Never Die Villain

After everything had been settled, repairs to the Northern Palace began almost immediately.

Wizards from the capital were summoned to conduct an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Aleksei’s sudden Distortion.

The phenomenon of humans Distorting was still relatively new, and proper research into its causes had only recently begun.

However, given everything Aleksei had said and done during the incident, it was safe to assume that whatever had occurred within the Karskin household had played a significant part in what eventually happened to him.

During the meeting of the family heads, the discussion initially centered on who would oversee Karskin’s territory

That matter quickly became secondary, however, as the elders began piecing together the circumstances surrounding Aleksei and the events that had apparently driven him to Distort.

"From what we’ve gathered, Aleksei seemed utterly determined to take revenge on his father under the belief that he was avenging his mother," one of the elders explained. "Then, immediately after his father died, that anger shifted toward the rest of us."

"That’s the part that makes no sense." Another elder leaned forward, his fingers tapping against the table. "If Aleksei blamed us because he believed we turned a blind eye to what happened to his mother, then there’s already a rather obvious hole in that story."

"Exactly. Tatiana’s death wasn’t caused by Karskin, and I can personally vouch for that." The elder paused before continuing. "When Tatiana died, Karskin all but neglected his territory for three years. The man was broken and could barely bring himself to govern properly, much less appear before the rest of the family, and..."

His eyes briefly moved toward Valentin.

"...."

The elder cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Regardless, the point is that Karskin was not responsible for his wife’s death."

"...."

Valentin said nothing about the obvious comparison.

"Tatiana..." another elder began, recalling the incident. "According to Karskin, she was murdered by some kind of black entity, wasn’t she? He claimed it resembled a woman and believed it to be the work of a wizard."

"That’s right."

"And nothing ever came from the investigation?"

"Nothing." The elder shook his head. "Wizards are already subjected to strict entry requirements in the North. Only those with sufficient noble backing are permitted this deep into Belozersky territory in the first place, and after Tatiana’s death, every wizard known to have been visiting the North at the time was gathered and thoroughly investigated."

"And?"

"Every single one was cleared. We even investigated their sponsors afterward, thinking one of them might have concealed something on their behalf, but that led nowhere as well."

Another elder crossed his arms.

"Then either Karskin was wrong about what he saw..."

"Or whoever killed Tatiana entered the North without our knowledge."

That possibility immediately changed the atmosphere around the table.

The North was not a place where someone simply wandered in unnoticed, much less a wizard capable of murdering the wife of a Belozersky branch head and disappearing without leaving behind enough evidence to be identified.

If Elder Karskin had truly seen what he claimed that night, then whoever had killed Tatiana had somehow entered their territory, committed the murder, and vanished without ever passing through the channels the Belozerskys controlled.

Valentin finally spoke.

"And Aleksei believed his father killed her."

"Yes."

"Why?"

That, more than anything else, was the problem.

Somewhere between Tatiana’s death and Aleksei’s Distortion, the truth of what had happened had changed.

"There is also the matter of Karskin’s youngest son," another elder said. "We questioned Yarik after the incident, and according to the boy, his father never once laid a hand on him. He couldn’t even remember Karskin raising his voice at him."

That only made the situation stranger. Karskin had been in no condition to properly care for either of his children after Tatiana’s death, leaving most of their upbringing to servants and tutors.

"Yet Aleksei seemed convinced otherwise," Volnograd muttered. "From what we heard during his Distortion, he believed he was protecting Yarik from his father. He endured everything because he thought that if he failed, his younger brother would be forced to take his place."

"Could it have been a misunderstanding?" someone suggested. "Perhaps something Karskin said was interpreted differently by Aleksei, and after years of resentment, the boy eventually convinced himself that his brother was in danger."

"If that’s the case, then what the fuck was all of it for?!"

The sudden outburst silenced the room.

One of the elders slammed his palm against the table, his composure finally breaking after hours of discussion that had only produced more contradictions.

Aleksei had nearly slaughtered his own family over grievances that, according to everything they had uncovered, did not match reality.

"He accused us of ignoring his mother’s murder when we spent years investigating it. He murdered his own father, believing that man had killed Tatiana, when Karskin himself nearly fell apart because of her death!"

His voice grew harsher with every word.

"Then he claimed he had spent his life protecting Yarik from a man who apparently never even touched the boy. None of it makes any goddamned sense!"

No one immediately argued with him.

Because individually, each contradiction could perhaps be explained away as the result of grief, childhood trauma, or years of misunderstanding. Taken together, however, they painted a far more disturbing picture.

Aleksei hadn’t simply misunderstood one thing.

His entire understanding of his childhood seemed to conflict with everyone else’s recollection of it.

Valentin remained silent at the head of the table, his fingers resting against his temple as the others continued exchanging theories. Then, after several moments, his eyes slowly narrowed.

"What if it wasn’t a misunderstanding?"

The discussion stopped.

Volnograd looked toward him. "What are you suggesting, Your Grace?"

Valentin raised his gaze. "What if Aleksei remembered exactly what someone wanted him to remember?"

"Then... some kind of manipulation?" One of the elders frowned. "Is something like that even possible with magic?"

"Remember what Ilya told us," Valentin said. "Aleksei was hearing the voice of a woman. If the same woman who murdered Tatiana somehow remained around the boy afterward, then who’s to say she didn’t curse him as well?"

"...."

Ilya had also been questioned after the incident, and his testimony had only made the circumstances surrounding Aleksei stranger.

According to him, Aleksei had repeatedly responded to a woman’s voice that no one else could hear.

That testimony gave the elders another possibility to consider.

Perhaps Aleksei’s memories had been manipulated, perhaps he had been driven mad over the years, or perhaps whatever had been speaking to him had twisted his understanding of the past until he could no longer distinguish what had actually happened from what he had been made to believe.

Unfortunately, with Aleksei dead and Elder Karskin dead, there was no immediate way to confirm any of it.

The discussion continued for quite some time after that, moving between theories about Tatiana’s murder, the unidentified woman, and the circumstances surrounding Aleksei’s Distortion.

Eventually, however, with no further evidence to work from, the elders were forced to put the matter aside and move on.

"And then there is the matter of Ilya, His Grace Valentin’s boy. What exactly are we going to do with him?"

The atmosphere changed immediately.

"This family has never produced a wizard," another elder said. "Our traditions are clear, as are the laws governing the main bloodline. The boy abandoned the sword and pursued magic in secret, so by those laws, he must be banished from the family."

Several eyes turned toward Valentin.

The elder continued. "I’m certain His Grace understands the severity of the matter and will uphold the law."

Valentin remained silent.

"But putting that aside for a moment," Morozsk interjected, "the boy did all of us a considerable favor."

No one could deny that.

Whatever their opinion of Ilya’s decision to become a wizard, everyone sitting around that table had witnessed what had happened inside the palace.

He had entered a battle against a Black-Labeled Distortion despite already being injured, fought alongside the heads of the family, and contributed directly to Aleksei’s eventual subjugation.

One elder leaned back in his chair.

"Which leaves us in a rather ridiculous position, doesn’t it?" he muttered. "By our laws, we’re supposed to punish the boy for becoming a wizard."

His eyes moved around the table.

"And by all rights, half of us should be thanking him for it."

"So, we make an exception."

Several heads immediately turned.

"An exception?" one elder repeated. "To a law this family has upheld for generations? You understand the precedent that would set."

"I understand perfectly well, but circumstances matter. The boy didn’t abandon the sword because he preferred magic. His body became incapable of using aura, and unless I’m mistaken, that left him with two choices. Remain powerless for the rest of his life or find another path."

"That doesn’t change the law."

"No, but perhaps it gives us a reason to reconsider why the law exists."

A few elders frowned at that, and the room gradually divided into arguments.

House Belozersky had built its identity around the sword for generations, and allowing a member of the main bloodline to openly walk another path was not something they could simply dismiss because the circumstances happened to be inconvenient.

Volnograd tapped his finger against the table.

"Tradition aside, there’s another problem. The boy helped subjugate a Black-Labeled Distortion, and whether we like the manner in which he did it or not, that remains a fact."

He paused before looking toward Valentin.

"Banishing him immediately afterward would be a rather strange way of repaying him."

"So gratitude now takes precedence over family law?"

"I’m saying we would look like ungrateful fools."

"You’ve never cared about looking like a fool before, Volnograd."

"Watch your mouth."

The argument was about to spiral out of control until Valentin raised one hand, and the room fell silent. He had remained quiet throughout the discussion of his son, listening as the elders debated Ilya’s fate as though the matter had nothing to do with him personally.

Finally, he spoke.

"Ilya will not be banished."

"Your Grace..."

"I am aware of our laws," Valentin said. "I am also aware that my son entered that palace already wounded and helped subjugate the Distortion. Had he obeyed those same laws and refused to pursue another path, there would have been one less person standing against Aleksei that night."

Silence followed.

One elder eventually cleared his throat.

"Then what punishment do you propose?"

"Punishment?"

"He violated family law and abandoned the sword for magic."

Valentin rested his arm against the table.

"The boy found another way to fight when the path this family gave him was no longer available. I will not banish him for refusing to remain helpless."

"Then what do you propose, Your Grace?"

Valentin was silent for a moment.

"Nothing."

Several expressions around the table immediately changed.

"Nothing?" Volnograd repeated.

"He remains a Belozersky, and he may continue studying magic if that is the path he has chosen."

Valentin looked around the table, already anticipating the objections that were about to come.

"If any of you believe that warrants exile after what happened, then say so now."

"You’re asking us to disregard centuries of tradition."

"No. I’m telling you that tradition has already failed him."

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