Chapter 28
Deep inside Elvir’s body, Ariel felt another life wriggling.
She also soon noticed that it was in the shape of a butterfly.
It seemed to be the reason why Elvir’s vitality is getting weaker. And if that’s truly the case, then she can easily figure what it was.
A parasitic butterfly.
A parasitic insect that can enter the mind of its host and gnaw its life force.
She heard a God talk about this before.
‘It was said that a different race used it for combat a long time ago.’
She heard that they disappeared as they became extinct for some reason, but it seems that there was still some of them left.
‘This kid is really unlucky.’
It was a pity that he had become like this because he was possessed by a strange creature.
After a moment of clicking her tongue, Ariel smiled triumphantly.
‘Well, he’ll be okay as long as he’s filled with life force!’
She just need to share her life force to Elvir. A God’s life force is infinite, so there’s nothing to be burdened with.
She was worried about the butterfly entering Elvir’s mind, but it wasn’t a big problem either.
There’s no reason to blur the mind of a host who voluntarily shared its life force.
Ariel sat quietly next to Elvir and waited for night to come.
***
Eventually, the sun went down, and the postures of the servants and maids who stood guarding the room began to deteriorate little by little.
Ahin, who had been standing by the side the whole time, couldn’t control his heavy eyelids.
The situation is enough for her to solve Elvir’s problem while being unnoticed.
But that’s only if the Grand Duke will fall asleep as well.
‘This Dad! Why isn’t this human sleeping? At least go to the bathroom!’
Ariel, who was glaring at the Grand Duke with her eyes wide open, sighed.
It was because the Grand Duke won’t even look at her even though she was shooting daggers at him.
‘This can’t be. I should kick him out!’
Ariel tugged at the Grand Duke’s sleeve. Only then did he turn his head, and Ariel whispered quietly.
“Dad, I’m thirsty. Bring me water.”
“Water?”
The Grand Duke put on a puzzled expression and picked up the tea pot next to him.
The sound of fair amount of water sloshing in the pot echoed, which made Ariel shook her head.
“Not that, cold water! I want cold water!”
“So picky.”
The Grand Duke smiled and turned his head behind him to call a servant, so Ariel hastily stopped him.
“They’re all asleep. Aren’t you sorry for waking them up when they couldn’t sleep for days?”
“So you’re saying you don’t need water anymore?”
“No, I need to drink water. I’m quite thirsty?”
When Ariel answered with her eyes wide open, the Grand Duke burst out laughing.
“Then we have to wake them up. How would you have your water without them…”
The Grand Duke paused for a moment. It was because he roughly understood Ariel’s intentions.
The problem was that the intention was too absurd and nonsensical.
The Grand Duke asked in disbelief.
“You’re not asking me to personally bring it, are you?”
“Yeah, that’s right?”
“Ha, I couldn’t believe you would ask me to run errands for you.”
Ariel wrinkled her forehead as the Grand Duke burst into laughter.
“What about it? You’re saying you can’t run water errands after I chose you as my Father?”
“…Chose me as your Father?”
“I was asked to choose between His Majesty and Father, so I chose Dad! Then you are indebted to me, so you have to pay me back!”
Ariel brushed it off with a coy tone.
“Haa, that’s true.”
The Grand Duke, who laughed while being dumbfounded, immediately got up as if he couldn’t help it.
“Yes, you’re right. I have to repay the favor to my daughter who chose me.”
Then he told her to wait and quietly left the room.
As soon as the door closed, Ariel quickly approached Elvir.
She stroked his cheek that looked like it was drained of its soul, and whispered in a quiet voice.
“Butterfly, come out.”
Responding to the words of the Goddess, the butterfly flapped its wings. However, it seemed that it has no intention of coming out of Elvir’s body.
Ariel held back her anger and spoke to the butterfly again.
“Come out. This little boy is already so weak that he’ll fall down if you hit him, so he doesn’t have much life force to suck on. I’ll give you something better, okay?”
But it still didn’t listen, so Ariel had no choice but to bite her lips and threaten it.
“You, Itoldyoutocomeout! I’llgiveyousomethingbetter! Ifyoudon’tcomeoutrightaway, I’llcatch youandbringyoutoVeto! YouknowVeto? VetoistheGodofDeath” (You, I told you to come out! I’ll give you something better! If you don’t come out right away, I’ll catch you and bring you to Veto! You know Veto? Veto is the God of Death!)
Did that work?
Flap. Flap.
The trembling butterfly hurriedly jumped out of Elvir’s body, which made Ariel gave a disapproving look.
It didn’t even listen to what she was saying, but it jumped out as soon as she mentioned Veto’s name.
“Arrogant.”
Ariel, who growled like a tiger cub, let out a big sigh.
What am I doing getting mad at a butterfly?
It’s more urgent now to get rid of this before the Grand Duke returns.
Ariel held out her hand.
“Now, come into my body.”
The butterfly tilted itself as if it doesn’t understand why she willingly accepted a parasite.
“My life force is infinite, so you can have as much as you want. It would be much better than a kid who would die in a few years if his life force was sucked.”
Flap. Flap.
The butterfly flapped its wings as it finally understood Ariel’s intentions. It was really single-minded since it shows its emotion through its wings.
Ariel, who smiled softly, gave an advice in a stern voice.
“Instead, you can’t enter my mind. It’s annoying and I don’t like it, got that?”
Flap. Flap.
The butterfly, which fluttered its wings knowingly, landed on Ariel’s palm and soon disappeared completely. It was absorbed into Ariel’s body.
She could feel the butterfly frantically sucking the life force from inside her.
Perhaps Elvir’s vitality was not so abundant.
‘Yes, eat a lot. It won’t wear out anyway.’
While Ariel was smiling happily, Elvir, who didn’t make a slight move the entire time, groaned and wiggled his hand.
She quickly turned her head and saw that his eyes, which was staring blankly at the ceiling, were now peacefully closed.
“Are you going to wake up soon?”
Ariel, who had a satisfied expression on her face, thought of the soon-to-be returning Grand Duke and looked back involuntarily.
But what is this?
“Oh my god!”
A figure that did not exist just a moment ago was caught in her field of vision.
“Fishy eyes!”
It was the Crown Prince.
“You! When did you come in!”
The startled Ariel asked, but the Crown Prince didn’t answer.
It was strange that he didn’t react even though he saw it all.
‘Oh, did he not hear me? No, that fishy guy’s eyes are weird!’
It was when Ariel was trembling with anxiety…
“No, Your Majesty! I never mocked Your Majesty for behaving like a fool whenever he saw Your Highness’ daughter! I do think that was the case, but I never said it out loud! Believe me!”
The Imperial Doctor, who was talking strangely in his sleep, woke up from some dream only to find out that the Crown Prince was there.
“Wah! Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince! Why is the Crown Prince here… No, I’m not saying that this is a place that the Crown Prince couldn’t come! Please do not be displeased!”
The Crown Prince looked at him with indifferent eyes as he made excuses.
“I think Elvir’s condition has changed a bit. Go check it out.”
“Yes? Ah yes!”
The Imperial Doctor hurriedly looked at Elvir, and in response to the unfamiliar touch, Elvir struggled to lift his eyelids.
“Your Highness, are you awake? Do you know who I am?”
“Huh? What… the Imperial Doctor of course.”
“Waaaa!”
At the same time as Elvir’s answer was heard, a large number of exclamations burst out. It came from the servants who were awakened by the Imperial Doctor’s shriek.
“What are you doing! Hurry up and tell His Majesty the news!”
The Grand Duke, who returned to the room just in time, grasped the situation and gave an urgent order.
A few servants quickly left the room, and soon the Emperor and his wife came running.
“Ah, Elvir! Can you recognize this Mother? Are you okay now?”
“Prince, do you recognize this Father?”
Everyone was delighted and cheered at Elvir’s light nod.
Except for two people.
After confirming that Elvir’s condition had improved, the Crown Prince gave Ariel a quick look and left the room.
He’s telling Ariel to follow him.
Ariel would usually run wild at this situation, but this time, she quietly followed him.
‘He saw it all, right? Aaah, I can’t get caught! What if humans treat me like an idiot Goddess again!’
Ariel bit her nails and glared at the back of the Crown Prince’s head.
‘Should I knock his head off? Or bribe him with sweets?’
While fiddling with the emergency snack hidden in her pocket, Ariel thought very seriously and soon came up with a good idea.
‘Yes, the butterfly!’
What if she put the butterfly she took out of Elvir’s body a moment ago into his body?
If she let the butterfly enter his mind, then take it out later, she can erase his memory right?
Ariel, who was thinking deeply, nodded her head.
‘Yeah, that’s a nice idea!’
It was when Ariel, who’s burning with determination, nodded her head earnestly.
Clack.
She heard the door lock, and at the same time her vision darkened.
‘Huh? What?’
When Ariel tilted her head in this abrupt situation…
“I was not mistaken.”
The Crown Prince said something.
“…What?”
“As expected, you’re the one I’ve been waiting for.”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Are you pretending not to know, or you don’t really remember?”
He asked in a low voice, then walked over to her and kneeled down on one knee in front of Ariel.
“That day, six years ago.”
His eyes, shining in the dark, were filled with longing.
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