The Sickly Youngest Member of the Villainous Family - Chapter 39

It was well into the night before I closed the book.

Maya yawned once and turned to me.

“Are you okay, Miss?”

To be honest, I wasn’t okay.

Although I had taken a short nap earlier in the day to support my body, it was still weak for extensive reading.

“I’m going to my room now.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea… Oh my, it’s already midnight.”

Maya helped me down from the library chair and embraced me as we left the library.

It wasn’t too dark in the corridors, with the magic stones acting as indirect lighting, but it was pitch black outside the windows.

“Did you find what you wanted to see?”

“Mmhm, but…….”

Thinking about the content I had read in the book, I remained silent. My thoughts were too complicated to express in words.

After a while, we reached the room and the maids who were following opened the door.

On the bed was the gold ball I had received from Hector. Sleep wouldn’t come easily, but I closed my eyes beside the golden orb.

I was anxious about what kind of dream I would have today.

* * *

When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a grand room made of white marble.

My field of view widened, and I realized that I was floating in the room like a ghost.

My feet were wrapped in darkness as black as Jin’s black flame, and it felt strangely comforting.

“Father.”

When a 12-year-old girl in a water-blue dress entered the room, a man with long, black hair tied back behind his head turned to his daughter with a blank face.

The girl’s hair was red, and she had blue eyes.

The man’s uniform had the crest of the Taylors, and I instinctively recognized him as Kaisa Taylors. 

The man who had brought about a terrible curse a century ago.

The girl who entered the room had a face of fear, and the man’s eyes sparked with anger. The girl’s hand held a ball, and her hand was trembling.

“So, it was you who dared to peek into my dreams. You insolent wretch!”

The girl must be Eshir Taiylor, just as I had thought.

“You must not do business with the devil, Father. Phersetos is lying!’” Despite her fear, the girl bravely shouted at Kaisa Taylor. “He’s trying to use my father to break the seal. If you do the wrong thing, the whole empire will be…….”

“Shut up! I…….”

The man forcefully pushed the girl into a corner. His expression was as terrifying as a wild beast.

“It is to punish evil through Perseus and make the Empire and the world a better place…… I……”

“Darkness isn’t evil, Father. Winchester… It’s a… balance…”

But the girl couldn’t continue her words.

A grayish energy emanating from Kaisa Taylor’s body blocked the girl’s mouth. The girl’s eyes grew increasingly filled with fear.

“I will become the hero and savior of the Empire. I will become the most powerful being.”

The ball she held fell to the ground. The smoke from the man’s body covered my vision, and a dreadful warning appeared.

[This information can destroy the psyche of the bearer.]

However, I regained my composure and approached Kaisa and Eshir.

This is nothing more than a thought engraved on an object.

“I am the Chosen One. Mechius has chosen me. He wishes to purify the unholy and fill the world with light.”

Kaisa’s pupils were not normal. They were empty, as if consumed by something.

“Eshir!!!”

I raised my voice and called out to Eshir. 

Hector had asked me to find out why Kaisa had harmed Eshir. The answer was that Eshir had used her Quenne powers to spy on Kaisa’s less-than-perfect dreams and discovered his plot.

The visions I had seen were undoubtedly true. But there was one more thing that bothered me.

So, I scanned my notes more closely.

And I found a passage that mentioned Kaisa’s experiments with Eshir, in which he tried to summon the ancient dragon Mechius to speak to him, though he failed.

I wondered what Kaisa was trying to talk to Mechius about.

“…….”

Eshir looked in my direction. I knew I was not there with them.

This was all merely a projection of Eshir’s memories within her golden ball. Nevertheless, I reached out to her with all my might.

“Eshir!”

And at that moment, the white smoke of Kaisa’s assault oxidized into dust, and I saw Eshir’s form clearly before me.

Eshir was looking at me. Her red hair and blue eyes looked exactly like someone I knew.

Someone I had only seen once but was separated from forever.

“The day will come when evil swallows up all good. Carry out the mission from Quenne. The key of Mechius will gather the four dragons together again.

This is a prophecy from the Great Dragon.”

Eshir’s memories, uttered in many voices. A message, a voice.

‘The key of Mechius’, a term that could not be found in any book.

Gather the four dragons?

I wondered what it meant.

Kaisa’s angry face flared at Eshir’s words. Kaisa believed that he was the Chosen One, that Taylor would be the ruler of the Empire.

“I’m supposed to work with the Winchesters to prepare for the coming evil that will one day break the seal? Shut up. I will destroy them and strip them of their power.”

And then I was witnessing Eshir’s final moments. 

Eshir lying in a glass tube, liquid slowly filling it. I was looking at her through the glass.

My face reflected in her blue eyes.

Eshir’s lips moved.

“Sa…… sha.”

And in that moment, darkness engulfed my vision and a message appeared.

[The aura of Black Flame in the artifact neutralizes powerful memories.]

[Successfully read all the memories within the Golden Ball.]

I opened my eyes and saw the ceiling of my chamber.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

“Are you awake?”

It was Hector Winchester, who spoke in a voice of pure admiration.

I slowly pulled myself up and looked at Hector.

Behind him, Maya was patting her chest.

“No matter how hard I tried to wake you up… you didn’t wake up… I was worried.”

* * *

“They say evil will appear! That we should get along…….”

Inside the library, I turned to Hector Winchester, who sat across from me.

One hundred years ago, Kaisa Taylor killed his daughter, Eshir, because she stood in the way of his ambitions.

Though I don’t know the details, it seemed like Eshir’s bloodline was connected to Quenne, and she received a prophecy.

A noble voice told her that the four great families must join forces, but Kaisa thought he was the only one chosen by the great dragon, Mechius.

“Kaisa wanted to become a supreme being. That’s why he killed Eshir!”

[Quest Complete: You have completed the quest of Hector Winchester.]

[Achievement: Intelligence increased by (+3).]

Eshir was just a little girl.

Was Kaisa really so insane that he would do something like that to her?

“So, we should inform the rest of the family…….”

“They already know.”

I was stunned by Hector Winchester’s words.

“You do?”

“The truth about Eshir was revealed, and the three families joined forces to stop Kaisa.”

The truth I’d just seen in the golden ball was already known to all?

Then why are the Houses still unable to unite and keep each other in check?

“I suppose you’re wondering why the Winchesters and Taylors are at odds after such an eerie prophecy.”

“Because it’s been so long?” I offered my own reasoning.

It had been 100 years since the incident, so the wariness might have faded.

At my words, Hector smirked, then spoke again.

“It’s not entirely baseless. But there are two real reasons…….”

“…….”

I focused on Hector’s words.

“The first is pride.”

At that moment, it felt like a heavy weight settled in my chest.

With the threat of Phersetos, the evil sealed by Mechius, potentially causing the world’s destruction, they were at odds merely due to their pride?

“The deep-rooted grudges formed over a long period are too ingrained to be easily undone. We can only stand at a distance and stare at each other. Pride is both honor and the identity of the family,” Hector continued. “As long as neither side bows down, there can be no easy resolution.”

Listening, I raised my eyebrows and boldly spoke up. 

“If the world falls apart, family names are useless!”

At the sound of my voice, Hector burst out laughing. It was the first time I saw him laugh like that.

“Yes, you’re right, Sasha.”

After laughing for a while, Hector spoke again.

“And the second is confidence. When a common enemy arose, the families banded together to stop it. We condemned Kaisa for borrowing the power of evil.”

I stared at Hector, dumbfounded, as he said that.

“So… if another enemy appears, everyone will gather their strength and wisdom once again. No matter how formidable the enemy may be.”

The world I read about in <Taylor’s Home> was undoubtedly flat. Good and evil were clear, and so were the types of people.

But the world I see here…… is different. It was alive, breathing, pulsating, and shining brightly.

Even if this is a villainous family, and I am the daughter of a villain, we have our own narratives.

The gold ball on the desk glinted in the sunlight from the window.

Hector watched me for a moment, then spoke.

“Somehow you managed to get this far. I have to give you credit for your extraordinary mental strength, Sasha.”