Chapter 108
“You’re… Prince Astrahan, right?”
Lania’s voice trembled faintly as she gripped Erjin’s wrist through the narrow gap in the iron door.
A sigh came from the other side — low and irritated.
But instead of faltering, Lania’s lips curved into a subtle, secret smile.
Even though he now knew her identity, the fact that he hadn’t immediately walked away meant she already held the upper hand.
“Please,” she said softly, “help me. Just once.”
“Help you?”
“Yes. As you can see… I can’t leave this place.”
“You’re being detained?”
Her captor’s cold tone carried a flicker of curiosity.
“Yes. My name is Lania Aymond — second daughter of the Marquis of Aymond. Three years ago, our estate was attacked by unknown assailants. When I woke up…”
Her voice shook. “I was here. In the Astrahan guesthouse basement.”
She swallowed tears, keeping her words minimal. She couldn’t be sure how much Erjin remembered.
‘We’re meeting face-to-face for the first time,’ she thought, ‘but I’ve dealt with him before.’
Yes — she’d once placed him under hypnosis.
Before he left for Black Dragon Castle under imperial orders, she had planted a compulsion deep in his mind: “Kill König Kreutz.”
Controlling a beastman like Astrahan, a predator by nature, had been difficult even for her. She’d had to create an enchanted medium that reinforced the hypnosis periodically.
Of course, that plan had ended in complete failure — the “assassination” had collapsed spectacularly.
***
“Erjin came back alive?! You guaranteed success, and yet you failed at everything! This is why you’re useless — a half-wit, that’s what you are!”
That was the day Erjin had returned alive from Black Dragon Castle.
Lania could still hear Pavel’s furious voice echoing in her ears.
“He must’ve stayed too long at Kreutz, and the hypnosis… weakened.”
“And that’s your excuse?! If he remembers what you did — that I ordered it — everything will fall apart!”
“He won’t remember. If he knew he’d been hypnotized, he would never have come back to the estate.”
She’d said it to calm Pavel’s rage — but in truth, she hadn’t been sure.
Now, when Erjin answered her, his voice was flat and emotionless.
“I see.”
No reaction.
Lania’s shoulders trembled in quiet relief. It seemed he really remembered nothing.
“Yes… h-hic…”
Feigning weakness, she continued her act, tears glimmering in her eyes.
Three years ago, on the night the Aymond family was attacked, she had confirmed every last member was dead — except Muriel. Then she herself had followed Pavel’s subordinate, Lycaon, down to this very basement.
Erjin didn’t need to know that.
In fact, he must not know that she and Pavel were on the same side.
“Pavel Astrahan said he needed my ability for his work,” she said mournfully. “That’s why I’m trapped down here.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie. For three years, she had been imprisoned here, serving him.
She’d hypnotized people who interfered with his dealings — and she had also…
“Your task is to keep the Duke Astrahan from ever waking.”
As ordered, she had ensured Erjin’s father remained barely alive — nothing more than a breathing corpse.
‘Not that it took much effort,’ she thought.
The Duke had already been poisoned long before she arrived.
But of course, that was something Erjin didn’t need to hear.
“I’ve been… treating the Duke,” she said softly.
Erjin gave a cold laugh. “That’s a ridiculous story.”
He didn’t believe her. Naturally. But Lania’s skill lay precisely in making the unbelievable sound real.
“Believe it or not,” she continued, “Pavel said he needed your father alive to claim the title officially.”
“My father’s been in a coma for years. What use would Pavel have for him now?”
“He never told me that part. Only that I should keep the Duke alive. But…” She hesitated. “Something’s been interfering.”
“Interfering?”
His tone sharpened. Lania’s heart leapt.
Through the slightly open door, his handsome face appeared — closer than before.
‘Finally…’
She suppressed a smirk and lowered her lashes demurely.
“There’s… someone getting in the way,” she whispered.
“If you don’t answer properly, I’m leaving,” Erjin warned.
“My… my half-sister,” she murmured. “Someone from my family has been interfering with the treatment.”
“I was told every member of the Aymond family was killed,” Erjin said.
“That’s what I thought too,” she replied quickly. “But I recently heard rumors that my half-sister was seen near Kreutz territory.”
“Your half-sister?”
She nodded, meeting his gaze.
“And why,” Erjin asked coldly, “would your sister interfere with my father’s recovery?”
He was already noticing inconsistencies, but Lania no longer cared.
Because—
‘He’s within range now.’
He had stepped close enough for her magic to work.
***
“Muriel Aymond always envied me,” she whispered. “She must’ve learned that I was here — that I’ve been serving Astrahan — and attacked the Duke out of jealousy.”
Her hand slowly reached through the door and brushed the back of Erjin’s.
He didn’t pull away. He simply stared at her, unreadable.
“I know it’s selfish to ask, but… could you find my sister for me?”
“If I find her,” Erjin asked, “can you really heal my father?”
“Of course. Once she’s gone, I’ll be free to continue his treatment properly.”
“I see.”
Her voice dropped into a silken whisper.
“To save the Duke… Muriel Aymond must disappear. You understand, don’t you?”
A faint pulse spread around her words — the subtle vibration of her hypnotic magic.
It was working. She could feel it take hold.
‘But… something’s off.’
A strange unease prickled in her chest, as if a barrier stood between them.
‘Is he really falling under?’
She narrowed her eyes and studied him carefully.
Then Erjin smiled faintly. “Your voice,” he said softly, “is like a siren’s song.”
“…What?”
Before she could react, he leaned closer. His face came into full view — clear blue eyes like a lake, long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings, features so perfectly drawn they looked painted.
‘So that’s why the noble ladies can’t stop praising him…’ she thought faintly.
And then—
“There’s no need to find Muriel Aymond,” Erjin said suddenly.
“What do you mean?”
“I already know where she is.”
“Where? Tell me, where is she?” Lania’s voice trembled.
Erjin only beckoned her closer.
When she leaned in, their cheeks almost touching, he whispered—
“Why would I ever tell you that?”
The charming smile vanished. His voice dropped to ice.
“You’re… not hypnotized?” she stammered.
Impossible.
Lania shook her head in disbelief. She had never failed before. Not once since coming to Astrahan.
Especially not with Erjin — he had been continually exposed to her enchanted medium for years. He should have been the easiest target.
“Why isn’t it working?!” she cried out, losing control.
Erjin raised one finger to his lips.
“Quiet,” he said calmly. “Now listen.”
His voice had changed — cold enough to freeze bone.
Lania’s lips trembled. Without her hypnosis, a mere squirrel-beast like her had no defense against him.
“If you value the life you barely have left,” Erjin murmured, “stay in this hole and don’t move. If you so much as try to lay a hand on Muriel Aymond again…”
He didn’t finish the sentence — he simply smiled.
It was a dazzling smile, beautiful enough to blind.
But Lania couldn’t breathe.
Because she could feel it — that crushing, suffocating force.
The killing aura of a top predator’s mana, pressing against her throat like a blade.
