Chapter 33
The aide’s office they entered was dim and gloomy.
“Please, have a seat.”
Without taking his eyes off the parfait box she had brought, he vaguely pointed somewhere.
Because his eyes remained glued to the box, his finger ended up pointing slightly off from the actual sofa. But Elshunaine didn’t mind and simply took a seat.
“Here you go.”
He stared so intently at the box that it looked like drool might drip from his mouth any second.
She quickly handed the box over to him.
“It’s something from the Harwa merchant group. Ahem. I didn’t do much, but thank you for the food.”
Maybe it was thanks to being properly taught table manners as a child—he at least muttered a half-hearted thank you before digging in.
As he happily stuffed the parfait into his mouth with a content expression, Elshunaine casually asked,
“I have something to ask.”
His fatal weakness was food.
More specifically, sweets. Whenever he ate sweets, the usually sharp and sensitive aide turned into a gentle angel.
His mind would grow as wide as the sea and as lofty as the sky, making it seem like his subordinates, who usually trembled at his temper, would bring him sweets every day just to survive.
“Yes, ask away.”
Sweet foods were strictly forbidden in this tribunal.
“Has something happened recently with Duke Haunbert? Ahem. For example…”
She glanced briefly at the cream on Kael’s lips and continued.
“Something that might have caused an uproar among the nobles?”
At that, his expression stiffened.
“Are you… asking me to reveal information about my superior?”
He spoke like he was chewing on rocks.
“To me, Kael, his personal aide?”
Elshunaine simply nodded blankly.
“Yes.”
Then he answered immediately.
“Of course, I’ll tell you.”
“……”
“One cannot get angry in front of Lord Vanilla Parfait. Only honesty is allowed.”
Who would’ve guessed that buying him lots of sweets as a child would create such an adult?
Kael’s hardened face instantly softened into a goofy grin the moment he looked at the vanilla parfait.
‘The reason sweets are forbidden in the tribunal—’
It was because aide Kael became too benevolent, treating friend and foe alike with kindness, even spies.
He began to spill everything, from A to Z, while reverently holding a tiny spoon dripping with cream.
“It’s about something Sir Killian did in the Kingdom of Dyren a few months ago.”
The Kingdom of Dyren?
Elshunaine slowly blinked her green eyes.
‘The Kingdom of Dyren… that was where I activated holy magic…’
She had exhausted the power of spirits to summon Killian—
‘Where are you right now?’
‘Don’t die until I get there. No matter what.’
—when she had been summoned in spirit form to Killian’s side.
“In Dyren? What happened there?”
Kael scooped a large bite of parfait with his tiny spoon, popped it in his mouth, and mumbled as he chewed.
“He let a demon off the hook just to try and find that person. Didn’t even report it to the Holy Sovereign.”
“……”
“Well, it’s a widely known fact among the nobles. If you made even a little effort, you’d probably know too.”
Ah. Elshunaine slightly parted her lips, then closed them again. She already knew that.
In the original story, Killian spent years searching for Arwen, using holy power, magic, and every ounce of strength he could muster.
But when all those efforts failed, he turned his gaze toward the dark powers of the demons.
‘Originally, Arwen returned a year ago, so things wouldn’t have escalated this much.’
Because Arwen’s return was delayed, Killian had spared far more demons than he did in the original timeline.
All to use their power to find Arwen.
‘So that’s what’s causing the problem now. It’s all my fault.’
Elshunaine bit her lower lip gently and sighed inwardly.
If only she had awakened Arwen sooner, Killian wouldn’t have had to keep demons alive so long. He wouldn’t be suffering this damage to his honor now.
“Nom nom. Anyway, that’s why things are a bit tricky now. Although Sir Killian is acting completely unbothered.”
After finishing the parfait, Kael licked his lips in regret and slowly set the spoon down.
“In other words, I, his aide, am extremely busy.”
As soon as he finished the parfait, his face returned to its usual pale and grim self.
“I don’t have time to spare for you anymore. Please leave.”
She couldn’t even utter a protest before she was promptly kicked out of the tribunal.
The black hair he usually brushed back gently fluttered in the breeze today.
His straight forehead and vivid red eyes shimmered under the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees.
‘That insane level of handsomeness never gets old.’
Pale cheeks like a nobleman’s, a sharp jawline,
And softly lowered lashes—
Absolutely perfect.
‘Perfect. Completely perfect.’
The kind of beauty that could represent any male lead in a romance fantasy.
And on top of that, a holy knight bearing the title of “Protector who saved the Empire.” Bathed in sunlight, Killian looked even more divine than usual today. Truly breathtaking.
‘And yet… that kind of guy once sided with demons against the Empire.’
All for Arwen. For her alone.
‘When Arwen, whom Killian wants so badly, returns… I won’t be here anymore.’
Forever.
Throb.
While following behind Killian deeper into the forest, Elshunaine suddenly stopped.
Huh? What was that just now?
She tilted her head.
‘Ugh. Maybe it’s because I basically raised him.’
Feeling oddly strange, Elshunaine lightly dismissed the ache that had stirred inside her chest and shook her head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just a little bug.”
She waved her hand like it was nothing and walked briskly.
As per Killian’s previous suggestion, the two had come to the forest behind the Haunbert estate.
This forest, being part of the grand ducal estate—the only one in the Empire—was commonly called “the Duke’s Forest.”
But Killian and Elshunaine had never referred to it that way.
It was the forest where they first met, where they spent their childhood.
To them, it had no name.
They remembered it through the image of orange sunlight filtering through thick trees,
And the sound of their innocent laughter beneath that light.
That’s what the forest meant to them. There were no words that could properly name such memories.
“Here.”
“…Huh?”
A familiar path through the woods, where it almost felt like you could still hear cheerful laughter.
Killian quietly pointed to one side with his long index finger.
“This is where we first met.”
“Ah.”
‘Fairy of the lake, please grant my wish!’
Elshunaine’s green eyes trembled slightly.
Killian, staring at the small lake, didn’t notice her eyes waver.
“To me back then, it was such a big lake… big enough to swallow me whole.”
Killian chuckled softly.
“I didn’t think it’d be this small.”
“……”
How long had it been since she last came here?
Even after Killian entered the Haunbert family, even after he earned the title of protector and fought against demons…
…even after Elshunaine left him—
Not once did she return.
“Fifteen years… no, even longer,” Killian muttered.
‘Did he really never come back here, even after I disappeared?’
He must have at least considered she might’ve hidden in this forest.
Elshunaine, pretending not to notice Killian’s darkening expression, said cheerfully on purpose,
“So, so this is where we first met, huh?”
‘Maybe he didn’t want to believe I could’ve hidden in a place so dear to us.’
“Yeah. Right here. I thought you were…”
His red eyes slowly scanned the lake’s surface, then finally met her emerald gaze.
“…a fairy.”
The way he softly smiled reminded her so much of the boy from their past.
Unconsciously, Elshunaine took a step back. For some reason, Killian now seemed…
“…If the you who lost—no, erased—her memories were to see the lake where she was born, maybe she really would turn into a fairy.”
He gave a light laugh.
“Well, that’s the silly thought that made me suggest we come here.”
Faced with that radiant smile, Elshunaine hurriedly lowered her eyes.
Killian right now was overwhelmingly dangerous.
This forest filled with their memories,
The lake where they first met,
And that boyish smile—
For someone like her, who had sinned against him,
For someone who would vanish in a year—
It was all just too warm.
‘This is bad. Really bad.’
She wanted to confess everything—where Arwen was—and spend the rest of their days together, treasuring what time was left.
Just like old times.
But she couldn’t.
For his happiness.
‘Because once he finds out where Arwen is, the tragedy will begin.’
So Elshunaine rushed toward the lake and suddenly thrust her hand in.
“Ha ha. So if I stick my hand in here, I’ll just—poof—turn into a fairy?”
She joked while stirring the water—
—And then.
“Elshunaine…!”
A strange voice echoed inside her head.
