Chapter 172
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172
"A member of the imperial family...!"
A horrified gasp echoed from a distance. It was Rico, bound in chains, crying out in sheer shock. Which meant she was the only one surprised.
"You already knew."
Gabriel seemed to have deduced as much from my calm reaction.
Honestly, with his striking resemblance to the royal family and being the exact same age, it was stranger that no one had realized he was royalty before now. I wanted to ask them why they hadn't noticed. What was this, some kind of magical girl anime where everyone politely waits for the transformation sequence to finish?
Throughout our conversation, Gabriel’s hand twitched over his shirt, as if trying to unbutton it to show me the crest. There was no way he could manage such delicate movements with his freshly injured hands. Figuring it would be faster if I did it myself, I spoke up.
"Where is the crest?"
Isn’t it usually on the back of the neck, where it can be hidden by a collar or hair? I asked casually, but Gabriel lowered his eyes and replied shyly.
"It is near my heart."
"...Near your heart, I see."
I almost blurted out something foolish. Feigning composure, I simply repeated his words.
My fingers hovered in the air, unsure where to go. Gabriel took my hand and pressed it to his chest, directly over his heart, to show me the exact spot. Since his arms weren't bound, he could move them freely, even if his hands were injured.
Warmth seeped into my fingertips. Gabriel had always run hotter than me, but perhaps because he was ill, the heat felt even more intense. For a second, it felt as if my fingers had passed straight through his chest and were touching the very heart beneath his skin.
I quickly pulled my hand back, only to realize I had to touch him again to undo the buttons. I wanted to cry for a number of reasons, but I forced myself to maintain my composure for the sake of my dignity.
I am the infamous Evangeline Rohanson, whose very name could bring down a flying crow. I hadn't shed a single tear when I saw Gabriel gravely injured; there was no way I would cry over something like this.
"Then, I leave it to you."
Gabriel tilted his head back, perhaps to make it easier for me. Personally, I would have preferred he wasn't so considerate.
If a wild beast were standing before him instead of me, its fangs would be in his throat by now. Somehow, I felt that the Gabriel of this moment would have willingly let his throat be torn out, claiming he was powerless to resist anyway.
Because he was pressed so close, I could feel the heat radiating from where our bodies touched. As he shifted, his weight leaned heavily against me.
I began to unbutton his shirt, concentrating on not letting my fingers brush against his bare skin. My movements were careful, starting from his collar and working my way down.
After undoing four buttons, I pulled my hands away. An eternity had finally ended. Thank goodness I didn't have to undo all of them. Thank goodness the crest wasn't on his solar plexus or his lower abdomen.
Having finished my task, I glanced at Rico, hoping she would hurry up and copy-paste the scar—or crest, or whatever it was—and rescue me from this awkward predicament.
However, Rico wasn't even looking our way. To be precise, she couldn't. Pudding was covering her eyes with one hand while glaring fiercely at Gabriel. I only caught a brief glimpse of his venomous expression.
The moment our eyes met, Pudding wiped the scowl from his face as if it had never existed, his expression switching to angelic innocence. Knowing him, he was probably stomping his feet internally, fuming, How dare he make Lady Evangeline serve him!
Just as he had said, there was a crest on Gabriel's chest. It had a pattern, but ultimately, it was nothing more than a scar. I understood now why he had called it a wound.
"When a member of the imperial family is born, they are branded with a dragon crest coiled in a circle. It was carved onto my body, though I only recently learned its meaning."
A dragon eating its own tail? The mythical Ouroboros? No matter how I looked at it, it resembled a snake more than a dragon. If Gabriel hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have recognized it as a dragon at all. An Ouroboros, symbolizing eternity, for the imperial family... I suppose it meant something like "for infinite glory."
Gabriel continued his explanation.
"I have no memory of it, but holy water likely had no effect on me from the moment I was born. His Majesty the Emperor must have been the first to notice my impurity while the crest was being branded. That was probably the beginning of my misfortune. Upon realizing my abnormality, His Majesty announced that I, a mere infant, had died after a difficult birth, and erased my existence."
Even after discovering they were blood relatives, Gabriel's way of addressing the Emperor hadn't changed. From that distant title, I knew he had not accepted his royal status. They might share the same blood, but having been abandoned, he felt no connection. He went even further, harboring a deep loathing for the brand on his body.
"Does this brand not look hideous to you? I have never seen one myself, but from what I've heard, a normal crest doesn't leave a scar like mine. It's supposed to look like a patch of differently colored skin."
He had likely heard that from Princess Jeremia.
"I didn't want to show you," Gabriel murmured, sounding like a vulnerable child.
"Ever since I met you, things like holy water... the love of God... they mean nothing to me. I hated that this trace remained, proof that at the moment of my birth, I had craved God's blessing only to be abandoned by Him."
Listening to him, I finally understood why he had smuggled holy water to support Madame Toten. In this world, where God truly existed and the Temple wielded immense power, being immune to holy water was a sin.
Moreover, Gabriel had belonged to the Temple, the one place where God's favor was felt most acutely. In the midst of all that, wasn't Ryder Toten the very first person of his own kind that he had ever encountered?
Then what about me, who appeared after? Did he feel a sense of kinship? Was that why he had offered to help me when we first met? To Gabriel, what on earth did I represent—someone who had returned from death and provided a way for those immune to holy water to prolong their lives?
Gabriel did not worship God. In a world where everyone took it for granted to revere the sun and rely on God, what did Gabriel, abandoned even by his own family, lean on? Did he find solace in people instead of God?
As if seeking comfort, Gabriel burrowed deeper into my embrace and rested his head on my shoulder. I could feel his warm breath against my neck. He confessed in a whisper.
"I didn't want to show you a scar that belonged to the time before I met you, Lady Evangeline."
He also seemed reluctant to show his face. Though I felt no tears on my neck, I wondered if he might be crying, so I gently covered his eyes with my hand.
His long eyelashes tickled my palm as he blinked. Finding my hand cool, Gabriel leaned into its touch, a balm against his feverish skin. Then, he slowly closed his eyes. I could feel the sensation against my palm as they shut.
His breathing grew faint, almost fading away, before settling into a soft, steady rhythm. Perhaps because his vision was blocked, he seemed to drift off as if losing consciousness. It was a miracle he had managed to hold a conversation for this long in his state.
"Sir Gabriel?"
There was no response. He had fallen into a deep slumber. It seemed his body, which had been running on sheer willpower in the dungeon, had finally collapsed upon reaching a safe place where he could rest.
I placed a hand on his back and patted him soothingly. I briefly regretted not getting things done before he fell asleep, but I quickly dismissed the thought. We could just do it when he woke up.
Ah. Now that Gabriel was asleep, it occurred to me that we weren't alone. Thank goodness we hadn't done anything scandalous. Still, Pudding was bound to throw a fit, fuming, How dare he fall asleep leaning on you!
Wait, actually...
Contrary to my expectations, Pudding wasn't glaring murderously at Gabriel. He wore a strange expression.
"How insolent, falling asleep leaning on someone like that."
He said exactly what I'd expected, but his tone was far softer. Pudding grumbled and scolded Gabriel, but I could sense a subtle shift in how he treated him. If I had to make a comparison, it was similar to how he treated Canna.
Had he felt a pang of sympathy for Gabriel just now? My Pudding, whose empathy had plummeted to rock bottom—a symptom exclusive to puberty? Unfortunately, I didn't know how to read the teenage mind, so I decided to let it go.
But Pudding, could you first remove your hand from Rico's eyes...? I sent him a silent telepathic message. Fortunately, the reception was good, and Pudding pulled his hand away.
When I asked why on earth he had been covering her eyes, Pudding replied in a tone that suggested he didn't quite understand his own actions either.
"That guy said he didn't want anyone to see his scar, so I just..."
In other words, because Gabriel hated his scar and didn't want to show it, Pudding had reflexively covered Rico's eyes. It was his own way of showing consideration.
I almost teared up at how endearing he was. When did our boy grow up so much? To become such a thoughtful child who considers others? Children really do grow up fast. I was deeply moved.
Once freed from Pudding's hand, Rico easily copied Gabriel's crest.
Pudding was right; it was a relief Gabriel was asleep. He found the scar from a time he couldn't even remember far more repulsive than the wounds on his hands and feet. Had he been awake, he would have had to watch that unwanted brand being carved onto a body identical to his own.
"Then, Rico, I'm counting on you."
With her sharp senses, Bishop Marik might realize that the person in the dungeon wasn't Gabriel. Rico was possessed by a demon; if Bishop Marik caught her, she wouldn't die an easy death.
"...Thank you."
After a brief hesitation, I offered my gratitude. Rico looked as though she couldn't comprehend why I was thanking her.
"I was going to die anyway, so I'm glad I can be of help like this."
It was a similar excuse to the one I had used when making her take Gabriel's place. The fact that Rico now bore Gabriel's broken appearance only doubled my guilt.
But staying in the dungeon any longer would only delay Gabriel's treatment and weigh heavier on my conscience. It was time to head to Duke Hosaquin's estate.
"Lady Evangeline, wait a moment."
Rico stopped me just as I was about to leave. Fiddling with her hands, she handed something to Pudding. I wondered what it was, and it turned out to be utterly shocking.
What Rico handed over was a finger.
"...Ugh."
Pudding held the severed finger as if it were trash, looking thoroughly disgusted. Why on earth did she give us a finger...? My bewilderment was short-lived. The finger began to squirm, expanding in size and growing fur until it transformed into a rat. It was the very same rat I had seen all too often at the Duke's estate.
Remembering how Pudding had pulled the snake—the true form—out of Azazel's body, I wondered for a moment if this rat was also the demon's true form, but it wasn't. Rico immediately explained the purpose of the finger-rat.
"Take it with you. If anything happens, I can send word to you through it."