(From Demetrius''s Perspective)


    After she had seen me killing someone, I thought she would hate me and get scared of me. Thankfully, her reaction was not too extreme. I was scared that she would want to leave me.


    Right now, I was pretty angry about the whole pregnancy thing. Why did we have to have a child? If we were not ready, there was nothing wrong with not having it. Even if she got pregnant, it would not be a bad thing if we just aborted it. But she was against it wholeheartedly.


    I knew what could happen if a child suddenly came. And if somehow we did not manage to be good parents, it would only affect the child. It was not like I cared much about it, but still, I did not want it to happen.


    "Your parents?" she asked, shocked.


    I nodded. "Why are you so shocked? I don''t remember talking to you about their marriage life."


    "But... but..."


    "But?"


    "There was no problem between your parents, right?"


    "What do you mean?" I asked, shocked.


    "Uh, when you left, your mother told me about how your parents met and stuff like that."


    "What did she tell you?"


    "Well, that your father was a yboy," she said, hesitating a bit. "She told me about cursed eyes and then about your childhood."


    "Tell me everything," I said.


    "Your father''s name was Ajax. And that time, he was the king of Querencia while your mother was amoner in Mazazine. It was twenty-four years ago."


    ''That was the time when my parents got married- twenty-four years ago.''


    "There was a war between the two kingdoms. And your father was a tyrant. He was called the mad dog of the battlefield."


    "That''s true."


    "Your mother was working as a doctor that time. She used to live with her uncle who adopted her when she was four. And also, your mother never knew who her real parents were. Anyway, so, during the war, Mother apanied her cousin to the camp to help the soldiers. That time, one night, she met your father.


    I think your father fell in love with your mother that time and so, he put a ring on your mother''s ring finger that she could not take off. Later, after the war, he came to take her with him and married her. He also broke his harem so he could be devoted to his wife only."


    "That''s what Mother told you?" I asked.


    "Yes. Why are you reacting... like that?"


    ''Of course, I am reacting like this. As far as I can remember, the rtionship between my parents was never good.''


    "I don''t know why Mother told you that. But my parents'' rtionship was not good," I said.


    "What? But..."


    "It''s true that my father was the king of Querencia and my mother was amoner in Mazazine. But my father never loved my mother."


    "Eh...?"


    "Actually, my father wanted my mother because she had ck eyes. You know, ck eyes are called cursed eyes. Women might have less chance to have some ability, but if she gave birth to a son with ck eyes, then he would surely have some strange but helpful abilities. That''s why my father forced my mother toe with him and marry him. None of them ever loved each other. And the harem thing...


    It was to fool my mother. He still slept with other women," I said. "In front of others, they were a perfect couple. I have no idea what Mother is thinking. I think as the days passed, she started to confuse imagination and reality. She started acting as if she always loved Father and Father loved her as well.


    It got to the point that none of us dared to correct her. Once Evelyn tried, she threw a tantrum."


    "So, that''s why she said it," she mumbled.


    "Yes," I said. "Father did not actually care for us. He only married Mother because he wanted more power. I don''t really remember many things from my childhood, but I know that he never spent any extra time with us."


    "Mother is not mentally stable when ites to any talk of the past or Father," I added. "But it is the kind of condition where you can''t tell the patient that something is wrong with them. You need to treat them the same like they are normal. That''s why you never found out about it. I actually don''t like my father. If I correctly say, I hate his guts.


    It''s not like I love Mother or something, but I respect her. Mother failed to take care of Evelyn and me as well. That''s why I can''t bring myself to love her as well. And perhaps because of my familial situation, I could not get attached to anyone."


    "I see... It''s the reason you don''t want a child, right?"


    "Well, it''s part of that," I said. "I don''t want to have a child who would have the same personality as me or my ck eyes. If it bes like you, that''s no problem."


    To be honest, I hated myself. I liked nothing about myself. Who knew why, but I could not bring myself to want a child with the same traits as me?


    "I really... didn''t expect this," she murmured. "I thought you had a great family."


    "I know. I am sorry for not telling you sooner."


    "No, I am thankful that you told me," she said, holding my hand.


    But what I did not understand was why Mother would tell my wife about this thing. Did she think my wife and I had a good rtionship between us and so she wanted to share her story as well? It was true that we had a great rtionship. Though we had our problems, everyone around us knew that we were match-made in heaven. But Mother was not the type to talk about this to anyone.


    And besides, she always tried to get close to Blue when she did not even talk to her own daughter much.


    "But you''re not your father or mother," she said, looking directly into my eyes. "You''re Demetrius, apletely different person."


    "How are you so sure that I am different? You''re the one who thinks that I brought you here for power," I said.


    "I know that I can''t trust you right now. Just think about it- who will believe it if you say that you wanted someone for a reason even you don''t know? I mean, really? Believing this is out of the question. But as far as I can see living with you, I don''t think you''re like your father. If that was true, you wouldn''t think what your father did was wrong.


    Rather, you would argue that he was right. But you didn''t do it, did you? That''s why I don''t think you''re like him. You''re different, Dem."


    ''Haa, even if you say it, I can''t try to believe it.''


    "But I love you," she said. "I love you a lot. I guess it''s enough for now. So, let''s not think about unnecessary things. It will only burden us. And again, thanks for telling me."


    "Yeah..."


    I kissed her on the forehead and got up from the bed. I brought ab from the dressing table and came back again.


    "Are you going to braid my hair?" she asked.


    "Yes, turn around a bit."


    Whilebing her hair, I noticed that it grew longer. Her hair was really beautiful, straight and ck with hints of brown in it. It was not particrly dense, but it was not less thick as well, just perfect.


    "I think I should cut my hair a bit," she said. "It''s giving me a headache."


    "Then aftering back from the banquet... Will that be okay?"


    "Yeah, sure..."


    As I braided her hair, I noticed some red marks on her back. I made them just a while ago. She looked very vulnerable with them.


    I kissed her on the back over the marks. I did not know why, but I felt very proud thinking I could touch her anywhere I wanted. Every single ce of her body, I knew about them all.


    "Dem..."


    "I love you," I muttered.


    "Haha, what''s with that all of a sudden?" she chuckled.


    "I want to tell you a million times that I love you," I said. "I really love you. I love you a lot."