~Chapter 45~
“……”
“……”
“……”
Aisha, Killian, and Til.
Silence weighed heavily between the three of them.
Aisha’s face was filled with panic.
Killian’s expression was stone-cold.
Til stood frozen in place.
And inside Aisha’s head, there was only one thought:
“I’m screwed.”
What should she do? What excuse could she make? What lie could she tell—and would it even work? Maybe she could say he was just a thief who broke in?
No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find a convincing answer.
This idiot—didn’t he say he could vanish like the wind whenever he wanted?!
“As if I never existed at all. Even if I’m in the same room, I can move like a shadow. No one would notice I was there.”
Shadow, my ass.
“I’ve risked my life on countless dangerous jobs and survived every time. You think I’d get caught by someone like Killian Winters? Ha! That pathetic guy?”
Pathetic guy, my ass! Til, you bastard!
“Now then.”
“……”
“You’d better explain exactly what’s going on here, Aisha Ashton.”
Maybe Til would come up with something? Anything? Please, just once—think like a human being.
Aisha turned desperately toward him.
“I-I, um, well—”
Til replied with the dumbest face imaginable.
“I’m… Aisha’s old, very close friend. Quite the surprise, isn’t it?”
…Of course.
Til, that useless bastard.
Aisha cursed silently, while Killian let out a short, disbelieving laugh. His burning eyes locked onto Til.
“For something you came up with on the spot, that’s pretty pathetic.”
“…Sorry, but usually people say it’s decent for something on the spot.”
Even in that tense moment, Aisha’s head filled with question marks.
Killian’s voice cut sharply through her thoughts.
“That’s not the issue here, Aisha Ashton.”
He stepped forward and seized Til’s thick wrist before Til could even move.
“……”
“……”
Black eyes and golden eyes clashed in midair, dangerous sparks flying between them. The tension was thick enough that it wouldn’t have been strange if they both drew swords right then and there.
A fight here would be the worst possible outcome.
Til was the leader of Rune—the one who had escaped Imperial pursuit again and again. And Killian? His name alone said enough.
If those two clashed now… both could die. Or at the very least, one of them definitely would.
The thought made Aisha’s vision turn white.
“W-wait, just a second—!”
She was about to intervene when—
“Aisha.”
Til spoke her name with unusual seriousness.
Her heart skipped. Did he have a plan after all? Some clever trick?
“Your fiancé is trying to force himself on me right now.”
“……”
“…That’s not… what this is, right?”
Rip!
Before Aisha could protest, Killian tore open Til’s shirt. His broad chest gleamed under the moonlight, and Aisha clapped her hands over her mouth without meaning to.
“Huh? He’s really… forcing me?”
“See? I told you your fiancé was strange! Took you this long to notice? You’ve got terrible taste in men, poor Aisha.”
“This damn idiot—it’s not like that!”
Unable to take it anymore, Killian roared at them both to shut up. Then, with one harsh pull, he ripped the rest of Til’s shirt to shreds.
And there it was—
Aisha’s eyes widened as she finally saw it too.
On Til’s shoulder was a large tattoo: a pale full moon partly hidden by clouds, surrounded by black ink that made the moon stand out starkly. Beneath it, written in slanted script, were the words:
“No light, no leash.”
Hah. Pretentious.
Aisha thought bitterly to herself.
“…So the rumors were true.”
Killian’s grip tightened on Til’s wrist as he sneered.
“They say every leader of Rune bears the same tattoo. Passed down from the previous leader, and the one before that—sworn proof to inherit their will. One of their sacred rules.”
“……”
“And besides… you and I have met before.”
Killian’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“You’re bold. Very bold. To crawl into this place, of all places… Rune’s leader, Lenox Vale.”
…Lenox Vale?
Aisha blinked in confusion. She’d never heard that name before.
A fake name? she wondered. It wouldn’t be strange. Secret guilds used aliases all the time.
But then—
“Or should I call you… Theodore Ludovicus Belezaar Caesareon Felix Augustus the Fourth?”
“…W-what the hell?”
Not even an emperor would have such a ridiculous name. What kind of lunatic came up with that?
Aisha stared dumbly at Til.
“Or maybe you only answer when I say ‘Til’ in front of Aisha?”
At that, the faint grin vanished from Til’s face. Just like magic.
That long ass name, I was laughing when read her thought
This was so funny 😂