PUBW 42

Chapter  42

“Who knows.”

Caius did not answer the question about the medicine.

“But if the duchess stops taking it all at once, her condition will become dangerous. It must be reduced gradually, little by little, until a cure can be found.”

“Do you even know what medicine could cure her illness?”

Before I knew it, as we walked, we had arrived at the courtyard.

Caius’s golden hair shimmered beautifully under the sunlight.

“My lady, no matter how beneficial a medicine is, depending on how it’s taken, it can turn into poison.”

Caius only gave vague hints, unwilling to provide a clear answer.

Yet he planned to kill me anyway. Why not just tell me outright?

“You are the crown prince’s close aide, are you not, Marquis? So why are you telling me that His Highness gave me medicine that is, in fact, poison?”

“……That is a difficult question.”

As Keenan had advised, Caius guided me toward the fountain in the courtyard.

The large fountain burst with water, sending a refreshing breeze through the air.

“I don’t like you.”

The words were spoken plainly, like a simple confession.

“I can’t stand how you hover around me. Or how you smile like you’re happy. Even your breathing—it all irritates me.”

What the hell?

Here I was, trying to keep up with the mood, and instead he tells me I’m annoying? My temper flared.

And who was it that first encroached upon human lands, anyway?

“Well, I don’t like you either, Marquis. Especially that smug, polished face of yours pretending to be so well-mannered. It’s absolutely insufferable.”

Caius’s forest-like eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected a counterattack.

Then he suddenly burst into hearty laughter, only to start declaring once more how much he disliked me.

“What I especially loathe is when someone, with that innocent face, gets tricked and then suffers for it. That’s infuriating. Because you’re not some pure, kind person… are you?”

“……”

I lost. No matter that they were the ones who first provoked humanity—there was no way I could overcome the hatred of a demon race annihilated to near extinction.

“That is why it was so. To be merciless to some, foolish to others. Don’t you think it’s too much?”

Caius, wearing white gloves, gently escorted me to sit by the fountain.

“You speak as if you know me well.”

“Better than you know yourself, perhaps, Saintess?”

He leaned down and whispered in my ear.

“Don’t you think it’s all too transparent, the way I call you ‘Saintess’?”

Wasn’t this no more than his desperate plea for me to recognize him as a demon?

“You refuse to notice, and for that, you’re especially cruel to me.”

“I am Lady Charlize Retel.”

Caius asked kindly, “Have you no other questions?”

“I want to know where the hero Calix’s sword is.”

I needed to reclaim the divine power I had left behind.

“Then I’ll answer that shortly. How about a glass of champagne first?”

It seemed Caius had no intention of revealing that much. The weapon that had led to his race’s defeat was something he could never disclose, especially not to someone he planned to kill.

“Fine.”

“I’ll be right back.”

Caius rose, leaving me alone at the fountain.

“Caius.”

I called his name at his retreating back. He froze in place.

“I still have one more question.”

“……”

He neither answered, nor moved forward, nor turned back to look at me.

“The ‘me’ you knew… was I not weak-hearted? If I had been her, would the story have gone differently?”

Saintess Eluna. I had always felt small before her.

Had it been her, she would have cured my mother’s illness and broken Artif’s curse. She wouldn’t have been dragged around pathetically by Chase, as I was now.

“……Did I not already say it? You were more merciless than anyone.”

Caius’s voice sank low, and he hastened his steps.

Before he could get too far, I tried to rise from the fountain to escape.

No—I tried to rise.

No matter how hard I struggled, my body was fixed in place, bound to the fountain. I couldn’t move an inch.

I opened my mouth to cry for help, but no sound emerged.

‘Artif… where’s Artif?’

I had told him not to follow me into crowded places, afraid he’d be caught up in danger, but now, faced with it, he was the first person I searched for.

It felt as though I had turned to stone—unable to struggle at all. I never imagined he’d bind me directly to the fountain.

So there really were such kinds of magic. No wonder black magic was forbidden.

Even Keenan hadn’t seemed aware of Caius’s scheme.

‘What should I do? To erase black magic… divine power!’

I tried to concentrate, just as Seth had taught me.

But though I had a target, I couldn’t even release the divine power. Just discharging it at random was impossible.

On top of that, sitting atop a fountain that might explode at any moment left me too anxious to focus.

“Sha-sha!”

That was when I heard Artif’s voice.

‘Artif…!’

But in the same instant, a deafening explosion overturned my vision.

The blast hurled me through the air. I tumbled, rolled, my mind reeling.

Time slowed. It was like I’d fallen into water—everything silent, swallowed in stillness. A sharp ringing shrieked in my ears.

Charlize squeezed her eyes shut.

There was no pain. Perhaps she had fainted for just a moment. When her consciousness returned—

“…Sha.”

“Please, quickly! Call for a priest!”

Amid panicked cries, she heard Artif’s heavy, ragged breathing.

“Sha-sha…”

When she raised her head from her curled posture, she saw Artif.

“Artif…?”

Her trembling blue eyes met Artif’s crimson ones, like flames on the verge of being extinguished.

Relieved, Artif gave a faint smile. Half of his face was burned.

“Artif!”

Startled, Charlize tried to rise from where she still lay in his arms, but at that moment, Artif’s body, which had been straining to hold on, collapsed.

His clothes were in tatters, and underneath, his flesh was hollowed out, bones protruding. The skin that remained was flayed away by burns, exposing raw, red flesh.

“No, no…”

Suddenly, her vision blurred.

Overlapping with Artif, she saw another figure. A man in pure white knight’s armor, fallen and bleeding.

Even as he collapsed, he never let go of his sword.

“Ca… Calix… No, no, it can’t be!”

At that moment, light burst from Charlize. A divine light so bright it blinded everyone around her.

“Don’t do this. Please, not again. I can’t bear it.”

Even after the explosion of light subsided, Charlize continued to sob uncontrollably. She clung desperately to the body in her arms, unable to realize who it truly was.

“Please… don’t go. Please.”

It felt as if her heart were being torn out.

She wished she could stop thinking, wished all memory would vanish, wished her head would just explode.

“Sha-sha.”

As she wept and repeated words of regret, someone pulled her into an embrace.

“Artif…?”

Charlize jerked her head up. Her face was soaked with tears.

“I’m fine. Don’t be like this.”

Artif caught her hands as she beat against his chest in desperation.

“Look at me, Sha-sha.”

Finally, Charlize looked up at him.

His face was unblemished, without a single scar, and beneath the torn clothes, his skin was completely healed.

“How…?”

Artif cupped her tear-stained face, brushing her wet cheek with his thumb.

“You saved me, Sha-sha.”

Charlize blinked in confusion, glancing around.

Not just Artif, but everyone who had been caught in the blast was the same—their clothes were dirty, but their bodies bore not a single injury.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

But there was one exception: Caius.

While the others smiled in relief, Caius stood alone, his face twisted in pain, blood trickling from his lips.

When his eyes met Charlize’s, he hastily wiped the blood away and turned sharply, striding out of the courtyard.