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Chapter: 18
“Is she a good person?”
However, the next words sent Miliana’s guard shooting up sky-high.
“It seems the knights didn’t manage to deliver the message to Your Highness. I apologize, but I dislike having my lesson time interrupted. Would you please step outside?”
“I have a duty as the dedicated maid to protect the young master! With the knights gone, how can I know who might harm him? I must stay by his side!”
In truth, Kaiden had given her such orders. Miliana stood her ground confidently, unwilling to back down, causing Asilia to shake her head in mild exasperation.
“It seems you don’t understand me very well. I said step outside. And your words are… unpleasant. It’s just the two of us here with the young master. Could it be… that you mistake me for someone who would harm him? I’d like to ask, just slightly, to clarify.”
“That’s not it, but…”
“If it’s not, then will you step outside?”
Her tone was gentle, almost kind—but carried an authority that could not be refused. It was a command disguised as a suggestion. Indeed, she was the private tutor appointed by His Majesty the Emperor.
Miliana felt a slight intimidation when Asilia narrowed her eyes and glared.
She was a noblewoman; Miliana was a commoner.
It felt slightly like a threat, yet there was no argument to make. It was a refusal wrapped in courtesy. Miliana bit her lip and glared at Heos, who was still unharmed.
She hadn’t yet confirmed that Asilia was an enemy—but if her presence strengthened the curse, protecting Heos was a priority.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll stay by the young master. Is that alright?”
Since speaking directly to Asilia seemed pointless, Miliana addressed Heos instead. He looked slightly troubled and avoided her gaze.
“Uh… what? I didn’t expect this…!”
His reaction was unexpected.
Heos was at a loss, unsure how to handle the standoff between Miliana and Asilia. Asilia moved closer and firmly placed her hand on Heos’s shoulder.
“The young master finds it disruptive too. Come now, young master, we have much to discuss—so many things to talk about.”
Miliana could have resisted, but if Heos was urged to leave, she had no choice but to step aside. She felt victorious—intuitively, she knew who was blocking her path.
“Ugh… this is frustrating…!”
Miliana suppressed her anger. Until now, all lessons had been conducted in the room with just the two of them.
“Well… maybe the young master prefers that. Even the knights followed her instructions, didn’t they? But I can’t be ignored… that’s fine! I can expose her true nature, anyway.”
Though she felt tears sting her eyes, she decided to step back for now. Despite Asilia’s suspicious behavior, nothing was certain yet.
“You never know. Maybe I’m mistaken.”
Heos looked apologetic as he glanced at Miliana. She gave him a faint smile to reassure him.
“I’ll wait outside.”
Miliana leaned against the door and exhaled deeply.
She wanted to see everything happening inside. She waited outside for a long while, unable to enter, considering various strategies.
“Should I open the door like a fool? Or peek a little?”
Either option was dangerous. No matter her intention to protect Heos, it would go against the authority of the tutor appointed by the Emperor.
Miliana racked her brain, then remembered a good idea—she had seen birds flying freely outside.
“Of course, that’s it.”
A method she had successfully used just a few days ago.
If she simply stayed there, no one would find it suspicious. Miliana immediately put the plan into action. She possessed a bird perched on a branch and moved to a window where she could see inside.
“What on earth are they doing together?”
Asilia had Heos sitting on her lap, whispering something into his ear.
“Do nobles usually make a child sit on their lap during lessons…?”
Heos wasn’t exactly old, but he wasn’t young either. Seeing an eight-year-old sitting on her lap while studying felt strange.
She strained her ears and caught some words: “Do not forget. This is an illusion. Have you forgotten everything I’ve said?” Asilia recounted only negative stories about Kaiden, widening the emotional distance between the two.
Finally:
“Why did you mistake His Highness as loving the young master? Have you forgotten what happened in your childhood?”
“That is…”
Miliana nearly fell backward.
‘N-no…! She may not be an enemy, but she is! Enemy!’
She glared at Asilia, who continued to speak recklessly with bloodshot eyes. Yet Asilia’s taunts did not stop.
“His Highness asked me once about the young master, and that was all. I only spoke about what the young master felt. Nothing changed.”
“B-but Miliana…!”
“Young master! I am correct. Whoever she may be, forget it.”
Heos felt deflated. Why must they break our boy’s spirit? And the words just kept coming. No wonder the curse had strengthened—it was overwhelming for Heos.
One thing became certain: the woman trusted by the Emperor and famed as wise had inadvertently—or intentionally—strengthened Heos’s curse.
Whether by design or not, the atmosphere around Heos darkened, and the curse Miliana had painstakingly suppressed grew stronger.
Heos drank the water Asilia offered and grew vigorously.
Miliana, in shock, had to watch as the curse she had weakened began to intensify again.Finally, the door opened. Miliana hastily ended her connection with the bird and bowed to Asilia, who returned the gesture.
“I apologize for earlier. I reacted rather sharply, didn’t I?”
Asilia chuckled softly, her expression completely different from before—no trace of danger remained. Her once-cold demeanor was replaced with a gentle voice, almost like a mask.
“No… that’s fine…”
Miliana hesitated. She was indeed the one who strengthened the curse. But whether it was intentional remained unclear.
It could have been deliberate—or perhaps she truly believed what she said. Even the staff in the mansion largely believed her.
“But it is certain that she said the young master is not loved by His Highness.”
Asilia maintained a composed smile.
“Heos has a high level of distrust toward the other staff, which is why. Honestly, the previous maids and knights didn’t seem to truly care for the young master. But you, maid, are different. You said you would protect the young master—I was touched by that.”
Miliana, bewildered, gave a faint nod of thanks. Asilia looked down at her and spoke softly:
“It makes me worry when His Highness will notice the young master.”
“It’s alright. His Highness is watching over him.”
So Miliana silently supported Kaiden, trying to show that her thoughts were the opposite.
Asilia glanced him over with slightly widened eyes, narrowing her brows, and continued:
“Today too, His Highness seems to have given unnecessary attention. Even a small sign of affection makes a child starved for attention cling. From what I saw, His Highness gave attention like passing interest to a stray dog. The young master is now everything to him…”
Miliana flinched slightly.
‘Can she really say that? He is a duke and Heos’s father.’
“That’s not the kind of attention I think it is.”
She said it firmly, without hesitation.
“Really… strange.”
Asilia tilted her head and asked:
“Have you recently arrived?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask your name?”
“…Miliana.”
“Ah, I thought so. The person the young master mentioned…”
Then she gave a small, mocking smile—a laugh that was both unpleasant and condescending. Miliana felt as if she had just glimpsed the mask behind her polite exterior.
‘Indeed… strange…’
Asilia suddenly moved closer, taking Miliana’s hand in hers. The proximity startled Miliana, who stepped back, leaving only a fist’s distance between them.
“Yes, I wanted to believe that, too. But it was not so. And I had to accept it. His Highness… does not think of the young master as a son at all. Haven’t you ever felt that way too, maid? Not even once?”
Asilia tilted her head, speaking in a way that felt eerie.
Though her expression was serious, her lips curled slightly, and an unusual heat flickered in her eyes. A strange fragrance lingered around her.
Miliana became more alert. Why was she trying to convince her?
“The Duke is quite indifferent. It would have been better if he had been honest from the start.”
She frowned, sighing as if saddened, yet genuinely appearing concerned for Heos.
Asilia released Miliana’s hand and took a handkerchief from her pocket. Immediately, a fragrant, almost intoxicating scent spread.
Miliana wanted to step back but found her body frozen, as if enchanted. The strange aura and familiar scent whispered danger to her rational mind.
“Then, there should be no reason for the young master to be anxious…”
‘No… but why…?’
Hearing this, Miliana felt an almost unbearable sympathy for Heos. Her emotions were erratic, leaping wildly. She wanted to nod vigorously in agreement with Asilia’s words.
‘She makes sense… but it can’t be true!’
Clinging to her clarity, she realized that her ether was being drawn to Asilia as if enchanted. The scent felt familiar, as though she had experienced this before.
Yet, Miliana prioritized dispelling this eerie feeling. She gripped her wayward ether tightly.
Asilia, noticing her unresponsive gaze, added more words.
