Side Story 2: Damon 1

 Side Story 2: Damon

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Dorian Euclid, the former Duke of Euclid and the husband of Dona Euclid groaned at his son, whom he was always proud of, as he made a thunderous declaration.

“Just now, what did you say?”

“No matter how many times you ask, my opinion will not change.”

“Hermann!” 

“I have no thoughts of getting married, Father.”

Hermann stubbornly pressed his lips together, as if he did not care about Dorian’s shock. 

“How come?”

Even when his wife, Dona, had said that Hermann would not listen to her suggestion of marriage to the surrounding family, Dorian thought it was simply because no women around Hermann were of interest to him.

‘But he doesn’t want to get married at all?’

“I heard that uncle has a daughter. I want to save the seat of the next Duke of Euclid for that child.”

Dorian did not regret handing over the dukedom to Hermann.

Even when he returned Lagrange’s old estate for Anissa, even when he declared that he wanted to establish friendly relations with Lagrange. 

It was only natural that he left Euclid to his son, Hermann, as if he was running away because he had no confidence to deal with Dietrich Lagrange in the first place. 

“What are you…does that make sense to you?!”

However, at this moment, he greatly regretted abdicating his title as the duke to his son a little earlier. 

“Are you saying you’ll hand over the dukedom of Euclid to the incompetent daughter of Lehman, who does not even have the power of the sun god?”

“Yes.”

Hermann continued, supporting Dorian, who staggered as if he were about to collapse in shock.

“Please understand that this is a decision I made after careful consideration.” 

Looking at his devastated father with pitiful eyes, he shook his head and left the room. 

Dorian’s furious reaction was expected enough, so it wasn’t particularly surprising. 

‘Now that Hela, who was the source of the power, has been annihilated, all of the sun god’s abilities will soon disappear.’

Hermann was a descendant of Hella and was more outstanding than anyone else in the empire. It was because he knew the true nature of his powers, which even the Saintess Charlotte had not been able to figure out. 

This power, which people believed to be the ‘blessing of the sun god,’ was actually borrowed from the devil.
It was only a matter of time before her power gradually dissipates as the demon Hela, who had lent her power to Euclid while pretending to be a god to keep Asmodeus, the first demon of Lagrange in check, disappeared.
Among the priests who did not have much power to ‘borrow’ in the first place, those who already lost their holy power appeared one after another.

‘...Just because I have abilities doesn’t mean I could lead the family better.’
Hermann recalled Anissa’s comments about Euclid’s problems. 

If it was a family that abandoned an infant because it did not have the power of the sun god, it was no different from Lagrange, who did not hesitate to shed blood to weed out a strong successor.
“Did my intentions reach Lehman’s daughter?”

“I am not the Duke’s messenger.” 

Damon, who had just entered the office, raised his eyebrows at Hermann’s question. 

“Remember, this will be the last time I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

Hermann laughed at Damon’s scolding.

The daughter of his uncle Lehman, who was pushed out of the succession because of her lack of abilities, was a girl who resembled Lehman and displayed the qualities of a great leader, according to the report posted by his spy. 

‘If I get married and have a child, my father and mother will never give Euclid’s name to a collateral family.’

With a bitter smile on his lips, Hermann picked up the portrait of Anissa and his nieces on the other side of the desk.

If it was a child to give love to, Anissa’s children were enough for him. 

“Are they the Princess’, I mean, the Duchess’ children?”

“That’s right. Aren’t they adorably cute?” 

Damon hesitated for a moment at Hermann’s question and picked up the portrait of Anissa. 

“.....Yes, they’re cute.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m an uncle, I think they look a lot like me.”  

Rubirence and Shire were typical northern children born with Lagrange’s distinctive black hair. 

Just by looking at their faces, they looked more like Dietrich than their mother, Anissa, so Damon laughed at Hermann’s words. 

“I’m not sure about that.”

“Take a good look. I don’t think it shows because it’s a portrait.”

“Even if I look, I don’t know about that.”

“Really now. These dimples are the same as me and Anissa.”

Hermann clicked his tongue as he held the portrait in front of Damon, who shook his head excitedly at his urging. 

Ruby’s smile, which hollowed out in the cheeks, was clearly similar to his own smiling face. 

“This portrait, can I take this as the price of your request?”

Damon, who could hardly take his eyes off the portrait, slowly opened his mouth.

Hermann scratched his temple, not immediately refusing his polite request. 

“This is a portrait without Dietrich which I had specially commissioned…”

“Viscount Lehman’s daughter sent me a reply, but it seems you don’t need it.”

“If there was such a thing, you should have given it right away!”

Hermann sighed as he glared at the letter Damon had pulled out of his arms.

“Fine, take it. I can just request Anissa again.” 

“Thank you very much.”

“Haven’t you been to see Anissa’s children yet?” 

Hermann asked, who had been watching in dismay as Damon, who handed over the letter to him, carefully puts Anissa’s portrait inside his coat. 

“There’s no way Anissa won’t welcome you.” 

They did not explicitly talk about it but she thought of Damon as a good friend. 

Unsure why Damon had stopped visiting the North, she often asked Hermann how he was doing. 

“It’s fine. The portrait is enough for me.”

Damon looked at Hermann indifferently, who had a more bitter face than himself, and shook his head.

He had a mission he could not fulfill, and his personal feelings only hindered him and Faber from achieving their goals. 

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Upon returning to the mage’s tower, Damon was welcomed by his colleague, Rosalind Dunafard, who played the role of Marquis Deus’ sister. 

“Is there a problem?”
Taking off his frock coat and throwing it on the sofa, Damon sighed and washed his face dry.

Rosalind was definitely a colleague from Faber like him, but she was not the kind of person he was compatible with. 

“Do you need to be so hard on your sister who came to visit for the first time in a while?”

Rosalind smiled at Damon’s tired face and approached him. 

“Anyone who might see this will think that I’m not the sister of Marquis Deus, but the enemy.”

“The mask of Marquis Deus is no longer needed for Faber.” 

Damon frowned, worried that Rosalind, who slumped on the sofa, might find a portrait of Anissa in the coat’s pocket. 

“How come?”

“Duke Euclid chose a collateral child as the next great successor. The balance between the South and North will not be tipped.” 

After all, Euclid, who lost the ability of the sun god, would no longer be favored by the royal family.

Rosalind, however, furrowed her brow, as if not liking Damon’s answer. 

“Then it’s more of a problem. I heard that Duke Lagrange’s daughter is already a monster who can handle swordsmanship though?”

“....She’s Anissa’s child. Even if she inherits the dukedom, she won’t rush to attack the South and break the peace of the empire.” 

“She’s not even your child. How can you be so sure?”

With a frown, she glanced at the wall where Damon’s heart was embedded. 

“....Even a monster without a heart can love, is that what this is?”

Damon’s heart, which Faber’s scholars, alchemists, and wizards devotedly protect, belonged to Faber until the day he fulfilled Faber’s goal. 

“Be careful with your words, Rosalind.” 

His heart, with its blue veins, was charred beyond belief, it was hard to fathom it once belonged to a human. 

“Be careful of your own actions, Damon.” 

Rosalind stood up, laughing at Damon as if she knew who owned the portrait he had been trying to hide. 

“I’m not the only one who noticed the change in you after all. There are not only one or two people in Faber who are keeping an eye on you.” 

Thump. Thump.

Damon’s heart, which had been beating slowly, started beating wildly little by little at Rosalind’s warning. 

She poked Damon’s heart, which only then began to look like a ‘human’ with the tip of her fingernail and raised the corner of her mouth.

“This heart, it’s no longer yours. You know that, right?” 

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