Chapter 264
My Villains Episode 264
51. truth, farewell(6)
When I returned to the room after putting Ellen asleep on the bed, I saw someone sitting alone at the table..
Turning the pages in silence with an expressionless face was a beautiful woman with hair as black as the night sky hanging over one shoulder..
Amidst the noisy wind that rattles the windows on New Year's Eve, the space she occupies is extremely quiet..
That atmosphere... … . Well, to exaggerate a bit, it looks like a virgin ghost. Someone I don't know would be scared if they saw it..
Of course, this wasn't my first time experiencing this situation, so I just scratched my neck for a moment and sat down on the bed..
“……read a book?”
« O ” ugh.
Hayla, the shameless late-night visitor, answered succinctly without even paying attention. I was taken aback by his confident attitude as if it were his own room.
I feel like laughing.
In recent months, Hela has been the main focus of my observation..
It was natural to pay attention, as it possessed threatening power and massacred the army at Longville and even captured Atalanta and Ellen and took them hostage..
To conclude, that cautious observation greatly changed my impression of her..
Much of the anger or hatred Poynix had has also faded..
Hayla, who was considered a dangerous psychopath, wasn't that dangerous and didn't even seem like a psychopath..
My guess was that her emotionless appearance was not a manifestation of a genetic disorder but merely a learned imitation..
So, if we remove the prejudice caused by the expressionless face and cold atmosphere, Hayla was just an ordinary girl. Has a bit of an insider temperament.
She usually walked around so hard that I wondered where on earth she was shooting like that..
He goes in and out of places where the king's standard-bearers are stationed, such as the commercial building or the union office, as if it were his home, and gets information, or he stops by the lodgings where his subordinate mercenaries stay to check if anything is going on, or he takes a one-eyed Simos or a heavy soldier dervish with him to the market. Stop by to look at products, hear news from other regions through travelers passing through the castle gate, etc..
Even if he wanders around like that, he always returns to the guild hall when it's meal time and shows his face. It wasn't like we were having a special conversation or anything, we just ate at the same table and then sat near me for a while and then disappeared somewhere again..
Sometimes, on days when he couldn't spend much time with me, like now, he would come to me before I went to sleep, lounge around for thirty minutes to an hour, and then go back to his room..
Heila's appearance reminded me of a cat roaming the countryside..
A shameless cat that wanders around its territory with its tail stiffly raised, and when it gets hungry, it visits the generous grandfather who was appointed as its butler without his knowledge and meows. A cat that acts proud, but if you reach out and pet it, it purrs and meows happily..
“••••••Hmm.”
Holding back the laughter that threatened to escape my lips, I quietly observed Hayla..
The warm light from four or four candles passed over her features, casting deep shadows. Even though half of my white face is stained with a warm scarlet color, my red lips are clearly visible to me alone..
As I absentmindedly admire the eye-catching figure, the night deepens before I know it. Then Heila closes the bookshelf and says, ‘I’ll go. I whisper ‘good night’ and then go back to my room. that's routine
It's the end.......
Looks like not today.
Blink, blink.
Hayla closed the bookshelf and looked at me quietly. In the slow beat, I could read the hesitation.
“……why? I have something to say?”
W.O. ” “〒
She answered as if she had been waiting, then paused again before opening her mouth..
“La-Palais Palace. I'd better not go.”
“……What are you talking about out of nowhere??”
“I'd better not go to the palace.”
These words are so unexpected that I narrow my eyebrows without realizing it..
“Um, I don't understand why you say that.?”
“Why do you need to go to the palace??”
“…… It was only a few days ago that I had a hard time dealing with pursuers from the palace. If we don't go and solve the problem, more wizards will come after us in the future..”
“All you have to do is go to Ellen. you won't help solve the problem.”
Befitting her stern tone, Hayla's gaze towards me did not waver..
“What makes you think that way??”
As soon as the question was finished, she gave an answer as if she had been waiting..
“First, your identity matters..”
first? not one?
“……my identity?”
“You belong to the Jaharkar family..”
Hayla continued speaking in her usual tone of voice..
“Black hair and eyes, majestic physique, and excellent martial arts and blood manipulation skills. These are elements that will make anyone think of Zahakar or Baluin..”
“That's it, just hide it like you did until now..”
“It's not that easy. Even here, hundreds of kilometers away from Eyland, there are people who doubt your identity..”
“……what? who?”
“This is a story from Baron Griff's military camp. You may be suspecting that Prince Ulkar may have joined hands with Eyland..”
In this world, black hair and dark eyes were something rare. It is much rarer for someone to be over 190 centimeters tall, and even rarer is a blood magician strong enough to apply blood magic in combat. So, it was only natural to think of Zahakar and Baluin, the origins of blood magic, upon seeing the large blood knight with black hair and black eyes..
Fortunately, I pretended to be a commoner mercenary in South Harbor. It was when he received a manor and knighthood from Prince Ulkar that he gained fame as a national district. For that reason, anyone who noticed that I was related to the Duke of Eyland... … At least it doesn't seem to have happened so far.
However, it has already been half a year since I made a name for myself. It was natural for people to doubt my identity..
“Moreover, Tirin Mel is a subsidiary island of Eyland. The older wizards in the palace will recognize our blood relatives at a glance..”
w O ugh” —
“The La-Palais Palace is a group with such high independence that even formal submission to the king is considered humiliating. If you carelessly step into a place like that, Ellen will be misunderstood..”
“what a misunderstanding?”
“The misunderstanding that external forces were brought in to wash away sins or to fight for power. It will be a huge burden for Ellen, who has to gather supporters..”
I guess it makes sense..
As Hayla watched me lean against the wall with my arms crossed, she explained the second reason..
“The Elemental School strictly prohibits fighting among its members. Although this rule is often not followed outside the palace, it is different inside the palace. It means there's no need to fight.”
“……I guess it's like that among the members. But Ellen might not be able to clear her name.?”
“Ellen has a noble lineage, outstanding magic power, and a witness. If the descendant of Radhakaline, who returned after a year, is using powerful magic, the Grand Masters of the palace will try to find out the truth even if it means splitting Saitz's head. I might use forbidden methods.”
“If anything goes wrong,,”
“That possibility must be ruled out..”
“exclude, say?”
“If seven grandmasters, forty masters, and three hundred battle wizards were the enemy, we wouldn't be able to defeat them even if all of our group went over them..”
I am speechless. Hayla's words poured out onto the back of her hand as she stroked her face..
“If you go to the palace, Ellen will only suffer politically and it will not help Ilshin's well-being. Moreover, if you leave, the rest of the group will lose focus and disperse. I guess I'll have to give up the Monastery of Seteniora..”
“Prince Ulkar-”
“If Prince Ulkar withdraws, the Elector Counts of the Empire will trample the West. There's no way the prince doesn't know that, so he won't be able to send any significant troops toward the monastery..”
Well, okay. There will be no benefit and only a lot of loss.?
I scratched my eyebrows and sighed..
“okay. I understand everything you said.”
“then—”
“still,”
Hayla, who had stopped speaking, blinked rapidly as if she had guessed my answer..
“I'm going.”
“•••••♦why?”
“Ellen is only seventeen years old. I'll be eighteen in a month.”
“Whether you're seventeen or eighteen, you're still an adult. The age at which one can legally be conscripted, marry to form a new family, and take vows to become a monk or nun..”
“adult… … . Yeah, well, right.”
I wet my dry lips and shook my head..
“But that's about normal kids. Ellen is the one who stayed in the palace for seventeen years. Is that it? No parents, no teachers, no friends. Instead of having a trustworthy relative, your wildcat-like uncle is trying to bite your head off..”
“It's a fate that came early, a reward for a past life, and a responsibility given to one's lineage. “Ellen has to handle it all.” “Who decides that?” I continued speaking, erasing the sarcasm with a deep sigh..
“I don't care what you say. I just want to protect Ellen.”
“When you're struggling to survive on your own, I want to support you even if I can't provide you with actual help. Comfort me when I'm about to break down, and don't comfort me when I'm sad……
Heyla watched quietly as the words blurred..
I took the breath that had been sucked deep into my chest and poured out my feelings..
“You won't be able to handle it alone.”
“Ellen needs me.”
Blink, blink, blink.......
The blinking of the eyes, which had been rapidly beating, gradually subsided in silence, and finally stopped..
Hayla had an expression I had never seen before. Both eyebrows were pulled back slightly, creating a slight furrow between the eyebrows, and the corners of the closed mouth twitched slightly. When I looked into the eyes that seemed to have stopped, I saw that they were trembling slightly..
She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The red lips, which had been moving silently as if popping underwater, soon closed again..
Hayla's chest heaved for a moment as if she was trying to catch her breath. And then he suddenly said.
“This is love.”
The words were a bit short for being spoken after a long silence. I thought about those words for a moment and then nodded..
“that's right.”
I forgot. The moment she blinked for the first time in a long time, Hayla regained her usual face. An expressionless face.
“That won't help either..”
“……what?”
“yes… … Because love will hurt Ellen.”
What kind of bullshit is this again?.
Heat slowly rose to the top of my head and I brushed my hair, and Hayla continued speaking quietly..
“You are a descendant of the blood king..”
“……Why does the Blood King suddenly appear??”
“They must be very similar. I can feel it through your blood.”
Hayla didn't care whether I made a face or not..
“That's why I felt superior while killing people, that's why I trembled with joy while drinking blood, and that's why I wandered the streets at night trembling with hunger..”
“……What are you talking about?.”
Suddenly, the watery pitch black eyes glowed darkly. Have you ever had a glimpse of... … A twisted desire was burning within him..
When we encountered that fire again, I came to understand her as if I had been struck by lightning. Poynix's memories and the facts learned while observing her were woven together like weft and warp..
“It is nearly impossible to fully understand and accept the blood of the Blood King..”
Clever Hayla noticed at a very young age that she was different from her blood relatives. As a child, she decided that revealing her mutation would not help her survive. So, following the family tradition, I imitated apathy..
In the process, young Hayla did not understand the difference between emotions and desires. The oppression of desire that began from that point on has continued to this day..
“I can do it.”
And, the more you suppress desires, the more vicious and bizarre they become..
“Because, like you, I am a descendant of the Blood King..”
I was left speechless by the black burning eyes and the madness I felt there..
“Not Ellen. Your love will hurt Ellen. No, it's already hurting me..”
“……“Stop talking bullshit.” “Ellen should have left. Because I won’t be able to understand or accept you. It's too late now. You are stained with the blood of the Blood King.”
“Stop, shut up.”
“Ellen is not an innocent girl who needs your protection. A battle wizard who can burn dozens of people to death with a single spell and pierce their throats with a single wave of his hand..”
“please！”
I jumped up and was about to hit the table where Hayla was sitting with my fist, but then I took a deep breath. And he said as if admonishing.
“Don't talk nonsense. What Ellen killed were thieves, monsters, and enemies that were targeting us. If even killing those guys is a sin and corruption, then all the people in this world are-”
“There are people who are not.”
“-what?”
The conversation, which had been raising voices, stopped in an instant..
“Just now, what?”
Hayla, who was slightly intoxicated unlike usual, closed her mouth and blinked her eyes slowly..
“say. What do you mean by that??”
“……everyone,”
“everyone?”
“Not everyone was the enemy. There were innocent people too.”
I held my breath due to an inexplicable ominous feeling. I wanted to kick Hayla out like this, but the story had already begun..
In a calm tone, she told me a terrible story that I did not know that happened in South Harbor..
I couldn't close my eyes or stop my ears. All I could do was step back and sit back on the bed..
“Why is this happening, why is it now?-”
“Because I understand Ellen..”
“Ellen,?”
WO ” ugh.
Hayla had a delicate expression. At first glance, her eyes looked like those of a child who knew nothing..
“send Ellen to the palace.”
But deep beneath the eyes, there was a twisted desire. Also, the feelings that had just sprouted were slowly spreading out..
“before we hurt him.”
Last night, the cold wind shook the windows..
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