Chapter 60: Leo is told the rest (1)

Just as every story in this world requires a villain, every religion in this world needs a negative presence to highlight the sanctity of faith.

In the spirit religion that worships spirits as beings of compassion, the darkness spirit played that role.

And the family that worshiped the dark spirit and dedicated themselves to soothing and suppressing its heart was known as the Norlius Al-Elrand, “Those Who Fight for Elrand.”

While the spirit of death was depicted as a gentle youth bestowing the mercy of the end, the darkness spirit was portrayed as a wrinkled, ugly old man.

He relished conflict, craved blood, reveled in impurity, and cherished every disaster in this world.

Consequently, the spiritual power carried by those who worship the darkness spirit bore an aura of malice.

Once they harnessed their power, the air would stagnate, darkness would thicken, and people would instinctively recoil in fear—that was how it should have been.

Facing Bruno now, Lena seemed to exhibit an outward calmness, her lips curving in a slight smile.

However, if you looked closely, you could see a sheen of sweat on her brow, and her clenched fists trembled slightly.

(Is she being stubborn, or is it simply adorable?)

Bruno thought, imagining Lena’s reaction if she heard him. He allowed himself a quiet smile.

Watching her desperately feigning composure was akin to a hedgehog bristling its quills in self-defense, prompting Bruno to relax.

Leo had warned him that tormenting small animals for reasons other than food was in poor taste.

As the tension eased suddenly, he could sense his opponent beginning to relax for a moment.

However, Lena quickly shifted to a sulky expression and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t just send out and withdraw your killing intent at will. It makes it hard to respond.”

“If you’re relieved, why not just show it openly?”

“I’m not relieved at all!”

How adorable, Bruno thought.

He shrugged his shoulders, returning to his usual composed expression, and tossed some branches into the campfire.

Due to almost using the dark spiritual power earlier, the flames had cowered and diminished.

Just as one would reward a scolded dog with an abundance of food, he kept throwing in branches, and the fire slowly regained its strength.

“So,” he said, “how long do you plan to remain half-crouched? Why not sit down or stand up and decide on your posture?”

“Wait a minute! Why are you switching back to your usual mood so quickly? Doesn’t it make my tense demeanor look ridiculous? What happened to that intense atmosphere from earlier? What should I do with this raised fist?”

When Lena mumbled her complaints, Bruno responded with a simple “I don’t know,” leaving her with an expression that spoke volumes.

She pursed her lips, then sat back down.

“Your enigmatic demeanor is nothing new, but this time, are you going to talk? Can I understand it like that?” she asked.

“I’ve discarded that name. Call me Bruno.”

He replied briefly, prompting her to nod silently. Perhaps she was contemplating how to steer the conversation.

Despite being skilled at interrogations, Lena became suddenly awkward when it came to conversations.

Bruno watched her with amusement as she lost her edge when he stopped rejecting her advances.

Lena’s nature seemed much closer to Bruno’s than Leo’s.

To Bruno, however, both Lena and Leo were gentle and innocent souls.

“So, Lena, what do you plan to do with my life story?”

“I’m not planning anything. I’m listening because I’m curious. That’s all.”

Her expression bore no signs of deceit.

She smirked slightly, adding, “Having an unsolved mystery in front of me is intolerable. Once I hear it, I’ll be satisfied. If there are humanitarian reasons to intervene, I’ll just listen and then leave it alone. I’m just curious… that might sound abnormal.”

“No, I understand the inclination to focus on certain interests. It’s easier for me to speak freely when you have that attitude.”

He turned to Lena, adding, “Please keep this from Leo.”

“So, you’re going to tell me, then?”

“You’re persistent. If I don’t speak now, you’ll just keep pushing until I do. Besides, as long as Leo doesn’t find out, I have no reason to hide anything.”

Lena responded with a nod of understanding.

Bruno stared into the flickering flames, considering where to begin his story.

After a moment, as a small ember crackled, he began to speak.

“As you know, my father was the king’s younger brother and the leader of the darkness spirit-worshiping clan. True to the nature of that spirit, he was greedy and surrounded himself with many wives and children. I was one of them.”

Talking about his past was new territory for Bruno.

He squinted his dark eyes, recalling distant memories.

“My father sought power, and his wives vied for the position of main wife, always fighting among themselves. He tried to prove his loyalty to the king by offering his children as guards, bringing him closer to the heart of power. The wives all wanted to offer their children as well. I ended up serving as a guard for the third prince at the time, I believe his name was Safita.”

Being a guard did not require skill in martial arts.

Bruno’s role was merely to be a human shield.

He had to shield Safita when attacked, take curses in his place, and taste potentially poisoned food.

Safita and the other princes were surrounded by many “guards”—Bruno’s half-brothers.

“However, one by one, the guards dwindled. Before long, I was the only one left assigned to Safita. During that time, I learned how to dodge arrows, avoid swords, and recognize poison.”

“……”

That was why Bruno never lost a fight in the slums of Richert.

Those encounters were nothing compared to what he’d faced.

Lena wore a grim expression, as if struggling with what he had shared.

“Why didn’t you run away? You could have walked away from that life… you could have refused it.”

“Why indeed? At first, maybe it was because I wanted my mother to praise me. By protecting Safita, my father gained the king’s gratitude, and my mother received my father’s appreciation.”

Those emotions were faint memories now.

His reasons seemed distant and obscure.

“However, with each poisoning, each sword wound, and subsequent recovery, those sentiments faded. By the end, I didn’t even know why I stayed. Perhaps I believed sacrificing myself for the honor of the Eland prince was the highest achievement for someone bearing the name Norlius… or maybe it was ingrained in me.”

Those memories were vague.

He had no desire to recall them.

“Weren’t your parents willing to risk their lives to protect you’?” Lena murmured, her tone questioning.

Her dark brown eyes seemed to share in his pain.

Bruno did not answer, instead offering a faint smile.

“That life of mine ended abruptly one day. My father, blinded by greed, foolishly tried to use the power of the dark spirit to attack Weitz. However, the mighty Weitz army quickly occupied the cathedral, and Elrand surrendered swiftly. Elrand’s downfall was caused by my father’s recklessness, not a legitimate war.”

The king of Elrand agreed to execute his brother and his clan to secure Weitz’s forgiveness.

Weitz , considering Elrand a sacred religious site, chose to show restraint.

As a result, Elrand was allowed to maintain its autonomy at the cost of the lives of the king’s brother’s clan.

“The issue became who to include in the ‘king’s brother’s clan.’ My father’s wives and children were too numerous. Most were uninvolved in the conflict. Executing them indiscriminately would damage Weitz’s reputation and go against the spirits’ wishes. Elrand conducted an inquiry before the executions.”

Who were the traitors?

What defined “the king’s brother’s clan”?

The investigation took several days.

Weitz, seeking leniency, agreed to accept Elrand’s definitions of “the king’s brother’s clan” and vowed not to intervene otherwise.

Suddenly, the wives who had vied for my father’s favor began to distance themselves.

They claimed to be mere mistresses, emphasizing their lack of spiritual or eternal ties.

In the midst of it all, Bruno’s mother was one of the few women who claimed to be the man’s rightful wife. She adorned herself with the garb of the condemned and rushed to stand by his side, with Bruno in tow, still unable to comprehend the gravity of the situation.

The cathedral, which had become the inquisition hall, was lined with representatives from the ten families and the royal clan. Bruno was forced to kneel without understanding what was happening, waiting for judgment to be passed by his uncle, the king. His father had succumbed too deeply to the power of dark spirits, losing his sanity, while his mother merely smiled faintly. They, along with a few other wives, were quickly recognized as “family.” However, as they were about to leave the chamber, Safita, who had been silently observing the inquiry, stood up with a desperate expression.

“Wait, traitorous wife,” he shouted. “You are lying.”

With piercing blue-gray eyes, he glared at Bruno’s mother. “That child by your side,” he continued, “the one you offered, the one who took the arrow in my place, swallowed poison, and was slashed by the sword—that child is not your son, is he?”

His voice sent a shiver through the air of the cathedral. “Isn’t that right?”

Bruno’s mother quickly turned her face toward him, staring at Safita with a piercing gaze, then fixed her unexpressive, beautiful face on Bruno. How long she stayed that way, no one could tell. Finally, she shifted her gaze, looking away from Bruno, and spoke without even glancing at him.

“You are correct.”

Her voice, low and cool for a woman, remained as composed as ever. “This is not my son.”

Lena was speechless. She couldn’t find the right words to say. She didn’t know whether she should be angry, hurt, or simply let it slide. Unable to decide the proper reaction, she pressed her lips together, while Bruno continued quietly.

“As a result of those words, I was removed from the ‘royal family’ classification and spared execution. I was saved by my mother’s actions in a sense. That’s what I meant earlier.”

From then on, everything proceeded as he had described. Bruno, as a relative of the man who brought unnecessary war, was safer away from Elrand. Thus, he fled the capital and headed to the capital of Weitz , where Elrand would have the least influence.

He truly had connections through his mother, but his decision to stay despite being publicly declared not her son seemed contradictory, leading to his eventual expulsion. That’s how he ended up at Hanna Orphanage.

Bruno wondered what kind of feelings he would have had if his mother had cried out, “This is my son.” Their bond had been so strained that it would not have been simple joy. Instead, he might have been confused or even irritated at her audacity.

Unable to resolve his mother’s attitude within himself, he carried on with his days.

“But that day, when I unknowingly screamed while pushing Leo into the frozen pond, I finally understood. I realized that I wanted to see her actions and those words as ‘risking her life to protect her son.’

“Before meeting Leo, I might have seen that as shameful and denied it. However, hearing Leo speak innocently about how wonderful Bruno’s parents were, Bruno decided to stop feeling ashamed for wanting his parents’ love.

A fire crackled. The night deepened, and the sounds of animals transformed into sleepy murmurs. Bruno propped his chin on his knees and continued his story with a melancholy air.

“So, with my previous worries settled and gaining invaluable friends and a stable position at the orphanage, I lived peacefully as an ordinary orphan, enjoying my time in the lower town. However, as winter reached its peak and the days grew shorter, things began to change.

“Let’s not dwell on the contrast between ‘peaceful’ and ‘conquering the lower town,’ okay?”

“At first, it was a voice.”

“Not enough…”

“One day, seemingly out of nowhere, I heard a raspy male voice.”

“Not enough… Not enough.”

“It was a dark, sinister voice that seemed to contain all the world’s unease.”

At the time, he  was helping Leo prepare dinner. ‘Leo, did you say something?’

“Leo replied, ‘Huh? No, I didn’t say anything. Unless I was muttering ‘I need money’ unconsciously.”

“No, I heard ‘not enough.'”

“‘Nope, I didn’t say that. Look, we have a big harvest today.'”

“He showed me a pile of cheaply purchased potatoes and laughed heartily. I dismissed the voice as a trick of my imagination.”

“However, the voice became more frequent.”

“Not enough… Prayers… They can’t hold me back.”

“Boring…”

“I want calamity… Just a pinch of suffering, a drop of fear… I want to savor it on my tongue.”

“From the shadows of buildings, behind sunlit trees, flickering flames—it always came from places where darkness lingered.”

“One night, after saving Leo from an unscrupulous priest who had tied him up on a prayer room’s bed, it happened.”

“You, you… Will you not continue my name?”

“The candles went out suddenly, and a shadow appeared before the altar draped in spirit cloth.”

“In the faint moonlight, I made out the silhouette of an ugly old man.”

“…!”

“Instinctively, I grabbed a candle holder off the wall and threw it at the figure.”

“The candle holder struck the altar with a dull thud, but the old man dodged it with ease, only giving me an eerie smile”

“Such spirit! But that’s how it should be. You must relish conflict, not shy away from bloodshed, and understand the sweetness of violence.”

“His words were neither Elrandian nor Weitzian.”

“The direct, jarring impact on my mind, combined with the content of his words, made me realize the true nature of the old man.

“…Dark spirit…!”

“The sinister smile belonged to none other than the dark spirit that Bruno’s father had worshipped and succumbed to.

“He shook his head in disappointment and took a step toward me.”

“The surrounding darkness began to stir.”

“Ah, without the foolish Radugar, his brother’s clan, Manasilias, prays only to the spirit of light.”

“But who do they think has been protecting their country?”

“The light’s vessel shone because I kept my power in check.”

“Radugar’s prayers soothed me, so I did not corrode the orb”.

That realization struck Bruno.

“Yes, his father had indeed succumbed to the dark spirit and desired Weitzian lands, but his prayers also pacified the dark spirit and protected Elrand.

“No matter how much the royal clan prayed to the spirit of light, without also soothing the dark spirit, Elrand and its surroundings would be consumed by calamity.”

Bruno’s eyes widened as the dark spirit smiled at him with a gleeful expression.

“Son of Radugar, will you not take on my name? Will you not honor my name, offer prayers, and sacrifice a little blood to protect your homeland?”

“After a moment of silence, Bruno spoke in a strained voice.”

“Are you joking?”

Finding courage in his own words, he glared at the spirit.

“I was cast out of that country. I abandoned it too. Even my name. I have no interest in any spirits or Elrand.”

It was meant to be a resolute declaration.

However, the dark spirit in the guise of an old man merely brushed it aside with a faint smile.

“Well, what say you?

“What do you mean?”

The old man in black robes spread his arms, his voice like a song.

“The corruption of the light’s vessel has already begun.”

“The more uncontrolled my power grows, the more the continent will be engulfed in calamity.”

“Where will the first ash of death fall?”

“Unfortunately, the city of light, Lughrahn, is too strongly protected by the spirit of light.”

“The burden will fall on poorer lands, on lands already plagued by impurity.”

“For instance,” the spirit sneered, baring its toothless mouth, “where you reside… the slums.”

“What?”

Bruno raised his voice, and a strong wind swept through the cathedral.

The spirit cloth fluttered, and candleholders clattered to the ground.

When Bruno opened his eyes again, the old man was gone.

From that day on, a plague began to spread in the slums of Ricard.