episode_0052

Autumn passes by.

This year’s temperatures have become chilly, particularly earlier than usual.

Red fallen leaves dyed the garden, creating an exotic landscape.

“Kkiing… Kkiing…”

“…”

Hailey groaned weakly. And Baekryeon sat down in front of her, looking up at the autumn sky.

“Are you worried?”

“Kku, kkuu…”

“… I still don’t know what to say.”

If it were Bernacien, she would have immediately interpreted what Hayley meant. But she is not in a position to be here at the moment.

Perhaps it was something that happened before the summer was over. The big incident where Bernacien suddenly fainted.

The mansion was turned upside down.

The Duchess, who was pregnant, collapsed without warning. It was an event that shook an entire family.

Since then, Bernacien has not been able to walk properly. He spends almost every moment in bed, and even the walks he enjoyed so much are limited to walking around the room.

“On the topic of witches… You shouldn’t be so weak that you can’t answer.”

“Boom! Woof woof!”

“You’re so good at listening to gossip.”

It was a truly extraordinary upheaval. Her physical condition, which had been 200 years old, had deteriorated so rapidly. Even if we calculate it in proportion, Bernacien should have been able to live for several hundred years.

The entire mansion was in turmoil as not only the attending physician but also all of Herreis’ inventions could not find the cause.

“Hey.”

“Grrr…”

“Verna asked me to tie your scarf properly if it is loose.”

Baekryeon asked calmly.

“Would you allow me to do so?”

“Puchuhut.”

The guy exhaled forcefully, as if coughing. Rarely, Baekryeon instinctively caught the resignation mixed in his exhalation.

Then his hands went to Hailey’s neck, and he delicately tied the blue scarf that seemed to embrace the autumn sky around her neck like a necklace.

“Is this really that good? A normal dog would have been uncomfortable and shaken off a long time ago.”

“Krrrr, woof!”

“… Yes, each person… No. Every living being has their own personal happiness. For you, that scarf must be an unchangeable happiness.”

Baekryeon reflected anew on what her happiness was.

Since the tragedy of the Demon Realm, happiness was considered a lost thing that could never be found again. However, Baekryeon was forced to admit one disgusting truth while staying in Arkaden’s mansion.

Honestly, I’ve had a pretty decent life. I find fulfillment in the little things in life. Some people would define this as happiness.

It was welcome, and he was disgusted with himself for welcoming it. Especially since he had repeatedly convinced himself that he was not worthy of finding happiness.

“… Berna must be precious. You.”

“Wow!”

“Maybe the direction of our hearts is the same.”

The atmosphere in the mansion seems to be getting more and more gloomy. The more it feels like that, the more I feel a bad feeling about it.

I have a feeling that these gentle days, this everyday life that embraces me with happiness, are actually maintained on the thin glass floor called Vernaciennes.

“Don’t change.”

Hailey nodded her head diagonally.

“That’s right, keep hating me. I want you to be that kind of guy who favors Berna and barks at Attila.”

Even if this entire mansion were to turn into a mask, I would still be able to have this little chat in front of you…

I hope you stay the same.

“I guess I should get up soon. Since Berna collapsed, the temperature has been fluctuating wildly, so I have a mountain of work to do.”

Baekryeon unconsciously tried to place her hand on Hailey’s head, but quickly withdrew it. Then she relayed another message she had almost forgotten.

“Verna asked you to do something.”

“Kkiing?”

“Please be a great knight for the child who will be born. I trust you more than anyone in the mansion.”

Baekryeon ended her speech awkwardly.

“… That’s what he said.”

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Hailey stood up on her hind legs and trotted off. Baekryeon saw her enthusiastic gesture of acceptance before she completely shook herself off.

His steps were slow as he walked towards the mansion.

Squeak… thud!

A heavy air current lingered in the mansion, along with the sound of rusty hinges on the front door, greeted Baekryeon.

◇

November 1, 501 Imperial Calendar. All Saints’ Day.

The birth pangs of Bernacien Arcaden have begun.

From the duchess’s bedroom, where only the midwife and the attending physician were allowed to enter, painful moans were heard. As the moans leaked out, it seemed as if Herreis’ world was about to crumble.

Since ancient times, doctors have recommended abortion.

Bernacien’s body was so weak that it was almost too weak. Last month in particular, Bernacien’s condition was so bad that it felt like his bones were almost touching each other.

According to the attending physician, if the birth is successful, it will be a miracle. He declared that unless a miracle occurs, both the mother and the fetus will die.

So, in order to save the mother’s life, I dared to suggest an abortion. As a doctor, it was a difficult thing to say even if it meant my throat would fall off.

Herreis reluctantly lowered his head. It was a de facto acceptance.

Although he had made such a heavy decision, Bernacien’s will was stubborn. He firmly maintained his position that he would definitely have a child.

No matter how weak a person is, a witch is still a witch.

If she truly wanted it, there was no way a mere mortal could stop it.

Days of suffering like that continued until we reached the present.

Outside the Duchess’ bedroom, Herreith and two of her closest associates sat together.

It was the butler Baekryeon and the maid Attila.

Only those three people could hear Bernatien’s screams of pain.

I never dreamed that she, who was always cheerful, would scream so loudly. I never even imagined it.

The labor was long.

Two hours, three hours passed, and finally half a day passed. If it had been a normal person, something would have gone terribly wrong at that point.

But Bernacien continued her difficult fight as if to prove that she was a witch.

The effort paid off─.

After about eight hours of labor, the screaming finally subsided.

“Why, why… is no one coming out…?”

Herreis muttered ominously. He wished he could kick open the door and check on his companion right away.

The door opened ten minutes later.

“The Duchess has given birth. However…”

“Ah…!”

Boom, boom, boom!

Hereis rushed into the scene without even listening to the doctor’s report. However, darkness suddenly gathered over Hereis’ face, which had been filled with joy.

“Bell…?”

The husband called his wife, but she didn’t move at all. She just closed her eyes and gave a faint smile.

“Bell… Bell…! Wake up, Bell…!!!”

“Your Majesty…”

The attending physician behind me lowered his head as if he was ashamed.

“Why… are you looking at the floor like that…?”

“I’m sorry. It was impossible for me to save both lives with my own abilities.”

“…”

Herreus’s hand wanders aimlessly through the air, lost.

Even though he clenched his fists, he suddenly covered his forehead and repeatedly washed his face with water.

Herreus remained frozen for a long time after that, only to finally come to his senses.

“What about the child…?”

Creak, and Herreis’s head turned.

But the attending physician’s reaction was strange.

The child must have been conveying the nuance of having been saved, but for some reason he was having a hard time coming up with an answer.

“Why aren’t you answering…? I asked where the child was…!”

“That, that… Your Majesty…”

dump!

The attending physician quickly knelt down.

“Your Majesty! I have seen nothing today, and I have done nothing! I will cut out this day from my life, so please be lenient…!”

“This is just not making any sense…!”

Phew!

Herais pushed the doctor’s shoulder and forced his way into the screen. In the meantime, Baekryun and Attila were finally able to enter the Duchess’ bedroom.

“… Berna?”

“Bell…!”

Only then did the two realize that Bernacien’s lively energy had completely disappeared.

She was a woman who was full of life in every word and action. It was hard to believe, even though I was witnessing with my own eyes, that such a woman was cooling off.

“… This won’t do. Berna.”

The existence of prophecy was severe.

She was a woman who was destined to appear as a witch and bring down all the stars of the empire.

That’s why both Herais and Baekryeon were worried but also relieved. In any case, they judged that since Verna was a witch of prophecy, she would never die from childbirth.

“…… If you were to do this… it wouldn’t have been right. Berna.”

The prophecy is over.

The witch is dead, and the empire will enjoy a stable and peaceful era.

In other words, Baekryeon was completely liberated from the fate of a warrior and became a free being.

“Like this… so vain…”

If this was fate.

If it was you who would leave like this.

‘Why did I have to fall into this world?’

I want to ask this world what the meaning of existence of the human named Baekryeon was.

What on earth do you want to achieve by toying with and manipulating people’s lives? I want to grab fate by the scruff of the neck and vent my pent-up anger.

That was when.

“Ha…!”

From inside the curtain, Herais’s empty breath could be heard.

Chorus!

He walked briskly forward, removing the curtain. Following that, Herais glared at Baekryeon with a look of disgust and left the room roughly.

I instinctively feel that something is wrong.

Baekryeon tried hard to suppress her impatience and took careful steps forward. Then she quietly removed the curtain through which Herais’ empty breath had leaked out.

Strangely enough, the child’s crying was not heard. Thinking back, it would have been normal for the child’s loud crying to have erupted at the moment the Duchess’ bedroom door opened.

“…”

When Baekryeon finally looked at the child in the small cradle, he realized the reason for the disgust that Herace had sent.

I ended up understanding it intuitively.

“What the heck… why…”

Black is a symbol of misfortune and death. Therefore, it is a taboo color that should be rejected.

That must be the case.

The baby, who did not cry in the cradle and opened his eyes blankly, had ebony in his eyes.

Also, the pitch-black hair that grows like fluff sparsely colors the head of a life that has just begun to move.

The child who stepped into the world by stepping on Bernacien’s body was a girl with black hair and black eyes.