Chapter 46

46. Papa

Aiden threw a bloody sword onto the ground.

Clang.

The sword fell on the floor with a sharp sound. There were many dead bodies next to it. It wasn’t his sword anyway, so it didn’t matter if it rolled in the dirt.

‘You’ve prepared thoroughly.’

Aiden knew who was responsible as soon as he saw the crowd that attacked the procession.

Devlin’s Emperor, Veron Arthur Devlica.

The personnel who were watching Aiden were busy clashing with the enemy, so they didn’t notice that Aiden disappeared. It wasn’t that Ermano’s knights were lax. As the Emperor was involved with the escort, the number of troops were rather excessive.

However, the enemy was aware of Ermano’s troop deployment and searched for weaknesses. There were more than five master-level wizards deployed for one person.

At first, the Ermano ranks, who managed to endure well, were destroyed by magic. A powerful magic filled with madness that was casted at the risk of one’s own life.

The soldiers began to panic when their commanders, sword masters Esteban and Lissandro were paralyzed.

The establishment of this plan required two conditions.

‘Internal traitors and external assistants.’

He had already seen Viscount Targo, so there was no reason he couldn’t infiltrate Ermano with other people.

With Devlin’s audacity, he would have secretly leaked Ermano’s military secrets.

‘It doesn’t matter though.’

Aiden wasn’t interested in whether Ermano was beaten by Devlin or not. His only concern was the safety of the Emperor, Mabel.

Mabel’s life was in danger because the stand-in-Emperor and the other sword master, Lissandro, were killed. He was the only one who could protect the baby.

‘It’s okay. She’s still okay.’

Moving through the forest unnoticed by the soldiers, the front became noisy. Aiden instinctively disappeared.

Aiden was familiar with the person who appeared.

“Viscount Targo.”

Devlin’s Emperor, Veron’s, henchman who did not like Aiden.

Aiden jumped out without delay and overpowered Viscount Targo.

“Cough…who, Aiden?”

“Long time no see.”

Unlike the surprised Viscount Targo, Aiden remained calm. So first, he calmly broke both his arms.

Crack.

“Aaaahk!!”

After hearing Viscount Targo’s shout, the chasing knights came running.

“Cissero!”

They were astonished at the unexpected sight.

“…Devlin’s devil?”

Devlin’s devil was overpowering Cissero, the traitor.

“Cissero?”

Aiden’s eyes moved to the back of Cissero’s head.

Only then did Aiden realize that he had made a mistake.

‘He’s Viscount Targo in Devlin, but here he uses a different name.’

The note he sent to help Mabel was useless.

Cissero gritted his teeth and cursed Aiden.

“Dirty bastard. So it’s true that you betrayed the Lord and joined Ermano. Do you think you’ll be safe?”

“You’re noisy.”

When Aiden hit the back of his neck, Cissero lost his consciousness. He then threw Cissero to the knights standing in the distant.

“He is called Viscount Targo in the Devlin Empire. He has a sneaky tongue so watch him closely in custody… after that, take care of it however.”

“Thank…you?”

‘Is it right to be thankful…?’

As Aiden’s position was ambiguous, it was also ambiguous how to treat him. He moved over to the knights who were looking at him with stupid looks.

“Hey. Don’t you think we should grab him?”

“How many lives do you think we have?”

The knights were anxious about whether they should let Aiden be, but they couldn’t help it.

It was then. Before Aiden could take a few steps, rain of light began to pour down from the sky.

“This…”

The warm sense of light that disappeared as soon as it came into contact was something he knew. It was Mabel’s energy.

“……!”

As soon as he thought that something may have happened to Mabel, his legs started moving.

Out of the thick forest, Aiden faced a devastated procession.

The wagon was lying on its side because of the big explosion, and all the nearby vegetation was burned down and turned into piles.

Aiden found it quickly.

“Mabel!!”

The sight of Mabel falling helplessly and Esteban hugging the child with a pale face.

The rain of light was still falling. But Mabel, who brought out the miracle rain, exhausted all her divine power and lost consciousness.

“Mabel. Wake up. Mabel…”

Oscar, trembling, held Mabel’s hand tightly, but the child did not wake up.

***

Though there may have been fatalities, Mabel’s miracle left no one injured. Under the order of the stand-in-Emperor, the procession picked up the dead and rushed back to the Imperial Palace without a break.

It’s been a week since she lost her consciousness.

Mabel wouldn’t wake up.

The Imperial doctors went in and out of Mabel’s bedroom constantly, but there was no signs of recovery.

The miracle caused by Mabel spread and everyone knew about it.

That the light saved the dying stand-in-Emperor and healed everyone in the procession. It was talked about like a legend.

No one could deny that Mabel was God’s seed.

However, Mabel, who caused the miracle, failed to wake up. Her blue eyes did not show as if she had fallen into eternal sleep.

Time passed for the blood to dry. Esteban was out of his mind while Mabel didn’t wake up.

He completely rejected his food and drinks and focused solely on Mabel.

No one could tell Esteban to get rest because of the bleak atmosphere.

‘It’s my fault.’

Esteban suffering from remorse, buried his face in Mabel’s hand.

‘If only I hadn’t been paralyzed like an idiot. No, if I moved together with Mabel. No… if only I had rejected the rain ritual till the end.’

Regret was hanging onto him like a tail. But what happened had already happened, and Mabel didn’t open her eyes.

Esteban heard reports of the attack despite his splitting headache. It was Aiden who directly overpowered Cissero and became a witness.

“He is a man from Devlin.”

“…he is a man called Viscount Targo.”

“Yeah. He is one of Veron’s trusted henchmen.”

It was assumed that Aiden was not in the same boat because he broke his arms and overpowered him.

Aiden even went so far as to run back wildly and break all his limbs when he recovered because of Mabel’s miracle.

Oscar seemed to be holding on well for the first few days, but after five days, he burst into tears and beat himself up.

“I should have protected Mabel, Royal Father. It’s all because of me.”

“No, Oscar. I, too, should have protected you and Mabel… I’m sorry.”

“No, Royal Father. It’s okay to blame me. Mabel was actually afraid to go outside the Imperial Palace, so I should have protected her…”

Esteban found out for the first time that Mabel was afraid of going to a strange place. He was upset for not noticing.

Two more days have passed since then. Mabel’s situation remained the same. Two days was enough for Esteban’s patience to run out.

Esteban looked at the doctors and muttered, “I will kill you all.”

“Your, Your Majesty…!”

“Who said that she would wake up after just some rest?”

The doctor exchanged glances among themselves. Someone definitely said that. It was because there was nothing wrong with Mabel’s body.

“Please forgive us. In all of our opinions, Her Majesty’s inability to wake up is not a medical reason!”

The doctors boiled to their knees and begged for their lives. Esteban’s cold eyes were seething as he was going to pull out a sword.

“Get lost.”

After Esteban’s orders, the doctors rushed out of the bedroom.

Esteban covered his eyes with his hand.

“Ha.”

He hadn’t slept for over a week. He had an unpleasant headache and it was hard to control his occasional destructive impulses. If it were a battlefield, he could cut anyone down to relieve his unbearable desire.

At that one moment, there was one person who came to mind. He removed his hand from his eyes.

The blue eyes that shone brightly in the dark. And that day, a porter carrying a body went to the dungeon.

***

Sitting by Mabel’s bedside, Esteban clenched his fist hard.

‘I broke my promise with Sianna.’

He couldn’t keep his promise not to kill others easily.

“Me like this, you would understand.”

Since he was the one who tried to kill Sianna and his precious daughter.

“…you have to understand.”

Since any parent wouldn’t be able to leave someone like him alone.

He didn’t want to sin for Sianna. Because then he would make the same choice he did back then.

It was getting harder and harder to stay sane. His rational judgement was clouding.

There was an urge to enter Devlin right away and cut Veron Arthur Devlica’s neck.

“I should have killed him then.”

He let him live by mistake, and then he went after Mabel’s life.

In the end, the one he left alone, because he wouldn’t be able to harm him, put his daughter in danger.

“…Mabel.”

When he closed his eyes for a moment, he could hear Mabel’s voice, bringing him to his senses.

“Dwon’t go. Dwon’t thwow me away.”

“Dwon’t leave me awone…!”

Why would a child say that? He couldn’t have gone anywhere without Mabel. He also didn’t raise her to be a child who would be afraid of being abandoned.

The time Mabel didn’t open here eyes passed slowly and coldly. It was not clear how many days had passed since then to whether it was daytime or nighttime.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Your Majesty, it is Gustav.”

Gustav’s gaze in the bedroom reached Mabel, who was still asleep. Esteban spoke in a low voice.

“How many days has it been?”

“It has been a month.”

It meant that it had been a month since Mabel collapsed. Until now, doctors had tried to wake Mabel up in all sorts of ways, but it had failed repeatedly.

Gustav opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty.”

“……”

“You know, don’t you? There is only one way left.”

“……”

“We have to ask Abelardo for help.”

Gustav put his life on the line. As an aide, he couldn’t just watch Esteban live like a dead man for a month. There was no abnormality in Mabel’s body, so it may be related to the work of her miracle.

Abelardo held the key to solving it.

Esteban made a decision.

“I have to send a letter to Abelardo.”

***

The King, Michael, accepted the letter from the parson. The tail of his lips crept up. He knew what was written without checking the contents.

“It’s faster than I thought.”

He already knew this would happen.

Isn’t it obvious? Compared to the small bowl, the tremendous amount of divine power was barely contained in the immediate overflow.

What Michael did was open up the flow of the sacred power and let it overflow.

It was only a little, but he knew well that the young body would not be able to handle it.

“It’s natural for God’s seed to stay in the Kingdom of God.”

He shouldn’t have endured it. Michael kicked his tongue and opened the letter. It was written as he expected it be.

A courteous request to send a retainer for the un-waken Emperor. The price wasn’t written.

‘We can’t just help you.’

It made him happy thinking about what to ask for. Michael hummed as he wrote his reply.

***

Without a mom and dad, those words and eyes that poured down on her, who lived alone.

All kinds of speculations, rumors, criticism, and sympathy.

Sympathy was rather better. Sympathy may hurt the heart, but it wouldn’t hurt the body.

If a wall is built without letting anyone crack through, pain accumulates quickly.

What was unbearable was poverty, coldness, hunger, and so on. Those were too painful for an abandoned child.

So I often thought that it would be better if I didn’t have a father. Because if I didn’t have a dad, I could enter the orphanage.

Wouldn’t that save me a little from poverty?

However, thinking like that felt terrible, so I quickly shook it out of my head.

Actually, I always wanted to lean on someone.

‘I don’t like it when I have terrible summer colds and have to swallow pills without water.’

‘I want someone to wipe off my sweat and wish for my recovery.’

‘If you cared about me.’

‘…I want someone to love me.’

I wanted to receive such a love even just once. An overflowing affection.

It was then.

“Mabel.”

A strange voice called my name. A low but warm and friendly tone.

“Mabel. Wake up now.”

“My heart hurts when you’re sick.”

A crude but careful touch wiped the sweat off my forehead. A shaking hand poured water into my mouth. Even if I spit the water out repeatedly, he didn’t give up until I swallowed it.

‘This… the memory of when I caught a cold after going out.’

I buried it somewhere because I didn’t want to remember it. I’ve never experienced such warm nursing in my life, but I built a wall.

Even though it’s the affection I yearned for. Such an idiot.

Because it was love that I’ve never received before, I didn’t think it was real. But those feelings were sincere.

You threw yourself to protect me and you called me the your daughter, the one you love the most.

So.

‘If I open my eyes, I’ll definitely tell you.’

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The moment she thought that, the surrounding became bright.

Blue surprised eyes looking down could be seen. I looked him in the eyes and said,

“…Papa.”

The word I always wanted to say out loud but couldn’t because I was too scared.

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