Crown of Thorns Chapter 69

Team : Cuties, WilsonWilson, Stephanie

The night was bleary. Because of the heavy clouds that reigned these past few days, the sky was so dark that it was hard to see the sun even during the day. With its bright moon concealed, the night sky was black and cold. Hence, the day had little to no difference from the night.

I slowly stepped into the barracks. There, Yohan was sitting in front of a table temporarily set up by him, as if waiting for soone. Because of his cross-legged sitting position, his body was tilted to one side, making him feel very arrogant and confident.

I rembered the first ti I saw him. I also regarded him with the sa impression as now because of his appearance and tone. But in reality, he was soone with deep thoughts and a brain sharp enough to penetrate lies. In addition, he was good enough of a person to save his colleagues and protect an unknown boy.

He was thinking of making Evan a warrior and was actually rallying to make it happen. Such a man was asking to see . He said he had sothing to talk about regarding Evan, not to anyone else, but a witch. His intention was all too unclear.

To discern his motives, I had no choice but to show up.

Yohan got up. His eyes, which had been a little drowsy, opened wide. What used to be a Shadow gradually materialized into a witch in the figure of a human. When I appeared, his eyes lit up with the concentration of a hunter watching his prey. His body tensed up.

“You surprised .”

“Why did you call for ?”

I stood at a moderate distance from him and asked. His sword could not hurt , but it would do us no good to make a fuss. Yohan stared at without saying a word for a long ti. Then, he opened his mouth with a wry smile, as if he were dumbfounded.

“I’m embarrassed because you’re so different from what I thought. I didn’t know you were this young. Besides, like this… This is how… Ha.”

He couldn’t spell his words to the end and gave a short sigh in surrender.

“You must have forgotten that I am a witch.”

His behavior suddenly overlapped with Evan’s, and he frowned for a mont. In addition to smiling vaguely and forgetting to be guarded in front of a witch, there were quite a few similarities between the two.

He answered with a slightly exaggerated nod.

“Right. Witch. Witches can’t be compared to ordinary humans. Well, we’d better sit down. You don’t intend to stand and talk like this, do you?”

“Did you call here to chat?”

“Did you think I called you here to fight? Alone in the middle of nowhere? No matter how fearless I am, it’s not enough to do so against a witch.”

I made silent eye contact with the intention of gauging his true thoughts. Yohan accepted it without avoiding my gaze. As he said, it was useless for him to attack . If he heard the rumor, he’d already know. Having a conversation really seed to be his only purpose, seeing that he brought to a place where no one was around.

As I walked in front of him and sat down on a chair that seed to have been put there for , he slowly sat down, too. His eyes were fixed on . The barracks were brighter than I thought. Several candles were lit, with their shadows dancing beneath the flas.

I looked around and felt him glaring at so I turned my head to him. Co to think of it, this was the first ti I looked at Yohan in my physical body, not with the eyes of the Shadow. It felt a little strange to see him with color for the first ti. Just like he had told , he was also embarrassed because I was different from how he imagined.

He was a firm, outspoken man. From the perspective of Shadow, I knew that he had a lighter color than others, but he was actually brighter than I thought. His hair was platinum, and his eyes were golden. It was a very vivid amber color.

He wasn’t as bright as Evan, but he still felt as strange as he was. Things about his fate, or his future, ca to my mind constantly. As Evan’s present changed, Yohan, who almost died in the forest of monsters, eventually survived. To be exact, he was saved thanks to the witch who sent Evan there. At that ti, I thought his fate had changed simply because of Evan, but now I think that might not be the case.

Perhaps, because of Evan, he was also a warrior destined to save the world. I couldn’t help but think of how things would have drastically changed if such a trivial thing had been done differently.

“You look pretty conflicted.”

I ca to my senses at Yohan’s voice. He was always a man who gave off a sharp sword-like feeling, but he was so adept that the way he spoke and the atmosphere of the conversation seed a little familiar.

“Since when did you know I existed?”

“From so ti ago.”

He continued as I stared blankly at his unexpected answer, unable to utter anything.

“You didn’t think I’d notice? There were many unnatural things.”

Would Evan have noticed it, too? I got alard for a while, but Evan was acting too indifferent for to say that. Like he really doesn’t know anything.

“What did you want to say to ?”

I didn’t want to drag the conversation for too long, so I directly asked his purpose. However, he imdiately answered with a question.

“I’ll ask first. What the hell are you thinking?”

His expression beca serious. His deep, focused eyes were reminiscent of a predator’s who, if simply not pleased, would rush in and bite. I thought for a mont and decided to reveal the truth, whether he believed it or not. If we are of the sa mind, it’s better to act together anyway.

“I want to change the world.”

Yohan’s face visibly flinched as if he had heard an absurd answer. And soon, he asked hesitantly.

“What does that an?”

“Literally that, I’m trying to change the world. I want to end this Darkness now. To do so, Evan is needed. Evan is the only hope and Light. You already know that, don’t you?”

“I just don’t understand.”

Bewilderedly, he continued again after a short contemplative pause.

“So? What are you going to do?”

“I intend to crown Evan.”

Yohan’s face hardened. His eyes cooled rapidly. The man, who was bright in vivid colors, looked cold with his chilling gaze.

“No matter what you think, Yohan, I want to end this Darkness. I’m thinking of it. If the warrior, Evan, wears the crown, a new era will begin. Don’t you agree?”

Yohan, who had been staring at with a stiff face for a long ti, closed his eyes, heaving a small sigh. When he opened them back up, he looked as stern as usual. He folded his arms against the chair and squinted his eyes as if to asure .

“I’d like to know why you want to do that.”

“There’s no reason for to tell you.”

Yohan leaned his upper body again, with his arms on the table, shortening the distance between him and . He said with a mischievous smile.

“Is it because your blood is mixed with Light? Is that why you crave the Light?”

This ti I was the one shocked. Unable to conceal his astonishnt, Yohan said with a feisty smile.

“I can’t believe it. The witch, the one who covered the world with Darkness, is not fully made of the Dark. How can Darkness and Light coexist in one body at the sa ti?”

“…how did you…?”

“There’s no reason for to tell you that.”

I felt my fingertips tremble. I hurriedly hid them under my clothes, but his sharp gaze did not miss that small action and followed it.

“I should thank you anyway. You gave Evan the Emperor’s trust when you handed him the Imperial Sorcerer’s seal. That’s probably why you gave it to Evan, no? I can’t doubt your true intentions. Even you wouldn’t have given away your father’s belongings that easily.”

“Just how?”

In the end, I couldn’t restrain myself. I stood up and asked him impatiently.

“How the hell did you know all that?”

And with a cold smile, Yohan said.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to tell anyone. Isn’t that what you’re worried about?”

That’s right. I was extrely afraid of news of my family being revealed. My lovely and strong family mbers, my family that used to use bright Light and was envied for it. Now that their lives had been sacrificed for the world, they had been forgotten. However, their honor would still be tarnished if it was revealed that they were the witch’s family.

The Light would not exist as beautifully and as vividly now as it was then. The people craved Light because what my family had done was so bright and beautiful. Evan could only be welcod by them if my family did not exist as the sun and hope in their mories.

When I looked at Yohan without saying anything, he waved a hand and urged to sit back down. He looked at with his chin up, his head tilted slightly, and hair that was woven into a thin, shiny gold thread trickling down his forehead. He had delicate and beautiful hair that didn’t match his manly, scarred face.

“I hear the Imperial Palace Sorcerer also had an affinity for both Light and Darkness. Is that what made you? Are the stories of your mother being a witch and controlling the monsters just a lie?”

After sitting down, I couldn’t open my mouth for a long ti, and I barely answered.

“No, it’s all true. Therefore, I am a witch. I’ve been cursed.”

“Cursed. Do you an cursed to be immortal?”

“Yes.”

Yohan looked down at the table. As if deep in thought, he was unable to speak. I didn’t feel like having any more of this conversation. I wanted to evade this situation quickly.

“In any case, I just want to help Evan change the world.”

“Do you want to change your perception?”

“No.”

Yohan looked at with a frown, unbelieving. Perception? I didn’t want such grandeur. For it was an impossible feat using the power of Evan alone.

“All I want is a new world. Perception does not change easily, and for the Light to shine brighter, Darkness must exist, and if needed, evil deeds must be committed. Of course, only by . By the witch alone.”

I didn’t want the other Darkness wielders to be hard because of . It was fortunate that Yohan knew better that no one else was at fault.

“What the hell can you get by doing that?”

“What?”

I asked him back. After sitting in silence for a long ti, deep in thought, Yohan raised his head.

“If we have the sa goal, we can work together. So what’s your plan?”

*

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