Chapter 4

“Then, shall we continue talking?”

The man picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip. His red eyes shone sharply.

I had been looking around the room nervously, but now I quickly fixed my posture and sat properly.

I still had questions in my head that wouldn’t go away.

‘Where did they go?’

It was too real to be a hallucination.

I had even talked with those people who claimed to be spirits.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

I looked all around the hallway, but I couldn’t find them anywhere.

In the end, I lost the argument that we should leave because something was clearly wrong here.

After that, I followed the man’s suggestion to move to this room to talk.

“Like I said before, I need more details about the child you saw.”

“…But before that, I want to ask something.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not flirting or trying to be weird or anything, so please don’t get the wrong idea.”

There was this strange feeling I kept having whenever I looked at this man.

It didn’t take me long to figure out what it was.

Every time I looked into his red eyes, the same thought kept popping into my head.

“Have we met somewhere before? I’m not sure why, but you seem familiar…”

But that wasn’t the only thing bothering me.

Even when the evil spirit was burning and screaming, he didn’t even blink.

Just remembering how calm he was brought back the memory of the evil spirit’s end.

Twisting in pain as blue flames burned it…

‘Wait a second. Blue flames mean he completely destroyed the evil spirit.’

And the one who did that—was this man right in front of me!

My heart started pounding again, for a totally different reason now.

All the pieces of information in my head came together into one conclusion.

“I heard the story. One of my subordinates secretly called in an exorcist to deal with the evil spirit in this mansion.”

“…”

“You’re an exorcist too, so maybe you saw me in passing.”

The man set down his teacup and leaned back on the sofa.

“I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Lucian von Alexander. I’m also an exorcist like you.”

“Wait, the Lucian von Alexander? The one said to have defeated the most evil spirits in the Empire?”

“I don’t know about that. I don’t have time to count how many I’ve taken down.”

“The duke who can use both attack and defense powers at the same time? That Lucian von Alexander?”

“Well, that part is true.”

So the saying “you never know when something shocking will happen” was really true.

It felt like I’d been hit hard on the head—I was in total shock, mouth wide open.

But Lucian, the man who just dropped this bomb, only shrugged like it was nothing and asked:

“Since you already seem to know more rumors about me than I do, I guess that’s enough introduction.”

I couldn’t believe I was sitting face-to-face with Lucian—the one called a legend among exorcists.

Even though it was happening right now, it still didn’t feel real.

But after seeing his red eyes and that amazing power earlier, it clearly wasn’t a lie.

As I stood there stunned, Lucian gave me a look like he was waiting for me to introduce myself.

“I—I’m Luna Sterie. I’m a support-type exorcist from the Eagle Guild. As you saw earlier, I don’t have much power though.”

“I see. That’s enough for introductions. Then, Miss Sterie, let’s continue what we were talking about.”

Lucian’s red eyes stared straight at me.

The pressure was so strong I swallowed hard and looked away without meaning to.

But he didn’t seem to mind and calmly continued.

“Like I said earlier, I want to hear more details about the child you mentioned.”

There was a rare urgency in Lucian’s voice.

He had said this was more important than anything—and it didn’t sound like a lie.

‘The child must be that girl who helped me.’

To be honest, I also wanted to know what happened to her.

Since I passed out right after, I had no idea what happened next.

“That’s what I wanted to ask you. Where is that girl now? She was definitely lying beside me…”

“Right after hearing what you said, we searched the entire mansion. But the girl was nowhere to be found. To be exact, the only one lying there was you.”

“Only me? That can’t be! I was definitely with a girl who looked about ten years old!”

It wasn’t just that I had seen her.

I had held her hand, and even carried her on my back!

“I’ll say it again. There is no such girl here.”

“That’s impossible…”

Then—was that girl also not a living person?

As that chilling thought hit me, I remembered what the spirits had said earlier.

‘They were definitely talking about a child.’

I think they said her name was Lily.

Then… was the girl who helped me actually that Lily?

All these thoughts came crashing in at once, and I couldn’t think straight.

None of it made sense.

More than anything—why was I suddenly able to see spirits?

‘I’ve never even heard of something like this!’

I was so shocked by everything that I couldn’t speak.

As I was holding my head in confusion…

“You said this in the hallway—there were people who claimed to be spirits there, right?”

“Even if you don’t believe me, I understand. But I swear I…”

“I believe you. That’s why I’m asking.”

Lucian firmly shook his head and continued.

“Even before I dealt with the evil spirit, you were already looking exactly where it was. And when the fire burst out in front of you, you didn’t even flinch. You weren’t using a spirit detector or anything either. From that moment, I had a feeling… that your eyes are different from others.”

“…”

“I didn’t expect you could see not just evil spirits, but also normal ones.”

Lucian said this and clasped his hands together, leaning forward.

As he leaned in, his sharp red eyes looked even clearer.

“This is all I can tell you. So can you now tell me more about that girl?”

“Actually… I don’t know much either. I didn’t really get a chance to ask anything. All I remember is that she was a pretty girl, about as tall as my waist, with black hair. Oh—come to think of it, I think the spirits said her name.”

“What was the name?”

“They said it was Lily.”

“Ha…”

As soon as I answered, Lucian let out a deep sigh and rubbed his tired-looking face.

When our eyes met again, I saw mixed emotions in his gaze.

“Is there anything else you remember? Anything at all? Even something small that you can’t stop thinking about.”

“I’m not sure. I was too busy following them and trying to escape. They said they’d tell me more about Lily, but as soon as I told you about them, they disappeared.”

“…I see. Then I guess finding those spirits is the first step.”

Disappointment showed clearly on Lucian’s face.

He was silent for a moment, then finally spoke again.

“My lady, would you consider making a deal with me?”

“A deal?”

I tilted my head and frowned slightly. Lucian continued.

“Could you find those spirits again and get more information about this girl named Lily?”

“But I don’t even know where they are right now…”

“You can stay here until they appear again—if you’re okay with it. If you give permission, I’ll tell the staff to prepare a room for you right away. I’ll also help track their location. And while you’re not working because of my request, I’ll make sure you’re fully rewarded. Whatever it is, however much you want.”

To be honest, even if he offered me a fortune, I didn’t want to do it.

An evil spirit is what happens when a normal spirit’s deep anger and sadness explode.

In other words, even a peaceful spirit could turn into a monster at any moment.

I knew I should say no to such a crazy request. I knew that—but…

“Why are you going so far just to find out more about that girl?”

Suddenly, I was curious. Why was he so obsessed with this girl named Lily?

“Do you know her?”

At my question, Lucian paused.

For a moment, he clenched his fist so tightly it turned pale, and his face twisted with emotion.

“Um… Duke?”

I carefully called him, worried by his strange reaction.

“I… I committed a sin that Lily can never forgive.”

He answered with a painful expression on his face.