Chapter 64
Not a single word of Rias’s was wrong. From now on, the name Reiffers would be a mark of shame, not honor, to Elia. And Cyrone was someone capable of wiping out Elia’s entire family and the Reiffers name from history just to protect her alone.
Whether man, woman, child, or adult, he would exterminate every single person who remembered Elia Reiffers, no matter the cost.
“There isn’t much time left, Elia.”
Rias spoke softly, as if this was her final chance. There were no more options, no time remaining.
Standing at the eye of this massive storm, Elia felt utterly devastated. It was as if she was paying the price for loving Cyrone.
* * *
After walking for quite some time down a narrow, dark corridor, they stepped outside through a side gate. There stood a carriage, entirely covered by a black curtain. From inside, a masked man emerged.
“I am Grison, servant to His Highness.”
“…His Highness?”
That title was reserved only for royalty. Yet Rias and Grison showed no awkwardness at all.
Elia stared at Grison, noticing a long scar along the back of his hand. It was not a scar formed from a wound, but one that appeared deliberately made.
“I will take care of the aftermath.”
Despite Elia looking puzzled, Grison bowed his head toward the two of them without giving much explanation.
“The Bardor?”
“Plenty has been loaded.”
Only then did Rias nod. As he climbed into the carriage, Grison saluted him once more. Seeing Elia hesitate for a moment, Rias pulled her along without giving her time to think.
A cold chill swept over her entire body.
“This is not a comfortable carriage, it’s quite cold. I had no choice but to rush and could only get this.”
With a loud slam, the carriage door shut, severing them from the world. The horses clattered sharply along the dark night road, their hooves thundering fiercely.
The darkness ahead seemed endless and suffocating.
* * *
The old carriage rattled along the rough road. The increasingly uneven path told Elia they are on the outskirts. She gazed silently into the impenetrable darkness before her.
Then Rias quietly called her name.
“Elia.”
“I have just one question, Rias.”
But it was Elia who spoke first. Looking at Rias’s sharp, composed eyes, she swallowed many words. She had hoped they could live with faith and respect, if not love.
But the future shattered in a fleeting moment had left her hollow.
“Were you ‘that’ guest?”
“……”
Rias gave no reply to Elia. Only a cruel silence.
“I’ll ask again. Were you the one pulling the strings behind our family’s downfall?”
“I’m sorry.”
Only then did Rias lower his head and answer. A low sigh slipped from Elia’s lips. Her body felt colder and colder, yet strangely, her mind grew clearer.
“Yes. That’s why from the very beginning you….”
Elia let out a short laugh. She hardly felt surprised by such things anymore, and that unfamiliarity with herself unsettled her. After all, in a way, she had used Rias to escape from Cyrone, so she couldn’t really feel wronged. In fact, being so sincere back then now seemed foolish.
“Fine. But you’re from the Damon family. How could you possibly control the entire Reiffers family and all the noble houses loyal to them?”
When Elia asked, Rias briefly looked troubled. He seemed hesitant to speak and kept wiping his face, now looking rather pale and rough.
Elia waited silently until he was ready to start.
“Since things have come to this, there’s no point in hiding it anymore.”
After a short breath, Rias slowly opened his lips.
“Elia, I’m actually not from the Damon family.”
“…What?”
Elia found it hard to grasp what he meant. To say outright he wasn’t from the Damon family was bewildering.
“I lived in a very small orphanage in the North until I was seven. The land where I grew up was so cold… I had to worry every day about how to survive until the next.”
Rias clenched his fist lightly as he spoke, frowning slowly as if trying to remember.
“Of course, back then I had no name and didn’t know who my parents were. I just assumed that I was abandoned by my parents like everyone else there.”
The carriage rattled more as if heading further into the wilderness, but Rias’s voice remained clear.
“When I was eight, the head of the Damon family, my adoptive father, came personally to fetch me. Do you know what he said when he saw me?”
Though recounting his past, Rias’s expression was unreadable.
“I’m sorry for coming so late… Your Highness.”
Rias let out a small chuckle as he finished. Elia’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“My original name was Eyl Edelward. I’m the son born between the late Crown Prince and his mistress.”
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