Chapter 55
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Chapter 55
Hailon's answer was simple.
"A walk to see the flowers."
Had he picked up some parenting manual somewhere?
His actions were indistinguishable from a machine with programmed commands.
A walk after meals—that sort of thing.
'A walk... it's nice, I suppose.'
Fresh grass, trees, and flowers always delighted me.
But not Hailon.
It was rare for him to take interest in anything or harbor genuine emotion.
I doubted he even knew that he didn't particularly care for flowers.
Growing more anxious, I decided to resist.
"I... I don't really like flowers."
"But you were buying flowers at the market just now."
"..."
I clamped my mouth shut.
As a Heresy Inquisitor, he conducted interrogations as naturally as breathing.
Seeing my sealed lips, Hailon's eyes narrowed slightly.
Realizing his misstep, he spoke slowly.
"You needn't fear me. I am your protector, am I not?"
That's just a temporary position though...
Once my time as his ward ended, he would return to being a Heresy Inquisitor.
I couldn't fathom why he kept invoking his role as my protector, coaxing a child with false promises.
'Speaking as though he'll protect me forever.'
I scoffed inwardly.
Yet even knowing better in my mind.
The moment his soft voice reached my ears, the guard I'd built up wavered slightly.
Hailon led me to the inner sanctum of the Holy Temple.
It was a courtyard nestled between buildings—a place no outsider could enter.
Being located in the Imperial Capital, the Holy Temple was extraordinarily wealthy.
Thus, the courtyard was arranged with considerable care.
The Temple Garden focused on evoking a sacred atmosphere, quite different from the ornate Imperial Palace Garden.
As I surveyed the garden, understanding dawned on me.
'So that's why Kieran trespassed into someone else's garden.'
I sometimes felt the urge to sneak into the Temple Garden myself.
I inhaled the fragrant flower scent deeply, my mood lifting.
Hailon retrieved the puppy from my arms and set it down on the ground.
It was his way of showing kindness and consideration, but for Hata, who was a fake puppy, it only irritated her.
Hata whimpered and made a pretense of barking.
But Hailon had already turned his attention elsewhere.
Hata's attempt at an effective threat had failed, leaving her sulking.
Yet moments later, she padded after me with keen, watchful eyes gleaming.
She seemed to believe that made her look frightening.
I smiled at the adorable Hata as the wind picked up.
The whisper of leaves brushing together filled the quiet Garden with soft rustling.
"...."
Hailon swept back his own hair as it scattered in the breeze, fingers combing through the strands.
His hair tangled between my fingers like silver thread.
He was beautiful as a lily—sacred and pure.
Yet the man who suited the Temple's chaste landscape most perfectly wore an expression utterly unmoved by everything around him.
It had always been this way.
Hailon was perpetually indifferent to all things.
Perhaps that was why I had so often tormented him—a desire to disturb that quiet, tranquil blue lake within him....
That might have been the reason.
I recalled the flower I had carved into his body.
That moment was likely the most violent reaction Hailon had ever shown in his entire life.
'I did force it upon him, despite his refusal.'
I had pinned his writhing body with thorns and slowly etched the flower pattern into his flesh.
So he could feel every ounce of pain as the mark was inscribed.
A belated twinge of guilt stirred within me.
Yet thanks to the humiliation of bearing the witch's mark that day, Hailon had not died.
He had survived, nourished by his own rage.
'Wasn't that a good thing?'
As I convinced myself, Hailon slowly turned his gaze toward me, sensing my attention.
His clear, blue eyes, bathed in light, held my reflection perfectly.
Suddenly, Hailon murmured softly.
"You resemble her so much...."
His gaze traced the contours of my face.
A self-deprecating whisper scattered into the air.
"It's almost laughable to deny it."
Without a word, I reached out and brushed a white petal from his hair.
Just then, footsteps echoed from the Courtyard colonnade.
"Lord Hailon!"
It was a lean man wearing a monocle.
He was Daren, Hailon's adjutant, someone I had known for a long time.
I studied his monocle carefully.
A faint scar was barely visible beneath it.
'He still hasn't removed it.'
With holy power, such a small scar could easily be healed.
Especially for someone of Daren's standing.
Yet that man carried his scars with unwavering dignity.
As a Holy Knight, he could not display physical imperfections, so he wore only a single monocle to conceal the scar.
Daren, who had walked up to Hailon, immediately delivered his report.
"Count Basilian's young master appears to know nothing."
At the mention of Belzeon, Chesa looked up in surprise.
She wondered if he had conducted some sort of interrogation in the meantime.
Daren quickly waved his hand and clarified to Chesa.
"It was nothing else—I merely asked whether he knew anything about the young one's biological parents."
The peculiar term "young one" gave me a momentary headache.
Daren added his words with a gentle smile.
"I'm only trying to help."
"Help how...?"
"I suspect the young one's mother is being pursued by someone."
Daren shrugged as he spoke, suggesting that she likely lacked the means to care for the young one as well, so she had hidden her at the Orphanage.
"We know a little about the young one's biological mother, and she is absolutely not the type to abandon her daughter and flee. She takes care of her own people terribly well. Just look at how she cares for that dog-human..."
He spoke with such conviction that it was somewhat embarrassing.
Just like Hailon, I couldn't understand why they trusted me so much.
"She will definitely come looking for the young one."
Daren adjusted his monocle and smiled gently.
"Our goal is to help the young one's biological mother so that she can."
Chesa swallowed a hollow laugh.
This was the problem when someone was too clever.
The exceptional skill he had honed while investigating various incidents and rooting out heretics shone through once more.
With only a few small clues, he had quickly deduced the situation.
'The real problem is that this situation doesn't exist in the first place...'
Where had things gone wrong from the start?
Since both of them seemed to be firmly convinced already, it wouldn't be easy to clear up the misunderstanding.
'I have no idea either.'
Besides, I couldn't return to being a fox-woman for the time being anyway.
Hata's medicine wasn't complete yet, and if baby Chesa disappeared too quickly, Kieran might grow suspicious.
I decided to just leave things as they were, and later when I returned as Lichesia, I would beat them with flowers and thorns, bind them with chains of condemnation, and the misunderstanding would resolve itself.
"Still, it would be nice if we could find the father too."
Daren spoke with interest, studying Chesa's face carefully.
"I'm dying to know. What kind of man could make a fox-woman...?"
Daren, who had been chattering thoughtlessly, suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
He closed his mouth smoothly and smiled awkwardly, gauging Hailon's mood.
Then he quietly began backing away.
"Ah, well... come to think of it, I have unfinished business with young master Belzeon. I'll go complete it."
Daren vanished with remarkable speed.
What had he seen that made him flee with his tail between his legs?
Chesa watched Kieran's hurried retreating figure, then glanced furtively at Hailon.
Without thinking, I swallowed hard.
At first glance, he appeared as expressionless as always.
But....
"We're searching through various channels, so if you remember anything about your biological father, tell me."
Those pale blue eyes had already become the eyes of an executioner.
A thin, chilling voice flowed from between his narrow lips.
"Anything at all will do."
Chesa reflexively nodded vigorously.
It seemed best that Chesa's nonexistent biological father remained well hidden.
Still, at least I had made it into the Holy Temple thanks to Hailon.
I hoped I could live quietly for the time being.
But Kieran was far from an easy opponent.
A few days later, late at night.
Count Basilian visited the Holy Temple.
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