Chapter 66
As soon as they arrived in the Empire, Phi grabbed Eden by the scruff of the neck and swiftly headed toward the Magic Tower.
“From now on, call me Delphir.”
Ignoring the greetings of the other magicians, Delphir tossed Eden into the room at the top of the tower and gave the order.
Eden nodded in confusion.
“It would be troublesome if your existence leaked outside.”
But just like at the Duchy of Partine, keeping him locked in one place forever wasn’t an option.
Phi tapped her chin with a troubled expression.
“I’d at least like to change your hair color…”
It was difficult to alter a living being’s form.
Even Phi could only manage turning into a cat.
“This is a problem…”
Even though she was the one who brought Eden here, Phi suddenly seemed rather hesitant.
Eden, looking around the room, raised his half-lidded eyes and asked,
“Is it enough if I just change my face?”
His voice was casual, almost irresponsible.
Phi scoffed and replied,
“You think that’s easy?”
Arrogant brat.
Phi assumed Eden was just talking nonsense without knowing anything.
“….”
Eden slowly blinked, then covered his face with both hands.
Phi raised an eyebrow and looked down at him with a mixture of amusement and disdain.
After a moment, Eden lowered his hands.
The moment his face was revealed, Phi’s eyes widened in shock.
“Will this do?”
A completely unfamiliar child stood before her.
Like painting color onto a blank canvas, Eden’s hair had turned a dull gray, and his eyes had faded into a pale blue.
Without anyone teaching him, Eden had just now figured out transformation magic all on his own based on Phi’s offhand comment.
As he calmly spoke in his new face, Phi bit her lip.
She was starting to think Eden might be far more of a monster than she had assumed.
✵
Elysia spent the night wide awake and left her room with a stiff expression.
She tried to walk as naturally as possible, but her body moved awkwardly. It was the first day after having Eden’s memories erased.
Soon she arrived at the staircase, where she stared down without even blinking.
Everyone had forgotten.
The Duke of Partine, Dale, and Ariel—all of them had forgotten Eden.
There would probably be no problems.
In the original story, the Duke, whose memories were also erased, never noticed a thing.
So Elysia only had to live on, pretending she knew nothing.
“My lady?”
Rachel’s voice called up from below.
Elysia’s gaze, which had been fixed coldly on the stairs, met Rachel’s.
Rachel looked startled to see her just standing there like that.
“You’re up early.”
With a much brighter tone than the previous day, Rachel addressed her.
“…Yeah. I just woke up earlier than usual.”
Elysia gave her a smile as always.
But her lips trembled slightly with the effort.
She wished she had been able to smile like this when she let Eden go.
Not like she was chasing away an annoyance—something better.
No matter how much she regretted it now, Eden was gone.
No one remembered him.
Only Elysia and Lisbeth could still recall him now.
✵
Life didn’t change much for Elysia after Eden disappeared.
If anything had changed, it was that she began going out.
Thanks to Lisbeth, outings became possible. And so Elysia gradually widened her world.
Then one day, it happened—without warning.
The year Elysia turned sixteen, Duke Partine suddenly collapsed.
He had always been in good health, so the mansion was thrown into chaos.
Ariel, who hated him, secretly cheered.
Rachel felt the same.
They even hoped it was a serious illness and he wouldn’t recover.
But Elysia was different.
“Are you alright?”
The moment she heard about his collapse, she dropped everything and rushed to her father’s side.
She stayed with him until he woke up.
When he did open his eyes, the Duke looked utterly dazed.
“…It’s nothing.”
At the time, he truly believed it was nothing serious.
Just stress, he told himself.
He was aging day by day, but there was still no sign of the key. He was becoming increasingly anxious.
He constantly pestered Phi for news, but she always gave the same response—nothing.
Every letter the Duke sent Phi said the same thing.
And every reply from Phi mirrored it.
Unaware his memory had been erased, the Duke had completely forgotten Eden’s existence and continued his desperate search for the key.
Of course, no suitable candidate appeared.
“Shall I call a physician?”
“There’s no need for that.”
“But…”
“When I say no, I mean no. Stop talking back and leave.”
Rubbing his pale eyelids, the Duke dismissed her.
Elysia looked at him for a moment before rising from her seat.
“If anything happens, call for me first.”
She spoke with the air of a concerned daughter and imprinted herself into his mind.
The Duke just waved his hand, sending her out.
The sound of the door closing echoed.
His heart was pounding—far too fast.
He felt a faint pain in his chest.
But the Duke had no idea this was just the beginning.
✵
The year Elysia turned twenty-one.
Snow landed on Ariel’s nose. She looked up at the unusually dark sky.
It looked like a heavy snowfall was coming.
“Loa! It’s going to snow soon!”
Ariel jumped down from a tree and shouted excitedly.
Loa, panicked, waved her hands.
“My lady, please…! If Miss Elysia finds out you were climbing trees again, she’ll scold you!”
Even at eighteen, Ariel’s energy hadn’t waned.
Loa sighed heavily but told herself to be grateful Ariel had at least grown up healthy.
“Hmph! I don’t care about her.”
Ariel’s eyes sparkled for a moment at the mention of Elysia but then she pouted.
“She’s always just taking care of Father.”
Lately, Ariel had been moody and unsettled.
It was because of Duke Partine, who had fallen ill with a mysterious disease years ago, and Elysia, who now devoted herself to nursing him.
When Ariel asked why, Elysia had calmly explained that it was necessary.
If Elysia said so, it must be true.
Even so, Ariel couldn’t help but feel like her beloved sister had been taken away by someone she hated.
“I wish Father would just die already.”
Ariel muttered with a cold glint in her eyes.
Loa jumped in fright and looked around.
“M-My lady…! Please don’t say such things!”
“There’s no one around. It’s fine.”
“You never know who might be listening!”
Loa clasped her hands and teared up.
“Father is being punished right now. Honestly, he’s lived long enough. I hope he dies soon and falls into hell!”
The more Loa tried to stop her, the more Ariel wanted to say it.
She stomped her feet hard on the ground.
Thanks to fearless Ariel, Loa once again had to swallow her tears.
✵
Over the past five years, the Duke’s illness had steadily worsened.
He had initially refused any doctors, but after more than a year with no improvement, he had no choice but to start seeing them.
Now, doctors came regularly.
“You still haven’t figured out what disease this is?”
Elysia asked as she stepped out of the Duke’s room.
The doctor, sweating, answered,
“It’s definitely not recorded in any known medical texts.”
“So you still don’t know what it is.”
Elysia pressed a hand to her forehead. To anyone watching, she looked like a dutiful daughter worried about her father.
As always, the doctor was completely fooled by her act.
“We’ve gathered every colleague we can to investigate. If you’ll just give us a little more time…”
“Haven’t I already given you over four years?”
Dale, who was standing guard outside the Duke’s room, overheard the exchange.
“That’s enough. You may leave.”
Knowing further discussion was useless, Elysia dismissed the doctor.
She then stood silently outside the Duke’s chamber.
“Elysia!!! Elysia!!!”
The Duke’s voice bellowed from inside.
Neither Dale nor Elysia flinched—they were used to it by now.
Elysia opened the door and entered.
“What did the doctor say?”
The Duke’s right arm had withered away pitifully.
It looked like a dead tree branch had been attached to his shoulder.
“As always, the same words.”
Elysia glanced at his arm and replied.
For now, it was just one arm. But soon, both arms and legs would end up the same.
“Ah, ah… This can’t be happening…”
The Duke gripped his hair in despair, mumbling with a voice filled with venom.
As if he couldn’t believe he was going to die of illness.
His face was full of hopelessness.
“Father, you should get some rest—”
“Shut up!!!”
He hurled a nearby cup.
It narrowly grazed Elysia’s cheek and shattered on the floor.
She touched her cheek.
Luckily, she hadn’t been hurt.
“I can’t die like this. Not so meaninglessly…”
She had heard it all before, over and over for the past four years.
Ever since Duke Partine, who had longed for immortality, found himself dying younger than the average noble, he had daily breakdowns.
His mind, too, had clearly begun to falter.
Dale worried about him.
And Elysia? She pretended to, in front of others.
Even though, in truth, she felt nothing of the sort.
Because it was Elysia herself who had made the Duke this way.
