Chapter 70: Chapter 70

‘Angry’ was an understatement if one was to describe Caldwell’s feelings on that day.

Like he had suspected, his lovely bride was a no-show at the Grand Cathedral. What’s worse, his most important prisoner had escaped the heavily guarded cell he had slaved away for many years to build, and it was almost destroyed by a fire into smithereens just within minutes.

No, he was not just angry. He was furious!

Fortunately, he had saved face by not announcing his wedding to the public on that day. He had only made private arrangements with the bishop, so if something like this should happen, he could contain the news more effectively.

True enough, he only needed to murder the bishop, some clergymen and a handful of servants to keep everything at bay. The only thing he hated was that no one had seen how his young bride had left with her lady-in-waiting, and no one could also tell him how his cursed nephew had escaped when his cell had caught fire.

Their break out only proved that his castle wasn’t as cursed-proof as he thought it was. There was also another possibility: he had a traitor in his midst. He could only think of one possible traitor, and he will begin to interrogate him now.

Caldwell entered his study in a calm manner. His insides were burning with rage, but coaxing the truth out of this prisoner would do no good. He has to use sugar to coax out the truth in him, not fire.

The trembling form of Danry - Danterion’s weak and younger personality - sat across him, looking dumfounded. This one before Caldwell was an insipid fool – but he was still a prince, and his other personality was superior in intelligence.

This boy would never guess that Caldwell was suspecting him of helping Shia, Khailis, and Langrion escape. A few days ago, some servants had reported to Caldwell that this young prince was seen with his bride in the hall, and that he had kissed her. If that was true, he would have surely aided her to escape.

“Uncle, why is it too dark in here? Can’t we open the lights,” the boy’s voice said, shivering in the cold. Seeing a twenty one year old man speak like a child was positively laughable, but seeing how his bride had escaped successfully without a trace, Caldwell knew he mustn’t underestimate this lad at all.

“Danry, my boy, tell me, why do you think I’m keeping you here, hmm?”

The lad squirmed as if he was whipped although no punishment had descended his body... yet.

He burst into tears, like he had always done so in the past whenever he questioned him. “I don’t know, uncle. I didn’t do anything bad, I swear!...”

“Are you sure of that?”

A chess board was placed across them for fun. Caldwell moved a piece to start the game.

“You liked this game a lot, right, Danry? Come on, tell me what happened while we’re playing...”

He looked at the board and dried his face with the back of his hand. Danry loved this game to death. Quickly absorbed by the game, the boy studied the board and moved a piece. He started to scratch his head and spoke in a more absentminded manner, “I didn’t do anything uncle. It was Danterion and the mean, old man who did something bad...”

“I see. Tell me, what did they do?”

It took two to three more chess moves before Danry spoke, “Danterion kissed Lady Shia. He was thinking of doing a lot of bad things too...”

“What bad things was he thinking of doing?”

Danry’s brows furrowed, his eyes fixed on the chess board. “He was thinking why.”

“Why what?”

“He was thinking why you slept with our mother, that’s why...”

Caldwell looked back at the boy in horror. Did he also know his secret?

“I was thinking of it too, uncle... Why did you do that to our mother? It was a long time ago, but how come you never told me you’re my father?”

The boy was now looking at him coldly, his eyes fixed at his face, boring a hole through his soul.

Caldwell stared in horror. This personality isn’t Danry at all! He was fooled!

“What the devil – Danterion! Why are you pretending to be Danry?”

The boy before him began to chuckle like a man – the calculating and cunning man Prince Danterion Alexy Romualdi really was!

“Did you like my show, uncle? I didn’t know I could fool you like that.”

A servant knocked softly on the door and entered, bearing with him a bottle of wine and two goblets for drinking.

“Ah, good timing! I’m thirsty!” Danterion exclaimed. After the servants poured some wine in his glass, he swirled his glass around, looking at the deep, crimson color of the wine.

“Let’s make a toast, uncle! Thanks to you, I had been born in this world. Clearly, I wouldn’t be standing right here if you didn’t have such monstrous appetite for women!”

Caldwell threw his goblet on the wall behind Danterion’s back, feeling bitter that he had missed his head just a few feet away.

“Why you, devil!”

The boy laughed softly. “Why am I the devil here? Weren’t you the more evil one between the two of us? How could you even say that to your very own child?”

Caldwell’s hands shook in his seat. “You are no child of mine!”

“Of course, I was never your child! I am the child of the Devil, am I not?”

Under the pale night sky, with the full moon being the only source of light in his private study, Caldwell could only look back in terror as the eyes of the young prince before him changed from blue to a deeper shade of violet. The feel of his voice began to change as well. His stare became even more diabolical, making Caldwell’s chest feel suffocated. His stomach began to rumble; he wanted to throw up, and yet he couldn’t break his eyes away from this being before him!

“Dear me, I had forgotten to say thank you now, didn’t I? I supposed, I should be grateful for you... You have produced my child, and you really provided me with the turning point I needed to start my kingdom...”

The voice that came from Danterion – he had heard it before! He had heard it on that night that the allure of power tempted him!

“Y-you -”

“That’s right,” the man – or rather the entity – from across him replied, “I am the one and only – the Ancient Evil - in the flesh!”

“H-how did you?...”

“It was easy. They are my spawn. I needed a vessel to live so I could make the prophecy come true, and thanks to you, everything became possible... But why did you attempt to tamper with my plans, old man? You were going to make someone your queen and bear an heir so that I wouldn’t be able to rise in power, right? That’s so... heroic of you!”

The Ancient Evil tipped the goblet to his lips. He finished the whole glass in one drink.

“Ah, this is a truly remarkable wine! Care to taste it?”

The evil thing got up and went to the bottle of wine that the servants laid in a nearby table. He poured a generous amount of spirits in his goblet.

“Frankly, I don’t care if you would have married twenty times. All your plans will always fail, anyway. You would never be able to spawn a child without my help, you know... But to think that, out of all the women in your kingdom, why did you choose the one you shouldn’t have?”

The Ancient Evil moved closer to Caldwell’s seat. Caldwell wanted to run from him, to flee the scene, but he was transfixed on the spot, unable to move his body. The only thing he could control was his blinking. Blasted gods, he had been cursed!

“Now, because of you, I had to reveal my plan to my bride prematurely. All would have been well if you did not stir the course of history, Caldwell. Why didn’t you just marry the girl you had intended to wed, in the first place? I gave you a chance to be happy, but apparently, your greedy lot does not know how to be satisfied. How typical of you humans!”

“W-which bride are you talking about?”

“Oh, that young bride you have chosen for yourself – didn’t you know that she belongs to me? You weren’t supposed to touch her, you know...”

“B-but I didn’t... I didn’t touch her!”

He snorted. “I’m sure you have touched her a hundred times in your mind, have you not? Did you have fun looking at her?”

Caldwell wanted to shake his head, but he couldn’t. No matter how much he tried to thrash about, all he could manage to do was to tremble slightly.

“Oh, I remembered. You had touched your very own niece when she was younger, right? How can I be so sure that you did not touch my Freya with your filthy hands, Caldwell? Now, I’m beginning to worry that you hadn’t been really truthful with me...”

By the gods of Teotroly, how did the Ancient Evil even know about that?! Did Edelfina tell Danterion of that one night encounter?

“No, no! I swear I didn’t touch Shia... O-or anyone named Freya!”

“If you say so, then, I’ll believe you, for all time’s sake... After all, thanks to you, I can exercise my power to this extent...”

The Ancient Evil walked closer to him. Caldwell was afraid. The Ancient Evil began to tilt his head upwards.

“Alright now, be a good boy, and drink this. It will calm your nerves...”

A horrible feeling crept over Caldwell’s heart as he looked at the wine inside the goblet that the Ancient One was holding. Is this the end? Will he just die in a pathetic way like this?

The devil smiled wildly at him as he forced his forehead upwards.

“Indeed, you catch up well. This is the end. Goodbye, Caldwell!”

Despite his vehement resistance in his head, the Ancient One parted his lips with ease and poured in the glass of wine, enabling the liquid to flow downwards to his throat and then straight to his stomach.

Almost immediately, his vision turned blurry. His stomach rumbled fiercely as if some vile thing was burning inside of him, and his breathing became so pained, he wanted to thrash about and hit his head on the wall.

After a full three minutes of unspeakable agony, Caldwell’s spirit escaped his body. He was no more but an empty piece of shell.

After twenty years of ruling with an iron fist against cursed ones, King Caldwell Narnis the First existed no longer.

Thus, a new rule - the epoch of the Ancient Evil - has begun!