"What happened to him?" Es asked, pressing her fingers gently to Irwin’s wrist. "His pulse is weak...but how did it get so bad? Does Leonardo know?"
Clandestine shook her head, her expression composed, though her eyes betrayed a flicker of helplessness. "He wouldn’t let tell him," she said quietly, adjusting the duvet properly. "Irwin doesn’t want to add to Leo’s worries, but we know how he is. If he finds out we’ve been keeping this from him, it’ll hurt him even more. I’ve tried to reason with my husband, but he’s afraid that our son would neglect himself if he knew."
Es turned to Irwin, and her heart felt heavy. She could see why he chose silence, but carrying this burden alone wouldn’t change the outco either. And Leonardo, he’d want to know. He deserved to know what was happening. If he learned the state of his ho had been kept from him, it would only deepen the pain.
"Before you took Leonardo in," Es murmured, her gaze flicking to Clandestine, "you already knew what he was, didn’t you? You knew about Donovan too. That’s why you didn’t flinch when he appeared on the day I was ant to marry Lennox. I’d like to know sothing— did you knowingly go against the kingdom’s judgent? Despite the risk?"
Clandestine t Es’s gaze, her expression unflinching. Es’s attention shifted to the dark veins coiling along Irwin’s wrist.
"These markings... I’ve seen them before," Es whispered. "Not exactly like this, but close. Are they connected to the original host? Did the true bearer...?"
"The true bearer is nothing but evil wrapped in human flesh," Clandestine said quietly, sinking to the edge of the bed as she stared at her husband, unable to do a thing to help him. "He did this to Irwin, but this isn’t his first attempt either. Irwin’s only misfortune is being bound by blood to that monster. If not for that, our lives might have been entirely different from the way we see it today."
"Bound by—" Es abruptly stood up, her breath catching. "Wait– are you saying uncle Irwin is sohow related to the true bearer? You said bound by blood– please correct if I’m wrong but that’s what it ans, isn’t it?"
Clandestine hesitated for a mont, the silence heavy. Then, with a slow nod, she answered. "There’s sothing Irwin wants you to know, sothing he wants to tell you in case he... never woke up. He has been bedridden for a week now, and I’m not even sure if he’ll open his eyes one last ti before leaving this cruel world. The truth is, Irwin’s father and the true bearer’s father were siblings."
Clandestine gently adjusted the blanket over her husband before continuing. "The true bearer’s real na wasn’t always hidden- he was once called Alucard. Before the title consud him. The truth is, the Morgrims have never been a united family for centuries. It’s been a generational curse that runs deep– if a Morgrim household has more than one child, one of them is destined to carry the full weight of the curse. It’s unavoidable due to the bad historical record, to the point even the innocent face the consequences for their ancestors’ mistake."
She paused for a mont, her tone growing heavier. "That’s why, more often than not, one child is favored over the other, all in hopes that they can beat the curse. In Alucard’s case, his parents favored Zephyr, while for Donovan, it was Leonardo who received the majority of the love and affection. It’s risky to have a single child, cause just like Irwin, they can’t avoid it. Donovan managed to hold on to his humility for a long ti, but Alucard didn’t."
"Alpha Zephyr still fell sick at the end of the day, no?" Es questioned, not understanding the story that was being told to her. "From what I know, Donovan’s father was desperate to escape his illness, which is the reason he beca part demon. How was he more favored than... I wonder if Donovan knew anything about this... that he’s related to the true bearer."
"There is a possibility he would have caught up on his own by now," Clandestine responded in a quiet tone, rising from the edge. "It’s true Alpha Zephyr fell into the curse’s grip, and that happened because Zephyr and Alucard were twins. The curse was split between them. When Alucard had succeeded in turning his brother into a demon, he ca here. This happened way back, when Lennox’s father was still in his pri. He told my husband that he had found a way to escape the generational curse, and that he could heal him."
Clandestine’s fingers curled into fists at her side. "He told Irwin that he could grant him a long life, but in return, my husband would owe him for it. I don’t know how, but Irwin refused the offer. At that ti, it wasn’t known that Zephyr had a twin, so to keep my husband shut, he made sure Irwin would never have to reveal his identity to anyone. Back then, it didn’t make sense why he was intent on keeping his presence a secret, but after Zephyr’s death, it beca sowhat clear to Irwin and I that he did it to get rid of both Zephyr and your father during the war."
Es blinked, finding all of the information hard to take in. Her pupils imdiately dilated when she recalled what Alpha Thadius told her before his death. "That ans... the true bearer had been the one creating all the havoc, and not Donovan’s father. No one knew he had a twin, so it was easy for everyone to pin the bla on him, which he admitted to doing. anwhile, the true bearer was only... using him to attain his goal. When that was achieved, which was to get rid of him, he killed my father, cause he was the only one who saw him after Alpha Zephyr’s death."
Clandestine turned to Es, mirroring her disbelief. "That’s another way to put it... He’s been eliminating every Morgrim too, all except for Donovan and Leonardo."
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