Chapter 5
Kilian Haunbert.
Though quietly and secretly mad at the moment, he was incredibly—extremely—famous. There was no one on the continent who didn’t know his name.
He was a descendant of the Ducal House of Haunbert, a family that had produced generations of high-ranking holy knights within the Aeterna Holy Empire. At a young age, he had become the empire’s First Sword.
Thus, he was entrusted with the mission of defending the continent alongside Saintess Arwen, as a protector of the Aeterna Holy Empire.
Eight years ago, he drew the holy sword and saved the continent from danger, becoming not only the empire’s but the entire continent’s hero.
No matter the race, everyone bowed their heads in respect before him.
‘If word got out that someone like Kilian was injured, people would lose their minds.’
Adjusting the bundle of mistflowers in her arms, Elshunain thought to herself.
Kilian sat across from her, still with his eyes closed.
Now that she looked closely, he did seem a bit tired.
‘This is the time in the original story when Kilian’s spiritual sense was severely damaged.’
That time… was now.
He had been injured in the Kingdom of Dyren, where she had been summoned in spirit form.
Caught in a magical field created by a high-ranking demon of the mental realm, Kilian hadn’t sustained any physical injuries—but his senses were affected.
His ability to perceive magic and aura had been disrupted.
It would soon heal on its own, but the demons, realizing this rare opportunity, planted one of their own inside his estate.
‘Originally, Arwen, being the saintess, figured it out immediately.’
In the original story, Arwen had been with Kilian all year round, and she handled the matter with ease.
It also served as a chance for the two to reconcile after some emotional friction.
‘But Arwen isn’t here.’
So, the demon had likely infiltrated successfully by now.
Their goal was to corrupt Kilian with demonic energy. They were probably down in the basement, secretly drawing some strange magic circle.
‘I need to identify who the infiltrator is.’
But having lost her memories, she couldn’t exactly shout, “In the name of my grandfather! That person is the demon!”
So she planned to “accidentally” uncover the truth, making it look like a coincidence.
“Uh, we’re nearing the Duke Haunbert’s estate. Should we… should we keep going?”
It seemed the carriage had entered the very heart of the capital. The coachman’s voice was trembling slightly.
“Keep going.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am.”
The carriage came to a halt in front of the heavily guarded Haunbert estate.
“This is the main estate of the Duke of Haunbert. May I ask who the visitor is?”
“I—I was just hired to transport a passenger…”
The coachman’s voice faltered.
The guards clicked their boots as they approached the window of the carriage. When they saw Kilian staring blankly ahead, one of them jumped in place in surprise.
“Duke Kilian Haunbert! Forgive me, I didn’t recognize you!”
Only then did Kilian slowly turn his gaze toward him. In the distance, the voices of the other guards echoed.
“He came in a carriage? That’s unusual…”
“Is someone with him?”
“No way—surely not!”
They whispered quietly, thinking no one would hear. But for someone like Elshunain, who wasn’t an ordinary human, it was perfectly audible. Kilian surely heard them too.
The carriage, which had stopped briefly at the gate, glided through and came to a halt in front of the grand entrance of the main mansion, complete with fountains and a beautifully manicured garden.
“It’s an honor to have escorted the Guardian this far. P-Please, there’s no need to pay!”
Now realizing Kilian’s identity, the coachman waved his hands frantically. But Kilian simply tucked some money into the man’s pocket and turned away.
“Get down.”
Elshunain, who had been peeking out from the carriage and watching the trembling coachman, stepped down awkwardly.
The mistflowers in her arms swayed gently.
It had been a long time since she last saw the Haunbert estate.
Behind the elegant and dignified mansion lay a large, dense forest.
That forest was where she had been born—and where she first met Kilian. He had spent his childhood there, too.
‘It’s been so long.’
She never imagined she’d return to this place.
“Welcome.”
Kilian strode ahead, while Elshunain followed behind. They were greeted by a long line of servants.
Most of them had likely been replaced over the last eight years. She didn’t recognize anyone.
Despite their master’s unannounced arrival, the servants welcomed him with composed and orderly gestures—just as they had in the past.
‘Honestly, these people are like dolls.’
Did that demeanor come from copying their master?
Considering how the Haunbert family had always produced cold, ice-like people like Kilian, the atmosphere seemed to have rubbed off on the staff.
“This is your room.”
Kilian stopped on the spiral staircase after passing through the line of servants. The place was familiar to Elshunain.
‘Wait… this really is my old room.’
To think he’d maintained his friend’s room for eight years, after abducting Arwen.
‘Is this his way of declaring he’ll get her back no matter what?’
Glancing at Kilian’s cold face, Elshunain forced a smile.
“W-Wow! So this is my room! It’s huge! And that bed looks amazing!”
Feigning innocence, she bounced into the room—but a chill ran down her spine.
Ugh. That obsession. Creepy.
Then she paused.
‘It’s exactly the same?’
Elshunain looked around. The room made her feel like she’d stepped back in time to eight years ago.
It was identical to the past.
She wasn’t a genius, and it wasn’t like she remembered the exact furniture layout. But she had a reason to be sure.
‘That chessboard…’
By the sunny window, on a white table, sat a chessboard.
As if a match had just ended, the pieces were placed in various positions.
Black had checkmated.
Not a speck of dust lay on the board.
“Ugh, I quit! You always win! Let’s play something else!”
“You’re the one who suggested chess, Elshunain. …Fine, what else?”
“Swimming in the lake! Let’s race!”
“A water spirit racing in water?”
The sigh of a boy who gave in against his better judgment seemed to echo in her ears.
Soon after, a summons order had come down, and instead of swimming, she’d ended up swimming through seas of monsters.
“…Did a memory just surface?”
“Huh?”
Elshunain quickly dropped her unintentional smile and tilted her head.
“Memory? What memory?”
“……”
“By the way, who used this room before? Someone played chess here, look.”
“No. It was originally your room. That… don’t worry about it. You can remove it if you want.”
Kilian looked coldly at the chessboard, arms crossed.
“This estate was your home, too. So be comfortable.”
“Mmkay.”
He glanced at the mistflowers in her arms before turning away.
“I had a vase brought for the flowers. It’ll be here soon.”
As Kilian had said, not long after, a maid brought a white vase.
But Elshunain didn’t keep it.
She sent it to Kilian instead.
Then, pretending not to know her way around the house, she followed the maid to Kilian’s office.
‘Is he not tired?’
She was still holding the mistflowers. These flowers were her trap for the demon.
They had to be placed near Kilian.
In spaces where he often interacted with others.
“…Elshunain?”
“Ah, Kilian. I forgot to say earlier—this is actually a gift for you.”
Elshunain smiled awkwardly and approached him.
Kilian sat behind a massive oak desk.
The knights who guarded his office didn’t stop her—he must have instructed them in advance.
“And, I’m sorry for forgetting you. I didn’t get to say that earlier. We… seemed like close friends, right?”
“……”
We were close, right?
Sure, she’d smacked him with betrayal in the end, but before that… haha…
Kilian tilted his head slightly as he watched her innocent smile.
“That’s a gift?”
“Mmhmm. Could you hold the vase?”
“…Fine.”
The maid looked startled but Kilian silently took the vase from her.
Inside, the sacred water rippled softly.
‘Perfect.’
The mistflower was the national flower of the Aeterna Holy Empire.
Though common everywhere in this faith-driven land, it wasn’t called a national flower for nothing.
When mistflowers absorbed sacred water, they released divine energy into the air. That air would strip away a demon’s disguise upon contact.
Sacred water was rare—usually something only high priests could procure.
But who was Elshunain? A 20-year veteran of reincarnation. Her preparedness was unrivaled.
‘Though, truthfully, it’s leftover from trying to revive Arwen…’
Her bag from the cabin was full of useful tools.
With a bright smile, she stepped closer to Kilian.
“Here’s your gift. Pretty, right?”
She dropped the mistflowers into the white vase he held.
Just then, the clouds parted, and sunlight streamed through the window behind Kilian, illuminating Elshunain’s face.
Her pale cheeks turned peach-pink under the light. The scent of flowers brushed past Kilian’s nose.
Holding the vase, Kilian blinked.
“I look forward to working with you, Kilian.”
Her emerald eyes—like a spring lake—curved softly.
“……”
Something flickered in Kilian’s crimson eyes as he stared at her.
“Kkrrgh! T-This scent…! Ghhh…!”
A strange sound came from behind Elshunain. She turned quickly.
The maid, who had just been standing politely, was now clutching her face and twisting unnaturally.
A moment later, her face twisted into a grotesque snake-like form.
‘Gasp! A demon!’
Elshunain’s breath hitched. Why did the infiltrating demon have to be the maid who brought the vase?!
‘You were supposed to appear after I left! Agh!’
As the demon’s long arm lashed out toward her, Elshunain threw herself backward.
