Chapter 54

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Devan Lantimos became blind overnight. He was ten years old.

Everyone said it was the expected result.

It was only natural that Astrilla was chosen as the successor, and that Devan was blind. They regarded the curse upon him as divine providence.

It was said that God had blinded him because his mother committed infidelity and gave birth to a child she should not have had.

Devan’s red eyes were evidence of infidelity, a trace that should disappear.

Devan was crowned by the emperor.

The title of Grand Duke seemed plausible only from the looks of it. He was kicked out to the outskirts, which was embarrassing even to be called a territory.

Still, he had no complaints. Maybe he didn’t even know it was bad.

The world of darkness where nothing could be seen was hellish and dark, but at the same time it was warm.

He couldn’t see, but that also meant that others couldn’t see his eyes.

Devan liked the black cloth that covered his red eyes.

There was a prophecy that the curse could be lifted, but he didn’t even think about finding it.

It was because he thought that it was not so bad to just breathe and live like this. That was until he was seventeen, he heard giggles of laughter around him. He had a strange ability. He was starting to see a little bit ahead.

Then, strangely, greed began to develop.

By nature, human beings covet the things that are likely to be reached at any moment rather than those that will never reach them.

He wanted to see ahead. He missed the scenery he had taken for granted.

Why me? Why me?

He had such a resentment.

For some time he resented his mother, the emperor, the empress, and Astrilla. For a time he resented the gods, temple, and high priests, and for some time he resented his existence and his d*mn fate.

He wanted to be freed from the curse.

What does all color mean? If he could see ahead, he seemed to be able to love even his red eyes. 

He started looking for the protagonist of the prophecy.

[The young goddess of the sun, who embraces the fragrance of daisies, will break your curse.]

So he found Evelyn.

But after that, nothing went as expected.

Devan collapsed, and a year later came to his senses, and Evelyn had escaped somewhere. The curse was lifted, but his right eye was dim, and a disgusting black creature was wriggling.

The goddess of fate said that the black existence in his eye and the giggles that had haunted him for years were the same, and the temple, they controlled demons by using a mysterious power called black magic.

Then, his younger sister who became the Crown Princess said that she would destroy the current emperor and the temple.

Devan thought it all boils down to one action. The temple must be destroyed. So he had to get what he wanted. Devan didn’t want much.

He didn’t want the throne, as everyone babbled, he didn’t want great power or great wealth.

It wasn’t the color he didn’t have that he wanted. It wasn’t the golden eyes. What he wanted was a life where no one would hate him.

No one, including himself.

***

I looked at Devan Lantimos’ tousled, dark hair that covered his eyebrows and his beautiful red eyes.

“…… It was you.”

Large veins popped up on Devan’s large hand as he gripped the railing of the terrace tightly, and his enlarged eyes were red.

I looked into Devan’s eyes.

Suddenly, I remembered the child from before. Black hair, red eyes, and a slightly sharp impression.

“It was your childhood.”

“……Are you sure?”

I licked my lips.

Am I sure? I couldn’t say anything. Because I didn’t know about  Devan’s childhood.

This was just an intuition. He changed the question as if he noticed that too.

“Why? Why did he look like my childhood?”

I shook my head. This was also not a question I could answer.

Devon covered my eyes with one hand.

“Is it related to me? That being?” (Devan)

“Honestly, I don’t know anything. Maybe, for no reason.”

“No reason?”

“It could be to tease us. How do they know what we’re thinking? Last time it said it doesn’t like boring things. Have you ever had anything to do with daisy flowers when you were a kid?” (Evelyn)

“… none. Except for that prophecy, never.” (Devan)

I recalled the boy I saw a few hours ago. I didn’t know that even a small thing could be a clue. 

“That child…There was dirt on his clothes. It looked luxurious… I thought it didn’t fit.” (Evelyn)

Despite my stuttering words, Devan waited without urging.

“It must be a commoner child. He was wearing black pants, but it seemed a little old-fashioned.” (Evelyn)

“And?”

“He took the daisy flower out of his back pocket. It was almost unrecognizable. It looked like it was stepped on.” (Evelyn)

“The flower from the back pocket that looked like it had been trampled on?” (Devan)

It wasn’t meant to be a big deal. It was a word I was throwing openly, even though I knew it would be of no use.

But at that point, Devan’s expression hardened.

“Do you have something to point out?” (Evelyn)

“… … I had that experience when I was young.” (Devan)

“An experience…”  (Evelyn)

“I put the flower in my back pocket. It was trampled on. But, it wasn’t a daisy flower.” (Devan)

“Maybe I misunderstood? He was very young. He looked less than ten years old…” (Evelyn)

“I was eight years old. The flower I had was red. I remembered it clearly.” (Devan)

I kept my mouth shut because he sounded very sure. Seeing that he was so confident in his experience when he was only eight, I had no idea it was something important.

“Do you know what happened at that time?” (Devan)

Devan muttered.

“What do you mean?” (Evelyn)

“… No, it’s fine. You don’t have to worry about it.” (Devan)

Devan rubbed his face harshly with one hand. He looked confused.

What would a child have to pick up flowers for? If it was a gift, who was it intended for?

Devan said as if to change the subject.

“More than that, one thing has become clear that it can change its shape at will.” 

“Is it going to stop appearing in Hilda’s form?”

“I don’t know. Appearing in the form of a child this time could be just a warning.”

“Warning? A warning about what?”

“Warning not to dig further.”

I opened my eyes brightly. Because I now remembered what the child said to me.

“The boy said something!” (Evelyn)

“What?” (Devan)

“I forgot. Why, why did I forget?” (Evelyn)

It was absurd to even think about it myself.

I remembered everything clearly, but why didn’t remember that one word?

“He may have manipulated your memory. It wasn’t the first time that happened. What else did he say?” (Devan)

“Be careful….” (Evelyn)

“What?” (Devan)

I remembered that playful voice.

“He told me to be careful. It was very clear!” (Evelyn)

“Be careful…?”

“It was not just a warning. He might not mean don’t dig further, it’s…it sounded like he wanted to help us.” (Evelyn)

Devan’s thoughts seemed a little different from mine. His lips twisted.

“Help? You’re going through bad memories.”

“Last time and this time…… . Something is strange. I think it’s a little different from what we think.” (Evelyn)

“Did you have feelings for it? You’re siding with it as well this time around.”

“I’m not taking sides…” (Evelyn)

He bit his lips tightly.

When we were about to die by the demons from the temple, that was the thing that saved us.

What if it wants to help us again this time?

The high priests clenched their teeth by attaching absurd and poor grounds, and denounced their existence as black magic.

The temple was regarded as sacred, and the black magic was defined as harm. This fact had been overlooked so far.

Temple was not a good group that received the grace of God, as people knew.

They abused children and robbed them of their powers.

Wasn’t it the exact opposite of what was known to the public? So what about black magic?

Rather, the good side is….My chest went up and down sharply.

Looking at Devan, I spoke slowly.

“I feel like it’s leading us.” 

“Leading?”

“Because of that existence, because of its power, I escaped from the Grand Duchy. That power made your right eye blurry, and that’s why you came to me. There, it helped us when we were in danger, and this time even gave us a warning….”

“You mean it’s playing with us?”

“That’s not it. That’s not it….

I bit my lower lip as if crushing it. Yeah, it’s not…

“There is something else it wants. It’s leading us to that.”

“What it wants… … .”

Devan turned and leaned his back against the railing.

He raised his head and looked up, and slowly closed his eyes. His Adam’s apple moved up and down.

“If it’s leading us, I think there’s only one thing it wants.”

Devan’s eyelids fluttered up, red eyes turned to me, and I nodded as I met his eyes.

“Yes, what it wants is…”

“To destroy the temple.”