CH 71

Author: arnlian

“That small and insignificant lump is the beginning of the curse.”

[Father said to love all living things. This child is also a life created by father. There must be a reason why I discovered it.

I took it and gave it a name. The guy that has a name devoured everything and gradually grew in size.]

The father mentioned here is Obelus, and according to this bibliography, the Darkness was a failed creation of God.

“It is said that the Darkness that greedily devoured everything soon gained power.”

Aaron, who quickly turned the paper over, pointed to a section.

“One is the ability to shatter its shadow to create a clone, and the other is the ability to devour life.”

This reassures me.

As soon as I heard that story, I immediately thought of Dillian.

“High Priest, I have something to tell you. The curse on sir Dillian is the same as the second power of the Darkness.”

The power to swallow greedily, the ‘emptiness’ that makes it hungry even after eating.

It was clear that the second power of the Darkness belonged to Dillian.

“When the Darkness disappears, we will be able to lift sir Dillian’s curse.”

As if to make up my mind, I held my hands together as if I had promised myself. I looked into Aaron’s eyes and said.

“It must be so.”

Aaron, who looked at me with wide eyes as if surprised, smiled softly.

“Now I understand. Ria-nim, you are coming here to protect His Grace, right?”

To protect? There was no such grand reason.

“I just want to help.”

To let him enjoy the ordinary life that everyone else enjoys.

“Is there anything in the bibliography that says the Darkness lost its power or has been taken away?”

Maybe there was a clue about Dillian’s curse here. But contrary to my expectations, Aaron shook his head.

“There is nothing written about it. Although it is called a bibliography, in fact, it is no different from a diary, so there are many parts that were cut off in the middle.”

Aaron said, this bibliography seemed to record the events of the day as the flow of consciousness rather than information for future generations.

Aina, who was quietly listening to the story, said.

“Maybe he signed a contract like Lexter Blent did. The Duke was born with a curse from birth, so someone from his predecessor may have made a contract with the Darkness.”

Aina’s hypothesis was quite plausible. No, for now, that was the most credible thing to say.

“However, the Darkness was sealed a thousand years ago, so then, did this contract last a thousand years ago?”

I clearly saw the phrase that Darkness was sealed. Didn’t Aaron say it himself?

That the Darkness has been sealed from a thousand years ago.

“It might have woken up in the middle like now, right? It was a thousand years ago.”

We didn’t know what happened in the middle of that.

What is certain is that unlike Lexter, Dillian did not have that power voluntarily.

“What if the Darkness regains all its power?”

This is the most important part. If the Darkness hasn’t completed now, how will the world change once it finds all its powers?

“The world will be covered with night. The sun will never rise, spring will never come, and in the cold winter, we will have to hide from evil curses and monsters.”

The rise of darkness is the empire, no.

The world, it is the end of the world.

“The beautiful world created by Obelus is going to be dirty. I really couldn’t allow it and just waited for it.”

Aaron, a fan of Obelus, showed his intense emotions for the first time.

I nodded my head as I looked at his fists full of strength.

“High Priest is right. So, we need to find the Darkness and destroy it as soon as possible.”

And now was the opportunity.

“Lexter was hit by an arrow I shot. He couldn’t have avoided the fatal wound. Even the Darkness will not be able to move quickly.”

“He aims for the Duke to find his power, so we must protect the Duke and fight the Darkness.”

I paused for a moment at Aina’s words.

That’s all true, but it was surprising to see that Dillian is a protected subject in her words.

‘It’s a relief though. The death flag is gone.’

At least, there was no need for Dillian to be judged as an evil monster and executed.

“First of all, the temple is investigating the Darkness. We are also looking for the whereabouts of Lexter Blent.”

“For Lexter’s whereabouts, the Duchy also will be looking for it.”

It was only a matter of time before they were caught as the two groups were chasing them.

There wasn’t much information to share, but the tea, which had cooled down, tells us about how much time has passed.

‘It seems like things are going to work out, but it’s still hazy….’

It would be nice to have more information. I glanced at the bibliography on Aaron’s hand and asked carefully.

“Can I take that bibliography and look at it?”

“… Can you read it?”

“Yes, surprisingly I read it well.”

“Have you ever learned an ancient language?”

“Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with learning.”

Aaron, a seminary graduate, could certainly read ancient languages, but I was an awfully shorted–strap bag* commoner.

*It’s an expression used when you want to say someone poorly educated or has a low level of education.

No wonder he was surprised.

‘But I don’t know how I can read this either.’

As if my cheeks were going to be pierced, I wiped the back of my neck at the strong gaze and waved my hand towards him.

“If it’s difficult, you can refuse….”

“No. You can take it.”

It was me who was bewildered by the willingness to hand out the bibliography.

“Is it okay to give it this easily?”

“In principle, you can’t, but Ria-nim wants it, so I have to. Don’t tell anyone, take them secretly.”

Aaron proudly said that he was committing an illegal act.

“I’ll keep my mouth shut too!”

Aina pretended to shut her mouth. An accomplice was quickly found.

Is this fine…?

***

“Ria-nim, I have one more thing to tell you.”

Ria, who was drinking Aaron’s freshly brewed tea, looked up at the voice calling her.

“Yes, go ahead.”

She told him to speak comfortably, but Aaron’s gaze turned to Aina, who was staring blankly.

“Aina, let me talk with Ria-nim for a moment.”

“… Am I not supposed to listen?”

Aina stood up at Aaron, who only smiled without a word. She couldn’t sit any longer under the pressure of silence.

“Ria, I’ll be waiting outside.”

However, Aina, who still had regrets, glanced behind her.

Then, with her shoulders drooping, she headed outside with a stern face facing him.

Ria opened her mouth as the door closed quietly.

“To let Aina out …. Is it an important talk?”

“Do you know about the oracles passed down to the Sinaize family?”

“An oracle?”

Do they have anything like that? Ria blinked at the story she had heard for the first time.

Aaron remembered the oracle that came down the day Dillian was born.

A cursed child will be born to the Sinaize family, and no one can break the curse.

There is only one person who can save him.

Wait for the light. In the year he turns 25, a child of destiny will appear and break the curse.

Aaron smiled as he saw the child of destiny who finally appeared.

“Is that the oracle? The oracle that came down on the day sir Dillian was born?”

“That’s right.”

Ria furrowed her eyes as if she didn’t understand.

“So, in the first place, neither the High Priest nor anyone else could break the curse of sir Dillian?”

But why did the Duke and Duchess take Dillian to the temple?

“Did the previous Duke and Duchess not know about this?”

“No way. As soon as the oracle came down, I notified them. They didn’t want to believe it, so they just rejected the oracle.”

“Why the hell….”

They, the devout believers, did they really reject the oracle?

That said, face was more important than faith.

Did such people really love Dillian, who was born with a curse?

“What happened to sir Dillian here?”

There must be various reasons for Dillian’s extreme hatred of the temple and divine power.

The truth that was never shown in the original work, I didn’t know if I could know that truth now.

Anxiety crept over Aaron’s darkened face.

“His Grace, so Dillian, was baptized here. But to him, it was like torture.”

“Torture…?”

At Ria’s bewildered question, Aaron struggled to open his mouth.

“For someone with a high divine resistance like Dillian, it is painful to just step into the temple.”

It was. This place that overflowed with divinity was the complete opposite of Dillian.

Why didn’t she think of such a simple thing?

“To receive the baptism in this place, where it is difficult for him to breathe, for that child it must have been the same as the pain of supporting the body against the fire.”

Ria couldn’t breathe at the next words.

“But the previous Duke and Duchess didn’t listen to Dillian’s words.”

The Duke and Duchess could not stand to see the cursed Dillian, and visited the temple once a week.

As if they couldn’t even see the face of their son in pain.

“As I said before, it was an incurable curse that I couldn’t solve in the first place. The Duke and Duchess did not admit that.”