While Daniel guarded the entrance, Ruphon Agail ran without rest.
He was scouring the lightless depths of the cave, searching for any sign of his daughter.
“Rynelle……!”
He barely managed to hold back the tears that threatened to spill, suppressing his emotions despite the sorrow of his wife’s death.
Ruphon Agail had many things to protect; he couldn’t afford to be lost in grief.
Upon hearing the news of his wife’s passing, he had initially decided against calling Rynelle home.
He thought the academy would be much safer than the mansion.
However, hiding the news of her only mother’s death from his daughter was a cruel act.
“I shouldn’t have done that.”
Even so, Rynelle shouldn’t have been brought to the mansion.
He should have called for her only after resolving the incident, even if it meant delaying his wife’s funeral.
Yet when he heard reports that his daughter was spending time with Daniel, Ruphon Agail felt a pang of jealousy.
Driven by a trivial emotion, he ended up dragging his daughter into dangerous circumstances, putting her in jeopardy.
“I really am pathetic; I can’t even bear to look at myself.”
He was relying on Daniel—the very source of his jealousy—for help now.
Standing before the vast cave with a determined resolve to choose death if he couldn’t save his daughter.
“Rynelle…!”
“Father?”
Seeing Rynelle tied to a rock, color returned to Ruphon Agail’s face.
He had secretly worried that she might leave the world just like his wife.
Fortunately, seeing his daughter unharmed made him exhale a sigh of relief.
“You’ve finally come. I’ve been waiting with bated breath.”
“…Rydan, it turns out you were the main culprit.”
“They say a rotten thing is still a thing, and you certainly are my brother. Even after looking so hideous, you still recognize me.”
“I thought you would be the only one who knew about the secret passage hidden in the mansion.”
“Oh? Did you find the secret passage in such a short time?”
“It was possible thanks to a competent ally.”
Ruphon Agail’s last remark was directed not at Rydan but at Rynelle.
Quick-witted Rynelle immediately realized who the ally her father mentioned was.
Emotions surged from deep within her, but she suppressed them.
At least until she faced him again, she intended to hold back.
“What a pity. If you had managed to sway that ally, I could have dealt with you for good.”
“Even if you tried to sway him, it would be useless. He’s here to help my daughter, not me.”
“Is that so? Then if we kill our niece, it would certainly paint an interesting picture!”
With a distorted smile, Rydan formed a knife from shadows.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he swung the knife, aiming to slice Rynelle.
“Rynelle!”
“Ugh!”
Just as the blade was about to touch Rynelle’s neck, Ruphon Agail burst forth from her shadow and reached out.
A sharp cutting sound echoed in Rynelle’s ears; she slowly opened her eyes after clenching them shut.
“Ughhh…!”
“Bahaha! What a masterpiece!”
Before Rynelle’s eyes was her father’s back, which she always knew.
However, unlike usual, his left side was empty.
His left arm, which should have been connected to his shoulder, had vanished, blood flowing profusely.
Ruphon Agail’s severed left arm lay pitifully on the pool of blood.
“Father!”
“This much is okay.”
“You’ve given up an arm just to protect your daughter? You truly have softened, you heartless brute.”
“Ugh! Hah…!”
Ruphon Agail calmly operated his shadow magic.
Drawing in the shadow of his fallen arm, he pressed it against the severed edge to stop the bleeding.
However, once his mana ran out, the magic would dissipate; it was only a temporary measure.
“While you ruthlessly killed your father and brothers, you prioritize your daughter enough to sacrifice your own arm?”
“……Rydan.”
“The one who ruined our family’s traditions and honor because he was afraid of death, and took everything from me; show no mercy!”
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“I have never feared death; I feared losing my only daughter without her ever seeing the light.”
“What are you…”
“Father?”
“The reason I resolved to kill my brothers and father was that I found out the woman I once loved was pregnant.”
Though his face bore wrinkles and signs of middle age, Ruphon Agail was barely in his early thirties.
His aging was due to the various duties and stress he had endured.
In a broader sense, he was still in his prime.
While his other brothers had neither married nor been betrothed, the youngest ended up with an unexpected pregnancy.
From Rydan’s perspective, this was shocking news.
“Rydan, considering you know my age, you should realize I am not that different from my daughter.”
“No way…!”
“Before the time of cleansing arrived, I meant to say goodbye to my wife and accept my death. Yet, she had told me she was pregnant.”
Ruphon Agail turned to gaze at Rynelle longingly.
Hearing her father’s heartfelt truth, Rynelle couldn’t hide her shock.
“My obsessively devoted wife had declared that if I died, she would follow me in death. That one phrase overwhelmed me.”
What crime had the unborn child committed to deserve to die without ever seeing the light?
Back then, Ruphon Agail repeatedly gripped his head in anguish.
“The child was the future and hope. I desperately asked my father, who had once been the head of our family, to protect the child within.”
However, his father insisted that even an unborn child should be used as nourishment for the family’s future.
A surge of humiliation welled up.
His vow to do anything for the family was severely shaken.
Ultimately, Ruphon Agail decided to prioritize the unborn child over the family.
He killed his brothers who sought to take his life and even murdered his father, who was enraged at him for going against the family’s will.
People were uninterested in the affairs of the ruling family of the underworld, and Ruphon Agail naturally ascended to become the next head of the family.
All of these events began with a single child—Rynelle.
“I have resolved to live solely for Rynelle until now.”
“Father……”
She felt a tingling sensation in her nose.
Rynelle had always believed her father despised her.
Despite her blood, sweat, and tears, he never once showed her kindness, breeding resentment and hatred within her.
But that was her grand misunderstanding.
Realizing that her father had been watching over her since the beginning, Rynelle could no longer contain her emotions.
“Then why did you ignore me?”
“I didn’t want to stain you with blood. I hoped you wouldn’t follow the traditions of Agail and wished only for you to grow up seeing beauty. Yet, I now realize my actions became a heavy burden and pain for you. I am truly sorry.”
“You fool…! You’re such a fool…!”
“I am truly sorry……”
He wanted to embrace her fiercely, but he was afraid of hugging her with hands stained by the blood of his kin.
He wanted to honestly praise her but held his tongue, fearing it would seem like he intended for her to inherit the Agail family.
He turned his gaze away, not wanting Rynelle to resemble him.
He hoped to create a different foundation so that even if he and the family disappeared, Rynelle could live happily.
Ruphon Agail was a father who loved his daughter more than anyone, despite being clumsy and foolish.
“Ruphon, regardless of your intentions, you have tarnished the family and ruined my whole life.”
“……I know.”
“I will kill you and, just as mercilessly, your daughter to become the head of the family.”
“That I cannot allow.”
“Then we have no choice but to settle it. Let’s see who among us, the family-first me and the relationship-first you, is true justice!”
“Agreed.”
The two brothers revealed their hostility toward each other.
Their shadows quickly expanded, gradually extending their territory.
In an instant, their shadows engulfed the entire cave, expanding even outside.
The man watching this scene near the entrance was laughing in disbelief.
“What the hell…?”
Here stood two great mages. The shadow magic they displayed was unlike any other, continuously brimming outwards.
Ruphon Agail’s claim that he could envelop the whole world in shadows if he became earnest wasn’t just bravado.
‘That fatherly softie isn’t completely useless after all.’
Even as darkness descended upon the world, Daniel fought hard, refusing anyone entry.
A battle was beginning that would determine the fate of the Agail family amidst Daniel’s countless efforts and dedication.
Lol so og game dude ignored her till she became a villainess and went crazy?
That’s not care, not enquiring deeply into her life despite having guards on her 24/7 is pure negligence.
Add to that mc had always emphasized that the duke doesn’t care about his daughter and he would even wed her off if it meant gaining an advantage.
This feels like an @ss pull from the author just to create an emotional arc for her and redeem her dad