RHH | Chapter 6.2

As soon as the words fell, Lucien’s body trembled violently. Coughing loudly, Lucien opened his eyes. His dazed eyes, unable to grasp the situation, soon focused on Leehwan.

“Get up.”

“I-Iella?”

Lucien quickly got up. In the process, Leehwan tumbled onto the bed. Iella looked at him.

“Stay quietly asleep. It’ll be over soon.”

Leehwan’s eyelids grew heavy. He couldn’t fall asleep now. He urged himself, but there are things in the world that cannot be overcome by willpower alone. Eventually, he closed his eyes.

Leehwan’s breathing gradually deepened. Iella turned and headed for the door. As he left the room, Lucien, who followed her, closed the door.

Lucien looked at Iella, his lips twitching. Iella tilted his head and spoke.

“It seems you have something to say. Go ahead.”

Even though permission was given, Lucien hesitated for several minutes. Iella, who had been watching him, took a step forward. Lucien followed him and finally spoke.

“Sir Alexander will recover safely, right?”

Lucien’s voice was filled with hesitation. Iella stopped walking and turned to look at him.

When Iella had summoned Leehwan, he had been well aware of the impact the newly born hero would have on this world. After closely observing Leehwan, Iella had discovered a very useful weakness.

The black smoke that emerged when a monster’s core was extracted did not harm humans. However, that was only true for Iella’s creations. For Leehwan, who came from a world without monsters, the black smoke had a slight effect.

Left alone, it would dissipate with his breath, a mere trace of toxicity. So Iella had placed a curse. Every time Leehwan killed a monster, the toxicity he inhaled would accumulate in his body, eventually causing his organs to rot. The more diligently Leehwan performed his duties, the closer he came to death—an ironic twist.

Before the regression, Leehwan had been slowly consumed, just as Iella had planned. The gradually accumulating toxicity had eroded his body beyond repair. According to Lucien’s dreams, he had been on the brink of death.

Once a curse or blessing is cast, no one, not even the one who cast it, can revoke it. Imagining Absalom, who must have been restless as Leehwan grew weaker, Iella smiled cruelly.

This time, however, it was a little different. Since Leehwan hadn’t killed the monsters himself, the toxicity he had absorbed would eventually leave his body. The restriction he had placed, fearing that he might absorb the toxicity from monsters killed by others in the midst of battle and die quickly, had taken effect.

Of course, it would take quite some time for it all to leave. But that was none of Iella’s concern.

“I believe I’ve said this before. The orb’s effect is temporary. My servant will soon regain his strength.”

“Y-yes, of course.”

Lucien’s answer had an odd lack of enthusiasm. Iella smiled slyly.

“Have you changed your mind?”

Lucien’s shoulders twitched. Iella took a step forward and continued.

“Well, seeing him like that, it’s no wonder you’re shaken.”

“No! I just….”

“You must have been pleased to see him at your mercy, unable to move. You must have wanted to ruin him. Once my servant regains his strength, you’ll never get another chance like this. Yet you still wish for him to recover safely?”

Lucien bit his lip. When he didn’t answer, Iella laughed brightly.

“How honest.”

They headed towards the spiral staircase at the end of the corridor. After descending for a while, they arrived at an underground space as vast as a plaza. Despite the early hour, quite a number of people were bustling about.

Workers were carefully moving a massive object wrapped in cloth. Supervising them was none other than Charles. Though it was a task unworthy of the Crown Prince, his expression was serious.

Once the workers finished transporting the object and left, Charles finally turned his head. His gaze, which had briefly paused on Lucien, smoothly shifted away. Charles bowed respectfully towards Iella, who was standing nearby. However, Iella didn’t even glance at him and walked past.

As Lucien passed by Charles, he gave him a sidelong glance. True to his cold demeanor, there wasn’t a single trace of disturbance in his expression or posture. Just then, Charles looked at Lucien. Reading the contempt in those blue eyes, Lucien felt a surge of satisfaction.

Lucien ignored Charles and quickened his pace. He could feel Charles’s anger radiating from behind, but he paid it no mind.

Iella stood before the object that had just arrived. Lucien stopped walking near him. Seeing Lucien’s face, Iella smiled.

“You look pleased.”

He was. Lucien, who had once been ignored by everyone, was now the one ignoring them. This was what it meant to have power. Lucien felt as though he had awakened to a new reality.

The reason Lucien could stand so confidently was entirely because Iella was backing him. Soon, even Leehwan would fall into his hands. Lost in a euphoric mood, Lucien opened his mouth.

“I’m glad we arrived on time.”

Lucien’s gaze swept over the object wrapped in cloth. It was at least three meters tall. He knew exactly what it was.

The last sacred relic, kept in the Holy See. This was one of the first things Iella had demanded after manifesting.

The Emperor and Charles, who had angered Iella by doubting him, had no choice but to comply. They must have paid an enormous price to the Holy See, but that was none of Lucien’s concern.

“I only heard it was used to decorate the floor. I didn’t expect it to be this large.”

“Unwrap it.”

The cloth covering the relic was secured with several layers of rope. Lucien untied the knots. As the cloth slid down, a flawless, milky-white marble surface was revealed.

There were four relics that Leehwan had possessed. One was in the Imperial Palace, and now the one from the Holy See had arrived. A total of six relics were now here. Lucien finally voiced the question that had been on his mind.

“May I ask what you plan to do with the relics?”

“Hmm. It wouldn’t be bad to grant my servant’s earnest wish.”

To fulfill Leehwan’s wish. A chill ran down Lucien’s neck. Suddenly, he realized he had never heard why Leehwan had been searching for the relics. His lips trembled with unease as he slowly spoke.

“What does Sir Alexander desire…?”

“Oh? Didn’t I tell you?”

Iella turned to face Lucien. His long golden hair shimmered brilliantly, and his eyes, framed by lashes of the same color, curved slyly.

“There’s only one thing my servant desires. He wants to go home. To his world, the place he originally belonged to. So, I plan to send him back in front of the young dragon. To see him trapped by his own power, unable to escape this world, aware of his existence yet unable to reach out—it will be quite a sight.”

Iella laughed aloud. The clear sound echoed off the walls, filling the entire underground space. Lucien felt as though he were trapped in a nightmare.

He was going back. To a place where they could never meet again. How was that any different from death?

The pain he had felt in his dream resurfaced. The love he had realized only after losing it was excruciating. Overwhelmed by that pain, Lucien shouted.

“You said you’d give him to me!”

“Lucien!”

Lucien’s voice swallowed the echoes of laughter. Charles, who had been watching them from a distance, hurriedly tried to stop Lucien. But Lucien heard nothing.

Iella looked at Lucien with a smileless face. His expression was as eerie as a plaster statue. Had it been the usual Lucien, he would have realized his mistake. But inflated by expectations and arrogance, he had forgotten fear.

“My child. Think carefully. When did I ever make such a promise to you?”

“You clearly…!”

Lucien desperately searched his memories. Today, yesterday, the day he received the orb, the day he first met Iella. Lucien’s face grew paler by the second. Iella drove the final nail in the coffin.

“I said I would return things to their natural order.”

“That… that’s…! But you said Sir Alexander and I were bound by fate! If he returns to his natural order, then he…!”

“Yes. I did say that. But you see, my servant himself is an anomaly. How could something like fate exist for such a being?”

Iella reached out and gripped Lucien’s chin. The hand that had touched him several times before was always cold. Lucien was reminded of a corpse by Iella’s body temperature.

“My child. Your arrogance, interpreting things to your liking and then resenting me, is so much like that child. But you are not that child.”

There was no warmth in his voice. Lucien instinctively shuddered. Iella stared directly into his eyes.

Lucien’s face was reflected in those beautiful, cold, gem-like eyes. He was pale, trembling with fear.

“Be grateful to me, foolish one.”

It was a statement that could easily be mistaken for forgiveness. But Iella’s hand still pressed down on Lucien.

The world gradually darkened. A sharp ringing filled his ears. His limbs slowly stiffened, and he lost his voice. Eventually, only Iella remained in his vision. He whispered to Lucien.

“I’ll make use of this pitiful body.”

Thud.

The frail body collapsed to the ground. Charles looked at Lucien with confusion.

He had thought Iella would never forgive Lucien for daring to speak out of turn. But after a brief conversation, it was Iella who had fallen.

“What on earth is going on? Why did Iella…?”

Charles approached Lucien and asked. But the moment he saw Lucien turn around, he could no longer speak.

The eyes that had once glowed a vivid green were no longer the same. In the familiar face were eyes that shifted colors unnaturally.

Charles lowered his gaze. A corpse lay haphazardly on the underground floor. The beautiful face, pale skin, and dazzling golden hair were still there. But the wide-open eyes were gray.

“Take it away.”

Iella, who had taken over Lucien’s body, commanded. Charles bowed, pretending to show respect while avoiding Iella’s gaze. If this was what divine manifestation entailed, it was far better to be treated as a mere object or a nobody.

As Charles hurriedly left the underground with the boy’s corpse, his hurried movements betrayed the fear he was trying to suppress. But Iella paid him no mind. For Charles, that was a relief.