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“…”
Erez, silent for a moment, said in awe.
Erez: “You, you’re surprisingly smart.”
“…”
Keira didn’t know whether to thank or curse him. In the end, she chose to kick his shin lightly.
Erez: “Ow!”
Keira: “Now, it’s your turn to explain. Why did you react as if you already knew Cosette’s purpose, and why you guessed it but didn’t tell me?”
Erez: “Ah, that…”
Keira: “I’m telling you now, but please don’t treat me like you did before.”
Erez: “Before?”
Keira: “When we first met, on that terrace. You hid a lot from me back then.”
Keira said, narrowing her eyes. He would finally reveal all the stories he had hidden.
Erez: “I didn’t mean to hide it. It was just that it was hard to explain how I knew. If you know my circumstances, you will understand.”
Keira: “It’s okay if it’s a long story, so please explain. Everything.”
Keira returned to her seat and sat down. She thought it would be too long a story to stand and listen to.
Still, Erez didn’t speak for a long time. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling, crossed his arms, and groaned.
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Erez: “Um…”
Keira: “What are you doing?”
Erez: “I was wondering where to start. Oh, do you have any weapons on you right now?”
Keira: “I don’t.”
Erez: “Are you sure there’s nothing hidden in your clothes?”
Keira: “There really isn’t. I’m not an assassin, so why would I hide something like that?”
Erez: “Good.”
Why would he ask such a thing? And why would it be good? Keira’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
Erez: “Uh… Once you’ve realized that Cosette’s trying to destroy the Spirit Stone, you must have figured out her identity, right?”
Keira: “For now, I’m wondering if a warlock or a demon might be behind it.”
Erez: “It’s half-right. She’s a demon.”
Keira: “Sorry?”
Erez: “Why are you so surprised? You must have guessed something, didn’t you?”
Keira: “I can’t help but be surprised when you say it like that… No, but how do you know? Do you have any grounds? Why haven’t you said anything?”
So, Cosette was actually a demon. Although Keira had expected it to a certain extent, her head tingled at the reality.
How could a demon strong enough to have intelligence pass through the barrier?
Besides, she even touched the holy water of the temple. What kind of trick would she use to hide in the human world?
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How else did she deal with the spirits when it was the opposite of the demons.
Dozens of questions came to mind, but there was no time to think about them because Erez’s words slapped her on the back of the head.
Erez: “Actually, I’m also a demon.”
He spoke as if he was simply talking about the weather.
Keira was only able to react only after a long time had passed.
Keira: “…What?”
Keira then realized why she had asked if he had a weapon.
Her right hand reflexively fumbled her waist, where she usually hung her sword.
Keira could barely come to her senses and check if she heard wrong.
Keira: “Did you just say… demon?”
Erez: “Yes.”
Even as he said that, he looked anxiously at Keira’s hand, seemingly worried that she might attack him with a hidden weapon.
Erez: “Listen for a moment. I’ll explain everything… ”
PAST SIDE STORY 2
A month after that.
Johanna Parvis, the Grand Duke’s aunt, and elementalist, was found murdered.
Her heart had been ripped open. Her body had hardened from the shock, and she couldn’t even close her eyes.
The recluse’s death was quickly revealed because Cosette Parvis, the next elementalist, disappeared.
People couldn’t hide their worry when they discovered that Cosette, who had lived surrounded by other people, had disappeared without a trace.
People went to Johanna to inquire, but instead, they found her body and Beatrice’s spirit stone nowhere in sight.
The elementalist died and the spirit stone disappeared. Even the whereabouts of the next elementalist were unknown.
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The whole country was in shock.
“Princess Cosette must be in danger, too. M-maybe I’m just worrying too much…”
It was reasonable to think that.
No, it seemed reasonable. At least not until then.
Even the military was mobilized to search for the disappearance of the Grand Duke’s daughter, but there was no trace of her.
In the land ravaged by the war against demons, it didn’t rain unless the spirit’s power was there.
Of course, the country was in a state of emergency. Ludwig was brought straight to the Imperial Palace.
The nobles interrogated him.
“Are you sure you don’t know where your daughter is?”
“Do you think he has a reason to hide the whereabouts of the child?”
“Uh, well.”
It was a meeting that had no clue, let alone a solution. Of course, the meeting wouldn’t go well.
The meeting, full of sighs and lamentations, ended without any results. As expected.
Ludwig, who returned to the mansion with all his arrogance, was comforted by his lieutenant, Shane.
Shane: “Her Ladyship must be alive. I’m sure she’ll come back safely and alive, so please rest. It’s already been three days. I’m worried about your health…”
Ludwig: “Why did Cosette disappear?”
Shane: “Yes? Maybe evil men went after her after Johanna.”
With those words, it’s a surprise that the lieutenant thought she’d come back safely.
If Johanna died like that, who’s to say Cosette wouldn’t either.
Cosette’s death would be the worst-case scenario.
But… strangely enough, Shane had such a hunch.
He had a feeling that something even worse than her death would happen.
Ludwig: “…I don’t think I’ll ever be a good father.”
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Shane: “Why are you saying that? It’s not that Your Grace failed to protect her!”
Ludwig: “I’m not talking about that. It’s that I’m more concerned about the future than my daughter’s life.”
“…”
Ludwig laughed self-deprecatingly.
There was a time when he thought he might be a good father to his biological daughter.
In fact, he tried to treat Cosette well, and later tried to improve his relationship with Zicchardt.
However, after agreeing to Keira’s execution, his relationship with Zeke ended, and Cosette’s affection for him didn’t last long.
No, when he looked at those red eyes, for some reason, he got goosebumps.
He forcibly tried to imitate her friendly tone and soft expression, but it was all just a pretense.
How could a girl who looked just like him not feel like his own child? It was really strange.
It was then that he realized that it was impossible for him to be a good father in this life.
Meanwhile, Cosette disappeared.
Even without knowing if his daughter was dead or alive, he was so disgusted with himself that he worried more about the future than her life.
Ludwig: “My aunt was murdered, and Cosette and the spirit stone are missing. It’s all to convenient to be a coincidence.”
Shane: “Yes, someone must have plotted this.”
Ludwig: “At the same time, the appearance of the demons also decreased.”
It was as if they were preparing something big.
Still, they had no reason to think so.
It was natural for humans, regardless of their status, to be in trouble if it didn’t rain on the continent.
Since humans wouldn’t do anything to dig their own graves, there was only one answer left.
Demons.
He could only imagine that a race that had waged war with humans long ago was scheming something again.
Shane: “I thought so, too, so I checked it out. Fortunately, there seems to be nothing wrong with the barrier.”
As long as the barrier was still in place, demons couldn’t cross over from the demon realm. Perhaps it’s a demon with low intelligence.
Ludwig: “Don’t let your guard down. Even if it’s a minor problem, report it to me immediately.”
Shane: “Yes, sir.”
Ludwig: “I want to rest a little.”
Shane bowed politely and left the office.
Ludwig: “Haa…”
Ludwig sighed as he watched the red sunset in the living room alone.
For some reason, his heart felt hollow and pierced.
Everything felt empty and exhausting. He just wanted to sleep all day long and think about nothing.
He just wanted to rest and throw everything away…
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But that didn’t happen. He couldn’t turn away from the continent in chaos.
Ludwig looked away from the window and sat upright in his chair.
There were piles of things on the desk that needed his attention.
One month, two months, three months…
The land dried up, and crops began to die.
People started to have doubts. Why did disasters happen even after killing the fake daughter?
But nobody knew at that time that the real ‘disaster’ had yet to come.