You really do like shiny things. Is that why you had that kind of pouch?
Just as a crow gathers twinkling things in the nest, she burrows her pouches in the back of Garnett palace. I suddenly lose heart when I thought of it.
"I have your jewel pouch from that day."
Well in fact, what he have wasn't just the pouches that the child had dropped in front of the statue the other day, but he decided not to reveal it yet.
"I took charge of your treasures, so come and collect it next time."
With only these words the child's eyes was shook with embarrassment.
Claude took his eyes off the child and viewed the lake with bored eyes. The calm waters of the lake were dull and peaceful.
A penitentiary.
Then at one point, the child who was observing his face from every angle for a while became interested in the flowers of the lake. Claude knew what the flower was.
It was a magical creature that carried pollen into the air. When prey approached, it winds around the root parts of the long vine to absorb all the food.
I don't remember how many generations ago the magical creatures started to grow inside the palace, but I was told it was a quirky hobby of one of the emperors.
Claude saw the child's eyes, which had just been full of life, now lost and blurred. Perhaps because of her weak immune system, she easily found herself fascinated by the scent of the wind-borne flowers.
Dazed
After a while the child followed the source of the scent and moved to the edge of the ship. The mana-driven ship was supposed to move in the direction that the occupants wanted to move.
The ship began to slowly slide into the place where the magical creatures were concentrated, following the child's wishes. Claude watched the scene calmly.
I couldn't even tell myself what she was thinking.
Only one thing was clear: at that moment, he had a 'killing intent' that is directed to the child.
But there's nothing strange about that, isn't there? Four years ago, he had already made up his mind to kill this child in front of him.
Then the little hands finally touched the transparent petals.
A gust of wind!
The body that was leaning forward was pushed into the lake.
"Oh, Pooh!"
Claude stared at the drowning child. His eyes were just as cold and still as the freezing ice of the abyss.
'Save me.'
The child managed to open her mouth and begged pitifully, but there was still no agitation in Claude's eyes.
It was at that moment that the look of despair was apparent in the child's eyes. The wet eyes completely extinguished of light for a moment, as if she had noticed Claude would not save her.
Snap..snap..
The grumbling gradually subsided.
But it wasn't until then that the incident started to soften Claude's heart.
Splash....
The calm eyes, which had not been agitated, spread a shallow current.
Thump thump. It seemed like someone was beating his heart, which had been frozen and secured to the depths of the unknown. I had a splitting headache again. But this time, he didn't turn his head.
The sound of splashes, and the small sounds, which seemed to die down right now, did not let him turn away again.
"If you don't stop digging further, you will surely regret it," whispered another voice in his head.
But...
Claude clenched his teeth and grumbled violently at the voice
"Don't be ridiculous. All the regrets are mine, so don't talk about it. Give me what I'm hiding right now....!"
Crack!
At that moment, the frosty surface was the first to break.
'I hope you'll love this child.’
As water flooded through the cracks, all the pieces of his memory rushed in and swallowed him.
'Maybe it's the last gift I can give you.’
'As you loved me, please cherish this child I'm leaving behind.'
'That's my only wish.’
Boom!
"Puhaa! Haaa! Ugh. Kegh. Kegh"
The child, who had been lifted by mana, trembled on the boat and breathed out a sigh.
The lake was silent again as if it had not flactuated violently. Still in the middle, the ship began to move slowly.
It was Claude who carried the child from the boat to the bank of the lake.
"Oh, my God, Princess!"
The body, soaked in water and shivering pitifully, was still small. It's strange that such a humble creature is breathing and alive.
"Felix"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Starting tomorrow, teach Athanasia how to swim.”
Claude turned away, looking uncaring of the child who had just returned from the boundary of life and death.
"Wouldn't it be disgraceful if the emperor's daughter drowned in a lake?"
But when he casually turned around, Claude's face was horribly distorted.
Looking pitiable.
Each step forward left a dark mark on the ground with water droplets flowing from his fingertips.
On that day four years ago.
I found out why I had no choice but to turn around and not kill the infant, who was not even able hold her neck properly.
* * *
Once in love? I once mistook myself for knowing emotions.
I once believed my life would be covered in a warmer and bright color, then one day I was so lonely that I missed the warmth of another.
It was very foolish to think about it now.
So he who was his father's but never was his father's, said in contempt.
'Don't try to pretend that a dog or a pig is a human being, it's just a dirty animal. If you don't want to die like your mother, don't try to pretend to be human in front of me. That disgusting life? You're not fit to be a master.'
He who was his brother's but never was his brother's, laughed at his weakness.
'Oh, yes. You never had anything in your dirty hands, so it's all just a dream. I never want to know you. Neither my father nor my mother nor I have the desire to make a selection of the sand on this earth for you. Don't you know that just being allowed to breathe is beyond your means? You're just a lowly seed.'
The woman who had always whispered love to him, but had never loved him, said in the end.
'I won't deny what I did. But I never betrayed you. I love you. So please understand me. I can't eat junk food with you all my life. I'm going to be the greatest woman in Obelia now. So if you really love me, just let go of my hand.'
It wasn't until then that Claude realized.
Oh, I see. What I've been looking at has really all been a worthless delusion.
When I found out, I wondered what it is like up there? Wondered what the world looked like.
So Claude decided to take everything. If indeed he had never had anything and foolishly knew nothing, let's make it mine, everything they've bragged about and craved.
So when he finally got to sit on the blood-soaked throne of his own flesh, the first thing Claude felt was nothing.
There is only one thing that smells bad in the upper or lower air.
I was worshipped because I was a saint who stopped the tyranny of the emperor. He killed his brother.
They all spoke together and said everything about Obelia was his, but he didn't really have anything.
Claude, who had never had fun living before, fell into deeper boredom. He had a chaotic time, glad at the people who admired him, and yet he didn't even feel a word of excitement for himself.
If someone asked him, 'Why do you live?' he would have said bluntly, 'I live because I don't have a reason to die.'
'A humble dancer? Are you curious?'
But there were moments when he thought it was good to be alive.
There was a time when I even thought, "Maybe I've been living this meaningless life for this moment."
'There is no price. But if you want to give me something, hold my hand. That's enough for me.'
The glorious times that made her eyes so beautiful that they always seemed to dream of him. All the glimmering moments when I could sigh out loud because I was so full of food that I just looked at them.
A fleeting dream that broke so easily after a moment of happiness.
* * *
Screech!
From the rough work, he pushed things off the desk, making a sharp noise. Claude was reeling from the memories, being swept all at once in the dark with his teeth clenched.
'I don't know much about the law of the palace because I've been free to live without being tied down in one place since the beginning.'
'I am at my wit's end when I hear such words from the weary sun of Obelia.'
'I beg of you. Would you punish me for my rudeness?'
'My Majesty was standing here alone, looking like a lost boy, so I couldn't just pass by without talking.'
'If you'll excuse me, I'd like to be with you for a night walk.'
'It's just a whim. There is no reason to be as significant, as your Majesty let me here.'
I couldn't understand how I could live with all this behind my subconscious. The sharp pieces of memory that rose one by one moved him roughly.
'Please love this child that you share with me.'
And finally reached the memory of that day. Claude, gasping for breath like a madman, stumbled and burst.
'Maybe it's the last gift I can give you.'
Don't be ridiculous. Who said I needed something like that?
'As you loved me, please cherish this child I'm leaving behind.'
Tell me you'd rather live. If you say so, I'll take care of everything else.