Chapter 31
“You, I heard you attended the last imperial meeting?”
“Yeah.”
“Then you must have seen the Duke of Persia too?”
“…I did.”
“What was he like?”
“Don’t even bring it up. I don’t even want to think about it.”
The mercenary’s face twisted as he spooned up his stew.
Even just recalling the imperial meeting he had attended alongside the Guild Leader made him shudder. He quietly set down the spoon he was holding onto the table.
“Why?”
“It’s the first time in my life I ever felt sorry for nobles.”
“What?”
‘Your Majesty, that’s too excessive a demand…!’
Bang!
‘Huh?!’
‘Sorry. My foot slipped. Go on.’
‘Th-That…’
‘Keep going. Don’t drag this out any longer. The meeting is already 20 minutes longer than the first day, but you still have more to say, don’t you?’
‘…No. I have nothing more to say.’
“His gaze alone could kill people.”
“That bad?”
“Our Guild Leader couldn’t even utter a word.”
“Your Guild Leader never talks much in meetings anyway, always watching the nobles’ reactions.”
“Shut up, damn it….”
“So? How did he look? I heard he’s incredibly handsome?”
“I don’t know. He was gaunt.”
“Is his hair really white? Rumor has it that if you get close to him, your whole body freezes solid. They say the northern region is so cold because of his magic.”
“I don’t know. But his hair was definitely white.”
Ding.
“There wasn’t a trace of any other color. His eyes were strange too, silver-colored? Oh, just like…?”
The mercenary, recalling the face of the Duke of Persia from that day, suddenly snapped his fingers when he spotted someone entering through the door.
It was someone who looked exactly like the Duke of Persia, heading straight toward their direction.
“Huh?”
…What’s this? Isn’t the resemblance uncanny?
That white hair…
The mercenary’s jaw slowly dropped as the figure approached.
Step. Step.
“Huh… Huh…?! H-Huh?!”
The mercenary’s widening eyes finally erupted into a horrified scream.
That wasn’t just someone who looked like the Duke of Persia—it was the real Duke of Persia!
“Pfft!”
“Ugh! Cough, cough!”
The others who saw him reacted similarly.
‘What the…?’
‘Why is that person here?’
Eyes filled with a mixture of shock and curiosity all turned toward him.
Even those standing in line outside the shop reacted no differently.
Instead of stopping him from cutting the line to enter, they crowded by the windows to sneak a glance at the Duke of Persia.
“…….”
The man’s gaze swept slowly across the room, seemingly searching for an empty seat, before pausing at the mercenary who had first noticed him.
‘W-What?’
Why is he looking at me?
The Duke of Persia—Kainel’s—piercing gaze made the mercenary gulp nervously.
Could he possibly remember him from the imperial meeting?
But he hadn’t done anything particularly noticeable that day…
“Ahem.”
Cough, cough!
Kainel didn’t look away as the mercenaries had hoped. Instead, he folded his arms and stood motionless, making the two mercenaries eventually set down their spoons.
“Ch-Check, please!”
“W-We’re done eating!”
Practically throwing down their payment, the two mercenaries hurriedly left, leaving a third of their stew untouched.
Swish.
As though it were the most natural thing in the world, Kainel smoothly took their vacated spot and sat down.
“…….”
He crossed his legs comfortably, as if he were sitting in his private office, and glanced around the room.
“Ch-Check, please!”
“Me too!”
“Oh no, I forgot I had an urgent appointment.”
“That appointment! I have the same one, don’t I? Let’s go together!”
Anyone who met his gaze quickly got up and fled the shop.
“Hey, why are we running away?”
“Shut up! Do you think you’d be able to eat with that fearsome man in the same room?”
“Ugh… I haven’t even eaten half of it yet!”
“I heard that man has a terrible temper. If he gets annoyed, he might just slit your throat on the spot. Just shut up and run.”
“Ugh, I’m still hungover! I need to eat this to fully recover….”
“Seriously! If you don’t want to freeze to death, just get out of here!”
The people outside the shop felt the same way.
Even though seats opened up inside, no one dared to enter.
Everyone suddenly seemed to have pressing errands to attend to, hurriedly leaving the area. After all, they just wanted to eat in a peaceful atmosphere.
“Huh…?”
Left with an empty shop filled with half-eaten bowls, Jay, the maid of the Drow Baron Family, couldn’t hide her confusion.
What in the world is going on? Why is everyone acting like this?
“Order.”
A low yet clear voice rang out.
“Ah, yes!”
Jay quickly approached Kainel, the only one seated.
“One stew.”
“Understood. Please wait just a moment.”
Not understanding the situation, Jay still maintained her usual kind smile as she took the order.
“Jay? What’s going on…?”
Jay wasn’t the only one who sensed something unusual.
Noticing the sudden silence in the shop, Ceres stepped out of the kitchen and tilted her head at the sight of the empty space.
Where did everyone go?
“Ah….”
Then, her eyes widened when she spotted someone sitting calmly in the center of the shop.
‘Kai…nel?’
It’s really… Kainel?
‘Wow….’
How long has it been since I’ve seen him?
For her, it felt like only a short time since she died, but in reality, 300 years had passed.
Ceres reflexively tried to smile in delight but stopped herself.
Even the step she was about to take forward came to an abrupt halt.
‘…He wouldn’t recognize me, would he?’
It would be strange if he did, wouldn’t it?
Ceres barely swallowed the long sigh that threatened to escape.
How have you been?
Why did you stay hidden in the duchy for so long?
What on earth happened to you?
There were so many things she wanted to ask, but now none of it could be voiced.
‘He’s not just anyone else….’
Even though Kainel was standing right before her.
‘Why does he look so thin?’
Is he still not eating properly?
Recalling how picky of an eater he had been as a child, Ceres shook her head slightly.
‘But why is he here?’
Kainel, sitting with an air of elegance in this shabby shop, looked oddly out of place yet strangely fitting.
“…….”
As if sensing her gaze, his indifferent eyes swept the shop before landing on her.
Those same silvery eyes still sparkled beautifully.
‘Kai, if you die before me one day, can I have your eyes?’
‘Because my eyes are pretty?’
‘Yep! Give me your eyeballs.’
‘Sure. I’ll give you both.’
‘…Hey, you two! Stop talking about things like that so casually!’
‘Alti, should I take your eyes too?’
‘Ack! No! I don’t need you coveting my eyes!’
‘Alti was so freaked out, wasn’t he?’
It had only been a half-joking remark, but who would’ve thought it’d scare him that much?
Ceres’s lips curled into a faint smile as she recalled their childhood.
At the same time, she realized one thing.
‘Ah.’
That guy is annoyed right now.
As if Kainel didn’t like the sight of her smiling to herself, one of his eyebrows subtly twitched before settling back into place.
Realizing this, Ceres quickly erased her smile from her face.
His prickly personality hadn’t changed at all.
“Ceres, the customers….”
“Yeah.”
Understanding the situation to some extent, Ceres nodded at Jay, who approached her with a troubled expression.
‘They all have good instincts.’
The mercenaries, that is. Having survived countless life-or-death situations, they had an almost animalistic instinct to avoid danger.
They simply didn’t want to eat in the same space as a human who felt like the apex predator.
“What about him… No, that customer?”
“He ordered stew.”
“Really?”
Ceres’s gaze naturally drifted back to Kainel.
It was true that he used to enjoy the stew she made.
‘How did he even know to come here?’
She found it curious. Could he have come because of rumors?
‘But he’s not the type to deliberately seek out places like this for food….’
“Do you have something to say?”
Kainel spoke with a slight smirk, his lips curving upward.
But Ceres knew very well that the smile was far from friendly.
When he was in a bad mood, he always smiled like that.
It was clear he didn’t like her silently staring at him.
—
Please rate this series at novelupdates.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment