Kasan had called Duke Daysha a half-Inayari, and I felt the same Inayari aura from him. If he were a half, one of his parents had to be a true Inayari.
“No way!”
“Know something, my lady?”
Kasan ruffled his hair wildly.
“There’s a legend in the West—thought it was pure madness…”
As he muttered in disbelief, Daysha cut in.
“Crown Prince Lloyd was frail from birth. No, sick is more accurate.”
“That’s impossible. Aside from being unable to have children for a long time, he was known to be perfectly healthy.”
Lloyd was renowned as an ideal crown prince, skilled in both martial and intellectual pursuits. Had he not fallen from his horse, he, not the current emperor, would rule the empire.
And his son, Daysha, would have succeeded him, not Sys.
“Heh, why do you think he couldn’t have children for so long?”
“Well…”
“Because he was Inayari. The purer their blood, the harder it is to conceive.”
“That’s absurd! True Inayari can’t cross the barrier.”
He was a crown prince, royalty. How could he be Inayari? And true Inayari couldn’t breach the barrier.
“You’re mistaken. I didn’t say Lloyd was a true Inayari like those in the records. Nor a half or quarter. His parents were fully human.”
“You mean that legend is true?”
Kasan’s voice cracked with shock.
“No way! That’s sheer insanity!”
“Nothing’s impossible. He did that insane thing and succeeded. The proof stands before you.”
Daysha spread his arms wide, as if to showcase himself.
“What’s this madness?”
“Blood replacement, my lady,” Daysha answered, cutting off a stunned Kasan.
“It starts with the blood, then the organs, one by one, replaced with Inayari ones.”
“No one could survive that. Every single one would die!”
Kasan shook his head, pale.
“Humans have tried such madness before. Greed and the desire for strength drive them. But they all died. No one can live with their blood and organs fully replaced.”
“What was the illness Lloyd suffered from?”
Kasan was frantic, but Daysha had no reason to lie. If true, Lloyd had undertaken this madness and succeeded where others failed. There had to be something unique about him.
“His organs were slowly hardening. Cursing his body as it failed, he resorted to forbidden methods. The superior Inayari physique must have been irresistible.”
“His death by falling wasn’t an accident, was it?”
“No. The previous emperor killed him after discovering his dealings with the Inayari.”
“…”
“But he never knew his son had experimented with their help. That’s why a monster like me was left behind.”
His self-mocking smirk and brittle golden eyes were familiar.
“She cursed and screamed every time she saw my face.”
Daysha’s expression mirrored those words. I knew instinctively who “she” was, having experienced something similar.
“Crown Princesspionia. You were abused by your mother.”
“What’s that mean?”
Kasan, still reeling, stared at me. I kept my eyes on Daysha.
“The woman who cursed and screamed at you—was it Pionia?”
“Heh, you’re a prize, my lady.”
“…”
“How do you think a woman felt, learning too late that her husband, turned monster, had planted his seed in her? Sheទ She tried everything to kill the child—poison, jumping from heights. But the monster’s child clung to life, protected by the Inayari.”
Swords clashed around us, but Daysha spoke calmly, as if in another world. Kasan’s warriors had leveled the fight against the masked Inayari.
“They must have been curious. No human had ever become Inayari before. Though he died, his seed survived. Who wouldn’t be intrigued?”
He bared sharp teeth.
“Could an artificial Inayari produce a half?”
His blatant ferocity shifted the masked men’s aura. Their slit-like pupils contracted vertically.
“Damn it,” Kasan cursed, drawing his sword.
His warriors and the masked Inayari pulled back, the former retreating, the latter gathering around Daysha.
Our knights, confused, rallied around me.
“What’s happening?”
“Damn, Daysha’s a big deal among the Inayari,” Kasan said.
“Explain.”
“Inayari doesn’t value hybrids much. Quarters like me get discarded sometimes. But halves? They’re never abandoned. Their abilities nearly match true Inayari.”
He shivered.
“And those guys? They’re all halves.”
“…!”
“You know your Inayari, quarter,” Daysha said, his yellow pupils narrowing.
“Have you changed your mind, my lady? Come quietly, or I’ll kill them all. Your fate’s sealed either way.”
I fought the urge to step back.
Everyone was ready to die for me. I couldn’t falter first.
“My answer’s the same.”
“You’d risk this obvious outcome?”
“You have to measure the odds to know.”
“If that’s your choice.”
At his signal, our forces clashed with his. Kasan’s warriors, skilled against Inayari, fought fiercely.
“Damn!”
Kasan’s curses grew harsher. Hope flickered, but the halves’ strength was overwhelming. Our side’s casualties mounted.
“Still not reconsidering?”
As our numbers dwindled, Daysha closed in.
“No more reinforcements, I presume?”
“Perhaps. But you won’t have your way.”
I drew a dagger from my bosom, pressing it to my throat. Its sharp edge gleamed dangerously. Daysha’s eyes narrowed.
“If I die, the barrier stays intact.”
“Sister!”
Lant lunged, but the Inayari blocked him. I ignored his desperate gaze, gripping the dagger tightly.
“You think I’d make such a foolish choice?”
“Dying here or coming with me—it’s the same.”
“You’re wrong. You need me to break the barrier, but not my life. Just my blood.”
He pointed at my heart.
“What’s the difference?”
“There’s a chance you’d live.”
“Like a cat sparing a mouse?”
I smirked, pressing the dagger closer to my pulsing throat. The cold metal sent shivers through me, but I wouldn’t stop.
“No, Sister!”
Lant’s scream pierced the air. I forced my gaze to stay on Daysha, whose brow furrowed menacingly.
“Last chance, my lady.”
I tightened my grip, the needle in my ring ready.
“I’d rather die than let you win.”
His eyes flashed with fury, but I held my ground, the dagger steady against my skin.
