“Yes, it is all because of you. Only because of you alone, Lord Legion had lost all his glory and soon fell merely as a filthy renegade.”
“But Legion never said a word like that…”
“Shameless. It sounds like you didn’t even feel any sort of guilt at all.”
He was supposed to have a fief and the position as a Duke—as well as marry Estelle and become the son-in-law of Ingrem V in the end. As Julia pondered over the man’s words, her big eyes soon grew moist.
She had never thought about what Legion might have lost in exchange for descending over to the Demon Realm. She just wished that when everything was all over, she would then go up to the ground with him and simply live the rest of her life in peace. Indeed, she had such good thoughts before.
“His Majesty didn’t abandon you, who was just an unclean being, and even took you in. Didn’t you, who was initially destined to die with your lowly mother, get acknowledged as a princess and raised so well too?”
The Emperor was simply afraid that the evidence of his infidelity would be going around outside. It was because he just had to hide Julia’s hair color, which had been the ultimate symbol of the Vestra Royal Family.
However, Julia couldn’t bear to get those thoughts out of her mouth. It was due to the fact that the small back which stood still at the entrance of the orphanage suddenly flashed inside her mind.
“Anyone who knows grace would repay the parents who had raised them. I don’t think that you’re the kind of an ungrateful person who would throw your own blood away.”
Even when the icy wind flurried and the blistering snow fell, those thin, small shoulders were hugged by no one at all.
‘I am not the kind of person who would throw my blood away. I don’t……’
Julia’s eyes soon turned dark. As he saw that, the man instantly raised his mouth in satisfaction.
“Now, let’s go to the conference room with me and express your will. The fact that you want to return to Vestra with us all. It won’t be impossible if the Demon King favors you, as long as you can coax him to your will.”
“You’re wrong…”
“You mean, you will decline my offer?”
As Ruslan glanced away, half of a dozen men had started emerging from the shadows of the building. Julia continued to mutter helplessly while being unaware of the beings that were already targeting her.
“It was actually Lord Barbatos’s plan in order to prevent the other demons from targeting me. But it’s actually not true at all. No one really likes me.”
She was already struggling within her nightmares and didn’t even realize the things that she had been talking about. The thoughts that were coiling deep inside her subconscious had leaked out along with the combination of her own trickling tears.
“When my usefulness is fully exhausted, no one will come and look for me. How much longer can I last while lying about the fact that I am the real key? A year? Two years? Perhaps even tomorrow, my shabby true self will be stripped naked in front of everyone’s eyes. And I’m just going to get caught.”
Her magic resistance was not a power that she had acquired through her own efforts. When she opened her eyes, it was simply given to her. It was like a miracle to someone who never deserved anything at all. Even as she used it, she still couldn’t believe it. She didn’t even feel the slightest bit of reality in any way.
Didn’t things that were easily obtained could be taken away just as easily too?
“Everyone says that they like me, but it was simply because of my lies. All because I was the key…”
The man’s inscrutable gaze soon turned to her. The more she spoke up, the darker she had become. Julia continued muttering with a nervous face in response.
“The only reason that the Demon King had kept me close was because he needed some magic resistance—not me. He was also angry with me just a few hours ago. It was all my mistake anyway. He wouldn’t want to see me ever again.”
She had failed Bael’s expectations. She made him angry instead. A deep, relaxed voice suddenly passed through her mind.
‘I’ll try to trust you.’
Ah, how could I be this useless—anyone would have wanted to throw me away like this.
Julia plopped down onto the floor as she became unable to bear the sight of her own shabby self. There were many voices above her head saying something like; ‘this proved to be easier than I thought.’ However, Julia didn’t even notice it as she was just curled up like a baby instead.
Ruslan, who lowered his body on one knee, softly whispered to Julia as she was silently weeping along with a deliberately caring look painted across his face.
“Julia Vestra, you are suited to be alone. Look at it right now. You’re causing such enormous damage to those around you just by staying in the Demon Realm for a measly few months. You’re acting so filthy and nasty when you should be living all on your own.”
“…”
“The Closed Palace of the capital, Abeldishim, is truly the most suitable place for you now, right?”
“……yes.”
Julia slowly nodded her head in return. And the face of the man who had caressed her shoulder was full of joy that it simply could not be hidden at all.
* * *
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