Chapter 66
“They say it was that woman who found the Ellsia Family Heirloom Ring. Is that true?”
“It is.”
“Veilx must’ve been pretty pissed, huh.”
A deeper smile bloomed on Alex’s lips.
“Look into her more closely.”
“Yes. But…”
“Do you have more to report?”
“It’s your coughing, sir.”
“…Ah.”
“You weren’t well since this morning, but you seem fine now.”
“…That’s true.”
Alex’s eyes slightly widened.
Only then did he realize it himself—the incessant coughing he’d had since morning was now, oddly enough, completely gone.
“……”
His expression as he stared toward the shop where Ceres was changed subtly.
“Was it the tea?”
Letting out a soft laugh, he quietly turned away and left.
The man who had been with him also vanished into the shadows without a sound.
Thud!
“Urgh…”
“What the hell?!”
Not long after, a drunken middle-aged man bumped into Alex while walking down the street.
He immediately grabbed Alex by the collar.
“Watch where you’re going, idiot!”
“You’re right. I should’ve.”
“What? You little—!”
Apparently annoyed by Alex’s calm smile, the man swung a punch.
Just as the fist was about to graze his face, Alex dropped to the ground, stumbling as if he’d been hit.
“Watch where you’re going, dammit!”
“…Sure.”
“Ptooey!”
Thinking he’d successfully punched Alex, the man stumbled away.
Alex, brushing dust off his pants as he got up, had that signature odd smile on his face.
“Of course you should keep your eyes open.”
He stared at the man already disappearing into the distance.
“That’s how you survive longer.”
***
“A monster?”
“Yes. It seems likely it was the work of a monster.”
“In the capital, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Did a Black Forest occur?”
“No.”
Kainel frowned, and his aide Del, who was reporting, tilted his head in confusion as well.
“Everyone’s baffled because no Black Forest appeared, yet a corpse was found that clearly seems to have been attacked by a monster.”
That morning, a corpse had been discovered in an alley. The condition of the body strongly suggested it was the work of a monster.
The issue was, no Black Forest had emerged anywhere near the area.
“They haven’t identified the body yet.”
“A monster…”
Such things do happen occasionally in the Duchy of Persia.
Even without a Black Forest occurrence, monsters living in the Ice Tree Forest sometimes descend and cause trouble.
But a monster in the middle of the capital?
And only one person was harmed, with no one else knowing anything?
“I’m not sure something like this is even possible in the capital. Are we really sure it’s a monster’s doing?”
“Hard to say. The investigation?”
“It’s underway, but there doesn’t seem to be any progress. They haven’t even identified what kind of monster it is.”
Del slid a document forward.
“Because of that, the Imperial Palace has requested assistance. If you could examine the body…”
“What about Ceres?”
“Pardon? Lady Ceres?”
Del cut himself off and pulled the document back.
“I haven’t seen her since lunch. Shall I go look for her?”
“No need.”
“Then… what should we do with this matter—”
Rustle.
“…? Lord Kainel? Where are you going?”
“To find her.”
“Wha—what?”
Find who, sir?
Without further explanation, Kainel left his office. Del could only watch, dumbfounded.
***
“Grace…”
“Alti?”
Eight-year-old Arthia, still shorter than her, walked into the room hugging a pillow tightly.
As usual, Arthia didn’t return to the Tower and ended up sleeping over at the Ellsia Count’s Estate after playing late into the night.
“Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I can’t sleep.”
A short sigh escaped from the young Grace’s mouth.
“That’s why I told you not to read ghost stories.”
“But Kai read it with me too!”
The reason Arthia couldn’t fall asleep was obvious.
Grace let out a chuckle.
“Come here.”
“Okay!”
When she lifted the blanket and patted the empty side of the bed, Arthia beamed and came over.
“Huh?”
Another small figure was hovering by the doorway.
“Kai?”
…I should’ve taken that book away when the two of them were reading it together.
“Come here.”
“I… I didn’t come because I was scared.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just come here.”
“……”
Grace walked over to Kainel, who was hesitating by the door, and took his hand, gently pulling him in.
“Now go to sleep.”
The two children lay down on either side of her.
While Arthia, who had been whining about not being able to sleep, immediately drifted off, Kainel kept fidgeting.
“Sleep now.”
Pat, pat.
At the gentle rhythm of a hand patting his back, Kainel finally began to calm down and slowly fall asleep.
***
A ginkgo tree over 600 years old.
Its golden leaves were so beautifully colored that one couldn’t help but admire it.
Underneath that great ginkgo tree, Ceres lay asleep.
Was she having a good dream?
Seeing her with a faint smile, Kainel let out a small sigh, looking slightly displeased.
“She’s not cold?”
It wasn’t winter yet, but the breeze was quite chilly.
Kainel approached and took off his coat, laying it over her.
Whoosh!
“…!”
His eyes widened. As he was about to set the coat down, Ceres suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her.
Off balance, he fell straight into her arms.
“Let’s sleep… Sleep…”
Pat, pat.
Still drowsy, her voice was barely awake.
She must have felt his presence in her sleep and pulled him close…
“……”
Kainel gazed at her as she dreamily patted his back, her eyes still closed.
Pat, pat.
The tension in his body slowly relaxed.
Pat, pat.
His eyes slowly closed.
Pat…
As if he were sinking into a childhood memory.
***
“How long do I have to stay like this?”
“Could you please stay just a little longer?”
That doesn’t answer the question.
Waking from a nap, Ceres couldn’t help but wonder if she was still dreaming.
‘Why am I hugging this guy?’
What she had wrapped in her arms like a plush toy was none other than Kainel.
‘Why is he even here?’
She sat there blankly for a moment, trying to process the situation, then hurriedly tried to sit up.
But someone quickly stopped her.
“Please wait just a bit longer.”
It was Del, Kainel’s aide.
She had no idea how long he’d been standing there or why he looked so touched, but there he was, vigorously shaking his head with emotion.
Even after thirty minutes of waking up, the situation hadn’t changed.
“It’s been so long.”
“…?”
So long? What has?
Del’s face was full of mixed emotions as he looked at Kainel, who was still fast asleep.
Amazement. Bewilderment. Relief.
‘How long has it been since I’ve seen him sleep this peacefully?’
Del had to doubt his own eyes when he first found Kainel asleep next to Ceres.
What am I even seeing?
Lord Kainel… sleeping? Next to someone else? And so peacefully?
Since Del began serving him, he couldn’t recall a time when Kainel had slept so soundly.
In fact, he hadn’t even seen him get much sleep recently.
Watching the increasing pile of sleep-inducing herbs every day had only added to Del’s own stress.
‘But this…’
What was this?
Del quickly clamped his hands over his mouth, afraid a gasp might escape and wake him.
But even as Ceres spoke to him, Kainel didn’t stir, as if trying to make up for all the sleep he had missed.
Sigh.
Ceres let out a soft sigh and looked at Kainel sleeping quietly beside her.
How long had it been since she’d seen him like this up close?
‘He’s like a lamb when he’s asleep.’
No wonder Arthia once said they should drug him and keep him asleep all the time.
She smiled faintly at the memory—only for Kainel’s eyes to slowly open.
Their eyes met at a distance close enough to hear each other’s breath.
But neither showed embarrassment or awkwardness.
“……”
“……”
They simply stared blankly at each other.
“Are you planning to stay like this forever?”
“…No.”
It was Ceres who finally broke the silence.
—
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