The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 6.2

“Water,” murmured Ilya and looked straight ahead with lifeless eyes. He looked at something behind Evelyn. Something all in blue. Ilya blinked a couple of times and watched the dream-like vision in front of him.

Oh, I forgot she’s an illusionist. Was that a lake? Ocean? There was a big white creature swimming in it. It had a slippery and streamlined body with paddling fins, which were unproportionally small. Its black eyes curved along with its mouth which he found very amusing.

“Is it a sea monster?” he asked.

“It’s called a whale. Adorable, isn’t it? Apparently, they’re from the east coast.”

Evelyn’s voice was gentle, just like how she would whisper to her son to comfort him. Ilya now gazed at her lips. The sound which had bothered him had vanished completely. Only the bubbling sound of water and the voice of the woman in front of him filled the space.

His body relaxed. “Why show me that thing?”

“He would fall asleep whenever I showed him books about whales. It seemed to calm him. He wouldn’t… fret even at night.”

She didn’t say who, but he knew she was talking about their son.

Crying at night with bloodshot eyes was fretting? “Does he act like… me?”

“They all do that when they are young. My nanny told me she barely got any sleep when I was a baby, too.”

“…”

“And it’s better now. Better than when he was born.”

He felt sick at her foolishness. Once you realize what you have birthed is a monster, you will wring his neck by yourself.

“When he grows bigger… he’s going to go wild… like me. A voice inside our heads keeps telling us to kill.”

He smiled when he noticed that Evelyn was about to cry.

“You gave birth to a monster.”

Whoosh.

The white whale slowly swam up and halted in front of Evelyn as if it was guarding her. It glared at Ilya with its black button eyes. Then, it splashed the water with its large tail.

He was soaked from head to toe. The heat boiling in his veins cooled down. Ilya looked at the whale and sneered.

“You call this an attack?”

Whoosh.

Another wave hit him. Although it was supposed to be an illusion, the water dripping from his hair felt all too real. Ilya brushed his hair over his head and glared at the whale. The arrogant whale turned his head and swiftly disappeared behind Evelyn. He thought she would be crying by now but…

“I’m not going to apologize. You said some mean things first.” She laughed and looked straight at her husband. “Not a monster. It will get better. Maybe not tomorrow, but we’re going to be okay.”

Ilya was not sure if she was referring to him or his son. But he felt like those eyes were putting a spell on him.

“Sleep well.”

He obediently followed the woman to bed and lied down. It was weird how he could breathe when he felt like he was surrounded by water. His eyelids became heavy as he listened to the calm water all around him. The pai and the voices were no longer there.

It was a peaceful night for him.

* * *

Ilya grinned as he opened his drowsy eyes. His vision was blurry, but he felt good. His body felt light as if he was a newborn baby. He gazed at the ceiling with joy.

When he turned sideways, he saw the woman with her blonde hair braided at one side. The woman, who had given him a peaceful night, was sleeping with her face down.

He carefully turned Evelyn so that she slept on her back instead of her face and pulled the blanket up and covered her. She tossed and turned a little but soon went back to sleep. He watched her sleep a while then turned around to leave.

Time to return to my position.

He grabbed the doorknob and stood there for a while. The early morning made the room feel chilly. He glanced towards the bed and walked towards the fireplace. He filled the furnace with wood, lit the fire and kept it in check.

“If she catches a cold, it will be a pain in my ass.”

The messy pile of books on top of the desk caught his eye. He picked up the book with an old black leather cover.

<Dark Illusion Magic>

He glanced at Evelyn.

“This kind of stuff doesn’t fit you.”

<Dark Illusion Magic.

Attacking the opponent using illusions on their weak points.>

“A woman who summons whales is not capable of killing…”

He threw the book down. He saw other books with more colorful covers.

<Top 100 Tourist Spots in the Sais Empire>

<A Guide to the East Coast Port City>

< Towns of the North that Bloom Year-Round>

His face darkened for a moment. He glared at the books on the table.

“Steadily planning on running away, huh?”

He threw all the books into the fireplace. The flames devouring the pages made him feel better.