#94
“You must have many questions.”
I quietly answered yes to the Duke’s words. The Duke glanced briefly at the sword in his hand before extending it to me again. I accepted the sword from him with a bewildered expression.
“I can’t keep it secret any longer. I told him to explain the details to you himself. I thought that would be more appropriate.”
[…Sigh, that’s right. After everything that’s happened, I can’t keep it from you anymore.]
My heart began to pound rapidly. I couldn’t guess what the sword was about to say. Yet I felt that whatever he was about to tell me would change my life.
[Andelion, if I told you that I’m… one of your parents… would you believe me?]
His words echoed throughout my mind. It was like an echo spreading to distant places, eventually staying within a vast space, reflecting back and forth. I blinked slowly, trying to process what the sword had just told me.
So to summarize what I’ve learned so far… The Duke is my father. And it seems the Duke has known the sword. The sword isn’t just a sword but appears to be a demon who was imprisoned in the temple. I don’t know how he ended up in the sword, but due to some incident, he was trapped inside it.
And if the sword is one of my parents, then that means…
“No, but…”
The demon in the temple was clearly male. No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t appear female—had I seen wrong? Amid my confusion, the sword called out to me again with a slightly trembling voice.
[Yes. I am a demon, and you are the son born to Zahar and me.]
Now I could truly accept that this world I’m in is completely different from the original work. I’ve never heard of this setting before. Even after going through the first playthrough, second playthrough, and reaching the true ending, I never encountered this storyline.
I froze in place without saying a word. The Duke’s stern face seemed to falter slightly. Since I couldn’t just shout that this was nonsense, I nodded.
“I see.”
It was fortunate that my voice didn’t tremble as I gave that brief response.
[Are you surprised?]
Of course I was surprised. I never imagined I’d be a character with a secret birth straight out of a drama. Certainly, the sword had been affectionate toward me from our first meeting. Not only that, but he had also been vigilant about my every move, trying to protect me in case anything went wrong.
I couldn’t understand why the sword cared for me so much, but now I seemed to know the reason.
Because I was the sword’s son.
[I didn’t plan to tell you so suddenly… I thought I’d wait until you were older…]
“Until I was older? Just how long were you planning to hide this?”
Emotions welled up at the sword’s words, and before I knew it, I raised my voice. Even I didn’t understand this sudden change in my emotions.
As soon as I heard the sword say he had planned to tell me later, I recalled how I had been scolding myself for wanting to trust him. I kept reminding myself that this was a demon sword, that he might betray me at any moment. If these events hadn’t occurred, I would still be tormented by the thought that the sword might stab me someday.
When my thoughts reached that point, I began to understand a little of the emotions raging inside me that had been incomprehensible until just now. I simply wanted to throw a tantrum.
When one of your parents is a demon, how could anyone easily tell that to their son? Moreover, one of them was hailed as a hero who had slain demons. And to make matters worse, the demon my father had slain was my other parent. If I had been the sword or the Duke, I wouldn’t have been able to tell me easily either.
[I was going to tell you soon. Really. I didn’t want it to happen this way, but…]
Lately, I’d been getting excited without knowing why. I took a deep breath, calming the emotions that had suddenly risen.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blame you.”
[No, you can blame me all you want.]
“Come now, you two can sort out your old feelings later. It’s getting late, and Young Master Andelion should get some rest.”
“Yes, how about we continue this detailed conversation tomorrow morning?”
I needed time to process what I’d just heard. As I nodded and was about to leave, I suddenly remembered Ramtel whom we’d met in the temple basement. He had said there was something different about me. Did that mean he knew my secret? Or did he have some special means to discover secrets?
Just as I was about to open my mouth to say this, the Duke lightly patted my shoulder. Though his gesture was awkward, he was trying to comfort me.
“It’s not too late to talk about it tomorrow morning. Don’t worry and get some rest.”
He had been the man I trusted least, but now he seemed like the most reliable ally in the world. It was truly surprising how my assessment of him had changed so completely. I bowed my head to him and handed the sword back. It seemed right to return it to him since they probably had much to catch up on.
Just as I was about to open the door and leave, I turned slightly. And in an incredibly awkward voice, I said:
“Good night.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I fled from embarrassment that rose to the tips of my hair.
* * *
I thought I’d have troubled dreams, but perhaps because the day had been so long, I fell asleep as soon as I lay on the bed. I slowly rose from my bed, lifting my heavy eyelids. According to our plan, Persis and Rikin were supposed to visit the mansion soon. Although my body felt heavy, I didn’t want to sleep any longer when the two might be in trouble.
I walked around the room a few times, but the lingering drowsiness that followed my footsteps wouldn’t go away. It seemed I would need to wash my face with cold water. Kara would soon knock on the door with cold water, but I couldn’t wait any longer.
With a long yawn, I opened the door to leave the room, and immediately let out a small scream in surprise. Standing in front of the door with a stern face was Yutis.
“Are you alright?”
Yutis’s face looked dark, as if he hadn’t slept well. I felt concerned that his distress seemed to be all because of me. I told him I was fine and asked if he had slept well. He gave a perfunctory answer and checked if I had any injuries.
It was understandable that Yutis would be worried since I had suddenly disappeared from the Duke’s mansion. Still, I thought he would have gone to school to wait, not stayed at the mansion until now. I should have visited Yutis briefly last night.
Just as the Duke and the sword were different from the original work, Yutis wasn’t the Yutis I knew either. Yutis following me with a worried face—I never would have imagined this.
In the end, Yutis continued to follow me as I went to wash my face. Though it felt excessive, I couldn’t stop him.
When I finished washing, Kara came to greet me, somehow knowing I was awake.
“So you were here.”
“Ah, yes. Is Father awake?”
“Yes. He’s waiting for you.”
He was already waiting. After a quick stop at my room to change clothes, I headed to the Duke’s office with Kara. I had already sent word to the school that I would be absent due to family matters. Yutis decided to go to school first and wait there. He seemed reluctant to leave, but appeared satisfied having confirmed I was safe.
As Kara and I stood in front of the office, I recalled what the sword had said yesterday. It was truly shocking. To think that the sword was one of my parents. How should I face him? In truth, not everything was resolved yet. The sword’s body was still in the temple. Who knows what might be happening to him there, even at this moment.
Ramtel seemed to be conducting various experiments using the sword’s body. It appeared he could detect the sword’s location and use some of his power through those research achievements.
There was no time to hesitate here. I opened the door and entered. As soon as I stepped inside, someone who had been waiting embraced me tightly. Startled, I looked at the person holding me.
“Ana!”
“Persis.”
I was surprised by his unexpected appearance. We had agreed to meet here, but I hadn’t expected him to be here so early in the morning. For a moment, he overlapped with the young Persis who used to rush over at dawn because he missed me during the night. Back then, I would lecture him about the various virtues a prince should have, saying he shouldn’t behave this way… But now, seeing Persis’s face early in the morning filled me with joy.
I was so relieved. Rikin, who came with Persis, also appeared unharmed. Seeing their faces, I could finally feel at ease.
[Will you let go already? Can’t you see Andelion is tired?]
The sword’s sharp voice pierced my ears. Only then did I notice the Duke waiting inside. In his hand was the sword I had returned last night.
Unable to withstand the Duke’s silent glare, Persis took a step back from me. Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I found myself unconsciously watching the Duke’s reaction.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
