The Author's Will

90 | Time Limit

"...This is just speculation, but you notice how Mikael and I are virtually indistinguishable?" He began.

Irene's lips pursed into a straight line as she nodded her head slowly.

"...Considering Giselle's demonic nature, it's unlikely she shared the same genetic structure as us humans. She was able to conceive my child without physically sharing a bed with me, after all," Theodore continued. "My theory is that, instead of the conventional fusion of both parents' genes when having a baby, Mikael was brought into existence with one hundred percent of my blood."

In other words...

"Giselle found a way to take the essence of my body and create another. Mikael is genetically speaking, my clone. He has his own soul and his own personality shaped by his experiences, however - he and I are completely physically identical. So there is no doubt he is a human."

Irene's mind plunged into a shadowy abyss at the utterance of those words. Since arriving in this enigmatic realm, distanced from her familiar reality, she uncovered unsettling answers to mysteries she never expected to confront.

How many more times am I going to discover things that will completely change my view of this world...?

A sudden wave of helplessness weighed heavily on Irene's heart. It wasn't shock from the newfound knowledge about Mikael that hurt her, but the realisation that an overwhelming burden of profound truths had silently borne down on her shoulders.

It dawned on her in that moment that these matters might have forever remained unknown had Theodore not stood before her, unraveling the mysteries that had eluded anyone's attention.

Since his demise, the inhabitants of Laydel had been forcibly plunged into a state of ignorance. Dark magicians, it seemed, had surreptitiously infiltrated the empire ages ago, transforming it into a realm where they could freely wander and skulk, destabilising the once-established power equilibrium. They not only succeeded in entering the palace fourteen years ago, but they even destroyed the imperial family completely, with the exception of the baby princes.

And now, as those princes were growing older, their lives were already being manipulated by the evil who took their parents away. She wasn't sure about Daniel, but Mikael had suffered so much at the hands of Sophia Cather, the witch of a maid who abused him.

But upon receiving an answer to one question, an inundation of new uncertainties surged into her thoughts like the swift rush of a powerful current.

If Mikael's mother was a demon, who was undoubtedly on the same side of the dark magicians, then why was he abused by them as a child? Sophia Cather was likely on the same side as Giselle, yet she hated and tormented Mikael more than any child ever deserved.

Was there a chance that the second prince inherited demonic powers from his mother, even if he was born human?

Did Mikael already know about any of this? Was this why he always kept people at an arm's length?

What about Daniel? What reason did the dark magicians have to keep him alive as a baby?

What exactly was their goal?

Why did Giselle die alongside Theodore and Yestala? How was it possible to kill a demon such as her?

And most importantly - who exactly was behind all of this?

It was as though everything was calculated from the start. At least as far back as almost two decades ago, someone must have plotted against Laydel and wished to find a way to throw the empire into turmoil. The best way for anyone to do that, was by ruining their sovereignty - which they succeeded in destroying.