Chapter 370
The Queen’s Gift
Isabel was initially quite happy when she first saw Eivass.
A few days prior, using her memory and imagination, she had painted a new magic painting of Eivass—garbed in magnificent and elegant white robes, with a sash draped over his shoulders, his waist-length white-gold hair fluttering in the wind.
Although Eivass’s hair was nowhere near that long yet, Isabel had gradually learned to paint detached from reality. This signified her basic entry as a master magic painter, capable of depicting things that didn’t exist in reality but that she still perceived as true.
She had originally intended to share the painting with Eivass.
However, after listening to the story Eivass told, Isabel didn’t even have time to rejoice that Eivass wasn’t in mortal danger and hadn’t used the “Isolde’s Tears”… She inexplicably and suddenly realized a sense of incongruity.
Subconsciously, she activated her spiritual vision and looked towards Eivass’s soul.
Isabel was immediately and profoundly startled—
His soul, originally a beautiful and balanced blend of crimson and deep purple like a sunset over the sea, was now three-quarters covered by a mysterious and pure deep purple.
The top third was deep red, black, and deep purple. The remaining two-thirds transitioned from deep purple to an almost pinkish-violet.
If pink could be considered a “diluted red,” then this phenomenon was undoubtedly “Transcendence” capturing and digesting a part of “Devotion.”
If this tilting of the Path was a decision Eivass had made himself, Isabel wouldn’t have felt anything. But clearly, Eivass was unaware of it.
Thus, Isabel immediately became wary.
“The Transcendent Path… is out of balance.”
Eivass understood the Princess’s warning and mumbled in a low voice.
He vaguely guessed the reason for his current situation.
It was likely because he had obtained the Book of Law and a Golden-tier Path Trait, leading to an excessive strengthening of the Transcendent Path’s power.
…Of course, it was also possible that he had briefly come into contact with a true “Divine Entity.” That fragment of the Ring Heavenly Envoy might have been infected and influenced by It.
It was at this point that Eivass dimly realized… his personality seemed to have become noticeably more assertive.
The most obvious examples were feeding blood to Lily and the feeding on the train.
This was, in part, due to the influence of the “Devotion” Path. If his blood was beneficial to Lily, Eivass would, of course, be willing to offer it.
Unlike the “primal curse” during the Wolf Transformation Curse, which stated that consuming blood in animal form would prevent a return to human form for nine years, Lily and Yeats could freely switch between human and wolf forms, or even transform into bipedal werewolves. They seemed to be able to consume blood at will.
This might be a special type of werewolf, or perhaps a certain stage in werewolf evolution. Eivass wasn’t quite sure.
But when Lily lost control, Eivass’s first reaction wasn’t “control her mind and make her sober,” but to give up resisting and let her drink her fill…
At that time, whether Lily had completely lost control, bitten or wrenched Eivass’s neck, or drained him of blood out of sheer irrationality, any of these could have resulted in Eivass’s death.
Yet, Eivass had subconsciously completely abandoned all resistance.
Rather than absolute pure trust.
— It was more like a magnanimous superior indulging a subordinate in “transcending” them.
Similarly.
On the train, he voluntarily transformed into Number 14 and then commanded the Shadow Demon to briefly assume human form.
Before, when the Shadow Demon said it could transform into the Assassin Miss’s appearance to receive Eivass’s care, Eivass had clearly refused—at that time, Eivass wanted to maintain a distance from the Shadow Demon and had established certain moral guidelines for himself. These included not wanting to provide care in human form to a phantom demon, as it would lead to a gradual separation from humanity.
…Of course, Eivass felt it was primarily because he didn’t want to kiss a wolf-like Shadow Demon and didn’t want to waste the blood in his mouth. On the other hand, influenced by a twisted sense of amusement, he wanted to tease the Shadow Demon using the special identity held by Number 14. After “Beyad” drank the blood from his mouth, Eivass had the Shadow Demon transform back.
In Eivass’s view at the time, all of this was perfectly reasonable.
But now, after hearing Isabel’s words, Eivass suddenly realized.
If he were to analyze this “twisted amusement” in retrospect, he had wanted to confirm the “master-servant relationship” with the Shadow Demon in its Beyad form. In his past, the relationship between “Number 14” and “Beyad” was exactly the opposite.
In other words.
Eivass had unconsciously attempted to complete a “transcendence” ritual with the Shadow Demon in the identity of Number 14.
One instance was indulging another’s transcendence, and the other was completing the transcendence himself. Both of these anomalous behaviors were related to the Transcendent Path.
Moreover, both occurrences happened immediately after Eivass’s contact with a “Divine Entity,” occurring within twenty-four hours.
Would this have any negative consequences…?
Eivass himself didn’t know.
Even if he did, Eivass seemed to have no way to change it.
Even Janis, who would reach level seventy in the future, could lose control and turn into a phantom demon due to Path deviation. Even with such power, she was ultimately powerless against inner demons.
“— Why don’t we ask Miss Lixia?”
Seeing Eivass fall into a rare state of confusion, Isabel’s attitude suddenly became resolute, as if filled with courage: “She’s old and experienced, perhaps she’ll know what to do. If there’s a problem, it should be dealt with promptly.”
After speaking, Isabel directly grasped Eivass’s wrist and pulled him towards Her Majesty the Queen’s chambers.
“No need to panic too much, Isabel… She might not necessarily know how to deal with my problem.”
Eivass didn’t resist Isabel’s pull.
He simply walked behind her, subconsciously being contrary, “Besides, whether it’s Devotion or Transcendence, I am who I am—perhaps when my Devotion Path advances next, I’ll lean back…
“…But I do need to find Lixia. However, that’s another matter, related to some unfavorable rumors about me.”
He stopped halfway through, suddenly realizing he sounded like a bickering child. So, he smoothly changed the subject to another pressing matter.
Isabel pouted and ignored Eivass: “That matter is important, but weeding out hidden dangers is more important!”
The two hurried along with their heads down, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the entrance to the Queen’s chambers.
Clearly, they had already notified the guards at the door. Seeing Isabel pull Eivass out, the guards opened the door without a word.
Her Majesty the Queen’s health had been deteriorating, and she had stopped receiving visitors these past few days. Even other ministers seeking an audience were turned away.
But they were clearly an exception.
Isabel had approached with significant momentum, but at the doorway, her resolve began to weaken again.
Isabel dawdled at the entrance, hesitating.
She explained to Eivass in a small voice, “Grandmother hasn’t been well lately… so Miss Lixia has been looking after her.
“…Shall we take Miss Lixia outside to talk?”
She was clearly worried about disturbing her grandmother, Sophia’s, rest.
“—Alright, you two, stop being so polite!”
Lixia’s energetic and hearty young voice came from inside the room, “Why are you dawdling at the door!”
Upon hearing this, Isabel became even more timid.
Eivass tidied his clothes slightly and stepped forward to open the door, his expression returning to its usual composed state.
Lixia, already somewhat displeased, stood at the door with her arms crossed and her tail swaying.
It was evident that if Eivass hadn’t opened the door soon, she would have opened it herself.
After entering, Isabel subconsciously scanned the room. She quickly found Janis in a painting and immediately showed a pleading expression.
Janis simply raised a finger to her lips, signaling her to remain silent for now.
Upon entering, Eivass immediately saw Queen Sophia lying on the bed.
With his divine vision as a priest, he could almost instantly judge—Her Majesty the Queen had officially entered the countdown of her life. This made Eivass’s expression involuntarily solemn, and even his footsteps and breathing became lighter.
He noticed the Queen’s knitting needles dangling by the bedside, slowly drooping without anyone to steady them. He immediately stepped forward and picked them up before they could fall.
“Where should I put them, Your Majesty?”
Eivass asked softly.
Normally, for the elderly, one should speak louder. But luckily, Queen Sophia did not have hearing problems, and seeing her half-asleep state, Eivass was worried that speaking too loudly might startle her.
“Hmm… Just put them away…”
Queen Sophia responded vaguely in a low voice.
“Put them where?”
“Anywhere… I’m not knitting anymore.”
The old woman’s lips curved upwards slightly, revealing a smile. “Everything that needed to be knitted has been knitted. The last one… is also finished.”
Following her gaze, Eivass saw a folded sweater on the headboard.
—It looked like it was knitted for Isabel.
Looking at the two raised thorny patterns hanging from the sweater, Eivass couldn’t help but exclaim… this old woman truly learned until she died.
Just over a month ago, the old woman had only just begun learning. Back then, she wasn’t even adept at knitting gloves, and the colors she chose were somewhat unfashionable. Now, this one at least had patterns and designs.
Although it was still far from fashionable.
Thinking of this, Eivass looked mischievously at Isabel.
Every time Eivass saw Isabel, she was basically wearing a skirt, exposing her shoulders—or at least her collarbone.
And her clothes were almost all made of light, flowing fabrics, emphasizing her lack of fear of the cold.
Fortunately, the silk stocking technology in this world was quite advanced. As a derivative of the Path of Beauty, they were not only aesthetically pleasing but also provided significant warmth and shaping. When the temperature dropped, Isabel relied mostly on silk stockings and gloves for warmth.
Eivass couldn’t immediately imagine Isabel wearing such a “granny-made, goofy sweater.” This made him subconsciously grin.
—It was like seeing a female classmate’s elegant evening gown concealing a padded cotton jacket underneath.
“As long as you like it.”
Seeing the smile on Eivass’s face, Queen Sophia replied warmly.
“Yes… Hmm?”
Eivass responded first but quickly realized something was amiss.
What did she mean, “as long as I like it”?
“This is for you, Eivass,” Isabel said softly.
“Yes. Albert’s, Isabel’s, Lixia’s… I’ve finished knitting them all.”
The old woman smiled and handed the folded sweater to Eivass. “The last one is for you.”
“…For me?”
Eivass was stunned and subconsciously took it.
He unfolded it and found it was a sleeveless V-neck plaid sweater. The chest, shoulders, and cuffs were embroidered with thorny patterns. It was suitable for wearing over a shirt in spring, and a tie could even be worn underneath.
This was indeed not the type of garment Isabel would wear. It was clearly a men’s sweater, and the size was perfect for Eivass.
Holding the sweater, Eivass fell silent for a while.
A special feeling welled up within him.
It was like the feeling when Lily held his hand and taught him to write character by character when he was young; it was also like the feeling when the taciturn Albert first bought him a birthday cake. Something electric surge from the base of his spine, causing his back to tingle, yet a warmth spread through his body.
Eivass suddenly realized… the things he had been worrying about were no longer an issue.
—There was no need to ask Her Majesty the Queen about her attitude towards this matter.
It was only at this moment that he realized he had never received a handmade sweater from an elder in this world.
Perhaps his biological mother would have knitted for him—but she was dead.
If his foster father had a wife or mother, they might have knitted for him—but they too were dead.
And his foster father would not give such a gift.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t give gifts. But all the gifts he gave were always “useful” and “valuable.”
But this sweater suddenly reminded Eivass of his mother in his past life.
He too had once had a mother and father, a grandfather and grandmother.
For the first time, Eivass felt his eyes sting with emotion.
Ever since he came to this world, learned to speak, and knew his name… he didn’t think he had ever cried.
But now, for a fleeting moment, he felt like crying.
“Because I wanted to…”
The old woman said softly, her voice like a murmur. “You are already an important figure in Avalon, Eivass. Your future will be even harder, and harder still. But in my eyes, you are still a child… you are young, only eighteen years old…
“I thought, what kind of gift can be given to both an adult and a child… I think a sweater is the best. I thought, perhaps you’ve never received this kind of gift before. But as a child… what others have, I think you should have too.
“Forgive me, Eivass. My craftsmanship might not be very good, as I’ve only recently learned. I’m old, my hands tremble a little, and my eyes are a bit blurry. But I think the size should be right, as I used to study painting… Ah, at times like this, I regret going along with Meg and playing around instead of studying properly…”
Her Majesty the Queen babbled on. She didn’t sound like a wise monarch who had reigned over a country for decades, but more like a fussy, ordinary old woman.
Eivass felt a warmth spread through his heart. It was like drinking hot soup in winter.
However, Eivass, who was usually eloquent, now stood holding the sweater, his lips slightly pursed, in complete silence.
He stood attentively to the side, listening quietly. The fire of arrogance that had been flaring up within him seemed to be slowly soothed by something.
—Ever since Eivass entered the room, Lixia had been intently watching his pupils.
Now that she had reached the Third Tier, she clearly perceived that Lily had not reached the Transcendent Path level.
She also clearly saw that within the dazzling purplish-red hue reflected in Eivass’s pupils, visible only with extraordinary vision, the purple portion, exceeding two-thirds of the total, was visibly decreasing at a rapid pace.
The purple and red were gradually returning to balance.
An update of nearly eight thousand characters!
I had insomnia again last night and didn’t sleep well… so I got up at past four to write,呜呜呜…
After finishing, I’ll proofread for typos and then try to sleep again!
