Bayen didn't tell his mother about what happened that day.
Somehow, he felt like he shouldn't say it.
It was still only a guess, but judging by the goddess' barrier at the entrance to the underground passage, it seemed likely that the one who had trapped the girl was his mother.
'What is that child's true identity? Why did the mother lock her up? What is the relationship between the child and my mother?'
Numerous questions plagued Bayen's mind and never left it.
It was a difficult problem that could not be solved no matter how much he racked his brain, but there was one certain thing.
That girl must have clearly committed a great sin.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to confine the girl.
A mother who is so affectionate and respected by all things in the world.
Having thus established the girl's identity, Bayen vowed never to think of her again.
Because it was nonsense to care about a sinner.
But, despite his determination, Bayen continued to think of the girl.
Even though he tried not to think about it, those empty eyes and those hunched shoulders just wouldn't leave his mind.
Finally, after three days, Bayen went back to the underground cave where the girl was.
The girl sat in the same spot she had been sitting in the past and stared at him quietly.
She didn't seem very welcoming.
Well, that's only natural, since he's the blood of the person who imprisoned her.
Even though he could clearly guess her feelings, Bayen waved his hand naturally.
“Hello, I’m back to play again.”
“..."
“I feel bad for barging in last time, so I brought you a gift today. Do you want to see it?”
Bayen approached the girl, who showed no reaction, sat down, and opened the bundle he had brought.
The box, wrapped in fine cloth, was filled with freshly baked, still warm wheat bread, sweet jam, and mouth-watering cookies and cakes.
“It’s food I brought from the Inky. It looks like there’s nothing to eat here.”
Despite Bayen's cheerful attitude, the girl didn't show any particular reaction.
She just stared at him blankly with those beautiful, bloodshot eyes and then turned her head away indifferently.
For Bayen, who had lived as the successor to a high-ranking noble family in the human world and as the beloved of a goddess in the divine world, this was the first time in his life that he had been ignored.
Bayen was inwardly embarrassed, but on the outside, he pretended as if nothing had happened and continued his conversation with himself.
“Oh, by the way, I didn’t tell you my name last time, did I? My name is Janette Bayen. You can call me Janette.”
“...Janette... Bayen?”
The gaze that had been turned away indifferently turned back to Bayen.
Bayen, who quickly noticed the confusion in her red eyes, smiled and said.
“Are you surprised by the long name? Actually, my name is Janette, and Bayen is my last name. My father’s last name. My father is human.”
“Human? Are you saying that Hethel had an affair with a human?”
It's a compromise.
The words were too impure to dare to refer to a goddess.
However, Bayen was worried that the girl would get upset and keep her mouth shut again if he corrected her for no reason, so he simply nodded.
Then the girl let out a sigh-mixed laugh.
It was a laugh that bordered on ridicule.
But for some reason, that smile looked so beautiful in Bayen’s eyes.
Her slightly curved eyes and slightly upturned lips looked more beautiful than any beauty's smile.
Perhaps it was not purely aesthetic, but perhaps it was because of the first expression on that indifferent face, but in any case, Bayen could not take his eyes off the young smile on the girl's lips.
Bayen, who had been staring blankly for a while, came to his senses belatedly and hurriedly picked up a cookie and handed it to her.
“Ah, anyway, try this. As I said before, it’s from the human world, and although it looks like this, it tastes really good. Humans are really good at making amazing things by processing natural ingredients. Look, it smells good, right?”
But this time, the girl refused Bayen's offer again.
Bayen, who read the stubborn refusal to talk any longer in the expressionless face he turned away from as if to ask when he had ever smiled, had no choice but to get up.
“I guess you’re not feeling too well. I’ll leave you for today. But I’ll leave this here for you, so try it. Our pastry chef’s skills are famous in Catalonia, so I’m sure it’ll suit your taste.”
The girl didn't answer until the end.
Seriously, this was the first time in his nine-year-old life that he had been ignored like this.
Perhaps provoked by the girl's attitude, Bayen came to see her every day.
He sat next to the girl who kept her mouth shut and mumbled to himself.
The menu for that day, the work, the conversations with his father, and the little and funny mistakes the maid made.
He talked nonsense as if he were writing a diary, and only hesitantly got up late at night.
After a few weeks, the girl's mouth, which he thought would never open, began to open little by little.
At first, she only occasionally responded to his monologues, but gradually she began to participate in the conversation naturally, and their relationship developed to the point where he was able to tell his own stories.
Then one day, she ended up revealing her name, which she had never really wanted to reveal, and at that moment, Bayen felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head.
“Elysia...?”
It was a familiar name.
No one does not knows the name of the first daughter of the goddess and the first blessing.
Why is his half-sister, who was in poor health and was being treated there, locked up in a place like this?
Elysia, who was bitterly biting at Bayen, who couldn't help but feel confused, told him a story about her father that she had come to know because of the darkness.
“Maybe that woman, Hethel, thinks I’m going to ruin the world.”
Bayen denied it even as he looked at that bitter smile that made his heart ache just by looking at it.
'No.'
The most loving mother in the world wouldn't do that.
There's no way she'd abandon her own daughter just because she was scared by such a delusion.
So Bayen went to his mother and asked her.
He said that he had seen a girl in the golden temple he had entered by chance, a child who had been trapped underground for countless years, shivering in loneliness, where not a single ray of light had entered. The child said that she was the daughter of a goddess. Was that true?
Of course, he thought the answer would be no.
He thought he would tell the girl that he felt sorry for her, but that she was mistaken, that she was just being delusional and daring to frame the goddess, and that the real Elysia was doing well, being cared for and receiving warm attention in a good place.
But the goddess, his mother, just smiled weakly and said this.
“Janette, they say that fate cannot be changed. No matter how much I am, I cannot change it. Sealing that child there was extremely painful, but it was an inevitable choice.”
That day, for the first time, Bayen felt negative feelings toward his mother.
He was disappointed in the mother who did not trust the child she gave birth to and left her in such a harsh environment.
He felt a little, no, a lot of resentment.
After learning of Elysia's true identity, Bayen began to seek her out more often.
He wanted to embrace his poor half-sister, who was struggling in loneliness after being abandoned by the mother who had given her flesh and blood.
After hundreds of years of dreaming of her savior, the nine-year-old Bayen had grown into a tall young man, and so had Elysia.
Her mysterious purple hair flowed down to her waist, and her characteristic bloodshot eyes became even deeper, giving her a strange charm.
Her more mature face and slender yet curvy body also made her beauty shine even more.
But unlike her appearance, which had grown a lot, her inner self had not grown at all.
Elysia was still a young girl who could not escape the mother who abandoned her, and lived each day with resentment toward her and a crushing loneliness.
The only person she could rely on was her half-brother, Bayen, a pitiful child.
Bayen wanted to break that cruel shackle.
“Elysia, I have a special gift for you today.”
“A special gift? What is it?”
"Name."
"...What?"
“The name. You didn’t like being called Elysia.”
Elysia, a beautiful name that means 'the first blessing of the goddess'.
Bayen always felt that the name bound her.
Because of the meaning attached to that name, she cannot abandon the goddess and has been bound to her mother for thousands of years.
So he wanted to give her a new name.
“Ibis.”
“...Ibis?”
“It means a great ruler in the ancient language of humans. It contains the wish that you will no longer be someone else’s blessing, but become the ruler of your own life.”
Bayen smiled brightly as he met the bloodshot eyes that were trembling helplessly.
Somehow, he felt like he shouldn't say it.
It was still only a guess, but judging by the goddess' barrier at the entrance to the underground passage, it seemed likely that the one who had trapped the girl was his mother.
'What is that child's true identity? Why did the mother lock her up? What is the relationship between the child and my mother?'
Numerous questions plagued Bayen's mind and never left it.
It was a difficult problem that could not be solved no matter how much he racked his brain, but there was one certain thing.
That girl must have clearly committed a great sin.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to confine the girl.
A mother who is so affectionate and respected by all things in the world.
Having thus established the girl's identity, Bayen vowed never to think of her again.
Because it was nonsense to care about a sinner.
But, despite his determination, Bayen continued to think of the girl.
Even though he tried not to think about it, those empty eyes and those hunched shoulders just wouldn't leave his mind.
Finally, after three days, Bayen went back to the underground cave where the girl was.
The girl sat in the same spot she had been sitting in the past and stared at him quietly.
She didn't seem very welcoming.
Well, that's only natural, since he's the blood of the person who imprisoned her.
Even though he could clearly guess her feelings, Bayen waved his hand naturally.
“Hello, I’m back to play again.”
“..."
“I feel bad for barging in last time, so I brought you a gift today. Do you want to see it?”
Bayen approached the girl, who showed no reaction, sat down, and opened the bundle he had brought.
The box, wrapped in fine cloth, was filled with freshly baked, still warm wheat bread, sweet jam, and mouth-watering cookies and cakes.
“It’s food I brought from the Inky. It looks like there’s nothing to eat here.”
Despite Bayen's cheerful attitude, the girl didn't show any particular reaction.
She just stared at him blankly with those beautiful, bloodshot eyes and then turned her head away indifferently.
For Bayen, who had lived as the successor to a high-ranking noble family in the human world and as the beloved of a goddess in the divine world, this was the first time in his life that he had been ignored.
Bayen was inwardly embarrassed, but on the outside, he pretended as if nothing had happened and continued his conversation with himself.
“Oh, by the way, I didn’t tell you my name last time, did I? My name is Janette Bayen. You can call me Janette.”
“...Janette... Bayen?”
The gaze that had been turned away indifferently turned back to Bayen.
Bayen, who quickly noticed the confusion in her red eyes, smiled and said.
“Are you surprised by the long name? Actually, my name is Janette, and Bayen is my last name. My father’s last name. My father is human.”
“Human? Are you saying that Hethel had an affair with a human?”
It's a compromise.
The words were too impure to dare to refer to a goddess.
However, Bayen was worried that the girl would get upset and keep her mouth shut again if he corrected her for no reason, so he simply nodded.
Then the girl let out a sigh-mixed laugh.
It was a laugh that bordered on ridicule.
But for some reason, that smile looked so beautiful in Bayen’s eyes.
Her slightly curved eyes and slightly upturned lips looked more beautiful than any beauty's smile.
Perhaps it was not purely aesthetic, but perhaps it was because of the first expression on that indifferent face, but in any case, Bayen could not take his eyes off the young smile on the girl's lips.
Bayen, who had been staring blankly for a while, came to his senses belatedly and hurriedly picked up a cookie and handed it to her.
“Ah, anyway, try this. As I said before, it’s from the human world, and although it looks like this, it tastes really good. Humans are really good at making amazing things by processing natural ingredients. Look, it smells good, right?”
But this time, the girl refused Bayen's offer again.
Bayen, who read the stubborn refusal to talk any longer in the expressionless face he turned away from as if to ask when he had ever smiled, had no choice but to get up.
“I guess you’re not feeling too well. I’ll leave you for today. But I’ll leave this here for you, so try it. Our pastry chef’s skills are famous in Catalonia, so I’m sure it’ll suit your taste.”
The girl didn't answer until the end.
Seriously, this was the first time in his nine-year-old life that he had been ignored like this.
Perhaps provoked by the girl's attitude, Bayen came to see her every day.
He sat next to the girl who kept her mouth shut and mumbled to himself.
The menu for that day, the work, the conversations with his father, and the little and funny mistakes the maid made.
He talked nonsense as if he were writing a diary, and only hesitantly got up late at night.
After a few weeks, the girl's mouth, which he thought would never open, began to open little by little.
At first, she only occasionally responded to his monologues, but gradually she began to participate in the conversation naturally, and their relationship developed to the point where he was able to tell his own stories.
Then one day, she ended up revealing her name, which she had never really wanted to reveal, and at that moment, Bayen felt as if he had been hit in the back of the head.
“Elysia...?”
It was a familiar name.
No one does not knows the name of the first daughter of the goddess and the first blessing.
Why is his half-sister, who was in poor health and was being treated there, locked up in a place like this?
Elysia, who was bitterly biting at Bayen, who couldn't help but feel confused, told him a story about her father that she had come to know because of the darkness.
“Maybe that woman, Hethel, thinks I’m going to ruin the world.”
Bayen denied it even as he looked at that bitter smile that made his heart ache just by looking at it.
'No.'
The most loving mother in the world wouldn't do that.
There's no way she'd abandon her own daughter just because she was scared by such a delusion.
So Bayen went to his mother and asked her.
He said that he had seen a girl in the golden temple he had entered by chance, a child who had been trapped underground for countless years, shivering in loneliness, where not a single ray of light had entered. The child said that she was the daughter of a goddess. Was that true?
Of course, he thought the answer would be no.
He thought he would tell the girl that he felt sorry for her, but that she was mistaken, that she was just being delusional and daring to frame the goddess, and that the real Elysia was doing well, being cared for and receiving warm attention in a good place.
But the goddess, his mother, just smiled weakly and said this.
“Janette, they say that fate cannot be changed. No matter how much I am, I cannot change it. Sealing that child there was extremely painful, but it was an inevitable choice.”
That day, for the first time, Bayen felt negative feelings toward his mother.
He was disappointed in the mother who did not trust the child she gave birth to and left her in such a harsh environment.
He felt a little, no, a lot of resentment.
***
After learning of Elysia's true identity, Bayen began to seek her out more often.
He wanted to embrace his poor half-sister, who was struggling in loneliness after being abandoned by the mother who had given her flesh and blood.
After hundreds of years of dreaming of her savior, the nine-year-old Bayen had grown into a tall young man, and so had Elysia.
Her mysterious purple hair flowed down to her waist, and her characteristic bloodshot eyes became even deeper, giving her a strange charm.
Her more mature face and slender yet curvy body also made her beauty shine even more.
But unlike her appearance, which had grown a lot, her inner self had not grown at all.
Elysia was still a young girl who could not escape the mother who abandoned her, and lived each day with resentment toward her and a crushing loneliness.
The only person she could rely on was her half-brother, Bayen, a pitiful child.
Bayen wanted to break that cruel shackle.
“Elysia, I have a special gift for you today.”
“A special gift? What is it?”
"Name."
"...What?"
“The name. You didn’t like being called Elysia.”
Elysia, a beautiful name that means 'the first blessing of the goddess'.
Bayen always felt that the name bound her.
Because of the meaning attached to that name, she cannot abandon the goddess and has been bound to her mother for thousands of years.
So he wanted to give her a new name.
“Ibis.”
“...Ibis?”
“It means a great ruler in the ancient language of humans. It contains the wish that you will no longer be someone else’s blessing, but become the ruler of your own life.”
Bayen smiled brightly as he met the bloodshot eyes that were trembling helplessly.
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