Martin was so moved that he even had tears in his eyes.
"You can't imagine how anxious I was... especially after I found out you were Amber."
Angie also shed tears. She couldn't help but feel how desperately he wanted to save her. Even before they knew that they were blood relatives, he had always tried his best to help and save her through dreams. Martin was a savior and lifesaver just by sailing through this storm.
"Thank you, Martin. Really... If Martin hadn't come, I would have... by now."
Martin took her straight to Bryn's mansion instead of handing her over to the Marine Authority of Vintergar. His fiancée, Bryn Meyer Armitage, was a very kind and warm person. While she nursed and cared for Angie, Martin told her many stories. The Black Mass, Eternity, Remedy and Helper, and Opium Rose that Michael had told her were just the tip of the iceberg.
The fact that Duke John Fitzroy, who became a monster after the failed Eternity experiment, was locked in the basement of the Duke's residence, Edward, who was always suffering from madness due to the side effects of the Eternity drug, and Eugenia, who died in a fire just when she knew everything, the anecdotes that Martin told her one by one were shocking beyond astonishment. Everything was horrible, but the most horrific of them all was 'Blood Causality'.
"...Those who will obtain eternal life will enjoy the blessing of continuing the lineage by paying the noble price of blood that is closest to them.”
Enduring the side effects of long-term Eternity medication since childhood, and offering up your first child as a sacrifice to mix its blood with Eternity and have it assimilated into your body is the final step to eternal life.
It was a sin that no human being could commit. Even an animal would not kill its own child and drink its blood to live forever. Martin added sadly as if he understood her shock.
"John Fitzroy also ended up sacrificing his first son, but as a side effect, he became like an undead. The apothecaries of the Caelum Church found out about the side effects and tried an improved version of Eternity on Edward. They sacrificed the first of his twin sons. However, Edward also ended up suffering from the side effects and madness, and met his end."
"Twins...? So Kyle was the second of the twins?"
"That's right. If he had been the one who got off the boat a few seconds earlier...he would have been the one who was sacrificed."
"He too suffered from various symptoms until his teens. But he said he had recovered completely over the past two years, and it seemed that way. At least until the last moment I saw him..."
Angie took a few sips of the tea Bryn had brought her and calmed herself down. Bryn looked at her fiancé's cousin with pity. She was pregnant, so she expected the conversation to continue right away.
"The child in the womb... He must not know. Father and Mother...said that before they died."
'Master Kylek and them will kill Angie as soon as she gives birth.'
"I overheard Dad talking to Mom while I was sleeping. At the time, I didn't know what they were talking about, but now..."
"Angie. Just focus on recovering and don't worry about anything else, okay? And don't worry about anything, just stay safe at our house. Dad has given his permission. He said he'll come and see you whenever you want, so don't worry about it."
"Go ahead, Angie. I'd love to have you with me, but the one-room police station house would be uncomfortable."
"Then I'll work as a maid. If you'll let me stay until I give birth..."
"Huh? I was thinking of giving Angie a maid instead. What are you talking about?"
"Angie. Just focus on regaining your strength and finding peace of mind, as Bryn said. I'll get you some fake ID next week. The Blackwells might try to find you, so you'll be using an alias like me for the time being. Until we hear some reassuring news from Trieste."
"Right now, things are quite precarious. You never know when the monarchy will collapse and the country will fall apart."
Angie's whole body stiffened with tension at Bryn's addition. In Trieste, an empire that had insisted on a strict absolute monarchy even after the war, peasant uprisings and civil unrest were occurring almost every day. It was a completely different situation from the bordering city of Vintergar, which was developing steadily with the Industrial Revolution, women's social activities, and the commercialization of electricity.
"If that happens, what will happen to the Blackwell family?"
"Wouldn't they be leaving Trieste and going into exile in another country? The Blackwell family's business spans the entire continent, so I think the family itself will be healthy. I don't know if it was planned carefully since Edward Blackwell's time, or if it was a coincidence, but the business and assets of the Duke's family are now mostly based overseas. The lands and private assets in the capital of the home country, Hedestad, are enormous, but that's only a part of their total assets."
Bryn again intervened in Martin's reasoning.
"No matter what happens, the Duke will ultimately choose one of two paths. They will either bury everything related to Black Mass, Eternity, and Cullinan Island, which will become the family's corruption, or cover it up. Especially if Kyle Blackwell marries his fiancée as planned, has his first child, and the ceremony is completed."
Angie held her breath without realizing it. If you marry Leticia and have a child, you'll sacrifice the child? Really? How could you...
"On the other hand, if Kyle follows in the footsteps of his predecessors and something goes wrong with his body... will his consciousness be passed on to his second descendant and he will start over from the beginning?"
"Of course. The helpers will never give up. They want to share in the benefits of the completed Eternity. They want success in Kyle more than anything. From their perspective, time is running out."
Angie thought back to Louis Dunst, Jasmine, and the other butlers, servants, and helpers who had served as Remedy's parents. They ranged in age from their thirties to their sixties, but the most central figures were in their late forties and fifties.
Certainly, they had no time to spare. If Ke failed, his descendants would have to wait at least another twenty years to complete the ritual from the beginning.
"To them, the Duke of Blackwell is a kind of host. They seem devoted and helpful, but in reality, the heads are not the real test subjects."
At Martin's words, Brin suddenly asked again.
"By the way, why did John Fitzroy Blackwell conduct the experiment on his own body? Considering the risk, he could have transferred consciousness to someone else's body."
"I don't know for sure, but wouldn't it be possible for it to be passed down only to the bloodline of the first person to open the ritual? It might even be stated that way in the doctrine."
"This kid..."
Angie covered her stomach with both hands, her face pale. The two people who had been conversing looked back at her.
"I will protect this baby. No matter what happens."
She was the child who witnessed the death of the Ridsdel couple, jumped off the cliff, and was swept away by the waves, but still managed to survive. She truly loved Kyle. Perhaps, deep in her heart, there might still be remnants of that love. No, it would remain. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, that was the truth.
But if he were to harm her child... she would never sit idly by and watch. She was prepared to take up the knife herself and stab him in the heart to protect the child.
"No one knows about this child except for my deceased mother and father. They can never touch my baby. No one."
That night, as Angie went to bed, she suddenly had an epiphany.
Maybe that's why Kyle said he would marry Leticia and have an heir instead of her. Whoever becomes the Duchess and gives birth to his first child would have to be a blood sacrifice...?
Leticia or whoever, it's a terrible thing. According to the anecdote Martin told, Kyle's mother, Eugenia, believed that the death of one of the twins was purely an accident. The nanny was sobbing in remorse for not being careful while the child was sleeping, and the next day she hung herself.
Then, through Edward's secret meeting with her father-in-law, through the diary and the secret book, she learns the truth, and the lamp she accidentally dropped catches fire on her clothes and...
Angie sat up. She buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath to catch her breath in pain. She felt her stomach tightening and tried to calm her mind.
Honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Mommy...
Kyle had said he wanted to live forever. Did he mean that he, like his grandfather, wanted immortality and eternal life? Was there some evil desire inside him that he wanted to achieve at all costs, even at the cost of his child’s life?
"Angie. I think everyone wants to live forever, especially those who have a lot."
Michael's words came to mind. It was on his last day on the island when he revealed about Black Mass and Eternity on the North Shore.
"People who can do anything with the world at their feet... The highest class, like Kings or nobles, or the tycoons who amass wealth across continents. What do they ultimately want, who lack nothing? Isn’t it to live a little longer or live forever so that they can enjoy that power and wealth for as long as possible? John Fitzroy Blackwell must have fallen for that temptation in the end."
But not everyone would kill their own children with their own hands for that desire. Rather, they would not hesitate to sacrifice their own bodies for their children. Isn't that what it means to be human and a parent?
“Like this... It’s already so touching. Even before you’ve even come into the world, you’re still so precious.”
Angie shook her head sharply. The Kai she knew was never such a villain. But he had brutally murdered her mother and father right before her eyes. Without a shred of hesitation. As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You can't imagine how anxious I was... especially after I found out you were Amber."
Angie also shed tears. She couldn't help but feel how desperately he wanted to save her. Even before they knew that they were blood relatives, he had always tried his best to help and save her through dreams. Martin was a savior and lifesaver just by sailing through this storm.
"Thank you, Martin. Really... If Martin hadn't come, I would have... by now."
Martin took her straight to Bryn's mansion instead of handing her over to the Marine Authority of Vintergar. His fiancée, Bryn Meyer Armitage, was a very kind and warm person. While she nursed and cared for Angie, Martin told her many stories. The Black Mass, Eternity, Remedy and Helper, and Opium Rose that Michael had told her were just the tip of the iceberg.
The fact that Duke John Fitzroy, who became a monster after the failed Eternity experiment, was locked in the basement of the Duke's residence, Edward, who was always suffering from madness due to the side effects of the Eternity drug, and Eugenia, who died in a fire just when she knew everything, the anecdotes that Martin told her one by one were shocking beyond astonishment. Everything was horrible, but the most horrific of them all was 'Blood Causality'.
"...Those who will obtain eternal life will enjoy the blessing of continuing the lineage by paying the noble price of blood that is closest to them.”
Enduring the side effects of long-term Eternity medication since childhood, and offering up your first child as a sacrifice to mix its blood with Eternity and have it assimilated into your body is the final step to eternal life.
It was a sin that no human being could commit. Even an animal would not kill its own child and drink its blood to live forever. Martin added sadly as if he understood her shock.
"John Fitzroy also ended up sacrificing his first son, but as a side effect, he became like an undead. The apothecaries of the Caelum Church found out about the side effects and tried an improved version of Eternity on Edward. They sacrificed the first of his twin sons. However, Edward also ended up suffering from the side effects and madness, and met his end."
"Twins...? So Kyle was the second of the twins?"
"That's right. If he had been the one who got off the boat a few seconds earlier...he would have been the one who was sacrificed."
"He too suffered from various symptoms until his teens. But he said he had recovered completely over the past two years, and it seemed that way. At least until the last moment I saw him..."
Angie took a few sips of the tea Bryn had brought her and calmed herself down. Bryn looked at her fiancé's cousin with pity. She was pregnant, so she expected the conversation to continue right away.
"The child in the womb... He must not know. Father and Mother...said that before they died."
'Master Kylek and them will kill Angie as soon as she gives birth.'
"I overheard Dad talking to Mom while I was sleeping. At the time, I didn't know what they were talking about, but now..."
"Angie. Just focus on recovering and don't worry about anything else, okay? And don't worry about anything, just stay safe at our house. Dad has given his permission. He said he'll come and see you whenever you want, so don't worry about it."
"Go ahead, Angie. I'd love to have you with me, but the one-room police station house would be uncomfortable."
"Then I'll work as a maid. If you'll let me stay until I give birth..."
"Huh? I was thinking of giving Angie a maid instead. What are you talking about?"
"Angie. Just focus on regaining your strength and finding peace of mind, as Bryn said. I'll get you some fake ID next week. The Blackwells might try to find you, so you'll be using an alias like me for the time being. Until we hear some reassuring news from Trieste."
"Right now, things are quite precarious. You never know when the monarchy will collapse and the country will fall apart."
Angie's whole body stiffened with tension at Bryn's addition. In Trieste, an empire that had insisted on a strict absolute monarchy even after the war, peasant uprisings and civil unrest were occurring almost every day. It was a completely different situation from the bordering city of Vintergar, which was developing steadily with the Industrial Revolution, women's social activities, and the commercialization of electricity.
"If that happens, what will happen to the Blackwell family?"
"Wouldn't they be leaving Trieste and going into exile in another country? The Blackwell family's business spans the entire continent, so I think the family itself will be healthy. I don't know if it was planned carefully since Edward Blackwell's time, or if it was a coincidence, but the business and assets of the Duke's family are now mostly based overseas. The lands and private assets in the capital of the home country, Hedestad, are enormous, but that's only a part of their total assets."
Bryn again intervened in Martin's reasoning.
"No matter what happens, the Duke will ultimately choose one of two paths. They will either bury everything related to Black Mass, Eternity, and Cullinan Island, which will become the family's corruption, or cover it up. Especially if Kyle Blackwell marries his fiancée as planned, has his first child, and the ceremony is completed."
Angie held her breath without realizing it. If you marry Leticia and have a child, you'll sacrifice the child? Really? How could you...
"On the other hand, if Kyle follows in the footsteps of his predecessors and something goes wrong with his body... will his consciousness be passed on to his second descendant and he will start over from the beginning?"
"Of course. The helpers will never give up. They want to share in the benefits of the completed Eternity. They want success in Kyle more than anything. From their perspective, time is running out."
Angie thought back to Louis Dunst, Jasmine, and the other butlers, servants, and helpers who had served as Remedy's parents. They ranged in age from their thirties to their sixties, but the most central figures were in their late forties and fifties.
Certainly, they had no time to spare. If Ke failed, his descendants would have to wait at least another twenty years to complete the ritual from the beginning.
"To them, the Duke of Blackwell is a kind of host. They seem devoted and helpful, but in reality, the heads are not the real test subjects."
At Martin's words, Brin suddenly asked again.
"By the way, why did John Fitzroy Blackwell conduct the experiment on his own body? Considering the risk, he could have transferred consciousness to someone else's body."
"I don't know for sure, but wouldn't it be possible for it to be passed down only to the bloodline of the first person to open the ritual? It might even be stated that way in the doctrine."
"This kid..."
Angie covered her stomach with both hands, her face pale. The two people who had been conversing looked back at her.
"I will protect this baby. No matter what happens."
She was the child who witnessed the death of the Ridsdel couple, jumped off the cliff, and was swept away by the waves, but still managed to survive. She truly loved Kyle. Perhaps, deep in her heart, there might still be remnants of that love. No, it would remain. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, that was the truth.
But if he were to harm her child... she would never sit idly by and watch. She was prepared to take up the knife herself and stab him in the heart to protect the child.
"No one knows about this child except for my deceased mother and father. They can never touch my baby. No one."
That night, as Angie went to bed, she suddenly had an epiphany.
Maybe that's why Kyle said he would marry Leticia and have an heir instead of her. Whoever becomes the Duchess and gives birth to his first child would have to be a blood sacrifice...?
Leticia or whoever, it's a terrible thing. According to the anecdote Martin told, Kyle's mother, Eugenia, believed that the death of one of the twins was purely an accident. The nanny was sobbing in remorse for not being careful while the child was sleeping, and the next day she hung herself.
Then, through Edward's secret meeting with her father-in-law, through the diary and the secret book, she learns the truth, and the lamp she accidentally dropped catches fire on her clothes and...
Angie sat up. She buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath to catch her breath in pain. She felt her stomach tightening and tried to calm her mind.
Honey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Mommy...
Kyle had said he wanted to live forever. Did he mean that he, like his grandfather, wanted immortality and eternal life? Was there some evil desire inside him that he wanted to achieve at all costs, even at the cost of his child’s life?
"Angie. I think everyone wants to live forever, especially those who have a lot."
Michael's words came to mind. It was on his last day on the island when he revealed about Black Mass and Eternity on the North Shore.
"People who can do anything with the world at their feet... The highest class, like Kings or nobles, or the tycoons who amass wealth across continents. What do they ultimately want, who lack nothing? Isn’t it to live a little longer or live forever so that they can enjoy that power and wealth for as long as possible? John Fitzroy Blackwell must have fallen for that temptation in the end."
But not everyone would kill their own children with their own hands for that desire. Rather, they would not hesitate to sacrifice their own bodies for their children. Isn't that what it means to be human and a parent?
“Like this... It’s already so touching. Even before you’ve even come into the world, you’re still so precious.”
Angie shook her head sharply. The Kai she knew was never such a villain. But he had brutally murdered her mother and father right before her eyes. Without a shred of hesitation. As if it were the most natural thing in the world.
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