Toxin Chapter 10

The face is five years older than mine… The boy who identified himself as Naro looked so mature for his age of twenty-four that it was hard to believe. Although being a male, he lacked horns and his eyes weren’t red, he resembled my mother so much that one could suspect they shared the same bloodline. As an awkward silence ensued, Naro cleared his throat.

“But when the other party reveals their name, it’s common courtesy to reciprocate. Your name is…?”

“Ah…”

A name… right. It was one of the essential steps to go through when getting to know a new person. But there was no longer a mother to give me a name. Perhaps the desire for a name had vanished along with her.

“I don’t have one.”

Naro blinked his large eyes.

“Why not? If you’re a living being, you should have a name… Even a stone on the road has a name. Surely, you’re not joking about this now?”

“I really don’t have a name.”

“Wow~ It’s surprising enough for an Ime to come to the palace, but to draw as well… An unnamed painter! An anonymous painter!! In fact, I’ve been entrusted with the important task of drawing Baronjubil Mama recently. Oh, she’s the one His Majesty the Black Emperor favors the most. But Mama’s personality is, well, not exactly comforting…”

“How long has Baronjubil Mama been here?”

As he rambled incessantly, I suddenly let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t know the details, but she came as an ordinary palace maid and happened to catch the eye of His Majesty. His Majesty, being so engrossed in wars, doesn’t care much about the current empress, but for now, Baronjubil Mama seems to be the most prominent candidate?”

Baronjubil, a woman being considered for empress. If I were to surpass her in that position, it wouldn’t be good news for me either. The fact that the harem led by the Black Emperor numbered over a hundred proved that he wasn’t one to shy away from numbers. But the problem was that he wasn’t interested in males.

“…As if I wouldn’t have guessed?! Anyway, there have already been countless painters replaced by Mama’s whims! If the painting doesn’t catch Mama’s eye, she tears it up in front of you, throws teacups, or worse, cuts off fingers? I… I received the final warning from Baronjubil Mama yesterday. It’s coming… The time to go to Mama is approaching…”

Naro trembled as if in a panic. His face had quite a few minor wounds, and now I understood the significance of his mumbling earlier. Naro subtly scratched the floor with his fingers.

“But you seem a bit different from the Ime I’ve encountered before. Ime are said to have fierce temperaments and even eat meat… Your appearance also seems somewhat different…”

“It’s because I have mixed blood.”

“Mixed blood?! Wow~ Aren’t you just so cool then?”

Naro exclaimed with sparkling eyes, showering me with admiration. I was slightly taken aback.

***

After the noisy first encounter, when I returned after washing up, Naro was lost in thought, ignoring reality. As I tidied up my belongings on the chosen bed, my exhausted body leaned against the wall, but hunger that I hadn’t yet managed to control flared up. My empty stomach felt regrettable enough as if I had missed the opportunity of seeing a dragon at a celebration. Had the chieftain left the palace? How many days had passed since I arrived here…?

“Plowing day, planting day, brewing day.”

The dry voice echoed in my mind. Twice a week. If it was plowing and planting day, then it would be two consecutive days starting from tomorrow. I recalled the splendid palace I saw during the day. It was a space of another world where I couldn’t lift my feet. Even on the day I made my mother like that, I would have held a festival in my enthusiasm. With a woman dancing, I would have enjoyed selecting the next offering and once again creating a corpse to establish the kingdom of the demon on that land. He was disgusting. He was worse than a beast.

“Approaching… It’s approaching…”

When I looked away, Naro murmured with a twisted face. If it had been two years since I entered here, I would have had a rough idea of what was happening inside the palace. If I tried to extract information too quickly, they would be wary of me, so it would take time for me to get closer to Naro. But for various reasons, Naro felt different from the humans I had encountered before. I covered the blanket that Naro had thrown off and laid down, spreading out the bedding on one side. My gaze kept drifting towards Naro’s face. Seeing a face so similar to my mother’s as she slept made it feel like a dream. There was a dull pain in my neck.

There are days when the body and soul seem to separate. The soul sinks to the ground, and only the body floats in the air, as if in a daze…

Tap, tap, tap—!

Haah…! Haah…!

As I ran frantically, I saw the village in the distance. A strong smell of blood filled the wind, making me feel dizzy. Thump, thump… The trembling of the sky and the earth, a towering column of thick smoke endlessly rising. Countless corpses and spilled entrails, blood that created a sea. The raging flames surged towards the peaceful village, swallowing it whole. I rushed blindly towards the devastated land. Amidst the smell of blood, the acrid smell of gunpowder pierced my nostrils. In the midst of the raging inferno, I acted out.

“It’s hot… It’s hot…”

Rushing into the modest thatched house and opening the door, I found a serene and delicate face peacefully asleep. The white silk robe was soaked in blood and swayed gently. The once clear eyes were cruelly gouged out, staring at me. Like a fish pierced through its lungs, I barely managed to breathe.

The sky, ablaze with red, suddenly transformed into bitter winter. The biting wind cut through my flesh and tore my skin to shreds. Even when wrapped tightly in the harsh cold, the shivering wouldn’t cease. Frozen souls were swept away by the cold, and even the remaining flesh was drained of life.

Opening my eyes, I saw a folding screen adorned with flowers and rocks. The walls were stained with patches of mold, and the summer breeze blew through the window cracks, tapping against the door. Wondering why this wasn’t a celebration, I abruptly got up. It had been a long time since I slept in such a clean place, and my head hit the ceiling as I got up. How many hours had passed? As I looked outside, it was still early. I sighed deeply. Today was the first day of painting the portrait of the Black Heavenly King.

As I reached for clothes dampened with sweat to change, my foot suddenly hurt. Upon inspection, I found that the sole of my foot was quite severely torn. Why… as I touched the wound, Naro entered. Naro looked at me and then startled, grabbing a spot slightly away. Then, with a puzzled gaze, Naro stared intently at me. It was probably because of the strange first meeting yesterday. As I tried to change my clothes, Naro suddenly stuck to the wall as if in a match.

“You, you can’t possibly…?! No, I didn’t see it like that at all! Oh, please, don’t say that…! I liked you, so this is really confusing! Occasionally, I’ve heard of people with unusual diseases like you, but I never expected to witness it myself…! Yeah! Since it’s come to this, just tell me everything! I saved your life, can’t you understand that much?”

“What…”

It was simply incomprehensible. When I didn’t understand, Naro pounded their chest and jumped up.

“Argh! Really…! Did you really do that?! You, you! Didn’t you roam the palace last night stark naked?!”

“…!”

Naro’s scream was more shocking than a bolt from the blue. And then, an enraged voice poured out like a waterfall.

“Wow… really…! You were wandering around the palace stark naked last night, weren’t you?! I was sitting there hugging a tree, talking nonsense, and suddenly all the guards, maids, and even the royal guards came out to watch, it was insane! I thought I was going to break my back carrying you! Do you even remember this?! Do I have to believe what you’re saying? Do I have to?!

For a while, it seemed quiet, but once again, the hallucination came back. I knew all too well how my ears had been worn out from listening to Sophy. Heat surged through my body, almost burning me alive.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been suffering from a strange illness lately…”

Naro vigorously waved their hands, giving me a stern look.

“That’s not the issue right now! You’re just saying that because His Majesty saw you!”

“…!!”

In an instant, blood drained from my face. Please let it be my ears playing tricks on me…

“Just now… What did you say? You mean… you’re talking about His Majesty, the Black Heavenly King?”

“If not His Majesty, who else would it be? His Majesty saw you in that state! What are you going to do now?!”

Dizziness overwhelmed me to the point where everything seemed to sway. I couldn’t remain calm at all. The Black Heavenly King saw… No way… At that moment, cold sweat ran down my back.

“While you were completely naked, hugging a tree, do you know how His Majesty’s expression was at that moment? It was the scariest face I’ve ever seen in my life! It’s ridiculous to say this, but His Majesty looked at you as if you were some kind of bug, completely enraged from head to toe, even trying to cut you in half with a sword! But, how did you manage that at the time?!”

Suddenly, Naro grabbed my leg and stammered.

“While you were hugging the tree like this~ and saying to His Majesty like this~ ‘Cold… cold…’ What else could you do?! Tears were streaming down your face! Even then, you really don’t remember?!”

Of course, there was no way I could remember. If I could remember such a thing… My fingertips felt as cold as ice. Naro ruffled their hair as if they didn’t want to think about it.

“His Majesty was standing there with a stern face like a wild beast, the guards didn’t even try to stop him, they just watched, and I begged for forgiveness! I really thought I was going to break my back carrying you! Did you really think His Majesty would forgive you?! But really, whether it was a stroke of luck or not, His Majesty just left without a word…! Since a grown man sat there naked, His Majesty probably didn’t know what to make of it…!”

Naro looked at me sitting there, worried.

“What are you going to do now? Really, do you not remember at all that you were wandering around naked? Do you not remember staring at His Majesty like this~ and saying ‘Cold… cold…’ with tears streaming down your face?”

Naro vividly recreated the situation, but I didn’t want to see it anymore. I didn’t want to know.

“…Yes.”

It was better off not remembering at all.