“Dame Sophia?”
Elaine’s eyes widened in shock. What was she doing here? Wasn’t she supposed to come later with the other knights?
‘Why already…?’
After collecting the licorice root, she had immediately come to hunt down Laikios. That was when she had seen the rampaging monster and all of the Lamia corpses scattered around. There were a few faint signs of life still in the pile, but she had naturally assumed them to be Lamia that were going to be eaten by the Laikios. She never considered the possibility there could be a human among them.
Elaine turned her back to the moonlight and walked toward Sophia who was staring at her in fascination. After swallowing a sigh, she looked down at Sophia and asked.
“How long have you been here?”
The answer slowly left Sophia.
“….Since before you got here.”
So, she saw everything. From Laikios’ regenerative power becoming stronger, to her defeating the bastard with her unimaginable strength. A sigh deeper than before welled up. She didn’t know why Sophia had acted alone, but she had to make sure that she stayed silent about what she had just witnessed.
As Elaine opened her mouth with that thought in mind, Sophia’s facial features suddenly caught her eye. She looked so miserable that it wouldn’t be a surprise if she fainted at any moment. She couldn’t interrogate a person who was in this state. In the end, Elaine said something different from what she had originally intended.
“What about the other knights? Did you come alone?”
Sophia’s voice was grim as she answered.
“Well, his condition had suddenly gotten worse…”
“What do you mean?!”
It was an unexpected answer. In an instant, Elaine’s face turned pale. She roughly grabbed Sophia’s arm.
“No way, is it already too late…! Let’s talk about this later and go back now. Can you stand?”
Whatever Sophia had seen before was less important than Ash. Elaine tried to help Sophia stand up.
“Ugh…”
She stumbled and fell back down. There seemed to be a problem with her legs or her ankles. Elaine noticed this and lowered herself to the ground with her back facing Sophia.
“Get on.”
“What?”
“There’s no time to waste, hurry up and get on my back.”
At Elaine’s urging, Sophia climbed onto Elaine’s back. As soon as she was secure, Elaine jumped up, running at full speed.
All the ingredients that were needed for the antidote had been obtained. Now all that remained was to complete it and feed it to Ash. She prayed that they weren’t too late and the damage wasn’t irreversible. The only thing left behind in their wake was the pale moonlight.
***
Ash was floating in a dark abyss. It was a darkness that isolated him from the world. The bottom of his unconscious mind. He was standing there, walking over his memories, like shards of glass beneath him.
As he walked, the sharp fragments were scratching the soles of his feet and blood was flowing out. From a very young age until recent events. He had seen countless sides of himself reflected in these fragments. Then, the moment when he stepped on a particular shard, it broke, exploding into white particles rising into the air. Gradually, the darkness blurred and reformed into a memory. The memory pulled him in as the shattered shard formed scenery.
The sun was hot and the waves were crashing.
The scorching sun was shining, making the water appear to be shimmering. It was hot outside. The young Ash was struggling in the water, choking. Suddenly laughter could be heard above his head.
“Hahaha! What do you think, you monster?”
“You look like a drowned rat!”
He was able to make it to safety and sat by the edge of the pond, raising his head. Water droplets fell from his eyelashes. Maybe that’s why the faces of the other children weren’t clearly visible. Were they around his age? All of the children were dressed in fancy clothes.
Then he remembered a certain party that was held at the palace, though he was unable to recall what the party was for.
He left the party and was wandering around the backyard, trying to avoid the hostile atmosphere surrounding him. The colorful fish swimming in the pond were very pretty. At that time, someone pushed him from behind. There was a splash on the surface of the water, and his entire body became drenched. The children burst into laughter as they looked at the soaked Ash.
He was used to these kinds of pranks from the other noble kids. Just ignore them and move on. Then, when the excitement died down, they would leave on their own.
Alone at the party, cold gazes, whispers. However, the reason he had felt particularly sad that day was probably not just because of the children’s mischievous pranks. Uncharacteristically, he asked them a question.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
The water droplets falling from his hair wet his cheeks. The other children tilted their heads, eyes filled with malice.
“Huh? Do you not know who your mother is?”
“…”
“That’s right, monsters must be defeated!”
“I’m not a monster.”
Ash pursed his lips. Purple eyes staring straight at the children. While the shocked children were whispering amongst themselves, one child smiled brightly and pointed at Ash.
“But you are the child of a monster.”
A clear voice, piercing like a dagger. Their laughter then exploded like firecrackers. The children’s faces started to distort, along with the scenery. The water in the bottom of the pond dried up, revealing a hard bottom.
He was now standing in a hallway.
“Sir Ash!”
The escort knight saw Ash appear dripping with water and came running. He dropped to his knees and wrapped his robe around him, asking with a stiff face.
“Who did this?”
The knight’s knees became wet as they fell into the water that had pooled onto the floor from Ash’s body. Ash didn’t like it, it felt like he was spreading his filth to the knight.
There were already bad rumors going around about him because he was Ash’s knight. Ash took the guards hand and urged him to stand up.
“Walter.”
The knight’s hands were large and strong. In comparison, Ash’s hands were small and frail.
Instead of standing up completely, Walter bent his knees and made eye contact with Ash.
Steady sky-blue eyes. The eyes of the only man in the palace who was on his side.
The large tree like man spoke.
“Please, speak freely.”
“Do you think I’m a monster too?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Who told you that?”
“It’s something I hear often. And why wouldn’t it make sense? The person who gave birth to me wasn’t human.”
Walter’s face distorted. He appeared to be gritting his teeth. A firm voice responded.
“Even so, you are by no means a monster.”
Was he relieved to hear that? He had asked the question, already knowing the answer. Still, the reason he had probably wanted confirmation was because he was still young.
Ash smiled as if he had never been shaken.
“Yes, I know.”
The long hallway then quickly turned into a noisy night street market. The streets were filled with various crafts, such as handicrafts, pottery, wood carvings as well as food. Eight-year-old Ash pulled down his hood and looked around.
It was the king’s birthday. The day when the biggest festival of the year was held. It was an annual event, but this was Ash’s first time outside of the palace.
It was his first time seeing a festival. Even Ash, who was more mature than his peers, was turning his head here and there. Although he didn’t show it, Walter, who was following him, noticed that the child’s eyes were sparkling brightly.
Then Ash’s head suddenly stopped. Walter followed his gaze, curiously trying to see what Ash was looking at.
“Would you like to try it?”
“…uh?”
The child was startled and looked back at him. Walter led Ash to the front of the stall selling snacks.
“Can I get a bag of moon cookies?”
“Yes, just a moment!”
There were many customers and the man was busy baking moon cookies. The pure white dough puffed up giving off a delicious scent. As he was looking at the scene in wonder, then he heard a loud sound. Ash reflexively turned his head and was again mesmerized.
Star like flowers were blooming in the night sky. Brilliant fireworks rose high and exploded, scattering like starlight. The sound of exploding fireworks rang in his ears. Ash was dazed, unable to take his eyes off the sight of the fireworks blooming.
The fireworks display that marked the end of the festival was a show specially put on by the royal wizards, who were unable to be employed without spending excessive amounts of money. For a moment, a crowd gathered at the square where the fireworks were in progress. Ash, who had taken a few steps away from the stall without realizing it, was swept away by the crowd.
He thought he could hear someone calling urgently form behind, but being preoccupied by the fireworks, he couldn’t hear it.
Even though he was bumped into and kept stumbling, he kept moving forward as if possessed. The hood, which had been secured tightly, came undone after bumping into someone. The fireworks brightly lit up the sky, it was beautiful.
As he was looking up at the sky in fascination, a burning pain suddenly appeared on his forehead. He blinked and looked down at what had struck him. There were stones rolling around at his feet.
“It’s the witch’s child! There’s a devil over there!”
Someone pointed at him and shouted. For a moment everyone’s gaze was focused on Ash. The fireworks continued to explode in the background, clearly illuminating his face under the flashing lights. The whispers spread like a contagious disease.
He unconsciously touched his forehead as he looked around. People began picking up rocks one by one. Others among the crowd started to throw whatever they were already holding. A moon cookie struck Ash on the leg and rolled onto the dirt floor. The moon-white cookie was then stained with dirt.
His face that had been filled with excitement, was now cold. Ash closed his eyes. Behind him, Walter approached through the crowd, picking him up and leaving the area.
The stones flying their way were blocked by Walter’s back as they returned straight to the palace. In the midst of all the chaos, the ruined moon cookies Walter had bought ended up in the garbage.
The wound on Ash’s forehead quickly stopped bleeding.
The sound of firecrackers and loud shouts that had been ringing in his ears gradually faded away. The faint sound changed again to the sound of heavy rain. The pouring rain appeared to be dyed blood red. Time had passed by itself. There was a bright red sunset and thick raindrops.
His own voice could be heard through the sound of the rain.
“What did you just say?”
The sky was now dark, and the room was damp.
The chamberlain could be seen bowing in front of him. A mechanical voice emerged from Ash.
“Sir Walter has gone missing.”
It was raining heavily, maybe he had heard it wrong because of the loud rain outside. As if the chamberlain had noticed this, he repeated the same words again. Walter’s voice played in his head.
‘I’ll be back soon.’
Before leaving, that was what Walter had said. The final moments before he left were clear. He had left in a hurry saying there was something he must find out.
And, after several months, all that came back was the news of his disappearance.
The world was submerged in water and within it, faceless voices reached his ears.
‘Tsk, tsk, so stubborn, and in the end…’
“He must have received the witch’s curse.’
The senseless chatter didn’t affect him anymore.
He wanted to know the details behind Walter’s disappearance, but he had no way of finding Walter or any information. Even in the royal palace, there was nothing the abandoned little boy could do.
He had no strength, no power and no one on his side. The boy had to accept reality. The man who had been his first and last ally was no longer by his side.
And like that, the boy was all alone.
