“I’ll confess while I’m at it. I don’t like the way you bewitched my beloved disciple and led her astray from the path of the wise.”
“Bewitched... you mean me?”
“Bewitched... you mean me?”
“Yes. Originally, I intended to lead my apprentice to become a sage of the Crescent Lake to pass on my legacy, but her training was lacking and she was unable to overcome the lure of metaphysical beauty. In that sense, I mourn the King's flower-like face and sculptural body.”
Michael pretended to accept it without a soul. He had no intention of making a fuss.
This is because, for the time being, it was impossible to know the true intentions of the great sage.
'Considering what you say, it seems like things have been pretty active between Eve and me.'
Even though it may be excessive to tell Eve the secret story of his past life, wasn't it a way of claiming to be a messenger of love?
Michael was reticent before the great sage. Eve, on the contrary, retorted.
“Please don't blame Michael for this, it was my will that caused me to stop walking the alchemical path, and to desire to become Emperor.”
“Master..."
The great sage smiled faintly and took a sip of tea. Then his serious thoughts came out.
“What does it matter if I say no, for it seems that fate has willed you to be my apprentice.”
Eve and even Michael opened their eyes wide at the unexpected, grand words.
The first person to organize his thoughts was Michael. He appeared calm and convinced.
“Well, my two lives have proved, that no matter how many times I die and how many times I'm reborn, I will love Eve. If my fate had a color, it would be crimson.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t mean to tell such a romantic story.”
Eve and Michael were deeply curious. The two of them were right.
By sitting down, you signaled that you were ready to listen.
He did not hesitate, for it was one of the duties of a sage to reveal the truth to those who deserved to know.
“We should start with what you are. Do you remember what I said to you the other day, that you are the king that the ideas of Homunculus have longed for for three hundred years, and that you have finally been born?”
Even if it's not magic, a strong will drives mana, and mana is not only the source of power in nature but also the very fabric of creation.
As if God had responded to a fervent wish, the birth of a perfect being was accomplished by such a principle.
The great sage nodded in agreement and continued speaking.
“An idea is not a single thing, but a cluster of thousands.
Of course, if you look inside, there are various desires and demands. There are countless demands.
“You are the one who was born by adding and adding again.”
“So you’re saying that the ideologies wanted a versatile beauty?”
“Yes. Thanks to that, your body has the strength to defeat the demon dragon. Even the Emperor's brainwashing did not work on your strong will, and you was able to protect your people. It is imbued with a wondrous majesty that can liberate and unite under you. But that is not all.”
“What else is there?”
The question was asked with a hint of doubt as if it had already been done. The sage smiled a little meaningfully.
“I don’t know. What is it?”
Finally, the great sage gave the answer.
“Charm.”
“Magical charm.”
"...Hey?"
I was listening carefully and then I got distracted. Suddenly, I got rude and asked, "Why are you talking nonsense?"
Since he had no choice, Michael clenched his jaw and spoke politely.
“I don’t think this is a good time to be joking.”
“I'm being serious.”
The great sage was always solemn.
“Homunculus was a fragile creature who could only survive on the generosity of the royal family. Do you realize that Homunculus was not always a good-looking man? Becoming beautiful was a survival tactic that has been honed over the years, and of course, as King, you have maximized it. As if looks alone weren't enough, you have added to your charms a strong sense of royalty, which is why you were able to resist Desmond II's brainwashing and survive. Oh, one more thing. In your last life, the sister of my apprentice's child was obsessed with you, a catastrophic result of your natural charms overloaded with a sinister will.”
It sounded quite plausible, so Michael felt a sense of complexity.
His expression seemed to collapse. At this point, Michael barely opened his mouth and asked to organize his thoughts.
“So now... My existence was originally arranged to choose one of the royal family as my companion?”
The great sage nodded.
“Unless you're willing to raise an army and wage all-out war, I don't think you're worthy of the Inheritance, as your past life proves.”
Certainly, Michael had a history of using Rosenite as a puppet and then usurping the throne.
It's not pleasant to realize that what he thought was solely his choice was actually a plan that involved the will of many minds.
Michael was almost disillusioned with his fate, but one look at Eve's face changed his mind. For it was true that the abilities given to him by the Greedy Thoughts had helped him break down the seemingly impenetrable Eve.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
“Michael?”
Michael took one of Eve's hands in his own, and said to the sage, “I'm sorry."
It was not unlike the way he felt when he pleaded that his heart belonged to her and she could dig it out, or when he confessed that she was the center of his world.
Michael's confession always had a destructive effect on Eve's heart.
Eve, who had been dazed for a moment, came to her senses. She smiled brightly at Michael and responded.
“It’s not like you're seducing just any royal. I’m honored to be worthy of being seduced by Michael.”
“Eve..."
“Yeah, Michael.”
As soon as their eyes met, they shared a vague and affectionate moment just like any other couple.
It was a time of crisis. The great sage who had been watching the two suddenly intervened.
“King of Homunculus.”
"Yes."
“It is an incredible stroke of luck that a noble family member was born at the same time as you. There could be no fate more arranged than this.”
“You were pretending not to know anything about romance earlier, but now you’re talking a little differently.”
“I changed my mind.”
Just as Michael was about to say something about the quick change in stance, the great sage opened his mouth with deep thoughts.
“King of Homunculus, no, my client. I hope you will be happy without having to go down that difficult path anymore.”
Michael had to rephrase what he was about to say.
“...I will keep that in mind.”
He placed one hand on his chest and bowed deeply. It was also a gesture of gratitude.
This brings an end to the quarrel between Michael and the great sage of the spruce forest.
Enough was enough. The great sage moistened his throat with tea and changed the subject.
“Then, I think it would be good to talk about the original purpose of your coming here, disciple.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I hear your sister, who poisoned you in your last life, has been cursed by Ambroxa.”
Eve opened her mouth with a sunken face.
“The curse read, 'I will plant the seeds of disaster in Rosie, cut off the bloodline of the Master of the Stone, and make the ugliest of creatures despair.' I assume he didn't mean to kill me and make Michael suffer.”
“That's the interpretation I'm hearing, so to stop the completion of the curse, you temporarily hibernated the poisonous child?”
“Yes. But Ambroxa, manifesting through the tablet, told me it was too late, and that's when I heard the curse.”
Eve suggested to the pensive great sage.
“Please take a look at Rosie’s condition.”
“That would be good.”
Since they had just finished drinking their tea, the three of them, including Eve, moved together to Rosenite's residence.
This was the second crimson chamber she visited today. Shortly after Eve dismissed the maids, the sage approached Rosenite and examined her like any other councilor.
Eve waited nervously for the results. The most renowned healers and curse casters she's ever visited have all said they don't know. Her only hope was her teacher.
“He is truly the most cunning of dragons. He has mastered human psychology so well.”
"Yes?"
“It is the seed of disaster and despair, and when it is spoken, it stirs up the men who think they are cursed. It is sealed, and there are no words to curse it. In truth, it is no better than a shallow half-life.”
The great sage nodded and hammered the nail in.
“It’s not a curse.”
Is it okay to have hope? This thought passed over Eve's amber eyes.
“If it’s not a curse, then what is it?”
The great sage glanced at Michael and then casually began to recall the old story.
“Before I explain, I must tell you something. In a past life, I tricked the King of Homunculus. It was only just before the rite of return that I informed him that he could not be the Axis of Time.”
“...Michael, I’ll apologize on his behalf. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s all in the past.”
The explanation, which had been interrupted for a moment, resumed.
“The Philosophere's Stone is imprinted with ownership, and only imperial blood is eligible for use as a sacrifice, so I had no choice but to set you as the axis of time. But you weren't the only one who could be the axis. Rather, there was someone more suitable who was alive and breathing at the time.”
Eve shouldn't have been surprised. Her half-sister lay in the center of the bedroom, her eyes calm and unmoved as she watched her.
“Ambroxa saw through this and seemed to have awakened your sister to her past life.”
“Rosie, her past life?”
“Humans are doomed to repeat the same mistakes, so adding the memories and emotions of a past life to the mix would have been a surefire way to make the same mistakes, which, come to think of it, is a curse in itself.”
A diagnosis similar to a sentence was handed down.
“Your sister has most likely already found her memories from her past life.”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment