Chapter 53

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The commander said to the hesitant soldier as if he was frustrated. 

“Hey, what do you mean there aren’t monsters around here?”

“……Yes?”

“If you don’t go right now, they can invade this place. In the end, it is your duty to protect the country to destroy the demons.”

Feeling that there was no more time to delay, the commander hurriedly took the lead.

One soldier followed him, and the one who hesitated until the end had no choice but to step away.

Devan stuck his head out and looked at the door that was covered with an insignia.

There was nobody there.

It must have all been done by Pelos and Karen.

Devan wondered how the hell they were going to handle the aftermath, but that wasn’t important.

Soon the maid of the empress’s palace will arrive.

Now was the chance. Devan ran quickly to the door.

Click- Then he carefully opened the door.

The room was very large and shiny. In the middle was a cradle that looked exactly like gold.

There must be Astrilla in it. Devan slowly walked towards it.

The cradle was far too high. Even when he stood on tiptoe, he could only see a few strands of her red hair.

He came all the way here, and he couldn’t go without seeing her face.

Devan picked up a few large books from a nearby bookshelf and stacked them high by the cradle.

Then, holding the edge of the cradle, he narrowly climbed onto the books. Finally, He saw Astrilla’s face. Devan’s expression brightened. She seemed to be asleep. Her long, burning red hair was scattered on the pillow.

Devan reached out and tried to touch her, but saw his hands full of dirt and stopped. Picking flowers, climbing trees, and crossing walls, it was natural that it was dirty.

Instead, he carefully took out the flower he had placed in his back pocket.

Whoosh— He blew out the dirt that might have been buried in the flower. Devan paused as he was about to put it next to her.

The child he saw in person looked smaller and weaker than he thought.

What if there is something dirty on it? What if it adversely affects the child? Devan looked at the flower and Astrilla alternately. It was then.

Creak!

“….… Princess!”

Suddenly the door opened and a scream was heard. She was the maid of the Empress Palace who said she would soon come.

Devan, startled, quickly turned his head and looked towards the door.

Because of that, he lost his balance, and his body staggered and fell over the cradle with the baby.

“Astrilla!”

Unfortunately, the maid wasn’t the only one in the room.

A woman with bright red hair waving from her chest and wearing an overly glamorous dress strode towards the cradle.

She was Astrilla’s mother, Devan’s father’s wife, and the empress of this country.

“Astrilla!”

The Empress approached the cradle with her bright red hair fluttering, and hugged Astrilla tightly.

“Baby! Are you okay?”

Astrilla woke up from the noise and blinked blankly. She didn’t cry, she didn’t frown.

However, the empress’s eyebrows furrowed.

Her sharp gaze turned to Devan.

Devan barely lifted his upper body from the cradle.

The books stacked high had already collapsed. He was barely holding out with his arms over the cradle.

It was difficult to get down from the high cradle without help.

But the Empress did not seem to want to help him, and the maid was busy watching her expression.

“Why did you come here?”

Even though she said ‘you’, the Empress was dignified.

It didn’t seem like a question to be answered. It was closer to a scold than that. Devan licked his lips a few times. The arms holding the cradle started to numb. He took a deep breath, staring at the flat floor seen through the fallen books.

He grabbed the cradle with one arm and gave strength to his thighs.

However, it was difficult to land while avoiding books scattered here and there in an uncomfortable position.

Devan eventually stepped on the back of a large book and slipped down. His ankle was bent in a strange shape. Devan frowned, holding back his groan. While watching him, the empress’s eyes did not blink. Instead, she took a step back, hugging Astrilla tighter. As if to protect her.

As if in front of her was not an eight-year-old boy with a sprained ankle, but a terrible monster.

“How the hell did you get here?”

“Oh, I want to see the baby…… .”

Enduring the pain, Devan murmured with his head bowed.

It was less than five times including today that he saw the Empress in person.

So it was only natural that neither the bright red hair nor the scary eyes he could adapt.

“…… If you want to see the baby, go through the formal process.”

Nonsense.

Devan could not meet anyone in the Imperial Palace at his will, and she knew that.

Biting her red lips, the Empress stared at Devan.

She really seemed to think he was trying to do harm to Astrilla.

Her wary eyes turned to Devan, then to the fallen books, and then to the cradle.

To be precise, it was the red flower that had been crushed by the weight of Devan’s fall and had lost its appearance.

“That….”

Something similar to expectations appeared on Devan’s face.

“To give it to Astrilla….!”

However, the empress’s expression hardened even more.

As she beckoned, the maid carefully picked up the flower from the cradle and handed it over.

“What the hell were you trying to do?”

The hand of the empress holding the flower trembled.

“Are you going to kill her?”

“What….?”

“Among all that, the red flower.”

Devan swallowed the dry saliva.

What’s wrong with red flowers? As far as he knew, there was no such law.

There must have been some misunderstanding. It had to be.

“Because flowers bloomed in the garden…..I thought it was the same color as Astrilla’s hair….”

The Empress dropped the flower on the floor as if it were dirty.

“In this country, when you cast a curse, you use flowers of the same color as the person’s hair.”

“…I…What do you mean?”

“That’s why not even a single red flower blooms in the imperial palace. But you said you brought it from the garden? What kind of life have you been living that you lie easily like that?”

She was sarcastic.

Only then did Devan find out why there was only one red flower in the corner of the garden.

The garden of the detached palace was managed by only one old butler. Because of this, he must have not seen the flower seeds that flew in and sprouted.

Devan turned pale.

To put a curse on a person with the same kind of flower as their hair color. Devan had never heard of such a thing.

“I didn’t know…I just thought it would look good on her.”

“When giving a blessing, use the same color as your pupils, and when giving a curse, use the same color as your hair. No matter how low the status of a person, there is no one who is unaware of the curse that descends upon the Empire. Even a child.”

Devan bit his lips.

The Empress did not seem to want to believe his story.

“Let’s go.”

As if she didn’t want to hear any excuses, she quickly turned around.

The maid opened the door, and the Empress left the room without hesitation, embracing Astrilla dearly.

The red flower was mercilessly trampled under her feet.

Devan raised his helplessly trembling hand as if to catch her.

The Empress, who had left the room halfway, turned her head slightly.

She murmured, looking disgustedly at Devan, who still had his head down.

It was a little too loud to say that she was speaking to herself.

“Red eyes that look just like his mother….”

Suddenly, Devan raised his head, and at that moment the door slammed shut.

Now that was all that was left of this large, empty room.

The large cradle was empty and Devan was alone.

He blankly walked towards the window. The window that filled one side was taller than his height. Slowly, he placed his hand on the window. The glass he touched was cold enough to make him shiver.

Devan blinked blankly.

The red eyes that everyone said were disgusting blinked and blinked. It appeared and disappeared, appeared and disappeared repeatedly.

Red eyes.

Among the heirs of the emperor, Devan was the only one who did not have any golden light in his eyes. When Devan was born, the palace was buzzing with unhealthy rumors.

They suspected that Devan’s mother had done something unclean. The blood of the imperial family did not mix, but Devan had red eyes. The fact that his mother died shortly after giving birth to him was enough to ignite a growing suspicion. 

He may not be the emperor’s child. It was an instant that the rumors became true.

Above all, there was no one to refute, so the rumors spread unhindered. 

Devan’s mother was an orphan with only a nominal title.

Seeing only her beauty, it was a national marriage that the emperor enforced. Such origins and backgrounds were enough to strengthen the rumors.

Is it really true?

Devan stared blankly at his reflection in the window, then glided down and sat on the floor.

His ankle, which had been throbbing the whole time, was in unbearable pain.

He wanted to dig out his eyes. If not, he wanted to hide it. He wanted to close his eyes forever.

His eyes looked exceptionally red today.

Devan’s gaze fell randomly and headed for the trampled red flower. It was so messed up that the form could not be recognized. Trying to reach over there, he closed his eyes instead.

Many things ran through his mind.

He thought about the future.

The Empress will tell the Emperor what happened today. He will be despised even more than he is now, and he will be imprisoned in the separate palace.

Maybe he’ll get kicked out.

Everyone wanted Astrilla.

If Astrila was the center of the circle, then he was the periphery of the circle.

No one wanted him.

Devan breathed like a sigh. There was white steam on the windowsill.

Golden eyes, the color of nothing. That was all eight-year-old Devan wanted.