#71
Even before the regression, their direct interference with the Archduke had been a relatively late development. He was someone they never dared to touch. A being who seemed devoid of emotion, always standing one step aside. Trapping such an Archduke in an illusion prison had been a great gamble, and because that gamble succeeded, the half-demons’ tactics began to change.
The things they had directly undertaken in the early stages were limited to directly harming the Crown Prince.
And even that was carried out cautiously in corners away from public attention. Without rumors, without evidence. Everything was passed off as “things everyone knew but didn’t speak of.” Perhaps that’s why the current offensive seemed excessively conspicuous. I kept feeling that something had gone wrong.
‘Before the regression, I thought Sercil being a fairy was what triggered the half-demons to move actively.’
I had been certain of it. I thought that wouldn’t waver. I believed that from the moment Sercil’s identity was discovered, the half-demons began moving in earnest. But—
Maybe that wasn’t it.
Sercil’s identity hadn’t changed, but the timing of their movements was different. I had become conspicuous first, I had become their target first. And Sercil still hadn’t been discovered for anything. This was definitely a shift in the flow.
So after enduring their offensive secretly for several days while pondering the result.
They continued sending new forms of curses every night. As if they didn’t know I was pretending to be unaffected and enduring, they judged it ineffective and gradually increased the intensity. When the mana flowing beneath my skin reached the point of actually shaking my will, I reached a conclusion.
My conclusion was this:
‘The Gray Treasure. That’s the only thing it could be.’
Eris’s final legacy, and the core of the myth that half-demons had endlessly pursued since the past. That one word I had let slip. At the time, it was just to change the atmosphere. I thought I could shake things up with just the clue that I was “looking for that treasure.” But did that one word collapse all the balance beneath their surface?
I knew from the original work’s information that this treasure was precious to them.
A legendary artifact known to be rare, irreproducible, and responsive only to pure demon bloodlines. The half-demons called it the “Shield of Pure Blood.”
But in the original work, there weren’t many scenes of half-demons openly seeking the Gray Treasure, and those who wanted it were limited to a few high-ranking officials, so I hadn’t properly understood its weight.
But from the moment I spoke that name, everything changed.
‘What if the half-demons’ restraints were released because of my words about that treasure?’
Come to think of it, fairies could also be considered the same clan from the half-demons’ perspective.
Demons were, strictly speaking, a general term for otherworldly souls in this world…
…What if I made another mistake?
“Your Highness. Are you alright?”
“Hm? Why?”
What if that’s what it was?
“…It’s nothing. Just drink it…”
I pretended nothing was wrong and cheerfully finished the soup.
* * *
Having left Ersen’s quarters and come straight to the Crown Prince, Skyle was silently observing Theodore’s serious expression.
The room was quiet. Because the window was open, the wind faintly pushed the curtains and lightly rustled the edges of documents on the desk. But even such everyday movements felt strange in this place right now. Theodore sat with his mouth closed, rolling a pen with his fingertips. His gaze seemed to bore through something, but in reality, he looked like someone who couldn’t find a place to rest his eyes.
Theodore, who seemed to be enjoying life as the detoxification was almost complete, would create such serious situations whenever you’d almost forget about them.
Just when his body became comfortable and a sense of relief settled in, this silence would invariably burst forth. The serious expression, vacant gaze, and lips that looked tired despite not matching the rest. Skyle watched such Theodore and didn’t bother to speak first.
“…About what we discussed before.”
After a brief pause, Theodore spoke. The hesitation at the end of his words lingered briefly. It was somehow a soft voice.
“Yes.”
Skyle answered in a calm voice. Neither as if he had been waiting nor as if he was surprised. Just accepting one flow of events with composure.
“It seems like he’s not of ordinary constitution, as you said.”
Skyle knew it had taken time to bring up these words. Theodore wasn’t someone who reached conclusions easily. A thoroughly controlled person whose emotional fluctuations rarely showed on the surface. This single sentence he uttered while revising his own judgment was an event in itself.
“I think you said the same thing the day before yesterday, Theo.”
It sounded slightly nonchalant, but it was an answer whose underlying meaning could be read. Skyle knew precisely. That Theodore had reached the same conclusion several times until now, but had turned away from it each time.
“This time is different.”
It was a firm voice. It sounded like a declaration that this time he was certain. That he could no longer pretend not to know, that the recurring emotions weren’t mistakes or misconceptions. It was the weight of someone who had belatedly accepted all of that.
“Ah.”
Skyle’s brief, sigh-like reaction was light acceptance of a fact being confirmed again despite being a story he’d heard before. And at the same time, it was a wordless hint that this conversation was only now beginning.
Marcus had long since fled in disgust.
He had no intention of listening to this conversation from the start. The way these two people tried to identify the nature of emotions and analyze them didn’t suit him. He was someone who deliberately glossed over things, asked with jokes, and interpreted emotions through physical sensation. Perhaps that’s why he couldn’t stand the sight of these two sitting quietly facing each other discussing “constitution” and “relationships.”
“Yesterday… that guy called me hyung instead of hyung-nim.”
Theodore was still looking somewhere beyond the desk. His gaze was directed toward a distant place, but his words reached the closest person here and now.
Skyle raised his eyebrows very slightly.
A bit of surprise. But it quickly disappeared. Facial movements were minimal, reactions short and thin. All his expressions were revealed only with calculated angles beneath controlled emotions.
“It seemed like a mistake.”
His words trailed off. It sounded like he wanted to believe it was a mistake.
Skyle’s expression became calm again.
He didn’t say more. Instead, he briefly examined Theodore with his gaze and waited for the next words. His words were always concise and contained much meaning, so there was no need to ask.
“So you were shaken by it, is that right?”
Words that hit the mark precisely. Though it sounded like a question, it was closer to confirmation. Theodore neither nodded nor shook his head. He just answered with silence.
“…Yes.”
It took time to open his mouth. Yes, it was acknowledgment. Too many emotions were hidden in that single word. It was a moment when his true feelings, which he had wanted to deny and desperately ignore, briefly showed their face.
Marcus had told Skyle yesterday.
Regardless of other things, Theodore’s talk about wanting a younger brother wasn’t because of Ersen’s constitution—among them, Ersen’s bewitching constitution that stirred emotions had already become an established fact—but simply because that guy wanted to have a sibling.
Skyle had nodded at those words, and Theodore had passed by without comment. But since that day, the context of all actions began to look different. Even that moment of being called hyung became more than just a single word.
“At some point, I stopped thinking of that guy as just annoying. At first, I thought it was some kind of scheme.”
His voice was low, emotions suppressed. The kind of confession he would never normally make. But now, Theodore could no longer look away. Without realizing it, he was putting emotion into the words “that guy.”
“But not now.”
Skyle calmly summarized. The fact that Theodore didn’t deny it was enough. His silence was always clear agreement.
“…Right. That’s the problem.”
Theodore laughed briefly. It was closer to self-derision than laughter.
His voice was low, and the corners of his mouth were slightly twisted. He was uncomfortable with the emotions he was feeling right now. It wasn’t an emotion with any expectation or optimism. Rather, it was closer to wariness and fear.
“You know, don’t you? That unless you can control demonic energy like Marcus, half-demons completely lose their emotions at some point.”
Skyle nodded.
Why would half-demons be treated as inhuman?
This wasn’t simple prejudice or cultural misunderstanding. It was the result of fear and hatred accumulated over long years, and a history of corresponding damage. The result of silent records repeated for thousands of years taking root in people’s hearts. They had human forms, but they weren’t human. That was people’s premise, boundary, and belief at the same time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
