Episode 13
Elisha walked upstairs, heading to where Lucian would be.
“Lucian? Are you inside…?”
She stepped into the room… and quickly stepped back out.
Lucian, who had his shirt half-unbuttoned, looked at her.
“I’m sorry! The door was open. I didn’t know you were changing. I didn’t see anything!”
She turned away quickly, but Lucian grabbed her arm.
Then, with a mischievous smile he hadn’t shown in a while, he said,
“You can look all you want.”
“…What?”
Caught in his grip, Elisha ended up looking straight at him.
She forced herself to keep her eyes on his face.
Her cheeks were burning.
“Lucian, you… you shouldn’t say things like that.”
Her eyes were probably shaking like willow branches.
Lucian finally let go of her.
“I’m kidding. I’m already dressed.”
He had buttoned up his shirt and waved at her as if to prove it.
Freed, Elisha quickly pressed her hands to her red cheeks.
‘It’s not that red… right?’
She was so embarrassed she couldn’t look at him properly.
Her first love still wasn’t over.
A one-sided love, all hers.
‘I like you.’
Since that rainy day in our hometown, the day you held my hand, I’ve liked you.
Even if you don’t feel the same.
She swallowed the words she couldn’t say aloud.
“Elisha, your face is red.”
“Uh… is it?”
“Do you have a fever?”
Lucian placed his hand on her forehead.
His big hand covered her forehead gently.
As she felt his kind but casual touch, Elisha thought of Jacqueline.
‘El didn’t know Jacqueline liked her.’
The person who is loved can never fully understand one-sided love.
Just like El didn’t know how Jacqueline felt, Lucian didn’t know Elisha’s feelings either.
Thinking that made her suddenly want to ask him something.
“Lucian… what kind of person do you like?”
It obviously wasn’t her.
Still, she was curious. She had never seen Lucian like anyone before.
“Why do you ask all of a sudden?”
Lucian raised one eyebrow, then smiled and answered easily.
“Someone with a pretty smile.”
It was a vague answer.
She wondered what that meant—and then suddenly, El’s memory came back to her.
—
“Smile brightly. You look better that way.”
Lucian had said that to El.
The red glow of the sunset surrounded them as El smiled.
“You would think so, of course.”
She laughed out loud—brightly, beautifully.
‘Oh…’
Elisha blinked dumbly.
Lucian had fought the Demon King with El, so of course they would’ve talked. It was natural.
But even knowing that, her heart sank.
Now she understood why Jacqueline’s confession made her feel so unsettled.
In the dream, everyone loved the heroine.
They all fell in love with her.
Jacqueline did.
And maybe… she feared Lucian was one of them too.
She was afraid Lucian had fallen in love with El—the girl who deserved to be loved.
Maybe someone like him, who said he could never love, had made an exception just for her.
It was ugly jealousy.
The next morning
“I feel… awful…”
Jacqueline stretched and groaned as she sat at the breakfast table.
The last thing she remembered was clinking glasses with Lissandra before she passed out.
‘Did Elisha try to talk to me then?’
She wasn’t sure.
The only thing she remembered clearly was a short dream.
El was in it.
It happened during their journey to find traces of the Demon King.
—
“You’re kind, Jacqueline.”
El smiled warmly, more kindly than anyone else ever had.
“You’ll do well. Whatever happens.”
“…But I might mess up.”
“You won’t. No matter what comes.”
El stood up, brushing off her dress.
“Let’s live fully with no regrets. Both of us.”
Jacqueline couldn’t remember the full conversation, but she remembered one thing.
She had wondered, Will I regret it if I confess? Or if I don’t?
In the end, she didn’t confess. And now she regretted it.
“Haa…”
Jacqueline let out a long sigh.
The three years she spent with El left her with a heartbreaking one-sided love.
Just then, Elisha entered the dining room, walking slowly.
“Good morning, Jacqueline…”
She waved weakly.
For some reason, Elisha looked more tired than usual.
Even someone as oblivious as Jacqueline could tell.
Jacqueline glanced at her.
“Did something happen?”
“Huh? No, I just went to bed late.”
Elisha waved her hand like it was nothing.
She had stayed up late, after all, with all the drinking and talking.
When Elisha smiled, her already soft expression looked even gentler.
‘She really doesn’t look like El.’
Jacqueline made a quick mental note.
El and Elisha had the same face.
But they didn’t seem like the same person at all.
El showed emotions clearly and always smiled brightly.
Elisha, on the other hand, usually had a calm, subtle expression.
They both smiled often—but Elisha’s smile was soft and quiet, different from El’s.
If you lined them up, people would just think they were twins, not a doppelgänger and a real person.
That made Jacqueline feel like there was no point in running away from the familiar face.
Jacqueline watched Elisha take a seat across from her.
“Well… I’m glad nothing’s wrong.”
Two emotions tangled inside her as she looked at Elisha.
One was guilt.
Guilt over giving her heart to El while she was using Elisha’s body… as Elisha’s friend.
It was probably what all of El’s friends felt.
The other emotion… was sadness.
Elisha being here meant that El was gone.
‘I miss El.’
As Jacqueline’s expression grew complicated, Heraith entered the room.
“I’m the last one? Good morning, you two.”
He yawned and sat down, looking around.
“Where’s Lissandra?”
“She left at dawn. She had to go to the palace today.”
Elisha answered quickly.
Lucian had also disappeared early in the morning. Since she was the only one who saw Lissandra leave, she felt she had to answer.
“As for Lucian… well, no need to ask. Let’s eat!”
Heraith clapped his hands.
The servants quickly brought food to the table. Since they were still staying in their old house, the food matched their tastes perfectly.
“Seems like there’s some chaos in the royal family lately. Probably because of the fight for the throne.”
Heraith started talking again, like usual.
He was always the most talkative one in the group.
While he chatted, Elisha suddenly interrupted.
“Is Princess First trying to get Lissandra on her side because of the succession fight?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“Will Lissandra support her?”
“Seems like it.”
Heraith answered kindly, then widened his eyes.
“But wait… how did you know that?”
This was about the royal family—and the throne at that.
Elisha had no royal connections, so how could she know?
Looking confused, Heraith stared at her.
Elisha laughed awkwardly.
“I just guessed, reading the news and things like that.”
The truth was, she had seen it in El’s memory that morning while greeting Lissandra.
But Heraith didn’t know that. So he could only be amazed.
“Wow. That’s impressive.”
Guessing royal family secrets just from public information? That was amazing.
But then again, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
‘Elisha always was sharp.’
Satisfied with his own explanation, Heraith dropped the subject.
The breakfast shared by the three old friends for the first time in three years went peacefully.
Aside from Jacqueline occasionally staring blankly at Elisha.
When the meal was nearly over, Heraith put down his knife.
“We’re leaving today too. I’ll come visit again, Elisha.”
Elisha blinked.
It sounded like the two of them had a shared mission.
“Where are you going?”
“The last territory in the North.”
Jacqueline answered bluntly, unable to meet Elisha’s eyes.
Heraith added more details.
“It’s the place where the Demon King’s fortress was last found. I’m going on a temple mission to purify the dark magic.”
He pointed at Jacqueline.
“And he’s going on the palace’s orders to study the monsters.”
The last territory.
Elisha had read about that place in Heraith’s records.
It was where the Demon King had hidden last.
Even though he was gone, his magic still haunted the area.
Elisha looked straight at Heraith.
“Can I come with you?”
“Huh?”
“I feel like if I see the place myself… it’ll finally feel real that the Demon King is gone.”
She quickly added a reason.
Heraith looked at Jacqueline.
The two men exchanged a quick look.
Then Heraith smiled widely and nodded.
“Of course. A summoner is always welcome in the last territory.”
