Chapter 79
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Chapter 79
"Oh, it seems reinforcements arrived ahead of us!"
Emperor Orfen was returning to the Assembly Point while dealing with monsters alongside the nobles when he heard someone's voice and paused.
More precisely, he stopped speaking upon witnessing the sight before his eyes.
A massive magic circle unfolded at the Assembly Point, and area-wide magic was cast.
The area magic instantly slaughtered every monster that fell within its range.
It was truly overwhelming power.
'This isn't Hildegard's strength.'
Though Hildegard possessed superior magical prowess compared to her brother, it was impossible for her to cast magic of that magnitude in the current situation.
More than an hour had already passed since the monsters first appeared.
During that time, Hildegard—the only military force among the group of women—must have used magic repeatedly.
It was inconceivable that Hildegard, who had been continuously casting spells, could muster magic of such a massive scale.
'Then who on earth?'
What caught Orfen's eye as he observed the situation was a familiar face he'd seen before.
[He's said to be a Knight of Edelwein. The Duke apparently treasures that commoner woman quite dearly, as he even assigned her a separate escort.]
Lahedis stood at the center of the colossal magic circle.
His appearance overlapped with that of Leopfried.
At the sight of that face—like a nightmare suddenly recalled—Orfen drew in a sharp breath.
A phantom he'd believed he'd completely killed long ago seemed to be strangling his throat once more.
'That child was certainly... dead.'
Orfen turned his body to search for the only person who would know the truth, but Kaltz had already rushed far ahead toward the Assembly Point.
Orfen, whose hands trembled unconsciously as he gazed upon Lahedis, gripped his reins with brutal force.
* * *
The Hunting Festival was ruined.
Utterly and completely ruined.
As evidence, I found myself in the Knight Order Building of the Imperial Palace at this hour, when I should have been at the after-party banquet according to schedule.
Contrary to Allen's boastful promises that he would make me the "Lady of this Hunting Festival."
As for why I'm here...
"Thank you for cooperating with the investigation. You may go now."
Because I was the person who ran around the most at the Hunting Ground today, I became a key witness in this incident and had to give a statement.
Exhausted from the prolonged interrogation, I shot to my feet the moment I was granted permission to leave.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
Hurrying out of the Knight Order Building with thoughts of returning to the Duke's Residence, I spotted a familiar figure at the entrance.
In the darkness, leaning diagonally against the wall...
"Lahedis?"
At my call, the eyelids that had been gently closed lifted, revealing eyes of azure blue.
"That took a while."
Lahedis had also been summoned to the Knight Order for questioning like me, but since he'd arrived late, he didn't have much information, so his investigation ended quickly.
'I thought he would have left by now, several hours ago.'
He must be exhausted, having traveled such a long distance and come to the Hunting Ground without rest.
Seeing his bloodshot eyes, I felt a pang of guilt.
"You don't have to wait for me. Wouldn't it be better to head back and rest first?"
"I have escort duties to fulfill."
Lahedis responded as though it were obvious, then rose to his feet.
"Let's go."
We climbed into the carriage that had been waiting for us.
As the carriage began to move, silence enveloped us, broken only by the occasional sound of wheels rolling against the ground.
That same silence I'd grown accustomed to on the journey home from the Imperial Palace felt strangely uncomfortable today.
'Perhaps it's because of what happened this afternoon... I'm becoming oddly aware of things.'
The large frame that had held me so desperately, the anxious breathing that echoed near my ear, the heartbeat I'd felt so vividly—
The emotions from that moment, which I'd momentarily forgotten during the investigation, came rushing back like a flood tide, shaking me.
I grew afraid of the feelings welling up inside me, more than I could handle on my own.
'Lahedis is simply a friend of a friend, so he was probably just worried because he's grown fond of me over time.'
Even as I thought this, my heart kept racing as I replayed the events of the afternoon.
And so this silence became unbearable.
I was terrified he might hear my heartbeat.
The moment I lifted my head, determined to say something—anything—
My eyes met his cerulean gaze, which had apparently been watching me for some time.
At that same instant, my heart began to race even faster.
Startled, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind to break the silence.
"Um... I can now summon another spirit."
At this unexpected revelation, Lahedis's eyes widened slightly in surprise before narrowing.
"When I encountered a magical beast at the hunting ground earlier, a light spirit suddenly appeared. At this rate, I might become a legendary spiritcaller whose name will echo through history?"
"...Have you told anyone else about this?"
"I haven't. From what I know, only true demons can handle more than one type of spirit, and spiritcallers certainly cannot."
Even during the investigation at the Knight Order, I omitted any mention of the light spirit. It wasn't particularly important information.
And more than anything, I wasn't ashamed of the bloodline my mother had passed down to me, but I hated how people viewed me so narrowly because of it.
At first, I thought nothing of it, but living under such prejudices, I feared I would eventually become ashamed of my own existence.
"With all the complications that come from being a demon hybrid, I didn't want to create more unnecessary troubles for myself."
"You did well. Don't reveal it to others in the future either."
I'd secretly worried whether he too might harbor some aversion to my power, but his expression as he replied was as composed and natural as always.
I hesitated for a moment before asking carefully.
"You don't dislike me for being a demon hybrid? Even if I'm actually an incredibly dangerous demon?"
I know it's a childish question.
This is someone who showed no reaction even when seeing Kamang, and I already know he wouldn't shun me now, and yet—
Still, I needed to hear from him that he was on my side.
Lahedis then narrowed his brows slightly as he looked at me.
"What does that matter?"
His eyes held the look of someone questioning why I would ask such an odd thing.
"Human or demon, you're simply you."
His voice as he spoke was remarkably composed.
As if it truly mattered not at all to him.
That steady gaze, that calm voice—it stirred my heart back to life, a rhythm I'd nearly forgotten.
As I stared at him in a daze, the corners of my mouth began to lift without my consent.
Lahedis leaned his head against my shoulder with a soft thud.
Startled by the sudden contact, I flinched, but his quiet voice held me in place.
"...I'm tired."
The weight settling upon my shoulder, the soft strands of hair tickling the nape of my neck....
'This is... uncomfortable...!'
Though it kept nagging at my awareness and felt awkward, strangely I didn't dislike it.
No, rather... I found myself hoping this discomfort would linger a little longer.
'...I won't be able to sleep.'
After such an exhausting day, I'd expected to collapse into slumber the moment I boarded the carriage.
But sleep seemed unlikely to come.
* * *
Yet Vivian, who'd thought such things, fell into a deep sleep less than five minutes later.
"...."
Feeling Vivian's head pressing down upon his shoulder as she leaned against him, Lahedis let out a hollow laugh and straightened his posture.
As if waiting for exactly that, her head immediately settled back against his shoulder.
In sleep, she appeared so harmless that no one would ever believe she was one of the demon-kind that people feared and despised.
'...No one would ever suspect she's the Demon King's daughter.'
The two spirits Vivian had summoned.
And that familiar aura he'd sensed within the Demon Realm's barrier, forged from the previous Demon King's mana.
That aura bore an uncanny resemblance to Vivian's own mana.
Every piece of evidence aligned perfectly if Vivian truly was the Demon King's daughter.
Judging by her reaction, she herself seemed unaware of the secret of her birth.
[Would you still not hate me, even if I were a demon-blooded hybrid? Even if I were truly a dangerous demon?]
The first emotion Lahedis felt upon considering that possibility was fear.
Fear of losing Vivian.
If Vivian truly was the Demon King's daughter....
'The Emperor would come after this child.'
More precisely, after the heart beating so vibrantly within this small frame.
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