Cullinan Island was quickly transformed into a massive tomb for John Fitzroy Blackwell. The surviving helpers abandoned the ruined island and returned to the capital, and then to the Te Deum.
“Louis.”
A sharp light appeared in Jerome's eyes.
“That’s not like the usual principled Louis. If it were Mrs. Dunst, who everyone knows, you would have strictly followed the rules and made Michael’s presence known and sent him away.”
“I feel sorry for Edward, who has passed away. If Edward were alive, he wouldn’t have been so cruel in rejecting him, even if Michael was an illegitimate child.”
“Besides, His Highness’s current condition is not good either.”
Jerome's tone became lower.
“Surely... Are you thinking of Michael as your lord’s substitute?”
Louis couldn't hide her stare, which had hit the nail on the head. But she soon regained her composure.
“Don’t you know that I’m always of the opinion that I should anticipate and prepare for the worst? If by any chance... the situation doesn’t go as planned, Michael is my only alternative. He’s Edward’s blood relative after all.”
“What if things don’t go your way? What do you mean by that? The young master will be fine. After learning the truth about Remedy, he was able to fully recover on his own without relying on Angie’s blood. As someone who watched from the side, I can only describe it as superhuman strength. The young master will never break down.”
“Of course, my lord is a strong man. He is not weak.”
So Louis had much higher expectations than Edward. But in the end, he ended up becoming a wreck because of a woman.
“Jerome. I know that you truly care for your master. How can I not understand that the loyalty you felt toward the late Edward has been transferred to Kyle? However, you must face reality.”
“No. The young master will be fine within a month. He is the only head of the family as long as Blackwell exists. And now the ritual... I think it would be best to end it here.”
“What does that mean? To end Eternity.”
This time, Louis's gaze changed. What was the single-minded determination of the helpers on Cullinan Island that made them swear loyalty to the Blackwell family until the very end before they were reduced to ashes? They all yearned for eternal life. At the very least, they wanted to live longer than others, and that is an instinctive desire that all humans desire.
“Don’t pretend not to know, Louis. The young master is stronger than Edward, but he is less interested in eternal life and immortality than Edward.”
“He is only just past twenty. He is still too young to understand the importance of Eternity. But just wait and see. As time goes by, he will eventually come to have the same feelings as us.”
“There’s a difference between being strong and being brutal. Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that Kyle could... kill his firstborn?”
“The sacrifice of the cow is necessary for the sake of the family. He can have as many children as he wants. And to answer your question, the young master deliberately decided to marry Leticia Dervan for it. It would be less painful if the child was born to a woman he did not love and had no sense of morality.”
Louis continued speaking without even waiting for an answer.
“This was the best. The young master would marry Angie, who was the best remedy, and eventually have his first child with her. Whether it be a daughter or a son... The first child could have been considered never born and made to die immediately after birth. Just like the previous Duke made it seem like Kyle’s older brother Lloyd suffocated in the cradle. Then, the young master would have more firmly assimilated Eternity into his body through the sacrifice of his first child, and the two of them would have had a second, third... many children without any problems and lived happily ever after.”
“No. I don’t think so. Even if the eternity within his body is strengthened, who can guarantee that he will continue on the path to immortality until he reaches the age of eighty, ninety, or a hundred? Do you think God would allow that?”
“We don’t know anyway. Which one is the real God or the devil? Look at that holy fire. Everyone says it’s an angel, so we think it’s an angel. Everyone says it’s a devil, so we see it as a devil. No one knows what the truth is.”
“The truth is this, Louis.”
Jerome jumped to his feet. He looked down at Mrs. Dunst with astonishment and disbelief.
“There is no such doctrine in any religion in the world. No matter how great the power of a believer may be, he does not recommend killing his own children and drinking their blood to make life more blessed.”
“...”
“This is crazy! Look around the neighboring countries now. The world has changed rapidly since the war. They say that the first steamship will soon sail in Vintergar. The aristocracy has collapsed and a middle class has emerged since the Industrial Revolution. Women are actively participating in society, and all children are going to school regardless of their parent’s social status. But what is this country? It has become even more closed than before the war, going against the times. The national treasury is running dry, and peasant uprisings are frequent in the capital...”
“This country will rise again. You may be hearing only good things, but radical changes that destroy social order are accompanied by chaos and costs. Even the Vintergar class system is experiencing its own kind of chaos now that it has collapsed.”
“Let me tell you this, Louis. The only thing that matters to me is master safety. Not only because of what the late Edward told me before he died but also because I have a firm belief that Master Kyle is not the type of person to go down the wrong path. So if anyone tries to harm him or pull him down from his current position, I will absolutely not stand by and do nothing.”
Louis looked down at the teacup on the table without answering. The words were undoubtedly aimed at her. Jerome left the room without saying anything else.
After he left, she held her hands together with a complicated expression and pulled the rope. A young man came in. A chilling order was given.
“Keep an eye on Jerome. Attach someone to him and be careful not to get caught.”
“Understood, Mrs. Dunst.”
“If by any chance he tries to destroy the Eternity brought from the island or access the underground storage... poison him without a trace.”
The young man nodded and disappeared through the window. The spring sunlight of March reflected off the glass, momentarily obscuring her wrinkled gaze. The moment she had witnessed a month ago seemed as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
Against the backdrop of a burning forest, Michael was holding an axe in both hands, his purple eyes shining and laughing. He was full of madness, like a possessed executioner. As if he was carrying out a special mission from the God of death, he had no hesitation in tearing off the head of his grandfather who had become undead.
Louis felt as if she would never forget that moment. The anticipation that had been weighing more on Edward than on John Fitzroy, and ultimately on Kyle than on Edward, suddenly seemed to be amplified when it came to Michael.
Perhaps someone better suited to continue Eternity is...
Angie put the gun under her chin and tilted her neck back, the veins showing ominously through the transparent flesh of the swan.
Bang!
His head shook violently. He opened his eyes wide as if the back of his head was pierced, but he did not fall. It was his woman who fell. Blood spurted everywhere. It even splashed into his eyeballs, so he could not open his eyes properly for several seconds.
Her blood-soaked face and slender body fell down the cliff and disappeared from sight. Angie was smiling brightly even at the moment of her death. A strange scream rang out from somewhere. It seemed as if it would tear through his ears and rupture his brain.
After waking up from the nightmare and clutching his chest for a while, his doctor came running and gave me a sedative. When he fell back asleep, Angie showed up again, this time with the two of them standing side by side against the backdrop of blue fireflies.
Kyle looked at himself and Angie, who were looking at each other with longing, like invisible ghosts. The image she was looking at was not real, but a scarecrow.
Angie, please look at me! I'm here!
He screamed like crazy, but it didn't seem to reach her at all. Angie lifted her toes and kissed the dummy, not the real Kyle, affectionately. They hugged each other for a while, then turned and headed toward the annex. He tried to follow them hurriedly, but it was no use. His feet were firmly stuck to the floor, and he couldn't even move.
Angie! I'm here!
At that moment, his scarecrow turned its head. It wasn't his face. It was clearly his face just a few seconds ago as if looking through a mirror. The face that resembled his father in some way was distorted into something hideous, cracking little by little. His grandfather, the undead that his father had locked up in the basement, came to mind.
The monster-like, twisted face brought its lips to Angie's ear and whispered something. Angie smiled sweetly, not knowing anything. The two disappeared into the annex like that. A scream that tore through his throat echoed again.
He felt like he was going crazy. Nightmares kept coming back to him, tormenting him and keeping him from sleeping. But he could bear it. He was ready to endure even more pain with all his might, as long as Angie was alive.
Angie, Angie... I was wrong. I shouldn’t have killed them like that in front of you. Even if they weren’t your biological parents, they were your family. You still believed them to be your real family without knowing anything.
“Louis.”
A sharp light appeared in Jerome's eyes.
“That’s not like the usual principled Louis. If it were Mrs. Dunst, who everyone knows, you would have strictly followed the rules and made Michael’s presence known and sent him away.”
“I feel sorry for Edward, who has passed away. If Edward were alive, he wouldn’t have been so cruel in rejecting him, even if Michael was an illegitimate child.”
“Besides, His Highness’s current condition is not good either.”
Jerome's tone became lower.
“Surely... Are you thinking of Michael as your lord’s substitute?”
Louis couldn't hide her stare, which had hit the nail on the head. But she soon regained her composure.
“Don’t you know that I’m always of the opinion that I should anticipate and prepare for the worst? If by any chance... the situation doesn’t go as planned, Michael is my only alternative. He’s Edward’s blood relative after all.”
“What if things don’t go your way? What do you mean by that? The young master will be fine. After learning the truth about Remedy, he was able to fully recover on his own without relying on Angie’s blood. As someone who watched from the side, I can only describe it as superhuman strength. The young master will never break down.”
“Of course, my lord is a strong man. He is not weak.”
So Louis had much higher expectations than Edward. But in the end, he ended up becoming a wreck because of a woman.
“Jerome. I know that you truly care for your master. How can I not understand that the loyalty you felt toward the late Edward has been transferred to Kyle? However, you must face reality.”
“No. The young master will be fine within a month. He is the only head of the family as long as Blackwell exists. And now the ritual... I think it would be best to end it here.”
“What does that mean? To end Eternity.”
This time, Louis's gaze changed. What was the single-minded determination of the helpers on Cullinan Island that made them swear loyalty to the Blackwell family until the very end before they were reduced to ashes? They all yearned for eternal life. At the very least, they wanted to live longer than others, and that is an instinctive desire that all humans desire.
“Don’t pretend not to know, Louis. The young master is stronger than Edward, but he is less interested in eternal life and immortality than Edward.”
“He is only just past twenty. He is still too young to understand the importance of Eternity. But just wait and see. As time goes by, he will eventually come to have the same feelings as us.”
“There’s a difference between being strong and being brutal. Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that Kyle could... kill his firstborn?”
“The sacrifice of the cow is necessary for the sake of the family. He can have as many children as he wants. And to answer your question, the young master deliberately decided to marry Leticia Dervan for it. It would be less painful if the child was born to a woman he did not love and had no sense of morality.”
Louis continued speaking without even waiting for an answer.
“This was the best. The young master would marry Angie, who was the best remedy, and eventually have his first child with her. Whether it be a daughter or a son... The first child could have been considered never born and made to die immediately after birth. Just like the previous Duke made it seem like Kyle’s older brother Lloyd suffocated in the cradle. Then, the young master would have more firmly assimilated Eternity into his body through the sacrifice of his first child, and the two of them would have had a second, third... many children without any problems and lived happily ever after.”
“No. I don’t think so. Even if the eternity within his body is strengthened, who can guarantee that he will continue on the path to immortality until he reaches the age of eighty, ninety, or a hundred? Do you think God would allow that?”
“We don’t know anyway. Which one is the real God or the devil? Look at that holy fire. Everyone says it’s an angel, so we think it’s an angel. Everyone says it’s a devil, so we see it as a devil. No one knows what the truth is.”
“The truth is this, Louis.”
Jerome jumped to his feet. He looked down at Mrs. Dunst with astonishment and disbelief.
“There is no such doctrine in any religion in the world. No matter how great the power of a believer may be, he does not recommend killing his own children and drinking their blood to make life more blessed.”
“...”
“This is crazy! Look around the neighboring countries now. The world has changed rapidly since the war. They say that the first steamship will soon sail in Vintergar. The aristocracy has collapsed and a middle class has emerged since the Industrial Revolution. Women are actively participating in society, and all children are going to school regardless of their parent’s social status. But what is this country? It has become even more closed than before the war, going against the times. The national treasury is running dry, and peasant uprisings are frequent in the capital...”
“This country will rise again. You may be hearing only good things, but radical changes that destroy social order are accompanied by chaos and costs. Even the Vintergar class system is experiencing its own kind of chaos now that it has collapsed.”
“Let me tell you this, Louis. The only thing that matters to me is master safety. Not only because of what the late Edward told me before he died but also because I have a firm belief that Master Kyle is not the type of person to go down the wrong path. So if anyone tries to harm him or pull him down from his current position, I will absolutely not stand by and do nothing.”
Louis looked down at the teacup on the table without answering. The words were undoubtedly aimed at her. Jerome left the room without saying anything else.
After he left, she held her hands together with a complicated expression and pulled the rope. A young man came in. A chilling order was given.
“Keep an eye on Jerome. Attach someone to him and be careful not to get caught.”
“Understood, Mrs. Dunst.”
“If by any chance he tries to destroy the Eternity brought from the island or access the underground storage... poison him without a trace.”
The young man nodded and disappeared through the window. The spring sunlight of March reflected off the glass, momentarily obscuring her wrinkled gaze. The moment she had witnessed a month ago seemed as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
Against the backdrop of a burning forest, Michael was holding an axe in both hands, his purple eyes shining and laughing. He was full of madness, like a possessed executioner. As if he was carrying out a special mission from the God of death, he had no hesitation in tearing off the head of his grandfather who had become undead.
Louis felt as if she would never forget that moment. The anticipation that had been weighing more on Edward than on John Fitzroy, and ultimately on Kyle than on Edward, suddenly seemed to be amplified when it came to Michael.
Perhaps someone better suited to continue Eternity is...
***
Angie put the gun under her chin and tilted her neck back, the veins showing ominously through the transparent flesh of the swan.
Bang!
His head shook violently. He opened his eyes wide as if the back of his head was pierced, but he did not fall. It was his woman who fell. Blood spurted everywhere. It even splashed into his eyeballs, so he could not open his eyes properly for several seconds.
Her blood-soaked face and slender body fell down the cliff and disappeared from sight. Angie was smiling brightly even at the moment of her death. A strange scream rang out from somewhere. It seemed as if it would tear through his ears and rupture his brain.
After waking up from the nightmare and clutching his chest for a while, his doctor came running and gave me a sedative. When he fell back asleep, Angie showed up again, this time with the two of them standing side by side against the backdrop of blue fireflies.
Kyle looked at himself and Angie, who were looking at each other with longing, like invisible ghosts. The image she was looking at was not real, but a scarecrow.
Angie, please look at me! I'm here!
He screamed like crazy, but it didn't seem to reach her at all. Angie lifted her toes and kissed the dummy, not the real Kyle, affectionately. They hugged each other for a while, then turned and headed toward the annex. He tried to follow them hurriedly, but it was no use. His feet were firmly stuck to the floor, and he couldn't even move.
Angie! I'm here!
At that moment, his scarecrow turned its head. It wasn't his face. It was clearly his face just a few seconds ago as if looking through a mirror. The face that resembled his father in some way was distorted into something hideous, cracking little by little. His grandfather, the undead that his father had locked up in the basement, came to mind.
The monster-like, twisted face brought its lips to Angie's ear and whispered something. Angie smiled sweetly, not knowing anything. The two disappeared into the annex like that. A scream that tore through his throat echoed again.
He felt like he was going crazy. Nightmares kept coming back to him, tormenting him and keeping him from sleeping. But he could bear it. He was ready to endure even more pain with all his might, as long as Angie was alive.
Angie, Angie... I was wrong. I shouldn’t have killed them like that in front of you. Even if they weren’t your biological parents, they were your family. You still believed them to be your real family without knowing anything.
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