212. Mirror (3)
212. Mirror (3)
- 1 -
Tok-tok.
I turned toward the door at the knock, then glanced back at the garden. Before I knew it, the 'darkness' there had vanished.
If so, it was obvious who was at the door now.
'She's here.'
I drew a long, slow, thin breath.
The master of that darkness—powerful enough that there had been no need to stand on ceremony before the Demon Queen—had arrived.
... My Father had.
"... Rita."
Stella called my name and met my eyes.
A gaze stained with fear.
Looking at those eyes, filled with emotions that could never be described as those of someone welcoming their father, I nodded.
"... Yes."
She tightened her eyes and jaw. It was the face of someone steeling their resolve.
"Come in."
Deolkeong—
The door opened.
Seuseuseuk...!
The first thing I saw was shadow and darkness.
A shadow that stained the floor like seeping tar, while darkness encroached upon the air and spread like fog.
The room, filled with red sunlight only moments before, was now submerged in a pitch-black abyss.
Only the candles and magical lamps scattered throughout revealed the dim shapes of the interior.
'This is Gluttony...'
But I had sensed something even before that darkness arrived.
A gaze from something deep and dark, like a bottomless pit.
The sense of a stare thick with longing, as if looking from across an abyss of fate from which one could never escape once they fell in.
Kkwak...
Stella's hand clutched her garment tightly.
Her face, which had fully recovered from its sickly pallor, grew even whiter.
"Your Highness."
I grasped her hand in return.
This wasn't meant as a display of a handmaiden's dutifulness.
The one approaching before my eyes right now would easily see through my pretense in an instant anyway.
So this was support. A reminder not to forget that I was here.
"... Thank you."
A difficult smile finally appeared on Stella's face.
Jeobeok—
The sound of footsteps entered the room.
Every time that sound echoed, the darkness filling the entire space rippled.
The darkness, praising and lamenting, welcomed his presence.
His figure appeared between the doors.
- Stella.
The Archduke called her by name.
Normally, all nobles—even the mother who bore her—had to address the Demon Queen as 'Your Highness.'
But the one who had come now held the same title of 'Your Highness' as her.
So all that remained was their private relationship.
- ... What is the meaning of this?
The Gluttony Duke's voice was deep. A low whisper, as if from beyond a cave.
In contrast to his presence, his body was very small.
He was tall, but extremely gaunt. For a moment, I thought he had sent a skeleton ahead of him.
But his physique meant nothing.
His presence, which filled the surroundings along with the darkness, was immeasurably vast.
"... I apologize. To be receiving you in such a state."
Stella's voice grew even smaller.
Complex emotions were mixed in her voice.
Fear, longing, and even deep resignation.
I watched them.
The tension flowing between the two was as cold and deep as a river running beneath ice.
What was clear was that it was close to love-hate.
Deolkeong!
Ttubbeok.
The door closed again, and he walked forward with the sound of his boots.
With each step he drew closer, the darkness rippled, and his presence grew even stronger.
- I heard the news... that you were bedridden. My child.
"You must have."
"But you look very well. Much better than I thought."
A voice emerging from the darkness as he revealed himself.
Listening to that voice, I felt goosebumps rise.
It was far too gentle and affectionate to be the voice of Beelzebub, the one called the Gluttony Duke.
But beyond it, a killing intent that had not yet dissipated seeped through, prickling the skin.
Until just moments ago, he had been furious at something that had harmed his 'possession.'
'He resembles me.'
Goosebumps prickled my skin.
A youthful face without a single wrinkle. But crafty and cunning eyes.
That gaze, which saw through the desires of others and examined their essence, was as familiar as looking into a mirror.
"... I hadn't expected to see such a scene either."
His eyes turned toward me.
And in that moment, everything stopped.
Eyes similar to mine.
The same wavelength of magical power.
Even similar desires.
He knew. Who I was.
I realized. What he was to me.
"Your Highness."
I paid my respects with my back straight. But I did not avoid his gaze.
There was no need. We were already recognizing each other.
"Yes. It seems you understand well what this situation is."
The curve drawn at the corner of his mouth was still gentle.
But his energy focused on me, as if testing me.
An oppressive force that felt like it would twist every muscle down to every single bone.
Still...
'It's more bearable than I thought.'
This was a Demon Realm Archduke I was meeting for the first time, unleashing his power without restraint.
But it wasn't unbearable.
Whether I had grown accustomed to the Demon King's presence, or whether I had grown stronger myself.
'Probably both.'
Not too long ago, this would have been quite difficult.
"It appears that the First Demon Queen and the Duke of Envy, both Your Highnesses, have colluded."
"Proof?"
"I still only have circumstantial evidence, but..."
His gaze flashed, and he gave a slight tilt of his chin.
A silent signal to tell everything.
I hid nothing.
That Semira had been regularly sending Stella gifts.
That poison had been mixed into that food.
That the poison reacted with the tea served when meeting guests sent by the Duke of Envy's side.
Everything, from Semira's handmaiden heading to Leviathan's side, to Leviathan's subordinate marquis beginning to move.
His reaction was more composed than I had expected.
"Haydn. So that friend has been up to something amusing. I see."
The Gluttony Duke spoke a name that seemed to be Leviathan's name from his youth.
His tone was very familiar.
But the darkness that radiated from his body was not.
His eyes, similar to mine but tinted more blue, grew darker, and the darkness flowing from his body thickened.
Unlike before, it bypassed both Stella and me, so there was no direct effect, but still.
"You did well. Youngest."
"I only did what I had to..."
I slowly bowed my head, but then stopped.
... What did he just say?
"That child is the youngest?"
"Yes. Stella."
At Stella's question, the Gluttony Duke nodded as if it were obvious, wearing a benevolent expression.
That face even looked touching.
In complete contrast to what I was feeling.
"The very last child among those sent to the surface. And she is my final child."
"How can that be..."
Facing Stella, who was at a loss for words, the Gluttony Duke shook his head and smiled.
Judging by his face alone, he looked the part of an affectionate father.
All while maintaining a pressure like a beast staring at its prey.
"How could a father not remember his child? One who does not isn't fit to be a father."
It probably wasn't my imagination that those words sounded like, 'It's only natural for a master to remember his possession.'
"Look. The youngest, left alone on the surface, grew up on her own and came to assist her older sister. There is no reason not to call you admirable. As expected..."
The Gluttony Duke moved fluidly to meet my eyes.
I bit the inside of my mouth to steady my mind.
"... you are worthy of being called my child."
"Thank... you."
Disgust welled up, but I continued speaking without biting my tongue. He asked me with a smile, as if looking at a child.
"What is your name? You must have a name you chose for yourself on the surface."
He placed his hand on my head.
It felt like goosebumps rose where his hand touched, but I answered with a calm expression and demeanor.
"It is Libertas."
"I see... From today, you shall be Libertas Guila."
The Gluttony Duke attached the surname his blood clan used to my name.
While the Duke of Gluttony Baalzebub was simply 'Beelzebub,' his blood clan needed a surname.
"You are truly beautiful. Beyond what I imagined."
His eyes gleamed as he looked at me.
Like those of a hunter convinced his plan had fallen perfectly into place.
At that, Stella carefully opened her mouth toward him.
"Father. There's something I must tell you about that child... the youngest."
"What is it."
Stella's eyes turned to me. From that careful gaze, I could guess what story she was about to tell.
Yes. She would have to tell him, wouldn't she?
"A marriage discussion is underway between her and the Baritra Marquis Household."
"A marriage discussion, you say?"
For the first time, the Gluttony Duke's brows furrowed.
Genuine displeasure.
A natural reaction from a father hearing that his daughter's marriage is proceeding without his knowledge—but that's probably not the reason.
"Who is the other party?"
"Originally a bastard child, but now the second daughter and illegitimate child... Serica Baritra."
"Hmm."
Soon erasing the displeasure from his face, he met my eyes.
'Heaviness' pressed in from the hand resting on my shoulder.
"What about you? Youngest."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Do you like that child?"
The face asking that question was deeply tender.
Judging by his voice and face alone, he gave the impression that he would pluck even the stars from the sky if he heard his daughter's wish.
Perhaps even I might have been fooled.
If only his eyes hadn't shone with such inorganic light—and if I had been an ordinary Dungeon Lord Libertas, without the memories of 'me.'
Because I wasn't, I could smile.
"Yes. I truly like her."
"Then there's no problem. Only one thing differs, that's all."
I felt a sliver of emotion flicker past beyond his eyes.
Brief enough that an ordinary person would struggle to notice, but dark enough to guess the depth of that feeling.
As could be guessed, it was possessiveness.
"One thing differs?"
"They likely wanted the youngest to become an entity who would elevate their family's glory, but..."
Beelzebub's eyes, as he answered Stella's question, were like those of a predator crouching just before a hunt.
"Since the youngest will be the one to acquire that family... Indeed."
As if suddenly remembering, the Gluttony Duke's eyes gleamed. He looked at me again and asked.
"If you wish, I shall lend you the power to take that family for yourself. What do you say?"
A casual tone, as if talking about taking a snack from the pantry.
In truth, he might well have the ability to do so.
"It's fine."
But whether he had that ability or not, I had no intention of accepting this offer.
'He'll eventually demand a price anyway.'
First, this was a poisoned apple.
"Because if I'm going to obtain it, I want to obtain it with my own hands."
Second, it was because this was genuine.
"... Ho-oh."
He stared at my eyes in silence for a while, then soon drew a satisfied smile.
"As expected, you are my daughter. To be so excellent."
Displeasure welled up once more.
Because I recognized that was the face of a father who had discovered the common ground between himself and his own reflection.
Though I wanted to rebel in my heart, I just shut my mouth.
Even I thought we looked similar, after all.
"Stella. I wish to speak with the youngest for a moment. Will you wait here?"
At the Gluttony Duke's words, Stella's eyes wavered.
Her gaze turned to me, then returned to the Gluttony Duke.
"She's a child who has been away from home for a long time, isn't she. She must have many things she wants to talk about with her father."
His voice was gentle, but his eyes were different.
They were like those of a collector who had finally found a long-sought item.
"Father..."
Stella's voice trembled.
A voice laced with a terror unlike her usual self.
The story she had told me earlier came to mind.
The story of a woman. The final end of someone the Gluttony Duke had 'treasured.'
That she had been imprisoned in the palace basement for trying to run away, and eventually vanished forever.
'His loving someone is more than mere possession. Be careful.'
She had whispered that back then.
The fear in her voice was the exact same as her trembling now.
"Your Highness."
I looked at Stella and nodded.
Signaling that it was fine.
This moment was unavoidable anyway. If he hadn't brought it up, I would have requested it first instead.
Of course, her concerns were not wrong.
For what flickered in the depths of the Gluttony Duke's eyes was clearly a madness filled with possessiveness.
"... Understood."
Having answered the Gluttony Duke, Stella firmly grasped my hand.
"It'll be alright."
"... Your Highness?"
The warmth conveyed from her hand and the sentiment flowing from her eyes reached me.
It wasn't such a bad feeling.
"... Then, please speak freely, the two of you."
Stella rose from her seat. Her gaze, which had lingered on me for a while, slowly turned toward the window.
Like the calm before a storm, a heavy stillness descended upon the room.
The sound of the door closing echoed, as if crossing the threshold of fate.
"You are truly my child. Really excellent."
Once outside, I looked up at him.
"To have succeeded in capturing even your sister's heart in that short time."
In his eyes, which held the same color as mine, a truly genuine satisfaction was imbued.
As if he had just discovered the perfect reflection of himself.