Devourer's Legacy: I Regressed With The Primordial Crest
Chapter 73: The Hardest Role

Chapter 73: The Hardest Role

In Taira’s Castle, the knight commander walked through the stone corridors with heavy steps. His armor clanked with each movement, the sound echoing off the cracked walls around him.

The castle was in bad shape. Cracks ran through the stone walls like spider webs, and many of the decorations that had once made the place look grand were now missing or broken. Years of defending against the Great Green Forest had taken their toll on both the building and the people who lived in it.

Still, the soldiers bowed respectfully as the knight commander passed by. He was acting as the Lord of Taira Castle now, responsible for everything that happened within these walls.

He stopped before a particular door and straightened his shoulders.

"My Lady," he called out formally. "Can I enter?"

Instead of an answer, the door slowly opened by itself.

Standing in front of him was a woman covered in a dark cloak. She had emerald green eyes that seemed to glow softly in the dim light, but the most noticeable feature about her were her pointed ears—clearly marking her as an elf.

The knight commander looked at the woman and asked quietly, "How is Lady Arwyn?"

The elf woman didn’t answer with words. Instead, she stepped to the side, revealing the sight that lay beyond her.

A woman was sleeping on the bed with her eyes closed. Red veins bulged around her neck, slowly creeping up toward her head like some kind of infection. The sight was disturbing and clearly showed she was very sick.

But despite the illness, the woman was incredibly beautiful. Even with the red marks on her skin and the pale color of sickness, she had the kind of face that could stop conversations in a room.

The knight commander walked into the room, his armor making loud clacking sounds on the stone floor. He approached the bed carefully and then fell to his knees beside it.

"Your knight Agnus is here, my lady," he said with his head bowed.

There was no immediate response, but the knight commander waited patiently, keeping his head down out of respect.

"A...gnus..."

A word so soft it was almost impossible to hear escaped from the woman’s lips.

"Did...you see my...son?" she asked him, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

The knight commander kept his head down as he answered.

"Of course, my Lady. Young Master Renard is growing so well. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. In just a few months, he had changed very much and—"

He paused suddenly, realizing he had been talking too fast in his excitement.

"And Young Master Renard awakened a Royal crest! The Holy Wolf itself descended on the Genesis Pillar. It was quite a sight to watch."

For whatever reason, the knight commander didn’t mention the commotion caused by Renard or the shadow entity that had appeared during the ceremony. He seemed to be keeping some details to himself.

The woman was clearly overjoyed to hear the news.

"Good..." she managed to say with obvious relief. "And how is he? How does he look now?"

There was almost pain in her voice, like it hurt her to ask.

The knight commander closed his eyes before answering.

"He has grown to be a handsome young man, my lady. He is almost five feet tall now, and he’s gained quite a bit of muscle. Although he’s still far from growing any beard or mustache, he’s becoming quite the man."

The man spoke almost as if he was trying to make the woman smile.

And it worked. Her lips widened slightly in what might have been happiness.

But the words that came out of her mouth didn’t match that small smile.

"...What a terrible fate....I can’t even see the growth of my children? What sin have I committed in my life?"

A single tear rolled down her pale cheek.

The knight commander stiffened when he heard her words, clearly regretting what he had said. He just kept his head low, not knowing how to respond.

"Agnus...promise me you will take care of my children if something happens to—"

"My lady!"

He raised his head for the first time since entering the room.

"Nothing will happen to you! I will make sure of it!"

He stood up quickly, not having the confidence to hear any more of his lady’s words, and rushed out of the room.

The room was once again filled with just Arwyn and her elven maid.

"He is such a fool," Arwyn said weakly. "Does he think I don’t know what I’m suffering from?"

She tried to laugh, but only a dry cough came out instead.

"Renard must hate him... Does he really need to act so cold toward my son? What if Renard develops hatred for Agnus?"

She looked at the elf with worried eyes.

She paused as if thinking of something, then continued.

"Have you not watched the birds in spring? The mother bird pushes her chicks from the nest when they are old enough," the elf said thoughtfully.

"To the young ones, it seems like cruelty. They do not understand why their mother would force them into danger. But if she does not push them, they will never learn to fly."

The elf moved closer to the bed. "And what of the deer in the forest? When predators come near, the mother will run in the opposite direction, drawing attention to herself and away from her young. To a child, it looks like abandonment. But it is the greatest act of love."

Arwyn listened quietly.

"Commander Agnus treats Young Master Renard harshly because he knows what is coming," the elf said gently. "If the young master grows too dependent on kindness, he will not survive what lies ahead. The only reason the young master is being ignored by the succession battle is because Lord Agnus is attracting all their attention, as if he is trying to kill the young lord himself."

"But what if Renard never understands?" Arwyn whispered. "What if he thinks Agnus truly doesn’t care about him?"

The elf smiled sadly. "Then at least he will be alive to hate him. And sometimes, my lady, that is enough."

Arwyn closed her eyes, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. She was blessed with such wonderful people around her, such good children, and yet she couldn’t enjoy any of it.

"I just want to see them one more time," she whispered. "Just once, before..."

The elf gently took her hand. "Rest now, my lady. Save your strength. Young Master Renard will need you to be strong, even if he cannot see you."

Outside the room, Commander Agnus leaned against the wall, his armor suddenly feeling heavier than ever. He had heard every word through the door, and his hands were clenched into fists.

He had to be the villain in this story. He had to be the one Renard hated, the one who seemed cruel and cold. Because if he wasn’t, if he showed the boy the kindness he desperately wanted to give, Renard would never develop the strength he needed to survive.

It was the hardest role he’d ever had to play, but it was the only way to protect the family he served.

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