Chapter : 119
Six years ago.
That day was stormy, with wind and rain battering everything.
Valer was staring blankly into the night, unable to sleep due to his chronic insomnia.
He had succeeded in killing his father, becoming Duke Halbern, and claimed everything—but the Valer who had already been broken could feel nothing.
No sense of accomplishment, pride, victory, or euphoria.
Nothing.
All that remained was a profound boredom and fatigue.
At some point, he could no longer sleep without the warmth of another person, and many women had come and gone in his bedroom—but that, too, was temporary.
Eventually, when the scent of others became unbearably unpleasant, he unconsciously felt he might strangle anyone nearby, so he stopped that, too.
He wished even a drug could help.
But his body, hardened to poisons from a young age, was resistant to medicine.
In the end, Valer’s method for surviving long nights was to surround himself with relics and artifacts related to sleep, just to endure even briefly.
Then.
That sound came.
Beep beep.
A brief signal appeared, showing a location and a summon.
It was nothing more than that—but naturally, Valer’s eyes widened.
A relic he had cherished, never once activated, always waiting for the day it would ring.
“No matter where we are in the world, as long as we have this, we’re connected.”
“This will let me find you, and let you find me.”
This ancient artifact, consisting of two matching pieces, was a treasure that Sione’s older sister had secretly given to Valer before her marriage.
The moment he saw the summon signal, Valer moved—without telling a soul.
He carefully ensured no one could track him, using every artifact and relic he possessed to swiftly make his way.
Finally, he could save his sister.
Though he had prepared other means for Sione’s liberation, it was even better that she had escaped first and sent a rescue request.
The place he ran toward, thinking he would protect her at all costs, war or otherwise, was a nameless rural village at the eastern edge of the Southern Empire.
“Sione.”
The rough clothes borrowed from a local villager could not hide her beauty.
Valer recognized his sister at a glance.
Pale and fragile, almost about to collapse, Sione greeted him with a bright smile.
“Valer. My dear little brother.”
Though he had grown taller than her now, Sione still looked at him like a child.
“Sister.”
Time seemed irrelevant between them; overcome by longing and joy, Valer tried to embrace her—but stopped.
Sione was holding something.
Something wrapped in a bundle.
The moment he saw the newborn, Valer’s expression hardened.
“That child…”
It struck him that Sione had changed a lot since he last saw her.
Her body had grown thinner, her skin—once fair and delicate like a baby’s—had become pale and rough.
Yet her eyes remained as bright and clear as ever.
“Valer, thank you for coming.”
“Who called me? Of course I had to come.”
“Still, it must have been hard for you.”
Before they could properly share the joy of reunion, Sione handed the child in her arms to Valer, as if she had been waiting.
“Sister…?”
“Please take good care of this child.”
Her expression was heavy.
As if apologizing for making such a request.
“You’re the only one I can ask.”
“What request?”
“Raise this child well. Beautifully, lovingly.”
Valer could not understand why his sister, whom he had come to rescue, would make such a request.
“But you should come too. I’ll—”
“Valer.”
“…”
“My dear little brother.”
Sione shook her head.
Valer fell silent.
Her clear, steadfast eyes seemed already to have made a decision.
She was… planning to die.
Or perhaps she was already dying.
His breath caught.
Unsure of what to say, Valer only parted his lips and pressed them together again, afraid that speaking might make things irreversible.
“I—”
“…”
“I’ll do something—”
Sione slowly shook her head.
“This is not something you should bear.”
“Sister.”
“Valer.”
Just as Valer had endured so much, it seemed Sione had gone through her own immense struggles.
“I cannot go.”
Even if he wanted her to, even if she desired it, this world would not allow her to.
Sione, calm and composed, comforted Valer with her voice.
She did not want him to suffer or be in trouble because of her.
“So this is my choice.”
Her steady eyes held not a trace of regret.
“Before anyone dares to punish me, I will…”
“…”
“decide my own end.”
Sione smiled.
“Without belonging to anyone, without being possessed by anyone, I will choose my own ruin with my own hands.”
Yet it was Valer, not Sione, whose hands shook as she calmly spoke of the end.
Sione smiled, brushing away his damp lashes.
“So don’t cry.”
Her small body embraced him, taller now than hers.
“My poor little brother.”
So gentle.
“You must be happy.”
So kind.
“Be happy, Valer.”
A blessing that felt like a curse.
“Now go, before he comes.”
Valer could not possibly refuse her.
Her final embrace, apologizing for such a request, sent him off with the most pitiful yet beautiful smile.
“The child’s name is Arellyn.”
Valer woke from a brief sleep, half-remembering.
Seeing the familiar ceiling, he raised his arm to shield his eyes.
“Ah…”
The vivid memory of that moment tormented him every time.
Lowering his arm, staring blankly at the ceiling, Valer turned his gaze. A previously blurry portrait came into focus.
A woman with a dazzling smile.
“Sister, you really were full of secrets.”
Even as Valer murmured to himself, the woman in the portrait offered no answer.
He gazed quietly at someone who had shared overflowing love and happiness with him and then disappeared, leaving him alone.
“So… did you get what you wanted, Sister?”
What secrets could Dad possibly be hiding?
“Grow up safely until then.”
“I’ll do anything for you.”
Seeing him always gave a sense of danger and tension, and yesterday was even worse.
“In the end, you didn’t tell me who Mom is.”
His doubts about whether Dad was truly his biological father grew stronger.
“You sent me away to protect me.”
Do fathers normally say that?
“Hmm…”
He was curious about Dad’s hidden secrets, but facing him, looking at him with eyes full of guilt and regret, made everything else seem irrelevant.
The past didn’t matter.
What mattered was the present.
In that sense…
“This is a bit of a problem.”
I was in a current predicament.
An invitation from the Mage Tower.
“★Lucky Winner!★
This lucky letter originates from the Mage Tower…”
“Lucky letter?”
Receiving a “lucky letter” that would bring misfortune if she didn’t arrive at the Mage Tower within three days, I fell silent for a moment.
‘Still won’t give up…’
The Mage Tower was obsessed with me.
The princess was hiding her identity.
“The world won’t leave me alone.”
The Tower seemed to have changed its method since I hadn’t appeared, and I was in trouble. I just want a quiet life!
“Sigh… what do I do about this?”
Vrrr-
“It’s your fault! What are you going to do, Arel?”
Ether buzzed in complaint.
“How did my life get so messed up?”
I was already busy trying to stay healthy, and now this.
And it wasn’t just the exercise-hell manager, Pession, making life difficult.
“Arel! Hurry!”
“Arel! Quick!”
The mischievous twin demons suddenly appeared, grabbed my arms, and restrained me.
“From now on, we—”
“We’re heading to Sperom!”
