Since the day we confirmed each other’s feelings, Clyde has seemed noticeably more at ease. The deep unease that used to be present in his gaze when he looked at me was now hardly visible.
Yet he still seemed unsure about marriage. He didn’t bring up anything about officially welcoming me or discussing the wedding after that day.
I, too, didn’t press Clyde any further. If there was still fear lingering in Clyde’s heart, I didn’t want to burden him until it disappeared. I could wait as long as needed—for Clyde. Besides, I had a plan to bring him and his father together.
If he learned that his parents, despite the difference in their races, deeply loved each other and that his father didn’t abandon his family of his own will, everything would surely change.
The old wounds in his heart would heal, and the guilt and burden he felt in our relationship would significantly diminish.
It took precisely one week to grasp the use of magical power in the demon realm under Eleanor’s guidance. In truth, I had spent much less time on actual training since Clyde was only away for a short period.
On the last day, driven by the desire to meet the one-week deadline I had set as a goal, I even got up at night to train. Luckily, Clyde didn’t seem to notice.
— Amazing. I never expected you to master it within a week.
‘It might seem trivial in your eyes, Master, but I also heard whispers of being a genius in my younger days.’
— From your father?
‘…My father was not someone who would say such things.’
— Then from your siblings?
‘Oh, come on. Why do you keep treating me like a spoiled child?’
Well, strictly speaking, it wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
Eleanor chuckled.
— Just kidding. Well, since you’re my disciple chosen after a thousand years, it would be awkward if you weren’t.
‘Oh, yes. Thank you.’
Thinking about my father and brothers, my mood darkened abruptly. Since parting ways with them, thoughts of my family have brought an indescribable sense of guilt and pain to my chest.
I wonder how they’re doing now. Did my absence affect their well-being?
— What’s wrong?
Seeing me silent with my head down, Eleanor asked
‘…It’s nothing. Now, will you teach me the spell to find Clyde’s father?’
Being able to use magic power instead of mana did more than just allow me to use magic in the demon realm. The same spell could be used multiple times, with much more power than before.
It’s a crude analogy, but it was like moving from using coal before to using gasoline now. The difference in fuel economy and firepower is staggering.
While I couldn’t manipulate magic instinctively like demons, I could efficiently combine it with the human magic system, resulting in a much more effective approach.
— Yes. In your current state, you should be able to handle that level of magic effortlessly.
Soon, just like when I received other spells before, the spell flowed into my mind.
Compared to the grand spells I had learned before, the spell was relatively simple, as Eleanor had mentioned.
— To find someone you haven’t met in person, you need a catalyst related to that person.
‘What exactly do you mean by a catalyst?’
— Well, you know, the ones you commonly use for curses. Hair, blood, etc…..
‘There’s no way I have any of that; I mean, Clyde’s father left before he was even born. Can’t you use something else?’
— If you have an item that has been in close contact with the person for a long time, that could also work.
At that, I looked down at the protective ring on my fingers. Clyde had mentioned that this was an artifact the former Demon King possessed.
In the prequel side story, Dioclyde gave Hena an identical ring with the same effects.
Assuming this and that are the same item, it was possible that Hena gave the ring back to Dioclyde when he sent her back to the human realm and later passed it down to the next generation after stepping down from the position of Demon King.
‘Certainly, Clyde’s father must have used this ring at some point. But considering that it changed hands multiple times before and after that, is it still okay?’
— We won’t know until we try. A catalyst is just a catalyst, and having a clear image in your mind while casting the spell is more important than anything else. Try to vividly visualize the person you’re hoping to find.
‘…Yes, Master.’
I clasped my hands with the ring and closed my eyes, starting to memorize the spell. Soon, countless images of people began to flash through my mind.
‘This is….’
There was no doubt that these were the individuals who had previously possessed the ring. Amidst the flowing images, I focused on finding Dioclyde.
How much time has passed? Finally, I captured an image of a human woman handing the ring to a demon man. Though she appeared younger and more vibrant than the face I remembered, it was undoubtedly Hena, Clyde’s mother.
Hena’s expression was impassive to the point of being cold, while the demon man’s eyes were sad and empty as he accepted the ring from her. He didn’t look much different from a human, except that he had white hair, pale skin, and crimson eyes.
There was no doubt that this man was Dioclyde. I targeted Dioclyde and completed the spell by reciting the last incantation. Soon, a new image unfolded in my mind.
As if I had become a bird, the image showed me the landscapes of the Demon Realm, starting with the sky above Demon Castle. Gradually, the images reached the southern swampy regions, illuminating the depths of a cave.
Inside the cave, there sat Dioclyde, cross-legged against the wall, like a monk in deep meditation. He looked much leaner and more frail than in the first image, almost emaciated.
‘This is, what in the world…’
— It seems like he’s cutting off his own magical power.
‘Cutting off… his power?’
— The highest-ranking demons, equivalent to Demon Kings, can live a life close to immortality as long as they don’t lose their lives to someone else. He probably severed the magical power within his body and blocked absorption from the external environment. In a way, it’s like a very prolonged form of suicide.
‘…….’
After parting ways with Hena, was he trying to end his own life in isolation here? I couldn’t help but overlay the image of Clyde onto this Dioclyde. If he hadn’t seen me again, if I had refused to go with him… then he, too, would have come to this end.
I opened my eyes again.
‘…I have to go save him.’
— Save that demon? What are you saying?
‘I don’t know. But leaving him to die like this is not an option.’
Using teleportation magic to go to Dioclyde right at this moment wouldn’t be difficult. However, if I did that, Clyde might come back and find that I had disappeared from my quarters.
I didn’t want to make him taste such despair again, nor did I want him to regret trusting me again. So, I decided to wait for Clyde to come back.
A few hours later, the door opened.
“Ruby, I’m back.”
Clyde walked into the bedroom looking for me, then scratched his head at the sight of me. I was now dressed in outdoor attire instead of my usual thin indoor clothes.
“What’s with the outfit? Were you waiting for me to go for a walk?”
Clyde approached me, leaning in to give me a kiss on the cheek.
“No. I want to go somewhere with you, not just for a walk.”
“Where is that?”
“To where your father is.”
Clyde’s expression stiffened slightly at my words.
“…What did you just say?”
“The former Demon King, Dioclyde. That’s your father’s name that your mother told me about… right?”
Clyde looked at me blankly, as if he couldn’t quite understand what I was talking about.
“Ruby, how did you know that….”
“I had a dream.”
“A dream?”
“Yeah. A dream about your father and mother. How they met, why they had to part ways… and even where your father is now, everything.”
“…What?”
Clyde narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he looked like he couldn’t understand what I was talking about.
“I’ve occasionally had dreams about other people’s pasts or futures since I was a child. At first, I thought they were just dreams, but I soon realized it was not that simple. What I saw in those visions either had already happened or… was about to happen. In fact, the reason I thought about saving you over nine years ago was because I had a dream about you.”
Of course, the story itself was not true, but the dream narrative was just a means to an end.
It was a means to explain to Clyde why I knew everything, a tool to tell the story that I had held close to my chest for over ten years, something I hadn’t confessed to anyone.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was right to tell him this story now.
But with no other alternatives coming to mind, and most importantly, I didn’t want to deceive Clyde any longer,
“…What kind of dream was it?”
“A dream where you were captured by my father as an experimental subject, tortured for several years, and then one day you awakened your magical power and escaped… becoming a demon king and returning to destroy Palma.”
“…….”
Clyde’s eyes gradually widened.
Finally! The truth is (kinda) out.