Chapter 71

71

"Is there anyone who has regained consciousness?"

"......I apologize, my lord."

"Disappointing."

Sharent Clowen spoke in a hushed voice.

Despite the voice being so soft, almost a whisper, everyone knelt and bowed their heads due to the chill in his tone.

"You know how you managed to get inside a mansion where external-to-internal magic is forbidden, right?"

"I apologize."

"Simular knights, to have your defenses breached by a mere child, and to even be overpowered by them, you must be quite proud."

In response to Sharent Clowen's words, Seiros, the captain of the Simular Knights who stood at the front, spoke up.

"From the traces left behind, it seems to have been a powerful hypnotic magic."

"Are you making excuses?"

"No, I apologize."

Sharent Clowen, leaning slightly, stroked the child's body.

Despite not turning his head once, the Simular Knights, who were already on their knees, bowed their heads even lower, not daring to lift their faces.

It was clearly a mistake on the part of the knights.

Despite having developed a considerable resistance to magic, not a single one of them was fully conscious.

Only the captain, who had opened his eyes a little earlier than Sharent Clowen, was an exception.

If Sharent Clowen hadn't broken the spell and regained consciousness in time, who knows what might have happened to the child, who was now breathing steadily in sleep.

The thought of it made his blood boil.

'...How ironic.'

Once, he would have tried to kill anyone who annoyed him, but in just a few years, he found himself searching for someone who was missing.

Breaking the unwritten rules, he had to force himself to understand that the child had special powers and gave him the Clowen castle.

In the end, he ended up holding the child in his arms.

The irony of his own contradictions was amusing, and yet, he was still annoyed that a part of him still found the child distasteful.

"Captain, it would be best to retrain and restore discipline."

"Yes, I will follow your orders. We will ensure that this does not happen again..."

"By then, your heads will be on the ground."

The knights, already on their knees, bowed even deeper, pressing their foreheads to the ground at the menacing tone.

They were those who had dedicated their lives to the Clowen family, swearing loyalty to protect it.

Today's incident was a major mistake.

It was fortunate that Sharent Clowen had regained consciousness before something irreversible happened.

"Yes."

"Do not anger me."

"Yes, my lord."

No one was unaware of how demonic Sharent Clowen had been on the battlefield.

He had never been stained by a single drop of blood or a speck of dust after long battles.

A noble ruler of the battlefield.

He planned strategies and fought on the front lines.

Even amidst this, he explored ruins and obtained artifacts, winning the war without even using their power.

In his usual life, he was very gentle.

After the war, when the blood before his eyes disappeared, Sharent Clowen lived without fully revealing his true nature.

'...It was similar to that time.'

Though he didn't see blood, the sharp atmosphere and the piercing aura were no different from that time.

"Investigate."

"As you command, my lord."

The knights, who had bowed deeply once more, disappeared silently.

Sharent Clowen slowly stopped stroking and looked down at Serina.

A child who resembled his younger brother a lot.

'Selfish, stubborn, and always trying to solve things on her own.'

It didn't matter if her face was bruised or in a mess.

Vallian had been like that, and the child who inherited his blood was no different.

However, Sharent Clowen was puzzled.

When he cut the shadows in the ruins, he saw the wife of Sir Sulliven and the orphanage director. The person standing awkwardly beside them was probably the director's son.

From this, it was highly likely that the shadows were people the child had killed.

The question was why there were so many. A child who had only been alive for a little over two years.

Even if she was three, she hadn't even reached 36 months.

Even if she was 36 months old, the number was far too many. Shadows kept appearing, one after another, no matter how many she killed.

It took hours of continuous fighting for all the shadows to disappear.

All of them were killed by the child? It was absurd.

If so, the premise needed to be changed. There was no other event that could have connected the child, the wife of Sir Sulliven, and the orphanage director. At least, as far as he could remember.

The only common point was Serina.

She used the magic stone skillfully, managed her magic power, attacked, and was highly cautious. Moreover, she used black magic.

Not only that, but the child was trying to leave the house.

When she left the duke's house on her own and entered the orphanage, it was beyond absurd.

"Serina."

He called softly.

No answer came from the child's lips, which were breathing softly.

He would probably have to call her hundreds or thousands of times more.

"Even if you are who you are, once you've stepped in, you can't leave without permission."

If she had gone to the academy willingly, this might not have happened.

He would have let her go to the academy and become independent, like the illegitimate children recorded in the Clowen family's records.

But Serina didn't do that.

She finally caught his eye, and he couldn't leave her alone.

Yes, he didn't want to abandon her.

Sharent Clowen admitted it.

He was already interested in the child, regardless of whether she was the illegitimate child of his deceased brother.

To the point of giving her the Clowen castle and even considering taking her under his wing.

"To do that, I need to take a closer look at you one by one."

Until now, he had only given her minimal attention.

He hadn't cared about her room or clothes, and only paid attention to her food, which was directly related to her life.

Even when she was on the verge of starving to death, she didn't ask for help but found food on her own.

But the child took it for granted.

She never complained about what was given and even openly rejected it, saying it wasn't necessary.

So when she left the house, he was surprised. He never expected her to enter the orphanage on her own.

When he saw Serina being carried out in a maid's arms during the earthquake that accompanied the creation of the ruins, he felt strange.

It was a faint sense of guilt. The words that slipped out at that time were probably an extension of that guilt.

'Guilt...'

Feeling guilty about something so trivial, after trampling countless lives and achieving victory, made him laugh.

He slowly lowered his eyes.

"Revolutionaries."

A group he had never heard of. But it didn't seem like a lie.

He slowly closed his eyes. The warmth he felt from his fingertips wasn't unpleasant.

* * *

"I didn't say to come back empty-handed, did I?"

In the dimly lit room, Asmodeus, who was tilting a wine glass, spoke softly.

A shadow gradually appeared in the room, which seemed empty.

"There were fewer gaps than expected."

"Gaps?"

"The Clowen holding the child tried to protect her. He also said not to touch her under his protection."

Dantalian replied with a blank expression.

Asmodeus showed no reaction to the matter-of-fact tone.

He quietly tilted the glass and exhaled softly.

"What about its condition?"

"The child could cast quite a bit of magic. I've never seen a young human do that."

Satisfaction was evident in his curved eyes.

Asmodeus showed interest in the predatory gaze, which was rare for someone who had shown no interest in anything.

"The child used the best magic she could."

Dantalian praised Serina.

A small, frail body, yet she used the best magic she could, even under the strain of overuse.

The magic that was best suited to repel the opponent. If the situation had been a bit better, he would have wanted to bring her.

"Asmodeus, can you give me Serina?"

"Unfortunately, I have a use for her too."

Dantalian shrugged at Asmodeus's indifferent words.

Asmodeus slowly lowered his eyes. The red gem on his left ring finger instantly changed color.

"But I can give her to you after the job is done."

"Let me think about it. I really want her."

Dantalian stood up obediently, receiving Asmodeus's cold gaze.

His tone, thoughts, memories, and actions were all strangely out of place.

"I should go now. The tower master is waiting."

"By the way, they wanted the child too, didn't they?"

"The tower master wants to raise her as a disciple."

Dantalian chuckled.

The rare expression on his face was a sneer filled with malice.

Asmodeus also sneered, finding it amusing.

The people outside probably didn't know how strangely Silophia was growing without its center, Hella.

"Melaine, he hasn't moved on from the ghost of the former tower master. He's trying to tread the same path she did."

"Hella... Is it about the child?"

Asmodeus's voice grew heavy.

"Yes."

Dantalian answered silently.

Melaine was trying to take on disciples and raise them, just like her.

He tried to obtain the same artifact she had, but failed multiple times. Despite lacking the ability and skill, he rose to the position of tower master through underhanded means.

Dantalian, looking at Asmodeus, slowly spoke.

"I'll be going now."

Asmodeus nodded without showing any displeasure at the matter-of-fact statement.

A magic circle glowed on Dantalian's shoulder, and he disappeared instantly.

In the empty room, Asmodeus put down the empty glass and stood up.