My Villains Episode 264
51. The Truth Farewell (6)
After putting the sleeping Ellen on the bed, I returned to the room and saw someone sitting alone at the table.
Turning over the bookshelves without a word, with an expressionless face, was a beauty with long hair, black like the night sky, hanging over one shoulder.
The last night’s cool breeze shakes the windows and makes a noise, but the space she occupies is extremely quiet.
The atmosphere… well, with a little exaggeration, it’s like a virgin ghost. If someone you don’t know sees it, it will be creepy.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time I’ve been through this, so I scratched my neck for a while and sat down on the bed.
“…Read a book?”
“O” Heh.
The brazen late-night visitor, Heila, answered succinctly without even looking at her. I feel like I’m going to laugh
at the confident attitude as if it’s my room .
For the past few months, Heila has been my main focus.
With menacing power, he slaughtered the troops standing in Longville, captured Atalanta and El Renn, and even held them hostage, so it was only natural to pay attention.
To begin with, that vigilant observation changed my impression of her a lot.
The anger or hatred that Phoenix possessed also faded considerably.
Heila, who was considered a dangerous psychopath, was not so dangerous and did not seem like a psychopath.
It was my guess that her apathetic appearance was not a manifestation of a genetic disorder, but merely learned mimicry.
So, if you remove the prejudice caused by the expressionless face and the cold atmosphere, Heila was just an ordinary girl. A bit of a cynical temperament.
Usually, she went around so hard that I wondered where the hell she was shooting like that.
Visit the place where the king’s riders were stationed, such as the merchant building or the association office, to get information like they would at home, or visit the lodgings where subordinate mercenaries stay to check on things, or take one-eyed Simos or heavy soldier Dervish to the market to get goods or hear news from other provinces through travelers passing through the city gates.
Even after wandering around like that, when it’s meal time, she always returns to the guild hall and shows her face. They didn’t have a special conversation, but after eating at the same table, they sat near me for a while and then disappeared somewhere.
Occasionally, on days when I didn’t spend much time with me, he would come to me before going to sleep, and I would go back to my room after idling around for thirty minutes to an hour.
I thought of a cat roaming the countryside from Heila’s appearance.
A brazen cat who walks around her territory with her tail standing upright, and when she gets hungry, she visits the generous grandfather who was appointed as the butler without my knowledge and cries. A cat that pretends to be arrogant, but cries out when you reach out and pet it.
“……Hmm.”
Holding back the laughter that was about to escape my lips, I silently observed Heyla.
The warm light from four or five candles brushed her features and cast a deep shadow. Even while half of her white face is dyed in a warm scarlet color, her red lips are clear by herself.
If you are idly appreciating the figure that draws attention, the night goes deep. Then Heila closed the bookshelf and said, ‘I’ll go. Good night,’ I whispered and went back to my room. That’s a normal
finish… but
it doesn’t seem like today.
blink blink
Heila, who had covered the bookshelf, was staring at me. I could read my hesitation in the flickering of the slow beat.
“…why? Do you have something to say?”
WO ” “〒
She replied as if she had waited, then paused again before opening her mouth.
“La-Palace Palace. I’d rather not go.”
“…what are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“I’d rather not go to the palace.”
It’s an unexpected word, so my eyebrows narrow without even realizing it.
“Well, I don’t understand why you say that?”
“Why do you have to go to the palace?”
“…It’s only been a few days since I’ve been struggling against the pursuers from the palace. If we don’t go and solve the problem, more wizards will come after us in the future.”
“All I have to do is go to Ellen. You won’t help solve the problem.”
As befits her determined tone, Heila’s gaze toward me did not waver.
“Why do you think so?”
Scared to finish the question, she gave an answer as if she had been waiting.
“First, your status matters.”
first? not one?
“…my identity?”
“You are from the Duke of Zaharkar.”
Heila continued with her usual tone of voice.
“Black hair and eyes, a magnificent body, and excellent martial arts and blood vessels. These are elements that will remind anyone who sees them of Zahakar or Baluin.”
“That’s it, you can just hide it like before.”
“It’s not that easy. Even here, hundreds of kilometers away from Ireland, there are people who doubt your identity.”
“…what? who?”
“It’s a story from Baron Grief’s military camp. They must be suspicious that Prince Ulkar may have teamed up with Eiland.”
Black hair and black eyes are quite rare in this world. Hans taller than 190cm are much rarer than that, and even rarer are bloodmagers powerful enough to apply bloodspelling in combat. So, it was only natural to see the huge blood knight with black hair and black eyes and think of Zahakar and Baluin, the origins of blood manipulation.
Fortunately, I pretended to be a commoner mercenary in South Harbor. It was when he received a manor and a knighthood from Prince Ulkar that he gained fame as a warring kingdom. For that reason, no one seems to have noticed that I am related to the Duke of Ireland… at least until now.
But it’s already been half a year since I made a name for myself. It was natural for people to question my identity.
“Besides, Tirin Mel is an island attached to Ireland. The old wizards in the palace will recognize our blood relatives at a glance.”
w O uh” —
“The Palace of La Palais is a group with such a high degree of independence that even formal new arrivals to the king are considered humiliating. If you recklessly set foot in a place like that, Ellen will be misunderstood.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“The misunderstanding that outside forces were brought in to cleanse sins or to fight for power. It will be a big burden for Ellen, who has to gather supporters.”
I guess it makes sense.
As I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed, Heila explained the second reason.
“The School of Elements strictly forbids its members from fighting among themselves. It is often outside the palace that this rule is not followed, but inside the palace it is different. It means there is no need to fight.”
“…It’s probably like that among the members. But maybe Ellen can’t clear her name, right?”
“Ellen has a noble lineage, excellent magical powers, and witnesses. If Radakalin’s descendant returns after a year and uses mighty magic, the grand masters of the palace will try to find out the truth, even if it means splitting Saitz’s head off. They may use forbidden methods.”
“If by any chance things go wrong,”
“you have to rule out that possibility.”
“Exclusion?”
“If seven grandmasters and forty masters and three hundred battle mages were our enemies, we wouldn’t be able to defeat them even if all of us crossed over.”
I am speechless. Heila’s words spilled over the back of her hand that wiped her face.
“If you go to the palace, Ellen will only lose politically and it will not help her self-confidence. Besides, if you leave, the rest of the party will lose their focus and scatter. Seteniora Monastery will have to be abandoned.”
“Prince Ulkar-”
“If Prince Ulkar withdraws, the Elector Counts of the Empire will trample the west. There’s no way the prince doesn’t know that, so he won’t be able to send meaningful troops to the monastery.”
what’s up You’re saying there’s no benefit and you’re going to see a lot of losses?
I scratched my eyebrows and said with a sigh.
“okay. I understand everything you said.”
“Then—”
“But,”
Hela paused, blinking quickly as if she had guessed my answer.
“I am going.”
“….. Why?”
“Ellen is only seventeen years old. I will be eighteen in a month.”
“It’s the same as being an adult whether you’re seventeen or eighteen. The age at which one can legitimately be conscripted, get married and start a new household, and make vows to become monks or nuns.”
“Adults… yes, that’s right.”
He wet his dry lips and shook his head.
“But those are normal kids. Ellen has been confined to the palace for seventeen years. Is that all? No parents, no teachers, no friends. Not a reliable relative, but a wildcat-like uncle trying to bite his neck.”
“It is a fate that came early, a price for a life that has passed, and a responsibility given to the lineage. Ellen has to handle it alone.” “Who decides that?” He erased his cynicism with a deep sigh and continued.
“I don’t care what you say. I just want to protect Ellen.”
“I want to cheer you up even if I can’t give you practical help when you’re struggling to live by yourself. She comforted her when she was about to collapse, hugged her when she was sad…
Heila watched quietly as her words faded.
He let out his breath, which had been drawn deep into his chest, and poured out his heart.
“You won’t be able to handle it alone.”
“Ellen needs me.”
Blink, blink, blink…
The eye blinks, which had a rapid rhythm, gradually faded in silence and finally stopped.
Heila was making a face I had never seen before. The eyebrows were slightly pulled, the brow was finely dented, and the corners of the closed mouth twitched slightly. When I looked into the eyes that seemed to have stopped, they were trembling slightly.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The red lips, which had been moving silently as if they were pulsing in water, soon closed again.
Heila sighed for a moment as if to catch her breath. and said bluntly
“This is love.”
It was a bit too short to say the words after a long silence. I pondered the words for a moment, then nodded.
“that’s right.”
Flash. In the blink of an eye after a long time, Haila regained her usual face. An expressionless face.
“That won’t help either.”
“…what?”
“Yes… love will hurt Ellen.”
what kind of bullshit is this
Gradually, heat rose to the crown of my head, and as I was brushing my hair, Heila continued to speak softly.
“You are a descendant of the Blood King.”
“…Why is the Blood King suddenly appearing?”
“It must have been very similar. I can feel it through your blood.”
Heila didn’t care if I made a hard face or not.
“It is because of that that I felt superior while killing people, that I drank blood and shuddered with joy, and that I wandered the streets at night trembling with hunger.”
“…What are you talking about?”
Suddenly, the watery black eyes shone darkly. A twisted desire that he had once glimpsed was burning inside him.
I came to understand her as if I had been struck by lightning. Phoenix’s memories and the facts he learned from observing her were intertwined like wefts and warps.
“It’s close to impossible to fully understand and accept the Blood King’s blood.”
Clever Heyla noticed at an early age that she was different from her kindred. As a child, she decided that exposing her mutation would not help her survive. So, according to the family tradition, he imitated the emotionlessness.
In the process, young Heila failed to understand the difference between emotions and needs. The oppression of desire that started from that continued to this day.
“I can do it.”
And the more you suppress your desire, the more ferocious and bizarre it becomes.
“Because I am a descendant of the Blood King like you.”
I was at a loss for words at the madness I felt there in the charred burning eyes.
“It’s not Ellen. Your love will hurt Ellen. No, it’s already hurting you.”
“…Stop the bullshit.” “Ellen should have left. I won’t understand or accept you. it’s too late now You are stained with the blood of the Blood King.”
“Stop shut up.”
“Ellen is not an innocent girl who needs your protection. A battle mage who can burn dozens of people to death with a single spell and pierce their throats with a single gesture.”
“Please!”
I jumped up and tried to hit the table where Heila was sitting with my fist, then took a deep breath. And he said it like a command.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Ellen killed bandits, monsters, and enemies targeting us. If even killing such people is a sin and corruption, then all the people in this world-” “
There are people who aren’t.”
“-what?”
The conversation, which had been raised in volume, stopped in an instant.
“What did you just say?”
Unlike usual, Heila, who was slightly uplifted as if she was drunk, closed her mouth and blinked her eyes slowly.
“say. what do you mean by that?”
“…everyone”
“everyone?”
“Not everyone was the enemy. There were also innocent people.”
I swallowed my breath at the unknown ominous feeling. He wanted to get rid of Heila like this, but the story had already begun.
In a calm tone, she told me a terrible story I didn’t know about that happened in South Harbor.
I couldn’t close my eyes or cover my ears. All I could do was to backtrack and sit back on the bed.
“Why are you doing this now-”
“Because I understand Ellen.”
“Ellen?”
WO ” Heh.
Heila had a feminine expression. At first glance, her eyes looked like those of an ignorant child.
“Send Ellen to the palace.”
However, deep beneath the eyes, twisted desires were full. Also, the newly sprouted emotions were slowly spreading out.
“Before we harm him.”
The last night, a cool breeze shook the windows.
