Chapter 41
“How… did you know?”
Elsez looked at him with bewildered eyes.
She had never revealed that she was Ruel in front of him, nor had she ever mentioned it.
Who could easily think of the absurd assumption that the deceased Ruel had returned to life as someone else?
Still, if Cassian just realized it now, things would proceed more smoothly from here on out.
“…Ah.”
But the moment Cassian’s focus returned, his eyes twisted again in pain.
The brief gleam of delight in his eyes was now stained with deep longing. He had realized the boundary between dream and reality.
Yet even after recognizing reality, Cassian couldn’t let go of Elsez’s hand.
He didn’t want to.
Cassian closed his chilly eyes again and held Elsez’s hand firmly in his own, adjusting it perfectly to fit.
“…Wait a moment.”
“…”
“Just a moment. Let’s stay like this.”
His low, strained voice was so desperate that she couldn’t bring herself to pull away.
Soon, Cassian’s steady breathing became audible. Holding her hand as he slept, his expression seemed much more relaxed than before.
A lonely smile spread across Elsez’s lips as she watched him.
“So that’s why your mood was always so low around this time every year…”
For him, it wasn’t the day he defeated the demon that carried the weight—it was the day Ruel died.
He couldn’t feel pure joy that she still existed in his memory.
It wasn’t a happy memory, but a wound that wouldn’t heal—guilt for failing to protect a precious comrade.
“Sweet dreams, Cassian.”
She let herself forget, just for a little while.
Elsez decided to stay by his side until he fell into a deeper sleep.
That was when she heard it.
“Milady?”
A familiar voice came from behind.
Turning around, she saw Astaire just entering the library.
“Ah, Your Excellency.”
As Elsez instinctively tried to stand, Cassian sleepily gripped her hand tighter.
Elsez remained in an awkward, half-sitting, half-standing position to greet Astaire.
Astaire, who had been smiling warmly at her, immediately hardened his expression when he saw Cassian next to her, as if the earlier warmth had never existed.
‘What was that look from Astaire just now…’
But before Elsez could process it, his cold expression vanished, replaced by his usual kind demeanor.
Astaire approached the two of them and asked,
“What were you doing?”
Noticing his gaze fixed on her hand in Cassian’s, Elsez explained the situation.
“He was sweating a lot, either from pain or a nightmare, so I tried to wake him, but he just went back to sleep like this. I thought if I pulled my hand away too soon, he’d wake up…”
“Just pull it away. Holding hands with that guy will rot it. His hands have captured too many demonic beasts.”
“Excuse me?”
She had fought countless demonic beasts for experience during her first run, but she had never heard of this.
It sounded absurd, yet somehow believable coming from Astaire.
While Elsez was pondering whether he was serious, Astaire stepped forward and gently pulled her hand from Cassian’s grasp.
Then he wrapped her hand softly in his own.
“Hmm…”
Cassian woke up due to the movement, glancing at Astaire’s face with a furrowed, handsome brow.
“The first face I see when I wake up… is so irritating.”
“Thanks for the warm greeting.”
Cassian muttered under his breath, “Warm my foot,” while smirking at Astaire’s sarcastic remark, then got up and sat on the sofa.
Astaire seated himself on a nearby sofa and got straight to the point.
“What happened with the task I assigned?”
“As you said, I had the little brat take on the assignment and confronted the Dark Guild… well, the next part went as expected. They didn’t know the identity of the person who entrusted the fragment.”
The iron rule of the Dark Guild is that for covert assignments, they demand higher payment but never inquire about the client’s identity or purpose.
“However, we did get them to spill enough to know the client’s appearance…”
‘Cassian probably roughed them up…’
Elsez thought of Cassian’s usual personality and figured that was likely, silently hoping Astaire wouldn’t ask how.
“Gray-blonde hair, voice estimated to be that of a man in his mid-fifties. Height similar to that kid, but with a slight build. Habitually fiddles with his chin when thinking, as if he had kept a beard for a long time.”
Cassian pointed to Elsez as he said, “that guy.”
Astaire narrowed his eyes, appearing deep in thought, then finally spoke.
“Good work. At least we found a clue.”
Elsez then asked Astaire,
“What about interrogating Count Lort?”
“It’s a dead end. We don’t know who’s behind it, and we don’t know where the deceased children came from either.”
“You say ‘don’t know,’ but after a few beatings, they’ll spill, right?”
Astaire responded to Cassian’s violent remark with a cold smile, while Elsez inwardly agreed.
Ignoring Astaire’s reaction, Cassian stood up.
“Let’s go see that bastard. I’ll get it out of him myself.”
“…Cassian, you’re too barbaric.”
“Efficient, that’s all.”
Astaire sighed at Cassian’s determination to confront Count Lort immediately, then spoke.
“The person from the royal household is supposed to arrive today.”
At the word “royal household,” both Cassian and Elsez furrowed their brows.
“Suddenly? They didn’t care if the demon turned the continent upside down, so why now?”
“This incident will soon be known to the public. They can’t leave someone impersonating the Crown Prince unchecked—it would undermine the royal authority.”
“True. They do tend to obsess over that unnecessary authority.”
“And aside from the imposter, they’d probably prefer to handle this quietly.”
Any news of internal security issues spreading to the public would be undesirable for the royal family.
Cassian pondered Astaire’s words. Reviving a demon and impersonating the Crown Prince was audacious. Investigating the mastermind could involve serious danger.
He thought for a moment, then looked at Elsez.
“Rookie, shouldn’t you step away from this matter now?”
“Excuse me?”
“With the royal household involved, there’s nothing to gain by getting deeply entangled.”
“I agree. Also… there are other interests at play.”
Elsez realized what Astaire meant by “interests.”
She had vaguely mentioned her noble status and her engagement to Tezet in front of Cassian, asking him to keep it secret.
As Astaire suspected, being the fiancée of Tezet, a close aide to the Crown Prince, would cause problems if she was known to be involved in the temple’s affairs.
However—
‘I said I would break off the engagement.’
It was no longer her concern. Elsez smiled softly.
“It doesn’t matter now. That matter has been resolved.”
“That matter?”
Just then, Lancelot entered the library.
“Your Excellency, someone from the royal household has arrived.”
“They’ll be leaving soon.”
Astaire immediately stood up. Since the visitor was sent by the Crown Prince, they couldn’t sit idle.
Cassian followed suit.
“Let’s see what the royal household’s dog looks like.”
Elsez left the library with them, heading toward the temple’s main gate.
As they were about to enter the main building where the chapel was located, a group appeared at that path.
Alongside Lancelot was a tall, imposing man.
Jet-black hair fluttering in the spring breeze, starkly contrasting with pale, almost white skin.
Dark green eyes, cold and reptilian in their intensity.
A man who seemed entirely out of place against the holy, pristine atmosphere of the temple.
Seeing him, Elsez froze in surprise.
‘…Tezet?’
The man approaching seemed to have noticed them, his gaze scanning the three of them before settling on one.
Elsez could be certain. His eyes were fixed solely on her.
With an unreadable, cold emotion.
Tezet closed the distance with long strides and now stood before the three of them.
Astaire narrowed his brows slightly at the sight, while Cassian, disbelief written across his face, asked,
“Could it be… you’re the one the Crown Prince sent?”
Yet Tezet did not once glance at Cassian or Astaire.
From the moment their eyes first met to now, up close, his gaze was only on Elsez.
Elsez looked up at him warily.
The boy who had once stood on the line between beautiful youth and man three years ago had now matured fully into a man.
Stranger emotions rose in her, more than joy.
Tezet, still unreadable, finally parted his red lips.
“I didn’t expect to meet my fiancée here.”
His chilling voice landed in Elsez’s ears like a cold wind blowing through a deep forest.
