Chapter 475: When Family Becomes a Burden

When Family Becomes a Burden

Victor folded his arms.

Then his eyes shifted toward Kite.

"How about your uncle and his men? Aren’t you going to defend them?"

The question was directed at Evelyne.

But its effect on Kite was immediate.

His face tightened.

For a moment, he said nothing. His gaze slowly moved toward his niece.

There was worry in his eyes.

And beneath that worry was expectation.

Kite remembered the Evelyne he had known before.

The gentle girl.

His little niece who had always cared deeply about her family. The girl who could not bear to see one of her relatives suffer, even when they were clearly in the wrong.

If this had happened before, Kite was certain Evelyne would have tried everything she could to save him.

She would have pleaded with Victor.

She might have stepped between them.

She might even have been willing to put herself in danger just to protect her uncle.

That was the Evelyne he remembered.

But the young woman standing before him now was different.

She had changed.

And somewhere in his heart, Kite already knew what her answer would be.

Evelyne did not raise her head.

She continued staring at the ground.

"Based on what you said, Master, my uncle was the one in the wrong for protecting such trash."

Her voice was quiet.

Calm.

Almost painfully calm.

"He deserves whatever punishment you decide to give him."

Kite’s heart sank.

Evelyne continued before he could even process her words.

"Also, Master, if you decided to annihilate my entire clan, even if I fought alongside my family and our men, our chances of winning would be nonexistent."

She paused.

Her fingers tightened slightly against the fabric of her clothes.

"With that knowledge, protecting my uncle from you is not possible."

Silence followed.

Kite stared at her.

He had hoped she would save him.

Even if she could not defeat Victor, he had hoped she would at least speak for him.

That small hope had been the only thing keeping his heart from completely collapsing.

Instead, Evelyne had calmly accepted the possibility that Victor might punish him.

There was no hatred in her voice.

There was no satisfaction, either.

She wasn’t trying to hurt him.

She wasn’t trying to prove her loyalty to Victor.

She was simply stating what she believed to be the truth.

Her uncle had made his choice.

And she would not pretend that his choice had been right simply because they shared the same blood.

Kite’s fingers trembled against the ground.

For the first time, he truly understood how much Evelyne had changed.

It wasn’t simply that she had become stronger.

It wasn’t merely that she had grown more powerful under Victor.

Something much deeper had changed inside her.

The values she once held so tightly had shifted.

Her understanding of loyalty had changed.

And perhaps most importantly, the person she now placed her trust in was no longer her family.

It was Victor.

Kite lowered his gaze.

A bitter feeling spread through his chest.

He couldn’t even bring himself to blame her.

What could he say?

That she should protect him because they were related?

That family should always come first?

He had once believed those things himself.

But after seeing Victor’s strength, after witnessing everything that had happened, even Kite knew how meaningless those words sounded now.

Victor was standing right there.

If he truly wanted to destroy their entire clan, what could they do?

Nothing.

Kite had finally understood the difference between having the courage to resist and simply throwing one’s life away.

Victor watched Evelyne quietly.

Her answer had surprised him.

He had expected her to defend her family.

Even if she understood that Kite had acted wrongly, family bonds were not something ordinary people could simply throw aside.

Victor knew that better than most.

There had been a time when such things meant very little to him.

Family.

Friendship.

Loyalty.

Affection.

They had all seemed like weaknesses people used to chain themselves to others.

If one of his own subordinates had made a foolish decision, Victor would have dealt with them without hesitation.

There would have been no room for sentiment.

No excuses.

No second thoughts.

But he wasn’t that person anymore.

Living as a human had changed him in ways he had never expected.

He had begun to understand people.

Not completely.

Probably not even close.

But enough to realize that relationships were rarely simple.

Family could make people do foolish things.

Love could make someone abandon their principles.

Loyalty could make a person protect someone who didn’t deserve protection.

And sometimes, people destroyed themselves while believing they were saving the people they cared about.

Victor’s gaze remained on Evelyne.

Something about her answer bothered him.

Not because she was wrong.

In fact, her reasoning was perfectly sound.

What bothered him was how calm she had been.

There had been no hesitation.

No struggle.

Not even a flicker of uncertainty.

She had accepted her uncle’s fate almost immediately.

Victor studied her for another moment.

Then he finally spoke.

"Aren’t you curious about why your uncle was protecting the young master of an opposing family?"

Victor’s voice became quieter.

He did want to punish Kite for obstructing him.

That much was true.

But Evelyne’s complete indifference toward the possibility of losing a family member was strange.

Victor studied her carefully.

Was this really the Evelyne he knew?

Or was there something deeper beneath that calm expression?

Kite’s face became tense.

He knew exactly what Victor was asking.

Evelyne, however, remained kneeling.

"I’m not really curious about that, Master, since it’s obvious what my uncle was planning to do."

Her voice remained steady.

"He should’ve already formed an oral agreement with the head of the Valiers, and promised to offer my sister’s hand in marriage to the Earl’s worthless son."

Kite’s pupils contracted.

His breathing stopped for a moment.

Evelyne had seen through him.

She had not been told.

She had not needed to be.

She simply understood the situation.

"My uncle must’ve thought that allying with the Valiers was the only option we had left to survive what’s to come."

Evelyne’s fingers slowly curled against the stone.

Although her voice remained calm, the faint tension in her hands betrayed the emotion she was trying to suppress.

"Obviously, he wouldn’t tell me any of this until the last moment."

She paused.

Then her tone became colder.

"He must’ve thought to trick my sister into marrying that pig of the Valiers, telling her it’s all for the family’s best interest."