Albert's Story

Iver stared intently at Prince Albert as he dispelled his Illusionary Form and returned to his original form.

He was initially worried about public opinion, but he soon discovered that Prince Albert didn't seem to care about those things.

Perhaps it was because he was a skilled charlatan, thus able to distinguish truth from lies; or perhaps he genuinely didn't care about such things, or was indifferent to Isabel.

Initially, Iver had a rather favorable impression of the identity of "Yunus." After all, in the game, he steadfastly protected the main characters, and his actions were both comical and endearing.

The more Iver recounted the story, the angrier he became—not at Albert himself, but at the fact that Isabel still remembered him.

She was actually willing to give Prince Albert a chance to come back.

If it were Iver, he wouldn't even give them this chance.

—Although Iver now suspects that Professor Moriarty has grand ambitions, using him, Yulia, and his older brother as pawns in a great cause, and may even be the mastermind behind the murder of his biological parents. He even suspects that Ring Angel Archbishop, who has designs on Iver ... but even so, Iver still holds his adoptive father in high esteem.

In any case, he did indeed raise himself—and not only that, he also delayed the time it took for the Paradox Flame Butterfly to emerge from Yulia's body. Otherwise, Iver would have had absolutely no chance to save Yulia.

He would remember what Iver liked to eat, and when Iver was infected by the Path Power and frantically researched the Path of Transcendence, he even kept Iver at home for two months instead of going to school. When Iver was sacrificed to the Shadow Demon and lost his life force, he would also invite Bishop Mathers, the highest-ranking priest in Avalon, to heal Iver and teach him Iver magic.

Even though he is now deeply involved in the professor's conspiracy, Iver still firmly believes that the professor is far better than Prince Albert as a father.

—In a sense, there's a reason why Iver was so vulnerable, fearful, and insecure when she first met Isabel, and why she ran away from the Glass Island with Prince Albert and never returned.

Even— Iver once suspected that Isabel's deep attachment and trust in him stemmed from her placing him in the position of "father."

Because Iver is the first man of the opposite sex who will protect her, guide her, educate her, and love her. He is also mature, intelligent, handsome, reliable, and has mature life experience, making him trustworthy and someone she can rely on.

—And these were things that her father should have done.

In this respect, Iver's unprovoked anger toward Prince Albert is more like a father's questioning... like an adoptive father questioning his irresponsible biological father.

"... I will go back."

Prince Albert took a deep breath and whispered, "I will definitely go back."

"Unlike Sherlock —he's here to help you solve your problems, I'm here to inform you about this."

Iver's tone softened somewhat.

He raised his glass and clinked it with Prince Albert's.

At the same time, Iver warned, "It's not that I forgive you... because I have no right to blame you. Whether to forgive or not is Isabel's decision. Even if I cannot understand or personally disagree with her forgiveness, I will respect her personal wishes."

"—But as a man, I despise you. Your His Highness the Prince ... or rather, Father."

Upon hearing the word "father," Prince Albert trembled.

He showed obvious signs of discomfort—clearly not used to being addressed that way.

He looked at Iver, opened his mouth, and then closed it like a dead fish.

Generally speaking, a son-in-law who is directly approached by his father-in-law for a private chat is unlikely to be as assertive as Iver... especially when the two have done everything before getting married.

But Prince Albert didn't even dare to ask Iver about Isabel's well-being. Their positions were completely reversed.

He clinked glasses with Iver again, then drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"... Would you like to hear my story?" Prince Albert said softly.

"I'm not here for psychotherapy."

Iver nodded. "But I do want to know more."

"I await your persuasion, Father."

"... I'm afraid that won't work."

Prince Albert smiled wryly and said, "That's not a very convincing or relatable story."

"At that time, I didn't have any particular opinions or anything I wanted to do. In fact, marriage wasn't even on my radar..."

He pursed his lips and replied, "Because I didn't actually want to marry Ini at the time."

Iver knew that Innelis was Isabel's Mother's name.

"I know she is beautiful and noble... Although she is Half-Elf, her mother is said to be a celebrity in the Theocracy, and her bloodline is quite pure. She is the most beautiful person I have ever seen. But... she is too old."

"Although she looks only in her early thirties, she is said to be two hundred years old—half the age of Avalon."

"I was only a teenager then, and she was my Elven Language teacher, as well as my music and painting teacher. We would go horseback riding and play polo together, and she also taught me to play the harp. She was so calm and knew so many secrets. I idolized her back then..."

"My mother—you know, Her Majesty Sophia. She is actually a rather strong-willed person who insists that her children do things according to her wishes. She is not only the monarch of Avalon, but also the monarch of ' Du Lac '."

"Prince Albert I said with a sigh."

"... I don't feel anything about that," Iver thought to himself.

He only thought Queen Sophia was a rather kind old lady... she would even knit a scarf for Iver.

It was a very soft and warm scarf.

"... I didn't feel love from my mother, only pressure and criticism. It was as if I couldn't do anything right... as if I was stupid."

Prince Albert smiled wryly, "Of course, as it turned out... I really wasn't very smart."

"But Ini is different. She is very gentle... She is younger and more beautiful than my mother. I don't know if it's because of my aesthetic sense developed when I was a child, but I think Half-Elf are more beautiful than elves or humans."

"Later... we had sex. Only once."

Prince Albert tightened his grip on the wine glass slightly. "Generally speaking, Half-Elf are not very fertile. But that time... perhaps it was just a coincidence. Or perhaps it was fate... she became pregnant on the first try. As I said, Half-Elf are not very fertile, so she wanted to keep the child."

"I think..."

Iver seemed to understand something. "That child is Isabel, isn't she?"

"Well. Anyway, for the sake of Du Lac's reputation, we had to get married in a hurry. I really liked Ini, but I was too young at the time... I was only sixteen or seventeen, still in high school. My friends all knew Ini, knew she was my teacher, and knew she would be my wife."

"They would jeer—maybe out of jealousy, because Ini was really pretty. And back then I was very vain and a bit foolish... I felt ashamed, not outright proud. So I would act in front of people... as if I didn't know Ini that well, or even deliberately be cold to her."

"... It was much later that I realized this would hurt her."

Albert spoke softly, pouring himself another glass of wine.

He picked up his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

He then poured himself another drink, saying with a hint of drunkenness, "But by the time I realized it, it was too late."

"—She died ten years ago."

"As I expected, the curse was not carried out through the Blood of Du Lac, but rather by my brothers and sisters who wanted to kill others. That's why I renounced my right to the throne long before it was due... but that person still wanted to kill me."

"I was originally going back to the Silver and Tin Palace that time, but I was delayed by something and returned three days late. But when I got back, Ini suddenly split open in front of me."

"—When she embraced me, she suddenly burst open like a flower, curling outwards. In an instant, she stopped breathing, and blood gushed out like a spring. I felt warmth, yet I also felt an icy chill to the bone."

"Such a bizarre death, it's obvious at a glance... she was cursed to death. And the one who cursed her must have been extremely powerful to be able to curse and kill a Fourth Level superhuman so silently."

"At that time, the curse had not yet begun to 'spread' to relatives. Ini was the first non-immediate relative to die, but her death was not classified as the Royal Curse. Instead, it was judged that she was mistakenly killed when the Curse Master attempted to assassinate me under the guise of the ' Royal Curse '."

"Because I hadn't returned to the Silver and Tin Palace for a long time, the assassin probably thought I had returned and came to steal my hair. But he killed Ini instead. Because our hair color and length are similar. And only outsiders would not know that I hadn't returned yet... This mistaken curse also excluded the curser, or rather, those who colluded with the Curse Master, from the royal family."

"At that time, little Isa was only nine years old, and me? I was only twenty-five years old—I was still studying and hadn't graduated from university."

Albert's voice was hoarse. "Back then, I was even two years younger than Sherlock Holmes is now."

"So, aren't you going to take revenge?"

Iver asked in return.

He twitched his lips slightly. "I don't even know who my enemy is. Even my wise and powerful mother was at a loss. What could I, incompetent as I am, do? I was just a student. I wasn't even a superhuman back then."

So you chose to run away.

"... You could interpret it that way. Indeed... in the end, I escaped. Because of fear, and because of confusion. I just wanted to get out of that slow, deathly quagmire... even if it was just dying in the sunlight. I just wanted to do something, so that when death came, I wouldn't realize I hadn't done anything."

"—I'm only twenty-five! My entire life so far has consisted of going to school and taking care of Isabel. I haven't even seen the world outside of Glass Island ... At least, I want to go out and see it. Even if I die out there, even if I help someone... I don't want to go to school meaninglessly anymore. Death can come at any time, what's the point of studying? So I planned for two years to learn Extraordinary Skills. When I was ready, I ran away with my good brother Yunus."

"... But I did... I did overlook Isabel. Or rather..."

Albert paused for a moment, then replied, "Because when I see her, I think of Ini. I think of how I never even had a chance to say sorry to her...and then I feel terrible."

"Perhaps the person who cursed Ini was indeed a clumsy assassin, but Isabel was indeed afflicted with a curse. It would be fine if I died before her, but what if she died in front of me? The curse doesn't manifest in sequence... I used to dream that Isabel would suddenly split open in front of me, and then I would wake up in a fright."

"... If I can't do anything, at least..."

—At least I don't want to see it.

Albert poured himself another drink, only to find that he had already finished it.

His cheeks were flushed, and his voice was low and tinged with sobs. "I'm not here to help someone find their daughter... I just thought of Isabel when I saw Anastasia."

"But I dare not go back... Faced with the curse, I chose to run away; when the curse was lifted, I came back. So I..."

Albert choked up at this point.

He remained silent for a long while before whispering, "I came to the Theocracy to find Ini's mother and apologize to her... I'm relieved that you're taking care of Isabel. So I think... perhaps I can die."

"If she blames me, I can give my life to repay her. Perhaps we'll have a chance to meet again in the Dream Realm... Of course, someone as incompetent as me will probably only become a cornerstone of the world. But I think she might become a chanter of the Song Angel, or an apostle of the Twin Mirrors. She's also very good at painting, so she might be sent to the Amber Forest, or become Memory Trace imprinted by the Amber Angel."

"I just... wanted to say sorry to her."

Ini's mother? Iver's eyes widened slightly, a strange premonition suddenly rising in his heart. "Princess Innelis... what is her surname?"

"—Blooming Flowers"

Prince Albert answered without hesitation, "Her full name is Inilis Blooming Flowers."