Chapter 50
From early morning, the people of the House of Pluto were anxious.
Meteo had still not woken up.
Ruben, Rearwin, and Miles had even brought chairs right next to Meteo’s bed and sat there, waiting for him to wake.
I too stood nearby, clasping my hands together desperately.
“Meteo, wake up! If you don’t wake up, I’m going to be in big trouble!”
I felt awkward because I was the only one unharmed.
Had my prayer-like threat worked?
At that moment, Meteo’s eyelids fluttered. Rearwin, noticing the slightest movement, immediately got up.
“Metty! Metty, are you conscious?”
Rearwin gently shook Meteo’s body.
I swallowed hard and held my breath. The other servants around us were tense as well.
Was he finally waking up?
Just as I thought time seemed to be moving incredibly slowly, Meteo’s white eyelids slowly lifted.
Sunlight streaming through the sheer curtains made his blue eyes sparkle brilliantly.
They looked like lifeless, transparent gems.
He blinked a few times in a daze, then suddenly sat upright, startled.
“Meteo!”
“Metty!”
Meteo slowly scanned the multiple pairs of eyes fixed on him. At this moment, he too seemed extremely bewildered.
Finally, he spoke, as if he couldn’t believe it:
“Am I… alive?”
“Of course! You’re alive, Metty!”
“Oh, Meteo. You’ve woken up. Oh, God Amas…”
Only then did Rearwin and Miles let out sighs of relief. Ruben did the same.
Meteo stared at them for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and shouted:
“Crescent! I was with Crescent. Crescent…!”
He must have just recalled being in the demon realm with me.
I hesitated for a moment, then raised my hand slightly and stepped forward.
“Here…”
“!”
Meteo’s eyes widened as he saw me. Of course, he must have been curious about whether I survived.
I asked, slightly worried:
“Are you okay? Everyone was waiting for you to wake.”
But Meteo barely seemed to hear me, speaking urgently instead.
“What happened? I feel like I was left alone… I must have lost consciousness without realizing it.”
Meteo let out a confused sigh. He clearly hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
Judging by his reaction, it seemed he had no idea that the Demon King had come to the Aldred family’s cemetery.
It was a relief that he didn’t know, but it didn’t exactly put my mind at ease.
I felt like I was increasingly deceiving him.
“It makes sense. That place was basically the Aldred princess’s stronghold. That demon had really grown strong.”
“What? Aldred princess? That demon appeared again?”
Rearwin responded to my words.
It was natural for her to ask in surprise. Being attacked by the same demon twice was not something that happened often.
“Yes. When I went there, the Aldred princess was present. I think she wanted to take revenge for the previous incident.”
“What happened to that demon? How did we make it back alive?”
Meteo asked again. Everyone around was focused on what I would say.
Since Meteo had nearly lost consciousness in the demon realm, I was the only one who knew exactly what happened.
I took a deep breath and began to speak.
“We were lucky. I almost died too. I wasn’t a match for Aldred. You lost consciousness, so imagine what would’ve happened to me. You must have realized they intended to kill us from the start. But at that moment, another demon appeared, trying to kill Aldred.”
“What? Another demon appeared?”
Meteo was horrified, and Rearwin covered her mouth in shock.
Not just one, but two demons had appeared!
However, I couldn’t tell him that the second demon was the Demon King.
Nor could I reveal that the Demon King was disguised as our father.
I recounted the events in the demon realm in a slightly altered way.
“…Yes. The demon seemed to hold a grudge against Aldred. Because that demon attacked Aldred, she lost consciousness. I took that chance to throw the heirloom, and luckily, with Aldred incapacitated, the exit opened. That’s how I managed to get you back quickly.”
“…I see…”
Meteo was momentarily speechless.
Was this lie consistent?
Actually, I hadn’t lied at all. I just hadn’t revealed that the Demon King appeared and that my father’s soul temporarily possessed him to save me.
Meteo finally seemed to emerge from his shock and spoke.
“…So you saved me?”
“Huh?”
What?
I rolled my eyes, confused. It was really just luck—I couldn’t exactly claim I had saved Meteo.
“Well… I guess. Anyway, I got help from another demon by chance, and you yourself unleashed your divine power trying to save me. You must have known you’d collapse quickly.”
“But I lost consciousness faster than expected. The bones that sprang from that tomb contained concentrated magical poison. While purifying it, I think my consciousness disappeared quickly.”
“What? Really?”
That was news to him.
He nearly died, and yet still managed to purify the poison—it was impressive.
At that moment, the voice of the healing priest could be heard:
“So traces of poison were in the prince’s body. It must have been a huge amount. To detoxify it, he must have exerted more divine power than ever before. Truly remarkable. His awakening is likely thanks to his extraordinary recovery ability as well.”
“I see…”
Meteo nodded as if he hadn’t realized this before.
He must have unconsciously pushed his divine power to its limit to survive.
“I’m so glad, Metty!”
Rearwin suddenly embraced Meteo. Tears welled up in Miles’s eyes as well.
Apparently, there had been a real possibility that Meteo might have died.
Ruben, who had been quietly watching, spoke.
“Good work, Meteo. You returned safely and upheld the honor of the House of Pluto.”
“…No. If I hadn’t been with Crescent, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
Meteo exhaled deeply.
Ruben turned his gaze toward me. Rearwin and Miles also looked at me. Even the servants’ eyes were fixed on me.
All of them conveyed the same emotion:
‘You saved our Meteo. We’re moved and proud of you!’
No!
I couldn’t accept that at all. I shook my head at everyone.
“No. I just threw the heirloom. It’s something the duke himself gave me.”
Ruben silently approached me, his expression serious.
“In any case, you opened the exit at the crucial moment in the demon realm. Meteo tried to survive, but thanks to your quick thinking, he could return home.”
Rearwin also nodded, tears in her eyes.
“Yes, Senti. You saved me, helped your father greatly, and even rescued my son, Metty. I never imagined someone like you would become a benefactor for our house. Thank you so much.”
I wanted to say it wasn’t like that, but I couldn’t speak further in this atmosphere.
“You are a benefactor. Truly a benefactor.”
“W-Well…”
“Crescent, you are undoubtedly a benefactor to our House of Pluto!”
“Yes, Father!”
“…!”
Huh?
I was speechless at the sudden unity of emotion in the room.
Was this really happening?
The faces of the House of Pluto members were all filled with warmth and admiration.
Not knowing what else to do, I looked at Meteo desperately—but it wasn’t a good idea.
His gaze had deepened.
…Oh no, don’t look moved too, you!
