The Author's Will

90 | Time Limit

　　Giselle's words unfurled like sinister whispers, a devil's murmur carrying an ominous gravity that defied falsehood. Regardless of how clearly delusional she sounded, there was no trace of hesitation or deception in her unwavering presence. To anyone else, she must have sounded insane. But to Irene, and notably the blonde emperor, her words carried a weight of truth.

Little to everyone's knowledge, dark magicians were at play here - pulling strings from shadows while the masses remained oblivious. As Yestala shot Giselle a skeptical glare, Theodore hesitated, a flicker of belief tainting his expression. Irene sensed his internal struggle, realising that, implausible as it seemed, a part of him entertained Giselle's claims.

The notion that Giselle could conceive a child by visiting Theodore in his dreams challenged the boundaries of the believable. For something like that to be remotely possible, it would mean there was an unsettling possibility that Giselle might not be human at all.

Just like how Irene's phoenix spirit, Snow, was able to choose whether or not people could see and interact with him, perhaps demons could do something similar. Maybe they were capable of manifesting in human guise, rendering them indistinguishable from ordinary mortals.

But one thing did strike her as odd.

As she turned to the real Theodore at her side, she cast him a curious look. "You must have realised at this point that Giselle wasn't really a human, right? And when she spoke about darkness engulfing the empire..." she paused for a moment. "...Why didn't you ask my father for help? The Cherliann family have divine blood... Surely they could have restrained and interrogated her."

Theodore sighed softly, and she could tell by his expression this was something he must have mulled over before. "After this happened with Giselle... I realised that I had no choice but to heed her warnings for the time being. I did suspect that she wasn't entirely human, but I needed to look into things on my own and gain information."

He went on to explaining that she likely approached him whilst knowing there were risks involved - meaning, she was either taking a huge gamble, or she had power great enough to suppress even the divine blood of House Cherliann - the greatest threat to her demonic existence. Theodore couldn't discern her thoughts, so in the same way Giselle was using him, he planned to exploit and study her thoroughly.

To unveil her identity, her motives, and if there was a greater threat to be discovered in the shadows from which she came. Not to mention, what that child in her womb would turn out to be.

It hit Irene in that moment.

"Wait a minute... If Giselle wasn't a human, then..." her eyes trembled as her blood ran cold. "What does that make Mikael...?"

Mikael, who was raised by her side this whole time. The second prince who she prevented from succumbing to the darkness of his future. The fragile little boy she saved, who grew as precious to her as her family.

If Mikael was born from Giselle, who was likely a demon... did that mean he was one too?

"Irene, look at me. Mikael is a human."

Theodore gently held Irene by the shoulders and turned her to stare up at him directly. It was only then that she realised her body was trembling. Those ocean-blue orbs and rich blonde locks were exactly the same as his son's. From the depth of the king's voice to the shapes in his face - he was uncannily identical to his second son - the only difference being Mikael was younger.

A haunting suspicion etched over her golden irises, and Theodore realised what she was thinking. He gently closed his eyes and sighed, as though steeling himself for what he was about to say.