Chapter 40
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Chapter 40
"...."
The silence was suffocating.
Within the oppressive quiet that pressed down upon their shoulders, the twins exchanged furtive glances.
Even Chesa, who had always been cradled in the twins' arms, now stood firmly on her own feet for the first time in ages.
Before the two small boys and one infant sat Belzeon, his expression glacial.
His face was so cold that frost seemed to drip from it.
I had returned home from the Underworld to find Belzeon already there.
He had said he would be out all day and wouldn't return until the following morning.
Perhaps he had heard the news and returned early.
The moment Belzeon arrived home, he summoned the three of us directly to his Study.
And now he simply stood us there in silence, saying nothing.
While the twins were busy reading the atmosphere.
Chesa's mind was equally turbulent.
'How does Jahan know the twins?'
I was trying to make sense of this incomprehensible situation, but it was impossible.
The more I thought about it, the more question marks accumulated in my head.
Then Belzeon called out softly.
"Karha, Ishuel."
The moment their names were called, the twins straightened with military precision and responded.
"Yes."
"Yes, brother."
Belzeon exhaled slowly.
A brief question fell from his lips.
"What were you thinking?"
Ishuel answered quickly.
"We were going to buy clothes and a hat to wear at the banquet...."
"And you took that small child along?"
Karha nudged Ishuel with his elbow.
Then, sensing the mood, he offered a cautious reply.
"We were confident we could protect her, so we brought her along."
"That's not the issue."
Belzeon released another weary sigh.
After a moment of consideration to find words suited to the twins' understanding, he finally spoke.
"...She is an ordinary child. You should have been more careful."
The boys with entirely crimson eyes gazed down at the single infant with pink eyes.
Chesa stood there blankly, blinking.
Belzeon added, almost muttering to himself.
"She is not of House Basilian."
As his words fell, a subtle silence descended.
It was a different kind of silence than before.
The twins remained frozen with their eyes wide open.
They seemed utterly unprepared for Belzeon to say such a thing.
Chesa felt something shift inside her.
Even though I understood what Belzeon meant, I felt it nonetheless.
I had given them some affection, and we had become quite considerate of one another.
Yet we were never truly family.
An ambiguous relationship that defied clear definition.
Caught in this tangle of emotions, I looked up at Belzeon.
And in that moment our eyes met.
'...Ah.'
I understood.
'He intends to send me away before the banquet.'
Belzeon would send me outside.
Because he hoped the Basilian Family would not commit an irreversible act.
It was the most rational, logical, and utterly sensible judgment.
"...."
My gaze, which had been fixed on Belzeon, gradually fell until it settled on the floor.
I stared quietly at my small feet.
Tiny feet that didn't even fill half an adult's palm.
By now, I had grown far more accustomed to being carried in someone's arms than to walking on my own.
When had I adapted so completely to living as a child?
I pressed my lips firmly together.
I could feel their gazes on the back of my head.
The twins and Belzeon seemed to be watching me, but I didn't raise my head.
I simply kept my eyes fixed on my feet.
My mind felt numb, as though someone had thrown cold water over me.
I could not remain at the Basilian Count Estate forever.
I had always planned to leave before the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony.
'Then why did I naturally assume I would attend the banquet as well?'
I had been acting as though I were truly a Basilian.
Now that I stepped back and looked at myself, all the things I had done seemed utterly absurd.
Visiting Count Rudin as a fox spirit and unfolding the Illusion Realm.
Volunteering to procure the garments and hats the Basilians would wear to the banquet....
I recalled the various reasons behind my actions.
Yet no matter what I remembered.
I knew better than anyone that it was all merely an excuse.
'Have I truly fallen into playing at being family?'
Moreover, the circumstances suggested it was quite likely that Basilian had been experimented on as a fairy.
Knowing it all so clearly, why did I keep indulging in such soft, foolish thoughts?
I couldn't understand the flow of my own thoughts.
Chesa let out a small, bitter laugh.
"I'll send you out of House Basilian before the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony."
"So don't go getting attached to anyone."
What had I thought when Belzeon said something similar in the past?
I had brushed it off casually, thinking it was Belzeon who seemed to be the one getting attached.
But now that I'd come this far, Belzeon was still judging everything with cold clarity, while I was acting like a fool.
'I'm worse than a child. I need to reflect on myself.'
I would finish investigating House Basilian before the banquet.
When Belzeon sent me away, I could simply slip off with Hata.
That would be the most peaceful and rational approach.
***
"Sigh."
Back in the bedroom, Chesa climbed up a child's footstool and flopped onto the bed.
Sprawled out with her short arms and legs spread wide, she stared only at the ceiling.
She had declined the twins' offer to escort her and returned to the bedroom with the help of a servant.
The room was quiet since Hata hadn't returned yet.
Lying alone on the bed in the silent room, Chesa furrowed the bridge of her nose.
Her mood remained poor.
She pouted her lips before getting up again.
Unable to sleep, she felt compelled to do something.
It was as she climbed down from the bed and walked toward the window with soft footsteps.
"...!"
Chesa's eyes widened.
The shadow beneath her feet writhed.
The undulating shadow suddenly surged upward.
Chesa tilted her head back, following the rising shadow.
A man emerged from the darkness.
He swept back his tousled black hair and smiled with narrowed eyes in a sly expression.
"Chesa."
Kieran stretched out his arms and scooped Chesa up in one swift motion.
Cradling her snugly against him, he asked affectionately.
"My daughter, what were you doing?"
His languid crimson eyes gazed down at Chesa.
Chesa couldn't answer immediately.
As she hesitated for a moment, Kieran's eyes narrowed.
He tapped the bridge of her nose with his finger.
"Why do you look like that? Did your older brother scold you harshly?"
He already seemed to know exactly what he had scolded her for.
Chesa answered quickly.
"No, it's not that."
"Then didn't you enjoy today's outing?"
"That's not it either."
"Hmm."
Kieran smiled quietly.
He embraced Chesa and spun her around in a complete circle.
The hem of his coat fluttered in the motion.
The scent clinging to Kieran carried the faint metallic tang of blood from outside.
The man who had likely killed someone beyond these walls became a tender father before Chesa.
"Since your brother handled the scolding, perhaps I should take on the role of comforting you."
Kieran whispered with a sly smile.
"Would you like to see the flowers with Father?"
Without waiting for her answer, he immediately took Chesa away.
Darkness surged forth, and her vision became completely black.
When her sight brightened again.
Before Chesa stretched an immense rose garden.
Tens of thousands of roses of every conceivable variety were planted throughout the garden, and the air thrummed with their deep, intoxicating fragrance.
Simply standing still allowed the rose scent to seep into every fiber of her being.
To gather so many different rose varieties—each with distinct petals and forms—in one place would require dozens of gardeners working year-round in constant pruning and maintenance.
It was no garden that an ordinary noble house could possess.
Kieran displayed the rose garden, more precious than gold itself laid bare, and asked as though he had discovered a delightful toy.
"Do you like it?"
Chesa asked back in bewilderment.
"Where are we...?"
"Ah."
And at Kieran's answer that followed, she nearly fainted.
"The Imperial Palace Garden."
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