Chapter 20
After putting Roziana to sleep, Asterios left the room and summoned the butler, Matthew, and Roziana’s bodyguard, Mari, to his office.
“Did either of you notice anything suspicious before you passed out?”
At both the imperial palace previously and now again at the Grand Duke’s residence, the presence of darkness had appeared whenever Asterios was away—as if it had been waiting to approach Roziana.
“I didn’t even realize I’d lost consciousness until I came to. I deeply apologize, Your Grace,” Matthew said, bowing deeply in shame.
Asterios turned his gaze to Mari, a member of the Grand Duke’s shadow guard.
“It was only for a brief moment, but I felt something so intense it gave me a headache. It was like… my whole body was frozen.”
“Frozen?” Asterios narrowed his eyes. So, it was as he suspected.
“I understand. Mari, stay by the princess’s side. Matthew, prepare for tomorrow’s schedule.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Once the two left and the door shut behind them, a voice echoed in the now-empty office—Nox’s telepathic message.
[Just as you predicted.]
“I see. You confirmed that the one who came to the palace last time wasn’t a ‘Sentinel’, correct?”
Sentinels—creatures made by the Demon King from the power of darkness. They were not human but beings of destruction born in the Demon Realm.
[Yes. Though they were cloaked in dark energy, the intruder was unmistakably human.]
Sentinels were formed from human despair, misery, fear, and desire. They couldn’t exist outside the Demon Realm. So the palace intruder couldn’t have been sent from there.
But this time, the intruders at the Grand Duke’s estate were Sentinels. Nox had seen them with his own eyes—there was no doubt.
And Asterios knew who in the Demon Realm had sent them:
Mephisto.
“He must have sensed Erika’s energy.”
[Most likely.]
Mephisto—virtually the Demon King himself—had noticed Erika’s presence, once lost to the Middle Realm. Wanting to confirm it, he had sent Sentinels.
Erika’s power was irresistible to the rulers of both the Demon and Celestial Realms. So tempting, it had been desired for centuries—perhaps even a thousand years.
“How far along is Henriette’s preparation?”
The late Grand Duke Clouser actually had a real son—Henriette Tenebres. He had been secretly training, waiting for the day he would return to take on the role of young duke. While he lacked the innate power of Black Breath, Asterios could lend him enough power to mimic it.
[His Majesty the Emperor might not be fooled, but the rest will be.]
In truth, Duchess Penelope hadn’t left to search for the Grand Duke’s lost sibling. She had gone, under Asterios’s command, to be with her true son, Henriette.
When the time came, Asterios would contact her and instruct her to return to the estate with Henriette—under the guise of having found the lost young master.
“Good. He’ll need to grow, even if not to full maturity.”
Roziana had defeated the Sentinel, meaning Mephisto would now know she had been reborn. But in her current childlike form, there were limits to how well she could be protected.
Thanks to Edwin giving her part of the broken chalice, she couldn’t fully return to her original form—but she might at least regain the appearance of a young adult.
“Mephisto will show himself without hesitation now. We must be ready.”
[Her Highness’s holy power is also nearing a rampage.]
“Then she’ll grow alongside me.”
Suddenly, a dreadful thought crossed Asterios’s mind, making his heart sink.
‘If I regain my former face… she’ll definitely be shocked.’
If he continued to grow, his face would return to what it had been in the past—the face Roziana associated with her enemy. What kind of expression would she make if she saw him like that again?
Even imagining it made his chest ache.
“I’d better tell Matthew to prepare a mask.”
He muttered to himself and called out to Nox.
“Nox.”
[Yes?]
“Do you happen to know her tastes?”
[You mean Her Highness?]
“Yes. Has she ever mentioned her ideal type or appearance preferences in conversation?”
[Her ideal type…?]
“I mean in conversation—exclude anything you’ve read from her thoughts.”
As curious as he was, Asterios didn’t want to be some creep who read her mind without permission.
[We’ve talked about appearance before. Her Highness admitted she places a lot of importance on looks.]
“Looks? When was this?”
Just who had she been looking at to prompt such a conversation?
‘Could it be…’
He suddenly remembered what Roziana had murmured in bed earlier that day.
“So handsome, really.”
Even after half a day, her voice echoed vividly in his ears.
That had definitely been part of her evaluation of Ijef.
‘Did she fall for his face at first sight?’
If that were true… what then?
“No young men like that around these days.”
Each phrase she’d said echoed through him like little stabs to the heart.
‘She specifically said “young man.”’
Was that the real issue? She was drawn to the youthful, adult appearance of Ijef—even though she herself had lived for centuries.
‘I thought it was too early and put it off, but maybe it’s time to grow again.’
Then another memory surfaced—of something else she had said.
“He’s handsome, and Mari too—don’t you think?”
‘Handsome? She thinks Ijef is handsome??’
Outwardly, Asterios kept a calm, serious expression—but internally, his heart kept freezing and thawing in a loop.
‘…Do I need to change my face?’
He, a man who had lived for a thousand years, was now agonizing over his looks.
He never expected to one day be insecure about his appearance.
While he brooded, Nox finally revealed the moment Roziana had admitted she cared about looks.
[It was when Tower Master Edwin proposed to Her Highness.]
“!”
So Ijef wasn’t the only one she liked the look of?
Asterios’s heart sank again at the unexpected answer.
‘Edwin… and Ijef.’
He seriously recalled both their faces.
‘What do they even look like again…?’
Both had fair skin and delicate features.
But their vibes were completely different.
‘If I had to compare them to animals: Edwin’s like a fox, Ijef like a rabbit?’
Edwin had sharp, striking features. Ijef had a gentle look that stirred protective instincts.
If Roziana liked men with large eyes, Edwin’s didn’t quite match—but Ijef’s round eyes did.
‘Hmm. So she likes pale, slender pretty boys?’
If that was her type, Asterios’s original face didn’t fall too far from it.
But that also meant he had a lot of competition—and little to set himself apart.
“Damn.”
Most priests and mages in the Holy Kingdom were tall, fair-skinned, and attractive.
‘There are way too many guys like that.’
He now regretted letting the Celestials and mages live.
Asterios clicked his tongue and sighed to himself.
“If I’d known this, I should’ve wiped them all out back then.”
[!]
At this rate, once everything was over, he might just have to wipe out every man near her to feel at peace.
Nox, hearing this monologue, flinched in horror.
He knew Asterios never spoke lightly.
And so he couldn’t help but panic.
Because among the many times he’d heard Roziana’s thoughts on people’s looks—she had also once thought about Asterios’s face.
But Nox couldn’t say a word.
Because the moment had been when Asterios was carrying her up thousands of steps to the Grand Duke’s estate—when she was in his arms and her heart had fluttered.
She had confessed it only in her mind—and Asterios had said to exclude her thoughts.
So Nox remained silent, unable to speak the one thing Asterios most wanted to hear.
At the same time, Roziana’s eyelids slowly fluttered open.
She had definitely been overcome with sleep earlier. But with Asterios beside her, she had felt safe, and quickly drifted off.
‘Is it because Asterios is a Tenebres descendant?’
There was an odd sense of calm and a strangely familiar feeling about him. Maybe it was his serious nature despite being young—or maybe his looks and demeanor reminded her of someone.
Someone she had once loved deeply—and therefore hated even more.
“Tch.”
Just the thought of it stirred up inner turmoil, and she shook her head to scatter the memories.
Thanks to using her witch’s power earlier—and Ijef’s healing afterward—she had awoken faster than usual.
And now, the thoughts that had lingered before sleep returned to her mind.
‘Good. I really needed time to think.’
It was time to sort things out.
Ever since she’d become a child, she kept falling asleep whenever she tried to think too deeply. Whether it was the body or rapid growth, she wasn’t sure. But before investigating the oddities around her, Roziana intentionally focused her thoughts on Nox.
‘First, I need to review the contract with Nox…’
She tried to sense his reaction. She wasn’t sure how much of her thoughts reached him, but he always reacted to talk of the “contract.” Yet now, there was no response.
‘So he’s not always awake?’
His presence was faint—like dissipating smoke.
Assuming her thoughts weren’t being read, Roziana let out a sigh of relief and whispered:
“Mana circle.”
Thanks to the witch’s power earlier and Ijef’s treatment, her body felt closer to how it had been in her Erika days.
‘The power layers are so clear now.’
It was like a three-layer cake inside her small four-year-old body—each layer a different colored force.
At the top: the radiant white of divine power. Below that: the golden, writhing force of a dragon. And deepest of all: the dense, heavy purple power she originally possessed as a witch.
‘The divine power is definitely close to a rampage.’
It bubbled and boiled like hot soup.
‘But Ijef’s divine power seems different…’
Ijef had remained conscious even when faced with the Sentinel’s forbidden powers earlier. And she could still feel the witch’s power in her body, stabilized and activated—likely thanks to Ijef’s healing.
After his treatment, not only had her throat healed, but the powers from her Erika days had reawakened and become stable.
Roziana closed her eyes and organized her floating thoughts.
‘Once I return to the imperial palace, I’ll find where Nox is sealed.’
And she would continue observing Ijef’s power.
‘But first…’
Her small lips parted with determination, and her violet eyes gleamed in the darkness.
“I’ll find out who sent the Pa-soo-kun to me.”
