Chapter 728
Tombstone of Number 14
Miss Alistair looked at Prince Xiardo with amusement.
“How unusual,” she said with a smile. “If I remember correctly… was your mother, Queen Louise, not a Child of the Moon?”
Prince Xiardo fell silent for a moment after Miss Alistair’s words.
Fenrir, the astrologer, subconsciously turned to look at the prince’s expression—however, the prince did not become angry.
He did not clench the fists resting on the table. Instead, he slowly reached for the black tea that a maid had just delivered. Yet, he gazed at the tea in the cup for a long time, and though he had already brought it to his lips, he slowly set it down again.
“…Precisely because of that.”
After a long silence, he spoke.
Prince Xiardo did not explain his actions in detail, but Miss Alistair understood.
“You mean,” Miss Alistair, having returned to her original form, leaned back in her chair, tilting her head up to reveal her smooth, delicate chin, “that when she gave birth to you, she was not yet a Child of the Moon… is that right?”
Prince Xiardo did not answer.
Yet, his downcast gaze at the black tea in the cup, tinged with a hint of sadness, revealed the entire truth.
It was clear that Valentine VII believed his “resurrected Queen” was still his beloved. Or rather, he believed that as long as Louise could be resurrected, he would accept her no matter what.
But as her child, Prince Xiardo clearly felt his mother’s changes.
Miss Alistair’s lips curved slightly upwards, only to flatten again with seriousness. It was then that she truly began to examine Prince Xiardo.
At this moment, Miss Alistair indeed looked like a young girl, no older than thirteen or fourteen, so slender she was pitiful. The back of the chair behind her was even taller than her upper body.
However, she was wearing a gorgeous, elf-style outfit—a light, flowing garment primarily in gold and red, adorned with numerous luxurious gold ornaments set with rubies and emeralds.
The noble aura exuded by this magnificent attire completely overshadowed the delicate impression given by her youthful appearance. Despite being a guest, she inexplicably possessed an air of a host.
“I see.”
Miss Alistair sighed softly. “You still cherish the memory of your mother from your childhood, yet you do not deny the love of the ‘mother who appeared later,’ and thus you do not regard her as an enemy. In your understanding, they are two distinct yet interconnected individuals… and based on this, they coexist within one person.
“…How rare to encounter a type that believes the Child of the Moon and their predecessor exist simultaneously. In the philosophy of the Children of the Moon, your way of thinking is considered a minority.”
Only based on such a philosophy could Prince Xiardo engage in actions like “caring about his predecessor’s image and identity and actively interfering with the Child of the Moon’s actions.” To others, such behavior seemed overly naive, and considering his status, even somewhat laughable.
“There’s no need to analyze it to that extent.”
Prince Xiardo took a sip of his black tea and said calmly, “Has anyone told you that it makes people uncomfortable?”
“Oh, I apologize. I didn’t realize you were so sensitive…”
Miss Alistair, unbothered by Prince Xiardo’s subtly sharp yet feeble words, asked with interest, “In your opinion, what am I to ‘her’? A thief who stole an identity and memories, a resurrected and evolved being… or merely a reborn individual with a different personality?”
“…A tombstone.”
After a long silence, Prince Xiardo replied simply. “That’s what I believe.”
A tombstone…
Hearing the unexpected answer, Miss Alistair’s eyes widened slightly.
An “object” inscribed with the life of the deceased, worthy of respect and remembrance. Not treated as a complete person, yet its existence is acknowledged, rather than being deemed a thief or a monster.
Compared to Beyad, who had transformed into a Shadow Demon back then, this seemed like a more mature perspective.
“…Heh.”
Her lips curved slightly upwards, and her tone softened. “Good child.”
Regardless of which definition of a Child of the Moon was correct—or if none of them were entirely correct—Miss Alistair was certain that Prince Xiardo was at least a tender-hearted individual.
“Perhaps you have existed in this world for a very long time, but there’s no need to behave as an elder in front of me.”
Prince Xiardo looked up and said earnestly, “I do everything not for anyone’s praise. It’s because I want to.”
“Including your father?” Miss Alistair pressed.
“Of course, Miss Alistair.”
Prince Xiardo took a deep breath, looked at Miss Alistair, and said solemnly, “I invited you here not entirely because of Fenrir’s prophecy, nor entirely because I saw such a young and innocent girl intending to enter such a decadent and defiled place. It is also because I saw your soul—it is so pure, untainted by any sin.”
“…My soul?”
Miss Alistair was somewhat surprised.
But soon, she thought of the spectacles. “It can do even this?”
“—That is an alchemy creation personally crafted by Valentine I.”
Prince Xiardo stated frankly, “It wouldn’t hurt to tell you… His Majesty also frequented such places in the past.”
“Is it alright to tell me, an outsider, such a thing?”
Miss Alistair raised an eyebrow.
Prince Xiardo nodded slightly. “Of course, because this is not a matter of shame—it was during that event that His Majesty felt the contradiction of the Children of the Moon. He personally witnessed the depravity of the Children of the Moon, yet his best friend was also a Child of the Moon; he began to question his past prejudices against the Children of the Moon—the Children of the Moon’s consumption of blood slaves as mere consumables, and the wicked deeds of those nobles towards blood slaves, which was noble and which was base?
“So, when he was lost, he created these spectacles that could ‘see into the human heart.’ These spectacles were blessed by the Twin Mirrors, and not only could they discern whether a person’s soul was pure and clear, or ferocious and evil, but they could also see the killings they had committed…”
As he spoke, Prince Xiardo looked at Miss Alistair, his expression somewhat complex. “And I have never seen a Child of the Moon with such a pure soul. Therefore, I believe… Miss Alistair, you must have only recently become a Child of the Moon, and she… is still young.”
—Nonsense, because I was genuinely born just now.
Miss Alistair thought.
No wonder Prince Xiardo had been so enthusiastically welcoming the first time he saw her—he wasn’t usually this outgoing; he was more of a closed-off type. He had even emphasized her “nobility,” and when she had shown killing intent in the carriage, he hadn’t shown any wariness.
It turned out he had seen her kill count record…
Her predecessor was only thirteen or fourteen, and now the karma on her was clean.
Therefore, in Prince Xiardo’s view, she was either a child who had “just replaced her predecessor, not knowing how to show that she had become a Child of the Moon, and disguised herself as an adult using illusions to enter the exclusive buffet for Children of the Moon,” or she was a Child of the Moon who had not yet killed anyone, which was why he had chatted with Miss Alistair for so long and revealed so many secrets without reservation—because he had already confirmed Miss Alistair’s “tendency towards good and evil.”
And at the same time…
“…You believe I would be influenced by that strange ritual and commit atrocities?”
Miss Alistair retorted.
(End of Chapter)
