God Bless Your Ruin

"Angie?"

Mrs. Dunst was standing on the stairs to the third floor, looking up at her.

"Oh, mistress, I'm sorry!"

As she ran up the stairs again, Angie realized what was creepy about it. 

There was no smile on the child's face. The face, which was pale as a blank sheet of paper and devoid of emotion, looked more like a funeral portrait than a family portrait.

And besides...

Angie belatedly noticed another fact as she followed the butler down the third floor corridor.

The deceased Duchess Eugenia, the woman who was supposed to be young Master Kai's mother, was nowhere to be seen on the wall. There were no pictures or portraits hanging at all.

"Angie. You already know this, but let me repeat it. "

"Yes, mistress."

Mrs. Dunst's eyes flashed sternly. Angie's shoulders tensed under the pressure.

"Never say unnecessary things to the young master. On the first day, try to answer only the questions he asks."

"...Okay. I understand."

Angie swallowed saliva. 

Although the girl was curious, she was not reckless. Even in the village, she had a reputation for being a more mature and thoughtful girl than her age.

...

The basement of the annex was a secret place made up of dozens of mazes.

Edward Liam Blackwell was confined to the innermost room of the maze. In front of the door, there was a lock hanging that was scary just to look at. 

But the interior was far from a prison. The room looked comfortable and pleasant in every way, like a room in a luxury hotel.

Edward opened his blurry eyes, with each of his hands and feet tied to a chain. 

This convulsion attack was quite long. And it was getting longer and longer. That could never be a good sign.

He moved his tightly bound wrists to pull on the rope hanging on the wall. 

Immediately a sturdy guy came in and loosened his restraints.

"Jerome, how many days has it been?"

"Yes, master. Today is the fifth day."

The guy replied with a deadpan expression on his face. He waited for his master's next command to come, hands clasped in front of him politely.

"......Five days. It's been five days."

"Please be a little more patient. The remedies for the master will arrive tomorrow. That's why you have to control your mind not to break the chains and leave the mansion. These days, sleeping pills don't work well, so I'm looking for other herbs on the island. "

"I will try to be patient."

After ten days, he becomes dangerous.

At that point, he might have to confine his body in earnest in the fortress.

If he loses control anyway, he would hurt anyone no matter who it was. 

He didn't care that it was obvious that this mansion would burn to the ground.

But here was his son.

 Edward's own son of Edward's flesh and blood. His only tie of family and blood.

"And Kyle...?"

"He's safe in his room. Just now the young master's seventh remedy has just arrived."

"It was two months ago, wasn't it? When the sixth came out... A poor kid. How old is this one?"

" She' s sixteen years old. She' s very healthy."

Edward picked up the bottle of water on the bedside tray Jerome had brought.  After each convulsion, an inexorable burning thirst invaded his whole body.

"Jerome."

"Yes, master."

"I need a woman."

"I will prepare him at once."

The servant bowed his head politely to him and immediately left the room. 

Edward tousled his black hair with his free hand.

Beneath the picturesque features of his face, his lips twisted and his bitter smile seeped out.

A feeling of shame, and disappointment. 

It was a laugh of contempt for his own animal nature.

When the woman arrived, he would have to shake his waist with only his lower legs exposed in this state.

 Damn...

It was hopeless not to be able to free himself from the physiological phenomenon of having to eat, sleep and empty the accumulated things in his body in a proper cycle under any circumstances. 

There was a burning anger in him.

If it weren't for his son Kyle, he would want to burn down the whole mansion right now. 

The terrible greed and vain deceit of his ancestors were not worth a handful of ashes.

...

The seventh Remedy was entering Blackwell III's room.

Angie covered her mouth with one hand to keep from screaming.

The bedroom was like the royal palace in a fairy tale she had only seen in books. It wasn't as nice and pretty as the princess's room. 

However, a sense of luxury and depth that she couldn't put into words pervaded the entire room.

But it wasn't the beauty of the interior that amazed Angie. 

Of course, the overwhelming elegance and splendor also amazed her, but there was another reason that sent shivers down her spine.

The room was like a cave decorated like a palace. A thick curtain hung from one of the long, high walls. 

It was really strange. 

It was late afternoon when the bright sun was shining outside, but the room was dark. 

Amidst a strange stillness, only the handcrafted lamps placed along the wall were scattering a subtle light in the room.

"Ah... Hello. Young master."

Angie stammered towards the high bed, wrapped in the veil. 

She couldn't tell if the man was looking at her, but his body had a reflexively polite posture.

There was no response from beyond the veil. 

Instead, she heard the door slam shut behind her. When she turned around, Mrs. Dunst was gone.

Angie moistened her lips, unsure whether or not to approach the bed. 

Could it be that no one was there? 

He must have gone out for a while without telling Mrs. Dunst. Or maybe he' s in the bathroom.

At that moment, Angie startled and almost groaned. A shadow moving beyond the veil caught her attention at once.

"Come and sit down."

"...What? Yes."

"Don't come too close. Sit by the window. "

The deep, low tone, which gave a childlike impression, contained the unique sensitivities of puberty. 

It was a cool, sweet voice that had gone through or was in the midst of changes in his voice.

N/T: His voice is going through the changes in adolescence, like the thickening of men's voices at puberty.

Angie's heart began to beat in a strange way.

She sat up in the chair, holding her chest with one hand. 

She was far from the bed, but she could hear his voice clearly. 

He bowed once silently, revealing a clearer outline of his silhouette.

"...Who are, you?"

It was a cold voice that made her shiver.

It was a voice that sounded veiled. Angie swallowed saliva.

- Master Kylek is not well. His skin is so sensitive that he can't go outside because he's too sick to be out in the sun, and that's why he needs a friend his own age. He needs a friend to come and talk to him once in a while, to talk about the outside and read books.

The advice of her mother, Laura, came to her mind.

-But the master has been ill for a long time and is extremely sensitive. He's very fussy, and maybe he can treat you a little badly. But, you have to understand, Angie. Since you are very healthy. And because we are all living deeply by the grace of the Blackwell family.

"Can't you hear me?"

Angie jumped out of her seat at the scolding that flew like a knife.

"Yes? I-I'm sorry...yes. My name is Angie Lizdel. You can call me Angie. My father and mother are Patrick and Laura Lizdel, the caretakers of the North Shore Village on North Beach."

Her heart trembled strangely. 

From where she stood, she could only see his shadow.

On the contrary, through the veil that swayed as if invisible, she felt like he could see all about her. 

There was no hole in the fabric of the veil, so it wouldn't be that. Still, she felt strangely exposed and helpless.

"So. What are you doing here?"

Angie swallowed saliva again. 

A 17 year old boy who is confined in a dark room due to the disease in his body. What would be the best comfort for him? How can she please and entertain him?

- From today, once a week, go and become the companion of young master Kylek. 

From yesterday until now, the moment her mother told her about it. Angie had been thinking about it a lot.

She had no particular talent for singing or dancing. 

She was more confident in sewing and embroidery than anyone else, but it was nothing to brag about to the young master. 

Besides, she doesn't know jokes that would be funny enough to provoke laughter in front of a person of high status like the Duke of Blackwell's son.

"I'm here to tell you a story."

"... From which book?"

She thought he would have said, it was corny.

Angie tried to speak bravely. 

It would be just a soft whisper to the other person in any case, but she had the courage to try anyway.

"I didn't bring any books, because I already had so many."

"... "

"I want to tell you a story I made up."

"... "

There was no reaction beyond the veil. Angie didn't give up on him.

"I narrate fairy tales to the children with these stories, and their reactions are quite good."

Still there was no response. 

Oh, maybe it hurt his pride at the thought of her treating him the same as the children? 

Angie quickly added. 

From the beginning, she felt a sense of crisis that she shouldn't offend the young master.

" This... It's not just the children who like them. Even the adults said it was very witty and interesting. There are stories that I made up myself from beginning to end, but there are also stories that I twisted slightly, and rewrote with a different ending. Once, I changed all the Britannia novels."

"... "

......................................................................................................................................................................................................

N/T: I want to clarify that the male protagonist's name is 'Kylek'. So the name may also appear as 'Kyle'.