Chapter 68
Katrina pulled away from Sylas and handed him the glass of wine she had brought.
“I saw some wine, so I brought it for you.”
Those golden-yellow eyes fixed on the wine in her hand.
“It’s a peace offering.”
His eyes lingered on the glass, unwavering, scrutinizing it intently.
“You’ll accept it, won’t you?”
The golden eyes finally met Katrina’s.
“…Yeah.”
With that answer, a hot breath escaped his lips.
Sylas took the wine Katrina offered him.
“I was parched anyway. Good timing.”
Come to think of it, beads of sweat were clinging to Sylas’s forehead, as if he were overheated.
He didn’t have them before coming in.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
At last, Sylas raised the glass to his lips.
Katrina didn’t miss a single detail as his Adam’s apple bobbed and the wine slid down his throat.
Finally!
When Sylas emptied the glass, he set it down.
“I should get going now.”
“…I know.”
You were planning to use that relic to keep me from leaving, weren’t you?
I know that now.
“But Katrina.”
“Yes, Sylas?”
“What made you want to reconcile with me?”
So that I could hand you this wine without suspicion.
The wine laced with a sedative.
You’ll start feeling drowsy soon… then collapse.
“You hate me, don’t you?”
Hearing that stirred a whirl of emotions inside her. Her feelings were complicated.
“And what about you, Sylas… do you still love me?”
“…What?”
His face stiffened.
Those golden eyes, so piercing a moment ago, now wavered helplessly at such a simple question.
“I…,”
His voice trembled.
“I…”
Even the tips of his ears were flushing red now.
She didn’t need to hear more to know the answer.
“I…”
But then it happened.
Sylas’s voice began to slow, drastically.
Katrina sensed it immediately.
The drug is finally kicking in.
“No… why… why am I…?”
But the man, whose face was flushed crimson, still hadn’t realized what was happening to him.
He was too busy trying to hide his reddening face.
That’s why he didn’t even notice his body swaying.
Thud.
Only when his body collapsed to the ground did he finally understand what was happening.
His eyes flickered.
Katrina looked down at him with an emotionless expression.
Sylas followed her gaze, then looked at the wine glass he had just emptied.
“You… don’t tell me…”
“That’s right. Exactly what you’re thinking.”
Katrina nudged the relic lying by his feet with the tip of her shoe.
“You…”
Sylas’s expression contorted as he looked at her.
Was he angry that his plan had been ruined?
“…Then what you said earlier… was that a lie?”
The look on Sylas’s face then was something Katrina had not expected.
Given his personality, she thought he’d be furious, raging that she dared deceive him.
But his face was twisted in anguish.
He looked utterly miserable.
Sylas Rockfenheim, do you really have the right to feel miserable?
She wanted to throw those words at him.
After dragging her here, after planning to do such horrific things to her.
“…Was… was that… a lie?”
His words came out broken, haltingly.
Somehow, it felt familiar.
Perhaps because it reminded her of that day three years ago.
The last day before she returned. They’d had a similar conversation back then, too.
“Yes. It was a lie.”
Katrina gave him a faint smile.
“You know I’m good at lying.”
Sylas gave a hollow laugh.
“Then… of course…”
Of course you wouldn’t be kind to me.
His laugh was bitter, drenched in despair.
“Lady Katrina, are you finished?”
It was Samuel’s voice.
“Come in, Samuel.”
At her words, Samuel entered the tent.
Sylas’s eyes widened.
“So he drank it safely. Thank goodness.”
Samuel muttered as he looked at Sylas.
Katrina nodded.
It was time to leave this island.
Once Sylas was completely out, Samuel would carry him on his back.
“Ahh…”
That was when Sylas’s voice rasped, harsh like metal scraping.
“Haha…”
He let out a laugh, as if clinging on.
But that was the end of it.
His body soon collapsed to the ground.
“This drug is supposed to knock out even the largest beasts instantly, but your lover here seems to be tougher than a beast. My apologies, Lady Katrina.”
Samuel, familiar with the drug’s potency, clicked his tongue in disbelief.
He confirmed Sylas was fully unconscious, then hefted him onto his back.
“At last… we’re finally escaping this island…”
His voice was trembling with emotion.
“As you instructed, I even found a former navigator. All that’s left is to board the ship.”
It was truly over.
Katrina and Samuel slipped away from the island with the unconscious Sylas.
Katrina still didn’t know exactly what Sylas intended to do with Madrino’s relic.
Because the paper was torn.
The last part was incomplete, only fragments remained.
But according to Samuel, that crown was known as Madrino’s treasure.
“They say the moment you wear the crown, anyone will obey you without question.”
“Of course, it only lasts about half a day, and once you use it, it takes six months before it works again. That’s why they only use it during the festival.”
Katrina was still puzzled.
How was he planning to use it to keep her from going back?
And then…
“They said that stranger seemed to be looking for something on the island.”
“He even asked where the best place to see the Leo constellation was.”
Did Sylas really ask that? And if so, why?
“Samuel, do you know where on this island Leo is most visible?”
“Yes, I do.”
Samuel’s gaze shifted to the left.
“See that highest mountain on the island? You get the clearest view of Leo from up there.”
There was nothing but a mountain there. Its peak was shrouded in thick mist, nothing particularly special about it.
Just as they were about to board the ship safely, Samuel suddenly spoke as if something occurred to him.
“Oh, but that mountain does have something unusual about it.”
“Something unusual?”
“Yes. It’s that…”
At that moment—
Flaaash—
The sky suddenly lit up bright.
Countless shooting stars poured down from the heavens.
“This happens every year during the festival. Quite an extraordinary phenomenon, isn’t it?”
That’s when Katrina finally understood the unease that had been gnawing at her.
No… it can’t be…
“They say there’s a relic embedded in the cliff rocks there.”
No…
“And that’s why the meteor shower happens like this around this time every year…”
Suddenly, Samuel’s words cut off.
“…Samuel?”
Something felt off, so Katrina turned around.
Thud.
Samuel collapsed right before her eyes.
And behind him stood—
A red-haired man, grinning like a demon.
