CH 10

“Take your time eating. I won’t take it from you.”

“Sigh, you won’t even taste the flavor if you eat it that quickly.”

“Not true.”

“Did it taste good?”

“Well, um… considering it was your first attempt.”

Seeing Clyde’s satisfied expression, I smirked.

“So, are we reconciled now?”

“I wasn’t mad at you in the first place….”

Clyde muttered in a low voice.

Even after devouring an entire pie, he didn’t show any signs of discomfort.

While I had worried that bringing so much food might be excessive, such concerns seemed pointless now.

In the end, Clyde finished everything I brought.

“Man, you never cease to amaze me…. Doesn’t it make you feel bloated?”

“Not at all.”

“Should I bring more next time?”

“If you bring more, I can eat more.”

“Then we’ll need a bigger basket than this one.”

“It’s fine.”

“Suddenly?”

“If you bring a bigger one, it might be heavy to carry.”

“It’s fine. I can cast a lightweight spell.”

At my words, Clyde was silent for a moment.

Clyde’s expression momentarily showed disbelief.

“I’m serious.” I said, looking him in the eye.

“…Yeah, let’s go with that….”

“Because it’s true. Are there any other possible reasons?”

Clyde frowned.

“I understand. Don’t come too close. It’s dangerous.”

“Huh? What?”

With a mischievous look on my face, I questioned, leaning my head closer to the bar. Then I pulled it back and forth, repeating the action.

“Hey, I told you not to do that.”

Clyde frowned and warned me. I chuckled.

At that moment, my mana sensed something.

On my way to meet Clyde every day, I had placed disposable barriers at the entrance to the underground room and in front of the secret door leading to the lab. These spells would notify me immediately if someone entered while I was in the lab.

“What’s wrong?”

Clyde asked anxiously when I turned around and didn’t move.

“Someone is coming.”

“What? Who?”

Soon I could feel the figure reaching the secret door.

I hurriedly shoved the cloth into the basket.

“I’ll hide for a while.”

“What? Where…”

“Di Alas Celuma. Das Albioru!”

I recited the invisible spell.

I extinguished the magical light and quickly distanced myself from him.

Shortly after, I heard the sound of the door opening near the entrance to the lab. Light gradually illuminated the walls, one by one, as if it were broad daylight.

Footsteps grew closer, and the intruder was revealed.

It was my father, Julion.

He staggered over and glared at Clyde, who was pretending to sleep.

Judging by his slightly flushed face and bloodshot eyes, he was quite drunk.

I’d never seen him like this before. He never showed a disheveled appearance in front of others.

“Don’t put on a show. I know you’re not sleeping.”

Even though I knew he wasn’t looking at me, the words sent chills down my spine.

His voice was filled with intense hatred and chilling coldness.

“….”

At father’s words, Clyde slowly rose to his feet.

He glared at Julion, his eyes filled with hostility.

“What were you doing just now?”

“What could I be doing? In this palm-sized cage where I can’t even stand straight?”

Father strode briskly over to the cage where Clyde was being held.

He touched it lightly, checking the seal.

Despite appearing intoxicated, his skill was impeccably precise.

Perhaps after confirming that the seal was intact, Father began to slowly look around.

While Father’s gaze swept around, our eyes met.

Even though I knew I was invisible, it felt like my breath was caught in my throat.

“….”

Father stared intently at my surroundings with narrowed eyes before shifting his gaze towards me.

The sound of my pounding heart echoed in my ears.

‘Has he spotted me? That can’t be right. Unless he’s using some sort of detection spell, there’s no way-‘

“What are you doing right now?”

Clyde asked, raising his voice.

He sounded bored, but I noticed a slight tremor at the end of it.

“You came down here in the middle of the night, waking me up, and now you’re trying to find something that makes no sense?”

“….”

“Don’t waste my time on pointless questions. Just be honest. After all, you came to torment me, didn’t you? So, what excuse are you trying to come up with now?”

Finally, my father turned back to Clyde.

“What did you say?”

“I told you to be honest. You pervert.”

Clyde maintained a calm gaze as he looked up at Father.

As Father quietly recited an incantation, a small flame emerged above his right hand. In the next moment, the fire shot towards Clyde like an arrow and struck him directly.

“AAAAAAARGH!”

Clyde let out an ear-splitting scream. He fell to the ground, his entire body covered in flames.

Father’s eyes gleamed.

Clyde didn’t cease his provocation, his voice laced with cold mockery.

“I see you weren’t satisfied with your daytime harassment,” he said with a cold sneer. “How restless must your body have been to wake up in the middle of the night and come searching for me? Why don’t you go ahead and have your way with me, drooling all over me like you always do? You know I can’t escape anyway.”

Unconsciously, I swallowed hard.

Clyde was obviously provoking my father on purpose. To get his attention, to make sure I didn’t get caught.

Father stared down at Clyde with a chilling gaze. Suddenly, his drunken demeanor seemed to fade away.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll give it to you.”

A band of blue runes appeared in his left hand.

With a swift motion, he swung his hand, and the iron-barred window that confined Clyde made a clanking sound as it opened.

“I’ve been meaning to test your regenerative limits anyway.”

Father’s voice dripped with satisfaction. The horrible smell of burning flesh wafted around me.

Unconsciously, I covered my mouth and sank to the ground, trembling all over.

“Ugh… Aaargh, kuaaah!”

“You burn quite well.”

Father murmured in a sinister voice.

“A normal human would have been burned to a crisp at this point, but you’re still regenerating your body in the midst of this, that’s amazing.”

“Hah, kuaaaaah….”

The flames that clung to Clyde’s body had significantly subsided.

Father was right. Despite chunks of melted skin falling off, Clyde’s body was constantly regenerating, with new flesh sprouting in various places in real time.

“Excellent. Truly excellent… you monster.”

“…”

Clyde snapped his head up and glared at Julion.

Father recited another incantation and threw another fireball.

“Aaaargh!”

Clyde’s body was engulfed in flames again.

The urge to scream “Enough!” rose up in his throat. The sensation of warm blood seeping into his mouth was palpable, a result of biting his lips too hard.

It was a shockingly gruesome sight.

I knew it all along.

That Julion Rojasis, designed as a villain in the original story is the main instigator providing the catalyst for the destruction of the Palma Empire.

I knew that Julion conducted inhumane experiments and tortured Clyde in every cruel way imaginable.

And yet, in the thirteen years I lived as Julion’s daughter, I managed to forget.

Because I knew that even though my father was a man of few words and bluntness, he loved me deeply, and I knew that the way he looked at me sometimes was very tender.

I never imagined that he would do something so horrible to a child my age.

“Why don’t you taunt me with your arrogant remarks again? Oh, is your tongue burned, and you can’t speak?”