# 14
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“No, I grew up as an orphan.”
Upon hearing my answer, Lloyd's eyes shook slightly.
But he quickly regained his calm features and looked at my face asking:
“Do you know anything about the Rosebelair family?”
It was a direct and shocking question.
Am I expected to answer, “Yes, I know them well, in fact I was destined to be adopted into that family, and if that had happened I might have become the Eveliana Rosebiller you are looking for”?
I'm not stupid.
I excluded the events of the novel and answered as much as Kay was supposed to know:
“Are you talking about… the Duke’s family?”
“Do you know anything about her?”
“I don’t know, but I read in the newspapers a few months ago news about a big fire that broke out in the building of the Duchy of Rosibelair.”
"Understood."
There was silence again.
"it's all over."
Because of the stress, the treatment took longer than usual, but my skill did not change.
The large hand that was bleeding profusely was completely treated and no scratches appeared on it anymore.
Not only that, but the old wounds, small and large, completely disappeared and his hand became spotless.
As soon as I finished speaking, Lloyd stared intently at his healthy hand.
“Then... I will return to continue my work.”
I bowed down to bid him farewell, and he opened his mouth and said:
“I will come again.”
What? Will he come again?
He quickly got up and left the tent.
Will he come again?
I screamed in despair inside me: “No, don’t come! I told you not to come!”
After receiving treatment from Kai, Lloyd returned to his residence and sat on the edge of the bed, contemplating his hand that had been treated for a long time.
A woman with a face exactly identical to Eveliana's.
How could he forget that face?
He clearly remembers everything from his “previous life,” from the burning of the palace to the painful moment when his heart was ripped out...
Therefore, from the moment he arrived at Durkan, he knew her at first sight.
That woman who quickly hid as soon as their eyes met.
Her glowing white hair and dazzling beauty are nothing to hide.
A woman who used to shine even among the daughters of nobles could not help but stand out among the common people.
He intended to find the hiding Eveliana and take revenge on her.
He swore over and over again to rip her heart open and make her feel the same pain he had tasted in his previous life.
But, when he only held her arm, and saw her small, weak body groaning in pain, and his eyes met her sad eyes as she trembled in terror and begged him to have mercy on her life, Lloyd could not kill her.
He sighed and recalled the memories.
Three months ago.
A black shadow appeared in a corner of the attached Rosiplair Palace.
“Is this the place? The secret passage leading to the basement?”
Today he will find her and put an end to everything for sure.
Lloyd muttered in a low voice as he cast a concealment charm.
“According to a reliable information source, yes it is.”
Dabin (his twin sister), hidden behind her mask, answered in a low voice.
In the previous life, Eveliana was the only daughter of the Duke, but after going back in time, she disappeared like smoke.
Only the old couple, the Duke and Duchess, remained in her place.
Lloyd searched all over the capital, but he found no trace of her.
All that remains is the Duchy of Rosiblair.
The two of them, Lloyd and his sister, sneak into the duchy, risking themselves, to find the hidden villain.
They searched the cavalry squad, the training ground, the main building and all the outbuildings, but they found no trace of Eveliana.
Then they received information from a spy planted in the duchy that there was a secret passage leading to the cellar in the annex building.
“As I expected, it was in Rosebelair.” Lloyd muttered.
“Let's see. Hmm.”
Dabin felt her chin and carefully examined the wall in the corner of the annex.
After staring for a long time, she smiled wickedly.
“Oh, these kids. They used their brains well.”
She waved her hand in the air towards the wall, and a magic circle began to be drawn, following his hand's movements.
“Here, Lloyd. The entrance to the secret passage.”
As soon as Dabin finished speaking, the magic circle began to grow in size until it turned into a black door.
“Huh, Eveliana. What are you afraid of? I didn’t expect you to hide so tightly.”
Dabin snickered slightly as she opened the black door leading to the lower corridor.
And at that moment...
“Ooh!”
As soon as the door was opened, a very foul smell of blood emanated.
"Disgusting! What is this bad smell?"
With the smell of rotting corpses and the strong smell of blood, the twins' features began to grow darker.
The smell of exhaled blood and the smell of corpses; Isn't this the right place for Eveliana, who was wreaking havoc with her murderous madness?
“Here will be Eveliana.”
The two quickly pulled out their swords from the magical space.
“Let's go in.”
They went down to the basement very carefully, holding their breaths.
“Ahhh!”
“No!”
Screams of pain coming from everywhere pierced their eardrums.
The place was hell on earth.
Large numbers of young children screaming in pain while locked inside iron cages.
“What…what in God’s name is this?”
Lloyd lost his ability to speak.
People wearing robes tied a very young child to a chair and forcibly injected his body with a syringe containing suspicious “mana.”
The mana that did not blend with the child's body tore through his tender flesh.
The child flopped in pain, vomited blood, and then died.
And the person who was standing next to the child's body and issuing orders to his followers...
It wasn't Eveliana. Rather, he was the head of the Rosibelair family, the old Duke.
“Eh! Damn them, why are all these orphans you brought this time so weak? They can’t even handle this much, tsh.”
The Duke did not show any pity in front of the dead child, but rather complained to his followers that they had brought useless things.
On the other hand, the children who survived after the mana injections would attack each other with magic in order to survive.
Next to these children, the Duke's wife was sitting on a sofa and drinking wine as if she was watching a wrestling match.
The only thing she used to say to the dying children was that nonsense that she would give the chance to be adopted as a daughter or son into the Duke's family to the one with the most powerful magic.
The children's goal was not to become the Duke's children, but rather to survive.
Because if they don't kill the child in front of them, they will die themselves.
The children who were attacking each other had their arms exploded and their legs disappeared because of magic.
Even the child who survived in the end staggered and fell, gasping as if he was going to die.
It was the result of exhausting all his mana that his vital energy began to be consumed.
Of all the children in the basement, all but one of them died.
"Why have all the orphans become so weak lately?! How much money have we invested! Hey, Commander! Go get more! And make sure they're useful this time!"
The duke's wife shouted angrily.
Upon hearing this, Lloyd couldn't hold back his rising anger.
He wanted to catch those who exploited the weak orphans for their own gain and kill them all.
“Lloyd, calm down. We are in Rosebelair. You know very well that we should not leave a trace here.”
Dabin calmed him down as she quickly wiped away the traces of Lloyd burning with the killing aura.
Lloyd knew very well that he could not attack the Rosebiller Family, one of the Three Great Families, suddenly.
While he was trying to control his hand that was shaking with anger, the ducal couple let go of the barely breathing child and left the basement with their followers, with cold orders to bring strong children next time.
The only surviving child was left gasping alone as he slowly died on the cold basement floor.
“Eveliana's not here, Lloyd. We have to go now.”
Dabin said to Lloyd after he had searched the entire basement.
They had to return without leaving a trace.
But Lloyd couldn't go away and leave the dying child behind.
He quickly cast the healing magic and carried the child in his arms.
“Ah, but we can't leave like this, can we?”
Dabin muttered before leaving the basement.
He waved his sword and a huge fire erupted, covering the entire basement.
“Fire! Fire!”
People's screams were heard from outside.
Dabin and Lloyd quickly hid.
Thus, Lloyd and Dabin returned to their dukedom carrying the ugly side of the Rosibelair family, without finding any trace of Eveliana.
And…
“Kaaaah! I made a mistake. Save me, please...”
The child, who was screaming from the pain of the forcibly injected mana, the loss of his vital energy, and the psychological shock he had received, died two days later, despite attempts to treat him with magic and intensive doses.
Since then, Lloyd has been unable to concentrate on his work.
Did Eveliana Rosebelaire become evil because of the environment in which she grew up?
Perhaps she came to the duchy without knowing anything, was forcibly injected with mana, and killed other children to stay alive until she finally turned into a monster.
Is this why the image of the eyes of the child who was begging to be saved while holding Lloyd's hand overlapped in his mind with the image of her eyes as she begged to have mercy on her in his hands?
So he let her live.
When he saw her trembling and begging for mercy, his heart softened.
“This shouldn't happen...”
“I must take revenge with blood.”
But his hesitant heart said again: Maybe this is just a charade put on by an evil woman to fool everyone, so he continued to watch her.
However, the image of her silently doing her work was completely different from the image of Eveliana he remembered from his previous life.
Eveliana, who used to beat knights returning from training because the smell of their sweat bothered her, was now treating dying knights and enduring the smell of blood and pus.
Eveliana, who used to despise the maids who washed clothes and saw them as dirty work, was now washing the blood-stained covers and drying them in the sun.
Eveliana, who used to cut off the heads of virgins to bathe in their blood in order to summon the Demon King, has disappeared, and only a woman named Kay remains there to treat the injured.
“Is it possible that she is not really Eveliana?”
A conflict occurred in Lloyd's heart.
Between the idea that it is just a charade and must be killed as soon as possible, and the idea of monitoring it for a longer period.
Kai's small, warm hand treating him remained in his mind.
Lloyd's heart leaned towards the second option.
“I'll check one last time.”
Eveliana, who went mad because of murder, started wars, and killed people, might reveal her true colors if she saw a killing scene again.
Yes, then I will kill her.
Lloyd quickly called his assistant.