CH 5

Clyde grew up in human society hiding the fact that he was a half-demon.

Julion’s curse words and the constant physical pain he inflicted broke Clyde’s mind completely.

With his eyes lowered, Clyde’s long eyelashes trembled faintly.

‘He’s just a little boy.’

My heart ached to see him like that.

The truth was, all this time, I had only thought of Clyde as just a character in a novel. My attempt to rescue him was for my own survival.

But after meeting him like this, I couldn’t help but sympathize with his situation.

No matter how cruel and atrocious his actions might have been in the original story, right now Clyde is nothing more than a powerless child suffering from unjust pain.

“No? I don’t feel unpleasant at all. In fact, I think it’s amazing.”

I said cheerfully, pretending to be nonchalant.

Then Clyde looked up

“Actually, it’s quite remarkable, isn’t it? I think it’s cool.”

“…Remarkable? Cool?”

He sounded puzzled.

“Yeah. Healing abilities like that are only possessed by high-ranking priests with exceptional divine power. And even for them, it takes a lifetime of training and honing to achieve it. But you were born with it naturally, right? Of course, that’s remarkable.”

“…….”

Clyde was stunned, speechless.

He looked like he’d just heard something he’d never imagined.

“Now that I think about it, there’s still some blood in other places. Come here. I’ll wipe it off.”

“…….”

Then, with a handkerchief, I wiped the blood marks on his face and neck.

Every time I touched his face to turn it in a different direction, he tensed up slightly.

“There. All done. You look much better now.”

“…….”

“What’s wrong?”

From earlier, Clyde looked like he wanted to say something.

However, he only murmured faintly, pressing his lips together, and eventually turned his head sideways.

“…nothing.”

***

Left alone, Clyde lay upright, staring up at the low ceiling.

The space in the cage was too small.

He couldn’t even stand up straight, and the width was barely enough to stretch out his body.

Furthermore, the chains binding his limbs prevented him from getting into a comfortable position.

There was no way to feel comfortable inside this place.

Also, he was kept in darkness at all hours except when ‘the man’ was coming.

He couldn’t even tell what time it was, whether it was day or night.

It wasn’t a place where people would be locked up for even a few days.

It wouldn’t be surprising if he had gone insane a long time ago.

That is, if it weren’t for that strange girl named Ruby.

「Trust me and be patient. I’ll get you out of here, no matter how long it takes.」

At first, he honestly thought it was ridiculous.

But she came back the very next day and said she had rescued his mother.

To be honest, he didn’t fully believe in her.

Although she presented a story that only his mother would know as evidence, but thinking rationally, it didn’t guarantee his mother’s safety.

Still, he wanted to believe.

For Clyde, Ruby’s presence had been his only lifeline down into this pit of despair.

Even if everything she said was a lie, even if there was only a terrible betrayal waiting for him later, he couldn’t help but hold on to it now.

That’s how sweet the hope Ruby had given him felt.

Besides, she said she didn’t find Clyde’s constitution unpleasant.

She even said she admired his abilities. He never thought of it that way before in his life.

Even his mother, the one person in the world he truly trusted, tried to hide the part of him that was different from everyone else.

She kept him locked up in the house, trying to keep him out of sight.

‘And yet, she was….’

He remembered Ruby’s eyes lighting up as she said, “That’s remarkable. I think it’s cool.”

He couldn’t imagine that look being a lie.

No, he didn’t want to imagine it.

Looking at his reflection in her eyes, he didn’t feel like a monster.

He didn’t have to be a monster.

「There. All done. You look much better now.」

He felt his cheeks heat up again as he remembered her wiping his face and smiling at him.

‘I wish I had said thank you.’

Her face isn’t that bad to look at either.

Her platinum hair, as beautiful as moonlight, and her normal blue eyes that were so different from his.

She was a lovely girl with a genuine smile that matched her face perfectly.

Clyde slowly turned to his side.

The chains binding his limbs made a clunking sound

‘I should definitely thank her when she comes next time.’

Thank her for saving his mother.

For giving him hope.

For not making him feel like a monster.

He already owed so much to Ruby.

And yet, when he tried to thank her, he couldn’t seem to get the words out.

‘…Next time, I’ll definitely say it.’

Clyde vowed to himself and closed his eyes.

***

“You’re going on a business trip?”

I asked back without realizing it.

“Uh, yeah. To Helchios for a week or so.”

My father, Julian Rojasis, spoke in a monotonous tone.

“When are you leaving?”

A week was more than enough time to find and decipher the release formula in my father’s workshop and get Clyde out.

Of course, I wouldn’t know exactly what that would look like, but it was clear that there wouldn’t be a better opportunity in the near future than this.

I lowered my head and tried to suppress my excitement.

“What’s wrong? Are you lonely to hear that dad is going somewhere?”

Nita asked. It seemed like I was overdoing the act of being calm.

“Oh yeah. A little. He’s never been gone that long before.”

“It’s an important matter that even the chief mage has to attend to, so there’s no choice.”

“Of course it’s probably important since father, the chief mage of the Imperial Palace, has to go there personally. I’m fine. I’ll wait patiently.”

I said with a bright smile.

Unlike Nita, who looked at me with a look of pride on his face, my father, Julion, barely changed his expression.

Despite having four grown children, he looked ten years younger than his original age. He was the epitome of a stoic and cold-hearted handsome man, and rumors circulated that he still captivates the hearts of many women in the palace.

Nevertheless, he had been celibate for over a decade after the death of his wife. Though my father was distant, I never doubted his affection for us. His overprotectiveness was evident to the point of suffocating.

He controlled our outings so strictly that I had no memories of ever going outside the mansion until a few years ago. Unlike my brothers, I wasn’t sent to an academy, and my father personally taught me magic. As a result, I had very few opportunities to make friends.

But I understood why my father was so concerned about my safety.

It was because of my mother, Chestina, who died shortly after I was born.

She was killed by a demon. In a way I can’t even begin to describe.

It was revenge for the demon who held a grudge against my father, Julion, for the destruction of his clan.

「Now you know a little bit about how I felt back then. 」

The demon was said to be laughing endlessly, even as he was being burned to death.