EDTATO 21

Chapter 21 

“Hubert?”

When the old butler hurriedly arrived at the café, Ian bombarded him with questions.

Why had Hubert returned when he was supposed to be heading back to the mansion with Heine? What had happened to Heine? And where was Heine now?

Ian concealed his surprise and chose to wait calmly for his answers.

Even that composure was unmistakably Ian Fortenad, heir to the Grand Duke.

Before speaking, Hubert discreetly glanced at the person sitting across from Ian.

The man spending time with his master at the café was Duke Dekiel Biente.

He was Ian’s closest friend and also an excellent nobleman whom Hubert knew well.

Hubert decided that if it was Dekiel, there was no harm in letting him hear the conversation.

It would be best to tell him quickly.

The butler soon began explaining the situation in a quiet voice.

“Lady Heine said she wanted to visit the temple. I was worried because she wouldn’t tell me why, but…”

Strangely, Dekiel was the first to react.

His calm eyebrows lifted slightly with curiosity as he waited with interest for what would come next.

“Lord Phaiden said as soon as he saw Lady Heine that she didn’t look well, and that her examination might take some time.”

At the unwelcome news, Ian’s expression quickly darkened. His face was unmistakably clouded with concern.

Unlike him, Dekiel casually turned his eyes away, pretending not to be paying attention.

His expression was one of quiet contemplation, wondering whether Heine’s supposed illness was genuine or whether something else was hidden beneath it.

“I thought it would be best to tell you immediately, my lord, so I came back.”

The temple where Phaiden served as High Priest was located in the center of the city.

Ian first thanked Hubert for hurrying back, then composed himself and turned to Dekiel.

“I think I should go. I’ll leave first today.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“It concerns your fiancée. Naturally.”

Dekiel generously understood his friend’s circumstances and waved him off.

At his hearty gesture telling Ian to hurry, Ian skipped the usual farewell and quickly left the café.

It would have been nice to have a little more time to talk.

Still disappointed, Dekiel picked up his teacup, which still contained some tea, with perfect elegance.

He savored its aroma for a moment before taking a sip.

The temple.

Why had Heine, that delicate young lady, gone out of her way to visit such a holy yet suspicious place?

His red eyes slowly swept over the empty seat in front of him as he fell into thought.

Eventually, Dekiel set down his cup and rose as well.

There was no reason for him to remain there any longer.

“Just go back to the mansion already. Even if Hubert accompanied you, it’ll be troublesome for both of us if unnecessary rumors start spreading, won’t it?”

Phaiden reminded me of the identities that were nothing more than fabrications for the two of us.

“Heine, you’re my younger brother’s fiancée, and I’m the High Priest of the capital.”

“So what? We could just say I came here to be examined and receive some medicine.”

“Quite a bit of time has already passed. If our conversation goes on too long, our butler, who’s frantic with worry about you, might come looking for you and overhear us.”

“That’s true, but…”

With nothing left to say, I pressed my lips together.

For some reason, the place where Bonier had once been stabbed throbbed painfully.

Seeing that his persuasion was working, Phaiden continued to warn me.

“Just listen to me and behave. I’ll be staying at the mansion for a while, so we’ll have another chance to talk.”

“…All right.”

I obediently stood up and straightened the hem of my dress.

I headed toward the door, but then stopped and turned around.

There was one more thing I wanted to ask.

But how should I phrase it?

“Phaiden, you and Ian…”

I wanted to know how the man who had once been my friend had come to live as Ian’s older brother, as the son of the Grand Duke.

But I couldn’t find the right words.

Perhaps he could see the question forming in my mind, because Phaiden answered straightforwardly.

“Obviously, we’re not biological brothers. I’m an outsider with absolutely nothing to do with this family or this country. You know that better than anyone, don’t you?”

My face twisted at his shameless words.

That man didn’t possess even the slightest trace of guilt.

“If I’m the eldest son of the Grand Duke and the High Priest, wouldn’t it be easier for me to help you?”

Phaiden gestured toward his office and spoke reverently of the temple of Bonasea.

“There are few countries where ancient texts have been preserved as well as they have in Ainz. The records may be old and worn, but if I search through them, I might find a way to kill ‘him.’”

“That’s cruel.”

“As if you’re any better. No, wait. Are you really in a position to say that?”

“I’m not.”

“Think whatever you want, princess. Anyway, behave yourself and wait until the next medicine is ready. Don’t be so anxious.”

Phaiden continued needling me irritably before leaning halfway against the door of his office and lowering his eyes.

“Our situation is pretty pitiful too, isn’t it? Yours and mine.”

His tone was still teasing, but there was a hint of exhaustion in his voice.

Come to think of it, Phaiden was also a victim.

A friend I would have to feel sorry for all my life, dragged into the affair between him and me and forced to live an immortal life.

Perhaps the words I couldn’t bring myself to say aloud had somehow reached him, because Phaiden openly looked displeased.

“Don’t make that face. Teasing you is one of my favorite pastimes, you know?”

He casually shrugged and gave me a crooked smile.

“Thanks to the power you gave me, I’ve achieved most of what I wanted. Who in this world gets to spend decades freely doing whatever they want? I’m grateful for that.”

“You don’t sound very grateful.”

“I mean it. The only thing left is for all of us to become free. Other than that, I’ve achieved everything.”

He spoke so casually of freedom, as though it were some kind of miracle.

I knew it was a wish that could never be fulfilled easily, yet for some reason, there was something about his confidence that made me glimpse hope.

“Hubert should be waiting in the garden. Go on.”

Phaiden saw me off with a gentle smile.

“Come find me whenever you need me.”

“…All right, Phaiden.”

As the door closed, I crushed down the unnecessary doubts rising inside me.

I still didn’t know who ‘he’ was.

But yes. For the time being, I only had to live like this, didn’t I?

I left Phaiden a farewell with my bright-red eyes before heading toward the garden.

Just as Phaiden had said, quite a lot of time had already passed.

The temple was fairly bright thanks to the lights installed throughout it and the flickering candles, yet an inexplicable unease sent a chill down my back.

There’s no way Hubert would have disappeared without saying anything.

Why had he suddenly vanished?

If I waited here, would he come back?

Or had something so urgent happened that he had no choice but to leave me behind?

I was beginning to grow anxious at the old butler’s sudden absence when—

Something sharp suddenly flashed between the blades of grass.

At the same time, it grazed past my face.

A small gust of wind stirred several strands of my hair.

Then, a moment later, my cheek began to burn as though it had been scorched.

Feeling something warm trickling down my face, I instinctively wiped it.

Something sticky coated my hand.

Even beneath the quiet moonlight, there was no mistaking it.

Bright-red blood.

What?

Before I could even comprehend what had happened, something sharp grazed my arm once more.

It was too fast for me to get a proper look, but I thought it was a short sword designed to be thrown.

And then it came flying again.

The third blade tore deeply through a spot where, if my luck had been even slightly worse, it could have pierced straight through my forearm.

“Ah!”

The pain was incomparable to what I had felt on my face, and a scream escaped me.

I hurriedly clutched my right arm and bit my lip, forcing myself to suppress the sound.

I knew that even this pain would disappear after a little while.

It hurts… It hurts so much!

I gripped my arm as though trying to keep it from being torn off, desperately enduring the pain.

Ten seconds passed like ten hours.

Once the pain subsided, I steadied my breathing and slowly lowered my eyes to inspect my injured arm.

My dress was torn, but beneath it, my pale skin had already healed without leaving a single scar, leaving behind only a pain that I alone could feel.

My cheek and arm had already healed before I could even discover who had attacked me.

An immortal body.

If someone saw this, they would realize that I wasn’t an ordinary human.

The moment that thought occurred to me, sadly, my first concern was whether my secret would be discovered.

The thought of someone discovering this monstrous body, still bound to him, frightened me several times more than the possibility of being attacked again.

I can’t let anyone see me like this.

Worried that another attack might follow, and wanting to avoid being wounded again, I clutched my arm, which still retained a faint, tingling pain.

And then I was plunged into despair.

“Heine?”

It was Ian’s voice.

I had no idea why on earth he was here.