YM778.TV Chapter 377: The Needle and Thread of Fate
Frey stared blankly at Vener, who had fallen unconscious in front of him, and even poked and shook her cheek with a worried expression.
He tilted his head when he saw a girl his age with ruby-colored hair appeared in front of him.
“Get out of the way.”
"Eeepp!"
Pushing aside Frey, Ruby, who had bypassed the seal using her clone, stood in front of Vener.
Although it was still too early for her to descend as her true self, the weakening of the seal made it easy to descend as a human form through her clone.
"What were you planning to do with this child?"
"...W-Who are you?"- Rumble...!!!
"Hiiiii..."
After Ruby awakened Vener with magic, she emitted a terrifying killing intent solely directed at Vener, causing her to tremble in fear.
"What were you trying to do?"
"I... I was trying to keep him captive... as a threat..."
"It seemed like you were trying to kill him."
"T-That\'s... just... to scare him into not trying to escape..."
Her words seemed somewhat true.
From her perception, there was no sense of ‘killing intent’ until her hands trembled wildly.
Moreover, there were no preparations such as ropes or blindfolds, considering she had kidnapped a child.
Judging by the trembling eyes and the nearby search party, it appeared to be more of an impulsive act than a planned one.
"Pathetic."
However, that didn\'t absolve her of the crime of kidnapping a child and traumatizing him by threatening him with a knife.
She used to not believe that humans were more wicked than any demon, but seeing a girl of barely student age doing such things, it seemed it was time to admit it.
As expected, humans were...
"Why, why would you do such a thing? Sister Vener...?"
Just as her hatred towards humans began to boil up again, Frey approached Vener hesitantly.
What?
Wasn\'t this brat just trembling with fear moments ago when the kidnapper aimed a sword at him?
"Y-you are... my escort knight, aren’t you? You always emphasized justice... Why...?"
"..."
Frey instinctively stuck close behind Ruby and hesitantly asked.
"...One day, I woke up and found that everyone in my family except me had been killed."
Then, Vener lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.
"My father, mother, older brother, older sister... They were all taken away. I tried to visit them, but even that wasn\'t allowed."
"I-Is that so? Then I\'ll make a separate reque—"
"A few days later, they were all executed. The Hylin family disappeared from history overnight, and I became the sole survivor of the traitorous family."
Tears began to fall from Vener\'s eyes as she spoke.
"I couldn\'t understand. My mother, father, brother, and sister were all good people. They even sent me letters until the day they died. No matter how much I think about it, it was obviously a false charge."
"..."
As Vener said, there was nothing she could prove the innocence of her family.
With some difficulty, she looked at the trial records, but all she saw was a list of unbelievably heinous crimes.
"For some reason, the information was scarce. Everyone was evasive, and no one told me the truth. It felt like everyone was hiding something."
As Vener spoke, her expression began to freeze coldly.
"Even the people who sheltered and raised me, your parents, were the same."
"... What?"
“I was an ordinary Marquis’ daughter, but I tried to devote my life to following those who took me in as a knight.”
Vener\'s eyes began to shake violently.
"It wasn\'t until the end of the secret investigation that... I realized the Starlight family was crucially involved in the demise of the Hylin family."
Upon hearing those words, Frey quietly closed his mouth. His slightly trembling gaze hinted that he might know something.
"That was today. I demanded the truth from your parents for evidence, but they kept their silence."
"..."
"That\'s when I fled the mansion and kidnapped you. And that\'s how I ended up here."
Said Vener with a menacing expression.
"Even if it undermines my sense of justice, even if it means betraying the kindness bestowed upon me, I wanted to know the truth. That\'s why I took you hostage."
"Is that so..."
"But I never imagined such a being existed here."
Vener glanced briefly at Ruby, then closed her eyes quietly.
"Kill me."
"Hmm."
“I risked my life anyway. I don’t plan on begging for my life once I’m caugh-”
"You talk too much."
"Geuhhh...!"
Ruby fiercely kicked her stomach.
"You bitch. You said you\'re the last survivor of the Hylin family."
"Cough, cough... Y-yes. That\'s correct. But..."
"I see, that\'s how they turned out."
The head of the noble group that tortured Ruby and her sister Lulu was indeed the Hylin family. According to her, the Vener she was currently subduing became the last remaining member of that family.
"Shall I tell you what your family did?"
"W-What?"
"The fact that only you were absent from that place suggests you truly don’t know anything, right?"
Then, Ruby brought her finger to Vener\'s forehead.
"Experience the pain I felt firsthand. Human."
"...!"
At the same time, Vener\'s eyes began to widen.
Under Ruby’s illusion magic, Vener started experiencing the tragic memories of what her family had done to Ruby and Lulu.
"Father? Mother...?"
"U-Um..."
"Brother...? Sister...? Why are you making such faces...? Aaahh!?"
"C-could it be... you’re Ruby?"
As Vener widened her eyes and screamed, Frey asked while observing them.
“I told you that if I woke up, I’ll kill you.”
"Eek!"
"... Just kidding."
Ruby replied with a faint smile adorned her face for the first time in a while. She alternated between looking at the pale-faced Vener and Frey.
"Hmm."
After a while, her eyes began to frost over.
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"..."
Several hours later...
"Hey, human."
"..."
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Ruby, with empty eyes, kicked Vener who was kneeling on the ground.
"Is that all... real?"
"Would those vivid memories feel fake to you?"
"My father and mother... my family were really such awful people?"
After experiencing the torture inflicted on her own family by putting herself in Ruby\'s shoes, Vener murmured with a vacant expression.
"From what I heard, it seemed like they harbored grand dreams of raising a warlock legion to challenge the royal family. Well, you must have heard it directly from your parents too, right?"
"Y-Young Master. Could it be, you... you knew as well?"
Looking at Frey with dimming eyes, Vener asked, and he quietly nodded.
"One day, my mother came back severely injured... She looked so hurt, so I cried and asked what happened. She... she said they were suppressing a rebellion."
"Oh."
"And it was a few days after that when sister Vener came..."
"Ahhh..."
Finally realizing the truth, Vener collapsed in front of them with a pale expression.
"P-Please... kill me."
"..."
"I-I don\'t deserve to look at you. I, I was just an ungrateful piece of trash.”
As Vener spoke, tears began streaming down her eyes.
"I-I didn\'t know my family was such a despicable lineage. To think I tried to harm the children of those who sheltered and raised me..."
Panic-stricken, Vener began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Dad. What happened to the gentle smile I used to see from you? Mom, that... that was just a simple outing, wasn\'t it?"
"You\'re noisy."
“B-Brother. The one who told me to become a righteous person... was none other than you...”
"It seems like she’s broken."
As Vener began to babble incoherently, Ruby, looking at her with soulless eyes, raised her finger, but she stopped and frowned.
"Hmm..."
Killing this girl now would be satisfying. She was not only a human Ruby detested, but also the last descendant of the family that tortured her and Lulu.
Killing that descendant would sever the lineage, wouldn\'t it be the perfect revenge?
"Hmm..."
However, Ruby\'s current state was driven more by curiosity than revenge.
"S-Sis..."
That was none other than the boy, \'Frey\', who stood beside her.
He\'s truly an interesting brat.
The boy who helped her just before she was about to die, despite the terrifying and eerie aura she emitted, and not knowing who she was.
Since then, this ‘weird brat’ had consistently brought her food, helped her wash, and occasionally told interesting stories.
At first, she thought it might be pretense or calculated behavior.
But seeing him hide her today, and willingly sacrifice himself for his family, she couldn\'t help but change her mind.
Frey is a \'good\' human.
She had learned that humans were only made up of two categories: evil individuals and those who hid their evilness. He was a breath of fresh air for Ruby, who had only encountered humans in those categories.
At least until she met him.
"Frey, you."
"Y-Yes?"
Thanks to that, her curiosity and interest in the existence of Frey were skyrocketing.
"I leave the fate of this girl to you."
"....Huh?"
To the extent of suppressing her hatred and desire for revenge against the humans responsible for her and her sister’s torment.
"How will you deal with this bitch? Show it to me."
"Uh, well..."
"Don\'t worry about my presence. The bitch’s family has been wiped out anyway. Killing an unrelated kid won\'t make anything better."
With that said, Ruby, filled with curiosity she had never felt in her life, stepped back and crossed her arms, observing the situation.
Indeed, how would Frey, a ‘good human’ whom she thought could not exist, act?
Would he seek retribution since she tried to kill him? If such a trivial ending awaited, she might as well invade the human world mercilessly...
"Y-Young Master... I-I will turn myself in. I will accompany you back to the mansion immediately..."
"Um... Sis. Are you hungry?"
"H-Huh?"
Ruby, who was thinking such things, began to make a blank expression when Frey quietly stroked Vener\'s head.
"Y-Young Master."
"Wait here for a moment! I\'ll bring food from the mansion!"
"W-Wait, but I..."
- Find the Young Master!!
- He must be around here somewhere! Search thoroughly...
Then, after hearing Frey\'s words, Vener was startled and was about to get up, but her expression turned pale when she heard shouting coming from outside.
"...Shh!"
Then, Frey brought his finger to his lips and lowered his voice.
"You have to hide here without a sound, okay?"
"I..."
"This is an order, okay? Vener?"
With a serious expression for the first time, Frey said that and suddenly darted out of the cave.
"Young Master!!!"
"Whoa, you scared me."
"I-It’s the Young Master!! Young Master is here...!!"
"I-I was playing hide and seek with a friend. Don\'t overreact, Kania."
As they heard the voice coming from outside, Both Vener and Ruby’s expression turned dazed.
"Young Master..."
"Could it be… That brat... is not kind? But just a pushover?"
As tears started to flow down Vener\'s cheeks, Ruby muttered in confusion.
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"Vener! I’m late, huh? Sorry. I got punished by Mom, hehe."
"Ah..."
"Are you hungry? Here\'s some food!"
The day after the incident, Frey actually returned to the cave with food.
"Since they still haven\'t believed my words and are searching for the culprit, could you stay hidden a little longer until things calm down? I\'ll hide your whereabouts..."
"...?"
Frey said to Vener, who was sitting on the cold floor with disheveled hair. True to his word, he visited her for days, providing her with food.
"I... What have I done to such a kind kid..."
"Yawnn."
"...I guess my bloodline is truly filthy."
- Sriingg...!
Perhaps because of her conscience, Vener began attempting to kill herself.
- Crackle...!
"Seems humans do attempt suicide after all. It\'s a real thing, huh?"
Of course, Ruby thwarted those attempts by sending sparks to knock her unconscious.
"Heubb...!"
Vener even starved herself so much that Ruby had to forcibly stuffed her mouth with the rye bread that was given by Frey.
It wasn\'t that she was pitying her; she simply wanted to see the end of why Frey was behaving like this.
"..."
After several failed suicide attempts, Vener spent her days sitting motionless in the cave.
"Vener! You can come back to the mansion now!"
"...Huh?"
Until one day, when Frey came to the cave and held her hand.
"I told Mom and Dad that you came back after calming your mind for a while!"
"Young Master..."
"Be my knight again, sis!"
Although Frey tried to lift her up, Vener remained motionless.
"I... I can\'t go."
"Huh?"
"I-I can\'t face... you and Miss Ruby, the victim."
Said Vener desperately, kneeling before Frey with a vacant voice.
"I\'m the one who should die. Please kill me. If you don\'t want to, I\'ll turn myself in. I\'ll spend my life in prison, repenting for the sins of my family. So please, don\'t make it worse than it already is..."
"Why? What\'s wrong?"
As Frey spoke brightly, Vener closed her eyes and cried bitterly.
“I am of traitorous blood, and I kidnapped and attempted to harm the child of my benefactor. Such scum becomes an escort knight. It\'s ridiculous…”
"You didn\'t know, did you? Would sis have done that if you knew? Why would you be blamed for something you didn\'t know? Just because your family did it, doesn’t you should be punished for it."
“At that time, I was crazed! I could have really killed you, Young Master...”
“It’s okay because I didn’t die. Why are you blaming yourself for something that never happened?”
Then, he hugged Vener and comforted her.
"I forgive you, okay?"
"Even if you forgive me... Miss Ruby..."
"... Didn\'t I entrust your punishment to the brat?"
Ruby, still curious, managed to resist her urge to kill.
Vener, with tears streaming down her face, buried her head in Frey\'s arms.
"Please stop... Young Master. Please punish me..."
"Alright, then I\'ll pass the judgment."
Frey looked at Vener, sighed, and extended his hand to her lips.
"Vener, swear your allegiance to me with a knight’s oath."
"... Huh?"
"According to sister Isolet, the knight\'s oath is extremely important. Once taken, it can never be broken, and for a lifetime... um... something like that..."
After scratching his head for a moment, Frey smiled brightly and concluded.
"Anyway, let\'s do that as your punishment! Serve me for the rest of your life!"
"Sob... Sniffle..."
Watching Frey’s smile, Vener cried endlessly.
- Chuu...
Then, with trembling eyes, she kissed Frey\'s ring and prostrated herself flat on his feet.
"I, Vener Rene... no, I… Vener pledge my eternal loyalty to you, Young Master."
"Sure, sure."
"No matter what happens, I\'ll sacrifice my life to protect the Young Master and those around him. If not, I\'ll take my own life immediately."
"Y-You don\'t need to do that..."
"I\'ll live my life as your tool. I, Vener, am now forever your sword."
After making the oath, Vener kissed Frey\'s feet.
"I\'ll repay the mercy you\'ve shown to a scum like me with my life."
"You don\'t need to use your life for th..."
What\'s this?
Ruby, who had been observing all these scenes from a distance, muttered to herself with a shocked expression.
What did I just witness?
Frey wasn\'t a pushover.
A pushover refers to someone who selflessly gave everything and got nothing in return.
But now…
"But still, I must atone. I must confess the truth to Young Master’s parents..."
"They found out a few days ago!"
"... What?"
He was rescuing the girl who had seen the abyss in front of her, and yet, he had acquired a loyal knight willing to throw her life away to help him.
No one would call him a pushover.
This brat...
Was this his plan all along?
If so, then Frey was remarkable.
But if he didn’t plan for it?
If it was just pure kindness that was coming from his good heart that led to this outcome?
Then he was terrifying.
No way...
Then she realized she was also somewhat in the same shoes as Vener.
He’s the one who saves. An absolute good.
A being that completely denied everything she has learned and felt about humans.
As she listed the things she had felt while looking at Frey so far, she seemed to understand why she had an inexplicable interest in him.
A hero?
That word popped into Ruby\'s mind for a moment.
Her Demon King parents always cautioned her that if an existence like the Demon King existed, then the opposite of that existence also existed.
The qualities of a hero, who embodied absolute good, rescued those in despair, and naturally gathered comrades to grow, were found in the boy currently stroking Vener\'s head.
As the Demon King, he should be her antithesis.
No, it\'s too early to jump to conclusions.
Ruby, who looked at them with a cold expression, gathered demonic energy in her hand. But eventually, she shook her head.
The leap in logic was too extreme. If that was the case, then anyone could become a hero.
There had to be at least one more person like him in the world. Surely, this boy wasn’t the only one like this.
There was no way that the kid, who helped her just before her seal was about to be broken, was a hero.
What were the odds for that to happen?
"Hmm."
Suddenly, the teachings of her parents about how the Demon King and the Hero were bound by fate came to Ruby\'s mind, but she quickly shook her head.
Well, if he\'s the real Hero, then I\'ll just kill him.
Anyway, her plans wouldn\'t change significantly.
If this boy was the real Hero, then killing him would end it. If he wasn’t the Hero, then she\'ll use him as a stepping stone to gather power and invade the world.
This incident was merely out of curiosity.
And from now on, she wouldn\'t be swayed by curiosity like this again.
"R-Ruby... Do you want to come to our mansion...?"
"It’s fine. I like it here."
Ruby firmly refused Frey’s offer. She then turned back to the cave, leaving Frey, who was about to leave with the sobbing Vener.
The reason she refused his offer was that her true body was still inside the cave. Moreover, she had gotten too close to him now; she felt that if she got any closer, chaos might ensue.
"Having loyalty doesn\'t mean everything."
Thus, murmuring to herself as she headed towards her true body, Ruby continued.
"The important thing is the power to manipulate people."
That bitch may be a knight by title, but she wasn’t even proficient in swordsmanship. Can he truly handle that knight hailed from a traitorous blood?
If she didn\'t end up disappointed and leave on her own, it would be fortunate. It was just as difficult to keep someone loyal to you once you have them on your side.
“There’s no way he can do tha–”
"U-Um, Ruby."
"...?"
If Vener still maintained that loyalty after a few months, Ruby thought she should seriously consider whether Frey might truly be the hero or not.
"I have a favor to ask..."
"What is it?"
At that moment, Frey, with a deeply anxious expression, rushed towards her, causing her to tilt her head in confusion.
"Can you... postpone killing me for a bit?"
"What?"
“W-When you wake up… you said you’re going to k-kill me…”
Frey, who was so frightened that he started to stutter, begged while holding Ruby\'s hands.
“My sister and I haven\'t finished playing with dolls yet... And I haven\'t even beaten Mom at tag... Or had a drink with Dad? I haven\'t tried that either. C-couldn\'t you just wait until then?"
"Hmm..."
Staring blankly at Frey, who started to stutter out of fear, Ruby soon realized one thing.
"Strange brat."
Whether the boy in front of her was the hero or just a fool for being too kind, she couldn\'t tell.
"Get lost."
"Th-thank you!!"
Anyway, he was a very cute kid.
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A few months later...
"Hmm?"
Ruby was sitting in the cave as usual, munching on rye bread.
She suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked towards the entrance.
"What..."
A strong smell of blood wafted in, a scent she hadn\'t smelled since leaving the Demon King’s Castle.
"Huh?"
Ruby quietly wrapped her hands in demonic energy and prepared to defend her true body.
Then, she soon opened her eyes wide with a puzzled expression on her face.
"You...?"
“Ugh…”
The girl from a few months ago, Vener, crawled into the cave, covered in blood.
"What\'s going on?"
“Help, please help...”
Startled by the sudden situation, Ruby frowned and asked.
Her condition looked dire, with wounds penetrating her body and dark mana deeply entrenched within her bones. If her condition didn’t improve, she would soon die.
The fact that she could still move, albeit barely, was a miracle in itself.
"I don\'t care if you\'re a demon or a devil, but... I\'m willing to offer my soul, please..."
"Enough. I don\'t want to get involved in unnecessary matters."
However, Ruby, who still harbored her hatred for humans, tried to turn her away.
"Young Master Frey... and his mother are in danger..."
"... What?"
“I was protecting them when they were playing tag... two warlocks suddenly attacked...”
Hearing Vener\'s words, she couldn\'t help but become interested.
“Those bastards are so powerful… I can only buy so much time…”
“F-Frey? That brat’s in danger?”
“Please... I will sacrifice my soul, anything... Please help...”
But before Vener could finish, she lost consciousness.
"Uh... hmm..."
Watching her, Ruby\'s eyes trembled with emotion.
“H-He might awaken as a hero… I should go check it out.”
It wasn\'t because she was worried about him or had any affection towards him.
"Besides, it\'s not too far away either. Yeah, yeah..."
It really wasn\'t.
“... But what should I do with that annoying brat?”
Truly, that wasn’t her reason.