Chapter 4

Odely sat in her room, staring down at the ring with a storm of emotions written across her face.

It was the same ring Ludeville had worn every single day. She had believed it was surely a token of promise shared with a lover.

'Why on earth is my name engraved on it?'

There was absolutely, definitely, no reason it should be.

"Anyone would have been fine for me." 

"You simply met the requirements best." 

"Is that all you wanted to say?"

He had cast her aside so cruelly, leaving no room for lingering attachment.

If not for a lover, then why had he sought out Odely Cardel? 

Her thoughts were a whirlwind, endlessly circling back to him. His cold gaze as he looked down at her, his back as he walked out of the dungeon, the kiss at their wedding, and his final words about never seeing each other again. 

In the midst of her confusion, Odely unknowingly stroked her finger over the ring’s surface.

And at that very moment, a sharp flash of blue light burst through the dim room.

Startled, she looked down. 

She saw a blue glow emanating from Ludeville Ecsepsion's ring. More precisely, it was the blue gem embedded in the ring that was radiating light. She had always thought it was just a sapphire.

'It wasn't an ordinary gem?'

After a brief pause, Odely slid the ring onto her finger with trembling hands. It was far too big, barely resting on her thumb. And the instant it touched her skin, his memories came flooding in.

Echoes of the Past,

Her vision blurred as if a white mist rose, then slowly cleared to reveal an unfamiliar scene. No, more accurately, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar. 

‘This place… ‘

Odely staggered back, holding her breath as her body froze.

This place was none other than the Cardel family's mansion. It was the underground laboratory, connected to the 'secret room' where Odely Cardel had been confined her entire life.

Just then, the faint clanking of chains caught her attention. Odely Cardel turned her head and discovered a horribly disfigured figure. A boy slumped, bound to a chair. His skin, perhaps contaminated by malevolent energy, was cracked and blackened. His once-blond hair was soaked red with blood. And shining through the strands. Beneath it, beast-like purple eyes gleamed intensely.

‘...Ludeville?’

Odely’s eyes widened. 

'Why is he here…?' 

She examined the boy, who appeared to be in his mid-teens, with a bewildered gaze. Of course, Odely Cardel hadn't been the only one confined to this underground laboratory in the past. The Cardel family regularly brought in slaves as test subjects. Clinical trials were essential to ensure the 'purification process', the infusion of 'impurities' into Odely Cardel's body, proceeded without a hitch.

'But if he spent his childhood in the Cardel family's laboratory, there's no way I wouldn't have known.'

After all, she had first seen him on the Day of Protection six years ago. Before that, she had only heard of his infamous reputation as the 'Iron-Blooded Grand Duke' spread throughout the empire. Confused and bewildered, she heard the researchers' conversation.

"His body can't handle the contamination. Prepare the next subject."

A cold voice echoed across the lab. The researchers called Ludeville Ecsepsion 'RU-39,' meaning he was the 39th test subject, scheduled for disposal. The boy remained silent. He didn't scream, nor did he plead for his life. He simply opened and closed his eyes.

It was then.

"What about the curse of the Rowendil family?"

"It's spreading. If we delay treatment any longer, the Rowendil family will begin to question the ancient barrier."

"We'll need to use the Purifier before it's too late."

Odely followed the researchers' gaze and turned her head. There, a small, frail girl sat hunched over.

 It was her past self.

'The Rowendil family's curse… I remember that.'

Odely Cardel was always used as a Purifier to eliminate impurities. The scope of these impurities varied curses, diseases, malevolent energy, madness, seeds of disaster, everything harmful in the world was included. During this period, Odely Cardel had the curse directly injected into her body, allowing her to purify it from within. Among them, the Rowendil family's curse was particularly painful and memorable. Whenever she opened her eyes, tormented by a fever that felt like her entire body was burning, she always saw a different place. The laboratory, the secret room, the laboratory, the secret room. Days always spent in sweat-soaked lab clothes, unable to move even a single finger.

But…

'Why can't I remember Ludeville Ecsepsion at all?'

Unbeknownst to her, the two of them were trapped in separate rooms, separated by a single wall. Odely Cardel had no memory of this whatsoever. Yet, apart from that, the events she had actually experienced were unfolding exactly as they happened. The curses she endured, the diseases she endured, the malevolent energy she endured, all the experiments she endured…

'Was Ludeville Ecsepsion really in this place during his childhood?'

She decided to simply observe them both for now.

A Silent Bond

Ludeville and Odely grew aware of each other’s presence through the wall, listening to each other's breathing. Some days were quiet, others more intense. On days when their breathing was particularly ragged, they could both guess that the day's experiment had been dreadful.

Then one day,

 Tap

Curled up on the floor, Odely tapped the wall with her fingers. A meaningless, contextless gesture. The sound should have ended there, 

But…

Tap

A reply came from the other side.

Odely froze for a moment, then pressed her ear to the wall and tapped again, a little harder this time. And Ludeville, who was also leaning against the wall, returned the same sound.

Tap-tap

Before they knew it, that quiet 'conversation' became a daily routine, proving their continued existence. When the slave tapped, the sacrifice answered. 

They never exchanged names. Never even saw each other’s faces, yet they felt each other every day through that wall. It was the only connection they were allowed, the sole way they had of letting each other know they were alive.

Then one day, when the researchers were briefly away, an unfamiliar sound followed the quiet knock.

"Don't die."

It wasn't a plea to live, nor a vow to survive together. It was simply, "Don't die." Those were the first words Ludeville Ecsepsion ever uttered.

Resting against the wall, Odely let out a breathy chuckle.

"You'll die before me."

"You’re just a test subject they dragged in to extend my life… You didn't know?" 

Her self-deprecating murmur felt like a confession.

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

"Then that's good."

She wondered if he resented her. Biting her lips tightly with her eyes squeezed shut, suddenly paused.

"…What's good?"

"It means you can live longer than I can."

She scoffed, dumbfounded, "What good is living long in a place like this?"

"I don't know. But you should live longer."

The boy's answer carried no emotion. As if the life of a lowly slave had no reason or value to protect.

And from that day, things began to change. 

Ludeville sometimes laughed loudly, and sometimes cried silently, unbeknownst to Odely. 

After they started communicating, his emotional expression became richer day by day, relying only on each other's breathing and a few weak words through the wall.

Ten years passed like this.

The Sacrifice

At twenty-five, Odely Cardel instinctively knew her time was running out. One night, after enduring all the experiments, just like any other night, the researchers' surveillance was unusually lax. That night, Odely Cardel opened the door to Ludeville Ecsepsion's laboratory and stepped inside.

"Odely?"

It was the first time they had truly saw each other. But her face was already so stained with blood that her features barely recognizable.

"Odely!"

Suddenly, Odely Cardel swayed and collapsed. Ludeville Ecsepsion instinctively rose and caught her in his arms. Blood stained her lips with every breath, her lungs near collapse. Yet, she didn't stop.

"Just… hold still for a moment."

She rested her forehead against his chest and placed her fingertips over his heart. A golden light of purification shimmered. The toxins flowing through his veins, the traces of experiments embedded deep in his tissues, the cracks in his magical power, and the damage to his nerves, all the pain he had felt with every breath was 'purified' and vanished in an instant.

Ludeville Ecsepsion stood frozen in place, staring blankly at her.