CHAPTER 45…..
Each One’s Survival
Kallion had never once seen Sion smile brightly back when she was the 13th.
Back then, a gloomy shadow always hung over the 13th’s face.
But now, this Sion smiled as if a flower bud had burst into bloom.
Especially when she looked at Ares.
Kallion bit his lip in frustration.
“One way or another, I’ll prove my worth.”
Erevos, watching the boy with his head lowered, raised an eyebrow.
“Then what is it you want?”
“When you deal with humans, please use me.”
“……That’s quite the amusing thing to say.”
Erevos felt a pang of sadness even as he spoke.
A child who hadn’t even reached the coming-of-age ceremony yet was volunteering to be “a willing pawn of the demons.”
But Erevos was not soft enough to give up a political card just because he felt pity.
“Very well. There will be an opportunity soon. Prove your worth then.”
Kallion understood what that meant and answered with a faint smile.
“Yes! I will gladly obey.”
“But, prince. Keep this in mind—
I will not forgive those who cross the line.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“If you ever do anything that harms Elysion’s honor, I can cast you aside at any time.”
“……”
“Regardless of whether your homeland welcomes you back or not.”
The Demon King didn’t even need to show killing intent to the young boy.
The heavy crimson gaze and quiet threat were more than enough.
With a flick of his hand, Erevos dismissed him.
“And remember this as well: the prince of Halkion will never be considered a candidate. Keep that in mind.”
“……”
Kallion, about to quietly withdraw, froze for a moment.
It took him about three seconds to realize what “candidate” meant.
“Ah…!”
His face flushed hot for a moment.
But soon Kallion smiled brightly again.
“Then I will try to make you change your mind someday.”
“…Hm?”
“Of course, the princess’s wishes matter the most.”
“For such a young prince, you sure speak impertinently.”
Erevos’ mild rebuke this time carried no venom.
As the boy departed, Erevos recalled the final moments of his wife, Asteria.
“Your Majesty! I’ve made a friend in Halkion!”
On her way to establish peace, Asteria had wanted to help that friend.
But after going to see that “friend,” Lia had returned in a weakened state.
“Your Majesty, please don’t cry…”
Her last words held Erevos’ sanity together as she lay dying.
“…No matter what… never kill everyone from Halkion…”
“Lia, but—!”
He had wanted to burn all of Halkion to the ground.
Even if it cost tens of thousands of lives, he wanted to turn Aiolos into a blazing hell.
But his dying queen stopped him, even in his wrath.
“One day, we will be able to understand each other.”
Lia had always liked to speak of dreamlike things.
She cried as she looked at the baby in the cradle, lying in a coma.
“And someday, we’ll all meet together… in that paradise you spoke of…”
“Lia!”
“…That’s why her name is Elysion.”
Elysion—Lia said it was an ancient, forgotten word from her “friend,” meaning reunion.
It was a meaning perfectly suited to their precious daughter.
“……”
Erevos took a pained breath, thinking of his wife whose death he could barely admit.
A love that stabbed his chest every time he remembered it.
And the only daughter that love had left behind…
Born frail, far too mature for her age, and excessively compassionate.
‘For the sake of our daughter… it may be a bit early, but…’
Erevos walked to the wide-open window where he could see the capital, Kore.
Now… which part of that land could he give her so that no one would dare raise their head?
Kallion fanned his still-flushed face after the audience.
‘That “candidate” thing… I understood it right, didn’t I?’
A candidate as in a potential husband for the princess…
‘…So embarrassing!’
Just imagining it made Kallion cover his mouth with the back of his hand.
The High Saintess had the most beautiful “sound” he had ever heard in a person.
But compared to him, she was already an adult.
‘Still, for now—’
“Kallion!”
Just then, a small girl came trotting toward him through the gardens of the Hades Palace.
Not the lonely woman with chestnut hair fluttering in the wind, but a lovely child with bright platinum-blond hair and turquoise eyes.
“Lady Sion.”
Kallion smiled genuinely.
His light.
When he had heard that light had died, how much despair had he felt?
So at first, just being able to grow up alongside the High Saintess made him happy.
“Did you meet with my father?”
“Yes. You really didn’t have to worry.”
“Of course I’ll worry anyway. What did you ask him?”
“…Just… to thank him for taking me in here.”
Kallion smiled faintly as he lied.
Sion frowned, still suspicious, but Kallion just kept smiling.
If she knew he had asked the Demon King to “use him,” it would surely make her sad.
Someday he might grow up to shoulder painful burdens.
But for now, Kallion chose to dream a little longer.
“Lady Sion.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“When do demons get proposals?”
“Huh? I wouldn’t know.”
Sion gave him a look, as if to say what a weird question.
It was the same look she had given him on the last day he saw her as the High Saintess, when she had asked if he had brought that cherry just to give it to her.
“Probably not until after the coming-of-age ceremony? They said eighteen.”
“Oh… hmm.”
Kallion furrowed his brow and calculated hard.
That would be in about thirteen years.
By then, he’d be… twenty-five?
“Mm, that’s a relief.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll have gone through my own coming-of-age ceremony by then, so I’ll be an adult too.”
“…I guess…?”
“Lady Sion.”
Kallion stopped walking and looked straight at her.
He might be lacking now, but he wanted to put this feeling into words in advance.
“I… like you very much.”
“Kallion…?”
“So when I grow up, I’ll definitely propose to you.”
It was amusing to watch Sion’s face slowly turn to shock.
Kallion grinned and whispered:
“Ah! Since I’m older right now, you can’t dislike me later for being too old, okay?”
“Wh-what are you talking about! Kallion, when you get older you’re going to kick your blanket off at night remembering this!”
“I won’t.”
“Kid, how can you be so sure…?”
“Hmm. Because…”
The High Saintess probably thought Kallion’s feelings were nothing more than those of a child craving the love of a mother and father.
Of course… at first, that was part of it.
But no one—not anyone—could understand the despair he had felt when she had died.
That sense that all the lights in the world had gone out.
Kallion took her hand, kissed the back of it, and whispered:
“From now on, I’ll only make choices I’ll never regret.”
“…You really are like a little old man.”
Sion smiled with a maturity unfitting for such a young girl.
It was a deeply affectionate moment—
—until Ares came storming over, grinding his teeth.
The Epikus sisters were coming up behind him, and Sion ran toward them first.
Meanwhile, Kallion smirked at the fuming Ares.
“Hey, gnat. Guess what I just told Lady Sion?”
“What the hell, punk?”
“I told her something really important.”
Ares’ face twisted.
He didn’t want to hear it, but he had to.
He was dying to know what the two had whispered about when he wasn’t there.
“…What did you say?”
“Well… if you’re that curious…”
Kallion lowered his voice even further.
“If it bugs you that much, why don’t you try and guess?”
“What…! Hey!”
Kallion stuck his tongue out—bleh—and turned his back on the raging Ares.
