Marionette Strings
The laboratory had completely collapsed.
Every research project he had built from childhood to the present lay in ruins. The mana stones were so badly shattered it was difficult to find a single intact piece. All the alchemical tools were either smashed beyond recognition or irreparably damaged.
Damn those bastards.
He wanted to test the implementation of Ancient Alchemy right away, but the proper environment was no longer available.
Canna lodged a fierce protest about the matter.
“You and Orsini are responsible for restoring everything.”
She had stormed into Kallen’s office to demand it.
“Starting with the destroyed laboratory, restore every single broken tool to its original state. And—”
Thud! Canna slammed a stack of documents onto his desk.
“This is an itemized list of the research materials you people destroyed, along with their assessed value. You will compensate me in full.”
Kallen looked down at the documents. Then he read aloud the amount she was demanding.
“Thirty billion gold?”
“That’s right. The things I created are worth at least that much.”
“Thirty billion gold is not a small sum.”
“I’m aware.”
“What do you intend to do with this money?”
Canna frowned. Had Kallen ever asked her such a question before?
“Why are you so obsessed with amassing wealth?” he asked slowly.
“Lucy’s medical fees, the perfume sales revenue… You look like someone desperate to make money.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, you’re the one who offered to give me the perfume proceeds.”
“Didn’t you manipulate the situation so I would say exactly that?”
When he spoke so casually, Canna was inwardly stunned. He had noticed her scheme and still gone along with it?
“Of course I didn’t realize it at the time,” he continued. “But looking back after some time has passed, I see that you always moved in ways that benefited you. It was almost as if…”
The corner of his mouth lifted.
“As if I were a marionette doll.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Canna let out a bored sigh.
“I’m simply receiving fair compensation for my labor. I have no intention of giving away my talent for free.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what exactly do you mean?”
Kallen rose from his seat. He walked over with measured steps and stopped directly in front of her.
“I’m simply curious. What is it that you—”
His words trailed off.
His gaze slid across her cheek and settled on the area beneath her eyes. He continued slowly.
“What exactly do you hope to achieve with that money?”
The corner of his mouth curved upward again.
“I wonder what’s inside that small head of yours.”
A chill raced up from her heels.
An intense sense of unease swept over her, and she took a step back.
As if disappointed by the increased distance, Kallen smiled faintly. He spread both hands open in a show of harmless intent.
“I was merely curious. Please don’t misunderstand.”
What the hell was that just now?
For some reason, Canna felt deeply unsettled. It was… incredibly…
“I’ll give it to you in the form of a check.”
Kallen cut off her thoughts with a firm declaration. He returned to his desk, pulled a white sheet of paper from a drawer, and signed it.
“Write in whatever amount you wish and use it as you please.”
He held the check out to her. Kallen’s eyes crinkled with a smile.
“Here. Take it quickly.”
Canna wanted to slap him across the face.
Instead of pressing her about how she planned to spend the money, he simply handed her a blank check. What a cunning trick.
If she used it, every single purchase—where, when, and what she bought—would go straight into Kallen’s ears.
Should I buy jewels and sell them instead?
That would mean using Raphael.
Kallen was making things unnecessarily complicated. Canna swallowed a curse and snatched the check from his hand.
“Is there anything else you require?”
He asked with impeccable politeness. The courtesy itself felt offensive, so Canna couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Kallen. Have you perhaps forgotten the conversation we had?”
“Conversation?”
“Yes. That we have no relationship whatsoever. That I have no right to be called your sister. Because not a single drop of blood connects us.”
“……”
“Or do you still refuse to believe it?”
Kallen’s smile deepened. For a split second, a strange heat seemed to flicker in his eyes.
“I believe you.”
I believe you completely. He added in a low voice.
Kallen had changed.
In the past, he would have sought her out at every opportunity and asked to spend time together. Now he never approached her first.
Yet occasionally, when she turned around, she would find him standing a few steps away, watching her.
Even when their eyes met, he didn’t look away. He simply stared with obsessive intensity and smiled.
It was strangely unsettling.
Why did he change like this after hearing that we’re not family?
She understood wanting distance, but why was he observing her like prey?
Canna’s nerves grew razor-sharp, but she soon decided to ignore it.
He’s a discarded card anyway. There’s no need to pay him any more attention.
There were far more pressing matters demanding her focus. Once the laboratory was restored, she would begin experiments for her escape.
Canna meticulously crafted an escape scenario.
It was a flawless plan that even Alexandro Addis would be unable to stop.
I’ll need Princess Yoanna for my escape.
From what she had heard, it was Princess Yoanna who had summoned Orsini that day.
And sure enough, ever since then, Yoanna wore an extremely worried expression whenever their eyes met.
Because there were too many eyes around, they hadn’t been able to have a proper conversation.
I need to create an opportunity for the two of us to speak alone.
And above all else, money remained the most critical factor.
Once the massive shield called Addis disappeared from this world, she would be exposed to countless dangers.
That’s why I need to stockpile as much money as possible.
The fortune earned from selling perfume was currently stored in a safe.
The problem was how to smuggle out such an enormous sum.
I’ll have to use Raphael.
Canna tied a handkerchief to the window.
A few hours later, deep in the night, he arrived.
“You really came quickly.”
She had expected him tomorrow at the earliest, yet here he was after only a few hours.
Canna smiled brightly, inwardly impressed.
“Welcome, Raphael. I’ve been waiting.”
“You called for me?”
“Yes. Sit down first. Let’s talk over a cup of tea.”
Once he was seated, Canna began.
“What happened to the jewels I gave you last time?”
“I exchanged them for gold as you instructed.”
“Good. Keep holding onto them for now. And when you leave today, take this with you as well.”
Canna pointed to a chest she had prepared in advance.
“From now on, I’ll give you one every time you come. Store them in a safe place and return them to me when I need them.”
“Understood.”
Canna sipped her tea while observing him.
He looks a little gaunt.
His face seemed slightly thinner, making his jawline even sharper. As a result, his usual decadent aura had intensified to the point that he almost looked dangerous.
“Did something happen? You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine.”
“……”
He had said he was fine, but he hadn’t said nothing had happened. Canna studied him for a moment, then commanded,
“Take off your clothes.”
“……”
“Hurry.”
At her urging, Raphael obeyed without hesitation.
His attire resembled priestly robes—an outer black cassock that reached his ankles, worn over a black shirt and pants.
When he removed the cassock, Canna gave another pointed look.
“The shirt too.”
“Yes.”
Click. Click. One button after another came undone, revealing a perfectly sculpted, bare upper body.
Canna glared at him with clear displeasure.
Wasn’t he obeying far too obediently?
Did he already know what she would ask and simply strip without complaint?
Or is he simply unbothered about undressing in front of me?
Well, he was the same man who had seen her completely naked and hadn’t even raised an eyebrow. He clearly didn’t view her as a woman.
That aside—
I knew it.
Bloody bandages were wrapped around his chest, abdomen, and elbows.
“Did you receive treatment?”
“No.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Canna shot him a glare and patted the spot beside her. He approached without a word and sat down.
She carefully unwound the bandages.
“Good grief…”
She clicked her tongue.
The wounds were deep. The bleeding at the time must have been severe.
At least they hadn’t festered, which meant the disinfection had been done thoroughly.
“It’s a good thing I still had some of the medicine I kept in the bedroom.”
Canna grumbled as she meticulously applied ointment to his injuries.
“How on earth did this happen?”
“The Great Temple sent people after me.”
Claude had been right. It seemed the Great Temple was going to extreme lengths to eliminate Raphael.
“You left the Great Temple at seventeen, right? So for the past twelve years…?”
“Yes.”
“The Great Temple really is something else.”
And Raphael, who had survived all that time, was equally impressive.
“Where do you usually stay?”
“……”
“Why don’t you just stay in this mansion? It would be safe here.”
There was no safer place than the Addis mansion. If Raphael stayed here, he wouldn’t have to worry about attacks from the Great Temple.
“I’m fine.”
“Why?”
“……”
“Wouldn’t living with me be good for you too? It’s safe, and it would be easier to watch over me. I’ll give you the room right next to mine. Nowhere will be safer than here.”
The next moment, Raphael slowly lifted his previously downcast gaze.
And for the first time in a long while, Canna met his purple eyes.
For some reason, her breathing slowed. Their eyes had simply met, yet she felt a crushing pressure as if his hand were wrapped tightly around her throat.
“Is that an order?”
Raphael asked slowly. His voice was as polite as ever. So why did she feel such unease?
“If it is an order, I will obey.”
Several seconds passed before Canna opened her mouth.
“…It’s not an order. I was only asking for your opinion, so do as you wish.”
“Since you have granted me the freedom to refuse, I shall do so.”
He lowered his gaze again. That was the end of it. No further words were exchanged.
“All done. You can put your clothes back on.”
“Thank you.”
Canna watched his long fingers methodically buttoning his shirt and fell into thought.
What was that just now?
He had been perfectly courteous as always, without a single flaw, yet somewhere she had sensed a subtle distortion from his usual demeanor.
Does he actually have a temper?
But even when Juhwa smashed a rock into his head, he hadn’t made a sound. Even when she dumped filthy water on him, he had silently endured it.
Yet he showed his temper over a simple suggestion to live together?
I really can’t figure him out.
Canna escorted Raphael all the way to the door.
“Take care on your way back, Rapha… el.”
Her voice trailed off.
Why was that guy here?
Orsini was leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed. He looked back and forth between Canna and Raphael as they emerged from the bedroom, then let out an incredulous laugh.
“What the hell are you two doing?”
“……”
“What were you doing in the bedroom?”