority of demons are killed by their fathers the moment they are born.

Rothbart, being the legitimate son and sole heir of the House of Lohengrin, was unaffected by such tales, but Odile was the third child, with two elder brothers above her.

Sensing the hostility of her family the moment she was born, Odile instinctively changed the color of her eyes to conceal her nature, and her father and brothers, reassured by the sight of her blue eyes, let her live.

It took tremendous patience before the youngest of them could devour the House of Brabant. To make Brabant completely her own in the end, an heir was absolutely necessary. The years she’d spent living in caution as a demon remained as a deep wound to her pride, and precisely because of that, she had no intention of continuing her house through the children of her brothers.

The moment she bore her own child would be the day she struck down her useless brothers. Odile awaited that day eagerly.

“There is no longer any need to summon the swan.”

“What?”

At Rothbart’s unexpected reply, Odile’s eyes widened. Unperturbed by her sensitive reaction, Rothbart answered leisurely.

“It seems my son has a fair talent for black magic. He managed to haul in two at once.”

Odile, too, had been cooperating with Rothbart, sending her blood periodically. Rothbart had first approached her, suspecting that a single demon’s blood might not be enough to summon.

This time, the fact that a male swan had also been drawn in was guessed to be because Odile’s blood, left over and congealed from the earlier experiment, had reacted. Of course, it was only a hypothesis.

“…That’s unexpected good news.”

Odile shivered as if she still couldn’t believe it. But this was Rothbart. He was a man with no need to lie. A man who could turn every word he spoke into truth… His lies were reserved only for that swan. Therefore, the words he had just spoken to her must be the truth.

Finally.

Odile couldn’t hold back her rising laughter and burst out in peals of joy. She had delayed coming to the Lohengrin estate, reluctant to swallow her pride and be dragged into Rose’s petty ploys, but now she regretted not hurrying sooner.

After a long fit of joyous trembling, Odile’s laughter slowly subsided. No matter how good the news she had longed for, the unpleasantness of being used by a mere human still lingered. There was no reason to tolerate it any longer. Odile’s lips twisted crookedly.

“By the way, how long do you plan to keep that insolent thing? One day, she will cause trouble. Now that the swan has arrived, it’s time to dispose of her…”

“I had been considering it already. Only… since her return, I’ve had no time to spare for such trifles. Hearing you say it, I see I have been negligent. It’s time I dealt with her.”

Rothbart’s dry voice spoke lightly, as if still finding it bothersome. His gaze fell to his empty teacup. He had thought he could endure longer, but she always left him parched…

Rothbart knew his patience was nearly at its end. The time was drawing near. Therefore… before that day came, it was necessary to clear away what was in the way.

That was the punishment for daring to deceive a demon. If only it had done its job properly, perhaps she could have been called sooner… Thinking of the wasted years, he had no intention of letting it die easily.