Chapter 676 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘Origin of the Species’ (20)
—
– Lee Seokhwan
—
A shocking statement echoed from the monster that had taken over the driver’s body.
“The king has vanished. The dukes even conveyed the unbelievable story that the king has perished.”
Even though I’m not an agent or staff member of the Administration Bureau, I’m not so foolish as to not understand who the monster refers to as the king.
After all, the king directly revealed his identity right in front of me!
The memory of that incident remains vividly fresh in my mind even after all these years.
“I am the king. The rightful ruler of the faithful beyond the galaxy, and the king of those who will be born on this land. Also, your king.”
Hearing that the being that had loomed over my heart with eternal fear had perished struck me as utterly bewildering.
In my shock, I found myself asking, “Who… who has perished?”
“It seems you don’t understand the situation well.”
“Th-that’s—”
“Enough. I will find out myself. Fortunately, the duke has loaned me the proper power for this….”
Right after that, a hazy mist emerged from the monster’s body, enveloping me.
What followed was an unbearable and nauseating experience.
To put it bluntly, it felt like relentless, squirming tentacles were squeezing my brain.
I screamed like a little kid, but my reaction didn’t seem to bother the monster at all.
Of course, there was no one coming to rescue me from my screams.
The ‘Count’ seemed to start from my most recent memories and then rewound to the past.
He even asked questions about the gaps in my memories here and there.
In other words, he had been reviewing instances where I had cooperated with the Administration Bureau—or someone disguised as one over the years.
The reaction came swiftly.
“Oh oh!”
As someone who had been on the job, I had no idea what I had done.
However, the Count appeared to understand the nature of what I had been involved in.
“The king is preparing to bestow grace!”
“G-grace?”
“Haha! Yes, indeed! How could this small land possess the power to slay a king? He is merely preparing to bestow grace.”
In that moment of confusion, the Count suddenly smiled.
“It seems you are the chosen servant of the king. If I was too harsh, I apologize. Rest assured, your loyalty will be rewarded.”
I still didn’t understand what was happening, but it seemed that my actions had greatly helped those beings.
Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled about it.
What should be a joyous occasion for aliens to toy with human bodies hardly seems like a happy matter for humans.
“…”
It was as if I had become a traitor to humanity to save my own skin.
A sense of guilt overwhelmed me, stronger than any guilt I had felt in my life.
Many have sold out their countries, their families, but—
Am I the first to betray humanity itself?
Not just a traitor (betrayer), but a human traitor (selling out humans)!
Perhaps my tormented feelings were sensed?
The now lenient Count spoke with consideration.
“Don’t take it too hard, my child.”
“…”
“You really don’t know about ‘grace,’ do you? I assure you, it is not harmful to you.”
“Is—is that true?”
“Indeed. The king is truly most benevolent. He blesses even those of you who dwell in juvenile realms.”
From the Count’s demeanor, the term ‘king’ seemed less fitting than ‘god.’
Perhaps in the process of translating an alien’s words into human terms, the concept somewhere between king and god had been translated as ‘king.’
…
Lost in such a perplexed thought, I began to feel slightly more relaxed at this juncture.
The attitude of the one who recognized me as the king’s servant appeared notably lenient.
At least, he didn’t seem to have any intention of killing or abusing me.
Even if applied to human interactions, it makes sense.
An arrogant noble wouldn’t act recklessly in front of a lowly servant if that servant were a servant of a great emperor.
So, I decided to turn the tables and ask the Count a question.
To resolve a long-standing curiosity in my heart.
Through my interactions with the Administration Bureau, I realized there are countless secrets too vast for me to handle, and curiosity about them often leads to a miserable death.
However, can I really suppress the curiosity about my child as a parent?
A story I heard long ago popped back into my mind.
“From small, tiny you, someone will emerge with a great destiny. The one who cries out for the Three Thousand Worlds has chosen one of your young children.”
“May I ask just one thing?”
“Go ahead. If it’s a question I can answer, I shall elaborate.”
“Who is the one who cries out for the Three Thousand Worlds?”
“…What do you mean?”
Looking back, perhaps I should have stopped when I saw the Count’s expression.
“The king once said: the one who cries out for the Three Thousand Worlds has chosen one of my children—”
“What did you say?”
“I… said something strange—”
— POOF!
Before I could react, a sharp force pierced my head once more.
This time, the pain was far more excruciating, perhaps due to the shock the Count had absorbed.
“Guh!”
As the harrowing time ended, I gasped for air while glancing at the Count’s expression.
He had been twisting his face and body bizarrely since earlier.
It was as if his control over his human form was shaken by surprise.
“It must not be….”
“Huh?”
The next statement was something beyond my understanding.
“Your majesty, it must not be! Even you must not recklessly meddle in realms beyond your reach!”
With those words, the Count in the driver’s seat suddenly went limp.
“… Count?”
“….”
I shook him a couple of times until he stared blankly back at me.
“Ah, Chairman, you’ve arrived?”
“…”
He was no longer the Count, but the original owner of the body—my driver.
“Oh dear, it seems I dozed off. My apologies.”
“No worries. Let’s head home.”
“Yes!”
With that, the Count vanished without a trace.
*
“One important secret has been revealed. The king of Is is not truly dead.”
“If we presume based on the Count’s words, it seems he is preparing grace.”
“Perhaps during this grace period, the main body disappears?”
“So even the higher-ups thought the king was dead? But Kain, what exactly is grace?”
“I’m not sure. It seems connected to what the Administration Bureau described as humanity’s evolution.”
A brief, silent pause filled the observation room.
Soon after, Sanghyun, seeking to recover his stamina, paused the observation and posed a question to Kain.
“I have another query. From the looks of it, it seems the king hasn’t revealed his plans to the dukes of Is.”
“That explains the chaos on Earth.”
“Why hasn’t he disclosed it?”
“… The Count’s last behavior seems to answer that.”
“Really?”
“The plan, when revealed, would prompt opposition from the dukes of Is.”
*
– Lee Seokhwan
—
Nothing unusual happened until I arrived home.
The driver didn’t turn back into the Count and didn’t pressure me again.
In the end, I had to return home with unanswered questions swirling in my mind.
— DING!
“Dad~! Are you home?”
Seeing my kids, as usual, welcoming me, the clouds in my heart cleared up.
My eldest, Jeongho, who never misses being at the top of his class in prestigious schools.
My second son, Jinwook, boasting a proud physique and handsome looks—who knows who he resembles?
And my adorable little youngest, Heeyoon, who beams with her cute voice!
Unintentionally breaking into a smile, I patted Heeyoon first in order.
In response, my perceptive youngest daughter looked puzzled.
“Dad? Is something wrong?”
“…”
“Dad? You don’t smell like alcohol.”
“Haha! No worries, it’s just work stuff!”
As I was speaking, I noticed Eunsol was missing.
“Heeyoon, where’s Eunsol?”
Then Jinwook chuckled while kicking his feet.
“I bet Eunsol’s sulking on her bed right now!”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know!”
Though all my children have their quirks, there are always the ones who are more sensitive.
Eunsol had always been that one for my wife.
She shares a special bond but gets scolded a bit more harshly than the others.
Though I’ve often expressed confusion, I never stopped them.
Shouldn’t I let my wife handle the household while I focus on work?
“Alright, I’ll take a rest so you kids go on and sleep.”
“Okay!”
Soon after, I settled onto the terrace, sipping lightly on a glass of wine.
I could feel my body and mind relaxing slowly after the tension from meeting the Count.
As I tried to reflect on the day…
— TING!
The door swung open, and a familiar presence approached.
“Hmm? Oh, it’s you.”
It was my beloved wife.
From the looks of it, she must have heard the kids whispering, “I wonder if something happened to Dad today!”
“…”
“Haha, there’s nothing to worry about. It was a long day at work—”
“You disappoint me again.”
In a thunderous shock, my senses jolted awake!
“Wh-what is this—”
Realization dawned as I saw my wife’s smiling eyes.
She was asking me if the ‘king’ had broken another promise to her!
“I didn’t! I swear it’s not like that!”
“…”
“Please, check! I didn’t break the promise of my own will, it was that… that Count who used, uh, some unknown power to force me—”
“That’s only half a valid excuse.”
“Y-yeah?”
“While it’s true that information about grace leaked out against your will….”
Just then, she stepped forward, a grin upon her face.
“But didn’t you ask questions that might have stirred things up?”
Right! Right!
I had asked the Count questions.
Out of sheer curiosity about the meaning behind, “The one who cries out for the Three Thousand Worlds has chosen one of your young children.”
As I realized this, an unbearable dread gripped my soul.
“Silence. Forget. Obey.”
I recalled the time I first broke that command.
The horrible sight of ten innocent people, controlled by a devil, tearing out their tongues!
Isn’t this my own house?
Imagining my children tearing out their tongues as if possessed by spirits drove me to madness.
“Please… please… I’d rather you take my tongue…”
“…”
“The kids are innocent! They know nothing…! Take my tongue—”
That’s when my wife pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, her smile still radiating.
She gently wiped the cold sweat off my face, lifting me from my kneeling position.
“Wow, your majesty?”
Could it be this time she’s forgiving me?
Thinking back, the Count must have seen me as a loyal servant of the king!
Having served the king for so long, maybe this time he might forgive me for my mistakes.
As that glimmer of hope filled my heart…
The king finally spoke.
“My child.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Who do you think I am?”
“Y-you said you were the king? The great one—”
“Not that, I’m talking about this body.”
“…M-my wife’s body? The king has temporarily taken residence in my wife’s form—”
“Temporarily taken residence in your wife’s body?”
“Yes?”
Then she smiled broadly.
“Then, child, what is your wife’s name?”
“What do you—”
In that instant, I stumbled upon an utterly absurd realization!
“Didn’t you just ask for your wife’s name?”
The woman who had borne my children for decades.
I didn’t know her name.
“What’s her name?”
“Could you tell me how your wife looks?”
I also couldn’t describe how she looked.
Even though she was right before my eyes…
I couldn’t figure out whether she was beautiful or ugly, young or old—let alone if she was a human or a mass of tentacles!
…
My brain seemed to melt down.
I couldn’t handle the memories of this day.
I swore by all means, I would forget every single bit of this forever.
*
– Lee Eunsol
—
— WHOOSH!
In the midst of a tremendous shock, the butterfly turned back into ‘Lee Eunsol.’
At that moment, I was so surprised that my mouth dropped open!
“What the actual—!”
Almost losing my sanity, I felt a presence behind me.
“Eunsol.”
An extremely familiar yet nostalgic voice.
Also, at this moment, it was the voice of the most terrifying entity in the universe!
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