Chapter 67
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Chapter 67
He seemed taken aback by such a question.
Hailon's hand faltered.
Chesa laughed wickedly to herself.
'Answer quickly!'
To be honest, I was curious about what Hailon thought of me.
I was watching him with quiet anticipation.
An entirely unexpected answer flowed from Hailon's lips.
"We were never anything to each other."
"...."
Chesa's eyes wavered.
The long fingers that had paused now ran lightly through golden hair.
As Hailon gazed at the lustrous golden strands, his thoughts drifted to someone else.
"I thought we had some connection. But apparently not."
'What are you saying!'
Unable to refute him, Chesa fumed inwardly.
She even felt a sting of betrayal.
'We were close!'
Both Hailon and Lichesia were people without friends.
I had believed we were bound to each other more tightly than anyone, yet hearing him dismiss our connection so casually left me bewildered.
It seemed he needed a thorough lesson to come to his senses.
Once I returned to Lichesia, I would pierce him with thorns until his mind was absolutely clear.
While plotting Hailon's mental reeducation in her thoughts, he idly toyed with Chesa's hair.
His well-formed lips parted slowly.
"If I must define it, then I was her prey. Your mother was a predator, after all."
'He's talking nonsense.'
Unable to hold back, Chesa protested with a pout.
"Sir Knight, you're so big—how could she ever catch you?"
Then something remarkable happened.
Hailon laughed softly.
His cold gaze softened into gentle curves, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.
At the sight of him smiling, Chesa's eyes doubled in size.
Even witnessing it directly, she couldn't believe it.
'He's not someone who smiles so easily.'
Even when I was Lichesia, I'd seen Hailon angry many times, but I could count on one hand the times I'd seen him smile.
'Is something wrong with him?'
Perhaps Kieran was actually an incredibly powerful person who had placed Hailon under mental control.
Chesa examined his eyes intently with a sense of duty.
But his blue eyes remained perfectly focused.
"Exactly. Much larger than her."
Hailon murmured with a playful lilt to his voice, cupping Chesa's cheek in his palm.
"What do you think?"
As he gently tormented her soft cheek, he posed the question in an uncharacteristically teasing tone.
"Should I devour your mother the next time we meet?"
It was beyond comprehension why he insisted on framing things in such ominous terms.
Chesa advocated for peace.
"Perhaps you could get along instead...."
Whatever amused him so, Hailon smiled faintly at her words once more.
Rather than answer, he drew her into his embrace.
With a soft sound, he cradled her head against his arm as a pillow.
'Oh!'
With her face buried against his chest, Chesa suddenly lifted her head.
Hailon's face appeared directly before her eyes.
Startled by the brilliant blue eyes that filled her entire vision, she froze like a rabbit encountering a hunter.
"Sleep now. It's getting late."
He admonished her softly.
His voice was tender and affectionate.
Chesa hesitated for a moment, then simply closed her eyes tightly.
His large hand, radiating gentle warmth, caressed her soothingly.
Sleep descended upon her as if by deception.
Chesa drifted off with a profound sense of unease.
She found this side of Hailon—one she had never witnessed when she was Lichesia—strange and bewildering.
***
I never imagined Hailon could be such a domestic man.
Not just Chesa, but everyone who knew him would have been equally unable to picture it.
He was remarkably devoted to Chesa.
Feeding her meals and snacks by hand while she sat on his lap had long ceased to surprise the servants.
He read her fairy tales without fail, played with her toys and dolls, took her for walks, and so on.
A man who had wielded nothing but a sword his entire life had somehow learned to tie ribbons in Chesa's hair with his own hands.
Chesa sighed as she touched the ribbon he had clumsily tied, letting out a soft exhale.
'When will he actually work?'
She was exhausted by Hailon's refusal to leave her side.
From the looks of it, he seemed determined to abandon his duties entirely until Kieran arrived, staying glued to her side.
'This is becoming a problem if he grows too attached to me.'
The Basilian men alone were already tiresome, and adding Hailon to the mix made things truly difficult.
So recently, Chesa had changed tactics, acting like a petulant and irritable child, but...
It wasn't working at all.
"Eat."
He sat her on his lap and offered her a spoonful of milk pudding on a dessert spoon.
Chesa accepted it with a gulp and frowned as she spoke.
"Don't like pudding."
"Then what?"
"Won't eat. Nothing."
She turned her head away with a sharp motion, and Hailon carefully offered her something else.
It was the fruit sorbet Chesa loved most.
"This one?"
Chesa's eyes rolled as she spoke.
"...Just a little."
She eagerly accepted the spoonful he offered, and Hailon smiled faintly once more.
'This is the problem right here.'
Whenever she tried to cause trouble, his gentle smile would deflate her resolve entirely.
The way he was going, he'd smile even if Chesa blew up the entire mansion.
As she inwardly clicked her tongue at how to handle him, the moment arrived.
"Hailon."
Daren entered the reception room with a rigid expression and made his report.
"The Holy King has arrived in the Capital."
***
The Holy King's unofficial visit to the Capital was solely to meet Hailon.
From what I'd heard in passing, he was supposed to return to the Holy Empire after a week-long vacation....
Yet he couldn't even wait those few days.
It made me think just how much the Holy King valued Hailon.
'Or perhaps he feared him.'
My eyes darkened for a moment as I recalled the eight scars etched across Hailon's back.
But soon I smiled brightly.
Regardless, thanks to the Holy King, Hailon was forced to go out.
I finally had time to myself!
I quickly sent a butterfly summons to Hata and had her move to my side.
"Lichesia!"
Hata appeared in her Servant form, carrying a large bag.
She looked around sharply with determined eyes.
"So this is it. The lair of the white-haired one...!"
"Mm."
There wasn't enough time to explain in detail.
"Do you have the potions?"
"Ta-da!"
Hata proudly opened her bag.
Inside, potion bottles were neatly arranged in rows.
All fifteen potion bottles were potions to return to adulthood.
Hata boasted, having successfully completed her task.
"I made a lot of them!"
Not knowing what the problem was, she'd simply manufactured as many as possible.
I took one of Hata's potion bottles and held it in my hand.
'Good. Let me first test the potion to return to adulthood.'
I opened the bottle's cap.
And I gulped down the potion in one go.
"...Huh?"
I blinked my eyes.
I felt nothing.
My body remained unchanged.
Still the same low eye level, short limbs, tiny bean-sized body....
I stood with my mouth open, staring at Hata.
"Why, why is this happening? Try drinking this!"
Hata thrust a new potion bottle at me, cold sweat dripping down her face.
I drank the potion she handed me in succession.
But no matter how many times I drank, it was the same.
My belly only filled with water, while I remained a tiny child.
Finally, I emptied all the potions.
Empty potion bottles rolled aimlessly across the floor.
Chesa, still in her infant form, gazed blankly at Hata.
Her body had failed to return to its adult state.
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