Chapter 83:Bad and gray

~Ethan's POV~

"Fall... No one will help you. You are alone now, child"

My eyes widened at the demonic entity standing before me, and my sense of reality struggled to accept the situation. Despite having saved my life and, more importantly, my honor, I was afraid of him. I knew he wanted my body, but I was grateful to him. Despite praying countless times, I had seen not a god but a demon, and I couldn't help but elevate him.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, despite the incredible pain I was enduring. Although, I had a fair idea of what he wanted.

"You know what I want, Ethan. No, should I call you Arthur?"

It was then that I looked at the demon again, forgetting the hole in my abdomen that was still bleeding. 'This can't be happening,' I thought. He knew about my previous life, and what's worse, he might have seen all my memories. This made me even more anxious. I still pressed my hand against the bleeding wound and lifted myself with one hand, leaning my back against a dead body. I looked at the demon, who was watching me with curiosity, wondering what I would do next, and I asked,

"How much of my memories do you have?"

"All of them...~ And By all, I mean truly all. In fact, I've seen memories you haven't even remembered, and I must admit, kid, you're strong. But now you've reached the end of the road, but who knows, maybe you'll be reborn for the third time and have a peaceful life, but this life is over."

"You have all my memories, but don't you know that I won't let you take over my body?"

Even if I knew I would be reborn for a third chance, I couldn't give up this life. How can I give that up when for the first time I have people who love me and care about me?! Never.

"Resistance is futile. If it weren't for me, you would die here, and if I decide to leave now, you will be die "

"I am grateful to you, but I cannot do this."

"Aren't you really tired? Why do you still want this life? Is it because of the women you love? .... What was love really like? Take Aphrodite as an example, are you sure she was really in love with you?"

What kind of question was that? I am as sure as I am of my name that Aphrodite was in love with me, and I am in love with her.

"I'm a hundred percent sure. Our love is genuine."

"Is that so? What if you hadn't entered that shop that day Would you have known about each other? Or suppose you die now and Aphrodite learns about it. Do you really think she will remain faithful to you for the rest of her life? No. Eventually, someone will win her heart, and while you rot in this swamp, she will have already forgotten about you and started a family."

"That won't happen!"

Why did his words hurt so much? No, he's just a demon trying to take over my body. I have to control myself and not listen to what he says.

"What about Anna? Do you really think she was in love with you? No. Anna was just a girl in need of help with a traumatic past. And you were just in the right place at the right time."

"Stop it." I barely managed to get these words out. My bleeding hadn't stopped yet, and if I were to die, these wouldn't be the last words I wanted to hear.

"What about Eleanor? Actually, you don't think she was in love with you anyway, so I'll skip her. Aleria... Yes, the woman who made your heart beat faster than ever before."

"I don't care about what you're saying!"

All these things he said actually hurt me and distorted my sense of reality. My doubts were increasing, and my commitment to life was decreasing. Just as the demon wanted, I was starting to doubt myself, but I was trying my best to ignore such thoughts. Fortunately, the incredible pain I felt was helping me and was keeping me from paying attention to what the demon was saying.

"Then let's talk about your family a bit. Your father told you a secret that you should never tell anyone, and he said you would ascend the throne after the war. And What did you do? You immediately went and told everything to the girl you loved.

What happened now? Because of you, the Asina Kingdom lost the war, your father will die, and all those corpses you stepped on died because of you! And didn't you ever think about the disappointment your father must have felt after all that?"

These words sent shivers down my spine and made my heart burn with pain. Why had Henry betrayed the father he worshipped? I realized then that someone had told Henry and Duke Eddart that I was the next king.

"W-who...?" my thoughts escaped into a murmur.

"Who? Aphrodite was the only one you told the truth about becoming king, and you still ask who betrayed you?"

"No, this can't be! Aphrodite would never betray me!" I didn't want to believe it.

"Aphrodite doesn't only betray for money and power. If she sees a better opportunity, she'll take it."

For a moment, I considered this possibility and imagined Aphrodite betraying me, but the only person I was angry with was myself. If Aphrodite truly had such a character, I was angry with myself for not realizing it.

"Think carefully, Ethan. Life is just one disappointment after another."

"Even if what you say is true, there are still people who care about me," I said.

"Hm.. Ah Your mother? Let me tell you a story, Ethan. Once upon a time, a queen gave birth to a son and was incredibly happy. She was the victim of a political marriage and hated her husband, but when she gave birth to her child her life changed."

As the devil told the story, he approached and emitted light from his hand. The light created a large image, and I began to watch as if I were in a movie theater. In the hologram he projected in front of me, a mother was shown holding her child with a cheerful expression. The mother was beautiful with blonde hair. In her, I saw the pure love Lucina had shown me for a moment.

"But things didn't go as the woman hoped, and as her son grew, he began to be an unsuccessful offspring. Soon, her husband left her and married another woman. While the children from his new wife continued to be successful, but her own son couldn't accomplish anything. Moreover, as his son grew older, he put his mother in embarrassing situations. As time passed, his love for his son gave way to hatred. "

As he said this, the hologram in front of him changed, showing another image of the woman. The happiness she once had was gone, and her face was worn. Her son came home drunk, and the expression on his face was indescribable. The son, who was supposed to be the next king with great expectations, had become a complete disappointment.

"One day, her son committed a serious crime, and his father found out about the crime. He ran to his mother and begged her to protect him, to persuade his father. But even his mother, as a woman, was disturbed by the crime her son had committed and didn't help him. Eventually, her son went to his father and lost his title as a prince. When he returned, he looked at his mother with eyes begging for forgiveness, but his mother didn't care. 'I wish Ethan were my son instead of you! I wish I hadn't given birth to you!' The words his mother said shocked him, and he began to hate Ethan with all his being. From that day on, he started to make efforts to please his mother."

When my name was mentioned in the story, I looked at the devil in surprise. For some unknown reason the story intrigued me and I tried to find out who the people in the story were.

"Could it be?!"

"Yes. The mother in the story I mentioned was actually Karl's mother, Leylia, and all of this happened. Do you now know why I told you this story?"

I remained silent in the shock of the story and at that moment I realized that my body was getting weaker and weaker. It was surprising that I even lasted this long. The devil approached me even more, and when he was close enough, he knelt down and looked into my eyes. There was a compassionate look in his eyes, as if he felt sorry for me. The devil placed his large hand on the back of my head.

Because of the size of his body, I felt like a child next to him.

"Listen to me, Ethan. There's no such thing as a good person, only bad and gray people. Your mother isn't a good person. If you were as untalented and useless a child as Karl, would your mother still love you? No...~ Your mother only loves you because you're a child who satisfies her maternal ego. If mothers weren't selfish, they would love their children in every way, and they wouldn't hesitate to embrace their children even if they were dirty.

Motherhood isn't a divine condition! In fact, they are beings who perform their duties imperfectly. They raise you, but they always look at you with expectant eyes, and what they do is actually a business. Mothers make a business deal with you, and you don't even realize it. According to this business, mothers will take care of you when you're a baby, and when you grow up, you'll take care of your mother. Mothers expect this from their children, and we call it a mutual relationship. Do you still believe that maternal love is pure and sacred?"

He said these words and placed one of his hands towards my stomach. There was no description for the emotions I felt at that moment. All the pain in my body began to disappear rapidly, and I felt the feeling of a mother caressing her child when his hand touched my stomach. I looked down, and I saw that my bleeding wound had healed. All the wounds on my body had healed, and the devil in front of me had once again saved my life.

"Now, how about making deal?"