Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Did I really enter Kadan’s dream? Like looking into Aedis’ past?

But unlike Aedis at the time, Kadan could no longer threaten me, so it was impossible to confirm the truth. I wouldn’t know about later…….

Just the thought of meeting Kadan again exhausted me.

“I wish it was a nonsense dream… … .”

I dug into Aedis’ arms just like before I fell asleep.

As I burrowed into Aedis, my heart that had been beating like crazy slowly calmed down. I was glad my husband was by my side though.

“Aedis, am I relying on you too much?”

I asked in a very low voice, with my face buried in his chest. There was no answer.

But I could feel a hand stroking my back.

Perhaps he thought I woke up from a nightmare.

It wasn’t a nightmare though.

“Still, I’m cute, so please look after me.”

I hugged Aedis tightly.

* * *

Aedis listened to Maevia’s heartbeat slowly return to its original rhythm.

He had been awake since Maevia started breathing irregularly.

“… … I don’t know what you were dreaming of.”

“…….”

“You can rely on me a little more.”

Aedis looked down at Maevia sleeping in his arms.

It must have been a very unpleasant nightmare for her, and she seemed unwilling to let him go even after she barely fell asleep again.

Being a woman of considerable courage, Aedis realized it had been no ordinary nightmare. But Aedis didn’t ask Maevia anything.

Even just asking her stirred the thought that it might burden her.

Aedis knew that she wouldn’t easily break the promise she made with him. So when she couldn’t keep her promise, he knew how sorry she was to him.

Even though she didn’t have to be sorry at all.

Aedis kissed Maevia’s forehead lightly.

“I hope you have a good dream this time.”

His wife was such a lovely person. She was so precious that he dared to lock her in his arms.

He will move everyone away. But that beast was an exception.

Aedis had always been more worried about Maevia than Regen, and he thought that the beast would do more harm than his brother.

In Maevia’s memory, the beast remained as a noble, sweet, and thoughtful image, but Aedis thought it was a deception.

In this world without God, that beast was like a god. He always took care of all things, but there were certainly moments when he accidentally destroyed them.

The owner of Ambrosia. The oldest light, Hyperion.

The one in the high place. The one who descended to the lowest place.

A great star who had grown old, leaving only two arms to care for all things.

All of them were nicknames that were too grand to represent a single beast.

…… But it was not enough to refer to God.

Aedis swept the pink hair covering Maevia’s cheek to the side. His blue eyes stared into the silence.

He died, and the body was burned. So he might have acted more aggressively.

He seemed to think Maevia might be able to take his place, so he won’t try to leave the place vacant for long.

He’ll make her die somehow.

He will somehow awaken and make her his own successor. The kindness must have been for that from the beginning.

Whether that persistent persuasion and coercion would be poisonous to Maevia was not yet for him to decide.

His brother still wanted immortality. No, that was everything. After he gets what he most wants, he will try to get everything else.

If Maevia changed her mind and wanted the same things, he had no right to stop her.

In the first place, he didn’t want to prevent Maevia from doing anything.

He liked Maevia; what Maevia liked and what Maevia hated.

What she wanted to do was right and what she didn’t want to do was wrong.

So, it was up to Maevia as to how Aedis would behave afterwards.

“…… Still, I hope you don’t get hurt.”

Quietly sighing, he followed Maevia and closed his eyes.

* * *

Fortunately, I didn’t dream of Kadan after I fell asleep again.

Still a little tired, I drank coffee before breakfast and skimmed through the dresses Sarah was choosing.

“Your Grace, how about this dress today?”

What Sarah chose was an elegant velvet dress.

“It’s pretty, but wouldn’t it be too hot to wear in the castle?”

Then Sarah laughed.

“Ah, it’s okay if Your Grace dies.”

…… what?

I was so startled that I dropped my coffee cup.

“Your Grace! Are you okay?!”

Even the maids outside were surprised and came in, but I asked with a dazed look.

“What did you just say…….”

Sarah quickly moved to remove all the broken pieces and raised her head.

“What? I said it’s okay if Your Grace wants to wear it. Even if the wounds are healed, it’s good to wear layers just in case…… ?”

“…….”

Oh my, did I hear it wrong?

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

I barely nodded my head. As Sarah and the maids cleared the pieces, I changed my dress with a dazed mind.

Soon the butler came in and started working in the morning. The butler and the officials seemed to put my birthday party on the first list.

The moment I saw the papers related to my birthday party, which took the top priority over all the agenda, I felt like I was coming to my senses a bit.

Even in the midst of the chaos due to my and Aedis’ absence, the preparations for my birthday party were steadily progressing.

“…… And Marchioness Morgana sent a letter. ”

“Really?”

The butler smiled, thinking that I would be happy to hear the news about my parents.

“Yes. She said she wanted Your Grace to die in five days.”

“…….”

This time, I really didn’t hear it wrong. Seeing my hardened face, the butler stopped.

“Your Grace?”

I stared at the butler without blinking.

“What did you just say?”

“She said she was going to be here in five days…….”

Same with Sarah. The butler didn’t even realize he had told me to die. Rather, I thought that I had heard such a thing, and I wondered if I was crazy.

I put the papers down.

A dream that revealed Kadan’s plans. Words that wished me to die.

…… It couldn’t be a coincidence.

I bit my lower lip softly. Someone wanted me to die and inherit the beast’s powers and was provoking me, saying ‘won’t you die?’

I pushed at my desk and got up.

As I discarded the papers and trudged away, the butler called from behind.

“Your Grace? Are you going to die?”

“No!”

“…… Your Grace?”

Perhaps the butler had another question. He would normally ask where are you going? But I must have heard that are you going to die.

I left the room and quickly ran across the hallway. I didn’t want to talk to anyone any more, but the maids coming from the other side showed polite manners with shy faces.

“Your Grace.”

“You look busy. Shall we attend to you?”

I was afraid that the maids would tell me to die like the butler and Sarah had.

“…… Your Grace?”

It wasn’t just them. I also turned away Paimon, who huddled with Raven, and the cats that were crying after knocking over empty vases.

After walking for such a long time that my lips went dry, I found the only person I could rely on.

“Aedis!”

“Eve?”

He looked slightly surprised.

He should have known I was coming, but he didn’t know what my expression would show.

I ran quickly and hid behind Aedis’ back. I clasped his robe with both hands and looked around.

“Are you really Aedis?”

“I don’t know how to make you believe me, but…… There is no one near.”

Even with Aedis’ friendly voice, I couldn’t relax. Things were so weird.

“Aedis.”

“Yes, Eve.”

“Maybe the people in the castle could have been brainwashed by Kadan, no, that guy?”

As I asked for confirmation, Aedis denied it.

“If it were, I would have known.”

I clung to Aedis. The fact that Kadan wasn’t the culprit made me even more nervous.

“Aedis, how much do you like me?”

“…… what?”

It must have been a random question for Aedis. I stood on the tips of my toes and put my lips near his ear.

“From now on, can you seriously listen to what I’m saying?”

“I will.”

Aedis didn’t hesitate for a moment. He was the husband I usually knew, who loved his wife very much. So, I was able to muster the courage to say something that might sound strange.

“You know. If Kadan wasn’t the culprit, I think I turned the world into an enemy.”

“…… That’s a little bit easier to understand.”

Aedis leaned toward me. I looked at the shape of his mouth and muttered unknowingly.

“It’s still okay somehow, but if even you tell me to die, I really can’t stand it.”

Aedis took my arms that were clinging to his robe desperately. He made me release my grip on his clothes, and he lifted me up at once.

Aedis said to me, who was startled by the sudden rise in eye level.

“Eve, don’t die.”

“…….”

“Aren’t you going to answer me?”

“I’m, I’m not going to die.”

Aedis walked while still carrying me.

“Where are we going?”

“A place where no one is.”

“…….”

His actions seemed to indicate that he had read my heart. Aedis explained with a natural face, as if he didn’t mind a single word of what I said.

“You said that if even I told the wife to die, you wouldn’t be able to stand it. Doesn’t that mean that other people have already said it?”

That’s the way it is….