"So, what do you plan to do?" Xavier started the conversation while eating the bread loaf that was sitting on the table. I was looking at Slayer, and without even looking up, I asked him, "How did you fall victim to the demonic cult?"
The sound of his eating stopped. Master, who had transformed back into a cat and was rubbing his cheeks against my hand like any ordinary cat, also froze.
It seemed like Master was also aware of the demonic cult.
"Because the blood and the power I inherited are perfect for summoning a high-rank demon into my body," he spoke, his voice low and dark. I looked up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He took another bite of the bread loaf, his breathing a little shaky. It must have been a touching subject for him.
"My mother... she was a dragon." My eyes widened, and Slayer dropped from my hand. "Wait, what?" It came out a little louder, and I covered my mouth.
Dragon? DRAGON??????
"Dragons! In the last 6500 years, not a single encounter with dragons has been recorded," I spoke with visible disbelief and shock. But due to the contract, I had to believe him.
"That's because dragons live in a space where humans can't invade. And there are countless dragons living among humans too. They have exceptional skills and an infinite source of mana. So unless a dragon reveals itself in front of the world, there is no way anyone can recognize them," he concluded. I gulped down a lump in my throat. "Then are you... a half-dragon?"
Xavier's gaze on me was intense and deep. It was as if he could see through my soul right there.
"I am, if the seal over my mana and aura is lifted," he said, looking away first. I was having a hard time processing this. There were just so many things I didn't know in my past life.
"So, the blood of the Imperial Family and the power of a dragon," I said, looking at him. He nodded.
"Was it the Emperor?" My eyes turned cold. If not the Emperor, you can't explain the entire mess. If it's the Emperor, there's a huge possibility he wanted to summon Belhier into Xavier's body and rule over the world. But he got caught in the middle and pushed all the blame onto others.
I could feel my head breaking from calculating all kinds of possibilities. Who can I trust, and who can't I trust? What should be my next course of action?
It's confusing.
"The entire Imperial Family is involved with dark magic and the demonic cult," Xavier revealed. My breathing stuck in my throat.
"What do you mean?" My throat was getting dry as I looked up at Xavier. His anger and hatred were way too visible to deny.
"I don't know everything exactly. My mother was a golden dragon who sneaked into the human world to find out more about humans and their culture. Foolish in the ways of the world, she fell in love with the Crown Prince of Wymhold at that time. He promised her the world, and she fell for it," Xavier's voice started to get heavier and shakier.
"They got married in secret, and he promised that one day he would proudly introduce her to the world as the Empress. Foolishly, she preferred to stay hidden and give birth to a son. A son who had the potential to become the strongest. And the dagger of Shiloh Eclipsis..." He paused, making the tension even higher.
The disappearance of Eclipsis is involved with his birth?
"Disappeared from the underground storage and became one with that child," Master suddenly spoke as he jumped off and landed between us. I gasped. What? Became one with Xavier!
"How is that possible?" I mumbled in shock. "It's hard to explain in words, and since both his mana and aura are sealed, there's no way of showing it to you," Master said, licking his cat feet as if he were speaking of something trivial.
I wanted to ask more, but I couldn't. I needed Xavier to continue.
"What happened next?" I asked. He took a deep breath and, looking out of the window, gazed at the blooming cherry blossoms, which were blooming beautifully under the sunlight.
"My mother was poisoned. Normal poison wouldn't have any effect on her, but it was a poison that nullified her mana. She couldn't fight when I was being taken away from her, and she was stabbed in the back by the love of her life," he said, letting out a bitter laugh.
"How do you know all of that?" I asked him with a heavy heart. "Before her death, my mother sealed her memories in me. So once I came to understand the world, I learned about it all on my own."
I licked my dry lips, nodding. The area of magic is too vast for someone like me to understand. Just how come I never realized anything was wrong with the Imperial Family!
Suddenly, something within me clicked. My heart was pounding heavily, and I clenched my fist tightly as I looked at Xavier.
"Do you know the people who are involved with the demon cult?" "Just the high-ranked ones who joined the ceremony where, every other month, a new sacrifice would be made, and my blood would be given to the demonic ceremony," he explained. Words weren't forming in my mouth.
Should I ask? Shouldn't I ask? What would happen after that? What if the truth I would know... would be totally different from the truth I believed?
"Just ask him what you want to know, Foxy," Master said, placing his paw on my knee as if telling me to gather my courage and face it.
I took a deep breath and looked at Xavier, who was waiting for me to ask him. "Have you ever seen... Zaphery Nyxveil joining any of those ceremonies?" My heart was trembling as I asked him.
"Think of a man with her face, older, and with a mole under his left eye," Master pointed at me.
I clenched my dress tightly as Xavier thought hard. I am scared. I am anxious. Why? Do I wish him not to be involved? Do I wish my family to be innocent?
I lowered my head, unable to bear the silence.
"I don't know about an older male resembling you, but I did see a male of my age with silver hair and green eyes in the past five ceremonies."
My heart sank, and I looked at him in shock. This is unexpected. My blood was running cold.
I stood up and grabbed him by his collar. "How sure are you?" My hands were trembling. He seemed surprised by my sudden action.
"Which one?" "That you never saw an older male resembling me in any of the ceremonies." My emotions were reaching their peak. My blood was running cold, and my chest was tightening.
Master flicked his finger and pushed me away from Xavier, making me sit on the bed. "Your father isn't with the demon cult, Foxy," Master finally spoke. My eyes widened.
Xavier seemed to gasp at the situation. "What made you think your father is involved with the demon cult?"
What made me think! 30 years—30 years of my life I had to live like a sinner because he was said to be a demon worshiper and had been planning treason! 30 years—30 years of my life went by being hated, accused, and used. 30 YEARS, FOR FUCKING 30 YEARS, I HAD TO BEAR THE TITLE OF BEING THE DAUGHTER OF A TRAITOR OF HUMANITY!
Are you telling me none of those were worth it? None of those were true? Are you telling me that for 30 years of life... I lived the life of a puppet!
Tears didn't stream down from my eyes, as if the emotions within me were all sucked away. Why did I suffer so much? Why did I have to live a life worse than a beast? For whose sin was I repenting? Who was I hating, and... what did I even try to prove?
"Is Kaelith involved with it too?" I managed to speak out those words somehow.
And honestly, I wasn't prepared for the answer.
Xavier scoffed bitterly. I looked up at him emotionlessly.
"All the scars you saw on my body were made by him."
That much was enough to tell me everything. The world before me looked so blurry. Everything inside me felt numb and dry. I could neither cry nor scream.
"The young prince is involved with this shit too?" Even Master sounded shocked.
"Don't fall for someone's innocent face, Tower Master. Even when I first met him 10 years ago, I mistook him. But he was nothing less rotten than the Emperor," Xavier said, his voice filled with disgust.
"There are, in total, 20 from the Imperial Elders Council, 20 aristocratic family heads, among whom is one who is exceptionally good with magic. Even his son is well-versed in it, and the boy I talked about—green eyes, silver hair—he has mastered some level of advanced demonic art. Though I had never been able to break free from the chains, with my exceptional hearing and eyesight, I was able to see their faces well," he paused.
But I wasn't able to hear anything. I stood up and walked toward my closet.
"Huh?" I gained a confused look from Xavier, but I didn't care. I walked inside the bathroom, as if escaping from the truth I had just heard.
I fell to my knees as soon as I closed the door.
And all I could think was...
WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY... WHY