Chapter 581
The Story of Albert
Eivass gazed intently at Prince Albert, who had dispelled his illusionary form and reverted to his original appearance. Eivass had initially been worried about public opinion, but he quickly realized that Prince Albert seemed unfazed by it. Perhaps it was because he was a master of deception, a Bard himself, and could discern truth from lies. Or perhaps he genuinely didn’t care, or was indifferent to Isabel. Eivass had initially held a favorable impression of the identity “Yunus.” After all, in the game, he had steadfastly protected the protagonist group, acting in a comical and amusing manner. The more Eivass spoke, the angrier he felt—not at Prince Albert himself, but at the fact that Isabel still remembered him. She was even willing to give Prince Albert a chance to return. If it were Eivass, he wouldn’t have offered such an opportunity.
Even though Eivass now suspected Professor Moriarty might be plotting something grand, using Eivass, Yulia, and his eldest brother as pawns for a greater cause, and might even be the mastermind behind the death of his biological parents, and suspected his involvement with hostile deities like the Ring Heavenly Envoy who coveted Eivass… even with all this, Eivass still held respect for his foster father. Regardless, he had raised him. Not only that, but he had also delayed the emergence of the Butterfly from Yulia’s body. Otherwise, Eivass would have had no chance to save Yulia. He remembered what Eivass liked to eat and even let Eivass stay home for two months without attending school when Eivass was infected by Path Power and obsessively researched the Path of Transcendence. When Eivass was sacrificed to the Shadow Demon and lost his life force, he had invited Bishop Mathers, the highest-ranking priest in Avalon, to heal Eivass and teach him divine arts. Even though he was now deeply entangled in the Professor’s conspiracy, Eivass firmly believed that as a father, the Professor was far superior to Prince Albert.
In a way, the reason Isabel appeared so vulnerable, frightened, and insecure when Eivass first met her, and also the reason Prince Albert fled Glass Island and never returned, were connected. Eivass had even suspected that Isabel’s deep reliance and trust in him stemmed from her viewing him in the role of “father.” This was because Eivass was the first heterosexual man who protected, guided, educated, and loved her. He was also stable, intelligent, handsome, reliable, and possessed mature life experience, making him worthy of trust and commitment. These were all things her father should have done. In this regard, Eivass’s inexplicable anger towards Prince Albert was more like a father’s reprimand—a foster father holding an irresponsible biological father accountable.
“…I will go back,” Prince Albert said in a low voice, taking a deep breath. “I will definitely go back.”
“Unlike Sherlock—he came to help you solve problems, while I am here to inform you of this matter,” Eivass’s tone softened. He raised his wine glass and clinked it against Prince Albert’s. At the same time, Eivass warned, “This doesn’t mean I forgive you… because I have no standing to blame you in the first place. Forgiveness is Isabel’s prerogative. Even if I cannot understand or, on a personal level, do not agree with her forgiveness, I will respect her personal wishes. — But as a man, I look down on you. Your Highness Prince Albert… or rather, Father.”
Upon hearing the address “Father,” Prince Albert trembled. He showed clear signs of discomfort—obviously unaccustomed to being addressed that way. He looked at Eivass, opened his mouth, and finally closed it like a dead fish. Generally, a son-in-law being confronted privately by his father-in-law would not be as assertive as Eivass, especially under circumstances where they had been intimate before marriage. But Prince Albert didn’t even dare to ask Eivass about Isabel’s current situation. Their positions were completely reversed. He clinked glasses with Eivass again, then drained the wine in his cup.
“…Do you want to hear my story?” Prince Albert asked in a low voice.
“I’m not here for therapy,” Eivass nodded. “But I do want to know more. I am waiting for you to convince me, Father.”
“…I’m afraid I can’t,” Prince Albert said with a wry smile. “It’s not a story that’s very convincing or relatable. At that time, I didn’t have any particular aspirations or anything I wanted to do. Marriage wasn’t even within my scope of consideration…” He pursed his lips and replied, “Because I didn’t actually want to marry Enilis at the time.”
Eivass knew that Enilis was Isabel’s mother’s name. “I know she was beautiful and noble… Although she was a half-elf, it was said that her mother was quite famous in the Church, with a very pure bloodline. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. But… she was too old. Although she looked only in her early thirties, she was reportedly two hundred years old—her age was half that of Avalon. I was only in my teens back then. She was my Elven Language tutor, as well as my music and painting tutor. We would also go riding and play polo together, and she taught me to play the harp. Her personality was so calm, and she knew so many secrets. I saw her as an idol back then… My mother—you know, Her Majesty Sophia. She was actually a rather strong-willed person, insisting that her children do things according to her wishes. She was not only the monarch of Avalon but also the monarch of ‘Du Lac’,” Prince Albert sighed.
*This I never felt,* Eivass thought to himself. *I only felt that Queen Sophia was a very kind old lady… She even knitted scarves for Eivass. They were very soft and warm scarves.
“…I didn’t feel love from Mother, only pressure and criticism. As if I couldn’t do anything right… as if I were stupid,” Prince Albert said with a bitter smile. “Of course, it later turned out… I wasn’t very intelligent either. But Eni was different. She was gentle… She was younger than Mother, and more beautiful. Perhaps it was an aesthetic developed in childhood, but I found half-elves more beautiful than elves and humans. Later… we became involved. Only once.”
Prince Albert’s fingers holding the wine glass tightened slightly. “Generally, half-elves don’t have strong fertility. But that time… perhaps it was just a coincidence. Or perhaps destiny… with just one time, she became pregnant. As I said, half-elves have poor fertility, so she wanted to keep the child.”
“I think…” Eivass seemed to understand something. “That child was Isabel, wasn’t it.”
“Yes. In any case, for the sake of Du Lac’s honor, we had to marry in haste. I liked Eni very much, but I was too young… I was only sixteen or seventeen, still in high school. My friends all knew Eni, knew she was my teacher, and knew she would be my wife. They would tease me—perhaps out of jealousy, because Eni was truly beautiful. And I was very self-conscious back then, and a bit foolish… I felt ashamed, rather than openly proud. So, in front of people, I would act… as if I wasn’t very familiar with Eni, or even deliberately cold towards her. …It was much later that I realized such behavior would hurt her.”
Albert said in a low voice, pouring himself another glass of wine. He raised the glass and drank it in one gulp. Then he poured himself another, saying with slight intoxication, “But by the time I realized it, it was already too late. Ten years ago, she died. As I had predicted, that curse was certainly not carried out along the bloodline of Du Lac, but by some of my brothers and sisters who wanted to kill others. So, I gave up my right to inherit the throne a long time ago—but that person still wanted to kill me. I was supposed to return to the Silver and Tin Hall then, but I was delayed by some business for three days. When I returned, Eni suddenly split open before me. — When she embraced me, she suddenly split open like a flower, unfurling outwards. In an instant, she stopped breathing, and blood gushed out like a spring. I felt warmth, yet a piercing cold. Such a bizarre death could only mean one thing… she was cursed to death. And the curser was very powerful, to have cursed a Fourth Tier Extraordinary so silently. At that time, the curse had not yet begun to ‘spread’ to relatives. Eni was the first non-direct relative to die, but her death was not categorized as a royal curse. Instead, it was judged that she was an accidental victim while a Curse Master was assassinating me amidst the ‘royal curse.’ Because I hadn’t returned to the Silver and Tin Hall for a long time, the assassin probably thought I had returned and came to steal my hair. Instead, they killed Eni. Because our hair colors and lengths were similar. And only an outsider would not know that I had not returned at that time… This mistaken assassination also excluded the curser, or whoever was connected to the Curse Master, from the royal family. Little Isa was only nine years old at the time, and I? I was only twenty-five—still pursuing further studies, not yet graduated from university.” Albert’s voice was hoarse. “At that time, I was even two years younger than the current Detective Sherlock.”
“So, aren’t you going to seek revenge?” Eivass countered. He tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t even know who my enemy is. Even my wise and mighty mother was helpless about it. What could I, incompetent as I am, do? I was just a student; I wasn’t even an Extraordinary back then.”
“So, you chose to run away.”
“…You could understand it that way. Indeed… in terms of outcome, I fled. Out of fear, and confusion. I just wanted to escape that mire of slow death… even if it meant dying under the sun. I just wanted to do something, anything, so that when death arrived, I wouldn’t realize I hadn’t done anything. — I was only twenty-five! My life up to this point, besides studying, was taking care of Isabel. I had never even seen the world outside Glass Island… At least, I wanted to go out and see. Even if I died out there, even if I helped someone… I didn’t want to go to school meaninglessly anymore. Death could come at any moment, what was the point of studying? So, I planned for two years to study Extraordinary arts. When my preparations were complete, I ran away with my good friend Yunus.”
“…But I did… I did neglect Isabel. Or rather…” Albert paused and replied, “When I saw her, I would be reminded of Eni. I would be reminded that I hadn’t even had a chance to say sorry to her… and I would be in pain. Perhaps the person who cursed Eni was indeed a clumsy assassin, but Isabel was indeed entangled with a curse. It would have been fine if I had died before her, but what if she died before me? Curses don’t always act in sequence… I would dream of Isabel suddenly splitting open before me and wake up startled. …If I couldn’t do anything, at least…”
*At least I don’t want to see it.* Albert poured himself another glass of wine, only to find it empty. His cheeks were flushed, his voice low and tinged with a hint of sobs. “I didn’t come here to find a daughter for someone else… I just saw Anastasia and was reminded of Isabel. But I didn’t dare to go back… Facing the curse, I chose to flee; the curse was lifted, and then I returned. Then, I…” Albert’s words choked up. He remained silent for a while before saying in a low voice, “I came to the Church actually to find Eni’s mother. To say sorry to her… With you taking care of Isabel, I’m at peace. So I thought… I might as well die. If she blames me, I can pay for it with my life. Perhaps in the Dream Realm, there will be a chance to meet her again… Of course, a weakling like me would probably only become the foundation of the world. But I think she might become a singer for the Song Heavenly Envoy, or an Apostle of the Twin Mirrors. She was also good at painting and might be sent to the Amber Forest, or become a Memory Imprint copied by the Amber Heavenly Envoy. I just… want to say sorry to her.”
Eni’s mother? Eivass’s eyes widened slightly, a strange premonition suddenly arising in his heart. “Princess Enilis… what was her surname?”
“—Flower,” Prince Albert replied without hesitation. “Her full name is Enilis Flower.”
(End of Chapter)
