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Chapter 66
It was an ‌‌‌emotion so intense it defied comprehension.
To be frank, the enchantress and the Heresy Inquisitor had no connection whatsoever.
She and Hailon were simply... ambiguous.
Friends, lovers, enemies, rivals...
None of these labels fit.
Yet one thing remained certain in her mind.
Whatever feelings she harbored for others would pale ‌‌‌‌in comparison to what she felt for Hailon. ‌‌‌‌
But it was arrogant thinking.
Lichesia shattered Hailon's delusion and vanished without a trace.
Leaving behind only a child whose bloodline remained unknown.
Hailon wondered.
What manner of man could have won Lichesia's heart?
If ‌‌‌‌the kiss they shared meant nothing, how had Lichesia responded when she pressed those lips against another man's?
A scorching heat radiated across the floral mark above his collarbone.
It burned with mockery toward the Holy Knight who should have preserved his chastity as a body devoted to God.
Feeling the sting across his skin, Hailon thought of her.
"Have you come to capture me again, Heresy Inquisitor?"
Lichesia's voice brushed against his ear like an auditory hallucination.
How would she sound calling another man's name?
When speaking to someone she loved?
Meaningless ‌‌‌thoughts refused to cease, only multiplying endlessly.
Sensing blood flowing backward through his veins, Hailon clenched his teeth.
He knew his thinking was abnormal.
He was aware of his obsession with the enchantress—damp and suffocating as it was.
But...
Hailon was her prey.
The hunter's mark carved into his collarbone proved it.
Perhaps the enchantress now wished to abandon the hunt, ‌‌‌‌but ‌‌‌he would not ‌‌allow it.
Who was ‌‌she ‌‌‌to end it unilaterally?
He would not let her sever their bond ‌‌‌alone.
Even if it broke, he would force it back together.
Lichesia bore responsibility for the mark she left upon his body.
The Holy Empire's Heresy Inquisitor had been ruined by her.
Hailon swallowed his derision. ‌‌‌
He mocked himself for dragging an innocent child into his scheme to capture Lichesia.
The child bore no fault. ‌‌‌
Only the innocence of a newly bloomed flower.
Each time he saw the child, inexplicable affection welled up within him.
The fact that it was another man's child ‌‌troubled him not in the slightest.
All ‌‌‌‌I could think about was Lichesia, and before I knew it, I was treating her well.
Just watching her move before my eyes brought me genuine joy.
My lips would curve upward in a smile without my realizing it.
Certainly, at first ‌‌‌I'd seized her as bait to lure out Lichesia....
But somewhere along the way, I had come to ‌‌cherish the child with genuine affection.
I found myself reluctant to hand her over to Count Basilian.
Thinking of those bright pink eyes, I broke the ‌‌‌long silence and parted my lips.
"Tell the Holy King he has a week's leave."
"...Yes. Understood."
Daren responded with a troubled expression, still unable to comprehend.
Regardless, I thought of the child.
I ‌‌‌‌hadn't captured Lichesia.
But over the coming week, I intended to capture the child's heart.
So she wouldn't want to return to the Basilian Count Estate.

***
Belzeon ended his brief absence and returned to House Basilian.
There were many searching for him, and Chesa—his primary reason for leaving—had entered a safe zone.
He promised to meet again on the day Kieran would bring information to Hailon.
Chesa bid a brief farewell to the men of House Basilian.
Whether this would truly be a brief parting remained uncertain.
Or whether it would become a permanent goodbye—that hadn't been decided yet.
'This is complicated, so complicated....'
If Kieran weren't the Master ‌‌‌‌of the Underworld, I could have made a decision more ‌‌‌easily.
But now I was in a situation where I could do neither one thing nor the other.
I secretly sent a butterfly to Hata.
I told him not to return for now while gathering potion materials, and to complete a potion that transforms one into an adult within the week I'd promised to meet Kieran.
And with Hailon, who had become my temporary guardian, I set out on the road in the dead of night.
Hailon gave his adjutant Daren simple ‌‌‌cleanup orders, then took me aboard a ‌‌‌hired carriage. ‌
It was so late—I wondered where we were headed.
'Perhaps to another Holy ‌‌‌Temple in a region near the Capital?'
It seemed difficult to arrive ‌‌before dawn.
I'd braced myself for some ‌‌hardship.
But the place Hailon took ‌‌me was utterly unexpected.
We rode through a street lined with luxury mansions in the Capital, then suddenly entered one that looked ‌‌‌particularly expensive.
I was startled, thinking Hailon was ‌‌‌‌trespassing ‌‌‌on someone else's home like Kieran did.
And when I learned it was a mansion Hailon ‌‌personally owned, I nearly fell over in shock.
'How does he have the money ‌for a mansion like ‌‌this!'
I gasped in amazement, then quickly reconsidered.
'He must be quite wealthy....'
He was the head of the ‌‌‌Heresy Inquisitors—there were only thirteen in the entire Holy Empire.
The salary and stipend for maintaining his position that flowed into his coffers must have been astronomical.
And I'd heard that when assets were confiscated from those judged as heretics, half went directly to the Heresy Inquisitor.
They worked him like a dog, but they compensated him generously in return.
Hailon was an exceptionally capable Heresy Inquisitor, having apprehended and condemned several prominent figures on multiple occasions.
Of course he ‌‌would be wealthy.
In any case, ‌my ‌‌days staying at Hailon's Mansion weren't unpleasant.
The food was delicious, and the servants, though somewhat bothersome, treated me well enough.
There was only one fatal drawback.
Hailon refused to leave the house.
When he first brought me to the mansion, he'd said it plainly.
"Count Basilian is dangerous."
Though he'd left obediently for now, there was no telling what he might do, so I needed to stay as close as possible.
Hailon had said something similar to me once before, so I'd let it slide.
But I never expected to be attached to his side nearly the entire day.
And at night, I even had to sleep in the same bed!
'Ugh.'
Never in my ‌‌‌‌life did I think I'd end up sleeping beside Hailon in bed.
Truly, it was a sight to see after living so long.
I'd wondered if I could even sleep next to Hailon, but surprisingly, I fell asleep without fail each night, never losing a moment of rest.
Today too, I lay beside him on ‌‌‌the bed.
With me in my baby dragon pajamas arranged neatly beside him, Hailon ‌‌‌‌quietly lay down as well.
"...."
I cracked my eyes open, careful that Hailon wouldn't notice.
After staring at the ceiling for a moment, I rolled ‌‌‌‌my eyes to glance sideways.
I observed the ‌‌‌‌‌man shrouded in darkness.
'Like a doll.'
I admired his densely fringed silver lashes and pale skin as I thought this.
True ‌‌‌‌to his nature as a Holy Knight, even his pajamas were buttoned all the way to his neck—suffocatingly proper, which only made him look more doll-like.
Unlike Kieran, who sprawled across the bed like a cat when sleeping, Hailon ‌‌maintained perfect posture even in rest, his eyes simply closed as if he might open them at any moment.
I was thoroughly enjoying my observation.
His ‌‌‌eyelids suddenly slid open.
There was no trace of drowsiness in his gaze.
What surprised me was that I'd expected him ‍‌‌to sit up immediately.
Instead, he merely turned his body to face me.
Being this close, our faces nearly touching, felt strange.
"...Why aren't you sleeping."
His already low voice dropped even deeper than usual. ‌‌‌‌
The raspy timbre tickled my ears.
I looked at him with round eyes before babbling something.
"I can't fall asleep."
Hailon's eyes narrowed slightly.
He seemed to be contemplating how to soothe a fussy baby in his mind.
He slowly reached out and stroked Chesa's hair.
As Chesa received his touch, mischief suddenly bubbled up within her.
'Should I torment him a little?'
Whenever she was bored, she ‌‌‌‌would tease and ‌‌‌play with Hailon, but she hadn't done so recently, and the urge was gnawing at her.
Every time Hailon broke his expressionless mask and gave a lively reaction, Chesa found it delightful.
'Since he's a fragile baby, it's difficult to play with him physically.'
She decided to torment him with words instead.
Come to think of it, ‌‌this was a perfect opportunity.
After all, she was already thoroughly misunderstood.
Since it wouldn't be resolved anytime soon, she might as well torment Hailon while she was at it.
"There's something I'm curious about...."
Chesa dropped her act of innocence and asked ‌as if she didn't know.
"What's your relationship with my mother?"

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