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‘Theon, just…Did he suddenly get dark?’
When he was with Julia, he had the same symptoms and realized that it was just him.
‘What? What is this phenomenon?’
Fortunately, this phenomenon mostly occurred on a dark night, and people have mistaken the darkness for a brief flicker.
But Theon knew.
that the phenomenon originated from him. That it was the work of a ‘dark spirit’ that wanders around him at will. And the phenomenon got worse within a year.
The spirit’s power, which was a little uncomfortable at first, but negligible, killed the little flying insects that Theon couldn’t handle, and then it got stronger and killed the little bird yesterday.
The power of the dark spirit is a constant power. The power of silence, darkness, and death. The spirit’s power grew stronger, but Theon didn’t know how to control it.
“Why did I have this power?”
It has been a hundred years since the Spirit of Darkness did not appear in the Fried family. Everyone knew that it was because Fried’s blood, which he contracted with the dark spirit, had faded over the generations.
However, it suddenly jumped over several generations and his power was manifested from him. Like it’s the powerful inheritance in the blood of the old contract.
Julia hugged Theon, who was trembling in fear.
“It’s okay. You will get better soon.”
“What if someone gets hurt?”
Theon asked, resting her forehead on Julia’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. Fried’s blood has faded, so it won’t be strong enough to hurt anyone. We’ve sent a letter to the Fried family, so let’s wait until we get a reply.”
‘The Fried family had a lot of data related to the dark spirits, so I didn’t know if Duke Fried would send us a book or give us information he knew.’
“And Theon, why don’t you be honest with Ray?”
“What?”
“Ray knows how to deal with the Spirit of Light. Maybe he can help you.”
“I always asked, but Ray talked and communicated with the spirit from the beginning.”
‘But I’m not.’
Unlike the spirits of light, who are active and sociable, the spirits of darkness are silent and do not respond no matter how much you talk to them.
“You don’t have a connection or anything?”
“Can I say communication?”
The relationship between Theon and the spirit was one-sided. The dark spirits quietly declare what they want to do to him, then do what they want and then disappear.
After frantically searching the books in Episteme, Theon found out that the problem was spirit affinity.
Spirits come to the human world through a blood contract with the spirit.
However, another matter was whether or not you could control the spirits that had passed into the human world. In order to control the spirits well, you need to have a high spirit affinity.
However, Theon had a low affinity by nature.
“In the past, there were many Frieds who dealt with spirits, so people with high affinity even dealt with the spirits of people with low affinity.”
So, a person with a high affinity naturally became the Fried head. But now, there was no one other than Theon who knew how to deal with spirits.
Theon gripped the teacup.
The words he wanted to ask Rey immediately reached the end of his throat, but he swallowed his worries.
Ray was a friend, but he was the Crown Prince. Rey always had a bright face, but Theon knew. Ray had the heavy burden of being the crown prince, and it was hard.
The words that said he wanted to quit the Crown Prince as if laughing and joking came out of deep sincerity.
But Rey didn’t show any hard feelings except for Theon.
His father, who was the emperor, was strict, his mother died very early, and his younger sister, who was smarter than him, was ill and left for treatment in a separate palace.
Perhaps because of the early death of his mother, he had a special attachment to his family. He has to listen to his father, protect His only sister, and prepare to become an emperor.
Nevertheless, he was born bright and clear without ever getting angry, so he never complained to people.
Knowing this, Theon did not want to hand over his serious problems to Ray.
At least he wasn’t going to tell Ray until he did everything he could.
“I will wait until I get a letter from Fried.”
* * *
Recently, the Duke of Bronte has been deeply concerned about Ethan.
‘Princess Dorothea is quite interested.’
The Duke rubbed his forehead, thinking of Ethan and Dorothea. Dorothea refused to visit other girls of her age or boys but allowed Ethan to come to the detached palace.
The same goes for visiting the Dukes to see Ethan.
‘After all, she must like Ethan.’
It’s hard to find a young girl who doesn’t like Ethan.
Ethan’s beauty was very good even for his father, the Duke of Bronte. If he officially went out into the social world and showed his face, it was clear that Ethan’s name would reach the Lampas in no time.
‘I’m a little bit worried, but I don’t know. Could he even get into a scandal with the princess?’
Duke of Bronte, was planning to keep Ethan hidden. Born to a bar lady, she was Bronte’s wife. Ethan was born from someone too lowly so it is hard to use him politically.
A son who thought he might be able to get a seat for a wealthy lady in the future because of his outstanding appearance.
However, if the princess looks into his eyes, the words change.
“Ethan the illegitimate son and the Princess who was born without the emperor’s affection…”
‘Aren’t they a pretty good pair?’
Princess Dorothea came down to this distant place on the pretext of recuperating, but everyone knew that she was treated not like a child by the emperor.
The Duke remembered that Emperor Carnan had treated him with greater importance than Dorothea at the previous banquet for the Crown Prince’s banquet.
‘Your Majesty was a bit harsh back then.’
However, even though she received the emperor’s cold treatment, Dorothea was an imperial family.
‘I mean, it’s right after the Crown Prince.’
She is the only member of the royal family under Crown Prince Raymond, so in an emergency, she might rise to a higher position.
‘I’d have a chance now.’
Now that the emperor doesn’t care, the defenseless princess is an easy target. It was a pretty good investment to try for the son of a bar lady.
Even if Dorothea continues to be neglected by the imperial family, it will not be a waste for Ethan.
The Duke of Bronte has already decided.
“Bring the Duchess.”
It had been a long time since the Duke of Bronte had called his wife separately. After Ethan was brought from outside, their relationship had been estranged for a long time. As the years went by, raising their voices and fighting became less frequent, but that didn’t mean they were a friendly and close couple.
Not surprisingly, the Duchess did not respond to the duke’s call.
“If you have a business, she tells you to come and speak directly.”
The servant reported to the duke with a troubled expression.
“That woman!”
The duke was dumbfounded and jumped up from his seat, but strode to the Duchess’s room with his own feet.
“Madam!”
As she entered in a loud voice announcing her arrival, the Duchess glanced at the Duke of Bronte.
“No knocking, rudely.”
“I’m coming to see my wife, should I even knock?”
“It’s noisy, so tell me now.”
As the Duke boils, the Duchess cuts it short. The duke then bit his teeth tightly and held back his anger.
‘If I was angry, I wouldn’t be able to say anything and I just break up.’
Because the words the duke going to bring up today were a good thing to go against the will of the Duchess.
“It seems like Princess Dorothea has a lot of interest in Ethan these days.”
The duke was alluding to his luck. Then the Duchess immediately noticed his intentions and looked at him.
“So you’re going to let the whole world know that you’re sleeping with a bar girl and bringing up a child? You should be ashamed!”
“You are right. okay! it’s all my fault But what’s wrong with that kid? Didn’t you think that too? The child is innocent.”
“….”
“Are you going to lock him up for the rest of your life? Look at Ethan. Now he’s big enough to know the world.”
“I think I’ve done my best for him by raising him. Did I discriminate against him from Jonathan? Dress Ethan in new clean clothes, feed him delicious food, teach him to play the violin, and make him happy! I did all I had to do. But now, are you going to brazenly introduce himself as your son?”
The Duchess said that people would openly swear at them. It will ruin the Bronte family’s honor and make people laugh.
To that, the Duke of Bronte added.
“You, you even thought about sending Ethan to Episteme.”
Ethan wanted to follow Jonathan to Episteme when he was eight.
When his son, who had never begged him to do anything, begged him to do it, the duke, who was weakened, decided to send Ethan to the island of Lampas with a servant and a coachman. The Duchess also readily agreed to it.
“It Was because you and Ethan asked too much. Ethan won’t pass anyway, because of the test.”
The Episteme exam was no joke, and how difficult it was to pass Jonathan.
Although Ethan is brilliant, the Episteme test included swordsmanship and horseback riding. It was a talent that Ethan did not have.
Therefore, the Duchess was convinced of Ethan’s failure and sent him up to relieve his mood. Unfortunately, it was difficult to meet the exam schedule due to an accident on the way up to Lampas, so he couldn’t even take the exam.
At that time, Ethan was so desperate that he shut himself in his room after eating and drinking for a few days.
‘Was he so envious of Jonathan going to Episteme?’
“Do you think Ethan would threaten Jonathan’s place?”
The Duke asked the stubborn Duchess.
“No. Never. Who would put a bar girl’s son on the Duke seat?”
The Duchess was sure that Ethan would fail the Bronte family. Ethan’s succession to the Duke of Bronte was a sign that the family would be destroyed.
Social circles will be arguing about The Bronte family inheriting the blood of bar girls!
This would certainly be unacceptable even for the Duke of Bronte.
‘So Jonathan had to be above Ethan.’