"I have a story for you." Damien didn't turn to Roy as he that. His back was to him, and he was ahead of him. They were moving very fast, quickly approaching the manor in the distance. "Do you wanna listen to it? It's a long story. So it will take time to tell."
"U-um… sure," Roy replied.
Damien said, "16 years ago, I went to attend my aunt's funeral. Countless nobles and commoners from across the land also came to send her off because she was the wife of their hero. During the funeral, a baby was shoved into my hands by a rude maid. I was quite immature and ignorant at that time. I tried to be gentle while holding him, but the baby kept tugging at my locks. That annoyed me, and my face hardened.
"The baby that was giggling and playing, ignorant of his mother's death, saw the look on my face and started crying. Seeing him cry pissed me off even further. To begin with, I didn't like babies, and I was forced to hold him because the persons who were supposed to look after him were busy using someone's funeral to hook up with Aristocats and establish relations. All of this piled up, and I glared at him in hopes of shutting him up. That usually worked wonders against dogs and enemies, scaring them to the point of shutting them up, but it… it only made the baby piss himself and cry even louder, attracting attention. I wanted to throw him away, but I couldn't possibly do that."
Damien looked at him from the corner of his eyes, and a sudden thought popped up in Roy's mind, but he shrugged it off because it was too embarrassing to believe.
"Why did you pause?" Roy asked, "What happened next?"
Damien continued, "Although I was ignorant, I didn't lack common sense. I knew an infant would definitely not survive getting thrown away. I couldn't put him down either, as there were a lot of people around us. That baby was somewhat similar to me as he was a demi-human. Demi-humans are most likely to get kidnapped in a crowded space. So I held on to him. But maybe due to fear, he was wetting himself, and his piss was trickling out of his diapers and soiling my hands. I really wanted to stop looking after him."
"Don't tell me that baby is me?"
Roy, although he had been drunk on power recently, he had a good head on his shoulders, and he came to the absurd conclusion that that baby was him. Sixteen years ago, his mother, aka Lady Florence, had died. It's just that he was an infant at that time, and he couldn't remember anything that happened that day. And he was also shocked to find out that she was given a proper burial. Maybe his fake father really loved her. But if that's the case, why was he so indifferent to her only son? Roy wondered. He was still ignorant about what had happened that day.
'The truth is with me, inside the letter that Arlo gave me. But I can only access it after conquering adulthood and becoming an adult.' Roy thought, sighing in his mind. Why did he have to make things so complicated? But he understood the principle of nothing being free in this world. He had to work hard for it if he wanted to know the truth.
"Oh, it's you!" Damien stopped and looked at him. The deep winter wind swept past them. He stared at Liang Suici immovably for a moment, his eyes turning cold and judgmental as sharp glints were seen flashed in them.
"I was just a baby at that time." Under his stare, Roy felt guilty and lowered his eyes. "You can't hold me accountable for that."
"I am still pissed at you for pissing on me. But since you were a child at that time, I would let it go if you managed to keep your promise to me." Damien narrowed his eyes, looking rather ruthless. "Otherwise, we will have a 1v1 duel."
'What a stingy person.' Roy thought in his heart. 'I felt like he didn't like me since the first time we met. So that's why."
Damien continued telling his story to Roy, "What happened next is the most interesting part of the story. When I was conflicted between letting his piss dirty me and throwing him away, someone took the baby from me and pacified him. That someone is the one you have been questioning me about."
"Oh!" Roy felt shocked, hearing his words. "So I have met the first heavenly knight when I was an infant."
Amelia was too young at that time. The death of her master, who was also like her adoptive mother, hit her hard, and she was depressed for days before she read her will and found a new purpose to live her life. During her funeral, she wasn't the one sticking close to Roy. But there was a chance that the commotion might have attracted her. There was a chance that she had seen the man who held the baby.
'Even if he doesn't tell me who he is, I can find out about him from Amelia.' Roy's eyes lit up in joy.
"That's right." Damien nodded at him. "Everyone thought you were lucky because the person who chilled you out and shut up your trap was the Duke of Snow and Silence, the ruler of the northern region."
Just then, the system's notification rang in Roy's ears.
『Ding! Congratulations. You have uncovered the identity of the First Heavenly Knight. As a result, you have taken a step towards earning a secret reward.』
『Ding! It's detected that you have guessed the true identity of the third Heavenly Knight. Congratulations on taking another step towards getting a hidden reward.』
『Ding! It's detected that you have guessed the true identity of two out of the three heavenly knights. Discover the identity of the last one to get your hidden reward!』
'Even that can help me earn rewards? Subarashi!" For a moment, Roy was overtaken by his otaku tendencies.
