CH 49.1

The Grand Duke gradually began to give generous treatment to the young grandson, who had a brilliant mind and showed extraordinary ability. It was hard to like the face that didn’t resemble the mother, but the child’s outstanding ability softened the heart of the old Grand Duke, who had been weakened by the loss of his child. He acknowledged the child as his own and made him his successor.

However, even if Daymond belatedly attracted the Grand Duke’s attention, it was difficult to erase a rumor that had already spread through people’s mouths. Being different from others evoked awe, but also fear. So even though time had passed, the gazes and the uneasy looks in people’s eyes had never changed.

The child grew up well, except for his difficulty communicating with people and his lack of emotions. However, as the child grew up little by little, the Grand Duke realized that it was somewhat strange.

It wasn’t long before he realized that his grandson was different from ordinary people.

It was the middle of winter, the day before Daymond’s tenth birthday. As usual, fluffy snow fell from the sky to the Grand Duke Castle’s garden, and a cold, stinging wind blew.

What if his intelligent head had been a bit dull that day? If he didn’t show his genius mind beyond the teacher’s skills, if the class didn’t end early… Perhaps he could have escaped the ordeal he was about to face.

As they walked side by side through the outer corridor, explaining to the Grand Duke what he had learned, a commotion broke out out of nowhere. A terrifying roar enveloped the Grand Duke’s castle. A monster living in the Silbur Mountains entered the castle through the mountain behind the Grand Duke’s Castle.

[Protect the Grand Duke!]

Even the formally trained knights collapsed one by one in a sudden situation, and the Grand Duke’s castle soon turned into a terrible mess. And as luck would have it, Daymond and the Grand Duke met the monster head-on.

The moment the drool dripping monster with yellow fangs the size of a forearm exposed, blocked their way, the Grand Duke had a sense of death. But at that moment, his grandson who had been standing silently next to him took a step forward. He stood right in the monster’s path.

[Daymond, what are you doing?! Hurry up and run!]

Just before the shocked Grand Duke stretched out his arm to grab his grandson, the monster’s action to swing its long claws abruptly stopped. Soon, the ferocious beast, which was about to devour them at any moment, stiffened, and soon ran away.

[What did you do, Daymond?!]

The surprised Grand Duke asked, grabbing his now ten-year-old grandson’s arms and shaking them.

[I didn’t do anything.]

The child answered calmly. Like nothing happened. There was no sign of surprise when he saw the wounded and bleeding soldiers nearby.

Suddenly, the Grand Duke recalled the moment when he threatened Mariel, asking whose seed the child in her belly was from.

[How could a Lady be so careless with her behavior! Tell me who the father is. I’m going to kill him right away.]

[He is the unknown that we dare not look up to, he is the one who looks down on us everywhere. We are foolish human beings who cannot fathom his will.]

He thought that his daughter was talking nonsense to protect the man’s life, but were all the rumors true?

At that moment, the Grand Duke was seized with fear of something that was not of human domain. He let go of his grandson, who blinked his red eyes, and took a step away from him. The creepy moment when he faced the sparkling eyes of the monster’s veins suddenly began to overlap with his grandson.

From that day on, Daymond’s life changed. He suddenly went back to his unhappy and unfortunate past.

Before long, the Grand Duke was so afraid of his bloodline even if he came near. He said, ‘he’s trying to take my life’. There was only one blood relative left to protect Daymond, but instead, the Grand Duke’s paranoia was so terrible that he tried to kill his grandson.

From his mother, who left without giving him even a hint of warmth, to his maternal grandfather, who constantly tried to kill him. Now that his guardian had disappeared, what was left of Daymond were only suspicious gazes and fear-filled eyes.

The child abandoned his expectations and closed his heart. He had been alone in the vast castle from the beginning, so it was not too sad to be alone again.

The Grand Duke’s castle, where all laughter and energy had disappeared, was swallowed up by depression once more.

As time passed and the Grand Duke realized that Daymond, now an adult, was no longer aging, he shut himself in his room again. His body trembled and he even said to himself that Daymond was going to eat him, and gradually went mad.

In this situation, the Northern Territory was also devastated as the Grand Duke, who had to take care of the estate, was abandoning everything. Frightened by Daymond’s existence, the servants left one by one, and the people who abandoned the barren land continued to leave. Rumors that the Grand Duke’s family would perish sooner or later gained traction.

The Grand Duke, who had cut off communication with the world and went mad, eventually ended his life alone in his room. At that time, those who came out were vassals from Count Wald’s family.