“Yes. The previous Duke brought the forbidden book before he decided on the ritual, and he would look into the doctrine whenever he had the chance. Hester must have been wondering too.”
Jerome's mind flashed back to the spring of last year when he had first seen Michael on the day of the Duke's funeral. He had stood out even though he was among the new workers at the Duke's residence. It wasn't just because of his handsome appearance. His facial features seemed strangely familiar, and now that he looked back, it was because he resembled Edward. He had a similar outline to Kyle, but his friendly smile was completely different from that of the young master.
“Even if it weren’t for Edward, John Fitzroy would have insisted on the ritual. Even after his Eternity ritual failed and he became undead, Edward wouldn’t have been able to feel safe while he was still alive. Edward himself had absolutely no intention of performing the ritual...”
Neither of them could forget that day. When Eugenia found out everything, she screamed in shock and accidentally dropped the lamp, and the fire from the carpet spread to her clothes in an instant, engulfing her entire body in flames. That moment was still like a nightmare.
"You are crazy! You are not human! Edward, did you really not know? Your father made the potion as written in the devil's book and fed it to you consistently for a year... That's why you were sick so often. Because it said 'the price of blood' in the devil's book! For the drug to be fully absorbed into your body, it can cause various side effects such as seizures, psychosis, blood-sucking, and cannibalism..."
"What the... What the hell are you talking about, Eugenia? When I took the medicine, my symptoms were relieved and I felt better right away."
"At first, yes. Because there was a drug ingredient that made you think you were getting better. But you're getting worse day by day! To eliminate the side effects, your father had been steadily bringing in teenagers from all over the continent and manipulating their memories. To periodically transfuse the blood of young, healthy children to you as nutrients... My blood must have been drawn and experimented on at some point. I was your remedy. Here, the needle marks here and there on my arms are the traces of those needles... Oh, it's horrible!"
"Honey, Eugenia. You're not wrong. I don't know what the hell you're talking about..."
"Lloyd! My child... It was no coincidence that Lloyd, one of the twins, died a few months ago. Lloyd was killed on purpose! Because that child came out of my womb a few seconds earlier! Those who gain eternal life will enjoy the blessing of continuing the lineage by paying the noble price of the blood of the closest relative. The blood of the closest relative meant my first child... Aaaah, aaaaah!"
The two children were originally twins. Now, twenty years later, no one mentions it, but Kyle originally had an older brother who was born a few seconds earlier.
"What...?"
"The drug you took had Lloyd's blood mixed in! To give you eternal life... That's why father... That monster said that before we got married. That even if your first birth goes wrong, you can raise your second child well..."
"Eugenia, calm down. Lloyd died accidentally from asphyxiation..."
"Your brother, Henry David, came here a few months ago and died suddenly. Isn't that strange? Neither Lloyd nor Henry's deaths, you and I were witnesses. The Duke... that old monster always notified us after the fact. It was as if he had been there!"
A lightning flash of realization struck Eugenia's mind. John Fitzroy's intentions were probably twisted, paternal love. He wanted to ensure that his descendants would live forever enjoying immense power and wealth, even though it was too late for him.
It must have been like that at first, but as time went by, he must have become greedy. He must have wanted to avoid death as he watched his body age. His greed for 'eternity' eventually overpowered his fatherly love.
So he decided to sacrifice his eldest son, Henry David, who had a mental disability and took his blood with drugs. The result was a terrible side effect, which left him with a disfigured face like that of a leper.
"Your father has been punished by heaven! Of course, he is. It is the price for blasphemy, for committing an act that even an animal would not do to its own young!"
"Eugenia..."
"Kyle... My son Kyle... The medicine you have been taking and are taking! He must already be mixing it in milk and feeding it to Kyle. I will find out the cause of the side effects you have been experiencing and re-construct it...and I hope it works this time, to Kyle..."
The sobbing soon turned into a desperate scream. Eugenia was so caught up in her emotions that she didn’t even notice the lamp, and it fell behind her and landed on the back of her dress in an instant. Eugenia didn’t have time to do anything.
Edward held Eugenia's funeral and locked his father, who was turning into an undead, in the very bottom of the basement. He ordered all the helpers to leave him alone and focus only on the health of Kyle, who was left alone, as he did not care when he died.
The helpers had no objection to that. After all, according to the doctrine of 'blood causality', he could avoid the causality of sacrifice from the second child onwards. However, the current medicine, which had improved the side effects that had appeared in his predecessor's body, suited him well, and when Kyle had his first child in the future, he only had to mix the child's blood into the medicine as per the ritual.
And if that medicine finally becomes the complete 'Eternity' and benefits all the helpers as promised, that would be the ultimate fruition of their dream. Eternity had to be completed before they died of old age.
Otherwise, wouldn't all that devotion and atrocities be in vain? But no one showed such feelings in front of Edward.
"Remember, no matter how much I beg to be saved during a seizure, you must never bring Remedy. It is better to die than to sacrifice innocent children."
Edward gave a firm order even though he was exhausted. He looked so distressed that he could have committed suicide. However, he could not have done so because he was worried about Kyle. If he could kill himself now and break the curse that would have spread to Kyle, he would not have hesitated.
However, the dead Eugenia's claims turned out to be true. As soon as John Fitzroy lost his mind and was locked in the basement, Kyle's nanny came forward, trembling with fear, and confessed the truth.
"I mixed Eternity into the milk by His Highness' order. Please, just let me live! I couldn't help but do as he said... Please, please show mercy..."
He couldn't die until he saw that Kyle was growing up well. So Edward put all his effort into continuing to live, despite the various side effects and madness.
Eventually, he went back on his words and took Remedy's blood whenever his stamina reached its limit. He called women to relieve his abnormally strong sexual desires, and whenever he had a bloodthirsty fit, he would wander the forest at night in a frenzy.
Sometimes, in a state of confusion, he would go down to the underground. Now, he would run wild to kill his father, whom everyone called 'it'. He would fire guns and throw torches at him, trying to burn him, but the undead would not die.
Unfortunately, but hopefully, for the helpers, Kyle also began to show various symptoms around the age of three. The effects of the Eternity medication he had been taking since he was a baby began to show, causing him to suffer from seizures, narcolepsy, and fevers of unknown causes, and he was unable to be exposed to sunlight. During puberty, when his skeleton and body were fully formed and growing, he was unable to walk properly and had to stay in his bedroom.
“But Michael’s name was also on the list of remedies.”
At Jerome's suggestion, Louis brought her consciousness, which had been groping for the past, back to the surface.
“Since all minors had to be included, Hester had no choice. Anyway, since Lady Eugenia died and Lord Edward gave up everything, the male Remedy was safe.”
“That’s true. The doctrine stipulates that the recipient and the remedy must be of different genders.”
If Edward or Kyle were women, their remedies would have been men. The doctrine states that the genders of men and women are opposites and that it is important to form a good mental connection between the two.
So, several girls were called in for Lord Kyle. This was to see if they were compatible with each other emotionally, as well as blood type, and as a companion and book readers. After Natalia Rohen and Lucia Perron, Angie Ridsdel was summoned, and she was eventually chosen as the best remedy.
Angie. I didn't know you would fall so deeply for that child. I didn't plan on sending that child to you as a remedy from the beginning. Edward became a wreck after Eugenia's death, and if you can't recover as well...
“Anyway, I’ll talk to Michael again soon. As you know, he’s been through quite a bit of trauma after losing his aunt Hester in the fire. I think it’s only natural to give him some time to collect his thoughts.”
Michael's aunt, Hester Randall, died of smoke inhalation when half of the island was reduced to ashes. She was not the only one killed, but more than half of the island's population. Not a single one of the Remedy children, who had gathered in the chapel that had been burned down, survived. The "thing" that was once called the noble Duke had taken them all as his companions on his journey to the afterlife.
The fire continued to spread even in the heavy rain as if God had abandoned the island itself. The forest, beautiful and lush all year round, was reduced to ashes, and the vast plains were turned into a wasteland.
Jerome's mind flashed back to the spring of last year when he had first seen Michael on the day of the Duke's funeral. He had stood out even though he was among the new workers at the Duke's residence. It wasn't just because of his handsome appearance. His facial features seemed strangely familiar, and now that he looked back, it was because he resembled Edward. He had a similar outline to Kyle, but his friendly smile was completely different from that of the young master.
“Even if it weren’t for Edward, John Fitzroy would have insisted on the ritual. Even after his Eternity ritual failed and he became undead, Edward wouldn’t have been able to feel safe while he was still alive. Edward himself had absolutely no intention of performing the ritual...”
Neither of them could forget that day. When Eugenia found out everything, she screamed in shock and accidentally dropped the lamp, and the fire from the carpet spread to her clothes in an instant, engulfing her entire body in flames. That moment was still like a nightmare.
"You are crazy! You are not human! Edward, did you really not know? Your father made the potion as written in the devil's book and fed it to you consistently for a year... That's why you were sick so often. Because it said 'the price of blood' in the devil's book! For the drug to be fully absorbed into your body, it can cause various side effects such as seizures, psychosis, blood-sucking, and cannibalism..."
"What the... What the hell are you talking about, Eugenia? When I took the medicine, my symptoms were relieved and I felt better right away."
"At first, yes. Because there was a drug ingredient that made you think you were getting better. But you're getting worse day by day! To eliminate the side effects, your father had been steadily bringing in teenagers from all over the continent and manipulating their memories. To periodically transfuse the blood of young, healthy children to you as nutrients... My blood must have been drawn and experimented on at some point. I was your remedy. Here, the needle marks here and there on my arms are the traces of those needles... Oh, it's horrible!"
"Honey, Eugenia. You're not wrong. I don't know what the hell you're talking about..."
"Lloyd! My child... It was no coincidence that Lloyd, one of the twins, died a few months ago. Lloyd was killed on purpose! Because that child came out of my womb a few seconds earlier! Those who gain eternal life will enjoy the blessing of continuing the lineage by paying the noble price of the blood of the closest relative. The blood of the closest relative meant my first child... Aaaah, aaaaah!"
The two children were originally twins. Now, twenty years later, no one mentions it, but Kyle originally had an older brother who was born a few seconds earlier.
"What...?"
"The drug you took had Lloyd's blood mixed in! To give you eternal life... That's why father... That monster said that before we got married. That even if your first birth goes wrong, you can raise your second child well..."
"Eugenia, calm down. Lloyd died accidentally from asphyxiation..."
"Your brother, Henry David, came here a few months ago and died suddenly. Isn't that strange? Neither Lloyd nor Henry's deaths, you and I were witnesses. The Duke... that old monster always notified us after the fact. It was as if he had been there!"
A lightning flash of realization struck Eugenia's mind. John Fitzroy's intentions were probably twisted, paternal love. He wanted to ensure that his descendants would live forever enjoying immense power and wealth, even though it was too late for him.
It must have been like that at first, but as time went by, he must have become greedy. He must have wanted to avoid death as he watched his body age. His greed for 'eternity' eventually overpowered his fatherly love.
So he decided to sacrifice his eldest son, Henry David, who had a mental disability and took his blood with drugs. The result was a terrible side effect, which left him with a disfigured face like that of a leper.
"Your father has been punished by heaven! Of course, he is. It is the price for blasphemy, for committing an act that even an animal would not do to its own young!"
"Eugenia..."
"Kyle... My son Kyle... The medicine you have been taking and are taking! He must already be mixing it in milk and feeding it to Kyle. I will find out the cause of the side effects you have been experiencing and re-construct it...and I hope it works this time, to Kyle..."
The sobbing soon turned into a desperate scream. Eugenia was so caught up in her emotions that she didn’t even notice the lamp, and it fell behind her and landed on the back of her dress in an instant. Eugenia didn’t have time to do anything.
Edward held Eugenia's funeral and locked his father, who was turning into an undead, in the very bottom of the basement. He ordered all the helpers to leave him alone and focus only on the health of Kyle, who was left alone, as he did not care when he died.
The helpers had no objection to that. After all, according to the doctrine of 'blood causality', he could avoid the causality of sacrifice from the second child onwards. However, the current medicine, which had improved the side effects that had appeared in his predecessor's body, suited him well, and when Kyle had his first child in the future, he only had to mix the child's blood into the medicine as per the ritual.
And if that medicine finally becomes the complete 'Eternity' and benefits all the helpers as promised, that would be the ultimate fruition of their dream. Eternity had to be completed before they died of old age.
Otherwise, wouldn't all that devotion and atrocities be in vain? But no one showed such feelings in front of Edward.
"Remember, no matter how much I beg to be saved during a seizure, you must never bring Remedy. It is better to die than to sacrifice innocent children."
Edward gave a firm order even though he was exhausted. He looked so distressed that he could have committed suicide. However, he could not have done so because he was worried about Kyle. If he could kill himself now and break the curse that would have spread to Kyle, he would not have hesitated.
However, the dead Eugenia's claims turned out to be true. As soon as John Fitzroy lost his mind and was locked in the basement, Kyle's nanny came forward, trembling with fear, and confessed the truth.
"I mixed Eternity into the milk by His Highness' order. Please, just let me live! I couldn't help but do as he said... Please, please show mercy..."
He couldn't die until he saw that Kyle was growing up well. So Edward put all his effort into continuing to live, despite the various side effects and madness.
Eventually, he went back on his words and took Remedy's blood whenever his stamina reached its limit. He called women to relieve his abnormally strong sexual desires, and whenever he had a bloodthirsty fit, he would wander the forest at night in a frenzy.
Sometimes, in a state of confusion, he would go down to the underground. Now, he would run wild to kill his father, whom everyone called 'it'. He would fire guns and throw torches at him, trying to burn him, but the undead would not die.
Unfortunately, but hopefully, for the helpers, Kyle also began to show various symptoms around the age of three. The effects of the Eternity medication he had been taking since he was a baby began to show, causing him to suffer from seizures, narcolepsy, and fevers of unknown causes, and he was unable to be exposed to sunlight. During puberty, when his skeleton and body were fully formed and growing, he was unable to walk properly and had to stay in his bedroom.
“But Michael’s name was also on the list of remedies.”
At Jerome's suggestion, Louis brought her consciousness, which had been groping for the past, back to the surface.
“Since all minors had to be included, Hester had no choice. Anyway, since Lady Eugenia died and Lord Edward gave up everything, the male Remedy was safe.”
“That’s true. The doctrine stipulates that the recipient and the remedy must be of different genders.”
If Edward or Kyle were women, their remedies would have been men. The doctrine states that the genders of men and women are opposites and that it is important to form a good mental connection between the two.
So, several girls were called in for Lord Kyle. This was to see if they were compatible with each other emotionally, as well as blood type, and as a companion and book readers. After Natalia Rohen and Lucia Perron, Angie Ridsdel was summoned, and she was eventually chosen as the best remedy.
Angie. I didn't know you would fall so deeply for that child. I didn't plan on sending that child to you as a remedy from the beginning. Edward became a wreck after Eugenia's death, and if you can't recover as well...
“Anyway, I’ll talk to Michael again soon. As you know, he’s been through quite a bit of trauma after losing his aunt Hester in the fire. I think it’s only natural to give him some time to collect his thoughts.”
Michael's aunt, Hester Randall, died of smoke inhalation when half of the island was reduced to ashes. She was not the only one killed, but more than half of the island's population. Not a single one of the Remedy children, who had gathered in the chapel that had been burned down, survived. The "thing" that was once called the noble Duke had taken them all as his companions on his journey to the afterlife.
The fire continued to spread even in the heavy rain as if God had abandoned the island itself. The forest, beautiful and lush all year round, was reduced to ashes, and the vast plains were turned into a wasteland.
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