CHAPTER 169………………………………………..
. Farewell, My Paradise (3)
The bright autumn had quietly ended, and the biting winter wind began to blow.
Late at night, Kallion was released from prison.
It was done in a quiet way that would not draw attention.
“Alcyone, leave this land immediately, taking nothing you received here.”
The demon king’s decree of expulsion offered no leniency.
Yet, there were people who came to see him off.
“Kallion, Your Highness.”
It was the Epikus sisters.
They appeared before Kallion’s possessions could be fully confiscated, carrying as much as they could.
Minte handed him a bag and several documents.
“With this pass, you can safely leave the city.”
“……”
“There won’t be any unnecessary interference until you go.”
“Thank you.”
Until now, Kallion had greeted them calmly.
At that sight, Lethe quietly embraced him.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t treat you better, Your Highness Kallion.”
“……”
“Please take care of yourself…”
It was the first time Lethe had addressed him by name instead of Minte.
Only then did the reality hit him fully.
He really had to leave this place now.
Dragging his feet as heavy as lead, Kallion turned his back on the sisters and headed toward the door.
Once he crossed that threshold, there would be no way to return.
“Haha, ha.”
As he stepped out, a laugh mixed with a sigh escaped him.
“Haha……”
Kallion bowed his head, laughing almost in sobs.
The person he loved was in a coma because of him.
His crushed little brother had gone far away to the north.
If only Kallion hadn’t entered the competition without intending to win and ruined everything…
‘Saint, you said it was because I was brainwashed by Talos…’
He finally admitted it to himself.
He had been twisted by anxiety for a very long time.
Even so, if he had been a little more clear-headed, he could have stopped it…
Yet he crushed everything with his own hands without hesitation.
Outside the door, Minte had prepared a black carriage for Kallion.
He had to take it to the nearest border.
‘…So what now?’
There was no way Illiod’s side would offer support in this situation.
Their condition had always been that he remain by the princess’s side as the human representative.
But as the carriage neared the outskirts of Kore,
Kallion suddenly felt a familiar “sound” following him.
It was unmistakably familiar…
When he was left alone outside the border, he waited for the owner of that sound to approach.
As expected.
From the darkness came a woman’s soft, familiar voice.
“Oh my, Prince. Leaving all alone?”
“……Andvari.”
There was no trace of the quiet demeanor she had at the salon.
This was her true self: a mercenary.
“Did you leave Kore too?”
“The search net is tightening. How could I stay there?”
Andvari chuckled lightly.
…More importantly, if she got caught, it would also harm Madame Clotho’s salon, which oversaw the Royal Academy uniforms.
Andvari reached out her hand to the exiled prince.
“Let’s go together.”
“……”
“There are still mercenaries alive beyond the border.”
Though they had once been oppressed by the Demon King, mercenaries were still active outside.
Blending in with them wasn’t a bad option.
Kallion silently nodded to her offer.
Before following her, though, he looked back one last time.
Somewhere there, Persen Palace stood, and his Sion was asleep within.
Kallion whispered in a strained voice.
“Farewell, my paradise.”
I’m truly, truly sorry.
When she realized what Kallion had done, she understood.
‘The promise I made to protect you was really just an empty shell.’
She had worried about him, but the joyful time with Ares was more important.
Her heart had been drawn to Ares, so she had subtly put Kallion’s matters aside.
Thus, she eventually decided who to use the “healing power” on.
Before her father could become even angrier and punish Kallion severely.
She remembered ordering the prison guards to let her meet him personally and use the healing power.
“…But did he survive?”
If not, that would be truly troublesome.
Looking around, all she saw was the peculiarly colored sky and the grasslands.
And in front of her, a massive white gate floated.
Decorated with grand pillars reminiscent of a temple.
Rustle, rustle…
Then she heard the brushing of clothes behind her.
She roughly guessed who it was, so she didn’t turn around.
『You didn’t die. But you lost consciousness for a few days.』
Naturally, the owner of that irritating voice was the First High Saint.
Perhaps her expression had been sufficiently displeased, because the First Saint chuckled softly.
『Shouldn’t you be grateful it was a demon’s body? Otherwise, you’d be dead.』
“…This still feels unfair no matter how I think about it.”
『Oh? What is?』
She turned around and glared directly at the First Saint.
After fighting Ares, Kallion being imprisoned, and her father’s wrath…
She had thought all along.
Compared to her efforts, the First Saint’s contribution was far too little.
With the power the First Saint promised, only one person could be saved.
Even then, the backlash was so severe she lost consciousness.
She reached out to the First Saint and demanded:
“Now, give me everything. All the power you can grant.”
『…….』
“I’ve already fulfilled your damn dream myself!”
She couldn’t take it anymore.
Being bound by High Saint duties and mocked.
Deceiving the one she loved, failing to protect them, letting them go…
‘No more.’
To endure that pain, she needed all the power she could take.
“It was a dream no one accomplished in 500 years. Even you yourself! And now you want to settle it with a little ‘healing’?”
『…….』
“If you were going to curse me like this, you should give a proper reward!”
Her words were like a desperate threat.
The First Saint could have ignored her, but she just crossed her arms and tilted her head.
『…Even as a demon, your body will feel uncomfortable for a while.』
“I don’t need your concern. I have insurance.”
『……?』
The First Saint looked puzzled, but she cleared her mind completely.
Accepting her power would be painful.
But the countermeasures were already in place; she didn’t need to explain.
『Hmm, very well… If you are truly unconcerned, then.』
The First Saint smiled faintly.
At first, it seemed mocking.
But there was also a hint of sympathy, and faint expectation.
『This is your doing, 13th.』
“…Right.”
She calmly reached toward the First Saint.
“This is my doing.”
How severe the backlash would be… she was honestly a little scared.
But the thought that came before being blinded by the dazzling light wasn’t fear.
‘Ares.’
She shouldn’t have thought about pride or perfect timing…
…I should have said “I love you” at least once.
Without thinking it’s embarrassing.
But that thought was instantly erased by the overwhelming pain.
Erebos silently watched his unconscious daughter.
After discovering her collapsed in prison.
She had remained confined to Persen Palace’s bedroom ever since.
“Please, don’t kill Kallion.”
Elysion had known.
The moment she realized the Belled World’s explosion was linked to that prince,
She didn’t know how far her rage could go.
The betrayal and disgust she felt toward that human prince left her unhinged.
After suppressing her irritation and seeing her daughter, she even granted her title.
‘And yet, this is how he betrays me?’
How lightly had they underestimated demons and the Demon King?
And how naturally had they taken her daughter’s hidden goodwill for granted?
But.
When her much younger daughter was in pain, she had told Phobos:
“I don’t want to create anything more sorrowful when this child wakes.”
“…I’ll keep that promise, even if you don’t know, Elysion.”
Thus, the demon king’s decree was expulsion.
All of Kallion’s possessions in the capital and the Icarus decree were stripped away.
What the demon king granted, he could also take back.
Erebos turned his gaze to the nightstand beside his daughter.
On it was a vase with red roses and purple hyacinths.
The flowers left by someone were both pitiful and beautiful.
‘They’ll probably wither by the time she wakes.’
And he had a premonition that the coming winter would be long and harsh.
