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Chapter 51
The Cliff
<As expected, the child of the goddess Ella who has fallen in love is pitifully weak.>
<Love never makes anyone weak. It’s an emotion that steels your resolve and makes you stronger. Not that a white serpent who betrayed the goddess Ella could ever understand love.>
<You can say that all you want, but look at yourself now—clinging to a single man as your hostage. The reality is that you’re standing on the edge, ready to die.>
Daniel sneered as he snatched away the aquamarine crystal orb that Mushila had summoned. Then, mockingly, he began to lick the orb. Tilting his head back, Daniel opened his mouth wide and began to force the crystal orb down his throat.
Mushila watched to the very end as the aquamarine crystal disappeared. Whispering “Thank you, crystal orb,” she slowly closed her eyes.
Laurencia could only watch helplessly at the unreachable scene before her. She already knew what came next. The image before her eyes shifted.
Following Daniel, Mushila became the mistress of Count Paul Heredian and was scorned by the world. Imprisoned in the tower the Count’s family had prepared for her, she gave birth there.
Laurencia watched as Mushila raised her child with as much love as she longed for her beloved Cain. Secretly, Mushila placed around Laurencia’s neck a necklace made from a hidden fragment of amethyst, crafted in secret from Daniel, and embraced her tightly. That day, Laurencia would never forget.
Wiping her tears, Mushila softly called Cain’s name. She whispered words of love to his sleeping face and sang a sweet lullaby without rest.
< Laurencia, I love you. And I’m sorry for the hardships you’ll face. My rainbow. Pray to the goddess Ella—then everything will be fulfilled. >
Mushila quietly closed her eyes.
At that moment, the amethyst fragment inside the jewelry box and the one hanging around Laurencia’s neck began to resonate with each other, bursting into radiant light. Magus and Teyshar shielded their eyes from the brilliance.
“Lady Laurencia!”
With his eyes shut, Teyshar gripped Laurencia’s hand tightly. The light was so blinding that he couldn’t open his eyes. Fortunately, the radiance subsided quickly, and Teyshar immediately turned to check on Laurencia.
Seeing the lack of focus in her violet eyes, Teyshar pulled her into his arms. Though he knew the shards of the amethyst orb couldn’t harm her, the sight of her vacant gaze filled him with unease.
“Father, Lady Laurencia isn’t even blinking.”
He looked closely at her face, then hugged her again, then looked once more. Holding her motionless, Teyshar prayed fervently to the goddess Ella, begging again and again for Laurencia’s spirit to return swiftly.
Half a day passed as Laurencia remained dazed and unresponsive. Finally, Teyshar saw the focus return to her violet eyes.
“My lady? Are you awake? Can you see me?”
Laurencia blinked several times. Her hazy vision gradually cleared. The worried faces of Magus and Teyshar began to come into view.
“Marquis Spencer… did I lose consciousness?”
“Something close to that.”
Laurencia tilted her head. Looking around, she saw Magus and Evan watching her with concern. Teyshar still held her tightly.
“Your eyes lost focus for a moment… I was worried, so I held you.”
“Are you all right?” Magus asked.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Freeing herself from Teyshar’s arms, Laurencia looked at the amethyst shards in the black jewelry box. Then, she unclasped the amethyst necklace from her neck and placed it inside. Nothing happened.
“It seems the shattered amethyst orb can’t return to its original form, Magus.”
Magus examined the shards carefully and nodded. He had hoped it might be restored—but it did not.
“So it seems, Lady Laurencia.”
He pushed the jewelry box toward her.
“It may no longer be a crystal orb, but these shards belong to you.”
Laurencia accepted the box. She took out the amethyst necklace, placed it back around her neck—and at once, the memory of Mushila placing that same necklace on her returned, bringing tears to her eyes.
Teyshar gently lifted the jewelry box from her arms, set it on the table, and pulled her into another comforting embrace, softly patting her back. Magus clicked his tongue at the sight.
“Teyshar, don’t you think you’re holding Lady Laurencia a bit too tightly?”
Frowning, Teyshar met Magus’s crimson eyes and raised his index finger to his lips, whispering softly, “Shh.”
Magus gave a dry chuckle at the absurdity. The way Teyshar held Laurencia was like a mother cat cradling her newborn kitten.
As a serpent charged with protecting the child of the goddess Ella, it was, in one sense, admirable. Yet Magus couldn’t help noticing that Teyshar’s protectiveness looked far more like that of a man caring for the woman he loved than a guardian fulfilling his duty.
Laurencia leaned her head against Teyshar’s shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His handkerchief brushed gently against her tear-streaked face—a touch filled unmistakably with affection.
Quietly, Magus stood up, opened the door, and left with Evan.
Teyshar gazed tenderly at Laurencia resting against him and lifted a hand to stroke her hair.
“Lady Laurencia, you will be all right.”
At his gentle reassurance, Laurencia nodded and nestled deeper into his embrace. She was grateful that he hadn’t asked a single question about what had happened—only focused on comforting her sorrow.
“Marquis Spencer, just for a little while longer…”
“You can stay like this as long as you wish.”
Teyshar’s voice was soft and languid as he whispered to her. He found himself thinking he wouldn’t mind if she fell asleep in his arms again. A selfish thought stirred—he wished she would rely only on him. Or even better, that she would want him in return.
His desire to remain by Laurencia’s side was already overflowing beyond restraint.
“If there’s anything you need, tell me.”
If she stayed by him, he would obey her like a loyal, well-trained hound.
“If there’s anything you want, say the word.”
“What I want…”
Laurencia recalled the visions shown by the amethyst orb—one by one. And then she realized: the serpent her mother had warned her about was none other than Duke Daniel Greican, Luance’s maternal grandfather.
He was no longer just a serpent to beware of—he was one she would have to kill.
“What I want… is revenge for my mother and father. Can you help me?”
“If that is your wish, I will create the path you desire, my lady.”
“That path may lead to a cliff.”
“Even if it’s a cliff, it’s fine.”
Teyshar’s eyes softened into a smile. Still holding her hand, he leaned closer and lifted it, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand before locking eyes with her violet gaze.
“Lady Laurencia will not fall from that cliff alone.”
His large hand cupped her cheek. Drawing even closer—so near that their noses almost touched—Teyshar spoke again in a languid murmur.
“I will fall from the cliff with you.”
“Marquis Spencer, you’re… unbearably…”
Laurencia’s voice trailed off. Teyshar tilted his head slightly.
“Selfish,” she whispered.
Teyshar’s crimson eyes gleamed. His radiant smile shone like the sun itself, and Laurencia couldn’t help but smile back.
“But did the amethyst shards show you something?” he asked.
“Yes. They showed me what the child of the goddess Ella truly is. They showed me many things—what kind of being caused my parents’ fate… and even the ancient contract between the black serpent of the earth and the violet-eyed child of the goddess Ella.”
The goddess Ella had divided her power into seven parts. These divided powers were called the Children of the Goddess Ella.
The children descended to the earth by the goddess’s command to help humankind.
The red-eyed child taught people how to kindle fire.
The orange-eyed child taught them how to plan and design homes.
The yellow-eyed child gave them letters so they could communicate.
The green-eyed child helped them grow edible plants, trees, and flowers.
The blue- and indigo-eyed children—one of whom was Mushila—taught people about the seas and rivers.
And the last, the violet-eyed child, possessed the powers of prophecy and reversal of time.
With the wisdom and knowledge learned from the goddess’s children, people began to shape their world into something beautiful.
They praised and worshipped the goddess Ella, the divine mother of the world.
But there was one who loathed it—the white serpent, Seraph, the goddess’s sister.
The more the people revered Ella, the deeper the white serpent’s jealousy grew, until at last she began plotting to seize her sister’s place.
The white serpent was cunning and wicked. And finally, she descended to the mortal world.
<“Soon, it will not be the goddess Ella they praise, but me—the white serpent.”>
