Was it just a mistake?
Velkirei looked at Eliana with a visibly shaken expression.
Unaware of this, Eliana stared back at him with a startled face.
Hera looked surprised as well.
'I made a mistake. That was unlike me.'
It was terribly awkward.
Velkirei calmly made an excuse, saying it had only been static electricity.
At that, Eliana’s expression changed in a peculiar way.
It was a look filled with clear certainty, as if she were saying, "That is a lie."
She did not believe his words at all.
She smiled as if she knew everything, and behind that smile lingered a faint discomfort.
Velkirei felt flustered.
This had never happened before. The sensation was far too distinct to dismiss as a momentary illusion.
It was the headache that had tormented him for the past ten years.
Enduring the overwhelming power of a demon within a frail human body was no easy task.
During those years, Velkirei had unknowingly stood at the threshold of death many times.
The unfamiliar agony of having his breath nearly cut off tormented him every night.
Yet merely touching her made his mind feel so clear.
Unfortunately, the moment he separated from Eliana, the pain that had disappeared returned at once.
Velkirei’s thoughts were in complete chaos.
When Eliana asked if she could hold his hand, Velkirei answered somewhat slowly and extended his hand.
If he held it again, perhaps he might understand.
He seized her hand first, gripping it tightly.
At that moment, the clear sensation wrapped around Velkirei once more.
The demon’s power calmed and circulated quietly within his body, unable to act.
The feeling was extremely unfamiliar.
Yet the sensation he felt for the first time was not unpleasant.
No, it was rather refreshing.
Without realizing it, Velkirei began feeling along Eliana’s hand. He did not even have the time to consider that it was rude.
Then Eliana, noticing his state, adjusted his hand and gently placed it against his forehead before pulling away.
'Ah…'
As soon as her hand moved away, the pain returned to Velkirei.
Like a wanderer who had lost an oasis, Velkirei lowered his arm weakly. There was no way to ease the regret he felt.
The woman brought by Hera was using a strange ability on him.
And it was beneficial.
Before he realized it, Velkirei’s attention was entirely focused on the mysterious woman named Eliana Mushe.
He began to think that her earlier remark that he was "not a person" might not have been an overreaction.
It truly felt as if she knew something.
Once he reached that conclusion, interest in her suddenly arose.
Velkirei wanted to grab her hand immediately and escape from this unbearable pain.
But he restrained himself and clung to his composure. He then deliberately turned his head as if uninterested.
Eliana was still watching him with that strange expression.
Truly… she had a face that was difficult to ignore.
Since Hera was beside them, Velkirei did not openly show interest in Eliana.
He did not know Hera’s intentions in sending her.
'It seems she intends to challenge me properly this time.'
"Marquis Demeter has been sponsoring this girl."
"Marquis Demeter, you say?"
Velkirei reacted involuntarily when he heard the name Demeter.
Marquis Demeter.
A pope who maintained neutrality, yet recently had been seen close to Hera.
There was a high possibility that he had already taken Hera’s side.
If this woman received support from such a man, she might already belong to their faction.
But he soon dismissed that hypothesis.
Judging from Eliana’s behavior, she simply looked like a naive noble lady.
Yes. She seemed like someone completely innocent.
As if she had no idea how many people had died in this imperial palace.
Velkirei wanted to possess Eliana before Hera could.
If she remained by his side, the day of his revenge might come sooner.
Judging by Hera’s behavior, it seemed she had not yet fully impressed her authority upon Eliana.
'Perhaps she is testing Eliana.'
Velkirei knew well that Hera put considerable effort into controlling people.
Gradually breaking someone’s spirit was one of Hera’s specialties.
At this moment, Velkirei felt as if an opportunity had appeared.
The sudden existence of Eliana Mushe might perhaps become the key to fulfilling his desperate wish.
'A late manifestation of ability in a worthless family, and she was abused before that…'
It would be impossible for her not to resent her parents.
Count Mushe had originally been a baron who inherited the count’s title thanks to his wife.
They said the wife died of a chronic illness, but it seemed worth reexamining.
Velkirei smiled to himself.
He had no intention of letting her slip away after she had rolled into his life like a gift.
He wanted to learn about her step by step.
Just what exactly her true identity was.
"From now on I will cherish you, so remain at ease."
That was how Velkirei met Eliana, like a gift.
At times Velkirei struggled with the guilt that occasionally visited him.
He still could not forget what happened ten years ago.
The event that shattered his peaceful life remained vivid.
The despair of losing his parents, and the realization that he could no longer see the world that had once been ordinary.
Velkirei knew well what kind of serpent like woman Hera was.
On that day ten years ago, Hera had been smiling.
Her face filled with delight as she watched the Emperor dying.
His mother had already been dead for a long time, and his father was watching his dying mother with sorrow.
Hera too staggered after drinking poison.
Within the flickering darkness of his fading vision, Velkirei saw her smiling face and froze.
An enormous sense of betrayal rose within him.
At the same time, he became certain.
Hera was the one who had poisoned them.
Velkirei ground his teeth and glared at Hera, but she showed him no interest at all.
When he opened his eyes again later, everything had already ended.
Hera had also drunk poison to avoid suspicion, so she escaped blame.
Velkirei recalled the moment he regained consciousness.
"Your Majesty, you have awakened. Thank goodness."
Hera grasped Velkirei’s hand and wept hypocritically.
The disgust he felt was like insects crawling all over his body, but Velkirei endured it silently.
What troubled him more was that everything around him was dark.
"Why are all the lights extinguished?"
"…Your Majesty, the lights are on."
"Your Majesty, it seems the poison has caused blindness."
"Blindness? He is the Empire’s only bloodline. Heal him no matter what. If you fail, I will take your head."
"Your Majesty, please calm yourself. You are still a patient."
Hera was a serpent like woman.
Not only had she poisoned herself, she had also arranged her story with the physician in case he noticed something.
"I have something urgent to tell you."
He had once told a maid who attended him that Hera might have poisoned them.
But the maid did not believe him.
"Your Majesty, please do not suspect the Empress Dowager. She wished more than anyone for Your Majesty to awaken."
"What?"
"The physician said that poison can cause temporary cognitive impairment. It seems Your Majesty must have misunderstood."
He thought he would go mad.
He knew the truth, yet no one believed him.
If he continued struggling, they would only accuse him of madness caused by poison.
And the most unbearable part of it all was…
"Your Majesty, do not worry. This mother will protect Your Majesty’s throne."
Without Hera’s support, he was too powerless even to inherit the throne.
Thus the regency began, as if he were being dragged along by her.
Perhaps the heavens pitied him.
Among his mother’s belongings, Velkirei discovered an unexpected sacred relic.
At first glance it looked like an ordinary ring, one of the heirlooms his mother had always carefully kept in her jewelry box.
At the time he was overwhelmed by a sense of loss and loneliness, as if he were the only person left in the world.
He had simply abandoned himself and spent each day wishing for death.
Longing for his mother, Velkirei touched the ring even though he knew no warmth could remain.
When he placed it on his index finger it seemed slightly loose, then changed size until it fit perfectly.
Startled, he tried to remove the ring, but it would not come off as if it were stuck.
At that moment the bead that had once been blue turned red and burst into brilliant light.
"My name is Maha. I am the sixth demon chosen by the great god Elzer."
"Do you take me for a madman who thinks blindness means I have gone insane? A demon from the Iteoni myth. How ridiculous."
"If you do not believe, then I will simply make you believe."
The power the demon revealed with those words was overwhelming.
Merely facing its presence made his hair stand on end and filled him with the sensation of committing a sin.
"I like your desire. So I will purchase it."
"My desire…?"
"Come now, Velkirei. Even if you look this pathetic, you must want revenge. Am I wrong?"
"…"
"I like your longing for revenge. I could make that desire even stronger. What do you say? Shall I help you?"
The tales saying that a demon’s whisper could not be resisted were true.
Velkirei could not refuse his offer.
Looking back now, it had been an impulsive decision.
Perhaps Maha had pushed his heart toward that choice.
But he did not regret it.
Rather, the demon’s appearance felt like an opportunity.
It seemed as though a ray of light had entered his life.
He thought that once he made the contract, he would freely wield that power and take his revenge.
But reality was cruel.
Even now, ten years later, Velkirei was still undergoing the demon’s trial.