I don’t think I’ve ever truly considered him my father.
At some point, I started to avoid conversations with him and didn’t want to face him.
While I’ve spoken to him in this life, seeing him like this feels new.
It’s hard to believe that a person who always insisted on maintaining a noble facade is now drinking cheap liquor.
As I smirked, I felt a gaze fixated on me.
“How did you know to come here?”
“I already knew. Isn’t it more unusual not to know?”
In this bizarre family where we monitor and control each other, such a conversation is actually quite natural.
It was only natural for my information to be leaking out.
Does my father even realize? That this abnormal reality, unfolding as if it’s the norm, is actually strange?
The liquor spills from the tilted bottle and fills the glass.
As the refreshing sound of pouring breaks the calm, my father’s eyes narrow as he moistens his lips.
He’s probably trying to guess why I came here.
Though he’ll find out the reason soon enough, I decided to get to the point a bit faster.
“I believe you are aware of what Yuria has been up to lately.”
He is already the head of the family.
He must have experienced enough internal strife to be weary of it, and hurting family has always been his way since he was young.
Rather than being unaware of what Yuria is doing, he’s likely just pretending not to know.
Because that’s Taylor for you. This damned family would kill even their own parents if necessary.
Meeting my gaze, my father gave a faint nod.
“I knew you were trying to kill me.”
“Did you play dumb even though you knew?”
“I didn’t think you’d die, so I didn’t say much. You still can’t let go of that weak mindset, can you?”
I chuckled at his words about a weak mindset.
In the past, I always felt a strong urge to refute such claims.
Maybe it was a rebellious spirit. I did things to prove I wasn’t weak.
No one remembers those moments now, but do I really need to act like that again?
“It’s not easy to let go.”
“You’ve always been like that. It doesn’t suit you, Taylor.”
“Isn’t it because I take after Mother?”
As I filled my empty glass, my father’s hand froze at my words.
His hand remained stiff in midair before descending, revealing the glass he placed down with a thud.
On top of it were his cold eyes, staring at me.
My father reacted just the same way when I mentioned Mother.
Yuria must be the strange one then. It’s certainly true that the existence of a mother has significance.
I don’t know if my father loved her.
It was more of a political marriage, and all I know is that she died when I was young after giving birth to me and Yuria.
Did he mourn her? I can’t even say. He was a person who never displayed any of his emotions.
I’ve never been directly killed by my father in my entire life.
However, it was true that his attitude was consistent.
He didn’t really react to my dying; he just maintained a stance of indifference and consent towards everything.
“…If you’re planning to change the subject with meaningless chatter, stop it. You didn’t come to discuss your position as the head of the family, after all.”
“Is that so? I thought I should speak directly, just in case you didn’t know. What a relief.”
“You’ve come back from the North with some attitude. Are you copying the Grand Duke’s personality as well?”
“I just thought that if it’s necessary, one should learn good things.”
The drink sliding down my throat was hot. I wasn’t particularly fond of drinking.
But in a situation like this, not drinking felt like it would suffocate me for no good reason.
It was always like that when I talked to my father.
I didn’t feel the same tension or pressure as before, but the memories were just coming back to me now.
I recalled how my father’s gaze, as he looked at me dying, seemed almost pitying before he turned away.
…Well, I don’t really care that much. It’s true that I have no fond feelings for either Father or Yuria.
That’s why I came here. In the end, I had come to use my father.
If I wanted to engage in a fight worthy of the name Taylor, I had to change my mindset from the very beginning.
“The North, the South, and the Imperial Family.”
I spread my fingers and continued to speak.
It wasn’t about asking for some judgment on the support I had gained.
It was to signal that my father’s era was coming to an end.
Originally, the head of House Taylor would have a direct role in this, but my father’s time was slowly fading.
The Ducal Residence had already been organized by Yuria, and I had the support I could claim externally.
What my father held was just the title of head of the family.
Did he understand my meaning? The frown on his face revealed he was slightly amused.
“So you want me to give you the position of head of the family? You’ve become quite cheeky since hiding from Yuria. Asking the head of the family for the title—it’s something Yuria hasn’t even done yet.”
“I’m not asking. It’s a position I’ll take anyway, so why would I need to ask? I’m not foolish enough to not know that the most important thing is to obtain it legitimately.”
“Then what brings you all the way here to see me?”
“To give you a warning. By tomorrow, you might not be the head of the family anymore.”
I know Yuria’s movements have paused for now.
She probably knows that I’ve been to the palace, so she’ll likely start acting soon.
Despite the nobles spreading strange rumors, I had gone to the palace.
The fact that nothing happened means the Imperial Family trusts me.
I’m thinking about what kind of action Yuria might take.
It would likely be something extreme, signaling the start of this battle for the head of the family.
It was an act that signaled the start of this family head competition, leaning towards an extreme direction.
Today, I sought out my father for that reason.
If not today, we might not even have a chance to talk, so I resolved it as a final farewell.
Now, I gaze at the old man with hair turning gray.
I’m sure Father is now aware of it.
If he has even a little thought, he would quickly realize that Yuria is now targeting his neck.
“You know Yuria has twisted, right?”
“…I know.”
“I came to warn you. Since we don’t know what Yuria might do, it might be better to be more cautious. And I wanted to share my thoughts with you as well.”
My thoughts. It could be said that they are the complete opposite of the beliefs Father has upheld all his life.
A subtle peculiarity appeared in his eyes as he stared at me for a moment.
In the spreading calm, the sound of wine being poured filled the air again. After a moment of ongoing silence, Father finally spoke.
“You’ve always acted contrary to my thoughts. Are you planning to do so again? Have you forgotten what I’ve emphasized countless times?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Are you rebelling at that age? It seems you don’t realize how pathetic your thoughts are. Do you really think the Taylor family will maintain its current state forever with such notions?”
“What do you mean by ‘current state’?”
A smile slipped from the twisted corners of my mouth.
‘Current state’ didn’t just mean the standing of the Taylor family.
Is it right for family members to kill each other in pursuit of higher ground?
Is it right to wield a knife against even my own parents if needed?
I couldn’t understand. Those who couldn’t figure this out were all dead now, yet it was clear that it was wrong.
“I’m not rebelling. I’m simply trying to do what I think is right.”
“You’re wrong.”
“No, it’s you who’s wrong.”
The gaze I met was cold.
It had always been eyes I feared and avoided, yet now, I felt not even a trace of fear.
Those frozen blue eyes, like Yuria’s, seemed utterly ridiculous.
It felt like the words of an old man stubbornly clinging to what was wrong.
What was it that I feared? There was nothing to be afraid of.
It was merely the past me who had been scared, and I quietly smiled at those glaring eyes.
“I hope you don’t die. Please live long so that you can witness me becoming the head of the family.”
“……”
“Then you’ll be able to see me destroy what you built.”
The traditions you established, the countless cruel acts and customs carried out under the name of tradition.
Taylor no longer needed traditions or family rules.
What I endured at Yuria’s hands would not repeat itself.
The future I envisioned was distinctly different from the Taylor I’d seen across a hundred lives.
It was different.
And at that end, if you were to see Taylor collapsing under the name of betrayal…
What would you say to me? I had hoped you would live a long and healthy life.
Because you did nothing to me, I thought I wouldn’t do anything either.
Nothing at all.
I wouldn’t act in any way, so couldn’t you just watch?
The sound of my father slamming his hand on the table made his eyes narrow.
With rage, his trembling hand turned pale.
“…You have crossed the line, Robert Taylor.”
“It can’t be turned back now. Even if you catch me and lock me away, the tide has already begun.”
That’s how the flow is.
Like waves whose origin cannot be traced, it rushes in like a torrent and sweeps people away.
The end of a man’s life, who cherished the name Taylor more than family and lived solely for the lineage, was such a matter.
It was already a predestined event; even if I hadn’t declared I would become the head of the family.
Wasn’t his doom set the moment I granted Yuria the position of Lady of the House?
I had seen this enough times in a hundred lives.
What changes, however, is that Taylor, which he had built for a lifetime, would crumble at my hands.
“So now, let’s rest. This matter is already beyond your control.”
The seal I received from the North was on my chest.
The divine power given to me by the Saint was dwelling in my body, and the artifact from the Imperial Family given by Miragen was tucked in my bosom.
As long as those powers were supporting me, even if time drags on, generations will eventually change.
Renold would act even at this time, and meeting with my father was merely to say a final farewell.
My father, glaring at me, subtly moved his lips.
“Do you know what it is you are trying to do right now?”
“Of course.”
I knew better than anyone what I was about to do.
It probably wasn’t the answer he wanted. No matter how much you ponder, you would never understand my actions.
I didn’t want to be understood by you, who wanted to crush the traditions built over hundreds of years.
I poured a drink to the brim, raising the precarious cup that sloshed.
And then I quietly opened my mouth, directed at my father.
“I am inheriting the position of Head of the Family, Father.”
The alcohol flowing down my throat was no longer hot.
Rather, my whole body felt frozen, trembling with a chill.
Breathing out cold air, I smiled faintly at my father, who gazed at me blankly.
Being the head of the family meant nothing to me.
That was all there was to it.
I was merely trying to become the head of the family, but would I appear to you as a villain intent on destruction?
The last image of my father I held in my eyes was pitiable.
More so than any moment I could recall.
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