Chapter 152: Cruel Truth, Cruel Fate

“Why does a little kid talk so rough?”

Is this what war does to you? I think I’ve heard more and nastier curses here than in my entire life combined…

Dan paled, stumbling backward.

“…Are you sure you’ll be okay alone? You look like you’ve been left behind, and you’re coughing up blood…”

“Do I need to say it twice? I’ll really k…”

“Aaaah, okay, I get it! I’m going, seriously.”

But his feet wouldn’t move easily.

How long could a kid that young survive on their own in this war?

His small, seemingly fragile body and the sharp edge to his attitude suggested a rough life. Something about it bothered Dan, stopping him in his tracks. He turned back to the boy, who was watching him warily.

“Hey… was that blood you coughed up from an injury or a disease?”

“You little…!”

“If it’s a disease, I suggest you hide it.”

……

“You’re just a regular soldier, right? In fights between regular soldiers, they always go for the weakest first.”

Once, while traveling, he’d watched a battle in a valley from a mountaintop.

“Whether you swallow the blood down or stuff a rag in your mouth, you’d better hide it somehow.”

……

***

The sound of someone descending the mansion stairs echoed.

Rememver, who had been standing in the central hall, looked up at Deon and Dan following behind him. The atmosphere felt like something had been settled, and the old man’s usual playful voice drawled out.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.”

“And here I was, just about to teach him about internal affairs. You’re taking away my talent. I’m getting old, where am I supposed to find a replacement?”

Deon chuckled dryly at the old man’s playful grumbling about taking Dan away.

“Just about to teach him? What have you been teaching him until now?”

“Only the superficial stuff, paperwork at the assistant level, with key information missing. In the beginning, I had him handle fake documents to see if he was a spy.”

“…So, Dan changing the entire document system was…?”

“Even just handling fake documents would allow someone to grasp how the system works. In that sense, Dan was an excellent butler candidate.”

“…I’ll ask again, what exactly are you, Rememver?”

“The butler of the Hart Marquis’s household.”

……

Lost for words, Deon started walking again.

Rememver called out to his back as he passed by, heading for the door.

“Aren’t you taking the Killer Knights with you?”

“Large-scale movements attract attention. Besides, those guys wouldn’t be able to move quietly even if their lives depended on it…”

“That’s true.”

“Then, I’ll be going…”

“What about Sir Lien?”

Aren’t you taking her?

Deon paused, turning his head to look at Rememver.

“She’s too righteous. She wouldn’t fit where I’m going. You know that.”

Don’t ask things you already know.

Despite the irritated tone, Rememver smiled kindly and spoke gently to Deon, who was stepping out the door.

“I’m truly glad you’ve recovered.”

……

Hesitating for only a moment, Deon left without looking back.

Dan, who had been watching with slightly hurried steps, bowed his head to Rememver and quickly followed after him.

…….

“There’s somewhere I’d like to stop before we go.”

“…I won’t ask where we’re going.”

Deon, who was loosening the reins of a horse in the stable, glanced at Dan.

His red eyes, giving off an eerie feeling, scrutinized Dan’s expression. Dan calmly wore a smile.

“Because I think I know.”

“…So, where is it you want to stop?”

***

The people of a small mountain village were packing their belongings, preparing to move when they froze at the unexpected arrival of uninvited guests.

“Was it here?”

“Yes. It’s usually a quiet place, but it’s quite chaotic today. Like… they’re about to move out.”

The man the shaman grandmother called a ‘disaster’ and Dan, who was supposed to become the ‘disaster’s accomplice’.

Dan rested his hand on his sword and casually scanned the people. He found the person he was looking for and smirked. He walked over to an old person trembling with fear and anger.

“Long time no see.”

“You… you…!”

“I just suddenly remembered. I wanted to see your face one last time before carrying out your prophecy.”

Dan’s smile vanished.

“Why are you trembling?”

How brazen.

He took another step closer with a chillingly blank expression and lowered his head to whisper in the grandmother’s ear.

“You’re the one who made me this way.”

You shouldn’t have said such things so carelessly. Look how twisted I’ve become.

There was a reason shamans hesitated to speak of the future. Dan smiled as he showed her the consequences of breaking the shamans’ unspoken rules.

“I won’t kill you. You need to stay alive and watch me fulfill your prophecy.”

……

“So, live the rest of your life drowning in guilt.”

May you live a life suffocating in guilt, and in your final moments, die more painfully than anyone else.

His words were like blades. Even though they weren’t directed at him, Deon felt a sharp pain in his heart and closed his eyes.

He opened his eyes when someone approached him.

……!

“…What is it?”

Deon’s eyes snapped open. He grabbed the hand that was about to touch his shoulder, glaring at the person with annoyance.

It was Ran, someone who had helped him and held no malice. Otherwise, he would have already run her through with his sword.

Ran looked intently at Deon, not trying to pull her wrist away. Just as Deon was about to snap at her, she whispered in a voice too quiet for others to hear.

“Be careful of your eyes.”

“…Eyes?”

Eyes? What was she talking about all of a sudden…?

And it wasn’t clear if she meant the snow falling from the sky or his actual eyes.

Ran couldn’t have missed the question in Deon’s expression, but she pretended not to notice, tapping the hand holding her wrist to signal him to let go before quickly disappearing into the crowd.

‘…There’s no point in pressing her.’

A skilled sorcerer had spoken. Deon kept her words in the back of his mind and turned his head to look at Dan.

He was standing three steps away from the trembling grandmother, looking in his direction.

“…Are you finished?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go then.”

As suddenly as they had arrived, the two disappeared.

Ran, moving much faster than before, mingled with the people leaving the village, watching them ride away on horseback before muttering to herself.

“I hope you don’t commit too many sins.”

Though it was probably just wishful thinking.

***

The Commander of the 0th Legion has brought a human!

Amidst the rumors and news swirling through the Demon King’s castle due to the war, this rumor overshadowed everything.

If the human he brought was a prisoner or hostage, it wouldn’t have caused such a stir. But everyone could see that this human was meant to be the 0th Legion Commander’s aide, and the demons were in an uproar for various reasons.

[I haven’t even been a doormat, and some human is going to be his aide?]

[I won’t forgive this in the name of the Demon Church!]

[De-serve!]

Some were jealous.

[If Demon-nim brought him personally, how competent must he be?]

[He’s even a human. I’ve never seen a proper human other than Demon-nim who wasn’t an intruder.]

[I’d like to have a conversation with him if possible.]

Some demons showed pure curiosity.

[Bringing a human into the Demon King’s castle?]

[Demon-nim is a special case, but other humans…]

[Since Demon-nim brought him, killing him is out of the question. Shouldn’t we just chase him out?]

Some demons displayed conservative tendencies, expressing their unease.

And Deon Hart, the hot topic of the Demon King’s castle who had caused all these reactions,

“I heard your fever has gone down, but are you really feeling better?”

was facing the Demon King alone, having left Dan behind.

Deon nodded roughly in response, then lowered his head, clenching and unclenching his fists before looking back at the Demon King. His red eyes, devoid of life and carefully concealing his emotions, met the Demon King’s reversed eyes for a long moment.

His low voice flowed out slowly.

“A long time ago, a sorcerer foretold my future.”

“Hmm… the fact that you’re telling me this means it must have come true?”

“…Yes.”

If you want to be precise.

The Demon King, leaning back comfortably in his chair with his arms crossed, touched his chin with interest.

“A prophecy.”

……

“Just so we’re clear, a prophecy is different from seeing the future.”

A prophecy is absolute, something that cannot be changed no matter what you do.

Seeing the future is fluid, something that can be changed depending on your efforts.

“Prophecies are the future seen and uttered by those who can defy the rules of the world. That’s how absolute they are.”

“So that sorcerer was…”

“Someone skilled enough to break the world’s rules if they wanted to. Quite impressive for a human.”

The topic of conversation continued, without meaning or a clear purpose. Anyone else would have interrupted and asked for the point or gotten annoyed, but the patient Demon King happily met Deon’s words with a glint in his eyes.

Whether he knew it or not, Deon lowered his gaze as if in thought before slowly asking a question.

“Does that mean you can also make prophecies?”

The Demon King was the most representative being capable of defying the world’s rules.

The Demon King raised an eyebrow at the use of ‘you’ before chuckling as if it was absurd.

“Of course. Not just me, all demons can make prophecies by default.”

The demon race was born from the world’s errors, defying the world’s will.

Being born from the Demon King’s power was already proof of their ability to break the world’s rules. If their very existence was like this, what else could be said?

Deon frowned as if he couldn’t understand.

“But… I’ve never seen demons make prophecies…”

“It’s just that we don’t do it. What’s the point of seeing a future you can’t change? There’s no fun in it, is there?”

Even attempting to change a prophecy becomes the foundation for its fulfillment.

It’s better to not make prophecies at all than to experience such a nasty feeling.

More importantly.

The Demon King looked at Deon and smiled gleefully.

‘He always sticks to the point and minimizes small talk. What’s gotten into him?’

This wasn’t bad either, or rather, it had become even more interesting, so he had no complaints.

Deon paused for a moment, as if finally getting to the main point, and slowly began to speak.

“Before… when we captured the Hero candidate who infiltrated the Demon King’s castle, you said I could defer my reward since I didn’t want anything immediately. Do you remember that?”

“Of course.”

“I want to use it now.”

“As you wish.”

The Demon King readily nodded.

Undeniable interest was visible in his eyes, but since it didn’t seem to be harmful to him, Deon spoke without hesitation.

“Please utterly destroy the Empire.”

“……What?”

The Demon King’s eyes widened.

Deon continued to speak like a runaway carriage.

“I’ve been thinking about it. What’s the best way to get revenge on the Duke and the Emperor?”

What is most precious to the Duke?

What did the Emperor value most?

“The Empire. The Emperor always said that the Empire was him. Destroying the Empire would be the same as destroying the Emperor. I’ll need to investigate the Duke further, but he probably values the Empire as well.”

The Duke seemed to be aiming for the Emperor’s throne.

So, completely destroying the Empire would be like taking revenge on both of them.

If the goal of destroying the Empire is achieved, their lives will easily fall into my grasp. Ending their lives with my own hands will make the revenge almost perfect.

“So, I humbly request this. Please utterly destroy and trample the Empire, making it impossible for them to ever recover.”

“……Hah!”

……

“AHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHA!! So that’s how you’d use it! Excellent! I like it!”

In the end, the Demon King couldn’t suppress his laughter and burst out.

Truly, the best! What an amazing request! I really picked a good toy!

“You said you needed more information about the Duke? For that kind of goal, feel free to investigate as much as you want! I’ll help you!”

“That kind of goal…?”

Oops, I got too excited and made a slip-up, unlike myself.

He plastered on a bright smile and quickly added.

“That request is too big compared to your achievements, you know?”

“…Yes.”

It’s not a request you can make just for capturing a Hero candidate.

“I’m going to conquer the Human Realm.”

Deon Hart’s eyes darkened as he understood the Demon King’s intentions.

He drops to one knee, head bowed in submission.

“…I will follow you with all my heart.”

“Good.”

Foolish human.

If the Emperor is a wicked man, then the Demon King is a hypocrite.

The Emperor’s exterior matches his interior, but the Demon King’s do not.

The Emperor’s sins are but a firefly before the full moon compared to the Demon King’s, yet they are deceived by mere appearances.

The Demon King’s eyes crinkle in a smile, hiding his true thoughts.

Finally.

After long patience.

The toy has fallen into my hands.