Chapter 250
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“Answer me, Rufus Inferna! I asked whether you knew that His Majesty the King had dug up my mother’s grave!”
Grabbing Rufus’s shoulders tightly, Viren began screaming like a rabid dog. The calm and dignified appearance he usually had was gone.
It was understandable.
The King he had served and followed his entire life hadn’t only dug up and desecrated his mother’s grave, but had also given her final relic to his enemy, Prince Tarek. The shock must have been immense.
And that made it even better.
It was good because Rufus could clearly feel just how badly Viren’s mind was collapsing.
Viren clutched him as if trying to tear him apart while demanding answers. Looking at the man who seemed ready to collapse like a house of cards, Rufus burst into silent laughter within his heart.
At that moment.
The mirror on Viren’s desk glimmered. Moonlight that slipped in through the window reflected Rufus’s face in the mirror.
What appeared in the mirror was a man with a vile expression.
Another man was screaming desperately at that man. Even while facing a man who looked as though he might choke from fury at any moment, he stood there without sharing even a hint of emotion. Instead, a wicked smile lingered on his lips as if he were mocking him.
…Is that my face?
Something hidden deep within Rufus stirred.
It was a strange moment. In that brief instant, Rufus’s entire body grew cold. It felt as if the strings of a straw doll hanging precariously in the air had snapped and thrown him into cold water.
His heart began to ache again.
It was the same sensation as when he saw Esmeral’s smile. His innermost self ached as if pierced by thousands of thorns.
—Wait.
Why… was I feeling joy? Am I really taking pleasure in one man’s despair and frustration? Am I smiling while standing before such overwhelming grief?
No. No.
This isn’t wrong.
I am experiencing true love.
I wanted to protect Sarubia, the woman I love. That is why I decided to kill every royal who could threaten her.
The Crown Prince, this filthy man born from the same bloodline as the King, is no exception.
I will kill the Crown Prince.
Because.
I am experiencing true love.
If it is to protect Sarubia.
If it is for her.
Then it is fine even if I am no longer human.
Yes.
I am not human.
That rotten male witch was right.
I am no longer human.
The blood of demons flows through this cursed body of mine, and there is no longer a human heart left within me.
So I am not human. I am a demon!
As his heightened emotions suppressed even the pain in his chest, Viren suddenly grabbed Rufus by the collar and yanked him forward while shouting.
Dragged by that rough force, Rufus slammed into the desk.
Crash!
The empty recovery potion bottles on the desk clattered onto the floor, and the mirror fell with them.
Fragments of the shattered mirror scattered across the floor, splitting Rufus’s reflection into countless pieces. But Rufus no longer looked at the mirror.
There was no reason to.
There had never been any need to struggle over this.
From the moment I met Sarubia again, I was no longer human.
The one who borrowed the Demon King’s power to meet her again, the one who was resurrected through that power, daring to try living like a human again. That had been nothing more than a luxury.
A broken existence clinging to revenge and madness, praying every day for the deaths of the royal family he hated so much, using their suffering as fuel to prolong his life day by day.
The witch Odr was right.
Love was a curse. It had driven him mad.
So what is the problem?
I still love her, and it is a love that is fully returned.
Soon I will hold in my arms a child who carries half of the woman I love, and I will spend the rest of my life together with her.
And these disgusting creatures will all disappear from this world.
Demon King Audixus.
Did you already foresee this future of mine?
Is that why you called me a fool?
Whatever the answer may be, it no longer matters.
This wavering heart, this weak heart, this aching heart.
None of it is needed anymore.
I.
I, Rufus Inferna.
Am experiencing a true love that no one could ever imagine.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
Suppressing the smile that carried a blade’s edge, Rufus spoke to Viren.
“Would it not be best to ask His Majesty the King directly about the details?”
Go, Your Highness the Crown Prince.
Go now and kill the King.
I feel as though I might go mad because I want to see blood relatives pointing swords at each other and aiming for each other’s throats right now.
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