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CHAPTER 52……
Nox widened his eyes in disbelief and asked,
“If you show your face from the start, he’ll try to kill me immediately.”
As Nox and Mari tried to gauge the meaning, Asterios’s expression became complex. Speaking again with an old friend would surely be a pleasure, but he also couldn’t ignore how much emotional turmoil Edwin had endured because of him.
“There’s no choice but to confront it.”
The masked Asterios rose silently.
Edwin’s room in the Dréat Imperial Palace, the Tower Lord’s quarters, was lavish and beautiful—a clear sign of Emperor Leodian’s high regard for him.
After all, he was currently instructing the Dréat Knights and the Emperor in secret techniques to counter the Demon Realm. Though still unilateral, he was also in a position to demand recognition of his engagement from the former Emperor.
“Tower Lord, I have brought the Commander of the Princess’s Knights as you requested.”
The servant guiding Asterios led him to the inner guest table and relayed the news.
Soon, Edwin appeared, draped in a luxurious purple robe with crystal earrings dangling from one ear.
He was still handsome, but compared to when Asterios had seen him in Secret Fog, his face looked gaunt.
‘So he got beaten up while guarding the cage… he looks terrible.’
Asterios clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘If only I hadn’t broken Edwin’s earrings to hide my identity that day…’
Previously, when they had met in Secret Fog, Asterios had destroyed the crystal earrings that served as the medium to block Edwin’s nullification magic.
And right after that, Mephisto had attacked the tower—an unfortunate coincidence.
If it hadn’t happened, Edwin might not have lost the cage to Mephisto or ended up in such a ruined state, Asterios thought, feeling a heavy weight in his chest.
No, there was always the lingering guilt of having hidden his identity from Edwin. At the time, he believed it was for everyone’s sake.
Everyone was exhausted from the war, and the Demon King was stronger than expected. Tenebres and the witches had devised a future for Erica, a truth that had to remain hidden from everyone.
Although Tenebres had chosen to protect Edwin at that time, he hadn’t been able to shield him completely.
[It’s not your fault, Master.]
The words Nox had spoken when Edwin was gravely injured by Mephisto echoed in Asterios’s mind. But seeing Edwin’s haggard face now, his fists clenched involuntarily.
“It’s an honor to meet the Tower Lord. I heard you wished to see me,”
Startled, Edwin’s eyes widened, staring blankly at Asterios. It was as if he had glimpsed the face behind the white mask, revealing a mix of shock and disbelief.
“You… you are Duke Tenebres.”
When Edwin finally spoke, his voice trembled slightly. His eyes betrayed confusion mixed with a subtle, unidentifiable longing.
“Perhaps it’s because your ancestors were Tenebres? Your appearance and voice are remarkably similar.”
“I’ve heard much about the Tower Lord. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Asterios bowed slightly in response.
“I hear you’re still recovering. I appreciate you taking the time. I called because I need your cooperation, so please, have a seat.”
Edwin reclined onto the comfortable couch and gestured for Asterios to sit. Still standing, Asterios’s eyes flicked to the servant behind them.
“I request a private audience with the Tower Lord.”
“A private audience?”
Edwin’s servant, sensing that Edwin was still regaining his strength, immediately tensed.
But when Edwin nodded, the servant bowed and left. The crystal earrings in Edwin’s ears gleamed brightly—a sign that, with the medium intact, even an attack from someone as powerful as Mephisto could be countered.
“What could the Duke of Dréat and the Princess’s Knight have to say to me, the Tower Lord?”
Edwin tilted his head in curiosity. Without a word, Asterios raised his hand and removed Edwin’s mask.
“!”
Edwin leapt up, trembling violently.
His mouth opened, but no sound came out. It was unbelievable—the long-lost friend he had yearned for and desperately searched for was alive and standing before him.
Edwin quickly drew a dagger and aimed it at Asterios.
“To show me your face like this… do you want to die?”
It had long been known that Edwin had been searching for Tenebres’s remains with desperate longing. Over nearly a millennium of life, many had impersonated Tenebres to deceive or kill him.
But they were always impostors, always seeking something.
Since some were sorcerers who had tried to kill the Tower Lord, showing Tenebres’s face to Edwin meant certain death.
“A Tenebres wouldn’t be ignorant of that…”
Yet Asterios spoke in a low, lazy voice—just like the friend Edwin had missed.
Then, he spoke the exact words Tenebres had said to him before dying:
“…Death has always been a welcome relief to me, Eddie…”
“!”
“…Until I knew her.”
The dagger slipped completely from Edwin’s trembling hands.
Roziana sat down with a quill in hand. Jezef approached with a stack of letter paper, beautifully adorned in gold.
“Why bring something so fancy? What’s Mephisto got to do with it?”
“It’s the first letter sent by the Imperial Princess to the Demon Realm; it must be precious and beautiful.”
Jezef smiled gently.
“True enough.”
Roziana pressed the quill to the paper, carefully writing each word. Her gaze remained on the letter as her red lips parted.
“Jezef.”
“Yes, Your Highness?”
“Do you like bread?”
“Bread, Your Highness?”
“Yes.”
Surprised by the unexpected question, Jezef blinked a few times.
“I don’t particularly dislike any food.”
“I said do you like it.”
“Yes, I do.”
“What kind of bread do you like most?”
Jezef thought for a moment.
“In the temple, overly sweet or rich foods were forbidden, so I mainly ate baguettes, but I liked muffins and pies my mother made.”
“So you like sweets! When you were in the Grand Ducal house, I thought you enjoyed the cocoa I gave you!”
Roziana exclaimed, delighted as if she had solved a quiz. That incident at the Grand Ducal house was already over half a year ago. Jezef, reminiscing, smiled faintly.
“At the time, I was too tense and scared to enjoy that sweet drink even in front of me.”
“Exactly. Jezef, remember how I almost spilled the cocoa with my nose?”
Gasp. Jezef drew a sharp breath.
“Your Highness… could we maybe forget that?”
Roziana paused, looking at him.
“How could I forget something so funny?”
She chuckled as she filled nearly an entire page with the letter.
“Anyway, later go to the kitchen and bring various kinds of bread and pies. Call Mari, Fiona, Angela, and Thomas so we can all eat together.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. I owe Fiona a favor. I’ve been waiting for the right moment. Anyway, the gift must be bread. And delicious food tastes better with good company, right?”
In front of others, she would be the grown Imperial Princess, but with Jezef alone, her tone was relaxed and casual, reminiscent of her days at the Grand Ducal house.
“Yes, understood.”
As Jezef turned to leave for the kitchen, Roziana called him back.
“Wait. Now that the letter is finished, give it to Advisor Cedric on your way and call Mari too.”
“Yes, Your Highness. You wrote it quickly.”
“My father already checked the contents and rules, so all I had to do was write it. Mephisto will accept my proposal, right?”
“He has no choice but to.”
“Right. I know, but it feels reassuring to hear it from you once more.”
Following Roziana’s radiant smile, Jezef couldn’t help but smile faintly. Her beauty seemed to grow more noble and brilliant as time passed that day.
As Roziana folded the letter and placed it in a golden envelope, she melted wax and pressed it down. Jezef presented the prepared Imperial seal.
The white wax pressed onto the gold revealed the princess’s emblem—a soaring griffin, the mark of Nova—and the letter was sealed.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Jezef left with the letter, and shortly after, Mari entered the room, bowing politely.
“Your Highness, did you find him?”
“Yes. Come in, Mari. Is my knight in the room?”
The mana flow Asterios had been sending to her gradually weakened and receded, so it seemed he had moved somewhere nearby.
‘Unintentionally, I end up monitoring every move…’
Though she sensed it, she worried about him wandering while still recovering.
“The commander didn’t want to worry Your Highness, so she didn’t inform you in advance. She said to let you know if you were searching. The Tower Lord has called him, and he is now in the guest room with you.”
“The Tower Lord?”
