Chapter 136: Tug of War
I’ve seen many people die in Heilon. Countless families have been devastated by loss. I also understand how despair can drive people to extremes. But I couldn’t allow myself to get emotionally invested in every tragedy. If I had, I wouldn’t have been able to keep going. During the war, all I could do was protect the survivors as much as possible. So, while Rizé’s situation was undeniably heartbreaking, it didn’t stir me deeply. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
However, I found myself angry—more so than usual—and I couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
After sending Rizé home, I gathered the knights and explained the situation. I smiled brightly. “What do you all think of this?”
Leander was quick to answer, “Now, he’s spreading false rumors and tarnishing your honor. And you’re the sole heir of Heilon.”
Another knight chimed in, “In other words, this is about Heilon’s honor. No matter who he is—a noble or not—we can’t let this slide.”
It was the perfect response. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
I clapped my hands. “Exactly! Honestly, I’ve already made up my mind to raise hell as soon as I get my hands on him.”
The knights laughed briefly.
“Miss, we thought you might!”
“As expected, Miss—good call!”
Ah, they were all so good at flattery.
They all shouted in unison, “We owe you a debt, so it’s time to pay the interest!”
It seemed the proud warriors of the North hadn’t forgotten Heilon’s ways, even in the capital.
Good.
I smiled gracefully. “Who’s ready to bring down this crook for dragging my name through the mud?”
Every hand shot up instantly. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
***
Bill Curtis was originally the fourth son of the Curtis family. His three older brothers all had their own specialties, but Bill was different—he wasn’t good at anything. Being the fourth son, he wasn’t even entitled to an inheritance.
One day, a stroke of “fortune” came to Bill, who had always been bitter about his useless position. While hunting with his family, the darkness suddenly appeared, and everyone died—except for him. His talented brothers, with their dazzling skills, perished, but he survived.
Rather than feeling grief, Bill found a twisted joy in his family’s fate. He had always lived with a deep sense of inferiority toward his brothers, but now, for the first time, he felt special. Why? Because he had survived the darkness, where everyone else died. He believed this made him unique, even superior. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. His talents, he thought, weren’t like the ordinary ones his brothers had—they were extraordinary. He was the chosen one.
Bill even claimed to have heard a voice in the darkness, a place where everything else died upon contact. To him, it was a revelation. Since that day, monsters avoided him, which he interpreted as a sign of fear—they, too, recognized his chosen status.
While most people saw the darkness as a disaster, Bill believed it was divine. He was convinced that the voice in the darkness was God, a God who had descended to cleanse the world of the wicked. And Bill, as the chosen one, had a mission to guide the ignorant masses.
He quickly began spreading his message. At first, no one believed him, but as the darkness became more frequent and terrifying, people started listening. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com. More and more people, grieving the loss of loved ones—family, friends, lovers—became desperate for hope. And Bill offered that hope. His followers grew.
“Count, is my son really going to survive?”
Bill regularly gathered his followers, preaching his story. He had a knack for persuasion, and people quickly became devoted to him.
But as a woman in tattered clothes, desperate and pleading, knelt before him, Bill felt nothing but irritation.
“What a fool,” he thought, looking at the middle-aged woman clinging to his trouser leg.
“Didn’t I tell you last time?” he snapped. “You need to bring me something more valuable!”
“The things I gave you before were the only valuables I had…”
“Is your son’s life really worth that little?” Bill sneered. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
“N-no, that’s not it…”
The woman begged desperately, clinging to his trousers as he frowned down at her.
“My son was a good boy. He loved his little sister so much that he traveled around selling goods to earn money. It must have been a mistake for God to take him… Please, save my son…”
The woman’s pleading voice grated on Bill’s nerves. He kicked her.
“Get away!”
Thud! The woman tumbled helplessly to the ground.
“…”
Bill glared at her, annoyed. Some people, even without offering any money, pushed things too far.
‘Just shut up, listen to me, and cheer!’
What Bill truly enjoyed was watching people rave about him. After all, he was the chosen one, the savior of these fools!
“Wait,” he said, his voice suddenly solemn as he reined in his irritation. “It seems the God who sleeps in the darkness hasn’t yet forgiven your son.”
Even after being kicked to the ground, the woman clung to hope. She hadn’t seen her son’s body, so she couldn’t bring herself to fully accept his death. She still believed there was a chance she’d see him again. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
The woman quickly scrambled to her feet, groaning in pain. “Ah, I see. Thank you, thank you, Count,” she mumbled, bowing in gratitude.
Bill smirked inwardly at her shabby appearance as he turned away. He didn’t want followers like her—pathetic, desperate people. He needed someone special, someone enlightened, like him.
‘Fiona Heilon.’
He had kept his ears open to all the gossip about her. She must be someone who had received the same divine enlightenment, just like he had. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘I’m sure she must have heard the voice too…’
He needed to make room for her by his side. Read the translation only on itsladygrey.com.
‘It’s foolish of you to keep rejecting my offer, Fiona.’
What a pity.
***
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