Chapter 26

Late at night, as always, Javir was preparing to go to the casino. Having figured out some tricks of the casino, he was excited for another profitable night. After the bothersome conversation with his fake daughter, nothing relieved him like gambling.  

He planned to enjoy the only casino in the Empire, Goldium Land, without attracting too much attention, then travel around the continent to gather money. After a few years, he could buy enough palladium without offering a woman to the King of Garental.  

‘It’s still strange, though. Why did they pick Ethea? The old king of Garental with a skin disease couldn’t know her, and it’s not like there aren’t other women. Well, it doesn’t matter now. One way or another, all the palladium will be mine.’  

But his dreams were cut short. When a tall young man suddenly appeared, he couldn’t leave the house.  

“Your Majesty. Long time no see…”  

Javir’s face grew pale as he faced the Emperor.  

‘Those strange eyes!’  

He’d seen the Emperor’s red eyes before.  

Years ago, the Emperor first visited, gave Gin a name, and calmly ordered him to send living expenses. He also threatened to kill him if he interfered in other matters.  

Javir still vividly remembered the Emperor’s menacing look. They were human eyes, but the pupils looked like jewels made of blood, exuding a chilling energy that could ruin a person’s mind just by looking. Overwhelmed by that aura, he quietly obeyed.  

But now the Emperor’s eyes looked even more monstrous. Was “killing with a glance” meant for eyes like his?  

Javir couldn’t guess why the Emperor visited today.  

‘Could he know everything about Ethea? No, even an Emperor couldn’t know that.’  

Javir was an alchemist. If someone planted a spying device in his house, he would usually notice. But lately, he hadn’t sensed anything suspicious.  

“Why would you come to this humble place…?”  

Lyle slowly approached Javir, smiling. His burning red eyes were paired with a cold smile that seemed to freeze the air.  

“I used to respect you. Not because you were an excellent alchemist. I thought your words about making the world beautiful were romantic and wonderful.”  

“What…”  

“Was it all a lie? Just something you said to put a line in an alchemy book?”  

“What are you talking about?”  

“As an alchemist, you must know recipes well. Guess what this makes: palladium, glue, your blood, a magic circle inscribed with the Hillus traditional characters for earth and death…”  

Javir turned pale.  

If you replace palladium with earth in those ingredients, you get a golem. Using palladium instead of earth means a golem made of palladium.  

“Your Majesty, please tell me why you’re doing this. Ah, is it because I siphoned off the money meant for the child? It was a small amount! I meant to return it after winning! Or did I do something else wrong? Please tell me. Right now…”  

“It’s too late. There’s an order to things.”  

“……!”  

“Before I atone to Ethea, you come first.”  

“I’ll do it! I’ll confess my sins and beg forgiveness right now! Please, just spare me!”  

But it was already too late. Lyle dragged the terrified Javir like a piece of wood into the alchemy laboratory.  

Inside, precious palladium was piled high. The only way to gather such rare materials was through embezzlement during his time as association director or gambling. Whatever the source, Lyle didn’t care.  

【Hehehe, tie him up, tie him up!】  

Sadea was excited at the prospect of devouring his prey, and used the evil god’s magic to bind Javir’s entire body so he couldn’t move at all.  

Meanwhile, Lyle calmly selected the materials. In an alchemist’s house, it was easy—everything was there, so it was quick. Once he gathered the ingredients, all he had to do was draw the magic circle.  

The magic circle for making a golem—he had memorized it from Javir’s book once. It was useful for sending weapons during major wars. Now, it would be used to turn Javir into a golem.  

Faced with such a gruesome fate, Javir begged for forgiveness, knowing it was useless.  

“Your Majesty, please, just give me one more chance…!”  

“You’ve had plenty of chances. Don’t expect any more patience from me. Atonement comes later.”  

“D*mn murderer! I’ll shout to everyone that you made a Homunclepet! That hideous eye proves you’re not human, right? You must be possessed by some disgusting god. Everyone will know!”  

Javir made his final desperate attempt. But Sadea’s restraint made his voice disappear, leaving only his mouth moving.  

Lyle’s red eyes were weapons in themselves. Blood poured from every hole in Javir’s face—eyes, nose, mouth, ears.  

“No, please! Spare me… ugh…!”  

Black energy began to envelop the entire house. Sadea’s spirit, thrilled to see a human soul leaving its body, wrapped the house and cheered.  

How much time passed? The black aura receded, and the golem appeared. It was hideous.  

【Friend, it’s a golem, but it feels like a failure. Why is that? Was there too much blood? Did you draw the magic circle wrong? This bastard is just too grotesque.】  

Lyle saw the monstrous form clearly—palladium, organs, blood vessels, eyeballs grotesquely connected. Because of the excess blood, traces of life remained, making it a failed creation. Such things were called blood golems.  

The golem, staggering and collapsed on the floor, tried to write curses against the Emperor with its own blood. Sadea laughed at the sight.  

【Shouldn’t you write an apology letter to your daughter, hmm?】  

The golem could move its fingers like a human, but it seemed too difficult to write proper letters.  

Crack! Crunch…  

Lyle kicked the golem, larger than himself, into a corner, then mercilessly stomped it. His shoes turned red, and the whole house was filled with the smell of blood as he kept kicking until there was no response left in the blood golem.  

The evil god was the most excited. Like the spirit of Orodium that once possessed the strong body of the hero Drenai and sought the pleasures of all five senses, Sadea, dwelling in Lyle’s body, reveled in the thrill of sl*ughter, finding it as pleasurable as anything.  

【Hahaha! That was the best, friend! Today was really fun to watch! Hahaha!】  

He continued until the blood golem gave no more reaction.  

Eventually, Lyle left the remains of the hideous blood golem behind and went outside. He felt filthy, but didn’t regret it. For Ethea’s sake, it was better for Javir not to exist in this world.  

Tap, tap…  

Rain fell from the sky. Thin as spiderwebs, the rain soaked his whole body and wrapped him in a dirty feeling.  

But at least, as he waited in this rain, his hideous red eyes would return to their original golden color. Then he intended to go to Ethea.  

He had no right to comfort her, but he wanted to be by her side anyway.  

And, somehow, he felt he had to.  

***

Ethea’s heart was dark and heavy.  

She had to go home. Her chest felt crushed by a giant stone, but she had to carry it and somehow get home.  

It took two hours by carriage to get home. Ethea chose a very expensive carriage. It was enchanted for a smooth ride, so even the sound of gravel rolling wasn’t heard, making the journey easy and comfortable.  

She just wanted that. She didn’t want to ride in a cheap carriage, getting soaked by rain leaking through the roof and shaken by every bump.  

But inside the quiet, smooth carriage, she soon regretted it. She should have taken a cheap carriage—been shaken, shaken, over and over.  

When she arrived at the village and got out, the sky was stabbing down with rain like blades.  

Ethea checked Solei’s house first. All the lights were off. The children must have gone to bed early, exhausted from their fun at the Imperial City. That was a relief. She couldn’t have taken Gin home and read him a story as usual tonight.  

So Ethea entered her own house alone. She forgot to close the door, forgot to take off her muddy shoes at the entrance, and collapsed in the middle of the living room. She curled up like a hedgehog and hugged her aching chest.  

She realized it only now—this was how her father always was.  

Javir never spoke at home. No matter what his wife or daughter said, he responded bluntly, and spending money on anything but alchemy was a crime. Whether it was housework or alchemy, if you weren’t working, he’d look at you with contempt.  

Luire was the same. Her mother ended up abandoning her daughter and leaving. That’s why there was no news, no idea where she lived.  

They were hard people to like or understand, but Ethea still thought of them as her parents and kept them in her heart. But everyone rejected her.  

She wanted to think it was fine, that she felt lighter, that it was good, but the deep heartbreak left behind was unbearable. Ethea curled up tighter, squeezing her chest.  

“Uh… sob…”  

She entrusted her voice to the deep darkness. She wanted to wash away her muddy feelings in the sound of the rain.  

“Gin, Gin…”  

Her child’s name slipped from her lips. Maybe it was because she felt she only had her child left now.  

Yes, Gin was always by Ethea’s side. No, Gin had to be by her side. Otherwise, the world would feel too lonely. She didn’t want that.  

Before she knew it, she was lying on her side, trembling. Her eyes would close as if she’d fall asleep, but her sadness kept her crying.  

‘Let’s just cry today. Just today, and tomorrow I’ll live as if nothing happened. But what should I say to Gin about Grandpa…?’  

She could never tell Gin, who was proud of his alchemist grandfather, about today. It would be better to say Grandpa had gone on a long journey to find alchemy materials.  

Ethea lay there for a long time and almost fell asleep. She suddenly opened her eyes because she felt a change.  

“Ah…”  

The damp floor was dry, the chilly air had warmed. Her wet clothes and hair were dry, and the muddy shoes and floor were clean. Someone had cast warming and cleaning magic—at a high level.  

Who could it be? The only magician that came to mind was Seisil.  

Sensing someone’s presence, Ethea turned around. Lyle was sitting against the wall, quietly watching her.  

Could Lyle use magic? More importantly, how did he get in here?  

With lighting magic, three or four candles were lit, so his expression was clear. She was the one feeling down, but Lyle’s face looked even gloomier—Ethea didn’t know why.  

“Lyle.”  

Recalling the unpleasant conversation with the man who used to be her father, Ethea glared at Lyle.  

She wanted to know why he was here now. She wanted to hear why he warmed the air, cleaned the house, and looked at her with such sad eyes.  

“Will you tell me now? What else don’t I know?”  

“Ethea.”  

“Thank you for secretly taking care of me. But I need to know why you had to do it in secret, and why you created such a situation.”  

The lighting magic faded, and darkness crept in. She couldn’t read his expression anymore.  

Was he going to run away again, like in the golden forest? She didn’t want that. She wanted to grab him and stop him, but didn’t know if she had the strength. Her heart and body felt like shattered glass—she couldn’t expect herself to hold him and demand answers.  

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, he spoke calmly instead of running away, contrary to her expectations.  

“It was because of my father.”  

“What?… Your father?”  

“Yeah. The man who was Emperor once. He tried to send you as a bride to the King of Garental. That’s how it started…”  

Ethea’s mind went blank.  

“What do you mean, the King of Garental?”  

The kingdom’s name wasn’t unfamiliar. It was west of the Empire and owned palladium mines. But that was just the general image—Ethea had other memories of Garental.  

Her mother, Luire, was from that country.  

When she was about five or six, at an age full of curiosity, Ethea became interested in her mother’s family. She had a father, but no sign of any family on her mother’s side—no grandparents, aunts, or uncles.  

So she asked her mother once,  

‘Mom, why don’t I have a grandmother on your side?’  

Luire spoke of family for the first time.  

‘They’re all in my hometown. It’s far, so it’s hard to see them.’  

‘Where’s your hometown?’  

‘Garental.’  

‘Wow, so Mom, you’re from Garental Kingdom?’  

‘Yes. Now I’m a Hillus Imperial citizen, though.’  

‘Why don’t you live in your hometown?’  

The answer was frightening, even for a child.  

‘Etty, there’s someone there who makes life very uncomfortable for me. Unfortunately, that person is powerful.’  

‘Powerful?’  

‘Simply put, he’s the boss there. Power, you know? I wonder if you understand.’  

‘Power? The boss there makes you uncomfortable with power?’  

‘Yes. That’s why I ran away. There’s a saying in Garental: “Do you avoid poop because it’s scary, or because it’s dirty?” I really hate dirty things. And it’s a hard place to live.’  

‘Don’t you want to visit your hometown?’  

‘No. I like the Empire. Who wouldn’t want to live in the Imperial capital? Compared to back then, this is heaven.’  

So Ethea didn’t have a good image of Garental Kingdom. She hadn’t thought about it much since, so she almost forgot. But why was she supposed to be sent as a bride to the king of her mother’s country?  

Ethea couldn’t believe this story she never imagined.  

“Tell me more, Lyle. You said that’s how it started, but why did the former Emperor want to send me to the King of Garental?”