Chapter 9
Kashiyar had many empty spaces where moral values should have been.
The people who raised him made him that way, and he had grown used to it.
“If someone stronger than you said you were annoying and tried to kill you, wouldn’t you feel angry? Wouldn’t you feel it’s unfair?”
“That would be my fault for being weak. That’s why I need to get stronger.”
Damn it. The bastards who raised him like this—I’ll rip out every hair on their heads one day.
I ground my teeth and stood up.
“Then what about me? I’m weak. If I bother you, will you just kill me too?”
“……”
Kashiyar, who usually answered quickly, stayed quiet this time.
I squatted beside him and picked up a stone, then placed it carefully on the pile of rocks he was stacking.
“If I tried to help you build this tower but accidentally knocked it over, would you kill me then?”
“……”
Luckily, the stone I placed stayed on top without falling.
“I don’t know.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re good to me. You play with me and are kind to me.”
“Then, Kashiyar, what if you thought like this instead?”
I looked away from the stone tower and turned to him.
“Something you want to kill might someday be able to help you, or make you happy. So before killing, you should stop and think again.”
“Think?”
“Yes. If you kill everything right away, you’ll never know if it could have helped you later. So you should think—will sparing this help me, or not?”
Kashiyar frowned and thought hard, as if he didn’t fully understand.
While waiting, my heart pounded nervously.
What if he said, “Killing right away is better. It’s more fun.” What could I say then?
“If I had killed you the moment I met you, I wouldn’t have known you were someone kind to me?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“But what about that thing from earlier? It wasn’t like you—it couldn’t have been kind.”
“You never know. Maybe if it came close and acted cute, it could’ve made you happy for a moment.”
“Oh.”
He looked like he understood now.
I felt relieved. Teaching a child that life is precious was much harder than I thought.
I wasn’t smart or wise enough to teach such lessons well.
“You’re right—killing is easy. But someone staying by your side, helping you for no reason, making you happy—that’s the hard thing.”
“……”
“If you kill everything that comes near you, Kashiyar, no one will ever come close again. And then you’ll never meet anyone who truly cares about you.”
So I told him—don’t kill recklessly, not for others, but for himself.
I didn’t mean to scold him, but he lowered his head as if a little discouraged. Then, peeking up at me, he asked quietly:
“Like you?”
…Honestly, I only played with him because Father told me to, since he was an important guest’s child. I just wanted to avoid trouble.
But I didn’t say that.
“Yes. Like me. Is that okay?”
“…No. I don’t like it.”
I glanced toward the knights nearby.
One of them, who had laughed earlier, now looked tense and worried as he watched us. When our eyes met, he gave me a faint smile and a small nod.
“I shouldn’t have thrown that rock…”
Kashiyar muttered softly.
“It was my first time seeing it, and it was interesting. I should’ve watched it longer.”
He wasn’t born evil. He just grew up that way.
“Next time it shows up, we’ll watch it together, Kashiyar. Maybe if we’re gentle, it’ll even let us touch it.”
“Yeah. That’d be nice. I want to touch it.”
I ruffled his black hair gently.
The reason I spent every day for a month glued to Kashiyar’s side was because he often caused this kind of trouble.
That’s why I couldn’t take my eyes off him. At least if I was with him, I could stop things in advance.
I scolded myself for letting my guard down, then resolved to play with him more closely.
“Kashi—huh?”
Just as I was about to invite him to play, I noticed something strange.
A glowing light shimmered at the edge of the forest.
It was an unnatural, deep purple glow, flickering as if trying to lure me.
“Sis?”
“Kashiyar, I think I just found something strange.”
“Huh?”
I grabbed his hand and stood up, moving toward the light.
With knights nearby, I thought it couldn’t be dangerous. Besides, what threat could there be behind the house?
And maybe finding something interesting would be more fun than stacking rocks.
“Do you see that?”
“See what?”
“The purple light, over there.”
“…?”
He stared where I pointed, then rubbed his eyes.
“Light?”
“Yes. It’s blinking.”
“Sis, I don’t see it.”
“What?”
He couldn’t see it? But it was so clear!
I turned to the knights. They shook their heads—none of them could see it either.
So I was the only one.
“Where is it? Is it close?”
“No, Kashiyar. I don’t think we should go.”
If I were just a child, I’d run toward it out of curiosity.
But I was an adult now—I knew better.
If only I could see something, it probably meant danger, not something special.
“Why not?”
“It might be dangerous. We should go back and tell Father.”
I tugged his hand to pull him away.
“Sir Egnik, please mark this spot clearly. About 500 meters ahead, near that slanted tree.”
“What do you see, my lady?”
“A light. But since I’m the only one who sees it, it might be something harmful. We need to—”
Before I could finish, the purple glow suddenly expanded, swallowing the trees in its light.
“Sir Egnik!”
In the blink of an eye, the light surrounded me.
“Sir Egnik!!”
But no matter how much I shouted, I couldn’t hear him.
The knights were gone. Their voices too.
Everything was covered in purple light.
“…Sis.”
A voice came from beside me. A voice that shouldn’t have been there.
I whipped my head around—and saw Kashiyar, still holding my hand, blinking up at me.
“Damn it.”
“Huh?”
I pressed my other hand to my forehead.
The duke’s heir was now trapped here with me. This was the worst possible situation.
If anything happened to him, my family would be destroyed.
“Think, Lerianna. Think!”
“Sis?”
“Don’t worry, Kashiyar. I’ll make sure we get out of here.”
I blew out a sharp breath and smiled brightly at him.
They say children can sense adults’ fear, so I couldn’t let him see mine.
Even if I died here, I had to at least get him out alive.
That was the only way I could repay the parents who had lovingly raised me these two years.
“As long as I’m here, don’t be scared. Everything will be okay.”
Kashiyar didn’t look scared at all. Just curious, blinking at me.
Looking at him helped me focus. I picked up a fallen branch from the ground.
The cause must be…
That purple light I first saw. It was what trapped us here.
If I were alone, I’d just wait until help came or until the light disappeared.
But with Kashiyar here, I had to act.
Whatever was causing this, even if I had to sacrifice myself, I had to find it and get him out.
“Kashiyar. Stay behind me.”
“Huh?”
“If something dangerous happens, don’t worry about me—just run. I’m strong. I have a weapon.”
I waved the branch. It shook weakly, not looking very reliable at all.
“…Maybe being alone would be worse. Yeah, no, that’s not good either.”
Why did I have to see something weird like this…
I sighed deeply, then held his hand tighter and moved forward.
“Sis… are we in danger?”
“Probably, yes.”
My voice sounded serious, almost heroic.
“But don’t worry. I’ll protect you no matter what.”
One hand gripped his tightly, the other pushed branches aside as we walked.
“Am I precious to you, sis?”
“What?”
We were almost at the spot where I first saw the light, so my focus was sharp. I barely registered his words.
“You told me—precious things are worth protecting. You told me to use a sword to protect what’s precious.”
“…Yes, I did.”
“So am I precious to you? Is that why you’re holding this branch to protect me?”
“Yes, of course.”
I had to protect him. No matter how annoying he could be, he was too important.
I didn’t notice his expression when he asked, because my attention was all on the strange light.
“How much?”
“Huh?”
“How precious am I? As precious as your parents?”
Why is he asking this now, of all times?
We were just one step away from the glowing place.
“Yeah. You’re as precious as my parents.”
If anything happened to him, my parents—the ones who didn’t know I wasn’t their real daughter—would suffer.
So yes, he was as precious as them.
As soon as I answered, I pushed aside the thick bushes with all my strength.
