In front of an unattended space containing an almost abandoned building that was previously used as a training ground.
As soon as they got there, Caligo removed his hood.
He was just as Rosenta remembered.
Maybe it was due to the passage of time, but he and Rosenta didn’t look as alike as when Rosenta was young, but they still looked quite similar.
That made Rosenta even angrier.
"What have you been doing? If you were still alive, why didn’t you come back...….”
"You must have seen the book."
The annoyed Caligo’s purple eyes stared straight at him.
It was a gaze that held no affection for his child instead, it seemed to be evaluating a product...….
It felt as suffocating as ever.
"You must have forgotten since it’s been so long. I’ve told you over and over since you were little, but it seems you’ve forgotten."
He walked towards Rosenta.
Caligo calmly reached for his head.
It wasn’t to pat it.
"It's fine to be clever, but...….”
Strangely, Rosenta’s vision became blurred. He felt like he couldn't see properly. As though there was an opaque curtain in front of him.
As things continued, his mind also began to grow hazy.
"I told you I’d be nearby if you needed me."
Whack!
The sharp sound of impact brought back not only his sight, but also his mind.
Enoch had suddenly appeared in front of him.
Caligo's hand, which had been stretching towards him, was now pulled back.
And...….
Hyorin, who had been behind Caligo, also came forward and pointed a dagger at Enoch's neck.
"Hyorin, stand down."
"My lord, I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible because this child has touched my master."
Unlike me, who was getting worried, Enoch burst into laughter with ease.
Then he said, slightly pressing his index finger against the sharp blade hanging at his throat,
"I’d love to enjoy this reunion with my first teacher, but I have to protect my master, and on top of that...….”
Like a sudden cliff, Enoch's tone had dropped sharply.
Enoch swallowed his words for a moment and slid his index finger down the blade. Naturally, the flesh was cut deeply, so blood could be see trickling down.
Rosenta quickly tried to pull Enoch back at that sight.
But before he could even step forward.
"Don't touch my necklace. It annoys me."
At the end of Enoch's words, a harsh wind swirled in front of him.
Hyorin was pushed back.
But Enoch, not caring at all about the fallen Hyorin, immediately asked Rosenta a question.
"Did I do a good job?"
Enoch was touching his choker with the corners of his lips raised and a look of satisfaction on his face.
Then, without giving Rosenta time to answer, Caligo’s voice was heard.
"You've tamed him well."
Even though he’d seen Enoch's magic, he showed no sign of surprise.
He even looked calm as if he knew he could use magic.
"Did you know?"
“……Hyorin said he saw a wolf next to you by the river. He took you with him then, didn't he?"
It was only then that Rosenta understood.
How someone had entered his room with no magic and managed to steal the book.
"You purposely asked the saint, who lacked magical power, to steal it."
"Yes."
"But what's your relationship with the saint?"
Caligo gave him a strange smile at his question. It was a smile that carried mockery and was full of amusement.
What was certain was that it gave off an eerie feeling.
"The priest, whose time had passed, took my hand; and I joined him in bringing the saint here."
Caligo came close again.
Enoch was wary of Caligo and tried to block him again.
But Rosenta quickly raised his hand towards Enoch so that he wouldn't come forward.
At a distance of about five steps.
His father stared at him with nothing but that distance between them.
" Now that you’ve read the book, you know. I, no, my family must come out into the world again. We are not people who should be treated like this."
Then, this time, he held out his hand towards Rosenta’s body, instead of his head.
As if to hold his hand.
"The only ones who should be stigmatized as traitors are the imperial family and the Holy Kingdom. So now...… Let's reclaim our power once again."
It was an incredibly gentle voice coming from the mouth of Caligo, who was known for being so indifferent.
‘I’m sure you’re faking your voice in an attempt to tempt me.’
His voice made Rosenta more alert, so he was able to regain his reason quickly.
"Yes, I saw the book, but there was a phrase in it, something along the lines of, “The whiter something is, the easier it is to stain...….”
He stared at Caligo's hand.
His nails were dyed black.
When Rosenta was young, he didn’t think anything of those fingernails.
"Everything can be stained. It’s just a matter of whether or not the stain is perceptible."
Then he stared into the purple eyes that looked so much like his own, but which held a different light in them.
He didn't shy away from those eyes.
After clenching his fist firmly, he continued to speak to Caligo.
"Just because something’s black doesn't mean it won't stain."
‘Father, you too have been stained despite your darkness.’
Caligo's eyes became fierce, perhaps understanding the meaning of Rosenta’s words.
He dropped the act.
"Tch. I brought you here because I couldn’t let the bloodline be broken while I was away from the duchy, but I didn't expect you to betray me and get in my way."
Rosenta knew he was a man with no love in him.
However, it was quite a blow to hear that so directly.
As if stuck by an electric shock, one side of his heart ached.
"I assume your refusal to take my hand means that you intend to get in my way?"
“……Yes, I will stop you."
Rosenta stared into Caligo’s murky purple eyes, with the conviction to stop himself from closing his own.
The corners of Caligo’s mouth twitched.
Then, Caligo suddenly grabbed his stomach and burst into a frenzy of laughter, as if his answer was hilarious.
"Ha! Hahahaha!"
It was bizarre.
Without realizing it, Rosenta stared at the scene and took a step back.
Then, the laughter broke off.
A dry voice, with no laughter, filled the air.
"I've found out you’re the Woman in Purple, and you think it can stop me? I can reveal all of your identities any time I want."
Rosenta shot back,
"On the contrary, you were caught by me. That you are alive. And...….”
After deliberately cutting off his speech, he took a long pause. It was to create a heavy atmosphere.
But contrary to his intentions, Caligo only looked at him with mocking eyes.
"Everything that you just told me. I can also reveal it to others."
“……Oh, you've grown up a lot."
Hs purple eyes gleamed.
To an outsider, it could have sounded like he was proud of his grown-up child, but he didn't mean it at all.
Rather, it was more like he was saying 'well, look at this'.
"Regardless of how long I've been hiding and pretending to be dead, do I look like I’ve gone senile?"
The atmosphere was strange.
Caligo's aura grew fierce, and a sharp intangible energy began to strike.
‘Does Enoch also feel it?’
He, who had been quietly guarding Rosenta all this time, quickly jumped forward.
“……Ugh.”
But an unexpected situation occurred.
Enoch flopped down on the spot like a deflated balloon.
"Gasp…….”
He touched the ground and exhaled with a gasp.
Somehow, his hands seemed unusually pale.
"Enoch?"
"I-, I'm trying to use magic...….”
Rosenta was confused as well.
Enoch, who usually ran wild like a man without fear, trembled so much.
He even struggled as if he couldn't control his own body.
It was strange that a person, who had been fine until a moment ago, had suddenly collapsed.
"What have you done?"
Caligo was, of course, the main suspect.
The corners of his mouth crept up as if Rosenta’s suspicions were correct.
‘Damn!’
‘First, let’s help Enoch up and take him to a place behind the bushes some distance away...….’
"Enoch, can you stand up?"
He bent down to help Enoch.
His face turned blue as if he was struggling to breathe.
"First of all, take my hand...….”
"N-, no."
But Enoch rejected him.
He kept pushing his hand away, and as time went by, his condition gradually worsened.
Rosenta withdrew his hand, but did not immediately stand back up.
‘Now that it’s come to this, I have to place other safeguards.’
First of all, he continued to act as if he was trying to help Enoch, putting one hand on the ground.
He then whispered a command, almost like a breath.
"Skeleton."
The location he chose to meet was not only selected for its remoteness.
There were several ancestral tombs nearby, and there was also a nearby burial place for old and dead horses.
In short, it was minimal insurance against emergencies.
He slowly stood up.
"What the hell...….”
Once again, facing Caligo and Hyorin, he asked again.
"What have you done?"
This time, once again, Caligo looked at him with a smile.
It was clear that it was a silence intended to affirm.
"When did you do this to Enoch...… Oh! It can’t be!"
Rosenta’s eyes turned to Hyorin.
The only time they’d come into contact with Enoch was when he put his dagger to his neck.
"Yes, that's right."
Hyorin nodded modestly.
Then, he took out a dagger from his possession and showed him the blade, which was slightly stained with Enoch’s blood.
"The master himself has endowed it with a curse. That is why my former disciple, who was cut by this blade, will suffer in pain the more he tries to use his magic power."
Although he called him a former disciple, he did not have any nostalgia in his eyes.
[t/n: this is a pretty long section, so I'm breaking it into two parts.]