Chapter 78: Unhealed Wound

Chapter 78: Unhealed Wound

The day after finishing the Subjugation Festival and on their way home.

My head hurts.

Shiron, with a large backpack strapped to his back, groaned in pain. The boy, with his arms, crossed and a grimace on his face seemed to be undergoing tremendous torment.

After responding to the Emperors invitation, dealing with the witch that threatened his righteousness, and overlooking the murderous intent from Lucia, it seemed like he had overcome each crisis one after the other. However, the last crisis remained unresolved.

Siriel Prient.

The existence of the girl, which he had carefully placed in the pocket of his heart, began to emerge like a sharp nail.

Shell be angry, wont she? She must be furious. She must have shed tears wondering why he took Lucia, who is the same age as her, but left her behind

Ah

Shiron sighed deeply.

Predicting how his young sister must have been heartbroken was easier than eating a cake. It was like there were mountains beyond mountains, and now he was facing a new crisis.

It would be difficult to be hated by Siriel now.

The efforts Shiron made to win Siriels heart were countless. Whenever there was something to be praised, he would put candy in her mouth and play with her every day to keep her from getting bored. Sometimes, they would read not-so-funny fairy tale books together on the garden bench.

While it might seem like a trivial matter to play with a little child, each act was a step toward gaining Siriels complete trust.

Good friends and family that was what it was all about. Even if the relationship was not good, as time went by and they spent more time together, affection, or Jeong (), took its place in the heart. Even if Siriel became rebellious as she grew up, she might do him a favor or two, remembering the good old days when they played together.

So, it was necessary to avoid Siriels hatred, but bringing her to the Subjugation Festival was a different story.

Even though the knights were guarding the tent like an iron wall, Ailee Suarez succeeded in breaking through the guards and attacking Shiron in a bizarre way. Lucia was fine even after the witchs attack because she was Lucia. If Siriel had been attacked, he didnt even want to imagine what kind of danger she would have faced.

However, Shiron had neither the means to explain the situation to Siriel nor the ability to make her understand.

Even if one understood in their head, feelings of disappointment could linger in the heart, and that was human nature.

But Shiron knew the best way to minimize the hatred. He decided to use a somewhat materialistic method.

What would Siriel like

Shiron had been wandering around the duty-free store for a while now. Arwen Station, despite being a solitary building in the middle of a vast grassland, was a large station with a top floor that exceeded 90 meters, so it naturally had duty-free stores.

Hugo, who often left home on business trips, would shower Eldrina with gifts. Shiron got the idea from him.

I think shell like whatever we buy.

Lucia, who had been following Shiron quietly, muttered to herself. She didnt know what they were doing since the crack of dawn, but Lucia also moved her heavy footsteps because she was curious about what gift Shiron would choose.

But there were limits.

Lucia looked at the clock on the corridor wall.

[11:20 AM]

The train leaves in thirty minutes. We should decide soon.

Shiron decided to look for another opportunity.

At that moment, at Arwen Plateau Stations Square.

It was about time for lunch, but Malleus Garibaldi had not slept or eaten since yesterday.

Malleus was not the type to undertake ascetic practices without compensation, but since yesterday, he had been personally treating those injured from the punitive expeditions.

The task should have been completed long ago, but due to overlapping reports on witch hunts and schedules, the work still showed no signs of ending.

Some questioned why Malleus, the leader of the Steel Knights, personally took action. However, the patients he was responsible for were such that only Malleus, capable of handling the archbishop-level sacred laws, could treat them.

Youve come again this year without fail.

Excuse me for my rudeness.

Lets take a look at the wound.

Dexter Dras smiled brightly at Malleus, revealing his teeth missing in several places.

Malleus concentrated his mind and activated the sacred law. Holy light emanated from his hand, healing the wound.

Then, something miraculous happened.

Crunch-

Like seeds sprouting new shoots in spring, teeth began to grow from the gums.

Uh

Dexter fiddled with his mouth a few times, then looked at his face in the mirror. Not only the missing teeth but also the slightly shaky ones were all neatly healed.

However, Dexter felt a little disappointed.

As expected, it hasnt recovered.

Im sorry

He received sacred law treatment to regrow lost teeth, but his face, which seemed to have been crushed, did not heal. The deep, scar-ridden face was a significant complex for Dexter. He knew it himself. His face was not just difficult to look at; it was disfigured to the point of being abhorrent and avoidable

Its terrible every time I see it

Dexter looked at the monster reflected in the mirror. His face, which could only be described as a monster, was so distorted that he felt nauseated just looking at it.

Because of these terrible scars, Dexter could not properly face his only child. The child who smiled at his hideous face was only Shiron Prient.

Well, thank you for your efforts.

Brother, thank you for your efforts as well.

Dexter placed a pouch full of gold coins on the table and turned to leave. His retreating figure was a familiar sight to many high-ranking clergy, including Malleus.

Even receiving healing sacred law from a cardinal-like figure could not fix his wounds, which always puzzled Malleus.

However, it was not that he hadnt asked him before. In the past, he had asked Dexter several times where he had gotten such scars and survived. But Dexter had always remained silent.

Whenever clergy tried to ask about his scars, Dexter would cast a dark shadow over his face and hastily leave the place.