(Alice's POV)
My na is Alice Zephyrus. I was born without the ability to see and never knew what the world looked like except through people's descriptions.
Fortunately, I was born into a noble household, surrounded by a loving family.
Despite his responsibilities, my father always made ti for . He would sit beside , talk about his daily experiences, and try to cheer up.
My mother, whenever she had free ti, would sit next to and teach various things, helping learn how to live in this world.
My brother constantly pampered , bringing gifts to make happy and forget my worries.
The servants at the manor treated with great care, doing their best to look after and provide for my needs.
Despite all this love and attention, I still longed to see the world as others did.
I wanted to see the colors they spoke of. I wanted to see my family's faces and the people close to .
I wished to see the ho I lived in and the books that helped learn.
But as ti passed and I grew older, despair slowly crept in, and I began to lose hope in that dream.
Eventually, I accepted that my fate was to live without sight and started focusing on the people around .
At the age of nine, an unusual ability awakened within .
When I touched my mother that day, her voice resonated in my mind, and I felt all the emotions she was experiencing at that mont.
I also beca aware of her true personality and the kind of person she was.
At that mont, I was overwheld and started crying due to the surge of emotions flooding into .
Gradually, I adapted to my ability and learned how to use it.
Through it, I understood my father's deep love for his family, but also his rciless side toward his enemies.
I sensed my mother's imnse love for , yet also discovered another side of her filled with intelligence and cunning.
I perceived my brother's honest nature, along with another persona that was passionate about fighting and eager for strength.
Slowly, I beca accustod to my power and started understanding the people around .
This ability helped a lot in life. With it, I could determine who wished to harm and who genuinely wanted to help .
At the age of ten, the maids began telling about a boy from the royal family.
"My lady, I heard that the devil killed the Empress today, along with dozens of her accompanying guards."
"Yes, I heard that when they arrived at the scene, they found the entire place burned down, leaving only charred corpses."
Upon hearing those words, I felt terrified of the boy they called the devil and wished never to cross paths with him.
They said he had pitch-black hair and red eyes, as if they were made of blood.
Of course, I didn't understand what black and red looked like, but I had heard that they symbolized the devil who once tried to destroy the world.
As ti passed, I heard more rumors about him—each one more terrifying than the last—embedding fear of him deep in my heart.
By the ti I was fourteen, the maids spoke of him again, this ti with even greater dread.
"My lady, today a royal battle was held, and they say the devil erged victorious. He slaughtered all his siblings and killed the Emperor as well."
"Yes, I heard that when the Grand Duke entered the throne room, he found him sitting on the throne, drinking his brothers' blood."
Hearing those words, I was overco with fear, wondering what would happen when such a person beca Emperor.
The idea of rebellion—killing the devil to save our beloved Empire from his clutches—started forming in my mind.
Three days after hearing that news, my father entered the room alongside my mother and brother.
After greeting as usual, he uttered the na that terrified most.
"Your Majesty, this is my daughter, Alice. Alice, standing before you now is the Emperor, Orlax Tirshtain. Greet him."
I felt the tension in the room fill the air, and I quickly greeted him in fear of upsetting him.
"It is an honor to et you, Your Majesty."
"The honor is mine, my lady."
His reply was confident and pleasant—completely different from the voice I had imagined for the devil haunting my thoughts.
I heard footsteps approaching , heightening my unease. When he took my right hand and kissed it, a powerful surge of emotions, thoughts, and details about his personality flooded my mind.
'So, this is Alice Zephyrus. Despite her young age, she is already exceptionally beautiful. When she grows up, she will surely shake empires with her beauty.'
The first thought I heard from him was his admiration for my appearance.
I had heard people praise my looks countless tis, but since I couldn't verify it, I ignored such remarks automatically.
Instead, I focused on the information pouring into my mind, and for the first ti, I began doubting my ability.
'Is this truly the devil I heard about?'
From the details in my head, rather than a bloodthirsty monster bent on destruction, I saw soone longing for acceptance and soone hoping to build a family that loves him.
"Well, Your Majesty, how do you intend to heal my daughter?"
When my father's words pulled out of my thoughts, I was slightly taken aback.
For years, my father had done everything possible to restore my vision, yet nothing had ever worked.
I listened quietly, eager to understand what they had planned.
I heard my mother and brother's surprised reactions, and finally, my father sighed and spoke words that left in shock.
"Sight, A few days ago, His Majesty and I made an agreent. He will heal Alice, and in return, Alice will beco his wife."
Upon hearing those words, my mind went completely blank, unable to process anything else.
'? Beco the devil's wife? But wait... This might not be so bad. When I felt his emotions, I sensed no ill intent toward —only pity, a bit of warmth, and respect.'
Lost in my thoughts, the sound of the door closing snapped back to reality, and I felt a wave of nervousness wash over .
"Forgive my rudeness."
After hearing those words, I felt a brief pain, and everything faded to black.
(Orlax POV)
After making Alice faint, I gently placed her on the bed.
"Now the real pain begins."
In the ga, Orlax was an undefeated character—no player had managed to defeat him for five years.
Even when so players tried cheating, it still wasn't enough to overco him.
Because of this, all the players at that ti were furious with the developers for making him invincible.
In a fit of frustration, the ga's files were hacked, and soone leaked what would happen after his defeat.
After the hero wins, he becos the emperor of the kingdom and keeps Orlax's body to study it and uncover the secret behind his strength.
It is revealed that his entire body consists of ancient artifacts made of mana.
The hero then takes a bold step, extracting one of Orlax's eyes and giving it to Alice.
Since it is an artifact, it can be transferred and given to others, allowing Alice to regain her sight.
In the ga, the reason behind Orlax's body being an artifact was unknown, but after receiving his mories, I imdiately understood.
It was due to his early awakening of mana. Instead of relying on food for growth, he used mana to enlarge his body and minimize his food consumption.
Over ti, his body transford, becoming vastly different from a normal human's. Every part of his body turned into an artifact that others could use.
So, Orlax thought about using this thod now to attempt restoring Alice's vision.
[Control Magic Activated]
I ignored the notification and focused on controlling my magic.
I reached my right eye, guiding the magic into my body until it reached the nerves connecting my eye.
I took a deep breath and severed one of the nerves.
"Argh..."
A wave of weakness flooded my legs, and unbearable pain seared through my right eye.
I clenched my teeth and bit my lip so hard that blood started dripping.
[Cold Blood trait activated]
[Patience trait activated]
[Pride trait activated]
A sudden calm washed over , easing the pain slightly, so I proceeded to cut another nerve.
The sa excruciating pain struck again, but I endured it, refusing to let out a scream.
After severing the third nerve, vision from my right eye faded completely.
Ignoring the discomfort from the sudden shift in perception, I continued.
Carefully, I cut each nerve one by one, ensuring the eye remained intact.
With each cut, the pain intensified, far worse than before.
Despite that, I endured until I had severed all the nerves, finally relaxing.
I took a deep breath to steady myself, then regained control of my magic and carefully extracted my eye from its socket.
Now, floating before was the right eye I had just removed myself.
"It's not every day you get to see your own eye."
I chuckled at my own foolishness before shifting my gaze to Alice.
"I need to do the sa for her, but she'll only feel mild pain since the nerves in her eye are already dead."
Slowly, my magic seeped into Alice's right eye, and I started the sa process.
Her body trembled slightly from the pain, but I continued, severing each nerve one by one.
I removed Alice's blue eye from its socket and examined it closely.
After inspecting it thoroughly, I moved it toward my empty eye socket and placed it inside.
"Even though I won't regain sight in my right eye, I'll try feeding it mana—perhaps it will turn into an artifact like my previous eye."
Once I finished placing the eye in my right socket, I connected the nerves and allowed mana to flow into it gradually.
"Now it's your turn."
I placed my red eye into Alice's socket and linked the nerves as I had done before.
After completing the process, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and leaned against the bed to rest.
"I'm never doing anything this crazy again."
I vowed to myself as I caught my breath. I stood up from the bed when I felt movent beside and turned toward Alice, who had opened her eyes.
Her left eye remained blue, just as before—lifeless and devoid of sight—while her right eye had turned a deep, blood-red color.
(Alice POV)
I felt myself wake up and imdiately sensed a sharp pain in my right eye, so I held my head, trying to ease the discomfort.
After a few minutes, the pain subsided, and strange images started flooding my vision.
"Huh! I can see? Can I really see now?"
I spoke in astonishnt, my mind overwheld by the bizarre visuals entering my consciousness for the first ti.
I turned to my side and saw sothing unusual.
"Is this what humans look like? This is amazing! It's the first ti in my life that I've seen a human."
A profound happiness filled my heart as I gazed at the person standing before .
Excited, I reached out and touched his face to feel it.
His face was cold compared to my warm hands, but despite that, a rush of emotions filled my heart as I touched him.
"Pain, reassurance... and a bit of happiness."
As I looked at him, overwheld by the emotions surging through my entire being, I realized at that mont that the person standing before was not the devil or anything else.
He was just another human—just like .
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