Regas Vol 2. Chapter 1

Abel is dead.

lmond, who had been released from prison just a few days earlier, heard the news and headed to the library without a trace of emotion. When Abel had borrowed clothes from him, he tied lmond tightly with a rope, pretending he had helped only under threat. Still, lmond could not avoid punishnt.

Perhaps because of that incident, he would soon be expelled from the library as well. Yet now, this didn’t trouble him in the slightest. It was as if his heart had gone numb; neither Abel’s death nor the thought of being cast out stirred him. And not long after his return to the library, the anticipated notice of dismissal arrived. The person who ca in person to deliver the ssage was none other than the esteed attendant.

“This library will soon close its doors. Once that happens, there will be no place for useless fellows like you. I’d love to throw you out right this instant, but I’ll give you three days to tidy up. Be gone by then. Understood?”

lmond simply glanced at the attendant, offering no reply. He quietly resud organizing his workspace. Provoked by the disregard, the attendant raised his voice.

“Hey! Are you deaf or sothing? Can’t you hear ?! You were never ant to have a place here, you worthless wretch. You cannot even show gratitude for being allowed to stay in the palace. And your expression—what is with that look?!”

Still, lmond did not look at him again, as if silently wondering where the barking dog was. The attendant’s face turned red with fury.

Thud, thud, thud.

He approached lmond with heavy steps and, with a sweep of his arm, sent the contents of lmond’s desk flying.

Thud.

Several books and dozens of pages scattered to the floor. lmond shifted his gaze to the fallen items, then bent down and began to collect them. The attendant, watching with narrowed eyes, spat harshly.

“Abel was lucky enough to catch the prince’s attention and strutted around like he was sothing special. But no matter what, I know how pathetic the place you co from really is. Your sect’s master sees the future in dreams? Ha! Where did you hear such nonsense? A gray-eyed dragon burning down the royal palace...”

lmond suddenly froze and straightened slowly. The attendant stopped mid-sentence. Rising to his full height, lmond fixed the man with a glare that could kill.

“What—what is it?”

“How did you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Gray eyes. I never said the dragon burning the palace had gray eyes.”

The attendant’s startled face betrayed his confusion, but he quickly composed himself and retorted.

“Hmph. Then Abel must’ve told . If not you.”

“He said nothing either.”

“......”

“Alright... I see. Where did you hear it from?”

As a chilling coldness settled in lmond’s eyes, the attendant took a step back in alarm. Then he abruptly shouted, louder than before.

“What do you even know?!”

lmond remained silent, staring him down. Besides him and Abel, only one person could have known about the gray-eyed dragon—Wiedel, the drear himself.

lmond’s thoughts flashed back to the day Wiedel died, the day his house was broken into. Was his death their doing? His breath caught. He should have been more suspicious. He should have watched the King’s Heart more closely.

If he had, he might have saved Abel.

But lmond only clenched his jaw and bent down again to gather the scattered papers. Rage would solve nothing. He had more important matters to attend to.

The attendant, frustrated by lmond’s silence, scread once more before storming off in fury.

Slam!

Once the door shut, lmond paused in his tidying, picked up a pen and paper, and walked to the bookshelf. He retrieved the volu where he had left off transcribing.

In silence, lmond resud copying the remaining records. Three days passed in this state—he did not go ho once. On the third day, while finishing the final lines, an unexpected visitor arrived.

lmond looked up to find a woman kneeling on the floor, crying. It was the maid he had sotis seen during his visits to Abel.

“I—I’m sorry. It’s my fault... He’s gone because of . I... I poisoned him.”

With tears flowing down her face, the maid—Serene—confessed, as though seeking atonent. Though her words were disjointed, the aning was clear: she had killed Abel. lmond listened grimly and interrupted her at one point.

“Did you say it was a black potion?”

“Yes. Abel gave a black potion and asked if it was the sa one I put in his food.”

Serene looked up through swollen eyes and saw that lmond’s expression had changed in a chilling way. He was staring at the papers beside him with a dark, hardened look.

“Is sothing wrong?”

“You work in the kitchen, right? May I ask you for a favor?”

“Yes,” Serene replied, startled. lmond t her gaze, his eyes now dimd with resolve.

“Soon, the record keeper or another figure in the court will try to slip the black potion into the prince’s al. If you can, bring a sample of the tainted food. Better yet, if you can get your hands on the potion itself, do so.”

He lowered his voice and carefully explained the situation. He added that the King’s Heart was trying to turn the prince into soone like the current king. The final passage of the record echoed in his mind.

With this, our mission is clear. We must kill the king and, above all, create an antidote to the black potion that will destroy the kingdom. I managed to obtain a poisoned al for experintation. As a result, I have discovered several helpful herbs and left them here. However, this is not a perfect cure—it only prevents the condition from [N O V E L I G H T] worsening. Due to testing the poison on myself, I will soon die. But I believe the one who cos after will complete the antidote.

****

It had been a week since the prince refused to eat his als.

Well, he did eat—fruits.

Strangely, the prince would only eat fruit. Although they gave in and offered him fruit when he rejected cooked als, he could not survive on fruit alone.

But the prince, unable to see what was before him, would reach out and knock over the plates and bowls whenever he slled food. As a result, his hands bore several burns from the hot dishes. Concerned yet assuming hunger would eventually drive him to eat, the King’s Heart even cut off the supply of fruit.

After nearly two days without food, they tried feeding him again. Expecting him to finally give in, they were surprised to find the prince still refusing to eat.

While the puzzled palace servants hesitated, soone unexpected entered the prince’s room—soone who had never set foot there before. The figure commanded the startled staff:

“Everyone out.”

They quickly bowed and exited without question.

Because the one who gave the order was the king—and no one could defy the king.

As the room emptied, the king glanced at the ss on the floor and chuckled at the scattered food.

“I see you’ve been using your brain quite a bit. But as long as you're in the palace, you’ll have to do as they say.”

The king's words were aid at the blindfolded prince. But the child sat motionless, like a lifeless doll. The king observed him in silence for a mont before stepping toward the shattered plates on the floor.

“If you favor soone, they will die. If you cherish a place, it will burn. If you refuse to eat...”

The king bent down and picked up a broken shard.

“They’ll just force the food down your throat.”

With that, the king approached the prince. The boy was sitting behind a table strewn with ruined food. Tilting his head, the king chuckled—and suddenly flipped the table over.

Crash!!

With a thunderous noise, the table slamd to the ground. At the sa mont, the door burst open and soone stord in. Without permission, the man sat directly in front of the prince, shielding him—a serious offense, nearly akin to obstructing the queen.

Yet Ashler, wearing a grim expression, bowed his head before the king.

“You dare stand in my way? Do you know that could cost you your life?”

The king's voice was cold.

Ashler dropped to his knees.

“Your Majesty, I beg your rcy. The prince’s eyes have been severely injured. It hasn’t even been long since he was able to sit up... Please, I beg you...”

“So you’re telling not to strike him?”

“...”

“Haha... how amusing. Truly amusing. Hahaha―”

The king laughed, shoulders shaking as if he genuinely found it funny. Ashler glanced up, fear in his eyes, then quickly looked away. Perhaps this would be the end of him. As Captain of the Royal Guard, he would surely face severe punishnt for opposing the king.

But the mont he heard the crash from the prince’s room, he had moved without thinking.

Abel’s death had changed sothing in him. As he carried the prince and fled into the woods, the mory of the smiling face that once held the prince among the trees made everything else seem aningless. In that mont, all he wanted was to protect the boy.

He waited for the king’s wrath to descend.

But what he heard was unexpected.

“Close the door.”

“...Pardon?”

Startled, he raised his head. The king gestured behind him.

“I said, close the door.”

Ashler then noticed the door was still ajar. Why would the king care? Confused, he hesitated, but when he t the king’s vacant eyes, he snapped out of it, ran to close the door, and returned.

In the anti, the king stood staring at the prince. Ashler dared not disturb him and waited in silence by his side. After a long pause, the king finally turned to him.

“Do you like the countryside?”

The question ca out of nowhere. Ashler, puzzled, answered carefully.

“Yes... I grew up in the countryside.”

“Then you should go.”

What did that an? Was the king sparing his life through exile? Ashler considered the possibilities, but the king turned back to the prince. Though the boy's eyes were hidden by a bandage, he must have heard everything—yet there was no reaction. Even when the king began speaking nonsense.

“Five years. No, maybe six. That’s the ti I can buy you. Whether you live or die after that... it’s all up to you.”

Then the king took a step back and brought the broken plate to his own face. Before Ashler could stop him, he dragged the shard across his cheek. Blood trickled from the fresh wound, and yet a smile spread across his face.

“If I may offer one piece of advice—it’s best to keep that bandage on for now.”

Thud.

The plate fell to the floor as the king took another step back and suddenly shouted toward the door.

“Guards! Is anyone there?!”

The mont soone entered the room, the king pointed at the prince and shouted:

“The prince dared to threaten and has struck . Seal this room to prevent his escape—and summon the attendants imdiately!”

At the ergency eting called by the king, the attendants could not hide their confusion. It was the first ti he had summoned them since ascending the throne. And now, the matter was punishnt—for the one who had supposedly hard him.

“This is a treacherous plot against the kingdom—against , the king!”

The attendants exchanged anxious glances. On the king’s face were untreated wounds, left clearly visible.

“Your Majesty... but it was the prince who caused this...?”

“And isn’t that the greater issue? He seeks my throne.”

The prince was blind and only eight years old. What could such a child possibly conspire? But the king’s face twisted with fury, as if a rebellion had just begun.

Though he neglected his royal duties and spent his days toying with his Regas, the attendants knew him well. When the king made up his mind, no one could stop him. Usually, his whims were harmless, even laughable. But this—this was about the prince.

“Your Majesty, the prince is still a child. With patience and compassion...”

“Watch my throne be stolen in the na of compassion? What nonsense.”

Cutting the words short, the king stared at his attendants with cold, listless eyes and gave his final command:

“Exile the prince.”