CHAPTER 167…………………………………………….
. Take Care, My Paradise (1)
After the swordsmanship tournament ended, just around the time the orders to support Akidalia were issued.
In the capital, Kore, some were anxious, but the majority remained calm.
The north had always been in turmoil anyway, so it would be resolved quickly.
Everyone thought that.
The only ones truly restless were humans from the north living in Kore.
Meanwhile, those lingering around Kalion were busy flattering him.
“Truly remarkable, Lord Icarus.”
“If only Lord Erebus hadn’t favored you so blatantly, you would surely have been the victor!”
“You flaunted your ducal authority like that, and yet—pitiful.”
Kalion didn’t respond to the flatterers at all.
He knew they attached themselves to him because Ares kept his distance.
“Now, what will happen next?”
Kalion’s eyes sank indifferently.
The sharp yellow light in them held no interest in the future.
There was only one thing he wanted:
For Ares to hit rock bottom, so that his saintess would be utterly disappointed in him.
“When circumstances are good, anyone can pretend to be a good person.”
But when things go terribly, people reveal their true nature.
Just like he was doing now.
“My saintess will be deeply upset.”
The horrified expression she had shown when seeing him came vividly to mind.
As if she had just realized that Kalion could be this vile.
“…It’s all your fault.”
Even though she treated him like a child to be cared for forever.
It was her own fault for being so captivated by Ares, like a “real girl her age.”
Would she push him away?
Or would she keep him nearby and wrestle with her thoughts?
“Either way doesn’t matter anymore.”
Before, he didn’t want to hurt her.
Even when trampling on Ares, that feeling was genuine.
But over time, his feelings had changed.
Now, he only wished for her to feel the pain of a nail driven deep into her heart.
…Eventually, the noisy crowd left.
Silence returned, but Kalion sensed the arrival of a truly important “guest.”
He smiled faintly and stepped outside.
“Lord Minte.”
“……”
“What brings you here to see me?”
The normally cheerful knight’s face held no trace of a smile.
“You can probably guess just by looking at my expression, can’t you?”
“Hmph.”
Kalion thought about pretending not to notice, but even that felt pointless.
‘Should I strike him here?’
How long could he hold out against a berserker knight?
A dull yellow light flickered again in Kalion’s eyes.
‘…Or should I kill him?’
If he did, another precious person for the Thirteenth would be lost.
Or even if this body was smashed by that berserker knight, the Thirteenth would still be hurt.
That actually seemed fine.
But Minte calmly looked at his pupil.
“Your Highness, I have been observing you for some time now.”
It was impossible to secretly monitor him directly because of Kalion’s divine power.
So he had discreetly watched those around him—
The upper guildmasters of Illiod, the rising nobles.
Among them…
“Your Highness, have you perhaps been meeting with humans from the north as well?”
Minte recalled the year of Kalion’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
‘There’s no doubt the marks on that giant serpent were from human weapons.’
Such ambush tools were commonly used by northern mercenary groups.
Even if Illiod’s upper guild supported Kalion, they wouldn’t provide such aid themselves.
They nearly died in the Belled Earth explosion after all.
Minte wanted to believe his suspicion was wrong.
But watching this tournament, he realized.
Ah, the child raised alongside Lete is now trying to destroy everything.
“Your Highness, please try to deny it.”
“……”
“You remember everything that happened on Belled Earth, and surely you aren’t associating with such people?!”
Kalion silently looked up at the sky.
It was remarkable.
It wasn’t the saintess he had adored his whole life, nor Ares, but the distant mentor who noticed first.
Yet…
“Lord Epikus didn’t particularly trust me either, which is why you came, isn’t it?”
“Your Highness.”
“You never once treated me as one of your people.”
The Epikus sisters had never blocked Ares from getting close to Zion—
Why? Because it worked out best for them as well.
‘In the end, it was better for the same demon race to be together.’
Kalion smirked at Minte.
Seeing his shock already gave him pleasure.
“I realized it the moment they forced me out to the outer mansion under the guise of a gift.”
“Your Highness…”
“Honestly, you were glad I stepped aside on my own, weren’t you?”
“Your Highness!”
“Yes, take him away.”
Despairing, the seduction of a corrupted soul darkened his heart.
Let’s ruin everything with this.
“…If it’s already discovered, then dying by Lord Erebus’ hand wouldn’t be so bad.”
Hadn’t he already been warned when first requesting an audience with Erebus?
“I will not forgive those who cross the line.”
He had been repeatedly cautioned by the Demon King.
Just as during the Coming-of-Age Ceremony banquet.
And he knew the Demon King wouldn’t show mercy this time either.
…Kalion’s interrogation was shorter than expected.
He had no intention of hiding the truth or defending himself.
He admitted provoking the Phytons during the hunting festival three years ago.
And he acknowledged being complicit with the Belled Earth explosion perpetrators.
‘Andbari… will probably run away when the situation unfolds.’
Not naming names—well, let’s call it his last mercy.
Though the Demon King might expose everything next time he interrogates.
“Sigh…”
Kalion slid down against the wall of the underground prison.
The Demon King’s wrath was as expected, and yet different in some ways.
‘I knew long ago he wouldn’t rage with screams.’
The Demon King’s anger was like the quiet flap of a great bird’s wings.
And anyone struck by that flap simply collapsed.
“You have dishonored my daughter, whom I took in this way.”
“You have insulted the princess who strove to keep you here.”
What was unexpected was that the Demon King wasn’t greatly shocked.
Kalion found it all amusing, lowering his head and laughing.
“Haha.”
It was as if he had predicted he would stray in this way.
Having no expectations of humans in the first place made him act all the more coldly.
After a few painful coughs, Kalion whispered toward the dark hallway.
“…You’re there, aren’t you?”
There was no way his power wouldn’t detect it.
The guards of the underground prison had silently withdrawn.
Only two people could do that right now.
The Demon King—or…
“Kalion.”
It must be that person, approaching with softly glowing platinum hair.
Kalion stared pale-faced.
Even in the dark, his saintess shone clearly.
Just like when they first met at Alcyone Palace.
But her expression was even more harrowing than then.
And the way her heart seemed shattered into pieces was exquisitely sweet.
Kalion smiled bitterly and whispered.
“My saintess.”
He had wished Ares would break her heart, but now it seemed his own inflicted wound had been the greatest.
He liked that.
“Did the Demon King order you to kill me?”
“……”
“So you came to see me one last time?”
Now that it had come to this, he wanted to wound her even more thoroughly.
Yet his Thirteenth only offered a tearful-looking smile.
“Are you saying such hateful things out of despair? Or did someone tell you it was better this way?”
“……”
“Father… is indeed angry beyond measure.”
Kalion almost laughed at that.
The phrase ‘beyond measure’ seemed to underestimate his current condition entirely.
A white hand reached across the iron bars, whispering.
“Do you remember the promise I made to you?”
