IBMDF 10

Chapter 10

Eventually, he slowly began stroking my head.

…What is this? Is he treating me like a dog this time?

Just as I was frowning deeply at the incomprehensible behavior, he suddenly muttered in a low voice.

“…You’re even smaller than I thought.”

Excuse me?

I swatted his hand away from my head and puffed out my cheeks.

“What do you mean small? I’m still growing!”

Kalios let out a short laugh and asked,

“How old are you?”

“I’m seventeen, you know? I’ll probably grow at least another handspan taller!”

I firmly believed that Lizzy Swan’s growth plates hadn’t closed yet!

But Kalios didn’t seem to agree with me.

“Hm…”

“What’s with that reaction?”

Ignoring my question, Kalios murmured, “Seventeen…” and began walking on his own again, feeling along the wall.

Seriously.

What, because he was only fifteen and already taller than me?

…Well, what was the point of comparing builds with the male lead who was destined to grow tall and handsome anyway?

I smoothed down the hair he’d messed up and pouted.

Still, that’s a relief. It doesn’t seem like he’s completely given up on life.

The fact that someone who had always been so lethargic was showing this much motivation felt like a small sign of hope.

As time passed, spring gradually grew stronger.

Even without seeing them, I could tell from the warmth on my skin that colorful flowers must have bloomed all over the estate.

The scent of flowers filling the ducal residence had even put the maids in a cheerful mood.

Because of that, Head Maid Melissa had to come monitor them almost every ten minutes.

“Again? Staring out the window instead of working! Can’t any of you stay focused?”

Even after being scolded, the maids seemed so happy that the moment Melissa disappeared, they’d start giggling among themselves again.

Everyone looked happy.

But the moment you entered the west corridor on the second floor of the main building, all that liveliness vanished.

The tightly shut windows.

The chill seeping from the walls.

The deathly silence.

As if spring had skipped over this place alone.

“Young Master?”

Arriving at Kalios’s room, I peeked inside the quiet space and called out to him.

But there was no response.

Where did he go this time?

I stepped back into the hallway to look for him.

Ever since learning how to walk in darkness, he had devoted himself to training every single day.

Thanks to that, his walking skills improved rapidly, and he was finally able to move around the west corridor on the second floor by himself.

On top of that, maybe because he’d started eating properly whenever meals were brought to him, his once skeletal body was slowly recovering.

Compared to how lifeless he used to look—like a corpse merely breathing—it was a shocking transformation.

“Young Master, where are you?”

I walked slowly down the corridor while calling for him.

“Eek.”

Then my cane caught on something, making me stop in place.

When I reached out, my hand touched someone’s back.

He’d put on a little weight, but his frame was still thin enough for me to recognize immediately that it was Kalios.

“Young Master? Why are you standing here?”

“I was just walking through the corridor… and I remembered there used to be a painting around here.”

I faintly heard the sound of Kalios’s hand brushing along the wall where the painting hung.

“A painting?”

At his words, I cautiously reached toward the wall too.

Soon, the texture of canvas and dried paint met my fingertips.

Tracing over it, I realized the painting was enormous.

It probably covered nearly the entire wall.

I’d passed by here countless times and never knew there was such a huge painting?

“What kind of painting is it?”

Curious, I asked.

“It’s called Judgment, painted by the artist Marius Karian.”

“Ooh, the title already sounds grand. But… judgment of what?”

“What do you mean, judgment of what? Obviously… the apostates.”

“Apostates?”

“It’s a story from the holy scriptures. The God of Light, Rodin, saved the world from the God of Darkness and judged him and his followers.”

“Ooh…”

“What’s with that reaction? …Don’t tell me you’ve never read the scriptures in your life?”

Well, I’m nonreligious.

…If I said that, would the temple arrest me?

Though now that I think about it, when Helene awakened as a saintess in the original story, names like the God of Light and the God of Darkness were mentioned a few times.

I skipped over it because it didn’t seem important.

“I can’t read books.”

“You can hear scripture readings if you attend worship services.”

Ah. Even excuses wouldn’t work.

“Sometimes… you act like someone from another world.”

“F-from another world? I was born and raised in this empire!”

Startled by his sudden comment, I hurriedly changed the subject.

“Ahem, anyway—I’m curious what the painting looks like. I wish I could see it too!”

At my words, Kalios fell silent for a moment, then suddenly took my hand.

“W-why are you holding my hand…?”

“Stay still.”

He took a few steps forward without warning. Since he was holding my hand, I was dragged along too.

Then Kalios lifted my hand and placed it against the painting.

“Probably around here… this is where the God of Light, Rodin, is.”

Then he began slowly explaining the contents of the painting.

“That’s where the sun is. Rodin is sitting above the clouds in brilliant golden armor, looking down below.”

“Is he handsome?”

“…”

“Ah, sorry. I won’t interrupt. Please keep going.”

“…And around here…”

Kalios moved quite far to the right, then guided my hand down toward the lower part of the painting.

“This depicts Carax and his followers sinking into the mire.”

“Carax?”

“…Don’t tell me you don’t know who Carax is either?”

Alarmed by his suspicious tone, I hurriedly defended myself.

“A-ah, I’ve heard the name before! I just don’t know the details. I’ve never been to a temple…”

“Carax is the God of Darkness,” Kalios said.

“You could say he’s the complete opposite of Rodin, the God of Light. He disliked how humans only built temples for Rodin, offered sacrifices to him, and praised him.”

“Hm. I can see why that would make him angry.”

“So Carax revealed himself to humanity and demanded that they worship him the way they worshipped Rodin. But humans feared his darkness and all fled.”

Hmm… How terrifying did he look for people to run away on sight?

“Enraged by that, Carax gathered followers… Ah, they’re called ‘apostates.’”

“Apostates.”

“Yeah. Carax used the apostates to steal Rodin’s ‘light.’ Then they hid it deep underground, and the world was covered in darkness.”

“Oh! Then what happened?”

“A war began to reclaim the light. At first, Rodin suffered badly without his power…”

I heard Kalios’s hand slowly tracing over the painting.

“But Rodin secretly entered the underground world with his daughters and sons, retrieved the light, and turned the tide of the war. Afterward, Rodin captured Carax and all the apostates and imprisoned them in the mire. This painting depicts that very scene.”

“Then Carax and those… apostates or whatever… would still be underground, right?”

“Yes. They’re said to wander eternal darkness even now. It was divine punishment.”

“Ooh, this is interesting! I like stories like these!”

“Stories?”

“Yes! I’ve always liked hearing myths and legends! Could you tell me more?”

“Ha…”

Kalios suddenly released the hand he’d been holding and sighed.

“You… if you said something like that in front of other people, you could be punished for blasphemy.”

Oops. Right. This was still a world that worshipped the God of Light.

I hurriedly shut my mouth and watched Kalios nervously.

No way… This guy wouldn’t report me to the temple, would he?

“A-ah, it’s because you tell stories so well, Young Master! I accidentally thought of it as a childhood fairy tale!”

I forced out a fake laugh, trying to cover my mistake.

“You know! In this day and age, stealing light or imprisoning people in eternal darkness… things like that don’t happen anymore!”

“…Why wouldn’t they?”