Curse and Gift, At the Same Time

Eventually, the Rohde couple took notice of him. The couple... they remind him of his mother. They gave off a strong yet soft white light, comforting his eyes. Eid felt joy serving them, and the Rohde couple's trust in him became deeper and deeper until he was appointed as the personal servant of the young lady, Nera.

Nera was just five back then, while Eid was ten, to his speculation at least. He didn't know how much time had passed in that dark cell, but it felt like an eternity.

Since the Duke was an active vigilante in the capital city, he made many enemies with dangerous people, and that's why the Rohde couple was overprotective of their only child. But there was a time when the couple decided for Ner to tour around the capital. It was unhealthy for her to be cooped up in their household all her childhood, after all.

The couple thought they were safe and took all the precautions to protect their daughter. But who could've thought that one of their most trusted knights was the one to unsheathe his sword, intending to harm Ner?

No one expected this betrayal, well, no one except for Eid. He protected Ner from the first few strike the traitor made. However, the traitor was still a knight who had abundant experience in combat and had received his Inaugural Gift from Allknow. Eid was fatally wounded and could only stall the traitor for a few seconds, not even several. However, those few seconds were enough for other knights to respond.

Fortunately, the family healer was present then, and Eid escaped death a hair's breadth away.

When Eid woke up from his long sleep, he received the news that the King of the Iron Kingdom wanted to personally meet him and award him the honor a knight can receive for doing heroic deeds. After all, he saved the King's only niece. Moreover, since he is still just a servant, it wasn't anything grand that the public would know.

The memory of him entering the throne room for the first time was still fresh in Eid's head. He had once thought that anyone related to the Duke was pure, just like the couple... and he couldn't be more wrong.

It was the dirtiest and most disgusting sensation ever when he met the king of the Iron Kingdom eye to eye. Out of instinct, Eid released a killing intent the moment they locked eyes. Since then, the King felt his life was under threat whenever he saw the kid. But what could the King do? The kid is a favorite of the Rohde couple and is considered a young hero. Should he say that he's scared of the ten-year-old? No, of course, he couldn't do that. He couldn't remove Eid from his life... directly, that is.

After their first encounter, Eid became a target of the King's conspiracy. Events after events would present themselves to Eid. At first, it was as simple as framing him for theft when one of the Queen's precious jewelry went "missing."

But because he expected something like this from such a disgusting person, he avoids the predicaments he found himself under the King's manipulation.

Soon, the King made use of the noble's dissatisfaction with Eid. He was just a servant- no, he didn't even come from a vassal family. Instead, he was one of the rats outside of the city that just became fortunate enough to be sheltered by the kind and naive Duke. At least, that's what the other nobles and aristocrats thought.

But even then, Eid hid behind the Duke's authoritative figure that none of the nobles could do anything.

Eventually, becoming increasingly desperate, the King made one mistake, making the Duke finally take notice and confront him.

That was also the moment when the Duke proclaimed to adopt Eid.

"From now on, he is no longer just a servant but my son! If you touch him, you will not get away with it, even if you're the king!"

With that, conflict formed between the two, forcing the Duke to move the Rohde household outside the capital. After all, he would be at a disadvantage within the Iron Kingdom.

Eid blamed himself for what happened. Because of him, the Duke made an enemy of the King and put their position in peril. At the same time, Eid was touched and happy that the Rohde couple, whom he greatly admired, adopted him even after all the backlash the Duke received by doing so- by adopting what many consider a "rat."

After being adopted by a prestigious family, Eid received resources and privileges a servant wouldn't be able to enjoy.

Although he enjoys his new life, Eid can't calm himself whenever he sees these evil people. His sixth sense didn't disappear; it became stronger as time passed. After experiencing all the cruelty at the hands of those "disgusting" people, Eid developed a deep hatred for them. Worse, they lived among him and his new family. That thought was the turning point.

Soon, Eid got rid of one such person- he murdered someone for the first time in the heat of a moment.

Instead of guilt, however, Eid felt free and elated. Thus, whenever night came, he would "cull" the weeds whenever opportunity revealed itself.

At first, the residents of the duchy felt fear as people began dying one by one. However, since the people who died were eyesores and wretches that made people around them suffer, some residents eventually became happy with their disappearances amidst the fear.

As time passed by, Eid would "clean" their small territory. He would gain more and more combat experience, making each kill easier than the last. Eid would sometimes encounter someone skilled in combat. Strangely, the hardest to kill were a couple of suspicious outsiders. He knew they were outsiders because their clothing suggested they came from the Iron Kingdom...

Eid was in constant threat of losing his life. However, that didn't stop him. On the contrary, escaping a life-and-death situation only made him stronger.

There was even a time when a large and infamous group of bandits tried to invade the dukedom Duke Rholes ruled over; Eid was in the shadows, killing as many evil as possible. While he was having the time of his life, he met one particular girl among the people captured by the bandits.

At that time, it is said that she sold herself to save her family from the bandits. A pretty young girl like her would fetch a high price, and that's why the bandits preserved her.

When Eid saw her, it was not her face that he first noticed but the "light" she emanated. Since she had already seen "that" side of him, he didn't hide anything from her and took her in. Unfortunately, she lost her memories, most probably due to trauma, so he gave her a name- Toko.

Afterward, eventually, he became proficient in killing to the point that if one of the loyal knights was to betray the Rohde family again, Eid was confident he could fully protect Ner even though he had yet to unlock his connection with Allknow.

With his "culling," a legend was born in the small dukedom- the legend of the boogeyman. Once used to scare bad children now scares anyone evil.

Because the Duke was active in the battle against the bandits, he was one of the few people who learned Eid's secret. Realizing this, Eid confessed everything- all the killings, the scheming, and the sixth sense.

But because those deeds made the dukedom better, the Duke didn't scold him. Furthermore, he trusted Eid deeply ever since the latter was just a child. Duke Rholes is an active vigilante, killing people that committed heinous crimes. He would be a hypocrite to scold his son for doing the same!

Since the Duke became aware of Eid's sixth sense, he pieced the puzzle together and learned what happened in the Iron Kingdom. That night, the Duke laughed the loudest in his life while slapping his thigh.

"That bastard brother of mine was actually scared of a ten-year-old!!" his pride in his adopted son soared.

Even still, the Duke didn't fully support Eid. Although he didn't stop Eid, he warned his son not to touch influential and powerful people. Even if they are evil, the consequences of touching them would only bring more harm. It may even lead him to his death.[

Eid kept that in his mind.

In exchange, the Duke promised to keep these evil people away from Eid, not to discomfort him, and let him live a peaceful adolescence, not immersed in mass murder.

After all, the Duke had since loved Eid as his real son. He didn't want his son to live such a deranged path, even if it meant letting evil people live in his duchy.

That is the reason why the Duke was disappointed in himself. For Eid's Noble Blessing, the Duke would need a witness from the royal family. He thought Prince Frederick was the only white sheep in that family and invited him. However, seeing Eid's reaction, the Duke knew he had failed at this...

***

Back to the present, Eid thought hard and cleared his head. He didn't want to go against his father's wishes. Furthermore, even if he wants to get rid of the prince, it would be impossible to do so in the presence of the Priest.

In this world, the stronger your faith in the deities is, the stronger your connection to the fairies and the demigods. And that connection gives power to mortal beings. With this logic, Priest Cerviel is a powerhouse that none in the Iron Kingdom could contend with.

Once he regained his composure, Eid turned around and leaned against the sink. He then looked at Toko and raised a brow. A question appeared in his head.

"Wait... why are you here again?"

"Young master, how could I leave you when you are in such pai-"

"No, no, I mean here- in the men's bathroom?"

"Ah."

Toko's lips formed an "o" as she covered her mouth in surprise...

Sometime later, Eid walked out of the bathroom. Thankfully, Toko is skilled in stealth, so she got out without anyone noticing. Only those with keen senses would be able to, like Priest Cerviel, but...

That was when the Duchess approached Eid with a frown on her face.

"Eid, so this is where you were. I know you're excited, but you should've asked Toko to do that later-"

"We didn't do anything!"

"Really...?" Duchess Judith raised a brow suspiciously.

Changing the subject and wanting to know what happened that made her joyous mother worry, he asked, "Um, did I miss something?"

"Yes, you did, you dummy! You weren't able to see Priest Cerviel off. What if he thinks you're rude?"

"Eh? The priest left already?" Eid fidgeted, gulped, then asked, "How about the prince?"

"The prince? Since Priest Cerviel's destination is the opposite of the Iron Kingdom, he couldn't take Prince Frederick with him. And, as you know, once it's dark out there, only a priest with his escorts can travel safely. So, the prince will have to stay here for the night and go home tomorrow."