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Chapter 22
The sudden appearance of Millen wiped the smile off not only As but even Harnen, who stared at him with a cold face.
But Millen looked as calm as if he didn’t feel those gazes at all.
‘What is this… Is he really that oblivious, or is he doing this on purpose…’
I was certain we had settled everything properly during the last festival. For him to show up again as if nothing had ever happened—he had some nerve.
“It hasn’t been that long, has it?”
I cut my words short, not intending to drag out the conversation, but Millen replied as if completely unfazed.
“But to me, it feels like it’s been ages since I last saw you, Einra.”
After saying that, he turned his gaze to As, who stood next to me.
“As, hi. You saw me at the Acacia Festival last time, remember?”
“…”
As looked at Millen with icy eyes, then turned his head away as if he couldn’t even be bothered to respond.
I spoke up on Millen’s behalf, as though being generous.
“As is very shy around strangers.”
“That’s true,” Harnen nodded along beside me.
As’s cold gaze flicked to Harnen this time.
“Haha, I see.”
Millen tried to cover his embarrassment with a forced smile, then looked at Harnen.
“Hmm, I don’t think we’ve met before… who might you be?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask you.”
Wearing a sharp smile, Harnen tilted his head.
“And who are you to act so familiar with our Einra?”
“O–our Einra?”
Millen’s face went pale in an instant.
Harnen hooked an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer as if to show off.
“Yes, our Einra. I happen to be her dearest friend. So I’d really like to know—who exactly are you to be pretending you’re close to her?”
Before Harnen finished speaking, As squeezed himself between us, pushing me away from Harnen.
Forced to step aside, Harnen shot As a glance, then returned his gaze to Millen.
Millen flinched at the word friend, then lifted his chin and shouted.
“Friend? Don’t be ridiculous. You think I don’t know what you’re up to? You’re just pretending to be her friend so you can get close to her! How dare you with my fiancée—!”
“…Fiancée?”
Before I could even explode at such an insolent word, two chilling voices cut him off.
The murderous pressure made me flinch, and just as suddenly, it lessened slightly.
The mocking smile vanished from Harnen’s face as he strode straight up to Millen.
“W–what the—?”
Startled by Harnen’s towering frame looming over him, Millen instinctively stumbled back a step.
But Harnen grabbed his collar and yanked him forward in one swift motion, his voice utterly devoid of humor.
“Since when were you allowed to call her your fiancée?”
“G–guhk…!”
“With me here, do you really think trash like you could ever catch her eye?”
Harnen’s voice dripped with menace.
“C–cough…!”
Millen’s face turned scarlet as he desperately grabbed at Harnen’s hand, but it was useless.
Because it wasn’t Harnen’s grip that was suffocating him.
‘It must be Harnen’s sorcery at work.’
That’s what I assumed.
I never imagined it could actually be aura choking him.
Harnen glanced briefly at As, then finally released Millen’s collar, almost throwing him aside, only when he was at the brink of being unable to speak.
“C–cough! Cough, cough—!”
Collapsed on the ground, Millen gasped for air.
Harnen crouched beside him leisurely, watching. Then, with a bright smile suddenly plastered on his face, he tapped Millen’s cheek lightly.
“Hey.”
Still patting his cheek, Harnen whispered gently.
“Know your place, got it? Hmm? You understand, right?”
After flashing one last smile, he clapped his hands clean and stood up.
I turned to Millen, who sat dazed, still reeling from the shock, and spoke.
“I told you back then, but I’ll say it once more, clearly this time.”
I sighed before continuing.
“I have no intention of marrying you.”
“…”
“I hope you understand how offensive it is to go around calling someone your fiancée without their consent.”
“…”
“And I sincerely hope nothing like this ever happens again.”
Millen simply sat there blankly, staring at the ground.
Well, he had been raised like a pampered child, the son of a wealthy commoner—no wonder the incident shook him so badly.
Clicking my tongue, I turned to As and Harnen.
“Let’s go back.”
The day passed without further incident.
That evening, after confirming Einra was asleep, Aces slipped silently out of the room and headed downstairs.
There, on the first floor, Harnen was waiting with a soundproofing spell already cast.
“Explain yourself, Duke.”
Arms crossed, leaning back against the sofa, Harnen stared coldly at Aces.
“What happened to you? How does the star of the imperial banquet end up stuck here in the body of a child?”
“Duke Baharman played a trick. At the imperial banquet.”
Sitting across from him, Aces replied calmly.
Harnen sighed and rubbed his forehead in disbelief.
“…How much did you even drink? You can’t hold your liquor to begin with.”
Aces stayed silent, not bothering to answer.
Harnen, as if he hadn’t expected one anyway, looked back up and continued.
“Fine, what’s done is done. You should return to the capital at once.”
“No.”
“I can’t for the life of me understand why you insist on staying here. Weren’t you the very same man who avoided Einra at all costs, even running off to the battlefield just to escape her?”
Harnen sneered, twisting his lips.
Aces’s crimson eyes glinted in warning.
“You may have been Emperor of Belzest in your past life, but right now you’re nothing more than a commoner.”
“…”
“So you’d better watch your tongue.”
The air turned frigid.
Damn this class system, Harnen ground his teeth, but Aces graciously pretended not to hear.
“Yesterday morning, assassins sent by Duke Baharman came here.”
“…What?”
“They knew exactly where to find me—and that Einra is a spiritist.”
Aces’s crimson eyes bore into Harnen.
The probing gaze seemed intent on drawing out information. Harnen only shrugged.
“My spellwork is encrypted. To break it would take at least a month of sleepless nights. That’s by Professor Atlanta’s standards, mind you.”
Which meant: it wasn’t Harnen’s magic tools—the Ripples of Limone—that had given away Aces’s location.
After a moment of thought, Aces spoke.
“…It was Dante.”
“What?”
“The sorcerer who cast the spell on me. I don’t know how Baharman learned my whereabouts, but to undo a spell of this level, the caster’s cooperation is essential, isn’t it?”
Only the original caster could fully unravel such advanced sorcery.
Aces added lazily.
Harnen frowned.
“So why tell me this now?”
“Cancel your vacation. Head to the capital tomorrow and investigate Dante.”
“…Duke, are you kidding me right now? My precious vacation, and you want me to—”
“I’ll make it up to you twice over later. But right now, it’s urgent, isn’t it?”
Aces smirked faintly.
Harnen ground his teeth.
“Urgent? That’s rich, coming from someone living leisurely and carefree here.”
“Am I not by the Spirit King’s contractor’s side? That makes this the safest place in the world.”
“You’re not just staying here to indulge your personal feelings toward naïve Einra, are you?”
“With the Spirit King watching? Would I dare?”
Aces retorted smoothly.
“Damn it!” Harnen cursed, flopping against the sofa back. He stared at the ceiling for a while before speaking again.
“For five years, you went out of your way to avoid Einra. What changed?”
“…”
Aces said nothing.
Harnen’s lips curled into a crooked smile.
“Come on, answer me. Why suddenly decide to be at her side? Did you think she’d look at you differently once you returned as a war hero?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Because Einra said she wouldn’t hate me anymore.”
