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Chapter 15
Ascelt Elafide.
He was the villain who appeared in the side story.
According to Maybel’s memory, the side story took place shortly after the secondary male lead left with an unpleasant aftertaste.
Readers who had hoped for the main characters’ happy, cozy daily life must have been deeply disappointed.
Moreover, Ascelt was only thirteen years old—a bit too young for a villain in a messy romance-and-regret story.
‘There wasn’t really any motivation shown either.’
So why was this villain at the secondary male lead’s house?
Confused, Maybel couldn’t even think about shaking his hand; she just held her breath.
Watching her, Ascelt withdrew his extended hand and stated with certainty:
“You know me.”
“…Pardon?”
“You’re scared because you know who I am.”
Oh no!
Maybel hurriedly tried to make an excuse, thinking she could blame it on hearing it from the maids.
“There’s no way any other servant or maid told you, given my orders…”
Gasp!
So sorry, but then I’d have to sell out Sigmund—
“I also asked Master Sigmund separately, so there’s no way he told you about me.”
No!
True to being a future villain, Ascelt erased all of Maybel’s possible excuses.
“How?”
He displayed his sharp hostility without hiding it.
The kindly demeanor he had shown earlier was completely gone.
The atmosphere was so intimidating that saying the wrong thing could lead to serious consequences.
“Uh, well… um…”
Maybel trembled, swallowing hard.
Even though he was young, the villain’s presence was overwhelming.
Even with a cloth covering his eyes, it felt like his gaze pierced right through her.
‘But what’s with that blindfold?’
Had Ascelt been described wearing a blindfold in the side story?
No, during the first encounter with the main characters, his eyes had been described as white.
That meant he hadn’t worn a blindfold back then.
So why is he wearing one now?
That wasn’t the only thing bothering Maybel.
‘There’s a wound.’
The edges of the blindfold were red and irritated, as if worn for a long time.
“Not going to answer?”
When Ascelt bared his teeth and growled, blood seeped from the cheek rubbed by the blindfold.
Without realizing it, Maybel reached out her hand toward his cheek.
At some point, her trembling had stopped.
“Does it hurt?”
“…What?”
“It’s all raw here…”
Before her hand touched his cheek, Ascelt stepped back.
The cold gaze that had stared at her fiercely just moments ago flickered.
He was trying to reach out to me?
Unbelievable, but Maybel still had her arm extended.
“What are you saying—”
“Please forgive Maybel-sama~!”
At that moment, Ella rushed in, wrapping Maybel in her arms.
‘Ella?’
Startled, Maybel looked up at her.
Ella’s eyes were squeezed shut, and her body trembled just as much as Maybel’s.
“She didn’t know yet, so please forgive her just this once~”
“Y-yes! Please forgive her just this once!”
“If punishment must be given, we’ll take it instead. So please forgive her, young lady.”
Behind Ella, the other servants appeared, kneeling and begging.
All of them had their eyes tightly shut.
“She didn’t know…?”
“Yes, yes~! The young lady didn’t know who Master really is yet~ That’s why she made the mistake~!”
Ella desperately spoke for Maybel.
Ascelt’s expression immediately twisted.
“I didn’t tell her who I am?”
“Of course not~! We followed Master’s orders and didn’t tell her a thing~”
“Same here.”
The servants kneeling with her also spoke in unison.
“Then… what the heck…”
Confused, Ascelt muttered as he looked at Maybel in Ella’s arms.
Maybel, not understanding what was happening, just blinked with round eyes.
“She did nothing wrong. So there’s nothing for me to forgive.”
Having said that, Ascelt immediately disappeared deep into the greenhouse.
The soft sound of his footsteps quickly faded.
Only after Ascelt’s shadow was gone did the people breathe a sigh of relief.
“Hah… I really thought something was going to happen…”
“I swear, I really thought the young lady would get hurt…”
“You were scared, weren’t you~? But it’s fine now~”
Ella, still holding Maybel, slumped to the ground.
Cold sweat dotted her forehead.
‘Everyone was so scared. And yet, they were brave for me…’
Maybel fidgeted, lowering her head.
“I… I think I did something wrong. I’m sorry…”
“No~ There’s no reason for you to lower your head~”
“Right. It’s our fault for not telling you beforehand, knowing Master is ‘that kind’ of person.”
“No one expected Master to come here, after all.”
The servants gestured and comforted the discouraged Maybel.
“I’ll be careful from now on…”
“Oh, it’s okay~ From now on, I’ll always be right by your side, young lady~”
“Exactly. We’ll never leave you alone like this again!”
This was an unexpected event for the servants.
They never imagined Ascelt would approach Maybel—especially when the servants weren’t beside her.
If anyone was at fault, it was them, not the little girl.
With Maybel unable to lift her head, the servants exchanged glances.
Confirming no objections, Ella cupped Maybel’s soft, warm cheeks.
“Miss~ You were curious earlier, weren’t you~? About why people weren’t coming~?”
“Yes? Ah, y-yes…”
Ella had gone to check and was worried when no one had arrived.
Then Ascelt appeared…
“Let’s~ find out the reason now~”
Maybel held Ella’s hand as they headed outside the greenhouse.
Back in his room, Ascelt was lost in thought.
‘That girl… what is she?’
Of course, he was thinking about Maybel, whom he had just met.
When he heard Sigmund brought Maybel to the Grand Duke’s castle, Ascelt ordered everyone not to tell her about him.
When Sigmund asked why, he replied:
- I want to get closer, but I’m afraid of unnecessary prejudices.
It was, of course, a blatant lie.
Ascelt simply didn’t want more people to know about him.
Especially if it was the daughter of Sophia Ashilonia, who could easily crush him.
Standing by the door, Ascelt removed his blindfold and went to the full-length mirror.
His concealed, handsome face reflected back at him.
The blood from earlier had dried over his raw skin.
- Does it hurt?
Does it hurt?
Of course it did.
The wounds from the long-time rubbing of the blindfold around his eyebrow and cheek would never heal quickly.
But no matter how much it hurt, he could not walk around without the blindfold.
At least, not in front of people.
In the mirror, he saw the white iris surrounding his snake-like long pupil.
People feared his eyes.
No, they were horrified.
‘Eyes that turn people to stone…’
In truth, Ascelt wasn’t an ordinary human.
In the past, when magic was alive, various races lived together.
Among them, beastkin enjoyed magic on equal footing with humans and possessed unique powers.
Ascelt was a basilisk beastkin, classified as a “legendary species.”
He had the power to turn anyone who met his gaze into stone.
Of course, Ascelt controlled his power well.
But if he didn’t wear the blindfold, people wouldn’t even dare approach.
‘My master said I could remove the blindfold only until the wound heals.’
He didn’t want that.
If he removed the blindfold, everyone would be afraid.
Better to endure the pain.
Better than being treated as a monster that could turn people to stone.
With this in mind, Ascelt never removed the blindfold.
But there was a slight misunderstanding.
Some feared his power, yes.
But not everyone.
Most of the servants, including Ella, were worried for him rather than afraid.
Ascelt had once gone berserk when forced to remove the blindfold, turning many people to stone and collapsing from shock.
Though he seemed to have no memory of the incident, people waited until he removed the blindfold on his own.
Waiting for the day the misunderstanding would be cleared.
Unaware of this, Ascelt was still preoccupied with thoughts of Maybel.
At first, he thought she had seen him and been scared.
He assumed one of the servants had disobeyed his order.
- It’s all raw here…
But Maybel had tried to touch his blindfold.
If she had been scared after knowing his identity, she would never have done that.
Even the late-arriving servants claimed they had kept silent.
‘Then why was she so terrified?’
The round eyes that widened, the stiff expression, the frozen body, even trembling and unable to breathe later…
The shock on her face was far too intense to be just surprise.
Why?
Looking closely in the mirror, Ascelt muttered softly:
“Am… I really that ugly…?”
