“…”
Watching Redian silently, I suddenly realized. Right. He was the male lead of a dark romance novel. A dark romance novel without a speck of actual romance, just madness throughout! Thus, that was the true nature of Redian Hugh Rixon in the original story.
<Your Majesty, please spare me!>
<Why should I spare you, a mere knight?>
<I’m the hero of Meteora! Please, show me mercy!>
<Ah, right. You were among those heroes who were all buried. I should have killed you along with them. My mistake.>
Automatically, the original Redian and the Redian in front of me overlapped. The scene where he casually wiped the blood splattered on his face. As the story neared its end, he seemed not just cruel but inhuman. And…
Even if the original story changes, his inherent nature doesn’t seem to.
Those deep blue eyes looking at me now. Given how the author set him up initially, it was too much for me to change that fundamental nature, no matter how hard I tried. Moreover, Redian’s identity was only going to grow stronger, along with that inherent nature.
But one thing was clear. Even though the original character occasionally popped up like this… It’s still possible to tame him. In front of me, Redian tries to suppress his ‘nature.’
At this point, I wondered what I should do.
“Dog?”
But the conclusion was simple. After all, I’m a boomer.
“What are you trying to do?”
“…”
I can tolerate some growling as cute, but swearing and informal language are where I draw the line as a boomer.
“Our promise still stands. I still care for and cherish you the most.”
“…”
“Today, I personally reviewed hundreds of resumes just to choose your trainer.” I looked directly at Redian and spoke. “Do you realize how special you are to me, being treated this way?”
But then, as he was about to speak again,
“I told you, Redian.”
“…”
My voice became so cold that even I was unfamiliar with it.
“That was only valid when you obey my words.”
I couldn’t show any weakness now. From now on, it wasn’t about changing his nature but training him to tame it.
“I made it clear that I would give you everything only when you see me as your master and follow me.”
In the frozen air, my gaze and Redian met. It felt as if an invisible string was being pulled taut.
“You should come when I say come and go when I say go.”
“…”
“Even if you’ve come up from the underground castle and gotten closer to me, our relationship remains unchanged.”
As my tone became firmer, Redian’s grip on my wrist gradually loosened.
“That’s our promise.”
His cold blue eyes slowly dropped to the floor.
What’s this?
Suddenly, the gloom cleared, and bright moonlight spilled over his hair. Even a gentle breeze blew, brushing against his downcast eyes.
Typical male lead, isn’t it?
Such an impressive buff. Nature itself seemed to conspire to make Redian look tragic.
“Don’t ever forget. I will only keep you by my side when you keep that promise.”
But to someone like me who has seen it all N times, such tactics don’t work.
“Are you not letting go?”
Eventually, Redian released my wrist.
“Go back. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
As I maintained a stern tone and turned to leave,
“…I apologize.”
Redian’s low voice came from behind.
Apologize? I looked at him without showing my expression. He looked like a drenched puppy with its ears down. I couldn’t tell whether it was sincere or just acting…
“What did you do wrong?”
At least, it was good that he tried to control his nature in front of me.
“For grabbing your wrist recklessly, for being late…”
I asked coldly, and Redian slowly spoke up. His slightly defeated tone made me want to tease him.
“…”
Normally, I would have smiled at this point, but not anymore. Redian’s personality would grow stronger, and now it was time to tame it.
“What was that? I didn’t hear you.”
Then.
“I was wrong. Please forgive me, Master.”
Redian’s cool scent mingled with the night wind reached me from above.
“I’ve wanted to see you all day, and when you were about to leave like that…” With his head lowered, he whispered in my ear. “It made me upset.”
* * *
“How did this come to be?”
The duke couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at the golden insignia. It was something passed down only to the direct descendants of the Rixon imperial family. The duke had only seen it during audiences with the emperor, as it was always attached to his royal attire. Therefore…
It must have been left to Claude by the late royal princess.
But why would the late royal princess leave this to Claude, bypassing her own family and the council?
The duke’s thoughts were in turmoil when suddenly… This is. He noticed a piece of paper hidden beneath the velvet cloth. Intuitively, the duke realized this was the letter Claude had left for him.
“Claude, what exactly happened?”
As he opened the trembling letter, he saw neatly written words, unmistakably Claude’s handwriting.
[See, Honey. I was right, wasn’t I?]
The letter began that way.
“Yes, Claude. Everything happened just as you said.” The duke chuckled softly, thinking it was a very Claude-like greeting.
Before giving birth, Claude made a strange remark that she and the late royal princess would soon die.
When she heard of the late royal princess’s death, she searched all over the empire to find a boy.
At the time, he thought it was just delirium. But afterwards, everything indeed happened as Claude said.
[You must have been hard, gathering those boys. Thinking of you wandering aimlessly with a heavy heart pains me.]
The duke’s eyes paused again at the word ‘boys.’ The criteria were simple: around Siani’s age, orphaned, and possessing extraordinary abilities. He vividly remembered scouring the streets with just those three pieces of information.
“Thanks to you, I am now known as a cold-blooded man raising killing machines in the underground.” The duke responded to Claude within the letter as if joking, but his voice carried both warmth and sorrow.
[Now that it’s time for those boys to come into the world, you must have opened this letter.]
Indeed. According to Claude’s last wishes, the only way to hide the boys and keep them safe was in the underground castle. Disguised as monsters and killing machines so that no one would dare be curious.
[Thank you for believing in my harsh words and coming this far.]
“If it’s your word, I have to believe it.” The duke responded to each line she wrote, trying to maintain a light tone.
Claude had never made a wrong judgment.
What could be the end of the story Claude had prepared over twenty years?
[Now I can tell you. Among those boys you protected, there is ‘the son of Izel.’”
But at that sentence, the duke couldn’t respond.
The son of Izel? Meaning, the child of the late royal princess?
[The owner of this golden insignia left here is that boy…]
The duke’s eyes hurried to the next sentence.
[And he will be the 9th emperor of our Meteora Empire.]
* * *
“Your Grace, I’ve prepared the carriage as instructed, but are you planning to return immediately?”
Holding the jewel box close, the duke hastily left the villa.
“We need to get back to the duchy as soon as possible. Hurry.” The duke said to Rubel as he hurriedly climbed into the carriage. “Also, send an urgent message to Siani that I’m returning because I have something important to tell her through a sound sphere.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to convey that message through a sound or vision sphere yourself…?”
“Rubel, there’s no time for unnecessary talk. Let’s go.” The duke’s command was more decisive than ever, his face showing clear signs of tension.
“Yes, understood.”
The aides who had followed him had no choice but to board the carriage without asking any questions.
[I always pray for that boy. May the goddess’s blessing be upon him.]
As the landscape swiftly changed, the duke pulled out Claude’s letter again.
“If he’s to be the 9th emperor…”
Even as he carefully held it, the paper’s edges crumpled slightly.
Currently, it was the reign of the 8th Emperor.
“This can’t be.”
This meant one of the Norma in the underground castle was the heir to the Rixon throne.
“Oh, Goddess.”
What was your intent…?
The duke sighed and closed his eyes. He had to return immediately and inform Siani of this revelation.
she already knows, Sir.. so that is why she has taken care of him