Chapter 09
“Lying when you’re in pain.”
“If you press like that, anyone would hurt.”
In truth, the world before Hayden’s eyes was becoming increasingly unstable. However, he forced a hearty laugh and acted as if nothing were wrong.
He’d noticed how anxious Theodore and Ayla looked. Both of them were barely as tall as his chest.
To calm the children, Hayden continued the light-hearted chatter.
“Teo, once everything settles down, how about going to the village Harvest Festival with me? Of course, you can bring your friend too.”
“With things in this state, you really think that’ll still happen?”
“Hey, it could. You’re Ayla, right? You’ll come too, won’t you?”
“Huh? M-Me too?”
Startled, Ayla looked up. She had been shrinking into herself at the front.
Dealing with her parents’ situation was overwhelming enough. When she came to her senses, she found herself surrounded by important-looking people.
They said he was Teo’s brother, but why were they calling him the Crown Prince?
‘Then that means Theodore is royalty too…’
Her thoughts were in complete disarray.
“Ayla’s parents too. How about it?”
Even amid the confusion, Hayden’s words sounded like a promise of her parents’ safety, and Ayla’s nose stung with relief.
“Then it’s a promise, all right? Here.”
Smiling gently, Hayden held out his little finger toward Theodore.
“We already promised to go together anyway.”
Theodore pouted slightly for no real reason and was just about to extend his finger—
Fssshk.
With a sharp whistling cut through the air, an arrow flew in and struck Hayden.
“Cough—!”
Hayden hurriedly clamped a hand over his mouth as blood surged up his throat.
Another arrow flew in right after, piercing the horse’s flank. The startled horse reared up suddenly and, in an instant, all three were thrown to the ground.
Just before his head hit a rock as they rolled across the ground, Theodore clearly saw the arrow that had hit his brother was the same type as the one he’d seen at the cabin.
Sure enough, the nightmare-like voice he’d heard on the shore rang out again.
“Oh—my mistake. I was aiming for that insolent little brat, not him.”
***
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
Seeing Hayden on the verge of death, the duke turned deathly pale and clawed at his hair.
“How noisy.”
Grid responded with open irritation, idly rubbing his ear.
His brows lifted suddenly as his gaze flicked between Hayden and Theodore lying side by side.
“I thought they looked alike. Brothers, were they?”
“He appears to be the Second Prince of Gayern.”
Balkan, who stood beside him like a shadow, nodded with a blank expression.
At that signal, the knights of Gayern were slaughtered in an instant.
Duke Seymour’s private soldiers were no exception.
As the massacre unfolded in the blink of an eye, the duke’s face drained of color.
“T-This goes against our agreement. We agreed only to abduct the Crown Prince—!”
“The agreement’s no longer necessary, Duke. I’ve already gotten what I wanted. My sister is dead, after all.”
‘Heh.’
Eyes narrowing into a smile, Grid shook a blood-soaked necklace.
It was the emblem of Melshid’s royal family—proof of the First Successor—that Nereia had always worn.
At the sight of it, Ayla’s heart dropped heavily.
“Mom…”
Come to think of it, she could no longer feel Nereia’s power.
She hurriedly searched the mountainside where the cabin stood, but there were no dark clouds in the sky anymore.
“Thanks to that, you’re not of much value anymore either, Duke.”
With a casual wave of his hand, Grid instructed Balkan to take care of the rest.
This included the duke and his children, who were travelling in the carriage that had just arrived.
“Y-You planned this from the start, didn’t you?! Then why drag an army into it at all? If you never intended to abduct the crown prince, there was no need to cause this kind of chaos!”
“Because it’s fun?”
Grid was cruel by nature. However, he wasn’t insane enough to create a battlefield purely for his own amusement.
Everything had been meticulously planned.
Following Nereia’s death, Grid had become the sole legitimate successor, but there would certainly be those who questioned the legitimacy of the process.
What better way to divert their attention than an external enemy?
After all, war is the most effective tool for consolidating royal authority.
“Though I wouldn’t expect a foolish human like you to understand that.”
With arrogant strides, Grid approached Theodore.
Ayla shoved him with all the strength she had.
“D-Don’t come closer!”
“No… Ayla. Move… it’s dangerous…”
Even as his consciousness faded from the blow to his head, Theodore tried to stop her.
“It’s okay, Teo. This time, I’ll protect you.”
Although her legs were trembling with fear, Ayla didn’t back down.
After all, Theodore had saved her twice before.
Grid watched her desperate struggle with leisurely interest before seizing the girl by the face.
“Hm. No matter how many times I look, you really do resemble my sister. Such a pretty face.”
Slice.
Grid’s long fingernail carved a thin gash across Ayla’s cheek.
And yet—how strange.
The wound, which had begun to bead with blood, healed in an instant, glowing faintly blue.
“Oh?”
Interest sparked in Grid’s eyes, a vertical crease forming between his brows.
As if to confirm it, he drew a dagger this time and dragged it sharply across the back of Ayla’s hand.
“Ah—!”
Ayla sucked in a breath at the unfamiliar pain.
Even more shocking, however, was the fact that, despite the deep cut, the wound on her hand started to heal quickly.
And that wasn’t all.
Suddenly, her vision blurred and she had a strange vision of Duke Seymour rushing at Grid from behind.
Startled, Ayla hurriedly looked behind Grid.
She realized then that what she had seen was not an illusion, but the immediate future.
The moment Grid turned, puzzled by her fixed stare, the duke lunged forward, just as she had seen.
Crash.
Grid twisted lightly, dodging the duke with ease, his eyes flashing.
“You saw something just now, didn’t you?”
Before Ayla could even fully realize that the ability she had longed for had finally awakened, Grid’s eyes gleamed with greed.
“This is an unexpected harvest. Looks like my niece has some very interesting eyes.”
“What shall we do?”
“I was planning to kill everyone.”
But now, things had changed.
Reading Ayla’s value clearly, Grid chuckled and brushed himself off as he stood.
“We’re taking her. She looks like she’ll be very useful.”
***
‘What in the world is happening?’
Duke Seymour’s eyes darted frantically as he rolled across the ground in disgrace.
Whatever else was unclear, one thing was certain: The girl the Second Prince had brought with him was special.
Whatever remarkable quality she possessed, Grid wanted it.
The Duke had recognized Ayla’s value too, though the implications differed, and had finished his calculations in an instant.
“I-I propose a… a new deal.”
“A deal? I don’t want anything more.”
Grid sneered at the duke’s audacious proposal.
However, his smug smile quickly cracked.
The duke had snatched Ayla up swiftly and pressed a cold, blue-tinged blade against her pale throat.
“Isn’t this child the one you want to take?”
“……”
Drip.
As blood welled from the skin cut by the sharp edge, Ayla’s eyes flashed—turning a brilliant gold in an instant.
At the sight of that change, Grid smacked his lips.
“Fine. What do you want? Is sparing the duke enough?”
“—!”
It had been a desperate gamble, thrown out like someone clutching at straws.
But when Grid bit so readily at the bait he’d cast, the corner of the duke’s mouth twitched.
‘As if this little brat mattered that much. Idiot.’
The duke sneered inwardly as he glanced back and forth between Theodore, who was groaning faintly, and Hayden, who had stopped breathing altogether.
What if everyone here died and he was the only survivor?
Even then, he would be held fully responsible for failing to protect the royal family.
There was only one way to avoid that outcome.
“Spare the Second Prince as well.”
With Hayden looking beyond salvation, Grid chose Theodore.
If his proposal was accepted, he might even be able to turn the situation to his advantage.
“And there is one more condition.”
The duke’s voice dropped low.
“Erase the Second Prince’s memories.”
