Is it not permissible for a villain to enjoy rolling [19]
Naran's face turned black, so he clenched his teeth and answered calmly:
“Okay.”
Calin raised his eyebrows in surprise:
"What happened to you? Aren't you that boy who does nothing but be stubborn and cry?"
Naran said firmly:
“Because I need strength.”
Calin furrowed his eyebrows and said sarcastically:
“Do not speak out against his symptoms, and you do not even have the power to deter what is coming.”
Naran replied with sunken eyes:
“I'll bring Lizzy Alheim back.”
Then he muttered, as if talking to himself:
“A power that surpasses Arkle... a power that can withstand even all the knights of the empire if they come together.”
Calin stroked his chin with apparent interest:
“Why does our little one need such strength?”
Naran answered him coldly:
“I don't see any need to explain to you. I'm no longer a child, uncle.”
Naran's crimson eyes sparkled with deadly coldness as he stared at his uncle.
“That nonsense about the experiments being for me... I won't believe it.”
“……..”
Kallin's features froze, then he quickly wrinkled his eyebrows and shouted angrily:
“You tramp! How far have you gone?”
He suddenly rushed over and grabbed Naran's collar violently:
“Have you started to underestimate me like your brothers? Do you think I am weak and easy to despise?”
But Naran, without changing his face, grabbed his uncle’s wrist and said with cold calm:
“I never despised you. I only told you...”
In a flash, he pulled a dagger out of his sleeve and stuck it to the bottom of Kalin's wrist.
“...I'm not as much of a child as you think.”
Kalin's eyes bulged and he swallowed hard.
Naran smiled a pale, frightening smile:
“Didn’t you yourself teach me that a blow here means death? Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten any of what you planted in my body with your own hands.”
Kalin's voice trailed off as he growled:
“What… do you want exactly?”
“I told you… I want power.”
Naran pulled the dagger away from him, and Kalin's fingers yielded and released their grip on his clothes.
Naran took a step back, his eyes sparkling:
“I will never forget what you did to me. You used me as a hook, and now... it's my turn to use you.”
All just so he wouldn't let Lizzie go.
For the first time in his life, something was born within him that he could not give up on, even if it seemed like a dream unbecoming of a human being like him.
'I can't lose her...ever.'
Calin kept staring at Naran with puzzled eyes, then smiled slowly as he nodded:
“Okay… whatever the reason.”
His eyes sparkled with a greedy sparkle:
“As long as you give me a body for experiments for free, it’s okay.”
Then he extended his hand and placed it on Naran's shoulder, and his body convulsed.
“Let's go then. It's time for me to have a little fun with my nephew.”
Naran remained silent without a word, wiping every trace from his face before moving first.
Kalin laughed sarcastically, muttering behind him:
“You rude boy.”
But inside he was burning:
'You arrogant bastard... you think you're going to use me? Petty!’
He only ignored this so as not to waste this precious prey.
'I will personally make sure to discipline you, you ungrateful one.'
He followed him with eyes full of anger.
❖ ❖ ❖
An hour has passed since Hwan was assigned the task of investigating.
As I walked around the room, I thought back to what I knew about Kaline.
As the protagonist of the original novel, Jin Alheim, Kalin is rarely mentioned, even less so than the three Kalin brothers.
‘And all he showed up… was that he was spying and leaking the Cain family’s secrets, which only angered Martha.’
I couldn't come up with anything else no matter how much I racked my brain.
'Were you just delusional?'
I felt a pang, as if there was a secret that had not yet been revealed.
‘Maybe tomorrow I will go to Naran and invite him to have breakfast together...it might brighten my mood.’
I imagined his bright face when he heard the invitation, as if it had given him the world and everything in it.
'He'll smile with that sweet innocence again... won't he?'
She suddenly opened the door and left, and Sylvia, who was standing in front of him, was confused:
“Where are you going?”
I smiled and said:
“To see my baby.”
Her eyes widened in astonishment:
“Y-your kid?”
“You'll understand now.”
She followed me in confusion, until she stood in front of Naran's room.
There she just realized and gaped.
“You mean the little one is Mr. Naran…?”
She laughed and said:
“Of course, he's my little angel.”
She kept staring at me in amazement, but I knocked on the door and said:
“Naran, it's Lizzie.”
I waited for him to smile, but he didn't appear.
“How about we have breakfast together tomorrow morning?”
But no answer.
'Perhaps a circumstance does not allow him to go out?'
She went to his workshop, but the door was locked tightly.
No trace of him anywhere.
Sylvia asked anxiously:
“He's not even here?”
She shook her head in confusion, and suddenly a maid appeared carrying laundry.
“Oh, Miss Lizzy. If you are looking for the third master, he has been out since early morning.”
I started to ask her:
“Where did he go?”
She answered hesitantly:
“Apparently to the West Wing… with Mr. Callen.”
My eyes met Sylvia's in an instant.
'Caline...that bastard?! And with two fires together?'
And even since dawn?! Even his workshop, which he loves, he neglected...?
If Naran had skipped the morning cleaning of his workshop, there must have been a good reason behind it.
‘It can’t just be his attachment to Uncle… Naran wasn’t receiving him so warmly in the first place.’
I still vividly remember that moment when I was told the news of Kalin's return; How his eyes suddenly darkened.
Even Sylvia, who was exchanging glances with me, realized that there was something suspicious about the matter.
Suddenly I thought of the face Kalin had made when he showed interest in my ability to heal.
“What's in the West Wing?”
“It's the place where Mr. Kalin used to stay in the past. Access to it is restricted, so I don't know the details, but I heard that it has many strange tools... Some even likened it to a magic tower!”
“A power that makes me curious to experience it...”
I felt every hair on my body stand up.
'It can't be...'
He turned to Sylvia suddenly.
“Sylvia, take me to the West Wing immediately.”
‘…..!’
She hesitated a moment, then nodded.
"Okay. I'll protect you."
There was strength in her steady voice that made me smile confidently at her.
As I was about to walk behind her, she suddenly stopped.
“Ah, but before that… there’s somewhere I have to go first!”
Sylvia turned to me.
“Go ahead, I will guard the rear.”
I gave her a reassuring thumbs up, then I quickly walked.
❖ ❖ ❖
West wing, downstairs.
“Shit…failed again?”
Kalin muttered curses as he looked away from Naran lying on the large bed.
Slowly, Naran straightened up, sitting up.
His skin, visible between the buttons of his open shirt, was streaked with purplish-red welts.
Although his body seemed exhausted, his features remained expressionless, and his ruby eyes that had always sparkled with life were now immersed in heavy darkness.
“You really don't feel anything? Ha, little one… Naran? Naran Kaien!”
But his loud voice did not reach Naran's ears.
He was immersed in his memories.
“Naran, this is all for you.”
This is what he said to him one day: He helps him because he is helpless and weak.
“Martha is smart and quick-witted, and Arkell has brutal strength. As for you, Naran...”
Kalin approached him, holding a glass vial containing an unknown liquid in his hand.
He violently grabbed the child's trembling arm and held his face, forcing him to open his mouth.
“Don’t you want to become as powerful as Arkell? Don’t you want to be recognized like Martha? This medicine will explode your magical powers. It’s all for you. Drink quietly.”
“No, uncle...! If you vomit like last time...!”
Naran shook his head vigorously, and Kallin's gaze turned harsh.
“You useless bastard! If this drug works, the Cayenne family’s wealth will increase! I raised you painstakingly, so at least you can be useful!”
He growled, cupping the baby's cheeks in his fists.
The little boy's eyes were filled with tears.
Calin looked at him with disdain, then let out a dissatisfied click of his tongue:
“Tsk, that's enough. It's my fault that I pinned my hopes on trash like you...it will remain that way as long as I live.”
He turned his back, but the shrunken child muttered in a hoarse voice:
“Wait, uncle… S-I’ll drink.”
Calin suddenly smiled:
"Yes, yes. You can't be a burden forever."
He hastily poured the liquid into his mouth.
Naran swallowed, closing his eyes tightly.
Kalin kept waiting tensely...
“Khhh—oh…! Khhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahahahahahah!
Naran soon broke out coughing and vomiting blood.
Kalin frowned in anger.
“Damn it...shall I change the sample? I thought the Arkle blood running through you would make it possible!”
Naran raised his tearful eyes towards his uncle's back.
He longed to hear from him one word that he had never said:
You are not trash.
...And now, years later, Naran was staring in the same silence at Kalin's back, while the same scene was repeated.
His body had grown, so Kalin was relieved of the harshness of the experiments.
He tore his flesh, gave him drugs, and injected him with unknown fluids, until he thought he was on the verge of death.
But—
'We had agreed to have breakfast together...'
Just recalling this thought brought a strange peace to his heart.
It is true that he intended to exploit her from the beginning, as a saint with the ability to heal must be a trump card anywhere.
But it ends up being that all he does with her is have a shared breakfast...!
He smiled self-deprecatingly.
As he smiled, Kalin stared at the bottle and growled under his breath:
“It's no use... I have to get it myself.”
“...Presenting who?”
“Aleheim Girl. I need to find out about her healing ability as well...”
But he did not finish his sentence.
Naran suddenly stood up and grabbed his collar tightly.
“It's not a girl, it's Lizzie Alheim. And just try saying her name like that again... I'll kill you.”
Naran's gaze filled with murderous intent was undoubtedly sincere.
*****
Translated by: Snow
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