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Chapter 165
There were exactly two children who stood out at first glance.
One of them was a girl with soft, wavy rose-pink hair and golden eyes that sparkled like stars.
She looked as if all the loveliness in the world had been gathered together and molded into a single person.
“Hi, I’m Chloe.”
Her status was that of a second daughter from some small barony in the South, but Chloe had a far greater connection than that.
“I live in the Tower of Mages with my master right now!”
The moment “Tower of Mages” left her lips, the other children’s expressions changed.
They had instinctively dismissed her as someone not worth paying attention to—until then.
Now, they looked uncomfortable.
‘Ah, right. This place is basically half–wild society, isn’t it?’
I’d forgotten that after enjoying such a peaceful, out-of-the-way life lately—
—if you look weak here, you get eaten.
After Chloe finished, several others introduced themselves one by one.
Finally, it was the last person’s turn.
“……”
Even when he’d been standing at the back, he’d been stealing everyone’s attention. But now that he stepped forward, the whole room went still.
He didn’t bother greeting anyone—just swept his gaze across the children. And the moment his eyes met mine, they curved like crescent moons.
He looked about eleven years old, but the instant I saw him, I knew.
‘Stalker.’
It was him.
Definitely him.
That sharp prickling at the nape of my neck, the chill near my throat, the sudden sense that my life might actually be in danger—
That unmistakable instinct—an S-class survival sense screaming danger!
“Cheyen Muon Gremwat.”
The sly golden eyes that had been staring at me gleamed faintly.
“Nice to meet you.”
At his faintly seductive smile, I heard the girls around us gasp softly.
A storm was coming.
* * *
He looked like he was going to approach me any moment and act like we knew each other, but instead, the stalker let himself get surrounded by the girls, building new connections.
“Haha.”
Watching him laugh politely and behave like a perfect gentleman made cold sweat drip down my back.
Because I half-expected him to suddenly snap and slaughter everyone who annoyed him.
“Arell.”
“Hm?”
Pession, who’d been surrounded by other kids a moment ago, suddenly appeared at my side.
“Do you know the young lord of Gremwat?”
“…Huh?”
What kind of question was that?
“He kept looking at you.”
“Oh.”
“So I thought maybe you two knew each other.”
Well, technically, yes.
But how on earth was I supposed to explain how I knew him?
What was I supposed to say? “He’s been stalking me since the Sharit days”? Yeah, right.
So I just brushed it off.
“No, just…”
“Just?”
“He’s… handsome.”
“You like that kind of face?”
Pession frowned slightly and shot the stalker a glare.
‘No, no, stop that! You’ll get us both killed!’
The sight sent a chill down my spine, and I hurried to calm him.
“I mean objectively! Just objectively handsome! I— I…”
“You…?”
He looked so serious, watching my every word, that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“I like your face best.”
“Really?”
His face immediately brightened—it was adorable. Then, for some reason, he frowned, which made me both laugh and feel weird.
“What, you don’t believe me?”
Pession hesitated before muttering,
“…The Grand Duke Halbern…”
Ah. My father. He is famous for his looks, I guess.
“You were worried about that?”
Pession nodded a little.
Ah, so cute.
How can someone be so cute and pretty?
“You’re really adorable, Sion.”
“You’re cuter.”
“No, you’re cuter.”
“No, Arell, you’re cuter.”
We started playfully arguing over who was cuter, voices rising like a contest, before both bursting into laughter.
Everything felt funny and light now.
Maybe bickering with Pession helped soothe the nerves that had spiked when the stalker appeared.
“I was just watching him because something felt off, that’s all.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Pession still looked unconvinced, glancing between me and the stalker, then finally said firmly,
“I’ll believe you.”
“You should. Anyway, don’t you think Chloe’s really pretty?”
Was I feeling petty because he kept acting like that? I blurted out the question without thinking.
“…You’re prettier.”
He blinked, confused by the sudden question, but answered earnestly.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Truly?”
“Arell, are you feeling insecure?”
“No.”
“Then why ask something like that?”
He looked genuinely wronged. And he wasn’t wrong.
“I just…”
“…?”
“Maybe I just wanted to be reassured.”
I trusted Pession. I really did.
But trust aside, the story’s main characters were still the two of them.
‘I really don’t want anything more than this.’
If only things could stay as they are now—
next to Mehen, next to my father, next to Pession.
That would be enough.
Was that really such an impossible wish?
‘It’s too early to despair.’
I steeled myself.
“I’ll hang in there.”
“Huh? Oh… okay.”
First things first—
I had to figure out why that stalker showed up here in the first place.
* * *
The newly reorganized “New Collection Society” was different from before.
Instead of just social gatherings, it now focused on studies, activities, and exchanges.
Apparently, Empress Azeny wasn’t too pleased that we’d been using it just to play around.
Anyway, thanks to that, I found an opening for a one-on-one meeting.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Finally recognizing me, my little lady?”
Was he trying to get me to talk to him?
It was a reasonable suspicion—after all, though he looked younger, his features were exactly the same as before.
The Gremwat family was supposed to be known for green hair and green eyes.
The audacity to appear like this was something else.
“It’s fine. People just assume I take after my mother’s side.”
Wait—did he just read my mind?
I flinched back, and the stalker laughed quietly.
“Call me Cheyen.”
“…Is that your real name?”
“Would you like to know my true name?”
“No, not particularly.”
I had zero interest in being that close.
Even though I was deliberately keeping my distance, Cheyen kept smiling at me with that same disarming expression.
Nothing had really changed, but somehow—because he looked younger—it was harder to stay on guard.
“What are you thinking, exactly?”
“Well, what am I thinking?”
Even as he said it playfully, that chill—
that unnerving, quiet tension—was still there.
It wasn’t something just anyone could make you feel.
“How did you even fake your identity?”
“Does that really sound hard to you?”
“…”
I mean, yes, considering he’s from House Gremwat, it definitely should’ve been hard!
I was curious, but I decided not to overthink it. My head hurt already.
When I shook my head, Cheyen chuckled softly.
“Drop the formal speech. We don’t sound close that way.”
“But we’re not close.”
He tilted his head, still smiling sweetly.
“Really?”
In what universe were we close?!
I’d been living peacefully forgetting all about him, and now he suddenly showed up like this, giving me a headache all over again.
“Am I that scary?”
“Do you look like someone who isn’t scary?”
“Hm. Strange.”
His golden eyes gleamed like those of a predator.
“I don’t recall ever doing anything threatening. So why?”
“…”
“Should I show up looking even younger next time?”
I froze. That sounded like a joke, but knowing him, he’d actually do it.
“Does it matter whether I’m scared or not?”
“Yeah.”
Smiling, Cheyen leaned in, his beautiful face filling my view.
“Since I couldn’t bring you with me… I came myself.”
Before I could ask what he meant, his smaller hand caught mine.
The sensation of his fingers brushing the back of my hand made me flinch.
“Seems like a lot has happened since I last saw you.”
“…You could say that.”
“I hear you even met the Grand Mage.”
“…What?”
The Grand Mage?
A buried memory resurfaced—the mage who’d once told me that what I thought was a tracking mark was actually a blessing.
“That mage… was a Grand Mage?!”
No wonder they’d seemed extraordinary.
Come to think of it, what exactly did that person say back then?
“Whatever you see, forget it.”
“Any mortal who gets involved with an immortal is doomed to misfortune.”
Just as that memory flashed in my mind, the golden eyes in front of me curved softly.
“Don’t you want to live a long life?”
His low voice whispered like that of a devil.
