Episode 35
“Like that man said yesterday… I know my head is empty.”
“……”
“But since I don’t know what used to be in it… I don’t really feel the need to find out.”
“……”
“Um… You probably don’t get it, right? I’m sorry…”
As Elysia’s expression worsened the more he spoke, Eden apologized again.
“No… I think I get the gist.”
What Eden probably meant was this:
The starting point of a person’s memory—
There’s probably no one who remembers that.
To form memories, the brain needs to be developed and a solid sense of self must exist.
From a certain point, people begin retrieving memories from deep inside their minds as needed, or sometimes remember things unexpectedly.
But Eden was different.
There was nothing to recall.
And still, Eden didn’t find that troubling.
He didn’t feel discomfort over not remembering, because he didn’t even know what had been lost.
He had no idea what a better life than this one would look like, so there was nothing to long for.
No memory.
That one sentence explained everything.
In every piece of media Elysia had consumed, people with amnesia always wanted their memories back, so she naturally assumed Eden would feel the same.
Moreover—
‘In the original story, Eden wanted to recover his memories. So I assumed this Eden, the one beside me, would want the same…’
A different person, yet the same.
Just like her younger brother Ariel, the Eden in the original and the one before her were different yet the same.
‘Is it because of me?’
Maybe because she was too kind to him, Eden felt at ease and didn’t even think about regaining his memories.
‘At this rate, we won’t be able to bring down the Duke of Partine…’
If things continued like this, the future would change drastically.
In a direction Elysia didn’t want.
Though the past and present may shift, she desperately hoped the future would remain the same.
‘Still… I don’t regret it.’
Thinking of Eden suffering for years locked away because of the Duke’s greed, Elysia didn’t regret acting ahead of the Duke and finding him first.
She didn’t regret it, but that didn’t mean she was willing to give up on the Duke’s downfall either.
Then—
“Elysia?”
Eden called her name, perhaps finding her silent stare strange.
“Eden.”
Elysia replied by calling his name back.
“Yes?”
“…You’ve probably figured it out by now, but the nasty man you met yesterday—he’s my father.”
This was the only method left.
“Your… father?”
Even with the sudden shift in topic, Eden responded as if it made perfect sense.
“Yeah. Don’t you think he looks a little like me? Like Ariel?”
At that, Eden recalled the large man who had grabbed his hair the day before.
He did look similar.
“More than you… I think he looks more like your sister, Ariel.”
Eden gave his honest impression.
“Right. Everyone says that.”
So people really do all see the same things—Elysia nodded.
“You saw it too, Eden. My father’s character is seriously twisted. Irredeemably so.”
It wasn’t something a child should say about their parent.
Even so, Elysia only shrugged, continuing to criticize the Duke of Partine without hesitation.
“That’s why I hate him.”
“But… yesterday…”
Eden hesitated, trailing off.
He didn’t feel like Elysia hated the Duke.
If anything, she looked like she was trying her best to please him.
Realizing what Eden meant, Elysia dropped the blanket she was holding and lay back on the bed.
With a soft thump, her dark hair scattered across the mattress.
“I’m just weak.”
“?”
“I’m weak, so I act like I like him and bow my head in front of him.”
The ceiling light reflected in her large eyes.
After a brief pause, Elysia spoke again.
“In truth, I really hate him. Sometimes I wish he’d just get stabbed and die on the street.”
Elysia didn’t hesitate to show her weakness or her deep resentment toward the Duke.
So you too…
“Eden. I think you’ve figured it out to some extent, so I’ll just say it plainly.”
It was time to confess her father’s sins to his victim.
And she did so in a voice calm—far too calm for someone confessing their own father’s crime.
“My father is the one who brought you here.”
After barely finishing her sentence, Elysia quickly glanced at Eden’s reaction.
His overgrown hair hid his expression.
“……”
Eden couldn’t answer right away.
As Elysia said, he had vaguely known. He had heard what the Duke said the day before, after all.
“You said yesterday that you know your head is empty. And if you heard what my father said, then you probably know it’s because of him too…”
“Yes. I know.”
If he knew—then why did he say it so calmly?
Elysia had to bite back her emotions because Eden’s voice was even calmer than her own.
Where had the clueless, blank-faced Eden gone?
Now, he stared at Elysia’s ever-paling face with a dry expression.
He showed no interest in his own circumstances.
Elysia felt despair.
Eden said he didn’t want his memories back.
And now, he didn’t even seem to care that the man who stole his memories and locked him up was the Duke of Partine.
Could someone like this really kill the Duke?
Was he even the same person who, in the original story, had executed both the Duke and Elysia on the platform, without a trace of hesitation?
“If you know… then why…”
Her trembling voice dispersed into the air.
“My father is the one who locked you up, you know?”
“……”
“It was all him.”
Why are you so calm?
Honestly, if anything, Eden should hate the Duke even more than Elysia.
‘Hate him. Hate him as much as I do.’
You used to, remember?
Don’t be satisfied with a life like this just because you get to see me a few hours a day.
Don’t accept being locked up like it’s normal.
From Elysia’s desperation, dark emotions began to form.
And she didn’t stop them.
In fact, she welcomed their birth.
Unlike her, Eden’s heart remained as pure and clear as ever.
“Aren’t you angry? At the man who did this to you?”
Finally, Elysia asked him directly.
It was less a question and more of a demand.
Still lying down, she lifted her arm to block the light from her eyes.
“My father put a collar around your neck. Shackled your ankles. And you still don’t hate him? Don’t feel anything?”
For his own sake, Eden needed to resent the Duke.
He had to.
As she waited for his answer, Elysia unconsciously bit her lower lip.
“……”
Eden looked down at her.
The Elysia who always took care of him seemed especially fragile and unstable today.
‘Elysia… hates that man.’
Eden blinked slowly and came to a conclusion.
Elysia hated her father.
And the man Elysia hated had locked Eden away.
Eden touched the choker around his neck, then looked down at the shackles on his ankles.
He already knew what was happening.
Even before Ariel asked, he had realized he was trapped here.
Still, he didn’t mind.
Because it meant he could see Elysia every day.
That alone made giving up his freedom worth it.
He didn’t know what freedom was, so he couldn’t think of it as more valuable than Elysia.
‘If Elysia hates him, then I do too.’
Eden’s eyes shimmered faintly.
Truthfully, he held no resentment toward the Duke.
Thanks to the Duke, he had been able to spend more time with Elysia.
That mattered more to Eden than having his memories erased or being imprisoned.
But if Elysia hated the Duke, then that changed things.
“I hate him.”
Eden answered without blinking.
“I hate that man too.”
His voice sounded like someone under a spell.
The light had vanished from his eyes, which naturally disappeared beneath his white bangs.
But Elysia knew all too well that Eden had only said that because of her.
Because she had led him to that answer.
“…I see.”
Elysia barely managed a smile.
It was self-deprecation—
For forcing negative emotions on someone who didn’t know how to hate.
For claiming she wouldn’t manipulate Eden under the guise of affection, yet doing just that.
Still, Elysia believed her decision was right.
Because otherwise, Eden wouldn’t even try to escape this place.
‘For your sake, and for Ariel’s and mine too.’
Elysia stopped biting her lip and whispered quietly.
“I’m sorry.”
Right now, the only way she could think of to kill the Duke of Partine was by borrowing Eden’s strength.
She believed Eden could save her and Ariel—
But she couldn’t say the same for herself saving them.
“Elysia. I…”
Eden, staring at her as she apologized in a depressed voice, quietly lay down beside her.
Then, slowly scooting closer, he pressed his body against hers and said:
“I’d rather you praise me than apologize.”
The lifeless light in his eyes suddenly returned.
Elysia turned her head toward the boy pressed closely beside her.
Their eyes met—
Aligned on the same level.
“I’ll try even harder. So instead of saying sorry… will you praise me?”
Eden’s cheeks turned red as he stubbornly confessed his wish.
His innocent desire struck at the murky guilt inside Elysia like a hammer.
The pain in her chest made her bite her lip again.
She was so ashamed—so disgusted with herself.
“…If that’s what you want, I’ll do it as much as you like.”
Her blood-filled lips curved into a faint smile.
‘If I’ve dragged you to hell with me, then I’ll stay with you there too.’
To save Eden from this prison—
Elysia had driven him straight into the flames.
