ITSM 29

Chapter 29

“How long was I unconscious?”

At Roan’s question, Bael, who had been standing beside him, replied:

“You woke up after eight days.”
“A bit longer than usual.”

Pressing his eyes for a moment, Roan rose from his seat. Letting out a short sigh, he listened to the report about what had happened while he had been unconscious.

“Anything unusual during that time? Is Miss Ria doing well?”
“Yes. Miss Liliana has started working.”
“Working?”

Bael explained the task Liliana had taken on.

Even after hearing the explanation, Roan showed little reaction. Bael recalled how Roan had never been pleased with the idea of her working.

Unsure how the king would respond, he worried—but then Roan answered calmly.

“It really didn’t deviate from my expectations at all.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”

Roan waved his hand.

“Anything else?”
“Um… Your Majesty.”

Bael cleared his throat and cautiously watched Roan’s expression.

The reason for his hesitation was clear.

Roan’s body was gradually deteriorating. The sacred relic—called the source of his power—had been taken by the angels. That alone explained it. But Bael hesitated over how to report this to Roan, who had only just regained consciousness.

The other demons present seemed to feel the same.

At that moment, Basago spoke up.

“Where did all the demons who were talking so confidently before the king woke up go?”
“Basago.”
“You said we should tell the king he doesn’t have much time left.”

At Basago’s blunt remark, Bael pressed his forehead.

“His Majesty has just awakened.”
“What, are you worried? Since when does that matter among demons?”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Instead of pointless concern, shouldn’t we be worrying about how to stop the king from disappearing?”

Everyone in the room understood what Basago meant.

“You do know that if the king disappears, we all die, right?”
“Basago!”
“You all seem ready to die after living so long, but I’m the youngest here! I still want to liv—! Mmph!”

“Excuse us for a moment.”

At Amon’s signal, Sion immediately bound Basago with magic and dragged him out of Roan’s room.

Silence swept across the room.

The cold atmosphere lingered briefly before Roan shrugged at the frozen demons.

“Isn’t Basago actually showing a lot of restraint for once?”

“Your Majesty…”

Bael frowned.

Roan hadn’t always been like this. At some point, he had become unusually tolerant toward Basago—and not only toward him, but toward all the demons of Winspear.

“There must be a reason he said that. What’s going on?”

At Roan’s question, Bael hesitated.

Everyone had already realized that Roan’s condition was worsening, so every word had to be chosen carefully.

It had been the same yesterday.

Roan suddenly woke up, but before fully regaining his senses, he disappeared. When they finally tracked his presence, they found Liliana.

Even before recovering properly, he had gone to see her—and afterward, he collapsed again.

Roan urged Bael, and at last he spoke.

“It seems angels are continuing to appear near the barrier.”
“It was about time.”
“They also appear to be preparing to start a war.”

Roan stroked his chin and nodded.

“Of course, I don’t think they’ll act immediately, but we need to retrieve the relics as soon as possible.”

There were three relics taken by the angels.

Bael’s relic, Blood Skull.
Basago’s relic, Illusionnis.
And finally, the king’s relic, Nevermore.

Losing Bael’s or Basago’s relics was not a major issue—but Roan’s was different.

“How much time do you think I have left?”
“At most… about three years.”
“I’ve lived over two thousand years, so three years really is just a moment.”

Bael frowned at Roan’s remark.

It seemed their king had truly gone mad. Bael himself had lived only a few hundred years—yet Roan spoke casually of two thousand.

For the first time, he began seriously wondering whether they needed something like a physician after all.

At that moment, Sion returned after taking Basago away.

Roan, who had been looking at Bael, turned his head.

“Sion.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I think you should go outside Winspear and gather information.”
“Information?”
“We can’t clearly track the angels’ movements here, so it would be better to investigate outside.”

The order was simple:

Leave Winspear and gather rumors about either the angels or Liliana.

Since Sion was half-human and half-demon, he was less likely to be detected than the others. Bael or Basago could go as well, but—

Sending Basago would almost certainly lead to trouble. So Sion, the most rational among them, was the better choice.

Roan slowly stood and adjusted his clothes.

“I don’t think I’m up for it today. I’ll prepare things so you can leave tomorrow.”

Outside, the sun had begun to rise.

Roan glanced out the window before stepping forward. Bael quickly followed and spoke.

“Your Majesty, your body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
“I should go see Miss Ria. I brought her here, yet left her alone for eight days.”

Bael swallowed the words that she had seemed far more comfortable without him.

My eyes suddenly snapped open.

“Ugh.”

I had planned to organize the books before sleeping last night, but I must have been too tired and fallen asleep as I was.

I hadn’t even covered myself with a blanket, so my whole body felt cold.

“Am I catching a cold?”

Winspear was still warm during the day, but nights could be chilly.

“Not likely.”

I’d always been healthy and rarely got sick, so something like this probably wouldn’t affect me.

“Alright, time to get up.”

Stretching my stiff body, I quickly put yesterday’s books back on the shelf.

I moved quickly in case Gremory suddenly appeared—but, as expected, she didn’t come today either.

Scratching my head awkwardly, I began getting ready.

After washing up, I looked through the clothes Roan had gifted me, just like yesterday. Among the many extravagant outfits, I picked the most modest one.

The sky-colored dress subtly changed shade depending on the light.

“I didn’t even notice this one.”

There were so many clothes that I couldn’t remember them all.

After tying the ribbon and gathering my hair into a single twist, I nodded.

“Good. This looks neat enough.”

Checking myself in the mirror, I headed for the door.

“Hmm, I already gave Bael the list of furniture for the library yesterday, so I should start moving some things out.”

I was about to go straight to the library but changed my mind.

Bael had repeatedly warned me not to do anything physically demanding.

“Oh right—he said he’d take care of the heavy furniture himself.”

Then what should I do?

“Maybe I should organize the lists for other rooms today.”

Sorting furniture for the hallway or reception room sounded like a good idea.

I also wanted to renovate the top floor of Winspear, but Bael told me to avoid that area.

Having decided, I smiled and opened the door.

“Yeah, that sounds good. If I check what needs to be cleared first, it’ll be easier—”

I froze.

A familiar figure stood right in front of me.

Jet-black hair. Ruby-like red eyes. Slightly curved lips.

It was Roan—looking nothing like the pale, weakened demon from yesterday.

He waved at me and spoke.

“Long time no see, Miss Ria. Didn’t you miss me?”
“Mr. Roan?”

He looked completely normal.

If I hadn’t seen him collapse yesterday, I would’ve thought nothing had happened.

“Looks like you really missed me.”
“…”
“At this rate, you might stare right through me.”

Roan shrugged, rubbing his chin.

“Anyway—have you been well?”