Silence Tower, office.
Reed sat in the chair, blankly staring at the door.
He didn't even hold a pen, just waiting for someone to come.
A moment later, the closed door opened, and a woman appeared.
"Did you call me, oppa?"
Dolores Jade.
A woman with blue hair and wall-like eyes.
Dolores entered.
Reed, who had been sitting quietly in the office, looked up at Dolores.
"Sit down."
Dolores sat in the seat Reed offered with a cautious face.
He had given a sign that he would talk about something unusual, so she sat down carefully.
"What's going on?"
"I went to the Baldschmidt house today."
At Reed's words, even the faint smile on Dolores' face disappeared.
Reed calmly continued speaking.
The fact that the Baldschmidt couple became demons.
And the fact that they committed suicide on the spot.
He told her everything as it was.
As the story went on, Dolores' eyes grew bigger.
She struggled to hold back her tears by gripping her pants with both hands.
Dolores listened to Reed's words until the end.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
That's what she said.
But her eyes were downcast and her mouth was shut.
Reed held Dolores' hand.
Dolores raised her head.
She tried to smile with difficulty.
"I'm really fine."
"Is that so?"
"Because I never considered those two people as my parents in the first place."
It was sadness, pity, and betrayal rather than regret.
Dolores ultimately believed she would be happy.
But the cruel and dramatic situation distressed her.
"And I found your records from them."
"Records about me?"
"I think you should see this too."
Reed showed her a book titled 'Blue Rose.'
Dolores quickly skimmed its contents.
"Ah... Ahhh..."
Thud.
She couldn't bear the shocking news, and Dolores dropped the book.
It was a natural reaction.
All the stories related to 'Blue Rose' were about Dolores.
It was as if the records of her childhood, the times she couldn't remember, were written like a parenting diary.
'Demon Seed'
A tiny lump that parasitizes the heart, allowing one to move between demon and human, used for deceptive tactics.
Recently, the demons who could not be detected for demonic blood were those who had implanted this 'demon seed' in their hearts.
When needed, it manifests demon blood, and when not needed, it is withdrawn.
And the substance in the Baldschmidt couple's black tea was suspected to be a reactant that transformed them into demons.
The very first experiment with that demon seed was Dolores herself.
For Dolores, who didn't want to make connections with demons, it was no different from a cancerous lump.
It was not just a thing that ate away at the body, but a thing that ate away at existence.
An object that could deny all the achievements Dolores had achieved.
"The reason she was the youngest to enter Escoleia?"
It was because of the demon seed.
The reason she became the youngest tower master?
It was because of the demon seed.
"No..."
Betrayal and fear.
Dolores looked up at Reed.
He had found out a secret she didn't want to reveal.
"No..."
Dolores opened her trembling lips and shook her head.
"Oppa, I'm not a demon."
"I know."
"I'm really not a demon. I didn't know anything. I... I...! I really didn't know!"
"I know. I never thought you were a demon even once."
"I am... I am..."
As tears filled her eyes, Reed pulled her head to his chest.
Dolores couldn't hold back and burst into tears.
"Why only me... Why does this keep happening to me... Why do bad things keep happening without me knowing?"
She cried out loud.
Reed stroked her head with his hand.
"It's okay, it'll be alright."
"I'm scared... I'm scared, oppa... It seems like the world doesn't want me to be happy."
"I'm here. Right here."
Reed listened to all her words.
All he could do for her right now was to quietly comfort her.
She shed endless tears and vented her grievances.
Her dry cough subsided, and no more tears came out.
She couldn't let go of Reed's soaked shirt.
"Three days ago, those people came to me."
She said.
"What did they say?"
"I told them to apologize to me. If they wanted me to come back, they should apologize."
"..."
"They didn't apologize in the end. If they were really sincere, if they had cared for me even a little bit, I might have wavered. But... they were under the influence of demons. They did weird things to my body..."
"It's okay."
"Now, what should I do? I don't know anything."
Dolores shivered.
Even the smart Dolores couldn't think of a solution.
Reed had thought of everything for her.
"Now we have to prepare for the worst-case scenario."
"The worst-case scenario is..."
"The news that the Baldschmidt family are demons will inevitably spread. People won’t know it now because we're blocking it... but as soon as it spreads, there will undoubtedly be people trying to harm you."
Reed already knew one of them.
Ludis Grancia Jade.
The man who took Dolores' place.
Of course, it couldn't be said that he was the main driving force behind expelling Dolores, but it would be a lie if he wasn't involved.
There is no one in the world that can be trusted.
Except for oneself.
"Be with me."
Dolores' breathing stopped.
She looked up at Reed with her moist eyes.
His golden eyes were smiling at her.
You, who knew how to move forward even when hurt.
You, who knew how to love the people you cherished more than anyone else.
You, who would disappear quietly like a handful of ashes in front of the wind.
"I'll protect you."
