ITSM 06

Chapter 06

I was left completely speechless.

As I stood there frozen, opening and closing my mouth like a fool, Roan calmly added,

“For three years.”
“Y-Yes… right.”
“Well, you never know how things might turn out.”
“…Pardon?”
“You might end up really liking Winspire, Miss Walker. You could even stay for the rest of your life, you know?”

Roan smiled with crescent-shaped eyes—and damn it all, he was truly beautiful.

The corners of my lips trembled, but I forced myself to smile. Sure, a few tears slipped out of my eyes, but hey, as long as I was smiling, that counted… right?

“Lord Roan, you really have a strange sense of humor.”
“I wasn’t joking. More importantly, didn’t we already settle how you’d address me before coming here?”
“Forms of address… ah, right, that…”
“I noticed earlier you called Bael ‘Mr. Bael,’ yet I’m ‘Lord Roan,’ even though we’ll be working together. That’s rather disappointing. You called me that way at first too.”
“Well! I add ‘-nim’ to everyone in the manor—”
“Why make things so complicated when you could just change how you address me?”
“…I don’t want to.”

The refusal slipped out instinctively, without passing through my brain. But when I met Roan’s suddenly cold gaze, I quickly changed my answer.

“You’re right. Now that I think about it, you are. Mr. Roan, I look forward to working with you.”

Others might call me spineless, but I didn’t care. This was a matter of survival!

Roan smiled broadly, clearly satisfied.

“We’re here. Sion, teleport us to the place we visited earlier.”

The mage—called that, though a demon on the inside—lifted his head.

“At once! If it’s a request from Mr. Roan.”

Wasn’t he about to say “Your Grace” just now?

“Of course I’ll do it. Miss Walker, we met earlier, didn’t we? I’m Sion.”
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

I let go of Roan’s hand and shook Sion’s.

After finishing the greeting peacefully enough, he immediately pulled away from me. Then he stuck close to Roan and whispered,

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen humans outside, so… haah. I’m getting way too excited.”

He was whispering very softly, but with my senses sharpened, every word reached my ears.

“If you ever go out again, you must call me. Not the others. Anyone but me will get found out.”

Damn it. I can hear everything, you demons.

I stared into the forest ahead, refusing to look at them.

I could feel Roan’s gaze on me, but I absolutely did not turn my head. After him, Sion also looked my way.

My mouth went dry.

Had they noticed?

Not even a day—no, not even an hour had passed, and I was already exposed?

Contrary to my fears, what came out of Roan’s mouth was completely ordinary.

“Sion. Stop the nonsense and hurry up with the teleport.”
“Tch. Yes, sir.”

At Roan’s command, Sion waved his hands a few times. I stood still and watched.

Before long, a perfectly spherical teleportation circle was complete.

“Alright, you can step through now.”

It had taken less than a minute to cast.

Even the imperial court mages couldn’t use magic this easily.

I’d learned that teleportation had an extremely short maintenance time and had to be entered immediately after completion. If it collapsed, your body would be scattered in pieces across different locations.

But Sion looked utterly confident that his spell wouldn’t fail. He even picked at his ear lazily and glanced around.

Watching him, I was reminded once again just how terrifying the demons of Winspire were. At the same time, a small doubt arose.

As far as I remembered, Sion wasn’t even considered strong among demons.

Bael, who was in the manor, or Amon, who had yet to reveal himself—they were far more powerful.

I couldn’t understand how, in the novel, they had fallen so easily.

But my thoughts didn’t last long.

“Miss Walker.”
“…Yes?”
“Your hand.”

The moment Roan pulled me toward him, my body was swallowed by light.

After passing through the bright glow, a familiar scene came into view.

I shivered briefly at the sudden change in temperature, then pulled my hand free from Roan’s.

“Well, we’re here. It won’t take long to gather my things.”
“Is that so.”

As I headed toward the house, Roan and Sion naturally followed behind me.

“Um, I have some family matters to take care of. Would it be okay if I went alone?”

At my question, they both stopped walking. Their expressions seemed to stiffen.

“You don’t need to worry about me running away.”

Of course, the thought had crossed my mind. But if I ran now, it would be no different from admitting that I’d realized they were demons.

Besides, excluding the demon part, it wasn’t a bad job. (The demon part was the problem.)

Roan’s expression hardened even more after hearing me. I wondered if I’d said something wrong.

Just as my palms began to sweat, he spoke.

“I’m not worried about that.”

I hadn’t expected that answer.

Blinking a few times, I cleared my throat.

“Ahem… thank you for trusting me.”
“Think nothing of it. Then Sion and I will wait where we first met you. Take your time.”

Roan put distance between us without hesitation.

I called out to them,

“Two hours—no, I’ll be back within an hour!”

I’d be seeing them steadily for the next three years. People—or rather, demons—like that were better not to be on bad terms with.

After bowing slightly, I hurried off.

My steps toward home felt strangely light.

Either way, I’d earned the 300 gold my father demanded in half a day. Once I handed it over and settled the family registry, I’d no longer belong to Baron Walker.

It had been a hectic day, but I felt oddly certain I’d be able to sleep with a smile tonight.

Dark clouds gathered in the distance, as if the rain that had stopped was about to fall again.

“I should hurry.”

Thanks to quickening my pace, I arrived about five minutes earlier than expected.

Standing in front of the old door, I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Once I handed over the 300 gold I was holding, that man would no longer be my father.

It was a strange feeling.

I’d lived my whole life calling him “Father.” Now that I was about to sever that relationship, my thoughts drifted unnecessarily.

“Get a grip. After acting stupidly for seven years, are you still not awake?”

After slapping my cheeks a couple of times, I seriously considered it.

“…Still, if I pay him back this time, maybe he’ll come to his senses.”

My father hadn’t been a bad person from the start. Before starting his business, he’d been devoted to his family and gentle.

Of course, all of that fell apart after the business began.

Maybe I couldn’t let go because I still remembered the father he used to be.

I lingered in front of the door for a long time.

I can decide what to do after seeing his reaction. Cutting ties immediately is scary.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Decision made, I slowly opened the door and stepped inside. An unpleasant screech came from the rusted hinges.

It seemed my father inside heard it too, because he greeted me as I entered.

“I’m home, Father.”
“Oh! Liliana, you’re back!”

…Wait. He’s welcoming me?

Seeing him approach with a bright smile made my shoulders twitch. Because whenever he reacted like this, it usually meant he’d caused some kind of trouble.

A bad feeling washed over me, erasing all the optimistic thoughts I’d had outside.

Keeping my distance, I asked coldly,

“What did you do?”
“What do you mean, ‘what did I do’? You really have no respect for your father.”
“Say it properly.”

Unable to withstand my pressure, my father finally spoke.

And what he said was more than enough to send me straight into the abyss.