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Chapter 41
"...."
What on earth was he thinking, living his life this way?
Chesa ‌‌wasn't exactly normal either, but Kieran was the real deal.
Trespassing into the Imperial Palace Garden without permission just to show flowers ‌‌‌to a baby—it was absurd.
I couldn't fathom what he thought of the Imperial Court of the Palen Empire to conduct himself in such a manner.
'...That old pig of ‌‌‌a man.'
The words Kieran had used to refer to the Emperor came back to me belatedly.
Once I recalled that, everything seemed to make ‌‌sense.
Chesa set everything aside and gazed upon the rose garden with a ‌‌‌peaceful heart.
Kieran casually explained the reason why trespassing into the Imperial Palace Garden ‌‌was acceptable.
"It's the ‌‌‌‌Secondary Palace, and it's empty right now. You can look around freely."
He said this as he set Chesa down before the pink rose bushes.
"You like flowers, after all."
That was true.
While I loved all flowers, roses were what Chesa particularly adored.
Chesa drew in a deep breath.
The fragrance of the flowers lifted my sagging spirits in an instant.
The rose garden under the moonlight was so fantastically beautiful that my heart ‌‌melted into softness. ‌‌
I began to understand why Kieran ‌‌‌would go so far as to trespass into someone else's garden.
'If a ‌‌place like this existed, I'd want to trespass too.'
While Chesa inhaled the rose's ‌‌fragrance with a soft sigh, Kieran plucked a single bloom.
It was a rose with delicate pale pink petals arranged in a perfect circle.
Kieran held the flower up to Chesa, gauging its size.
The bloom was small enough to be perfectly proportioned for Chesa.
After confirming the rose's size, Kieran crouched down before Chesa.
Squatting, he began ‌‌‌plucking the thorns away with his bare hands, one by one.
The way he worked was precarious.
I thought ‌he'd hurt himself, and sure enough, the thorns scraped his skin.
Blood quickly beaded red on his index finger.
"Oh...!"
Chesa was startled, and Kieran laughed, licking at ‌‌the scratch on his finger.
"Surprised? It's fine. Doesn't hurt at all."
He seemed sincere enough that I stopped worrying.
Then Kieran grumbled.
"Still, you should show concern. That's what a dad does—you ‌‌should do things like this for me, Chesa."
"...."
Just one more thing. Just one.
Chesa indulged ‌‌‌‌him despite her exasperation, doing as he wished.
"Should I blow on it for you?"
"Mm."
The answer came as ‌if he'd been waiting for it.
Kieran had already stopped the bleeding and thrust the wound—now marked only by a ‌‌‌faint pink line—toward Chesa.
I felt the urge to bite it, but instead I obediently blew on it gently.
Pursing my lips and blowing steadily, the crybaby laughed with delight.
Seeing this, it was truly identical to what the Twins would do.
'How old is he to be so childish.'
Chesa clicked her tongue inwardly with exasperation.
Yet for some reason, she too threw herself wholeheartedly into completing the 'blow on the wound' task.
After receiving treatment from Chesa, Kieran returned to trimming the rose thorns with renewed focus.
Though he'd pricked his finger, Kieran seemed quite practiced at flower arrangement.
It appeared he'd trimmed ‌‌‌‌flowers and gifted them to someone before.
Even as he trimmed quite skillfully, something about the result displeased ‌‌‌him.
He twisted off a leaf and muttered softly.
"It's been so ‌‌‌‌long, I'm out of practice...."
He trimmed the leaves, removed each thorn individually, and finally swept his hand along the stem to check for any remaining rough edges he'd missed.
After checking meticulously two or three times, Chesa adorned her short hair ribbon with the rose.
He smiled with satisfaction.
"It's beautiful."
"Thank you."
The moon that had been brightly illuminating the Garden was now half-obscured by clouds.
The once-bright surroundings grew somewhat darker.
Chesa gazed at his deeply shadowed face.
Kieran slowly closed and ‌opened his eyes.
"Were you sulking because your older brother scolded you?"
"...."
"But you deserve to be scolded for going to dangerous places."
He released a long sigh.
"I wish you wouldn't go to such ‌‌places, Chesa. There are many bad people there." ‌‌‌
This seemed like the perfect moment to probe the connection between the Underworld and House of Basilian.
"What about ‌Father?"
"Mm?"
Chesa tilted her head and asked as if ‌‌‌‌she knew nothing.
"Does Father go there too?"
"Where."
"The Underworld."
He pondered briefly due to Chesa's short pronunciation, ‌then asked for confirmation.
"...The Underworld?"
"Yes!"
Kieran ‌‌‌‌rested his arm on his bent knee.
I propped my chin on one hand and smiled with my eyes.
"Why would you even be curious about that?"
He was indeed not an easy opponent to deal with.
Chesa delivered ‌the line she had ‌‌‌prepared in advance.
"My older brothers are going too."
She paused for a moment, then spoke again, her voice heavy with disappointment.
"Everyone's going except Chesa."
"They have to go. Father does, and my older brothers do too."
"But why...?"
Kieran let out an awkward laugh.
As he hesitated before her, unable to answer readily, Chesa let her shoulders droop dramatically.
"It's fine if you don't tell me."
And she murmured pitifully.
"Because I'm ‌‌not a Basilian anyway."
"Oh, Chesa."
Kieran seemed somewhat taken aback.
Chesa was equally surprised.
She had meant to ‌speak in a tone of mild petulance, but somehow the words had ‌‌come out sounding far too genuine.
Yet thanks to that, Kieran was completely won over.
"Are you very upset? What should I do?"
He examined Chesa anxiously.
When Chesa silently shook her head to indicate she was fine, he became even more flustered.
Though ‌he was skilled at being glib and cunning, Kieran had no talent for genuinely comforting and consoling a small child.
He would have readily agreed if Chesa had instead asked him to kill ten people she ‌‌found disagreeable.
Unable to figure out how to soothe a little girl, Kieran finally spoke.
"Chesa."
He gripped her hand firmly as he made his request.
"You must keep this to yourself alone."
Chesa ‌‌‌‌was inwardly startled.
He was ‌a man who spoke sweetly about her being his daughter, yet never gave complete trust to anyone.
'I thought he would definitely keep quiet about it this time too.'
She had expected him to slip away evasively like the cunning creature he was, ‌‌‌‌‌never imagining he would actually answer her.
A breeze stirred.
Tens of thousands of rose blossoms filling the garden swayed gently, releasing an even deeper fragrance.
Amid the wafting scent of roses, Kieran smiled softly.
Surrounded by the darkness of night, the faint moonlight, and the resplendent roses, Kieran was hauntingly, dangerously beautiful.
Chesa held her breath and waited for him to speak.
"Father is... doing something in the Underworld. Something, ‌‌well, a certain kind of work."
His hushed voice slithered through her ears like a serpent's whisper.
"That's why my older brothers help him and come and go with him. But it's nothing serious. There's no danger involved...."
Kieran continued his whisper with a gentle, coaxing tone.
Yet Chesa's mind was already half-scattered, his words dissolving into the background of her thoughts.
The moment I heard Kieran's ‌‌‌‌‌confession.
Everything that had ‌‌‌transpired until now unfurled across my consciousness like a sudden gust of wind.
A report concerning the witch Lichesia.
The report contained information that could ‌‌‌‌only be known by those who belonged to the Underworld.
The day when Kieran and the three brothers had all vacated the Basilian Mansion, claiming urgent business had arisen. ‌‌
That day ‌‌coincided with when Hailon had triggered an emergency in the Underworld.
Karha had even visited Hata's Hat Shop.
But the irregularities did not end there.
The ‌‌‌‌Twins, who had ‌‌seemed so familiar with the streets of ‌the Underworld, and ‌‌‌‌Jahan, who had ‌‌displayed a peculiar deference toward them.
The Master, who had known ‌‌that Hailon bore the witch's crest.
And countless other suspicious fragments of memory came cascading down, interlocking like puzzle pieces into a coherent whole.
Only one conclusion could be drawn.
'No... it can't be...'
I bit down hard on ‌‌the inside of my cheek.
I had never been more grateful for the darkness that enveloped everything around me. ‌‌‌
Without it, my ashen, drained face would ‌‌have been ‌‌‌‌‌‌completely exposed.
'Kieran is the Master?!'
Completely, truly, utterly—I was in serious trouble.
'I'm doomed.'
As I gazed at Kieran's gentle smile, only one thought occupied my mind.
'I need to escape immediately!'

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support ‌‌our team and enjoy the latest releases, please ‌‌‌read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------