Chapter 29

“Escape!”

I shouted with all my might as I left the infirmary.

Because I got caught going out with Laurel yesterday, I had no choice but to wait quietly for Professor Artemia.

I couldn’t help but feel good after finally getting permission to leave!

“Were you locked up in a prison or something?”

I thought no one was there, but my body flinched at the sound of a voice.

As I turned my head with a creak, I saw Lerwon’s face.

I thought no one was there, damn it.

It was a little embarrassing, but the answer in times like these was to be brazen.

“Did you come to visit?”

“Yeah, no morning classes today, right?”

“Yes.”

He probably already knows my schedule inside and out, so there's no need to even ask. To ask on purpose, should I call it a little shady?

“Well, I was planning to go back to the dorm.”

I was thinking of checking on Albedo, and telling Lucian and Zephyros about the hideout Laurel senior told me about.

Though I would change my plans if Lerwon, of all people, proposed to accompany me.

“Can you spare me a moment?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Not going to ask why?”

Lerwon asked with a bright smile.

Yeah, from my perspective of wanting to get closer, I’d be grateful if Lerwon approached me.

“Then, buy me lunch or something.”

“Haha. I’ll have to buy you something expensive.”

The dry laughter fell to the floor and crumbled like fallen leaves.

The way he unconsciously feigned kindness was not entirely welcome. Funnily enough, that smile was what proved he was an empty, hollow person.

“It’s fine if we just eat together at the dorm.”

The dorm food is so delicious that most restaurants can’t even hold a candle to it, anyway.

The expression that flickered across my senior’s face for a moment was quite strange.

An expression like looking at a monster you would never understand in your life.

For some reason, seeing Lerwon’s expression made me laugh.

Lerwon perfectly managed his expression again and gave a gentle smile.

“Still, since there’s sincerity, let’s go outside the Academy.”

“Sounds good.”

I hope it’s delicious, even if it’s not as good as the Academy dining hall.

Though that probably won’t be easy.

* * *

To think there was a person who could pull off that difficult feat…!

The food at the restaurant Lerwon brought me to was the best I’ve had in my past and present lives combined.

The honey-glazed ham that melted in my mouth was so good that I wiped it all up, not even leaving the sauce, to the point where it didn’t even need to be washed.

“It’s the best food I’ve ever eaten!”

I have to bring Lucian and Zephyros here later. We have to share such delicious things together.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Lerwon, who had brought me, barely ate half of the course.

There were times when he only took one bite and left the rest, so I even finished up the food that came out for Lerwon.

How on earth can he leave this delicious food. It’s a taste that would make your mouth water with just one bite, even if you had no appetite.

“The chef of this restaurant is also scheduled to be in charge of the party banquet this Friday.”

“Really?”

They would feel burdened if I brought them to a restaurant like this, so maybe I should take them to the party instead? Or would they feel more burdened by the party?

Besides, I can’t just bring another uninvited guest without an invitation.

“If you want to bring Lucian, bring him.”

“Is that okay?”

“There was no specific name on the invitation, was there?”

I took out the invitation I had in my bosom and checked, and as Lerwon said, there was no specific name on the invitation.

What does that have to do with this?

“An invitation without a name means that the person who received it welcomes whoever they bring without caring.”

“Ah.”

“Bring Laurel senior or Lucian. Mother will surely welcome them.”

Would Zephyros be okay too?

As I was looking at the invitation with serious eyes, Lerwon added.

“The young master of Nevera probably already received an invitation. Though he would have thrown it away by now.”

Still, there’s human sincerity, but to go as far as throwing it away… I guess he would.

Thinking of Zephyros’s sharp hostility towards Lerwon, he’s a guy who could do that.

As I gave an awkward smile, Lerwon smiled brightly. It was a truly refreshing smile. It was also just as ominous a smile.

“Then shall we get to the main point?”

Right, I’ve been waiting for that main point.

What on earth did Lerwon want to say that he went to the trouble of asking for my time?

I observed Lerwon with a nervous face.

Lerwon was still wearing a mask and smiling perfectly.

“Won’t you reconsider the contract with my mother?”

“…Pardon?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t expect it, but to say it so directly? If it were Lerwon… I thought he would approach more secretly or beat around the bush.

“It’s an inappropriate thing to say as an adopted son. But, I can’t just stand by and watch a junior walk into hell.”

Lerwon no longer smiled consciously.

He just looked straight at me with a terribly hollow face.

It was an attitude that he would no longer hide his true intentions with a smile.

Like a prey before a predator, the blood in my veins grew cold.

“Consider it seriously.”

It was only a moment that he revealed his true form.

He put on the mask again, left behind only a perfect smile, and left.

* * *

In the end, I couldn't give Lerwon any answer.

“Damn it.”

I roughly scratched the back of my head and entered the training ground.

In the training ground, there were two types of students: those who stood awkwardly as if they were awkward, and those who warmed up familiarly.

Zephyros and Lucian belonged to the latter.

Well, it's probably natural since they spend half of their day rolling around in the training ground.

For reference, I was also in the latter category.

The rehabilitation exercises I had done as if struggling for survival in a short period of time were not to be ignored.

Though the durability of my body is comparable to Coup d’Etat!

“Cian, Zephi.”

As I approached them, the expression on Zephyros’s face, who spotted me, was as fierce as a demon that had crawled up from hell.

Ugh, anyone who saw him would think Zephyros was the demon, not Albedo.

It seems he heard from Lucian that I said I was having lunch with Lerwon.

“Theo Lisitoel, you!!”

He even calls me by my full name!

I want to run away right now, but unfortunately, there are only 20 minutes left until class.

Besides, with my stats, there’s no way I can escape from Zephyros.

Which means… I have no choice but to talk!

“Alright, let’s talk.”

I moved with Zephyros to a place in the training ground where there were no people.

Zephyros took out the magic tool he had taken out before and blocked others from hearing our conversation.

As soon as he confirmed that the magic tool was working properly, Zephyros immediately asked.

“I really don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Zephyros let out a big sigh and swept his hair back.

“Do you even know what kind of person that human is to be hanging out with him?!”

Zephyros shouted.

It was honestly a little surprising that a guy who rarely raises his voice would go this far.

He must really dislike Lerwon. Well, it’s not that I don’t understand what he’s feeling, but I didn’t want to look like a clueless idiot.

“I know too.”

“…What?”

Something you’re reluctant to say out loud.

Someone’s most secret and dark past.

“The time when Lerwon senior wasn’t ‘Lerwon Viden’.”

The reason why Iris Viden, a human that even the demon Albedo was wary of, chose Lerwon.

“The fact that senior stabbed his own parents to death, I know that too.”

* * *

“X-bal! You vile X-kki!”

A contemptuous voice spat out a sharp curse.

Thwack, the guard who had kicked him in the head was about to inflict more violence but was stopped by a fellow guard and spat on Lerwon, ptui!

‘Lerwon’, who had curled up his body at the inflicted violence, held his breath quietly without even letting out a groan.

Because nothing would change even if he made a sound.

“Why do you have to lay a hand on that little one? What are you going to do if he dies?”

As his fellow guard asked, clicking his tongue, the guard who had wiped his hand as if the place he had touched was dirty picked up a stone and threw it at Lerwon with all his might.

“Do you pity a murderer bastard who killed his parents at that age?”

Murderer─

At that word, Lerwon’s body trembled.

They’re dead, they’re really dead.

But, strangely, neither laughter nor tears came out.

It felt like his father and mother would appear and slap him at any moment.

The curses like a blade were still vivid in his ears… there was no way they were dead.

Or, were they really dead?

Was the blood that spread warmly in his hand not just his own illusion?

“A high-ranking person is coming, why do we have to watch over this kind of guy?”

At the grumbling words, his fellow guard laughed lightly.

“It’s the rule to watch over a prisoner with a grave sin directly, so we have no choice.”

“Tsk, how annoying.”

It was when the guard who had scratched his head roughly was about to play a card game.

Clack, clack.

The sound of sharp high heels that were rarely heard in a prison rang out.

The guard who heard the sound, which sounded cheerful, shot up from his seat and bowed his head.

“Nice to meet you!!”

At the ringing voice, Lerwon turned his barely-moving body and looked up at the place where he felt a presence.

“…?”

There, a woman with hair as if spun from molten gold and eyes that held the sun was smiling brightly and looking down at him.

“Who is this child?”

When the woman pointed at the imprisoned Lerwon with her fan, the guard immediately answered.

“He is a fellow who committed patricide and was imprisoned.”

“Hmm… he doesn’t look that age.”

Moreover, isn’t it quite menacing for a child this young to be imprisoned?

It was a soft voice full of leisureliness.

“The crime scene was quite gruesome.”

“How gruesome was it?”

No, her eyes were not as noble as the sun.

That was blood. The warm and cold blood that had stained Lerwon’s hands that day.

“It seems he stabbed the corpses several times. And his own parents at that! What a terrible child!”

“I like him.”

A voice like a beautiful melody flowed out like a song.

“Pardon…?”

The woman didn’t care about the guard’s bewilderment at all, bent down, and met Lerwon’s eyes.

“Are you in hell right now?”

There was no answer.

But, as if the gaze alone was enough of an answer, the woman burst out laughing, so loudly the prison seemed to shake, hahaha!

The laughter that had continued for a long time suddenly stopped, as if cutting a taut string.

“Child.”

What flickered past her eyes for a moment was the pure and cruel joy of a child who had found an interesting toy.

“Will you not become my adopted son?”

* * *

What was the answer back then?

He couldn't remember. Lerwon slowly blinked his eyes.

His body, with just a simple torture, quickly sagged like cotton soaked in water.

But, strangely, no tears came out. He was sure that when he was in a lot of pain in the old days, tears would come out.

At what point did tears stop coming out even in pain?

He couldn’t remember that either.

“Hmm….”

The terribly red shoes followed the tapping of his toes.

Each time, red drops fell from the heels of the shoes, but at least in this place, no one cared.

“My beloved son.”

It was a dry voice to contain love. Her eyes were also just cold, as if looking at an object.

The eyes that had been just hollow suddenly turned chilly, as if a sudden cold wave had hit.

“Do you think I let go of the leash?”

At the same time as Iris flicked her hand, a scream as if all the air had been sucked out echoed in the huge basement.

As she flicked her finger once more, for a moment, the scream stopped.

Lerwon gasped for breath in pain, but Iris didn’t care about such things.

“There’s a limit to misunderstanding.”

Ah, this might be dangerous.

An alarm bell rang in Lerwon’s head.

When he faced such a displeased Iris, a terrible torture would continue for days, for weeks.

He had to answer somehow… but what flowed when he opened his mouth was only dark red blood.

What flowed in the body already pickled in extreme poison was not red, but black clumps of blood.

“Of course… not.”

Lerwon muttered softly.

Iris would never let Lerwon go.

Because she was a greedy merchant who would never let go of what she held, no matter what.

So… he would probably be Iris’s possession even in death.

The price for being saved by a demon was an eternally continuing hell.

“…Shall I let you go?”

At Iris’s question, Lerwon unknowingly raised his head and looked at Iris.

It was a very natural reaction from a human whose fundamental desire to live had not yet been castrated.

“Ha, ahahahahaat!!”

Iris, who had confirmed the faint hope in their met eyes, burst out laughing so hard the sky seemed to tear.

Iris, who had been laughing for a long time, clutching her stomach, opened her mouth with a sticky smile.

“I’ll tell you the way, my beloved son.”

Iris, who had stood up from her seat, approached him and whispered in a very small voice.

Just like a demon instigating a human to corruption.

“Ah….”

Hope was trampled, and what grew beneath hope was despair.

His hell did not end.

It was a hell that would continue forever.