Ch 21

It was her first time telling someone else about the past that she had only thought of in fragments to herself so far.

“You eventually turned out to be an unawakener.”

In the memory that came to mind, the Duke of Elheim was looking down at her coldly.

“If it stays the same for more than three years, she won’t be able to express the power of water for the rest of her life.”

Next to the duke stood his doctor.

“If it weren’t for Lian.”

The Duke clicked his tongue.

Liarte had trembled and tried to keep herself upright somehow.

She had to avoid being blamed as much as possible.

Otherwise, I’ll be thrown away again, Liarte thought so.

During her childhood, the thing that she feared the most was being abandoned.

Elheim’s direct lineage manifested the power of water within a week of birth.

The matter of Lianrius, who was the only awakener between them, took more than a week’s time to awaken, the longest period of time, and Liarte, the unawakened one who couldn’t awaken to the power of water, spread to other families of awakeners in the empire.

Those who knew the tendencies of the Duke of Elheim wondered why he left the unawakened alive in his family.

Someone had said, “Still, I wonder what the reason was as to why she wasn’t sent to another place aside from blood relation.”

“You look nothing like your mother.”

If that person had seen the Duke in person, he would have known that he did not consider Liarte as his blood.

Even the duke’s employees hated Liarte’s personality, saying she was timid and gloomy.

They gossiped that she did not resemble the Duchess at all.

Then one day, the Duke abandoned Liarte.

“I don’t remember how exactly I was abandoned.”

She had seen her father and brothers talk.

They whispered, taking turns to look at Liarte and Lianrius.

They alternated between Liarte and Lianrius and whispered something.

“But when I came to my senses, I found myself standing in front of the cabin in a mess.”

Her small fingernails were crushed, and her cheeks were sore from the frozen tears.

She had bruises all over her fingers and wrists which showed how much she resisted.

A mountain cabin coated with white snow, and since it was located deep inside the forest, she couldn’t go out. No people existed there either.

“Maybe it was the thought that I was afraid that urged me to lock myself away for the rest of my life.”

Once a week, someone would bring her groceries. She was lonely, but she gradually got used to life at the mountain cabin.

“I should have known that I’d be happier being abandoned.” Liarte whispered.

At first, she wanted to see her family, but she didn’t look for them.

Liarte was a clever child. It wasn’t soon after that she understood that her family had abandoned her.

Half a year later, Liarte became accustomed to living alone.

Then, the Duke of Elheim’s carriage came.

“At first, I thought my family came to pick me up because they regretted it.”

But it wasn’t.

The moment she went to Lianrius, who was surrounded by the knights of the Duke of Elheim,

“This is the only way.”

Elheim’s doctor, who usually took care of the awakeners of water, bowed his head.

“Take Lian’s hand.”

The Duke looked at Liarte unpleasantly.

Lianrius, who sat on her bed, was looking far away.

The moment she held his hand, a stream of water flowed out of Lianrius’s hand.

“Lianrius is in a constitution in which he can only use the power of water by having contact with her.”

Twins were rarely born into the direct line from the awakened person, so the cause was unknown, the doctor had said.

“The duke hated me even more after that. He thought that I had killed his wife and had stolen the glory and power of his youngest son.”

And so, the members of Elheim imprisoned Liarte.

“The room where I live has a structure that allows people to lock it from the outside. They had also installed bars on the windows to prevent me from going out.”

It was the day that Hwi-Amin’s ancient books were discovered that the lock was attached.

“I’ve been locked up all my life.”

During the days of the rainy season, there was a time when water had filled her room.

But no one came.

She had crouched in the room half submerged in water until Lianrius later visited and removed the water.

“I mistook Lianrius for helping me.”

Lianrius only came to her room to use the power of water.

Even though she knew it, she needed the warmth of the person in front of her. She was desperate enough to believe that he was interested in her.

“The other members hit me.”

As soon as he heard it, Michael endured his urge to go to Duke of Elheim right away.

She used to be trapped in a gray prison and was a life that could only come out of the room when Lianrius needed her.

Occasionally, she was given free time to wander out of the room, but the Duke used his hand every time he saw her. It was because he was ashamed of what he saw.

“When did it start getting too much?”

Liarte counted the time with her fingers.

Perhaps it was after the second sexual characteristic came.

On the day when she was severely beaten and shaken by the power of water, she had her bleeding. Even then, the Duke did not call a doctor.

It was the same way she had been left unattended when she was on the edge of death due to the poisoned blade and was wandering through life and death.

The first born Aynias struck her cheek the same way as her father did, and the second born Danterion treated Liarte as if she didn’t exist.

Hwi-Amin, a hypocrite, and Lianrius, a bystander, quietly sympathized with the other brothers.

In the old days, she was so sorry for herself that she often sobbed, blaming herself.

She did not want to be abandoned. She wanted to be loved. Now they felt like memories that belonged to someone else’s past.

“Nothing special. That’s all I’ve been living so far.”

Liarte ended the story monotonously.

Later, Elheim executed Liarte to complete Lianrius as the master of the Spirit Stone.

It was funny that those who used to hate her so much wanted to come and play a flimsy family game now. Even more if the reason behind it was due to the minor change in Liarte’s attitude.

A drop of water fell over her hand.

“Michael?”

Michael was crying.

Wet platinum eyelashes and a cold face. Tears flowed down from Michael’s eyes and kept falling on the back of her hand.

“Why are you crying?”

People cried mainly when they were sad.

However, Michael’s red eyes were full of dark life. In such a state, the tears were falling.

“I’m sad that you’ve been through such a situation.”

“What?”

“My heart hurts.”

Michael’s words touched Liarte’s heart.

What Liarte wanted in the past was this. She hoped that someday, someone who would listen and empathize with her story would appear.

She had put everything down, and she had erased such thoughts from her mind now.

“It’s okay, Michael. You can cry for me.”

Liarte had been expressionless since a long time ago. Her emotions had already worn off and faded away.

Michael had finally fully understood the thing that was missing in Liarte.

Sometimes, when she was alone, Liarte looked like an empty shell of a person.

She seldom felt emotions, and she didn’t feel much of the pain even if she hurt herself or was attacked.

Liarte’s life, which she had expressed so calmly, was so terrible.

Throughout her life, she was locked in a small room, and as if it was not enough, she was made a tool for her twin brother, and was even subjected to violence.

It was a miracle that she hadn’t gone crazy so far.

‘Her twin.’

Michael recalled Lianrius’s eyes. He had looked at Liarte as if she were an object, not as a person.

He had been sitting on the sidelines indifferently and now he’d seem to have developed an attachment towards her.

After all this, he really didn’t like Elheim.

However, Michael did not say he would kill them. It didn’t work that way with Liarte.

“Thank you for hanging in there for so long, Liarte. I’m sorry I’m so late.”

He wanted to tear them all apart. Even if the power of the sons of Elheim was powerful and also those whose water capability that was said to be very good.

However, the fate of Elheim should be left to Liarte. Michael thought of respecting and following Liarte’s choice.

That’s why he said tenderly with tears forming,

“I’ll make sure you’ll never have to come back here again. I’ll help you get out of here forever.”

“Thank you.”

Liarte replied shortly afterwards.

“I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Even at this moment, Michael did not ask why the unawakened twin was able to use the power of water.

He didn’t even think about it.

He simply listened to Liarte consistently.

‘Anything you want.’

Liarte suddenly remembered.

“There is something I want to do when I leave the family.”

“What is that?”

“I want to see the sea.”

The plan after leaving Elheim felt blurry. It may have been because she had little experience with the outside world.

The promise to live in Birce with Michael was still unrealized.

“I saw it in a book. The sea is full of salt water, and I thought I wanted to see it at least once before I died.”

It was a wish that came to her mind just before her execution.

Liarte was not able to see the sea until she died.

“You’ll see it.”

Michael whispered strongly. The big hand that held hers had a little strength to it.

It was warm.

Why was this person crying for her?

‘I don’t know why you’re so sweet.’

But she knew that she liked it.

“On the day you and your twin have your coming of age, I’ll pick you up.”

The day Liarte comes of age.

“Let’s go to Birce that day. And let’s go see the sea.”

It was a promise for the future.

However, unlike how she had reacted when the members of Elheim had promised, she believed in his words.

“I’ll believe you.”

Michael smiled brightly with a very pretty face.

“I swear my promise under Birce’s name, Liarte.”

* * *

Lianrius looked up at the ceiling, lying quietly in his bedroom.

‘Liarte.’

The interest that began to come eventually led to an obsessive mind.

He recalled Liarte, who was dancing with Michael.

He felt like he was robbed of his possessions.

She had a chilly attitude towards him, but did not push Michael, the heir of Birce, away.

The voice of the Spirit King echoed in his mind, saying, “This is not the Real Owner,” and he thought of King Water, who looked down at Lianrius.

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The family was too prejudiced against the unawakened that they just overlooked her, but he played the same role as Liarte’s on the day the spirit stone had shined.

‘It can’t be like this.’

The coming-of-age ceremony has to be moved up.

It was at that moment that Lianrius’s feelings completely turned into obsession.