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Chapter 92
Kieran Basilian had ‌‌‌been born with a naturally suspicious disposition.
He trusted no one, allowing only a select few into the chambers of his heart.
Rather than reveal his true self, he perpetually donned a mask-like smile.
It had always been enough.
For most people, at least.
In Kieran Basilian's life, there were two who had shattered that mask.
The first was his wife, and the second was his youngest daughter.
From the moment I first met her at the Orphanage, ‌‌‌I recognized she was no ordinary child.
Those pink eyes that showed no fear of a Basilian whose veins ran with serpent's blood were unmistakably extraordinary.
She was ‌‌‌‌the perfect child I had sought for the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony.
Yet she was ‌a fairy.
The flowers and butterflies blooming upon barren earth were undoubtedly manifestations of fairy power.
Witnessing that spectacle, I swallowed back a hollow laugh.
She ‌‌bore the face of my deceased wife, the child who had captivated me at first glance.
And now she possessed the same fairy nature as my wife?
Even fate could not align itself so perfectly, so conveniently.
My habitual patterns of thought seized my mind first.
Suspicion, above ‌‌‌all else.
Was the child perhaps a fabrication, ‌‌a creation of someone's design?
'There is no other ‌way it could fit so precisely....'
I clenched my teeth ‌‌‌with grim determination.
The muscles of my jaw tightened rigidly.
My ‌‌‌‌role as Master of the Underworld had never been publicly revealed.
Yet no secret remained eternal.
Some knew the truth, and from them, whispers inevitably ‌leaked into the world.
The underground economy entangled with the Underworld's interests rivaled the wealth of entire nations.
Because of this, I had endured countless attempts against me.
Every conceivable scheme had been deployed to destabilize the Master of the Underworld.
When I first met Chesa.
I had even tested her with a magical suppression collar, ‌‌‌wondering if she might be a transformed being—all for this reason.
There had been those who ‌‌‌claimed to be blood relatives of the Countess Basilian, appearing from nowhere with dubious claims, so verification was naturally ‌‌necessary.
Afterward, I never lowered my guard.
Because Chesa Basilian was 'too' perfect.
A child resembling my wife, wearing a smile identical to hers, whispering words my wife had once spoken to me—such moments shook my heart with terrible intensity.
So I suspected, and I suspected again.
I observed her meticulously, waiting for her to make even the smallest mistake and reveal her true nature.
Yet the more I observed and watched, the deeper I sank, as though stepping into a mire from which I could not escape.
So thoroughly did I fall that I eventually came to believe I could not live without her.
And yet, in ‌‌this very moment. ‌‌‌
The suspicion that ‌‌‌‌had quieted within me flared anew as I recognized the Fairy's Domain and beheld the child who ‌had summoned flowers to blanket the entire landscape.
Yet Kieran, ablaze with ‌fiery doubt, soon came to a realization.
Even if the child were a fabrication created to deceive me.
Even if I could clearly foresee a future where I would drive a blade through my own heart.
There was nothing I could do about it.
Regardless of what the child was, I could ‌‌‌‌only accept and love her.
No—rather, ‌‌I was in a position where I had to beg for her affection.
"Can Chesa... take the name Basilian too?" ‌
So that the child would continue to desire belonging to the Basilian name.
For I had already surrendered my heart ‌‌to ‌‌‌her.
Kieran gazed upon the child's inexplicable fury.
The sight of flowers and butterflies blooming across the landscape was fantastical.
Beautiful as a ‌‌scene from a fairy tale, yet somehow unsettling.
The blossoms seemed ready to unfurl their massive petals at any moment and devour those around them.
'She began to grow emotionally ‌turbulent from the ‌moment the ‌‌‌Slave Hunters appeared.'
It was likely that she had become absorbed in the emotions of the fairy being hunted.
My small child trembling with rage was pitiful to witness.
The fiery suspicion that had burned ‌‌‌‌so brightly had long since extinguished.
I wished only that my child would not suffer.
I covered the child's eyes with my hand as she trembled with confusion and anger.
I soothed her quivering form and whispered slowly.
"Why are you so angry?"
My promise ‌‌‌to grant her one wish and do everything else remained valid.
The shadow beneath my feet writhed.
"Chesa, stay still. Babies shouldn't do difficult things."
I regarded the wide-eyed Slave ‌‌Hunters with a sidelong glance.
Their eyes gleamed with filthy excitement as they trampled the ‌‌‌Flower Field.
They had discovered an undamaged, young, beautiful fairy.
Watching their eyes glisten as they sought to place a price on my precious child, I laughed.
And so the child would not be startled, I concealed the ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌emotions and darkness I felt beneath a layer of calm and whispered.
"Father can handle ‌‌this sort of thing."
The moment the ‌words ‌‌left my lips, shadow surged upward.
The darkness that obeyed its master's will was crueler ‌‌than anything else.
The Slave Hunters began to scream in terror.
These hunters had always occupied the position of predator.
Never having been prey, ‌they desperately fled in this unfamiliar situation.
They ran frantically across the Flower Field, shrieking in panic.
Kieran tore at the fleeing figures piece by piece with shadow, laughing softly.
Like a child plucking the legs from insects, I cornered the hunters ‌‌and slowly reshaped their bodies into spheres.
"That is quite enough, sir."
White chains ‌‌extended with a sharp metallic ring.
The chains pierced through the black shadow and instantly ensnared the Slave Hunters who were fleeing with their limbs torn and tattered.
Hailon fixed Kieran with a cold stare from his blue eyes.
"I told you not to use dark magic in front of others."
"No one here will leave alive, so it should be fine, shouldn't it?"
"Don't assume certainty about uncertain matters."
"Ah, so the Heresy Inquisitor thinks he might let one or two of these wretches slip away when dealing with them at this ‌level?"
Kieran's sarcasm twisted Hailon's lips slightly.
His blue eyes lost a bit more of their saturation.
"I'm worried the Count might ‌let them escape."
"...."
"My skills are certain, but the Count's are not."
Kieran let out a short, hollow laugh.
At the same moment, the chains rang out ‌‌‌with a clear note.
A sharp metallic sound spread loudly, followed by screams of death.
Kieran's eyes narrowed.
He held the child deep in his arms to shield her from the cruel sight, ‌‌‌‌casting a light spell.
It was a spell to prevent her ‌‌‌from hearing the screams of the Slave Hunters.
The chains thrashed about, and blood fountained across the wide Flower Field where butterflies danced.
White petals were drenched crimson.
The sight of the Flower Field soaked in red blood, as if holding raindrops, was eerie.
Kieran, watching from the side, smiled slowly.
That one wasn't in his right mind either.
If he ‌‌‌hadn't been the Heresy Inquisitor, there was no telling what he would have become.
'I'll use him appropriately and discard him.'
One of him ‌‌‌‌was enough to obsess over the child in such a repulsive manner.
Kieran drew up his power.
Black shadow surged up between the blood-soaked flowers.
Pretending it was an accident, I extended the shadow toward Hailon as well, and he lightly furrowed his brow before destroying the shadow with his chains.
The shadow shattered to pieces against the chains brimming with holy power.
Kieran casually twisted the shadow in another direction and moved it.
The shadow swallowed up the grotesquely twisted corpses of the Slave Hunters.
It was perfect evidence destruction that left no ‌‌‌trace of dark magic or sacred relics.
"Since this is someone else's domain, ‌‌‌‌we should clean up before we leave, shouldn't we?"
At his brazen words, Hailon withdrew his chains without response.
He immediately approached to examine Chesa.
Not to be ‌‌‌outdone, Kieran also scrutinized ‌‌Chesa carefully.
"...."
With her face buried in his arms, only her round little head was visible.
The ‌‌child, whose small fingers gripped ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Kieran's garment so tightly they had turned pale, remained silent for some reason.
Kieran Basilian's dry lips met his tongue as anxiety surged through him.
I had made certain she wouldn't witness the cruelest parts...
Had I made a mistake ‌‌somewhere?
Had the child been frightened by the inhumanity of the Basilian name?
Should I have feigned shock at how horrifying it was when the Heresy Inquisitor killed the hunters?
A torrent of thoughts crashed through my ‌‌‌mind.
The child's small body trembled faintly.
Though I knew I should wait, I couldn't restrain myself and carefully reached out my hand.
I gently cradled the child's face and turned it toward me.
The child's lips were pressed tightly ‌shut, as if holding something back.
Her jaw clenched so hard it crinkled, her enormous eyes darting back and forth between me and Hailon.
Her rose-pink irises glistened rapidly with moisture.
Like a rose kissed by dawn dew, they grew luminous and wet...
Then small droplets began to tumble down, one after another.
Kieran Basilian and Hailon turned to stone.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team ‌‌‌and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org ‌‌‌
---------------