~Chapter 30~
“I didn’t want to use my power like this…”
Noah gave a bitter smile as he held Solia’s face and leaned in.
He tilted his head and pressed his lips softly to hers before pulling away.
“Forgive me for being rude, Solia.”
He couldn’t help but say it.
“Please… let me be selfish.”
He knew it was a selfish wish, asking someone as innocent as Solia.
“If you marry me, your life will be hard.”
But still, he didn’t want to marry anyone but her. If he could live a normal life, even just for a moment, it would be enough.
Even if someday, they ended up divorcing.
Even if, one day, he’d have to let Solia go himself.
“Until that day, use me. It’s okay to play with my heart as much as you want…”
Noah stopped speaking. Even to his own ears, his voice sounded choked.
Thump, thump, thump!
His heart beat like crazy, and his breath was all over the place.
He remembered a playful thing he’d once said to Solia:
“Will you let me? Let me be your only friend, Solia.”
Being her “only friend” was a bright red lie. It was a selfish choice—a cruel trick.
He was lying to himself and to Solia, but he couldn’t stop.
“I’ll be a useful husband, so please don’t throw me away…”
He bit his lip so hard it bled.
Even if they married, he’d just be hiding his pain with a smile. He’d keep repeating the fate of living as the emperor’s hound.
If that hound got a wife or children, they’d end up wearing a leash too.
“If I offer you a golden crown at your feet… then maybe I’ll finally be free.”
He’d have to risk his life to be free. He’d have to stain his hands with blood, all the way until the moment he died, never knowing when to stop.
Even knowing all that, Noah finally realized which path he’d have to take. It was so clear it sent chills down his spine.
‘Now all that’s left is what Master taught me. Yes, rebellion…’
If he didn’t want to live as the emperor’s dog, he had to become emperor himself. Only by stealing the golden crown could he live like a human.
Noah had never forgotten the words Solia once said to him:
“Noah, I’ll help you grow up. I’ll help you become an adult.”
Hearing those words had made him cry endlessly. He wanted to laugh them off as nonsense, but…
He hated how Solia acted like an adult, even though she was just two years older.
The first time, when she grabbed his hand and tried to put wild herbs on his injured hand, he’d wanted to shake her off—but couldn’t.
The moment Solia gently stroked his hair with her soft hand…
In that moment, Noah felt like he couldn’t breathe.
“You’ve done well, Count. You’ve run without a break until now. When you’re with me, you can breathe easy.”
Those words shook his heart. They made him dare to hope.
“Even if it’s just in a dream, please marry me. I feel like I can finally breathe if I’m by your side as your husband…”
Words she’d forget as soon as she fell asleep.
Even so, Noah couldn’t let go of Solia in his arms.
It was a contradiction. He hoped Solia wouldn’t forget. If she remembered, he’d be terrified, but also happy.
“Even if it’s only for a moment, let me live like a real person. Let me breathe, just for a moment, so I won’t think about dying…”
Noah hugged Solia tight as tears ran down his cheeks.
“Be my comfort, Solia. Just for a little while…”
Just four years… If she’d stay with him for those long, short years, he wouldn’t ask for more.
“My salvation, my comfort…”
Softly, Solia’s eyelids fluttered closed, and her body went limp.
Noah barely managed to hold onto his comfort. He was desperate, like someone walking on thin ice.
Everything he loved always lost its warmth.
That’s why he’d sworn never to love anything.
But Solia had shattered the cage he’d built around himself.
She made him want to break the noose he’d tied around his own neck, to cut the chains he’d locked around his ankles.
In a world of gray, Solia was the only thing with color for Noah.
Of course, she’d never know.
“If you remember this, think of it as a dream. If you realize it’s real… you can slap me, curse me as trash. I’ll take it all.”
Noah relaxed, feeling Solia’s warmth.
“I’ll be greedy. Just a little… just a little.”
Noah Lenister’s Power: Word Spirit (Eonryeong)
According to legend, it was the power of the archangel Enoch. The first Count of Lenister was also named Enoch.
He was called the Black Knight, who helped King Arthur end the Great Continental War.
Like Enoch, Noah could control living things with his words. As long as certain conditions were met, he could command people or animals.
When the imperial family learned about Noah’s power, the emperor wasn’t interested. Even the empress laughed it off.
“Lady Belgian’s son is as special as ever. Lenister’s power was amazing in the old days, but now it’s just a legend, isn’t it?”
But then an incident happened at the New Year’s Ball. Noah, just eight years old, stopped an attempted kidnapping of the crown prince using his power.
Nine years of secret planning failed in one night.
The plotters were a small, elite group—strong in mind and body—who wanted to negotiate, not rebel. Their demands for the emperor were:
Stop the experiments merging humans and demon genes to create living weapons.
Execute Dr. Vincent Gunter and all involved researchers.
Destroy the research labs and two related factories, completely.
It wasn’t a rebellion, but a negotiation. But because Noah saved the crown prince, their nine-year plan fell apart.
“The rebels’ true goal was to kill the crown prince! I will never forgive such insolence!”
The emperor brushed aside the nobles’ gossip. To cover up the mess, he turned all attention to the Lenister family.
He had the empress send the Lenisters a huge pile of jewelry.
“I, Crown Prince Zeros, will never forget the favor shown by the young Count Lenister.”
“I’ll never forget how you saved my son, Count Lenister.”
The twelve-year-old crown prince bowed in thanks to Noah, and the empress gave the family valuable gifts.
All the gossip magazines talked about how much jewelry Lenister had received, and society gossips never stopped.
Once things calmed down, Emperor Purka summoned Dr. Vincent, who’d led the human experimentation since the previous emperor.
“Doctor, you’ve heard about Lenister’s power, haven’t you?”
“Oh yes, I’ve heard it plenty. I only missed the ball because of my research. But surely there’s a reason you called me, Your Majesty.”
“I believe God has given me a gift, don’t you, Doctor?”
The emperor was so excited, he could barely hide it. Dr. Vincent gave a thin smile.
“But, Your Majesty… you never know if a gift is really a blessing or a curse, right?”
“You’ll take charge of that boy. I need a weapon to unite the continent of Lana.”
“As you know, the Bastia Empire is in the east of Lana. Long ago, the Black and Red Seas split the land into east and west continents.”
Dr. Vincent, kneeling before the emperor, stood up without permission and spoke.
“Even if you cross the sea, you’ll never conquer the western continent. Even with an unbeatable navy, you’ll be wiped out as soon as you land.”
“I can build as many ships as I want! I’ll just collect more taxes!”
“It’s not that simple, Your Majesty. No matter what ships you build, you’ll never conquer the west.”
The emperor’s face twisted with anger at not getting the answer he wanted.
‘Impudent fool! I am the emperor, not you!’
But he didn’t dare say it aloud.
“Why are you so sure, Doctor? Aren’t you making living weapons for me? Are you not confident in your own skill?”
Dr. Vincent approached and knelt again, kissing the emperor’s wrinkled hand.
“Ah, Your Majesty saw through my weakness.”
He spoke slyly, then slowly looked up.
“The Lion King rules the west, doesn’t he?”
Emperor Purka’s mouth twisted.
“…Ha! Do you think I can’t handle some mercenary king? I’ll send my army.”
“They’ll all be wiped out. The Red Lion’s mercenaries will chew them up.”
Dr. Vincent explained further:
“The Red Lions learned long ago that demon bodies are stronger than human ones. They’ve been implanting demon flesh and hearts in their bodies. Most die from the magic, but some survive.”
