Chapter 124
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------
Chapter 124
'Prisons these days serve decent meals, it seems.'
Chesa accepted the cake with an eager nom-nom sound, marveling at it.
The cake, generously frosted with black tea cream and topped with fresh fruit, was refreshingly tart.
Kieran fed the cake to Chesa with diligent care, chuckling softly to himself.
He even played pranks, deliberately smudging black tea cream beside her lips.
"Stop it."
"Oh, sorry, sorry."
When Chesa grew exasperated from his relentless teasing, he would apologize with a sheepish grin and wipe her lips clean with a napkin.
It was a peculiar way to spend imprisonment.
Kieran barely seemed aware he was locked in a prison at all.
He behaved as though he'd merely retreated to a small room for rest, doing whatever he pleased.
He sent letters petitioning the Emperor of the Palen Empire for a pardon.
He handled documents related to House Basilian.
He teased Chesa, lounged about, and indulged in leisurely naps.
His circumstances had become quite comfortable.
He seemed genuinely satisfied that his time alone with Chesa had increased, the two of them inseparable.
Meanwhile, the three brothers who handled his duties in his stead were working themselves to exhaustion.
'Why did I insist on coming to prison together?'
I'd followed him out of concern, yet it seemed he would have spent his time here quite happily on his own.
Still, I didn't dislike the time I spent with Kieran.
I even enjoyed listening to his terrible lullabies on certain nights.
Kieran asked me nothing.
Not why I'd used the Fairy's power, nor how I'd defeated the monster.
He could have pressed me endlessly, but he buried it all.
It seemed he'd already resolved that eventually, a moment would come when I'd need to use my strength.
'Still, I purified the monster myself.'
I'd accomplished what even the Holy Empire could not.
Kieran would certainly use this to turn the situation to his advantage.
And I was already scheming my own plans as well.
'Before I leave here, the Holy King will lock me in the Illusion Realm—I'm certain of it.'
Sharpening the blade of vengeance in my heart, Kieran and I had nearly emptied the cake plate through our bickering.
Then I felt approaching footsteps.
The cell where Kieran and I were held was a solitary confinement type, with no other prisoners nearby.
So it was certainly Count Basilian coming to visit.
Yet Kieran made no effort to prepare for a guest, simply sprawling across the sofa with me in his arms.
He only grumbled to me.
"How bothersome..."
And indeed, a figure worthy of Kieran's annoyance appeared.
Beyond the iron bars stood Hailon.
The uniform draped with a blue cloak across one shoulder appeared even more immaculate today.
Kieran, lounging loosely against the sofa, spoke in a leisurely tone tinged with mockery.
"And who might this be? Ah, Lord Hailon, what an honor."
Hailon looked down at Kieran and responded in his characteristically composed voice.
"Prison life seems to suit you well. Your complexion is positively radiant."
"That's entirely thanks to Lord Hailon. I've been curious about the Heresy Interrogation Chamber—might you extend an invitation?"
Kieran asked with a faint smile, and Hailon replied without hesitation.
"Whenever you wish."
The dark mage and the Heretic Inquisitor regarded each other with lethal intent.
When Count Basilian was arrested, Hailon remained silent.
He had not stepped forward—though it was equally true that he chose not to.
The reason he could not step forward was that his position as the leader of the Heretic Inquisitors remained officially secret.
Hailon was known to the world as a First-Rank Holy Knight.
A mere Holy Knight could not possibly defy the Holy King's command, so he maintained his silence from the shadows.
The reason he chose not to step forward was, naturally, because of Kieran.
Hailon would never have missed the opportunity to imprison Kieran.
Though he had not anticipated that Chesa would be locked away alongside him.
Had Chesa not been imprisoned, Hailon likely would not have come to visit at all.
A quiet sigh escaped.
Before the two could begin their violent exchange, Chesa suddenly sprang from Kieran's embrace.
She padded softly toward the iron bars and looked up at Hailon.
"Hello, Father."
The blue eyes that had been regarding Kieran with lethal coldness softened instantly.
Hailon bent his knees to crouch down, bringing himself to Chesa's eye level.
He reached through the iron bars and gently cupped her cheek in his hand.
The cool touch of his leather glove made contact with her skin.
"You have no reason to be here."
It was clear he had come intending to take only Chesa with him.
Chesa grasped his hand and gently pulled it away.
Her small hand resting atop his black leather glove appeared impossibly delicate.
She held one of his fingers and shook her head firmly.
"I want to stay with Father. It will be meaningful."
"My daughter has chosen to remain with me of her own will. Before the Holy King himself."
Kieran, who had been sitting on the sofa until now, finally rose to his feet.
He approached the iron bars, lifted Chesa into his arms, and Hailon straightened his posture.
Kieran, cradling Chesa, asked with a gentle smile.
"This is precious time between father and daughter—I wouldn't dream of intruding. But what brings such a busy man all the way here?"
"Tomorrow is the second prayer day of the Minor Saint Prayer Society."
At this second gathering, all the participating children would come together to offer their prayers to God.
Unlike the first prayer day, there was nothing special to prepare—one need only approach with sincere devotion and offer prayers in a reverent manner.
'I really hate this.'
For a fairy, it was something that would make her faint just imagining it.
While Chesa despaired at the thought of herself praying, Hailon continued speaking with composure.
"You will abandon your attendance at the prayer ceremony."
It meant he would release the child but keep only me locked away.
Kieran's eyes narrowed with amusement.
"You won't release me? How heartless of you."
"...."
Had it not been for the iron bars between them, Hailon would have struck Kieran then and there.
After a moment spent observing Chesa with patience, Hailon opened his mouth again.
"The time has not yet come. The Holy King...."
But Hailon stopped abruptly.
It was because of this unexpected arrival.
"Lord Hailon?"
It was Cardinal Milliod.
He too seemed surprised to encounter Hailon in this place, his eyes widening with shock.
Milliod was not alone.
Behind him stood a young man.
A man with handsome features that would draw admiration wherever he went.
The man had blond hair, faded in tone but remarkably similar in color to Chesa's.
Observing the man, Chesa tilted her head in confusion.
He wore a mana-suppression cuff on one wrist.
A Cardinal bringing a mage—and a mage bound by a mana-suppression cuff, no less.
It was a conspicuously suspicious combination.
"...!"
Upon seeing Chesa, the man's lips parted.
His body trembled as if overcome with emotion, and suddenly his eyes glistened as he fixed an ardent gaze upon her.
His eyes conveyed longing, sorrow, joy, and countless other sentiments all at once.
He was making such a theatrical display that Chesa found herself bewildered.
'Is he unwell?'
The mentally afflicted were already abundant enough among the men of House Basilian.
This stranger's sudden fervent emotion left her disconcerted.
'Who are you.... Why are you doing this....'
She glanced at Hailon, wondering if he might know something, but his face remained expressionless.
He showed no sign of recognizing the man.
Chesa cast a furtive glance at Kieran, thinking he too must not know this person....
'Gasp.'
She froze in shock.
Kieran was smiling.
Above his smoothly curved lips, a cold, gleaming murderous intent swirled in his crimson eyes.
As if he couldn't bear another moment without twisting that bastard's neck right then and there.
Kieran, who had been glaring at the Blond Man like a venomous serpent, only belatedly withdrew his murderous aura upon sensing Chesa's gaze.
Yet his eyes remained fierce.
Cardinal Milliod cleared his throat with a soft cough.
"I had no idea Lord Hailon was present here. Since this is a private matter, I would have preferred if you had excused yourself."
"It doesn't matter. I thought Lord Hailon should know about this anyway."
Kieran smiled with something akin to malice.
It was the smile of someone unwilling to face ruin alone, dragging others down with him.
"Are you not the child's guardian knight?"
....
Cardinal Milliod glanced sideways at Hailon.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon nodded.
"Since Lord Hailon will learn of this soon anyway...."
Cardinal Milliod placed his hand upon the Blond Man's shoulder and spoke in a grave tone.
"This man is precisely the biological father of your adopted child, whom I mentioned before."
Kieran said nothing.
Instead, a voice came from an unexpected quarter.
"...Cardinal."
It was a voice as if carved from the glaciers of the north.
Cardinal Milliod drew in a sharp breath.
Hailon was calmly drawing his holy sword.
As the blade sang free with a metallic ring, Hailon posed his question.
"Did you just say that man is the child's biological father?"
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------