Tang Feiliu had just regained consciousness, before he could even feel a pang of loss. The moment he stirred, he heard Yivansi asking respectfully outside the door, "Mr. Lance, are you awake?"
"Is that you, Ivans?" Tang Feiliu asked dazedly. "Outside?"
Only then did Ivans push open the door and step inside, followed by a maid carrying a handkerchief and a silver basin. Glancing around, the familiar furnishings seemed unchanged. Yet since Edward had moved in with him, heâd never allowed anyone else to enter their room. Tang Feiliu frowned in confusion. "Ivans, whatâs going on?"
Evanse, her eyes lowered as she gently wiped Tang Feiliu's face, replied softly, "His Grace the Duke left the castle before dawn today. It seems Prince Charles urgently summoned him to the palace."
"What?!" Tang Feiliu jolted upright in shock, then suddenly sensed something amiss. Glancing down at the skin exposed outside his pajamas, he saw it covered in bruised, purple marks from sucking. Tang Feiliu recalled what had happened yesterday, nervously shifting his buttocks before breathing a relieved sigh. Patting his chest, he murmured, "Thank goodness, thank goodness."
Thank goodness they hadn't gone all the way. Though his inner thighs stung fiercelyâhis skin was clearly chafed rawâand bruises from overly forceful bites marred his body, at least there was no real risk of fever or serious injury.
Tang Feiliu recalled last nightâEdwardâs slightly tipsy expression and what followedâand his face flushed with embarrassment.
Last night's events, the memories flooding back in his dream... Tang Feiliu's mind was a complete jumble. He forced himself to gather his thoughts and asked Yvance, "Did the Duke say when he'd be back?"
"He said he would definitely return before your birthday," Ivana replied earnestly as she deftly washed his face. The morning attire he would change into lay ready beside the bed. Tang Feiliu quickly said, "I'll take a bath first. You may go downstairs."
Ivans nodded and quietly exited with the maid. Tang Feiliu got out of bed and walked toward the mirror. In the mirror, a boy in a crinkled lace nightgown gazed backâgolden hair, blue eyes, radiating a delicate, fragile youthfulness. Yet that was merely the first impression. In truth, Tang Feiliu had matured considerably over the past year of abundant nourishment. It was likely the purity in his gaze that perpetually gave others the illusion of his youth.
Now, Tang Feiliu stared at his reflection, at the scattered kiss marks... Even on the tops of his feet... Tang Feiliu felt as if some enormous beast had thoroughly licked and gnawed at every inch of him before reluctantly letting go. He recalled the Duke's whispered "Don't you dare leave" from last night, along with that intoxicating obsession, that destructive urge tinged with unease, and the sheer madness...
Only now did Tang Feiliu begin to grasp the root of it all.
Why the Duke had fallen for him so instantly upon first sight; why he felt such a familiar warmth toward the Duke... and the Duke's deep-seated emotional burden.
Tang Feiliu exhaled deeply and addressed his reflection in the mirror: "Lance... what are you going to do?"
Tang Feiliu didn't know.
For only now did he realize that he had always felt a thread of detachment and unease in this world. He did everything with such carefree abandon, acting with carefree sincerity. This wasn't merely his personality; deep down, Tang Feiliu had always felt he didn't truly belong here. He could settle down, build a life, and accomplish many things here, but he lacked a genuine sense of belonging to this era. He didn't possess the solid roots of worry and striving that came with it.
This was also one reason Edward harbored a lingering unease. Though Tang Feiliu himself remained unaware, His Grace the Duke was clearly adept at reading people. Yet Edward was inherently a restrained man, not skilled at expressing himself. And based on Tang Feiliu's now complete memories... Back then, Edward in the tower was clearly teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown. His eyes and demeanor carried a wild, stubborn intensityâhe was visibly different from anyone else. And no wonder. Growing up confined within those tower walls, even with Dave the butler's assistance and Josephine's guidance, he hadn't truly suffered hunger or bitter cold, but the chill and loneliness within his heart couldn't be filled by food. Who knew what Edward had encountered later to become as normal as he was now?
No, perhaps Edward remained the same Edwardâhis heart still trapped within the tower...
Tang Feiliu drifted in thought as he paced aimlessly. After Ivans withdrew, he skipped his bath, donned his morning robe, opened the door, and made his way deeper into the castle.
The route was identical to his memories. Even after renovations, the deep castle retained its bleak, harsh atmosphere. Ivans made no sound, merely following Tang Feiliu loyally. Clearly, when the Duke had departed amidst his busy schedule, he had given this faithful servant a strict order.
"You must not enter." Only upon reaching the spiral staircase of the tower, ascending to the very top where Edward was imprisoned, did Tang Feiliu speak softly.
"As you command, my lord," Ivanis replied solemnly. His eyes held sorrow and a faint trace of dread, revealing his familiarity with and distaste for this place. He looked at Little Lance with concern and couldn't help but overstep his bounds. "His Grace the Duke might..." He trailed off. "Never mind, Little Lance. I'll wait for you outside."
Ivans clearly intended to warn him that this was Edward's most private domain. Yet, mid-sentence, he realized that if anyone could enter this place, it could only be Tang Feiliu. Thus, he halted his caution.
Tang Feiliu gave him a reassuring smile, indicating he was fine, then pushed open the door.
Like in a dream, the door creaked loudly and slowly swung open... The furnishings inside were identical to his dream: a bed, a chest of drawers, and a small wooden chamber pot tucked in the corner... Beyond that, the room was filled to the brim with images of the Holy Son.
Tong Feiliu surveyed the dark, confined room, imagining what it would be like to grow up here, imprisoned like a caged beast... He couldn't have become as normal as Edward. Tong Feiliu sat on the small bed for a moment, then opened the cabinet door. Inside, just as in his dream, were some clothes, neatly stacked, all worn and tattered, exuding a sense of the cramped, old-fashioned times.
He pulled open the bedside cabinet and found the familiar tin box. Inside lay a few crumbled biscuits scattered haphazardly... These meaningful objects had never been touched, as if someone might return at any moment to lock themselves away, continuing to die alone in this solitude.
Tang Feiliu felt everything before his eyes grow blurry. He sensed warm liquid slowly trickling from his eyes. Setting down the cookie box, he pulled open the upper cabinetâwhere books or miscellaneous trinkets should have been stored. The young demon had once treated them as toys for his childhood self, and Tang Feiliu even remembered the appearance of those jumbled knickknacks.
But this place alone had changed. Tang Feiliu opened the cabinet and stared in horrorâhe saw a bloodstained whip.
Made of an unknown material, it was studded with silver spikes. The bloodstains were both fresh and old. Tang Feiliu picked up the whipâit felt incredibly heavy in his hands, so much so that he couldn't fully lift it. The handle was inlaid with leather, and at its base was the familiar Duke's family crestâa serpent coiled around thorns.
Only then did Tang Feiliu notice that some of the bloodstains appeared distinctly fresh.
He thought of Edward, always impeccably dressed.
Once, Tang Feiliu had believed it was Edward controlling himself. But in this moment, an ominous foreboding gripped himâhow had Edward always managed to restrain himself? How had he endured his own ignorant teasing and provocation time and time again?
Perhaps Edward's inaction stemmed not solely from his physical limitations. Perhaps, deep within his soul, Edward feared possessing himâjust as he had feared that golden-haired angel who once appeared atop the tower might ultimately be snatched away.
Tang Feiliu pondered every detail. Unnoticed memories replayed with each familiar scene. Turning to gaze at the murals depicting various Holy Sons, he suddenly grasped a crucial detailâthe Holy Sons proclaimed by the Temple were golden-haired, golden-eyed, radiating majesty and brilliance like sunlight flooding the world.
Yet atop this tower, every Holy Child possessed eyes of the purest azure blueâas clear and pure as the most cloudless sky. Thus, the Holy Child's majesty transformed into crystalline tenderness. When gazed upon, one felt enveloped by the embrace of the azure heavens.
Tang Feiliu covered his mouth, blinking eyes identical to the Holy Son's own sapphire blue. Transparent tears streamed down from those blue eyes.
Just then, the door opened. Outside stood the gray-haired old butler, Dave. He looked at Tang Feiliu and said softly, "...The Duke told me not to let you come. This time, I took it upon myself..."
"What on earth is going on?" Tang Feiliu's mind reeled as information collided. He looked at Dave and whispered, "Grandpa Dave, what happened to Edward?"
Once, like everyone else, Tang Feiliu had believed the Dark Duke was born extraordinary. He had no weaknesses; all his past experiences were merely medals destined to crown his future glory... Even after falling in love with Edward, that unsettling sense of unreality had led Tang Feiliu to deliberately avoid probing Edward's past.
He had been far too optimistic. He believed those dark years in the tower were merely lonely, and Tang Feiliu had struggled to suppress his own sense of drifting unease, feeling out of place in this era... They were so close, drawn to each other, loving each other, yet spiritually, they grew farther apart.
Tang Feiliu fought relentlessly against contemplating which timeline truly belonged to him. Where had the original young Master Lans gone? He had usurped this innocent soul's body... He repaid this timeline with frantic strides, combating hunger and cold, striving to build irrigation systems and hasten the search for sustenance... He did all this not because he was a workaholic, but solely out of restlessness.
He felt indebted to that young master, yet he dared not dwell on it. He feared dying again, dreaded letting darkness strip him of consciousness once more... That sensation alone had left him haunted for years. But Tang Feiliu's nature was delicate, so he channeled that guilt into this era. He busied himself relentlessly, daring to possess nothing... for he believed his very existence was illegitimate.
Thus Tang Feiliu failed to notice that Edward, too, was haunted by unease. Those dark years resurfaced relentlessly in his dreams like recurring nightmares whenever he sought to possess the treasures he desired.
"...His Highness the Duke's childhood may have been far more difficult than most have heard," Dave remarked, surveying the surroundings before dropping a bombshell. "Things were manageable while Nanny Susan was alive. But after her passing, Edward began exhibiting significant problems..."
Susan was the wet nurse appointed by Edward's mother, Johanna, before her death. It was largely due to Susan that Edward's childhood remained relatively normal. She was the only servant bold enough to defy the late Duke, and he dared not punish herâfor Susan had been Johanna's wet nurse and had once served as Empress Josephine's wet nurse as well.
This background gave Susan her backbone. Moreover, bearing Empress Josephine's orders, she became the young Edward's protective shield. Originally a devout believer, the late Duke had assumed Susan would despise the child. Yet she removed her own cross and hid it away.
While she was there, Edward, though confined to the tower, was occasionally brought down to bask in the sun or stroll in the enclosed garden below. But within a few years, as Edward grew slightly older, Susan passed away.
She was already very old. Though her health held, the guilt weighed heavily upon her. Torn between her faith and her love for the child she cherished like a grandson, she had grown utterly weary.
On a bitterly cold winter day, when the servants came to open the door for Granny Susan, they found her holding a crucifix, having passed away peacefully.
It was an exceptionally cold day, and the servants spread the news far and wide.
Edward was the last to learn of it.
"None of us knew that before Susan passed, His Grace had secretly witnessed her confessing her sins to the priest..." Dave sighed deeply at this point, adding, "Susan asked God to pour all His wrath upon her alone, seeking forgiveness for Little Edward's original sin."
"And then she passed away?" Tang Feiliu, already overcome with grief, was on the verge of tears. "This isn't fair. Edward wasn't a sinner."
A moment of silence fell between them. Mother Susan had been a devout believer. If anything, life had been most unfair to her. After the girl she had nursed to adulthood died, the child she had been most protective of ended up straying from her faith.
She was the first warmth in Edward's heart, and also one of the reasons for his later mental breakdown.
Though Susan tried to avoid it, most of the stories she knew were religiousâstories of angels and beloved ones. Mother Susan would repeat endlessly, "Everyone has their guardian angel, but little Edward, you must be a good person. Otherwise, the angel will fly away and no longer stay by your side."
These tales warmed little Edward, filling his dark eyes with the same innocence and hope as other children. Yet after Susan's death, they became nightmares tormenting young Edwardâhe was the devil's child, destined to have no guardian angel. He was born to bring misfortune to mothers, whether his birth mother or the wet nurse who cared for him.
Born in filth and squalor, he came into this world destined to bring ruin.
Meanwhile, the children of the old duke, no longer restrained by Susan, grew curious at first. Later, they treated the filthy, foul demon in the tower as a game, repeatedly coming to taunt and gawk. The once sweet, innocent Edward raised by Susan slowly vanished, transforming into a dark, silent monster.
Hearing those cruel tales laid bare for the first time, accompanied by the howling wind, still sent a bone-chilling chill through one's body years later.
Author's Note:
Thank you to everyone who nourished this story with nutrients and donated bombsâyour generosity is deeply appreciated.
Update times remain uncertain as my draft inventory fluctuates, and year-end demands are overwhelming.