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Chapter: 2
The man, his hood pulled low over his face, dismounted from his horse and entered the front gate of the monastery.
Watching from a window, Anna quickly rushed down from the second floor and slipped into a room right beside the entrance, hiding herself.
Before long, the abbot’s unhurried footsteps could be heard beyond the door.
It seemed he had known the man would come and had come out to greet him.
Crouching low, Anna peered through the keyhole, watching the abbot and the hooded man as they passed through the corridor.
“I have been expecting you. This way, please.”
It was a polite, respectful tone Anna had never heard from him before.
Seeing the abbot treat him with such deference, the man was undoubtedly a noble.
The abbot and the hooded man headed straight for the reception room. After watching them go, Anna slid down to the floor and leaned her back against the door.
“What should I do…?”
He might have come with good intentions, to take a child in—but what if that wasn’t the case?
If not, how could she stop it?
Carefully, Anna opened the door and hovered around the reception room.
“Anna, what are you doing here?”
“Oh—Sister Vanessa.”
She ran into Sister Vanessa just as she was banging her head against the wall in deep thought.
Sister Vanessa was carrying a tray with teacups and tea leaves—apparently prepared to serve the noble guest.
High-quality teacups and tea leaves you never saw on an ordinary day.
An alarm rang in Anna’s head.
“S-Sister! May I take that for you?”
“You? It’s all right.”
“You look really tired today. I’ll take care of it! Haha!”
Anna laughed awkwardly as she took the tray from Sister Vanessa.
Her unusually clumsy behavior made one of Sister Vanessa’s eyebrows rise suspiciously.
“Anna, you probably already realize this, but the guest in the reception room is a noble. You must behave properly—and under no circumstances make a mistake. Do you understand?”
“Of course, Sister. I can handle it.”
Anna nodded confidently in response.
There was a reason Sister Vanessa was so cautious.
If they were to offend a noble, everyone in the monastery could end up out on the streets as early as tomorrow.
After sending the still-worried Sister Vanessa away, Anna carried the tray and moved carefully.
She had come this far thinking in for a penny, in for a pound, but standing in front of the door, her hands began to shake.
She needed to go in naturally and figure out what kind of man he was first.
And if he turned out to be some lecherous old noble, then—
Anna took a deep breath and knocked.
Knock, knock.
“Abbot, it’s Anna. I brought the tea.”
“Oh, Anna. I was just about to call for you. Come in.”
When she opened the door, she saw the abbot and the mysterious man seated across from each other with a table between them.
Even indoors, the man hadn’t removed his hood—he clearly didn’t want to reveal his identity.
His posture was straight and rigid, and his hands looked quite rough.
A swordsman, perhaps. At least, he didn’t look like some idle noble who spent his days lounging around an estate.
As Anna set the teacups down, she stole glances at the man sitting silently.
She wanted to see his face, but his hood was pulled so low that she couldn’t catch even a side view.
“Thank you. You are… Anna, correct?”
The man spoke softly. His voice was far younger than she had expected.
Hearing her name so unexpectedly, Anna shuddered.
She almost spilled the teacup she was holding.
Watching this, the abbot took the cup from her and said,
“This gentleman said he wished to speak with you privately, Anna.”
“Me? Why…?”
As Anna lifted the tray with an uneasy expression, she suddenly felt the man’s gaze on her.
He was only looking at her, yet goosebumps spread over her entire body.
Anna hesitated and took a step back.
“Abbot, I would like to speak with Miss Anna alone. Would you mind stepping out for a moment?”
“Ah, very well. Anna, I’ll return shortly.”
Despite Anna’s wildly trembling eyes, the abbot paid no heed and briskly left the room.
Staring at the door the abbot had closed behind him, Anna finally lowered her head and sat across from the man.
Unbothered, he lifted the teacup, inhaled its aroma, and took a sip.
“A fine scent. Tea leaves you wouldn’t normally find in a place this rural.”
“Why… did you want to see me?”
“Ah. Right.”
Unlike when the abbot was present, the man’s tone became noticeably arrogant, making Anna tense all over.
Just who was he?
Could it be… adoption?
It wasn’t entirely impossible. Anna wasn’t an adult yet.
But the question was, why take someone like her, standing on the brink of adulthood?
The man set the teacup down and slowly removed the hood he had been wearing.
The face hidden beneath it was revealed.
Jet-black hair, as dark as the hood itself. Skin pale to the point of bloodlessness. Ash-gray eyes that gleamed with an eerie light.
Anna knew that face.
From that moment on, her body moved on reflex.
Crash!
Recognizing the man, Anna immediately reached across the table and smashed the teacup. There was no room to worry about breaking one of the monastery’s few precious cups.
Ignoring the tea spilling onto the floor, Anna grabbed a sharp shard and pressed it against the man’s neck.
“Theodore Belvart! How dare you—!”
Theodore curled his lips into a smile.
“Seria Ventus Argenta, princess of the fallen Argenta. Am I right?”
She had never once forgotten.
The sight of him riding calmly out through the half-destroyed castle gates.
Those eyes devoid of any emotion.
The chilling killing intent etched on Theodore’s face had burned itself deep into thirteen-year-old Seria’s mind—and even six years later, it remained vivid.
“I’ll kill you.”
“My, my… what a passionate welcome.”
Bright red blood seeped out where the sharp fragment touched his skin.
Even as the blood ran down his neck, Theodore didn’t so much as blink. Instead, he grasped Seria’s hand holding the shard and guided it to the side of his neck.
“If you want a clean kill, aim here. Thrust deeply.”
“You—!”
“But in your current state, that’ll be difficult.”
He tightened his grip on her wrist, forcing the shard to fall.
Disarmed in an instant, Seria tried to grab another fragment from the table—but Theodore was faster.
He seized both her arms, restraining her completely, and shoved her back against the wall.
“I hate deaths that are painful without being fatal.”
He said this with a faint smile still on his face.
Seria struggled, trying to break free, but his strength was unnatural—she couldn’t move at all.
How many Argenta people had died at these hands?
Flames flickered in Seria’s eyes.
At that moment, the air around them began to churn.
Though the windows were tightly shut, Theodore’s hair fluttered in the rising wind.
The wind grew stronger, scattering even the documents piled on the abbot’s desk.
As if he’d discovered something fascinating, Theodore’s lips parted slightly.
“So it’s true. They say there are those among the Argenta who can wield the wind. To see it in person…”
“It’ll be the first and last time you ever do.”
Seria glared at him with murderous eyes.
The room was already in chaos from the strengthening gale. As the furniture began to rattle, Theodore’s expression changed.
“How about you stop? If this is discovered, you won’t escape unscathed either.”
“If I can drag you to the afterlife with me, I don’t care.”
“……”
Theodore frowned slightly, then released her arms and stepped back.
Raising both hands with his palms open, he shook his head.
“You’re misunderstanding. I didn’t come here to kill you.”
“You think I’d believe that?”
“I came to make a deal—with something you want more than anything.”
“Don’t try your cheap tricks.”
The flow of air began to spiral violently around Seria.
The unstable table couldn’t withstand the wind and was hurled into a corner.
If the vortex grew any stronger, the windows would soon shatter.
With too many eyes around, that would be troublesome.
Theodore let out a light breath and spoke.
“It’s not a trick. Serion Calle Argenta—your brother’s name. Correct?”
Seria’s brow twitched at his words.
How dare he speak that name?
Clenching her lips tightly, Seria made the wind spin faster.
“He’s alive.”
“What?”
“The brother you believed dead—he’s alive.”
The wind that had looked ready to devour Theodore instantly subsided.
Her brother was alive…?
