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Chapter 60
After confirming that all signs of people were gone, he knocked on the door, though it was meaningless.
“Princess, everyone’s gone. It’s safe to open the door now.”
He knew she could hear him inside, yet, as before, there was no response.
Hmm.
Her name was Han Sijin, right?
There was no other choice.
He didn’t have the luxury to take it slow from start to finish.
“Sorry. I don’t have time to explain leisurely.”
Saying that, he brushed off the momentary hesitation and—
Bang!
He smashed the doorknob.
From inside, he heard a small scream as he stepped into the fully opened room.
‘Peach scent.’
Turning toward the sound, he saw a woman curled up, trembling violently.
He moved directly toward her.
Or rather, he tried to, but she threw a flower vase at him.
He lightly dodged it, and the sound of breaking glass rang out loudly.
In the pitch-black room, only the outline of the woman who had thrown the vase was visible.
“Nice to meet you, Princess Jepino.”
Even in that room with no moonlight, her green eyes shone vividly.
“Get out!”
She forced her stiff, closed mouth open, and her voice was harsh, rough, and unpleasant.
Ignoring it, he approached her and reached out his hand.
A strange voice rang out.
“If you touch me… be prepared. Don’t underestimate me just because I look like this. Even if you’re a duke, I won’t stay quiet.”
Speaking incoherently in a hoarse voice, he grabbed her shoulder firmly and turned her.
She was dragged along helplessly, unable to resist his surprisingly strong strength.
Startled even herself, he could hear her gasp.
“Haa…”
“……”
Her emaciated body wasn’t just thin.
Her entire body was rotting.
‘Her body is corrupted.’
Ignoring her glaring at him with her axe-like eyes, he took out the necklace he had kept safely in his pocket.
It was the necklace with the flower he had received from Iris before.
“Princess, I guarantee you’ll regret what you just said.”
In short… it was a sacred item given to him by Iris.
“I’m going to save you.”
The moment she opened her mouth—
Flash!
A pure white light spread instantly.
It filled the small room, then slowly dissipated into smoke…
“Hup! Huff!”
When the light disappeared, leaving everything as if it were an illusion, she was staggering, gasping for air.
Shaking violently as she looked at her hands and feet, she lifted her head sharply.
Her mesmerizing green eyes trembled slightly.
“What… did you do to me?”
Her metallic voice had completely changed.
A sharp, clear voice, filled with resolve, reached his ears.
“I saved you.”
“……”
“How about it? Feeling ready to talk to me now?”
✦ ✦ ✦
Selena Jepino.
The princess of the Jepino family bowed before him.
“Allow me to introduce myself formally. I am Selena Jepino. I never forget a favor once received, and I swear on my family’s name to repay it.”
Her eyes were red from holding back tears, and she flinched for a long while.
After regaining her composure, she explained that she had participated in a scholar’s research along the Winnit River, where she had been contaminated.
“No matter the reason you came to find me, or why you saved me, I swear on my name that I will repay this favor.”
She said the Winnit River contamination was a horrific disease that rotted the skin and eventually led to death, and without a sacred item, it was incurable—making it an especially cruel illness.
“Please allow me to dedicate this new life to you.”
The lights in the previously dark room turned on.
As the light leaked out through the slightly open terrace door, people outside who were walking around panicked, calling out for Selena.
‘Seems like there isn’t much time left.’
He forced Selena, who remained bent at the waist, to stand up.
“I only helped because my friends Hian and His were worried.”
Seeing the waves of gratitude in her eyes made him feel a little guilty, but he resolutely ignored it.
“It was a pure gesture for my friend’s family, so don’t feel too indebted.”
Selena’s eyes filled with moisture again, and she spoke firmly.
“No. Healing a body contaminated by the Winnit River is nearly impossible. You returned a body to me that even a fortune couldn’t restore. I want to help you in any way I can.”
What he had said to her earlier had been a mere courtesy; in truth, he had wanted to hear this response again.
He led Selena to a broken chair and had her sit.
“You want to help me?”
“Yes. Anything, just tell me what to do.”
He carefully filtered his words, lightly adapting them before speaking.
“I once visited the Lumen Empire to request something from a sorcerer.”
He summarized the story as much as possible.
“But that sorcerer demanded a certain item that you, Princess, possess as payment for the request.”
He didn’t take his eyes off Selena while speaking.
He had no clue what the item might be, but if a foreign sorcerer sought it, it was probably precious.
Although he called her benefactor, she might not have handed over such a valuable item willingly.
Hearing his story, she paused and tucked her damaged hair behind her ear.
Selena removed the earring she was wearing.
Without hesitation, she handed it to him.
“I think the sorcerer you mentioned is probably my grandmother’s sister.”
The sorcerer Kischel had found… was from the Jepino family?
“This is my grandmother’s heirloom. It’s not particularly special, but I was told she wore it with her sister before they parted.”
“This earring?”
“It must be the one the sorcerer is looking for. You can take it if you need it.”
Was it really okay to take it?
He held the earring in his hand, unsure what to do, and finally asked outright:
“It’s your precious grandmother’s heirloom—are you sure I can have it?”
“I was taught that I must always fulfill a request from a benefactor to my grandmother. Besides, there are many ways to honor her, not just through this earring. I can remember and honor her myself, so you may take it.”
Her words were firm and resolute.
He held the earring tightly, looking down to hide any hesitation.
He was one step closer to escaping death.
The small earring in his hand made him feel it.
✦ ✦ ✦
While Inerea had gone to meet Princess Jepino,
he sent the twins to watch for any incoming people, and Kischel remained alone, looking at the moon and reflecting on her last words.
“When you return, I hope you won’t hide anything from me.”
“Phew.”
Kischel brushed his hair back.
So, she had noticed.
‘I never thought I could deceive her… but I didn’t expect she’d find out so quickly.’
On the day Inerea first met the Jepino family’s sacred beasts,
a man came to Kischel.
“Wouldn’t you like to act for someone greater?”
That statement revealed he was aligned with the emperor.
Kischel was faced with a choice.
It wasn’t about betraying Inerea.
His only consideration was:
‘Should I try being a spy, even if it’s beyond my station?’
But knowing Inerea would oppose it, he kept his mouth shut and pondered.
Kischel thought:
“You chose the wrong person.”
He would never betray Inerea.
“I cannot and do not want to entertain such thoughts.”
Even if the whole world turned against him,
Kischel had decided to remain by her side.
A memory of his young master from long ago surfaced—
when, in his childhood, unaware of what happiness was, the young master promised to find it for Kischel.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Ah… my master is blessed. Where else would one find a servant like me?”
He had dedicated his short—or long—life to her, continues to do so, and intends to do so forever.
A life lived for Inerea.
He wished to call his life that.
