The West Wind's Destination - Chapter 81
Though she had worked through the night under the influence of potions, what she saw wasn’t just some illusion.
But how?
Why was he here?
“Aseph Vilkanos.”
He slowly walked forward.
Aseph’s gaze briefly lingered on Bea, then immediately shifted to Myron Devesis.
The mere change of focus brought about a swift surge of hostility.
Myron Devesis sneered at him.
“Vilkanos, I thought our little dispute was settled back then?”
“…Yes. That’s right.”
Aseph remained calm despite Myron’s provocation.
It seemed like a relaxed demeanor, but from another angle, it could appear that his anxiety had been pushed to the brink, resulting in a refined exterior.
Myron Devesis jingled his bracelet, speaking cheerily.
“I wanted to test it out, and here you are. Are you alone?”
“No.”
Aseph revealed the small being he had been holding by pulling off its hood.
Bea knew who he had brought even before seeing them.
It was the homunculus, sweating profusely with a pained expression.
But why? The existing questions hadn’t been resolved, and yet new ones kept emerging.
Why did he bring the homunculus here of all places?
“…I have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor? The great Vilkanos is asking me?”
“I want you to take care of this child. Think of it as a deal.”
Aseph set the homunculus down on the ground. The child looked up weakly, making Bea realize just how glad the homunculus was to see her, despite his frailty.
“I know you want to place the mages under your feet. You desire a position in the Empire. Mages were once enemies of Vilkanos, and the Frieblenda Empire is but a country at dusk, granted a reprieve from destruction by Vilkanos. If you wish to conquer it, Vilkanos will support you.”
Myron Devesis glanced at the homunculus.
“Why leave your offspring with me? Shouldn’t you be feeding that frail thing more of its mother’s milk?”
As Myron believed he had the upper hand, his tone became increasingly contemptuous.
Aseph clenched his teeth. He knew there was no other way to save Homun, so he had to suppress his feelings and endure.
Not for Myron Devesis, but for Bea. If the only way for Bea and the child to live healthily was this, there was no reason Vilkanos couldn’t support them.
After all, Vilkanos wouldn’t be deemed inappropriate for taking a stand against mages. There were surely those among the retainers who would welcome the strategy of allying with the enemy of their enemy.
Only, to support such a person as this was.
“Couldn’t you just kill it and start over with a new one? It looks hopeless already.”
“…”
“Or, has the mother died too? Huh?”
“…No.”
Aseph’s gaze dropped to the ground before he lifted his head to look at Bea.
His next words seemed to be directed at Bea.
“I think keeping him by his mother’s side is the better choice. Just take care of him until he’s an adult. You don’t have to do it yourself. Ensure their safety, and you will have Vilkanos’s power for the rest of your life.”
Not fully grasping the implications, Myron Devesis shifted his gaze to Bea, who stood weakly beside him.
“Ha!”
He laughed.
“Ahah! Hahaha! Are you talking about ‘this’ right now? Vilkanos! Hahahaha! Are you saying your offspring came from this thing?”
Amused beyond measure, Myron Devesis leaned back in laughter. After a hearty laugh, he said in a still amused tone.
“You tried to trick me with your petty schemes.”
“What are you talking about? Schemes?”
It was an offer so radical it bordered on sweet. Obviously, taking care of one child to gain the power of Vilkanos was a no-brainer.
“That thing got pregnant? That’s impossible.”
“How would you know that?”
Aseph gritted his teeth and confronted him, prompting Myron Devesis to lean back in laughter again.
“I made sure it couldn’t happen when it first started menstruating. I made this thing’s body incapable of it.”
“What?”
Aseph raised his voice as if he had heard blasphemy.
“Such a function is useless in a tool, isn’t it?”
This. That. A tool. Myron Devesis kept using such derogatory terms to refer to Bea.
Aseph’s face darkened with rage.
“It was the same even when I was dead. It faithfully completed the tasks I assigned.”
Suddenly, Myron Devesis swung his arm toward one side.
Slap!
The sound of flesh tearing was heard first.
Aseph’s sharp eyes widened. Suddenly, everything in the world seemed to slow down drastically.
From Bea falling to the ground after receiving a slap from Myron Devesis, to a small hand picking up the fallen hearing aid from the ground.
“Get up.”
“…Yes.”
Bea nonchalantly got back up at Myron Devesis’s urging.
“Trying to deceive me with such a trivial thing?”
Even Myron Devesis’s words sounded blurred.
All these actions, incomprehensible in Aseph’s clear mind, happened too naturally.
As if such occurrences were normal and common.
