Chapter 127.1

Karion stared at his right palm. On it lay something invisible to others, but it was clear before the eyes of the Blessed One.

Mysterious black pattern that filled the palm of his hand. It was engraved by Marquis De Flon when he brought him from the orphanage to De Flon Mansion.

At that time, Karion didn’t understand what this meant. After all, the Marquis said that he would simply support him and teach him magic, so Karion thought that this sign was a mark of belonging to the camp of the Marquis.

However, when Karion grew up and delved into the study of magic, he began to understand the meaning of this symbol.

These were the shackles that Marquis had placed on Karion to restrict his actions. Because of this, Karion was unable to heal himself.

But he never showed displeasure. Not being able to heal from the Marquis’s beating was a constant problem, but he was used to pain, so it didn’t matter at all.

However, when he saw Lydia crying, looking at him as if she was about to faint, for the first time these shackles seemed to him a burden.

Karion clenched his fists and shook his head to shake Lydia’s tears from his memory. But far from disappearing, her figure became more and more vivid before his eyes.

‘I forgot my place.’

Throwing a mockery at himself, he buried his face in his hands.

He always knew in his head that he can’t be greedy. He and she were different from birth. Even if they were close, it was impossible to approach her as if a transparent wall was blocking them.

Even knowing that, why does he keep on…

Karion, lost in his thoughts, suddenly raised his head at a sharp sound. The sound of the door opening was quite harsh, unlike her calm Lydia.

Lydia, who was leaving the office with her mouth covered, was startled to find Karion standing in front of her. But soon, pretending not to see him, she started walking into the room as if she was running away.

Karion’s expression didn’t change much,  but in fact he was quite embarrassed.

From the moment they first met as children, Lydia has always shown an interest in him and has been extremely kind to him. While talking to him, she always looked straight in his eyes, so Karion had to lower his head to avoid her gaze.

That was the distance between him and her. He was said to be sponsored, but he was treated worse than an ordinary servant, and Lydia was the most precious lady in his mansion.

Lydia always hated it. And whenever Karion hid from her gaze, she was looking for a new chance to build a connection.

But why was she running from him now?

Feeling uneasy for some reason, Karion impulsively grabbed her arm. It was also an impulsive act. Normally, he never touched her body carelessly.

“My lady.”

“After visiting the Carthia mansion, I am tired. I want to go to my room and rest.”

As she said that, Lydia turned her head the other way, as if deliberately avoiding his gaze.

She complained like a child that she was exhausted. But Karion wouldn’t let her go like that.

“Lady.”

“I’m really tired.”

“What did the Marquis say…”

But he couldn’t finish talking. Lydia was surprised and didn’t utter a word.

Tears flowed down, her cheeks were red and swollen, and her lips were chapped.

Whoever saw it, it was clear that she had been beaten by Marquis De Flon.

“My lady.”

“…”

“Did the Marquis touch the lady?”

The cold silence in the corridor seemed like a positive answer to his question, and Karion felt dizzy. His anger threatened to explode at any moment.

“No. It’s not like that.”

Looking at his distorted face,  Lydia quickly muttered something like an excuse, but he didn’t believe it. Karion unconsciously turned around and was about to rush into the office, but Lydia grabbed his arm and dragged him into her room.

He could have pushed it off, but Karion was helplessly dragged by her like a beast captured by her. Even though Lydia, who had no talent in the magic, would have no power to bind him, he couldn’t resist her.

When they came to Lydia’s room, his face looked even more serious than when she saw him in the dark hallway.

Obviously, the wounds on his body had already healed without a trace, but then Karion saw Lydia’s chapped lips and felt a sharp pain, as if he himself had been hurt. It was more like a dull ache in his left breast area than a pain in the body.

“Everything is fine. It’s nothing.”

He grabbed Lydia’s face as she kept trying to hide her wounds, and poured mana over it. The chapped lips and swollen cheeks healed quickly, and her original clean face returned.

Karion wiped Lydia’s red lips with a trembling finger.

A person who was always so close, but so far away that he couldn’t even touch her. Just looking at her up close, his heart fluttered. But how could Marquis De Flon dare to beat Lydia?

“Lydia should become an Empress. Only in this way will Lydia be happy. You understand?”

Karion remembered what Marquis De Flon had always told him. When he was a very young, he agreed with this statement in his heart. Lydia was the brightest person he had ever seen and he thought she deserved the highest position.

When the Marquis first told him about this, it seemed that De Flon himself sincerely believed that she could only be happy by receiving the throne. However, over time, the madness in his eyes began to grow. The symptoms were especially worse after the hunt, and instead of wishing Lydia’s happiness, he was simply obsessed with the idea of just making her an Empress.

Is Marquis De Flon really playing in favor of Lydia? If he truly loved his own daughter, he shouldn’t have touched Lydia like he did today.

Besides, when Lydia had stood before Marquis De Flon before, she trembled like a herbivore before a predator.

Is it possible that Marquis De Flon was devouring Lydia from the inside, like a parasite. And if things don’t go according to his plan, then what will Marquis De Flon do with Lydia?

Now another question has surfaced.

Will she be happy just because she becomes the Empress?

It was all for Lydia that he endured everything by Marquis De Flon’s side. He thought that all his actions were helpful to her.

However, when he heard Marquis De Flon’s orders to kidnap Yurina Carthia’s maid, Betsy, and Lydia’s words that she wanted to be friends with Yurina, he knew something was wrong.

What if his choice so far has been wrong? What if the actions of Marquis De Flon were eating Lydia alive?

“Hold my hand.”

“Then I will protect what you wanted to protect.”

Then the answer is solved.