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Chapter 22
It wasn’t intentional. Litia had meant to quickly hide him against the wall so they wouldn’t be discovered, but Kalif stumbled backward and spread his arms instead. Even so, fearing Emilia might notice them, she pressed herself even farther in.
“Absolutely… we can’t get caught.”
Litia whispered in a barely audible voice. She could hear footsteps—Emilia was approaching nearby.
Litia flattened herself against the wall, holding her breath. Her heart pounded so violently it felt like she’d been sprinting.
Even in that moment, because their bodies were pressed so close, she could smell his fresh, clean scent. The exact same scent from that night. Her face flushed for no reason, and she sharply turned her head away.
“Miss? Didn’t you go outside? Where could you be?”
Emilia’s voice sounded right next to them.
Litia prayed silently that Emilia would turn her gaze somewhere else. Surely she wasn’t coming this way… right?
“……”
“Hm. Did you go to the study?”
When Emilia’s voice sounded again, Litia pushed Kalif a little more tightly against the wall.
Thankfully, Kalif seemed willing to cooperate—he didn’t say a word.
Litia stayed rigid, tense with the fear that he might tease her on purpose and say something.
Kalif, who had been quietly looking down at her, lifted his hand and lightly brushed the rim of her ear.
Litia flinched, frowning deeply as if to tell him not to.
Don’t.
She mouthed the words silently. Just then, Emilia’s footsteps faded, followed soon after by the sound of a door closing.
Only after everything went quiet and some time passed did Litia jerk away.
“Haa…” A sigh escaped her without her realizing.
Only then did she notice how embarrassingly close they’d been.
She’d meant to stick to the wall just to hide—but still.
“Ah, um… I mean, this is… it’s your fault. Y-you suddenly showed up. You’re not even the person I had an appointment with.”
Litia pouted, her words sounding more like an excuse. Yet Kalif just looked amused, not offended in the slightest.
“I’ll take the blame.”
Why was this man always so relaxed?
Come to think of it, he’d been like that from the very first time they met. Litia had been avoiding people then—avoiding the Crown Prince, hiding whenever she heard Jit calling for her.
At their second meeting, she’d been anxious because she couldn’t figure out how to find him again. And this time wasn’t much different.
Just one night.
One reckless night of fire.
She knew she’d liked him. She’d been curious, rebellious—seeking freedom, indulging in a moment of defiance.
And there was no way she could be unaffected, facing the man who had taken her first time.
No matter how drunk she’d been, they’d shared heated breaths all night. She’d never before spent time pressed skin to skin with someone like that.
If only it had been a more ordinary encounter, today wouldn’t have happened. If he weren’t such a suspicious presence, she might have been able to meet him more happily.
“You look troubled.”
And whose fault do you think that is?
Litia jutted her lips out in irritation.
“This isn’t some secret affair. What on earth are we even doing?”
“Still, you should be grateful I showed up like this.”
“……”
She couldn’t argue with that.
She’d needed to find him anyway to confirm her holy power. And if, when she’d been desperate in the slums and failed to detect any power, he’d appeared right in front of her—
Or worse, if he’d shown up at her meeting with Themes on his own.
That would’ve been far more terrifying.
If rumors spread, she could end up confined at home again—or cause another backlash altogether.
The way this man acted, as though he could see straight through her thoughts, irritated her even more.
And that arrogant tone—like he knew exactly what she was thinking. As if he could pierce through her suspicions.
Unable to meet his gaze, Litia walked to the side and leaned against the wall beside him.
“Not curious?”
“About what?”
“About who I am.”
Litia delayed her answer on purpose, lightly tapping the floor with her foot.
“I kind of want to know… and kind of don’t.”
If he wasn’t an Orb, she could know. But if he was, maybe it was better not to.
She heard him hum softly beside her.
“Then shall I tell you an interesting story?”
“An interesting story?”
“Yeah. Let’s leave your curiosity for later. You’ll find out about me someday anyway.”
Honestly. He was talking about himself as if it were someone else’s story.
Right. After she knew something more definite. Or maybe this man wouldn’t follow her on the pilgrimage at all. And really, he’d come disguised like this—he wasn’t deliberately making things difficult.
“Well… do whatever you want. Go on.”
Kalif laughed quietly.
“It’s something I heard, too.”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever heard of the Primordial Being?”
“The Primordial Being? Like… a god?”
“Who knows. Maybe just a fairy tale.”
“It could be history I don’t know.”
Litia edged a little closer—not consciously, just to hear his low voice better.
“Someone who possessed a power opposite to your holy power.”
She looked up at him.
“……You mean an Orb?”
“So that’s what they’re called.”
“That’s what I heard. They rarely show themselves. Hard to even see one.”
“Hard to see, huh.”
“But why?”
“They say there was once a being who possessed both powers at the same time.”
Both powers? That was something even Litia hadn’t heard before.
Everything she knew—and all the information she’d dug up—said holy power was bestowed by the god Ates.
A being with two powers implied there might be another god besides Ates.
And could opposing powers really coexist? Light and darkness might exist together naturally, but holding two opposing forces within a single being seemed impossible.
“Then was that being a god, too? Can even a god hold two powers?”
“And if they weren’t a god?”
“Then it’d be even more impossible.”
“Exactly.”
Litia glanced sideways at Kalif.
“Wait. Do you actually know this story?”
“What if that being shared one of those powers with someone?”
Litia thought carefully. Setting aside her distrust of Kalif, she felt compelled to answer.
“If such a being existed, then they must’ve gifted Ates their power. A higher being? Or perhaps one that existed before this land.”
“Hm.”
“What? Did I misunderstand?”
“No. Actually, the one who received the gift wasn’t Ates.”
“…Not Ates? Then did Ates steal it? That’s ridiculous. There’s no way.”
The god Ates was worshiped as a pure and noble being.
Practically the reason the Empire existed. A god. The source of the Tenias’ power.
To say Ates stole power from someone—such blasphemy couldn’t be spoken aloud. If that ever leaked out, it’d be disastrous.
And Ates was revered as pure precisely because the god was alone.
If someone had given Ates power, they must’ve been dearly cherished—but Ates was said to have none.
And stealing power from a non-god? A god doing that? Absurd.
More than anything, even if Litia didn’t know everything, she knew the original story.
She shot him an annoyed look.
“I think it makes no sense too.”
Kalif, who had been staring at her intently, smiled faintly.
“What is this? Did you just make it up? It really doesn’t make sense. Why would a god covet someone else’s power?”
“Maybe they would.”
His casual reply only made her more curious.
This topic was blasphemous among nobles—something never to be spoken of. But somehow, with this man, it felt allowed.
“Then what happened to the being who lost their power? I mean… I know it’s not real, but in your story. Just hypothetically. Hypothetically, hypothetically, hypothetically—if Ates stole it. Don’t tell anyone else. Just between us.”
She warned him seriously. Kalif chuckled softly.
“They disappeared.”
“Where to?”
“No idea. That part wasn’t written.”
Litia frowned and poked his side with her elbow.
“What? That’s so unfriendly. Then what happened to the being who had both powers?”
She met his eyes again.
Instead of answering, Kalif studied her closely—like he was searching for something.
It felt like the story kept circling, while he focused only on her expressions.
Embarrassed, she averted her gaze.
“They searched.”
“For the one they gave the gift to—no, the being?”
“Yeah. But it took a very long time.”
“A long time means… they found them?”
“Hmm. Probably?”
“That’s boring.”
She laughed, deflated.
“Too bad. I thought you’d find it interesting.”
“It’s way too far-fetched. You almost sound like an Orb—”
She stopped mid-sentence.
“…Like what?”
