CH 71

Something hot fell into the kneeling man’s hand, but it quickly cooled down due to the cold air in the room. ‘It’ stood before Ezekiel and pointed one finger after another between his eyes and then his chest.

“In the first place, your here, and here is the problem. You only saw what you wanted to see and believed what you wanted to believe. You didn’t care about anything else because you were floundering in your emotions.”

“…….”

“If you trusted your wife without doubt…… If only you would have believed her when she’d cried and told you the truth over and over again that she was innocent and erased those low, dirty feelings and nodded once…… If you had listened to her voice that said I love you rather than the voice that said you’re disgusting…….”

“Shut up.”

“……Your family of three must have been laughing and enjoying a pleasant evening out by now. Ezekiel, do you want me to tell you the future you’ve ruined?”

“Shut up! Shut up!”

Ezekiel jumped up shouting and waved his hand. He stumbled, but it was quite a fierce and fast movement. But ‘It’ continued, avoiding Ezekiel’s fist.

“If it weren’t for your stupid doubts and nonsense, Erzen would have followed you by calling you Father. Eating at one table, sleeping in one bed……. You must have been a bit upset that you lost your wife’s attention and all was poured on Erzen, but it would have been nothing compared to now. Because you would have been happy then. Because Erzen is a lovely child who looks just like your wife.”

He didn’t want to hear it, but its voice was clearer than ever. Ezekiel closed his ears.

“When Erzen grows up and calls you his father…… You would have had a little fight with your wife about your child but immediately made up. By then, you may have had more children. For example, a daughter who looks like you……. And then when Erzen grows up to be about your age and all the other kids grow up, you and your wife would have had a lot of time alone…….”

Erzen’s bright and cheerful laughter seemed to hit Ezekiel’s ears and hammered his head. It was drawn over and over and over again, even if he didn’t want to imagine it, the future that he had ruined was displayed vividly in front of his eyes.

“……Your wife would have whispered without hesitation even when she was old. ‘I love you. I was happy to have you.’… …because she’s a sweet, honest woman you’ve ruined. I’m sure I’ve said that many times.”

How beautiful Herace was whispering to him that she loves him. Ezekiel groaned in terrible pain, but he could not take his eyes off his wife’s sweet blue eyes.

“I love you, Ezekiel.”

Herace’s figure was approaching as if it was right in front of him. Ezekiel unwittingly released his hand from his face and reached out to the figure glimmering in his vision.

However, as soon as his hand reached, the figure of his wife collapsed like sand and scattered like fog. Ezekiel fell on both knees as he struggled to catch it like a madman.

“But now it’s impossible. I can’t believe you’ve ruined the future that you wanted the most…… It’s a pity just to see you like this.”

At the same time as its derision filled the narrow space, Ezekiel made a grotesque cry as if he was being scratched by hot iron. Tears were falling from his eyes.

“……why me.”

“…….”

“Why did you get attached to me! Why! Why!”

Ezekiel, who had shed tears for a long time, shook ‘It’ by the shoulder and shouted. The small body dangled back and forth under the power of the man.

“Why are you doing this to me! What did I do to you… what the hell did I do to you…….”

It was the least effort Ezekiel could make.

It was difficult for him to admit. The fact that he had ruined everything with his own hands. He had to blame anyone. Otherwise it would be hard for him to stay sane.

“Don’t blame me.”

‘It’ whispered coldly as it looked at the crying man. The yellow pupils, which did not shake even in the rough movement, changed from a pair to two. Four eyes looked down at Ezekiel.

“Ezekiel, it was you who summoned me. ‘I want to have Herace. I want to take possession of her, who could be happy with Charles’.”

Ezekiel hardened at the figure in its eyes.

He remembered the first time he had heard its voice. A tree that was like a falling shower of red leaves, under which she was about to marry his half-brother…….

“With a low inferiority complex and dirty jealousy, you constantly whispered to me to help you. You needed my help. You said to me, ‘Please remove her from my brother’s side and make her stand beside you’.”

……He hated them and cursed endlessly. May they not be happy. He eagerly looked forward to being the only one to stand by her.

“I only helped you, the child of Medea, my sister*, and you, who became my father, and are closest to me.”

[T/N: Not sure why the ‘It’ said that. More information may be released in future chapters.]

The voice asking for help was quieted. As if ‘It’ wanted him to be mute.

“You started everything. You chose it. So don’t blame me. You are to blame for this result, you’ve broken her, and killed the child.”

The sin that had been buried so far began to eat him. Ezekiel knelt down and bowed his head. He was so ashamed of himself that he didn’t want to see his face or hear anything.

***

“Erzen!”

Herace reached out with a scream. However, what caught her hand was an empty space and a terribly familiar landscape. Herace looked around the room aimlessly with trembling eyes and buried her face in both hands.

Tears soaked her palms. She wanted to get out of the misery, but reality has been attacking her more and more clearly. With a horribly distinct spirit, Herace wiped away her tears and shook her head roughly.

“No, Erzen is…… Erzen is not dead. My son is only apart. He (Ezekiel) just took him away.”

As she tried to deny reality, her mind went blank, just like her blurred vision. Herace nodded to herself as if she was sure of her evaluation. Hot tears flowed silently through the forced laughter.

“He told me that he’d send Erzen to the South. Erzen must be doing well under warm weather by now. I’ll see him in 15 years, so if I wait until then…….”

Her heart tightened when she drew the face of Erzen, who would have headed far to the South. Herace comforted herself, saying it was because the parting was too much for her. The hand clutching her chest was full of strength.

“Mom.”

But then she heard Erzen’s voice right next to her. Herace, who was shedding tears with her head down, looked up with hopeful eyes.

“Erzen!”

There was definitely a sound, but no one was next to her. Herace pulled out the blanket and hurried down the bed and paced around the room. Her urgent gesture of examining the room rattled some objects and they crashed to the floor.

A bottle of glass fell off the dressing table. The clanging sound was quite sharp, but the maid, who fell asleep in a chair in the corner of the room, did not open her eyes. The lifelessness sat on the face of the maid, who fell into the water without even breathing.

Squeak.

The silent door opened with a creepy sound and two small fingers poked out. As Herace turned to the door at the abrupt sound, the child suddenly passed through the gap. With the same black hair as the child, Herace ran to the door without hesitation.

“What, Erzen? Are you Erzen?”

White bare feet touched the cold hallway floor. The child fled all the way to the end of the corridor. Herace began to run with joy.

The body of the child, which was incomparably small, was as light and swift as a rabbit. Herace couldn’t catch up with her son, but even so, she was happy. Erzen was before her eyes. He was alive and well, which gave her hope.

“Erzen! My baby…….”

Herace passed through the hallway and reached the stairs. Erzen went down the stairs with a bouncy gesture. Herace followed him, looking at her son through a gap in the railing.

“Erzen? Where are you? Mom’s here. Where are you? Erzen!”

She turned the corner, but Erzen was gone. Herace looked around for her son. The appearance of stumbling on the stairs was unstable.

Herace, who was frantically searching for her son, stopped at the touch of something wetting her toes and looked down. Some black liquid was procrastinating and devouring her feet. Surprised, Herace quickly pulled back.

The black liquid disappeared with a blink. Herace hesitated at the sensation of her back chilling, and when she realized where she was located, she looked surprised.

“Oh….”

The place where Harace stood now was where Charlotte died, and where Erzen fell.

Herace was not in the hall when Charlotte pushed Erzen down the stairs. But the moment she saw her son, strangely, the situation at that time was clearly depicted in front of her. As if she had witnessed it in person.

Herace absent-mindedly looked at the floor. The polished floor was clean as if nothing had happened.

She raised her head again, and her gaze slowly stared straight ahead. The blue eyes passed dozens of stairs and stayed where Ezekiel held Erzen. Just below the stairs, the child was held by the man quietly, without any movement.

“Erzen….”

Herace remembered her son’s face with his eyes closed. The reality that she had been trying to erase came to her strongly.

Herace moved her steps and slipped her foot half over the stairs. And lastly, she looked back just in case.

There was no one in the dark space except her. Harace, who looked forward again, leaned forward without any hesitation.

A delicate woman fell from a dizzyingly high staircase. The steps, which had been under her feet until a while ago, were moved away by a single blink. Herace closed her eyes with a smile. Erzen was smiling at her through the dark view.

Thud!

It was quick, but a dizzying shock hit her head. Herace relaxed at the distancing consciousness. The slithering eyes and the raised corners of her mouth looked full of peace.

When red blood shone behind the black hair, something like a snake crept out of the shadow right next to the stairs and turned into the shape of a child.

Miguel bent one knee beside Herace and took the red blood with his finger and took it to his mouth. Then he murmured in a stern voice with his mouth hardened.

“You can’t do this.”

The child bit his finger and took it to Herace’s mouth. Instead of red blood, a black liquid wriggled and squeezed in between Herace’s lips.

The child, who watched blood going down her throat, bowed his head and kissed Herace’s forehead. Then he murmured in a disapproving voice.

“If you die, Father’s reaction will be worth seeing, but…… I don’t like this.”

Her face contorted in confusion before her eyes closed. The child stared at Herace and reached out again. But before he could reach Herace, commotion began from above.

“Madam! Where are you! Madam!”

In the distance, he could hear the voice of a maid looking for Herace, and the sound of several steps rang through the castle. Looking up, ‘It’ stood up with a cool face. Then ‘It’ hid again in the dark shadow.