Episode 27

Yes, what could he possibly be guilty of?

If I am at fault, it is because I followed him out of ignorance and curiosity, or the crown prince who brought me here without explaining what he was doing.

“I apologize. I don’t know why you wanted to see this.”

The mage pointed with his fingertip to a distant place.

The moon was bright, so even the things below the city walls were visible.

Strangely, though, only the spot the mage pointed to was dim.

A large, round black thing loomed, seemingly swallowed by a huge shadow.

“If you can’t see well, I can lend you my monocular.”

Taking the monocular the mage offered from his pocket, I used it.

It appeared quite close, but the hole remained large and dark as ever.

That’s what they call ‘Rodore’s Hole’?

I turned a questioning look to the mage and the crown prince.

“Just wait. It’ll come out soon.”

What was going to come out?

After a short wait, an arm suddenly popped out of the hole.

Even though it was quite visible from here, I couldn’t grasp just how large it was from up close.

The muscles of the large arm moved as if emerging from a swamp.

Then, a sudden burst of blue light cleanly sliced the arm.

As the severed arm of the demon emerged inch by inch, another burst of blue light cut the protruding part cleanly.

Though the hole in the black ground was large, the creature seemed to struggle, pushing its body upward as if tearing through the earth.

“This hole appeared several years ago. It was originally as big as that hole, and the demons came out of it. It was Duke Rodore who plugged it up to the size it is now.”

“So…”

“Yes, that’s why it’s called ‘Rodore’s Hole.'”

Surprisingly, I could recall the story of Igon and me intertwined with that hole.

I see.

It was because of that hole.

* * *

Igon occasionally summoned those who troubled me and scolded them harshly.

Contrary to his sharp and cold noble impression, Igon’s caring demeanor towards me caught the household servants off guard.

They began to tense up.

The new master seemed to value what they had previously enjoyed teasing and playing with.

They followed Igon blindly, hanging onto his every word.

It felt safe to be with Igon, and being with him felt fulfilling.

Yet Igon remained a detached observer, a ruthless authoritarian who neither pushed me away nor scolded the servants.

That’s how I saw it.

I didn’t know Igon had his own reasons.

The turning point was when I found something subtle in the boy.

About a year after Igon came to the manor.

Igon’s demeanor was peculiar.

But only I, who trailed him all day, could sense the strangeness.

From the aloof, dignified, seemingly indifferent boy, I could detect discomfort, awkwardness, and weariness.

He was barely thirteen.

If he was young, his eyes betrayed nothing but weariness.

Sometimes he threw me incomprehensible remarks.

One day, he asked me, “Did you have parents?”

“They did, but they sent me here for money,” I replied. The boy chuckled softly.

“Yeah, same here,” he said.

A fearful and peculiar child.

The original work only vaguely described the male protagonist’s past, mentioning only major tragedies and leaving out the rest.

I had read the entire novel, but I didn’t know that his mother had gone insane.

In the mansion, the boy was busy with chores, handling swords, or feeding me.

In those few months with him, my cheeks grew plump.

‘Even though you’re the male protagonist of the novel, your life must be difficult.’

I empathized with him in sorrow and self-pity, feeling sorry for myself even more.

It was half a year after hearing the news that the boy, who had always been calm, quiet, and thin, was leaving.

“Monsters? Expedition?”

I recalled the unbelievable words I heard.

They were picked up from the servants’ laundry room.

They said a large hole had appeared not far from the capital’s walls, where monsters were coming out.

The power of the wizards alone was insufficient, so someone had to lead the soldiers.

The fingers of the royal family and the nobles all pointed to Rodore.

They forced Rodore, who had long fought against monsters in the north, to go out and fight for the empire.

But Rodore was miserable.

Whatever he was like in the past, it wasn’t now.

Rodore was in the process of self-destruction.

The old duke died, and the new duke fell seriously ill.

The lady wasn’t in her right mind, and the only remaining son of the ducal family was just thirteen years old.

There were no powerful relatives to rely on.

No one cared about their situation.

The condition of Duke Rodore’s body was beyond description.

In the generally quiet mansion, there were screams in the middle of the night or during the day, a few times.

The thunderous sound belonged to the duke, and everyone knew who the fighter was.

On his fourteenth birthday, the boy armed himself and left the mansion.

His ridiculous name qualified him for knighthood.

No one thought he would come back alive.

Only I, who knew the contents of the original work, believed in his safe return.

After Igon left, the torment began again.

I felt like I was going to die, but I believed I wouldn’t.

According to the original work, it wasn’t time for me to die yet.

That’s how life was.

According to predetermined fate and reason.

Sometimes, even I didn’t believe that Igon would return safely.

Whenever someone’s gruesome corpse arrived, partially eaten by monsters, or when I denied reality, thinking, ‘Could I also die so horribly?’ I felt that way.

There were times I wished for Igon’s death for the sake of my own life.

Yes, if you don’t come back, I will survive.

But Igon was relentless.

Half a year after Igon left, it didn’t torment me even though he was gone.

I must have grown tired of it, and the assumption of ‘What if he comes back?’ arose.

Nevertheless, while still serving as the duchess’s doll, my treatment improved significantly.

That’s how Igon lived.

He lived to stop the abuse pouring down on me and to make me his little sister.

The shameful nickname “Mad Duke” had gradually changed into something resembling a “hero.”

After surviving the nightmare-like winter when the duchess died, Igon returned with the title of Swordmaster.

With his worn-out and finally healed eyes, he returned.

“Eve.”

The returning boy began to call me that with a smile on a face I didn’t recognize.

* * *

Yes, that hole is his tenacity.

The prince said Igon was involved with the black market.

But I decided I didn’t believe that the boy could do such a thing.

I thought of Igon.

Even if the boy had decided to do so, I believed there would be a reason for it.

I looked at the mage who was still excitedly chattering away.

“Isn’t it amazing? You have to defeat an intermediate or higher-level monster and extract its heart to get a magic stone. That black ground is where those magic stones are gathered. Due to the backlash, the monsters can’t come out from there. They say it’s something the duke accomplished before he even reached adulthood… It’s really amazing. Some call him a monster, but I also…”

“Ash.”

As I listened to the mage’s words, I spoke up.

When I called out his name, the surprised mage stopped speaking.

His hair fluttered in the night breeze, obscuring his vision.

“Evelyn Rodore.”

The mage’s eyes widened to a degree not even comparable to when he first saw me.

“That’s my name.”

As I looked at him, I turned to the prince.

I don’t know what you hoped for, but…

I don’t know if you talked about Igon in the black market, or if you brought me here just to show me that hole.

“I’ve seen enough.”

I won’t be fooled as you wish.

Whether he read my gaze or not, the prince smiled slightly.

Interesting.

I could almost hear that voice.

* * *

It was a tiring afternoon.

Last night’s exhaustion hit me.

The night outing with the prince, coupled with the lingering questions about the missed Liam, kept me from falling asleep.

The pouring sunlight, coupled with the aftermath of the sweets eaten not long ago, was overwhelming.

The chatter of the ladies did nothing to ease my sleep.

The hand holding the ribbon went up and down on the table repeatedly.

She was tying the ribbon herself on the invitation to be delivered only to the guests.

“What is this?”

Startled by the loud voice, I looked up to see Christina chuckling happily.

Christina spoke after seeing what the princess had made.

“You said if you can do it, you can’t! But look, this precious ribbon is all ruined!”

Even Camilla, sitting next to her and seeing what the princess had done, burst into laughter.

“Why.”

The princess spoke in a stiff tone.

Whether she didn’t notice the discomfort, or she wanted to tease the princess more, Christina started pointing out the flaws in the decoration made by the princess.

“Here, you tied the knot here, so the back is all tangled. Look. It started tangling from here, right? And you tied it once and then untied it? It’s wrinkled here!”

“Please! Please don’t meddle, just do your own thing!” The princess snapped.