EVHE 56

Chapter 56

Why?

Tain had been arrested for attempted murder in the forest that day.

I had heard clearly that Ruschel locked him away in the deepest level of the underground prison.

So why? Why was he standing proudly in front of me at the imperial palace? And with that infuriating look on his face?

“Well, if it isn’t our lovely Lady Crescent!”

Tain spread his arms wide and beamed brightly as he walked toward me.

“Marquis Broke…”

“Hahaha, no need to greet me so warmly! I know how touched you must be!”

Even after going to prison, his delusional optimism hadn’t changed one bit.

“I thought it’d be improper to pass by you without saying hello, Lady.”

“You should’ve just ignored me.”

I replied sharply, turning my head away in disgust, not wanting to engage further.

“Oh, don’t be like that! I merely wanted to thank you.”

He cleared his throat theatrically and straightened up.

“Have you heard the news? I’ve become the Emperor’s magical advisor.”

He puffed out his chest with pride.

Tain… the Emperor’s magical what?

My expression hardened instantly at the unbelievable news.

“And it’s all thanks to you, Lady!”

Tain continued in an exaggerated tone, clearly enjoying the drama.

“I was wrongfully imprisoned for trying to harm you, but that caught His Majesty’s attention! If that’s not your doing, what is?”

So the Emperor rescued Tain from prison and appointed him as a magical advisor? Why?!

I desperately hoped he was lying, but the fact that he was openly walking around the palace made it hard to deny.

“Now that you’ve returned to the palace, Lady, I imagine we’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other.”

Tain kept babbling in that oily voice, even as I stood there, stunned.

“Hahaha, before that day comes, I’d best fix up my appearance—make myself look ugly, of course!”

With that, Tain suddenly grabbed my hand.

Aaaaahhh!!
I barely managed to choke down a scream.

“You’re set to marry a prince one day—can’t have you falling for me, now! That would be treason!”

The utter absurdity of his blasphemous words left my mouth hanging open.

“You’re my savior now, Lady. I hope we can meet more often from now on.”

“No, thank you…”

“Until next time!”

He grinned with satisfaction and walked off, seemingly deaf to my rejection.

Having given up on him entirely, I gave a half-hearted nod and turned to leave.

“Oh, right. Lady.”

I was about to ignore him again when he spoke.

“The priest who got me out of prison asked me to give you a message.”

At those words, I instinctively stopped walking.

“Hmm, what was it again…?”

As he furrowed his brow and fell into thought, the pause in his words made my nerves fray.

Then Tain muttered something—

And in that moment, my mind went completely blank, his voice fading away before I could catch the rest.

Reality stretched and blurred like a dream. But only for a moment.

A wave of cold sensation rushed over me. Sirens screamed in my ears.
Then a splitting pain stabbed through my skull.

I couldn’t even scream—just staggered. But the pain didn’t last long.

What was that just now?

That pain—it was familiar. When was it? When had I experienced something like this…?

“I can’t remember. I’ll ask again and let you know later!”

Tain, leaving me more confused than ever, laughed heartily and vanished down the corridor.

I stumbled into the nearest empty palace building, confirmed no one was around, and sank to the floor. My dress brushed against the grass, but I didn’t care.

It felt like that sentence Tain had spoken was laced with magic.
The moment I heard it, something triggered inside me.

And it wasn’t just any pain—it was sharp, like something had pierced through my brain. Like…

Like when I saw the cryptic writing on that mysterious card.

And on Erik’s Day.

That time I passed an unfamiliar priest with Lake… I felt the same thing then.

And again when I met Calix in Reuben.

That situation had been different, but the pain—it was the same.

“Tain said a priest gave him that message…”

I bit down hard on my lower lip.

Could the one behind all this be a priest?

That was the only connection I could think of. But there were too many priests to identify just one.

Maybe I should’ve grabbed Tain and demanded to know exactly who gave him the message.

“Ugh, I’m going to lose it…”

Besides the headache and mental fog, I didn’t notice any other effects—but the sensation was so disgustingly uncomfortable I wanted to scream.

Dealing with the plot of the original novel was hard enough. These random events were driving me insane with anxiety.

Unconsciously, I opened my tightly shut eyes and stood.

“…Wait. Where am I?”

I quickly looked around. There weren’t any guards posted here, unlike the other palaces. I couldn’t even hear a single servant.

Instead, yellow flowers were blooming everywhere. The palace, standing lonely amid them, looked unusual—something about it was different.

“…This feels familiar.”

It was my first time here, yet the place felt strangely recognizable.

A déjà vu?

I shook the thought off. Probably just my imagination.

“Why is this palace so run-down?”

No—“run-down” was putting it lightly. It looked like it could collapse at any second.

I stepped closer to the outer wall and saw deep cracks, prompting me to back away.

“This thing’s gonna fall any moment.”

“It won’t.”

“What—what are you saying? The wall is—”

I instinctively responded to the voice, only to freeze mid-sentence.

One second. Two. I started to turn, ready to scream—

“Shh.”

A gloved hand clamped over my mouth.

“You planning to announce my location to everyone?”

A firm arm wrapped around my waist, pressing our bodies close together.

Then a low chuckle echoed from above me, and I knew who it was instantly.

I raised my left foot—and with all my might, stomped down hard on his.

The man yelped in pain and stumbled away.

“Serves you right! Why scare me like that?!”

I spun around.

As expected, it was Calix, clutching his foot with a pained expression.

“Ugh… Is that broken?”

“Are your bones really that weak?”

“That’s not the point, is it…”

Calix narrowed his eyes, quickly shaking off the pain. He looked me up and down.

“So, what’s bothering you?”

The question struck a nerve, and I flinched.

Was I making that same pitiful face again?
I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.

“What’s with the therapy session all of a sudden?”

I replied airily, pretending nothing was wrong.

“You really don’t listen to me, do you?”

Calix sighed in exasperation.

“I told you—come find me when you need something. But judging from your face, it seems like you just wandered in without thinking.”

I rolled my eyes. Not going to argue—that was accurate.

I remembered him saying to find him when I needed to—but how was I supposed to know where he’d be? And honestly, I didn’t even need help right now.

“Anyway, what’s got you so anxious?”

“Me? I’m fine.”

“It’s written all over your face.”

The disbelief in his tone made me cover my face again.

Do I really show everything on my face? Lake said the same. Why is it always so obvious?

“Here, here.”

As I tried to sink into thought, Calix interrupted.

Without warning, he pulled me in by the waist.

“Calix, wait—!”

Before I could stop him, he leapt off the wall.

In one fluid motion, he carried me up onto the rooftop.

My hair flew wildly in the wind. With no walls to block the view, everything lay wide open before me.

Calix set me down on the highest part of the roof. One wrong step and I could’ve slipped off.

“G-get away from me!”

“I won’t.”

“Get away!!”

When I screamed, Calix just sat down and wrapped his arms around me from behind—so now I was sitting right on his lap.

Afraid I might fall, I clung tightly to his shoulders. For the first time, I was looking down at him.

His smiling face stared up at me, and I couldn’t help but glare.

“Don’t you have plans today?”

“Just canceled them.”

“Your men are looking for you.”

“How could they, if they don’t know where I am?”

“Don’t you have friends? Go hang out with them. Right now.”

At my final, half-demanding remark, Calix gave a soft chuckle.

“You know, technically I’m not allowed to step outside the First Prince’s palace.”

Instead of answering, he gave that completely unrelated response.

“When I was younger, the Empress Dowager kept me in. Now it’s my dear little brother’s job.”

There was laughter in his voice, even though he was recounting a sad past.

“So you’ve always been the only one I had.”

He whispered those words so quietly, I could barely catch them.

“When you left the palace… it got really boring.”

He smirked again, that teasing expression irritating me.

“You’ll play with me now that you’re back, won’t you?”

His arms tightened around my waist.

“Hmm?”

Calix gave me those ridiculously pitiful puppy-dog eyes as he asked again.

I found it so annoying that I reached out and pinched both his cheeks.

“If an assassin shows up tonight, just assume I sent them.”

“Then I’ll be sure to decapitate them and send you the head as a gift.”

Ugh. I can never win with him.

I wanted to thump him on the forehead so badly. But I held back—barely.