Huff, huff.
Eliya blew gently.
She cooled the runny porridge resting on her spoon.
Checking the temperature by lightly touching it to her lips.
It was just the right warmth.
She carefully brought the spoon to her mouth.
Not her own mouth, but the mouth of the person lying beside her.
She parted his lips slightly with her hand and let the porridge flow past them.
Then closed his lips and wiped around.
This action was repeated several times.
Eliya’s Bedroom.
On the bed lay the unconscious Judas, and Eliya took care of him beside him.
On the wall facing the bed was a large crystal.
It shimmered in a translucent sky blue; it was ice.
Ice that Bolse had created and Eliya had reinforced, unmelting ice.
Inside it was Maria, trapped.
As she was at the time of her death.
Her upper body half torn, organs and blood spilled, everything preserved inside.
A dagger was also stuck in her chest.
Now she could use magic, but she couldn’t carelessly take Ria out.
The one who said she could save her after pulling out the dagger was Judas, but he still hadn’t woken up.
She couldn’t act hastily.
Several days had passed, and she had never left Judas’s side.
The maids brought the food, and Eliya was the only one who fed him.
She didn’t forget to use detoxification magic obsessively each time.
There were probably countless documents arriving at the mansion.
Post-war paperwork.
And requests for explanations regarding the recent Imperial ambush.
Eliya let her hands fall.
To be exact, they didn’t grasp anything.
Just thinking about Judas was overwhelming.
Fortunately, there was someone in the mansion to take care of that work.
Head butler Miguel, along with knight captain Gawain and wizard Bolse.
A few knights skilled in paperwork were taking turns handling it.
The imperial army hadn’t returned in that time either.
They did come for reconnaissance, but were immediately burned to death.
Currently, a small sun floated above Eliya’s mansion.
A magical defense system that burned approaching enemies within a certain distance with beams of light.
This was established by Eliya.
It was a type of magic that didn’t exist before; she hadn’t learned it.
It simply formed because Eliya wished for such magic, and it came to be.
Her imagination and desires were realized in the form of magic.
She stepped into the realm of creation, not just mere invention.
What was previously impossible, but Eliya didn’t have the leisure to notice that change and growth.
Occasionally, only those who came to see the magic from the magic tower were all that were around.
The sun wouldn’t attack unless it carried malice.
And so, it had already been several days.
Eliya hadn’t eaten anything, and hadn’t been able to sleep properly.
Her daily routine consisted of mindlessly keeping watch over Judas.
To her.
“Miss, I’m coming in.”
A guest had arrived.
Since Eliya hadn’t spoken for several days, the guest opened the door carefully without waiting for a reply.
It was Hermis.
Behind her, a figure with white hair and purple eyes.
The blind star.
It was Yurideke.
The person who had documents regarding Judas.
On the day she learned the truth about Judas, Eliya thought that Judas and the information guild were also related to her death.
But she realized that Judas hadn’t killed Maria, and in the end, left her alive as well.
Then who were those people?
She was curious but didn’t open her mouth.
She merely gazed at the guest with blank eyes.
“Lady Eliya, it’s been a while.”
Yurideke approached cautiously.
She was worried that Eliya might go on a rampage again.
“Ah, should I be calling you Your Grace now instead of Lady?”
Even at the light joke, Eliya remained expressionless.
She just looked at Yurideke blankly.
It was unclear if she was even listening.
“Your condition is much more serious than I’d heard…”
Yurideke sighed and sat down opposite her.
At any rate, she didn’t dismiss her guest and maintained eye contact.
This was a relief for Yurideke.
“I regret what happened last time. I couldn’t explain due to the urgency of the situation, but in fact, I’ve been fleeing the royal family for quite some time. I truly didn’t expect to find myself in such a situation at that time.”
“……”
“I came to clear up the misunderstanding. Let me cut to the chase. As you have discovered, Judas was an assassin, and the targets were you and your mother Maria.”
“……”
“However, it seems Judas didn’t kill Maria. I peeked into the Assassin Guild documents; the mission was recorded as a success, but in reality, it was a failure. For that reason, Judas was reprimanded and chased away. Ramek, they tried to hide their own blunder. … Are you listening?”
Eliya slowly nodded her head.
“Well, I’m trying to trace the background before that, but it’s not easy at all. I wondered if you might know something, so I came to check. You’re curious too, aren’t you? Why this all happened.”
“……”
“Or perhaps you’ve seen into Judas’s memories? I understand you completed that magic.”
Eliya shook her head.
She had tried to look, but frequently failed.
She just thought it was a type of barrier magic to prevent someone from confirming memories.
She knew she was a great wizard, but she couldn’t claim to have mastered all magic.
Now that she thought about it.
The last time, Judas asked her to check his memories again….
“Hey.”
Hermis interjected slyly.
Yurideke was flustered.
The fact that Hermis belonged to the information guild was a secret from Eliya.
However, suddenly chiming in like this caught her off guard.
On the other hand, Eliya’s hazy mind didn’t notice or point it out.
Hermis also couldn’t restrain herself from saying what she wanted.
“I visited with Lord Judas to Selene some time ago. At that time, Lord Judas said he felt as though he had been here before.”
“… Selene? Are you sure…?”
She almost spoke casually.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Selene.
Eliya remembered.
At that time, Judas had gone there on a mission.
It was perplexing why that location was significant.
Selene.
There was a small village nearby.
It supplied soap, candles, and milk to the city, and was also a large ranch where livestock were gathered.
When Eliya was brought to the main house, she had to kill someone because of Narcissi.
To be precise, she had to sign for the annihilation of a certain village.
That village was near the small wooden house where Maria and she had been hiding.
It was a place where good-hearted people lived, who sometimes came to help the hidden mother and daughter, and where Maria had given them a stable so she could give birth to Eliya.
And all the people of that village died under her signature.
Narcissi gave such an order to establish dominance in their relationship with Eliya.
She had been threatened, grabbed by the collar, slapped, and whipped.
If you don’t do it, your mother won’t come back, they threatened her.
The name of that village…
“Batrahem…”
Yurideke spoke that name.
Although it’s not widely known, there are those who do.
A village unjustly annihilated by the Bevel family.
Batrahem.
The only ones who knew that Eliya signed for that were Eliya herself and Narcissi.
And that incident was carried out by Cain, who was then learning to kill as part of the Black Spot.
“……”
Finally, all the clues came together.
The scattered fragments formed a single picture.
The village where Eliya was born.
The place near the wooden house where she lived with Maria.
Judas, who came from the village where she had signed for the massacre.
Judas, who tried to kill Maria and her.
Yurideke flinched at Eliya’s transformation.
Not only was she quietly shedding tears, but her eyes also turned golden.
It wasn’t a mix of red, orange light.
A complete golden color.
“Lady, why, what’s wrong…?”
Eliya didn’t react.
She simply used magic on Judas.
A type of magic that peered into memories.
She wanted to directly confirm the truth through his memories.
It was a dangerous magic for the subject’s mind, yet Eliya didn’t hesitate.
There was no reason to.
She was confident she could use it completely without side effects.
The first attempt was blocked.
But then she recalled Judas’s words from before.
He had told her to check his memories again. To use magic on him.
As if that would work.
Eliya waited three seconds before trying the magic again.
“…!”
She succeeded.
Her consciousness was drawn into Judas’s memories.
She moved to the necessary date.
To the time when Batrahem was annihilated.
About ten years ago.
*
A knight. Armor. Emblem.
A blazing symbol.
Windows. Night. Moon. Lights.
A silver sword glinting.
Blood spurting. Death throes.
“Mom? Dad…?”
A boy murmured.
A call that could not reach.
A call that should not be heard.
He, who hid, must not be discovered by them.
“Mom…. Dad….”
The boy swallowed his sobs and anger alone.
Emotions accumulated inside him festered like rotting pus.
He would not forget this day.
Neither the ones who killed his parents.
Nor himself, who could do nothing.
His hands, with nothing to hold, grasped empty air and clawed at his own skin.
The embrace felt hot.
…….
Eliya was the boy.
She sat huddled next to little Judas, watching and confirming everything.
This was Batrahem.
The Black Spot, the Bevel family’s covert organization, attacked the village.
Cain slaughtered Judas’s family.
Judas hid in the closet.
Cain didn’t search further inside; he set fire to the place and then left.
“Ha, ha….”
As a hazy figure, Eliya watched the past.
She shook her shoulders and laughed hollowly.
That laughter quickly turned into a heavy sigh.
The sigh transformed again, into a sob.
“Haha…. Ha… Hic…!”
She confirmed the truth.
The one who killed Judas’s family was Eliya herself.
In the end, everything was her fault.
*
It was a horrifying reality.
Because of her orders, Judas’s family was killed.
The village was gone.
How had she treated him all this time?
How many harsh words had she poured out? How dare she.
After sobbing for a long time, Eliya finally managed to compose herself.
She couldn’t just flounder in negative emotions.
“Calm down… I mustn’t waste time here.”
Time in memories flows faster than in reality.
Depending on the wizard’s ability, but in Eliya’s case, experiencing years inside could mean only a few minutes had passed in reality.
“Still, I need to leave early if possible. I don’t know what will happen. I need to look around a bit more. But….”
Suddenly, Eliya quietly watched little Judas hiding in the closet.
Black hair. Golden eyes.
Young, but that’s him.
The same appearance.
But….
“… Who is this?”
It seemed like someone entirely different from the Judas she knew.
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