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Chapter: 39
My mind cleared again.
It felt as though I had retrieved a soul I had once lost.
For some reason, tears began to well up in my eyes.
“You should be ashamed. How dare someone from the House of Marquess Heder be late to such an important party?”
“Irilyn. Are you all right?”
“How dare you ignore your father’s words? Speak. What were you doing to be so late?”
“…Someone put sleeping pills in my tea.”
As my gaze openly bored into Rafel, the marquess and his wife’s faces filled with bewilderment.
While they were left speechless, Sis continued glaring at Rafel as she spoke.
“I’ll take Irilyn with me, Commander.”
“…Commander. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Sis. How can you be so rude to the Commander? Are you suspecting him as the culprit in your delusions?”
“Do you think you can calm Irilyn down? Know your place.”
“Everyone, please stop.”
The tears that had been swelling since the moment I saw my sister were now streaming down my cheeks.
Seeing me like that, they all froze in confusion. I spoke through it.
“I’m going with Sis. No matter what anyone says.”
The original Irilyn had some skill with the sword, but compared to me, she would have been far inferior.
So even if Isvino tried to kill me, it wasn’t certain he would succeed.
But the mere situation of the “real one” trying to reclaim her body filled me with terror.
If the body returned to its true owner, I might be left in this world with only my soul.
Wouldn’t that be the same as death? Well, it was only a hypothesis.
Only my sister could understand how I truly felt.
What I needed right now wasn’t anyone else. It was her.
“I–I see. If that’s what you truly want, Irilyn…”
“What are you doing, Sis? Take Irilyn away at once!”
The marquess barked at Sis, indirectly signaling Rafel to let me go.
Rafel clicked his tongue quietly but had no choice except to release me.
Bin ignored Isvino’s rambling—about being Irilyn Heder, about having missed me—and dragged him away roughly.
The place he brought Isvino to was a VIP lounge, somewhat luxurious for a holding room.
Since he hadn’t technically committed a crime, there wasn’t really anywhere else to confine him.
“Sir Isden?”
But when he opened the door, someone was already inside.
The room was dark, the lights off, yet Bin recognized the voice immediately.
The Crown Prince.
“My apologies. I didn’t realize someone was inside.”
“No matter.”
It seemed the Crown Prince had been waiting here for the second part of the event. For quite a while, judging by the numerous empty glasses that must once have contained dark liquor.
“It’s my fault for not locking the door.”
Snap—
At the Prince’s gesture, the door clicked shut, and magical lights flickered on.
The Crown Prince stood there, wrapped entirely in black robes.
Though it was their first meeting since their disagreement, he looked strangely amused.
“Curious what I’ll transform into for the second part? Shall I tell you in advance—just you?”
At the masquerade ball to be held in the second half, whoever identified a member of the imperial family would receive a grand reward.
Revealing his disguise beforehand would be cheating. Bin firmly shook his head.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“I thought you’d say that. More importantly—who is that?”
The Crown Prince gestured at Isvino, still smiling.
Since facing the Crown Prince, Isvino had grown oddly quiet.
“He is Count Adelen, Lord of Krima. He caused a disturbance in the banquet hall, so I was in the process of isolating him from the other guests.”
“Count Adelen. I’m certain this is our first meeting. Why does he feel so…”
“So damn unpleasant?”
Isvino suddenly cut in.
The Crown Prince clapped once, looking enlightened.
“That’s exactly what I was going to say.”
…For whatever reason, the two seemed to get along.
“In any case, I’ll settle the Count and return to the banquet hall.”
“Go ahead. One noble won’t die just because you’re absent. No need to rush. You know? Work slowly. Don’t strain yourself.”
“…Is that really something Your Highness should be saying?”
“Yes.”
The Crown Prince smiled arrogantly.
At a loss for words at his shamelessness, Bin simply gave a brief bow and resumed dragging Isvino away.
Soon his ears began to ache.
“What? That guy just now was the Crown Prince? No wonder he felt so damn unpleasant at first sight. He’s grown into an even more annoying face than when he was little. Ugh, disgusting. Bin, don’t you think so too?”
Naturally, Bin did not answer. It wasn’t even worth responding.
The noise continued until they found another VIP lounge, but it hardly registered.
His mind had been fixed on something else entirely.
I’ve never seen that before.
Such a face, stricken with fear.
Even through countless hardships, she had never worn that expression.
It bothered him that he’d left her side so abruptly without checking on her condition.
“Say something, Bin! Don’t tell me you still don’t believe I’m Irilyn?”
“Be quiet.”
Abandoning even the minimal courtesy owed to a noble, Bin flung Isvino onto a sofa in another VIP lounge.
The more he thought about it, the harder it was to suppress his anger.
How could he make things less painful for her? How could he make her happier?
Within limits that wouldn’t burden her.
He had agonized over it, cherished her so carefully so she wouldn’t be hurt.
And that lunatic had trampled all over it.
He realized that enduring silently was not always the answer.
So he decided.
He would no longer hold back.
The desire to be by her side.
The longing to possess her alone.
The craving to reach her.
After resting in the garden beside the banquet hall with my sister, I felt better.
We talked about what had happened to each of us, and after piecing together the circumstances, we reached a conclusion.
Mona White had separated my sister from me in order to harm me.
And now that her plan had failed, she wouldn’t give up. She would target me again.
“Still… couldn’t I win? My skills now are better than before. I should be able to beat Rafel, right?”
“You could beat ‘Rafel Isden.’ Not ‘Mona White.’”
Even if I defeated Rafel with swordsmanship, I wouldn’t stand a chance against Mona White’s magic.
I fell silent. My sister continued.
“Let’s find the treasure. It’s something Mona White created—so it might be able to counter her magic.”
Mona White’s treasure. It was Mona White herself—but in truth, she was merely the key to the treasure.
“You are Mona White.”
If you say the words that reveal her identity, Mona White opens a passage.
Follow the passage, and a dungeon appears—filled with traps and monsters she created.
As an observer accompanying you, she says:
“Jibe chicken sanata, all that melhona, taekbae wat seumida.”
You must swiftly dodge the countless traps with “Jibe chicken sanata,”
drive back the swarming monsters to the melon fields with “All that melhona,”
and when you finally reach a secret door, chant “Taekbae wat seumida.”
Inside lies the soul-bound sword Atractio, sleeping in secret.
This sword is the true treasure—the one capable of destroying the Emperor’s Brilliante.
“So you’re saying we take it? It belongs to the Crown Prince.”
“So what? You’re the one about to die. And it’s not even in his hands yet.”
“But… what if the Crown Prince gets killed by the Emperor because of it?”
“Get a grip. You’re a real, living person. He’s just a nov—… mm.”
She must have realized that saying “novel character” would reveal she was Baek Mina, because she stopped mid-word.
She touched her throat cautiously, then, seeing no magic activate, continued with relief.
“Anyway. Your life matters more. Just think about yourself.”
“Even if we decide to find the treasure—Mona White has to open the passage for us to enter the dungeon. Do you think she’ll cooperate?”
“Well, that’s…”
“The second part will begin shortly! All honored guests, please return to the banquet hall!”
At that announcement, most of the garden lights went out. A polite dismissal.
“If we don’t go in, we’ll look suspicious. Let’s head inside for now. Don’t leave my side. And don’t eat or drink anything—there could be poison, got it?”
“Yeah. I know.”
As the lights flickered out one by one, we hurried back toward the banquet hall.
At the entrance, palace attendants were handing out masks.
“You must not reveal your name under any circumstances.”
Even I, a knight, was handed a mask.
It was red, adorned with scattered jewels.
As I stared down at it in my hand, my stomach churned.
An inexplicable sense of dread crept over me.
It wasn’t because of Mona White or Isvino.
But I couldn’t tell what it was.
