Chapter 25

Ethea had vaguely suspected it. She knew her father wasn’t the type to take care of his child, and wondered if maybe Lyle was secretly watching over her and Gin, caring for them.  

But she’d always denied that thought, partly because Lyle hadn’t contacted her, but also because she’d hoped for some paternal affection from her father. The kind of love every child expects from their parent.  

Even knowing it was pathetic, Ethea tried to deny reality.  

“What do you mean, ‘end’? Are you angry with me? Are you saying this because you’re mad I hid my relationship with Lyle?”  

“Angry? Ethea. Even that emotion is burdensome. I only get angry if someone bothers me. And from now on, there’ll be nothing to get angry about. I feel relieved.”  

Ethea shook her head. So all the contempt she’d received was just because she was a nuisance? She didn’t want to accept that.  

“When your mother gave birth to you, when she left me and entrusted you to me, when I had to use my hard-earned money to pay tuition for a child not a drop of my blood—I was always annoyed. Ethea, you.”  

She couldn’t understand. Her head, already throbbing, grew more confused at his words.  

Not a drop of blood—was she not Javir’s biological daughter?  

“Think about it. I found a woman to do the housework, and she gave birth to a child that wasn’t even in the plan—how could that not be annoying? And that woman was terrible at housework and attention. She ruined my experiments with something as trivial as perfume. Speaking of perfume, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Your mother, with her shallow knowledge, once tried to make a fatigue remedy and mixed the ingredients wrong, almost killing me. And then…”  

“Ah, what is this… What are you saying, ah…”  

“Yes, exactly. That’s your mother. When I kicked her out, I told her to take you, but she pleaded. She said she couldn’t look after you, so she begged me to take care of you instead. She promised you’d work hard and repay me more than just tuition, so I kept you.”  

Ethea’s mother, Luire, abandoned her daughter and left. That’s why Ethea never knew where she lived or how to contact her.  

It was too painful for Ethea to understand all this.  

She suddenly remembered when Javir said, after Gin was born and the family was shocked,  

‘I took you in because you were a diligent child, but now I deeply regret it. I should have sent you away when your mother left. I should have done that back then.’

So the reason Javir said such cruel things was that Ethea wasn’t his real daughter.  

“Kept you instead of abandoning you, and then you secretly brought a man in to make such a monster?”  

“Don’t call him a monster!”  

“Whatever. At least that murderer took care of your mess, so it was convenient for me. I should tell you—out of the money he sent, I took a bit for myself. Honestly, I deserve some compensation for raising you.”  

Now the source of the money spent on gambling was clear. Javir had quit the Alchemy Association and gambled with Lyle’s money.  

“He came to see me recently. He said he’ll take care of you and your son himself from now on. I gladly agreed. It was a relief to escape from such bothersome and dangerous business.”  

Ethea blinked slowly. In her daze, tears streamed down her cheeks.  

The man she’d believed to be her father kept speaking.  

“So, Ethea, I’ll say it again—don’t come here anymore. Well, if you want to share the money you get from the Emperor, I won’t refuse. I feel I haven’t taken enough after all…”  

As always, his tone was cold. She’d always ignored it, thinking it was just his way, but today she couldn’t.  

“Is that really all?”  

“Hm?”  

“Is that all you have to say to me?”  

Ethea’s heart hurt.  

So that was it. A child who works as told, a fake daughter better off abandoned if she becomes a nuisance, someone to get back only what was spent.  

‘No, that’s not it. I’m not begging for affection. I’m not crying here for some petty love.’  

Ethea didn’t like Javir. She couldn’t, even if she wanted to. But at least she thought of him as her father. That’s why she helped him—gave up what she wanted, obeyed, watched for his mood, shrank back, and so on…  

‘There was a time I lived as your child. So you should at least treat me with some human decency. Cutting me off like this—it’s just too miserable!’  

The gaze of the person who was her father, or rather, used to be her father, wavered. As if he was still hiding something she didn’t know.  

“I’m tired.”  

But he closed the door and went into his room. And never came out again.  

***

Lyle was born good-natured. He rejected suspicion, spying, and ruining others from his very nature. But that was only true when he was young.  

After becoming Emperor, Lyle had to abandon that nature to survive. And only by surviving could he protect those he cared for. He didn’t like it, but he had to keep an eye on the alchemist for that reason.  

Javir was known as Ethea’s father. Supporting Ethea was natural for a father, so enemies hiding somewhere wouldn’t suspect anything. Javir also wanted a quiet life and knew Gin’s origins had to be kept secret.  

But Lyle was uneasy with just that. The title “father”—the closest family—could threaten Ethea. Lyle didn’t trust Javir and watched his every move.  

It was easier than expected to thoroughly plant spies without the sensitive alchemist noticing. Ironically, the evil god Sadea that resided in Lyle’s body acted as the spy. Sadea pushed Lyle to see the world in red and incited him to kill, but as compensation, listened well to Lyle.  

Sadea meticulously observed whether Javir, as the Alchemy Association director, was doing anything suspicious, harming Ethea and Gin, or colluding with the King of Garental to damage the Empire, and reported everything to Lyle.  

Today, after spending a happy time with Gin, Lyle finished his work and rested alone. It was a state between sleep and meditation, where he could immerse his mind in pure white for a moment of peace. Seeing only a red world all day was tiring, but soaking his mind in white gave him some strength to endure.  

During his rest, Sadea sent a message.  

【Hey, friend.】  

Lyle felt uncomfortable with Sadea calling him “friend.” No one would want to call a murderous evil god a friend. But since there was no way to get rid of Sadea, Lyle responded calmly.  

“Speak.”  

【This bastard’s really rotten, huh?】  

Lyle instinctively knew it was about Javir.  

“What’s going on?”  

Sadea showed Lyle images and sounds from today, imprinting them in his mind.  

Thanks to that, Lyle saw the entire conversation between father and daughter, from when Ethea entered the house to when she left. It was one disappointment after another. Javir confessed no sins, so there was no apology. All that remained was Ethea’s lonely, wounded back as she left.  

Sadea, the evil god, shuddered as if he’d witnessed someone even more wicked.  

【That farewell was something else. Shouldn’t it end differently? You had to make a Homunclepet because of him, right? No conscience at all. I recommend tearing him apart as punishment. Oh, and I’m not saying this because I’m Sadea. Not at all.】  

Even without Sadea’s harsh words, Lyle was extremely angry.  

He’d tolerated all of Javir’s actions until now. Even though Javir, as the Imperial Alchemy Association director, embezzled support funds for personal experiments, Lyle didn’t punish him and quietly processed his retirement. He also overlooked Javir secretly siphoning off part of Ethea’s living expenses for gambling.  

There were two reasons. First, as Emperor, he wanted to avoid giving enemies any chance until he had absolute power. Second, as a person, he hoped for something from Javir.  

He believed Javir had at least a shred of conscience left, that he would confess the ugly marriage deal offered for palladium mine shares to Ethea and beg forgiveness, and that he would show true repentance. He gave him plenty of time for that.  

From childhood, Lyle felt sorry for all the things Ethea had given up for her father and the joys she’d missed out on. Javir needed to properly repent and atone.  

But just now, Javir declared a complete break with Ethea. He revealed only the painful truth that would hurt her, in such a mean and cruel way.  

Lyle’s eyes began to burn red.  

“I can’t forgive him.”  

【That’s right, that’s right. That bastard needs to die. Let’s go kill him, friend!】  

Now that Sadea had a justification, he eagerly urged Lyle. Evil gods always incite killing even without a reason, but since possessing Lyle, justification became important. Lyle wouldn’t listen to Sadea’s demands—he’d rather die himself than kill without cause.  

Sadea didn’t miss this opportunity. He wanted to use his magic to transport Lyle straight to Javir.  

【What are you doing? Should I move you there? Come on, let’s go!】