Necromancer's Descent

78 - Theodore's Fate

Rosalin's Point of View

Theodore is quiet for a while as he stares into the fire again, as he seems to weigh his words before he speaks.

"I don't remember much of my early childhood, or why I always hungered for our mother's love and adoration. Perhaps I was addicted to those brief moments where she showed more love towards me than anyone else."

The sweet moments, which you cling to. Those rare moments where you think that everything is alright. Where you think that they love you.

He hesitates a bit more before he continues.

"I was always keenly aware of the fact that people wore a mask in front of me. That their praises turned to disappointment and mockery behind my back. I learned, probably too fast, that the way I got the best response out of them was to give them a fake smile and be comfortable company. After all, no matter how much effort I put into studies, it was nothing when always compared to Johannes. Knowing how to make people smile and laugh worked better."

Unlike me, it seems af if Theodore was a lot better at reading and adjusting to people's reactions. Perhaps because there was a lot more people around him that did more than just ignore him. Even if they were adults, they could still help him adjust to society.

The look in his eyes gets grim.

"It wasn't that I was unaware that mother didn't love me. I knew that she didn't love either Sophia or I. Father- father raised heirs rather than children, so all his attention went to setting everything up for Johannes. Paperwork had always been our mother's specialty, so he was struggling to keep up. Caring for children was the last thing he had time for."

He looks to Alger and gently scratches Alger's forehead.

"I knew that my only purpose for being born was for Johannes' sake, so when our mother died with her hand in mine, and she asked me to take care of Johannes and give my life for him, I had nothing and no one else. After all, Sophia was just a sacrifice as well, and a baby at that point. All that was left was fake smiles, and Johannes' spite, as he wished I didn't exist. I considered just to cease existing at the funeral. The only one whose love I wanted was gone... but I also knew that she lied to the priests about her five treasures... so I knew she'd be watching me. If I just died on purpose to go to her side, then she'd be angry. If I died without fulfilling her last wish, then she'd be angry... but I thought... and hoped... that if I fulfilled her wish, then she'd finally, actually love me."

I can't help but to cover my mouth, as I remember how young Theodore was, when his mother died.

"Wait- what do you mean 'give your life for' And 'sacrifice'?. You were five..."

Theodore shifts a bit.

"It's pretty normal for nobility to be like that with their children when the war with the demon king is about to start. They use their younger children as political sacrifices to get their siblings. Most of the knights have the same fate, Azzo included."

Eh?

"But unlike me, they bonded over the desire to live in spite of their fate. Those who don't, are already long gone. They killed themselves before the war even started."

I knew that this world seemed to be on a loop. That this war happened over and over again. But as I find happen far too often since I arrived in this world, I never grasp the full extent of the consequences.

I remember that battlefield again, filled with the dead. If what Theodore is hinting at is true, then they've known this war was coming for years. They've known and prepared to die on the battlefield, sacrifices to keep a single family member safe.