Silence spread across the dining table after Rowan finished speaking. For several seconds no one moved, as if the entire room had forgotten how to breathe.
A moment ago the conversation had merely been tense. Now it had crossed into something none of them had expected.
Only a short while earlier they had been discussing Mia's ritual, Lucifer's awakening, and the strange events of the previous night. The discussion had been uncomfortable but still contained within the ordinary boundaries of a family dispute.
Now Rowan had placed Lucifer at the center of the disaster in the Noct Vale Highlands.
The thought hung in the air, heavy and difficult to process.
Everyone at the table was trying to make sense of what they had just heard.
Could Lucifer really be responsible for what happened there?
The events in the Highlands had shaken the western territories. Entire settlements had been thrown into chaos when monsters suddenly appeared from the surrounding wilderness. Patrol units had been mobilized. Emergency signals had been sent to the capital. Thirty-four people had died before the situation was finally brought under control.
It had been treated as a regional disaster.
And now Rowan was calmly suggesting that his own son might have been involved.
The information had arrived too quickly. No one seemed capable of organizing their thoughts.
Sebastian stared at Lucifer as if seeing him for the first time.
Ariel leaned back in her chair with her arms folded, studying Rowan and Lucifer both with narrowed eyes.
Clara looked deeply unsettled. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her, as though she were trying to steady herself while the conversation spiraled somewhere she could not follow.
Evelyn remained silent, but the faint crease in her brow revealed she was weighing every word Rowan had spoken.
None of them spoke.
At the same time, none of them dismissed Rowan's accusation either.
A man like Rowan Obsidian Valcrest did not make claims like that without reason. The Duke had built his reputation through decades of war and governance. He was not known for careless speculation.
If he had said it, then he must have had some basis for it.
Yet even knowing that, it was difficult for anyone at the table to accept the idea.
Lucifer?
The boy who had only just awakened?
The same Lucifer who had failed to manifest his bloodline for years?
Could someone like him truly have orchestrated chaos in the Noct Vale Highlands?
The contradiction left them all suspended in uncertainty.
So they waited.
Every gaze slowly returned to Lucifer.
They expected anger or at least some panic.
They expected some desperate attempt to defend himself.
Instead they found Lucifer staring back at Rowan with an expression that looked almost identical to their own.
He seemed genuinely confused, as if he truly did not understand what Rowan was talking about.
For several seconds he said nothing.
The accusation had caught him completely off guard.
Lucifer had expected suspicion eventually. Given everything that had happened during the past months, it would have been strange if Rowan had not begun investigating his disappearance and the strange timing of his awakening.
But he had never imagined Rowan would connect the dots so quickly.
Even Lucifer himself had underestimated how closely his father had been watching.
For a moment he simply stared at Rowan.
Then, unexpectedly, Lucifer began to laugh.
It wasn't a dry chuckle or a forced sound of disbelief.
It was real laughter.
The sound broke the silence of the dining hall and echoed faintly beneath the chandeliers.
Sebastian blinked, and even Clara looked startled.
Even Amelia raised an eyebrow at his suspicious behavior.
It had been a long time since anyone had heard Lucifer laugh like that.
Nox paused in the middle of chewing a piece of roasted meat, glanced up at Lucifer with mild curiosity, then continued eating.
Lucifer wiped the corner of his eye and leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Well," he said, the faint smile still lingering on his face, "you're absolutely right, Father."
He nodded calmly.
"I was the one who informed you about the Noct Vale Highlands."
The words settled quietly across the table.
Lucifer continued as though he were discussing something mundane.
"In fact, I was the one who caused all the chaos in the Highlands."
The room went silent again.
Lucifer poured himself another glass of water and drank slowly before continuing.
"Yes. I, a newly awakened E-rank with mediocre talent, apparently managed to orchestrate an entire regional disaster."
He set the glass down with deliberate care.
"Not only that," he added lightly, "I must have also summoned the monsters personally. Maybe I even commanded them, who knows."
Sebastian stared at him, unsure whether to laugh or panic.
Lucifer shrugged.
"And since we're already making accusations, we might as well continue."
His voice sharpened slightly.
"Perhaps I'm not even Lucifer."
He glanced around the table.
"Maybe the real Lucifer died months ago."
Rowan's eyes narrowed slightly at that.
For the first time since the accusation began, the Duke leaned forward just a little, studying his son's face more carefully.
Lucifer noticed the movement.
But he continued anyway.
"Maybe what's sitting here right now is just some impostor wearing his skin."
Clara's voice cut through the room immediately.
"Lucifer."
Her tone carried both warning and concern.
"Lower your voice."
Lucifer turned toward her. For a brief moment, the sharpness in his expression softened.
Then he shook his head.
"No," he said quietly.
"Let me finish."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Mother, if we're already discussing crimes I may or may not have committed, we should probably finish the list."
His eyes moved back to Rowan.
"Maybe I was responsible for the demon invasion years ago too."
He spread his hands.
"Tell me, Father. What else would you like to put on my head tonight?"
His voice hardened.
"What's next for me now? Another trial with a Sovereign?"
"Or are we skipping straight to the execution this time?"
Clara flinched.
"Lucifer..."
But Ariel spoke first.
"Enough," Ariel said calmly.
Her voice remained controlled, but there was a clear edge behind it.
"Behave yourself. This is still a family dinner."
Lucifer looked toward her.
Then he nodded slowly.
"You're right."
His gaze returned to Rowan.
"I understand the situation perfectly."
His voice steadied.
"You don't trust me."
Lucifer leaned back in his chair.
"That's fine."
Then he added quietly,
"Because as of now, I don't trust you either."
Sebastian's fork stopped halfway to his mouth.
Lucifer continued as if nothing unusual had been said.
"But disliking each other doesn't give anyone the right to accuse me of something like this."
He rested one hand against the table.
"If you truly don't want me in this family, then just say it."
His gaze moved across the table.
"I'll leave."
"I won't take anything from this house."
He paused briefly.
"Except my axe and my armour, which you people took from me."
Lucifer looked directly at Rowan again.
"They belonged to my grandfather."
"And you took them away."
The room fell silent again.
Rowan had remained silent through the entire outburst.
Only now did the Duke shift slightly in his chair.
"Have you finished?" Rowan asked calmly.
Lucifer met his gaze.
Rowan continued without raising his voice.
"The cult, for some reason, targeted you."
"You were present in the region where the disaster occurred."
"And in the end, you returned unharmed while the cult members are dead."
"And immediately afterward, you awakened despite failing to do so for years."
He folded his hands together on the table.
"I am not accusing you."
He paused briefly.
"I am simply pointing out some facts associated with this matter."
Everyone looked toward Lucifer again.
Lucifer exhaled slowly.
"Fine," he said.
"You want the story."
He leaned forward slightly.
"It's like this. When I left the estate, I spent most of my time searching for a way to awaken."
He continued explaining how, during that time, he had come across information about a forgotten legacy hidden somewhere near Noct Vale Town. According to what he had learned, an ancient powerhouse had died there centuries ago and left something behind.
Curiosity and desperation had pushed him to investigate.
"But I never entered the Noct Vale Highlands," Lucifer continued.
"I stayed in the graveyard outside Noct Vale Town."
"The ruins connected to the legacy were there."
"That's where I awakened."
He explained that the awakening had not gone smoothly. Something within the legacy had reacted violently with his bloodline, and the backlash had rendered him unconscious.
"When I woke up again," Lucifer said, "more than half a month had passed."
"I had already awakened."
"Nox was already bonded to me since his birth somehow."
The monkey briefly lifted his head before returning to chewing his food.
Lucifer continued.
"My soul was injured during the process."
"But while I was recovering, I accidentally activated a one-time broadcast array."
"I saw a glimpse of monsters breaking out of the Highlands through that runic formation."
"Despite my condition, I still contacted Rowan and several authorities to warn them about what I had seen."
"The reason I changed my voice was simple," Lucifer said.
"I didn't want anyone to know it was me."
He paused briefly.
"And I wasn't even sure the array was real."
"If it had been wrong..."
Lucifer shrugged faintly.
"I would have been blamed again."
He leaned back slowly.
"Think about it. If I had really caused the disaster, why would I warn anyone about it?"
His gaze returned to Rowan.
"What reason would I have to save the people of Noct Vale Town if I wanted them dead in the first place?"
His voice carried quiet bitterness.
"If anything, you should be thanking me."
"Instead, you're accusing me."
He paused briefly.
"If you don't believe me, send someone to the graveyard."
"There should still be traces of the ruins."
For several seconds, Rowan said nothing.
Then the Duke nodded once.
"I will investigate."
The answer came in the same calm tone he used for everything.
Something in Lucifer snapped at that deadpan response.
"I don't care whether you investigate or not," he said sharply.
"I'm not going through the same misunderstanding again."
He looked directly at Rowan.
"And I meant what I said earlier."
"I came back for my axe."
"And my armour."
Lucifer shrugged faintly.
"Don't misunderstand."
"I already have better armour now."
"The one I'm wearing saved my life yesterday when Mia nearly killed me."
"But the axe and armour my grandfather gave me..."
His voice lowered slightly.
"They belong to me."
Lucifer leaned back again.
"I've already made my decision."
His gaze swept briefly across the table before returning to Rowan.
"I'll take my things."
"And after that, if you want..."
He paused.
"...we won't have to see each other again."