The former Duke Lewellton, Collen’s father, envied Collen, this young but already outstanding sorcerer.

“You are a monster. The culmination of our family’s curse.”

Collen received no help from the former Duke. And he was hungry. He wanted to absorb mana. When he was too hungry, even animals satisfied his appetite. In the end, however, he wanted people more.

“Have I summoned a monster that I can’t even surpass?”

His father envied him and feared him.

Only mother loved Collen.

“Collen. Your mom loves you. You can always rely on me. I wish I could do more.”

When young Collen was beaten and cornered like a beast, only his mother remained by his side. Sometimes his father beat her instead of Collen.

“I’m sorry Collen.”

On the day of his mother’s death, his entire world seemed to collapse. Just like it is now.

Collen held the young girl in his arms and looked for answers.

“Why…?”

Beggar girl on the street. He adopted her without hesitation. A girl named Lee.

This child saved his life.

Now Collen blamed himself.

The child considered him a killer, but rushed to his aid.

‘Mother.’

A long-forgotten word popped up in Collen’s mind. Memories of his mother were reflected in this child, who lay in front of him in blood.

She lunged at Collen, moved him aside. The arrow missed his body but penetrated her shoulder.

The moment he saw her fall, Collen forgot about everything in the world. The screams of Jade and Zion brought him back to his senses.

“Hey! Wake up.”

“Young lady!”

Collen looked at them with his cold eyes.

“Zion.”

Collenraised his head and spoke in a cold voice.

“Take her away.”

Collen instructed by looking at the fortune teller bleeding on the floor. The next moment, he turned to Jade.

“Jade.”

Callen whispered.

“I will stop the bleeding. It might hurt, so put something in her mouth. Even if she is unconscious, she can bite her tongue.”

Jade tore his sleeve. A piece of cloth ended up in the child’s mouth.

Black magic flashed in Collen’s hands. Black butterflies born at his fingertips pierced her wound.

The bleeding soon stopped.

“I have to move this child to a safe place.”

“There is a hotel on Duke Street. This place is perfect.”

Zion said.

Lee was moved to a hotel room. Duke’s hotel was equipped with first-class amenities, so there were even doctors there. The doctor came running and began to provide first aid.

Zion went to fetch the surgeon.

Jade watched intently as she was being treated.

“The surgeon will tell you in more detail, but so far nothing threatens her life. It wasn’t a poisonous arrow, and it was lucky that the heart was not hurt.”

“If this child dies, I will suck all the life out of every doctor in this city.”

The doctor startled. He shook his head.

“I will do my best until the surgeon arrives.”

Collen nodded.

He sat by the bed and stared dazedly at the child with a pale face.

“I thought we only had two options. Either you are the target of the killer with the red flower, or you are his spy. So I thought that the frank information you slipped me that evening was a trap.”

‘Dad, that’s what you called me.’

“But I wouldn’t have thought that you would put yourself under the arrow for me. Really-”

Collen muttered languidly.

“Or is it a trap within a trap? Who the hell are you?”

Collen touched the little girl’s doll-like cheeks.

“Survive first. Take responsibility for what you said. If you called me dad, a bond between father and daughter was formed.”

He grabbed the girl’s right hand with his own. It was the uninjured hand.

“Ah, it doesn’t matter if you’re someone else’s child. I can take you and make mine. Oh, yes, you have to do education when you wake up.”

Callen whispered.

“I have to rise you. You have to grow up as a selfish child who doesn’t care if an arrow hits me, if they stab me. It will be much easier for me.”

“..”

“Please wake up, please.”

* * *

The surgeon brought by Zion appeared.

An operating room was hastily set up at the hotel. Only after the surgeons and nurses began the operation did Collen come out.

Jade also left after persuading Zion many times. He waited until the last moment and reluctantly turned to the exit.

It was new to Zion to see Collen and Jade worry.

“Did you send people to the temple?” Collen asked him.

“Healing is the work of doctors, but priests can use magic to soothe pain. Call them too.”

“Today, most of the senior priests are in the royal palace. Today is the day a church event takes place in the royal palace. Marianne is there too. You might think they care about saving people.”

Collen laughed. His red eyes suddenly calmed down.

“Go and tell the king to send all the priests right now,” Callen whispered.

“If my daughter gets sick from the pain and dies of shock.”

“…”

“Tell the king if he doesn’t send priests, then I will break into the Royal Palace and cause the same pain to the first member of his family I meet. He will understand what I’m talking about.”

This was the first time Zion saw Collen’s behavior like this. He bowed his head, looking surprised.

“I’ll take care of it right away.”

* * *

‘I’d rather just make a stuffed animal.’

Like dead Popo.

Jade saw ‘Lee’, his step-sister, lying there as if dead.

“Jade, this is a cat-horse. It is an animal that dies with you when you die. That’s what a chimera is. So, if you raise this child well, you will be able to live too.”

Popo was a chimera cat. It was the animal that Collen brought for Jade when he was mildly depressed.

Young Jade was fascinated by the cat Popo, because he always ate so well. Taking care of Popo, he was happy.

And one day it turned out that Popo was suffering from an incurable disease that would eventually kill him. Collen told his son that when his cat died, Jade would die with him.

‘As it turns out, that was a blatant lie.’

Jade was angry, but then fell in love with this warm little child.

‘She looks like Popo because she’s also sick.’

Popo was a cute cat with wings and funny oval eyes.

‘But that’s where the similarities end. In fact, it is different.’

He liked seeing Lee talking and smiling.

‘Right. I cannot imagine that I would do this with this warm little body.’

He remembered how the girl covered his father from the arrow. This girl raised many questions. She looked like walking candy wrapped in a ‘Why’ question.

‘Why didn’t I immediately believe her words? Why did this girl save my father and herself hurt? Is she my father’s real daughter? Why… Who is this child?’

Jade was also attached to his father.

But Jade was, after all, a member of Duke’s family. The main thing for them was that they themselves.

If he was as small as Lee. If he knew nothing about the world around. Could he have suffered for the good of his father? In retrospect, the answer was simple.

“No.”

Therefore, this girl possessed more courage than himself.

‘I am somehow strange at heart.’

Jade tilted his head.

‘My heart hurts.’

It was unfamiliar.

Right. The day Popo died. It was a prickly feeling that he hadn’t felt in a long time since the day his biological mother abandoned him and left for a foreign country to die.

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