Chapter 85: The Past (2)

Clive regretted his actions when he heard the little girl’s tearful voice.

“Please spare me.”

The child’s crying grew louder. Simultaneously, voices of people could be heard outside. Sebastian’s subordinates who had come with him were about to enter the house to confirm everyone was dead.

If they spotted the girl, she would meet the same fate as her family.

“Shh. If you want to live, don’t cry. Don’t make any sound. You absolutely cannot be discovered by those people. Understand?”

Clive picked up the nodding child and searched for a hiding place. He placed her in the corner of a closet and gave her the dagger he wore on his ankle. It was Florian’s dagger, which he had carried since his brother’s kidnapping.

“If anyone finds you and tries to kill you, stab them.”

There was no time to wait for her response. He took out all the clothes inside and dumped them over the child’s head. He left the closet door open, allowing some clothes to spill out. This way, they would only check visually without searching through it. 

He disheveled everything he could—bed sheets, tablecloths, other wardrobes—making everything a mess. Clive prayed the child wouldn’t be discovered by those men.

* * *

Fortunately, the child wasn’t found. Clive left the house with those who had accompanied him. He worried whether the child could endure seeing such a horrific scene. He wanted to clear away the bodies but wasn’t given time. 

Suddenly, he found his own concern ridiculous. After all, it was Clive himself who had created this terrible scene for the child to witness. If he hadn’t accepted Sebastian’s conditions, Florian would have been unlikely to return alive. But k*lling an entire family was madness.

Yet had he really had a choice? If he could turn back time, would he have sacrificed Florian to let that family live? 

They were an innocent family. Surely Sebastian had simply pointed to random people to use as bargaining chips against Clive for Florian. He knew this even as he approached the house, but the desire to save his brother had overwhelmed him.

Various thoughts troubled Clive. There had been no time to judge. 

The silence that flowed when he opened the door to that house, the thunder and lightning that came with the rain that had started in the evening, muffling his footsteps. He was afraid. His heart ached.

Did he really need to kill a peacefully sleeping family to save his brother? 

They must have fallen asleep dreaming of tomorrow, unaware of what would happen. He resented his father for weakening imperial authority by being manipulated by the temple. 

But now was the time to save Florian. If Florian died, the Emperor would fall deeper into despair, and the Bainfelt Empire might completely fall into the hands of the directionless temple.

Clive steeled himself. He decided to face the situation coldly. Thus, the Crown Prince who should have protected imperial citizens ended up k*lling innocent ones. The unexpected appearance of the girl nearly broke his resolve, but he managed to pull himself together and hide her.

A few days later, Sebastian threatened him again to step down from his position as Crown Prince, and Clive complied. It wasn’t so much that he feared Sebastian’s threats but rather that he felt unworthy of being Crown Prince. Also, living as a Crown Prince under surveillance in the palace would prevent him from planning future actions.

Some time later, Clive visited the house he had managed to find again. While wondering what he would do if the girl was there, he hoped she was alive. But she was gone, and only the dagger he had given her remained in her hiding place.

Ever since then, the small child had remained in his heart. Part of Clive’s journey to this point included a desire to atone to that child. 

The child he desperately hoped had survived. The child he wished was living well somewhere, having forgotten the past. The child he wanted to meet once before dying to beg forgiveness.

That child was now right before his eyes.

* * *

Eirene’s eyes emptied as she stared at Clive, at a loss for words. When she slowly rose and staggered, Clive tried to steady her, but she immediately pushed his hand away.

“Eirene.”

“…I want to be alone.”

Taking a deep breath, Eirene held her head high and walked. She felt she might collapse if she didn’t keep her mind straight. Upon reaching her quarters and closing the bedroom door, she could no longer move her feet.

She slid down to the floor. The man who had killed her family had been right beside her all this time. The man in her memories, the one in the flashing lightning, was Clive. Not knowing this, she had sought his help and relied on him.

She had kissed him and shared her body with him. She had come to care for him. How could this happen?

She understood Clive had no choice. She understood that just as her family was precious to her, Florian was precious to him, and he wanted to save him. Florian’s warning not to hurt Clive’s feelings had a reason behind it. Florian knew what his brother had done to protect him.

Even though she understood… even though she knew… she couldn’t face Clive. What should she do now? What would be best for both him and her?

No matter how much she thought, nothing came to mind. Her head seemed to stop functioning, with time itself seemingly frozen. Feeling dizzy and unwell, she wanted to lie down. Perhaps she just wanted to escape this moment.

Desperately wanting to lie on the bed and think, she tried to stand, but her legs wouldn’t support her. With no other choice, she crawled, pushing with her shoulders and legs. 

After crawling some distance, Eirene, unable to make it to the bed, lay face down where she was and forced herself to try to sleep.

* * *

Clive took out a cigar, hesitated, then put it back.

“Sebastian and Count Phineas truly sent many people to h*ll at once.”

Siaran hadn’t expected Clive to be involved in this matter. To obtain young Eirene with her exceptional divine power, Sebastian had wielded Clive like a sword. Additionally, he had broken Clive’s power.

Sebastian had even turned Serenity into a witch in case Siaran, who knew what he had done, revealed it. When had Sebastian begun planning all this? Could Sebastian really be brought down?

Siaran had been so focused on this day that he hadn’t looked around him while rushing forward. That’s why he had been cruel to many people. Having come this far, he needed to finish properly, and he thought it would happen that way.

After hearing Clive’s story, Siaran realized Sebastian was far more frightening than he had thought. Long ago, on the day he joined hands with Rafael, Rafael had asked, ‘Can’t you kill Sebastian with dark magic?’

‘They say the Pope receives God’s protection. Magic is useless.’

It was laughable that Sebastian received protection because he was Pope, despite being the one who defiled God’s name. Why was God silent while watching everything Sebastian did?

That was why Siaran became a dark mage. He couldn’t believe in a God who protected someone like Sebastian. He preferred to trust Clive. Despite what others might say, Clive seemed different to Siaran’s eyes.

It had been a reckless choice at the time, but a good one. That was before he knew about Clive’s past.

After sharing his story and watching Eirene leave, Clive looked like he might collapse at any moment. Seeing him grip the armrest tightly and close his eyes to gather himself, Siaran felt concerned. Clive seemed more fragile than expected.

After some time passed, Clive opened his eyes, his gaze dark and sunken.

“Does Sebastian know Eirene is the child he was looking for?”

“It’s unlikely. Sebastian can only detect abilities in children, not adults. That’s why I’ve been waiting.”

“Then Eirene shouldn’t worry too much. Cardinal Your Eminence, what’s happening within the temple?”

Startled by the sudden address, Rafael hesitated before answering, “The priests who didn’t know about this were greatly shocked. To be honest, opinions are divided.”

“Divided how?”

“Since I’m a cardinal, some believe I gave false testimony to aim for the Pope’s position or to avoid being expelled from my cardinal position.”

“That makes sense given what you’ve done so far. I’m not being sarcastic. I understand you did it deliberately to escape the Pope’s surveillance.”

Clive, who had decided to bury the past connected to Eirene, was coldly assessing the situation. After thinking for a moment, he looked up at Siaran.

“Do you have more evidence to prove the Pope’s crimes?”

“Yes. I’ve collected it.”

“Are you willing to testify as well?”

“Of course.”

“Bring that evidence to me before the trial begins, no, bring it to me right now.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. I need it immediately. If you don’t trust me, a copy will do.”

While requesting evidence from Siaran, Clive didn’t reveal what he planned to do with it. It seemed he wouldn’t tell even if asked.

Reading Siaran’s thoughts, Clive said, “Don’t worry. I too would like to tear Sebastian to pieces and throw him to beasts, and even that wouldn’t be enough.”

Clive smiled broadly. Surprised by the smile that didn’t match the situation, Siaran glanced at Rafael.

Rafael also tried to hide his stiffening expression, unable to understand Clive’s smile.

“Cardinal Your Eminence.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“No matter how unorthodox your religious life has been, you can answer a believer’s question, can’t you?”

“Yes. Before becoming a cardinal, I was diligent in my studies and counseling.”

“There’s something I want to ask.”

Clive’s smile disappeared abruptly. With the coldest expression possible, he asked, “Whom does God love more: the Pope alone or the many imperial citizens?”

It was a difficult question. Even more so because there was no definitive answer.

The Pope’s work was more significant than that of hundreds of imperial citizens. Yet one couldn’t say God loved the Pope more than countless imperial citizens.

Strangely, this was a question Rafael had never received before. There was a standard answer for such unanswerable questions.

“God loves everyone.”

Pfft. This time, laughter burst from Clive’s lips. He tried to suppress it with chuckling sounds, but soon laughed loudly.

After laughing for a while, Clive waved his hand. “That can’t be right. Ah, it’s true that God loves everyone.”

As Clive’s laughter subsided, he sighed deeply. Leaning back deeply in his chair, he spread his arms wide on the armrests and crossed his legs.

“He loves everyone, but there must be those He loves more specially.”

“……”

“I’ll tell you the answer later.”

Hearing Clive’s response, Rafael unconsciously took a step back. Clive’s narrowed eyes were fierce.

It felt like the giant snake imprinted on the Bainfelt seal had come to life.