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chapter 13
Azell was curious about the woman’s condition.
Was she alright now? What had she seen yesterday? Did she have any pain? He wanted to ask these things.
Yet, it was unlike him to feel such impulses.
“That’s enough. You don’t need to explain anything. Just rest.”
All his questions stayed trapped inside.
It wasn’t just because it was uncharacteristic of him. He feared that asking might cause the woman in front of him more pain.
‘Afraid? Me?’
The thought crossed his mind involuntarily, and even though there was no one to hear, he wanted to refute it aloud.
‘It’s just compassion.’
Yes, it was nothing more than pity for a human afflicted by dark magic.
‘No… I can’t even be sure that she’s connected to dark magic in the first place.’
Azell constantly made excuses to himself, as if avoiding an obvious truth, not even realizing that this too was uncharacteristic of him.
Meanwhile, unaware of Azell’s turmoil, the woman added in a trembling voice:
“Thank you… for not asking anything.”
“…You don’t have to say anything. I won’t ask again either.”
That was all Azell could say.
The woman could not speak, and Azell could not remember.
Yet, she looked at him with eyes that shimmered as if she were touched.
‘No need to know. After all, the time limit is just one month.’
His goal was only to end the tiresome cycle of reincarnation.
Who she was, or what their relationship had been—it didn’t matter.
‘Yeah, it was strange to be curious about such things in the first place.’
Turning away, trying to ignore the aching in his chest, Azell tried once more to leave.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
But contrary to his resolve,
“Azell.”
He couldn’t bring himself to take another step.
“You asked me yesterday, didn’t you? What I meant to you… what I was to you.”
And in that brief hesitation came Azell’s worst outcome.
‘Why did she have to…!’
The woman spoke the forbidden words.
“Stop,”
“I don’t know either. What I was to you… what I meant to you… I don’t know.”
What followed was something Azell had never anticipated.
“But I do know what you were to me.”
She couldn’t hold back and turned around, immediately locking eyes with him.
‘I thought she’d be crying…’
She was smiling.
Even while uttering the “forbidden” words that had caused her so much pain.
Even though it must have been frightening.
Even though it must have been difficult.
She smiled at Azell, looking as if he were the most precious and joyful thing in the world.
“Attachment.”
At that moment, his heart seemed to fall to his feet.
“You were my attachment.”
Azell realized instinctively: he could no longer ignore her.
And he would never forget that smile.
I was deeply moved by Azell’s attitude.
‘What a good kid!’
After finishing my conversation with Gaspartha that early morning,
I had anxiously waited the entire time for Azell to get up.
To be honest, seeing myself clearly yesterday was almost unbearable.
‘I really made a complete fool of myself.’
Even though I spent all night worrying, I couldn’t find an excuse.
‘Crying, clinging, screaming… I was just insane.’
Though it had happened because I mistook Gaspartha for a ghost, I couldn’t explain this to Azell.
So I had thought everything was ruined, almost in despair.
‘Is he really an angel?’
The angel in front of me magnanimously forgave me.
‘I’ll do better from now on. Thank you, you rascal! You’re the best, Azell Biotz!’
It was impossible not to feel touched.
“Although I can’t speak about yesterday, I can say this—thank you, Azell.”
After confessing that Azell had been my “attachment,” I felt a weight lift from my heart.
He seemed startled by my sudden TMI, but… what did it matter?
I was simply happy to release that worry.
Meanwhile, a pair of eyes was watching this scene between the two with contrasting emotions.
Gaspartha, the one observing, was trembling with delight, forgetting even the terror of the early morning.
The reason was clear.
‘This… is love!’
In front of him, love was unfolding.
He had been hiding in the corner, threatened by the woman. Yet now, he witnessed an astonishing sight:
‘Azell… our Azell… is flirting!’
For a long time, Gaspartha had watched over Azell.
Azell had cut off all human relationships at some point, making him a painful concern for Gaspartha.
Even toward his own subordinates, Azell was always strict.
But now he was changing.
Even if his partner was a frightening and suspicious human woman, it didn’t matter anymore.
‘Attachment! You were my attachment!’
If this wasn’t love, then what was?
Gaspartha pressed himself against the wall, half-sobbing.
Their love was unbearably beautiful.
‘I want to watch forever!’
Such a spectacle couldn’t be expected in the spirit realm.
For Gaspartha, who greatly admired “other people’s love,” this scene was overwhelmingly intense.
Yet, as a spirit, he still had duties to fulfill. He couldn’t watch them any longer.
Finally, with tears in his eyes, Gaspartha prepared to leave.
‘But before I go, I should give them a gift to celebrate their beautiful love.’
Before returning to the spirit realm, his hands moved mysteriously.
A faint cluster of light flowed from his fingertips, drifting on the wind.
It floated until it gently landed atop the woman’s head.
She did not see it, and Azell had no ability to notice the spirit’s power.
Unseen by the two humans, the light seeped into the woman.
‘I hope this power helps you.’
The satisfied spirit disappeared silently, just as it had appeared.
“Have you woken, guest?”
When I opened the door absentmindedly, I encountered a completely unfamiliar sight for the first time here.
A maid with short green hair stood expressionless at the door.
“…Mary?”
Blink.
She blinked as I called her name without thinking.
“Greetings. I am Mary, and I will be serving the guest from now on.”
She lifted her skirt slightly and finished her elegant greeting.
‘Why did she suddenly appear?’
…Mary.
Specifically, Rinoa Marygold.
Like Seymour in the story, she is one of Azell’s loyal subordinates and a prominent member of the dark faction.
She could never be an ordinary maid.
‘Why would a former paladin, who betrayed the temple and fled, be working as a maid here?’
Yet Mary, dressed neatly in her maid outfit, still blocked my way.
“Uh… um, nice to meet you.”
“Yes, please take care of me.”
But that wasn’t all that was strange.
“Since the guest has come after a long time, let’s do a thorough cleaning.”
“I already sweep and clean every day. Why the sudden big cleaning? Just let me do what I normally do.”
“Shut your mouth and move your hands.”
“Now that the guest has woken, I must hurry to prepare the meal. I’ll go to the kitchen.”
“How is the garden? Who checked it?”
“Ah! I’ll go check right away!”
The mansion, once quiet like a haunted house, had suddenly come alive.
Everyone seemed to appear from hiding, moving energetically through the halls.
Some even greeted me warmly when they noticed me.
“Good morning, guest!”
“…Yes, good morning.”
I couldn’t understand what was happening.
“Mary.”
“Yes, speak.”
“Why… is this happening?”
“The master said to welcome the guest.”
The master meant Azell.
But suddenly calling me a “guest”…
‘I’ve already been here nine days, and only now?’
I didn’t know why Azell, who had left the room with a cold expression yesterday morning, suddenly gave such an order.
‘Well, it’s not a bad situation… I guess.’
While trying to guess Azell’s intentions, we had already reached the dining room entrance.
So my doubts ended there.
“Please, come in. The master is waiting.”
After hearing something even more shocking.
“Who’s waiting?”
“The master… is waiting for the guest.”
It seemed Azell had completely lost his mind.
