Chapter : 29
When her cold palm touched my face, my mind felt like it cleared—at least a little.
I had thought it was strange that Blair’s workplace, which used to be the United Allied Bank, had suddenly changed to the Imperial Palace this time around…
“Ren, you’re really strange. It’s not just that you’ve changed—it feels like you’ve become a completely different person.”
It was a blessing in disguise that my face was covered at that moment.
If we’d been making eye contact, she would have seen my expression exactly as it was.
In a voice cooled to the bone, I replied to Blair.
“What do you mean, a different person? Are you copying my nonsense now too?”
“It’s because you’ve changed too much.”
“I changed my personality, not my entire existence.”
Even after I said that, Blair kept scanning me with anxious eyes.
She looked like she was staring at some kind of foreign object.
When really, I should have been the one looking at her that way.
“What. You think I’ve gone crazy?”
“Why do you keep talking like that? I’m just… worried something might have happened to you.”
“Fine. Then do you need proof that I’m really Kalsiren?”
“What? Proof? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Of course, I didn’t even register Blair’s response.
Because I was the one who needed proof.
“Was it when I was sixteen and you were eighteen?”
“?”
When I suddenly dragged up the past, tension flickered across Blair’s eyes.
“I stole Jen—your escort knight—and you got angry and stole my private tutor, Young Master Razels. I did it in your dressing room, and you did it in our greenhouse.”
“Gasp—!”
Only then did Blair realize what I was about to say and sharply sucked in a breath.
“Ah—mm!”
Her face turned pale as she waved both hands frantically, clamping her lips shut as tightly as she could—begging me, without words, to stop talking so the men outside the door wouldn’t hear.
“At the masquerade ball the following year, we almost ended up sharing the Fifth Prince’s twin knights. First on the balcony of Mushroom Villa, then in an empty room in your mansion. You kicked me out ‘for the sake of our honor,’ remember?”
“Reeen! Mmm—yes! That’s right! It’s you, Ren! My little sister!”
Little sister, my ass.
Blair panicked, but I ignored her and raised my voice even louder.
“That was just a convenient excuse! You wanted both of them—!”
“Alright! I get it! I won’t say you’re talking nonsense anymore!”
Blair slapped her palm over my lips.
How dare she.
I scowled and sharply smacked her hand away.
Smack! The sound rang out, and Blair clutched the back of her hand, glaring at me.
“Haa… Fine, fine. I get it. Your personality hasn’t changed at all. Lucky you. Still exactly the same.”
Whether she was mocking me or not, I fixed my eyes on her with a face like my world had collapsed, carefully watching to see if the men outside had heard anything.
She was definitely the Blair I knew.
Hayden, too, was the Hayden I remembered.
‘But this is a different world?’
That couldn’t be true.
Then what about my family—the ones left behind in that world?
As I stood there, breathing hard, Blair held out a glass of water to me.
“Alright. I won’t talk anymore, so eat first. I should be the one crying—why do you look like you’re about to burst into tears?”
“The food tastes bad.”
“You haven’t even taken a bite.”
After that, no matter what Blair said, I just nodded vaguely and finished my meal as quickly as possible. I couldn’t remember what I ate, or what it tasted like.
The moment the meal ended, I practically flew back to Kayan Knight.
***
“Hayden!”
When I burst into the purification chamber, Hayden—who had just been getting up—frowned and scolded me.
“Lady Sieren. You insist on calling me ‘Sir’ properly every time, yet lately you’ve been rather casual about using my name.”
Since it was just past lunchtime, he was the only one inside.
That was fortunate—but I didn’t have the luxury of relief.
I hurried toward him, and when he saw my complexion, his expression softened slightly.
“What happened?”
Hayden reached for my shoulder, but I stretched out both hands and caught his instead.
My hands were ice-cold.
Hayden’s, by contrast, were almost hot with warmth.
“Hayden.”
“…Yes, my lady.”
Even after calling him, my mouth refused to open easily.
Are you really the person I knew?
Damn it. I couldn’t possibly ask that outright.
But encouraged by the look in his eyes—telling me to speak—I carefully opened my mouth.
“You are… you, right?”
“?”
I still couldn’t ask the question I wanted.
Asking Hayden if he was really Hayden—he’d think I was insane.
“So… um…”
As I mumbled like I had candy stuck in my mouth, Hayden leaned closer to listen.
“Ah! The Holy Light spell—didn’t you create that on your own when you were ten?”
“……”
For a long time, many people—including myself—suspected that spell was at least half the work of Hayden’s master, Shama. It was far too advanced for a child to have created alone.
But after learning magic directly from him, I had no choice but to admit it was entirely his own skill.
“You believe that spell was mine?”
“Of course.”
At my confident answer, the tension left Hayden’s lips.
He seemed genuinely pleased that I acknowledged his ability.
As if a dam had burst, words poured out of me as I tried to confirm him.
“Even before we met, you donated ten tools each to three academies—all tools you made yourself… and you gave five to my master as gifts. Because you needed people, but no one wanted to work under you. That’s right too… isn’t it?”
My lips felt unbearably heavy, and I was afraid to hear his answer—but I couldn’t stop.
After listening to everything I said, Hayden nodded firmly.
“And ever since then, you’ve been sending three tools every year to the academies and my master… as payment for sending me to you.”
“……”
“Is that right?”
“It is.”
I let go of Hayden’s hand and stepped closer, gripping his elbow tightly as if he might run away.
Hayden’s eyes slowly narrowed.
Pressed back, he was already leaning against his desk.
“We first met three years ago, right?”
“…That was when we first met.”
“I always acted unpleasant, so you hated me, right?”
Hayden seemed to consider it, then shook his head.
“I don’t hate you that much.”
No—no, no, no.
Even he had changed.
As despair washed over me, Hayden tilted his head.
“Is something wrong?”
Of course something was wrong.
At this point in time, Hayden didn’t just dislike me—he despised me.
But I couldn’t bring myself to shout that. I lowered my head and muttered instead.
“Why are you asking me that…?”
“My lady. This conversation has been strange for a while now. I would like some kind of explanation.”
“…I’ve always treated you terribly.”
“……”
“I excluded you in front of others, delayed my work and dumped it on you, ran away with excuses whenever you called.”
“My lady, that isn’t what I was asking—”
“I even promised to attend banquets with you, then deliberately stood you up.”
“……”
That one must have hurt his pride the most—Hayden irritably raked his fingers through his bangs.
Seeing his face twist, I felt a strange sense of relief and kept listing my sins.
Hate me again. Despise me!
“I brought my friends and insulted your master and your background right in front of you—ghk…!”
The moment I said Shama’s name, a thick vein bulged on Hayden’s forehead.
He roughly clamped his hand over my mouth.
“Enough. From the look of it, you’re pretending to confess just to start a fight after a long time.”
“Mmgh…!”
“You don’t need to talk like this for me to know that you feel guilty toward me.”
“That’s n—!”
“Do I really need to keep listening to this?”
When I shook my head with tear-filled eyes, Hayden’s pupils burned bright yellow.
Hot, like sparks just catching fire.
“Damn it… This is really a mess.”
He muttered a small curse and let out a low sigh.
Even as I was being spoken to so harshly, I couldn’t argue back this time.
Because even to me, I looked completely ruined.
Pressing a warning finger lightly to my lips, Hayden slowly released his hand.
“I’m sorr—”
“Is my lipstick smudged?”
“…A little.”
“Honestly, I told you to let go. Why would you rub my lips like that?”
I quickly pulled a handkerchief from my bag and wiped around my mouth.
“Do you want to wipe too?”
Snatching the handkerchief from me, Hayden scrubbed his palm fiercely with a disgusted look.
After only a few swipes, he folded it neatly and handed it back.
“Should I hate you?”
“What?”
“For what reason?”
