Edgar wanted to grab his father’s neck and tell him to stop with that nonsense.
Judging from the condition of the room, it wasn’t their first meeting. Ann had said he had been staying at the villa for more than a month… a cold smile appeared on the duchess’ face.
“You don’t love her?”
“Yes, it was just… she said she was suffering so much that she wanted to die if I didn’t meet her. So, I met her out of pity. You are the only one I truly love.”
The duke got up from the bed and was about to reach his wife.
“Filthy!”
The duchess yelled. That yell became a shriek and shook the building. However, it didn’t fade after that, and it pierced everybody’s ears. It wasn’t just a feeling. Blood truly came out of their ears.
Soon the duchess shed her skin. Then, a brilliantly beautiful creature came out. Her white hair that reached the floor glowed and her white skin was like air itself.
Moreover, her back had two brilliant wings.
‘… nymph.’
Edgar had heard about nymphs. Immortal creatures that lived on their own islands on the other side of the ocean. However, they hadn’t shown themselves on the continent for more than a century. Edgar couldn’t believe what he was seeing. On the other hand, the duke and the nurse were so calm with the unrealistic situation.
“My love, this was only a mistake…”
The duke couldn’t say more, and he was not going to say anything again. The second the nymph raised her finger to point at him, his soul left his body. His mistress met the same fate.
There was no mercy in a nymph’s rage.
The nymph made the souls of the man she once called husband and the woman who had seduced him leave their bodies and looked at Edgar. Her eyes were cold, there was no emotion in them. Then, her finger was pointed at him.
“You shall never walk again under the sunlight.”
As soon as she finished saying that, Edgar felt a severe pain under his ankles and fell. His feet started to feel numb slowly. At the time, his knees were not paralyzed. However, the numbness in his feet was enough. He couldn’t walk normally. So, he limped as he tried to reach the nymph.
“… mother.”
Edgar didn’t know what he wanted to say. Anyway, the nymph didn’t get to hear it. She turned into foam and disappeared right on the spot.
“Oh, my princess. I told you not to fall in love with a man many times…”
Then Caren took out a pendulum and put the foam in it. She had come with Edgar’s mother from their homeland. So, Edgar desperately grabbed her.
“Caren, where is my mother? Where did she go? She is alive, right?”
Instead of replying to that, Caren lightly pushed him away.
Normally that much of force would have done nothing to him, but now his feet were numb. He immediately fell. Caren was about to leave without regrets with the pendulum, but then she looked back by the door.
“Do you blame her?”
Edgar shook his head.
“If I should blame someone, I will blame father.”
He really meant it. Even though his mother had cursed him, he didn’t want to blame her. The anger, betrayal, and solitude she had felt. Edgar had felt something like that when he witnessed his father’s shame.
How despaired she must have been that she cursed her own son?
He wanted to deny the fact that half of his body had come from that dirty man.
“… Eddie.”
Caren went back to Edgar. If he had blamed her princess, she would have left without hesitation. However, he didn’t. She pointed at his feet.
“If you don’t break the curse, the numbness will grow and go up to your body in time. You will lose your life when it reaches your heart.”
“I might lose it before that.”
Edgar smiled bitterly. He had been cursed by a nymph, he didn’t think the world would let him live.
“Half of your blood is a nymph’s blood. If the princess’…”
Caren shut her mouth. Then, she shook her head as if she was regretting saying that.
“You could have gotten eternal life. However, because of your father’s sin, your fate is now in grave danger.”
Caren took out a jewelry box from her pocket and opened it. Inside was a ring with a blue stone that looked like a piece of blue sky.
“You will not get to live for eternity, but I will give you one chance. When your life is about to come to an end, put this ring on your chest and say the name. Then you will return to this moment.”
“Can’t you send me back to before father started having an affair?”
“That is beyond my power.”
Caren looked bitter while she stroked Edgar’s cheek with affection.
“Eddie, break the curse. It is also for the princess.”
Edgar looked at the pendulum that now contained his mother.
“How can I break the curse?”
“You must find the way yourself. Getting others’ help is… Eddie, I can tell you only one thing. Do not forget the difference between a curse and a blessing is very small.”
Those were her last words. Then, she fell, and the human warmth left her body. Soon the pendulum soared up to the sky slowly.
What kind of creature was she? A nymph, or protector of a nymph? Or… Edgar looked at the ring Caren had left. It had the power of letting him live his life again.
However, why would he live again if he couldn’t stop today’s tragedy?
***
“My Lord!”
Too late, Carl undid the rope that bound him and came to Edgar, but he didn’t let Carl touch him.
“How long have you been helping this dirty scheme of father?”
His voice was icy cold, and Carl hesitated for a moment. However, he decided lying now wouldn’t be right. Moreover, Duke Claymore was dead. Now Edgar was the one he was supposed to serve.
“… a decade.”
“Ha.”
Edgar let out a hollow laugh. Ten years ago. He had entered the Academy then. The duchess was worried about her son and would sometimes come to Aron’s Academy in spite of the long trip. The duke always apologized, saying he couldn’t go together as he had much to do. He would give more than enough money instead. He said she should have a good time during the trip. Everybody called him generous. They said no other man did that to his wife.
However, the duchess would look lonely sometimes when she was with Edgar.
-I should take this to your father, he would like it.
She said that every time when she found a strange thing from the faraway lands. She always dropped by at shops to see if there was a new fountain pen or better ink during her trip.
She always thought of her husband even when they were apart.
But he was using work as an excuse to come to this villa and… Edgar didn’t even want to think about it.
“If you couldn’t bring yourself to tell it to mother, you should have at least asked my help or Ann’s to stop this.”
“He begged for my help. He said he really loved her.”
The pain Edgar felt back then couldn’t be described in words. Now he didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t.
“Claymore Family is doomed. I have been cursed by a nymph.”
“No, Your Grace. I heard what Caren said. We can break the curse. She has left the ring to give you another chance to break the curse.”
“Carl! Look around the room. How are you going to explain this to the people?”
“We can make it look like an accident. We’ll tell them there has been a carriage accident on our way back. You and I are the only witnesses, anyway.”
The butler’s eyes sparkled strangely.
Edgar saw a kind of madness in this loyal butler.
“My Lord, my family has been serving Duke Claymore for generations. Now you are the duke. I will never let you fall in danger.”
Edgar could barely stop himself from spitting on Carl’s face, but he had been raised as the next Duke Claymore since he learned how to walk.
Researches conducted in the Claymore’s name, money and businesses that depended on them. How big were they?
It wasn’t just about money. The jobs of so many people depended on them… if the researches were not done successfully, they were all going to be thrown out on the streets.
The Kingdom of Seritos was exporting war weapons to buy the food it lacked. Edgar was facing the responsibility of everything he had enjoyed until now. He wanted to kill Carl who had helped his father and end his own as well. However, death wasn’t something that would be easily granted to him.
***
Edgar’s feet miraculously became normal after sunset. He silently cursed as he dressed his father. Carl hacked his mistress’ face so that it wouldn’t be recognizable and dressed her in the duchess’s dress.
Then, they put the three bodies -the duke’s, the fake duchess’, and Caren’s- in the carriage. Edgar could feel something warm deep in his heart fading away. Carl silently helped him with it.
Edgar felt endless disgust and hatred toward him. Nevertheless, he got Carl’s help. Although he hated Carl, his judgment had been right. That is what Edgar’s rationale said.
In the chaos, Edgar pushed the carriage at a cliff near the villa.
It hit the bulged rocks of the cliff many times and soon fell to the far bottom.
‘Bam!’
The sound of the carriage being broken to pieces hit the cliff again and again and reached Edgar as an echo.
