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Chapter 10
“Because, My Lady, You Are the Reason I Came Here.”
“So… you know who I am.”
Karlier’s low voice snapped me out of my dazed thoughts.
As our eyes met—him quietly looking down at me—I instinctively tightened my grip on the whistle.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected this.
Even knowing how much Lafer Wizard loved messing with people and pulling pranks, I still didn’t believe he would actually go this far.
This absolute lunatic.
I closed my eyes tight, recalling the absurdity of Lafer’s actions, which went beyond anything I could’ve imagined.
I had no idea how to deal with a situation I had walked straight into without a chance to dodge.
Karlier spoke again.
“Avoiding the question won’t make this situation go away.”
“……”
“I don’t plan to let you go until I get an answer.”
His slow but firm voice sent a chill crawling up my spine.
When I met his emotionless gaze, I couldn’t help but swallow nervously.
“So, your name.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I caught you falling from the sky and kept you alive. I think I at least deserve to know that much.”
This is insane.
He gripped my shoulders tightly, making it clear he wouldn’t release me until I answered.
I bit my lip.
It was only three days away.
Not three weeks, not three months—just three days.
Even if I obediently answered, “Levelia Piace,” and later dyed my hair and claimed to be “Heidi,” would he believe me?
No chance.
The only reason I’d even been able to cook up this absurd plan—to swap places with Heidi—was because the novel explicitly stated that Karlier had never met her before attending the ball.
“Ah, I… I’m…”
Should I just make up a name? Or keep refusing to answer?
Damn that Lafer Wizard!
As I seethed with frustration at the chaos Lafer had dumped me into, I searched my mind for a solution.
And then, in the corner of my vision, I spotted something unexpected—a strand of unfamiliar hair brushing across my chest.
…Blonde?
I frowned in confusion and immediately remembered Lafer’s mischievous grin.
“If Karl meets you today and sees you again at the ball… will he kidnap you instead?”
That’s what he meant?!
“How much longer are you going to make me wait?”
I met Karlier’s crimson eyes, staring at me like they expected an answer.
Before I could even think, my lips moved on their own.
“…Heidi.”
“What?”
“Heidi Eliana.”
“……”
“That’s my name.”
“Heidi Eliana, you said?”
At Karlier’s question, the girl nodded with a calm expression.
As he watched her, Karlier’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.
A coincidence?
No—it was too perfect to be dismissed as mere coincidence.
Karlier was suspicious of this unexpected situation that had fallen into his lap.
Unaware of his thoughts, the girl asked him cautiously.
“Um… do you know me?”
For a moment, Karlier didn’t answer.
A girl falling from the sky like a gift from the heavens—it all felt too suspicious.
After all, Karlier knew better than anyone that the gods had never once been on his side.
He met the girl’s gaze and slowly replied.
“Even in Hestonia, there’s no one who doesn’t know the Flower of Xeros.”
Though suspicious, he curved his lips into a faint smile.
The girl blinked, surprised by his polite tone, and her cheeks flushed slightly.
Karlier gently set her down and studied her face again.
Golden hair like honey, porcelain-white skin without blemish, and blue eyes like a clear summer sky.
“Um… once again, thank you for saving me.”
Karlier silently observed her polite bow.
His eyes sharpened as he examined her features.
Does she resemble her?
Indeed, she looked like the portrait Leo had brought back months ago.
Her eyes seemed slightly different, but that could have easily been the artist’s interpretation.
Then… could this girl really be Heidi Eliana?
Under his intense stare, the girl looked flustered and accidentally dropped something from her hand.
“Ah!”
With a clear metallic sound, a small object clinked on the stone floor.
Karlier’s gaze naturally followed the sound to the item near his feet.
He bent down to pick it up, and his expression subtly shifted.
It was a straight whistle, about the length of two finger joints.
Though it seemed ordinary, it oddly drew his attention.
As he inspected it, he noticed tiny engraved letters and frowned.
[R.W]
…Lafer Wizard.
‘I understand why you’re angry, but I’ve prepared everything. I’ve inscribed magic circles across all of Adelly so you can safely return to Hestonia after plucking that flower.’
Was that what he meant by it?
As he recalled Lafer’s smug grin, Karlier’s expression twisted.
He had agreed to Lafer’s involvement in the plan because he needed his help—but he never truly knew why Lafer was helping him.
While Karlier was lost in thought, the girl’s voice pulled him back.
“Um… thank you for picking that up.”
She held out her hand expectantly, as if asking for her whistle back.
Karlier smiled, and her cheeks flushed again.
Should I kidnap her now?
The thought crossed his mind impulsively. With the heavy security surrounding Heidi, now might be the best opportunity.
But after a brief hesitation, he pushed the thought away.
The plan’s core was to abduct her from the one place where everyone believed she was the safest—so Delphian would be crushed by helplessness and self-loathing.
Just as he moved to return the whistle, he suddenly pulled his hand back playfully.
Startled, the girl widened her eyes in confusion.
“……?”
“Actually, I’ve only just entered Xeros. I think I’ll need your help, my lady.”
“Pardon?”
“I assumed Xeros wouldn’t have changed much in ten years, just like Hestonia, but it seems things are quite different. I may need a guide.”
“……”
“If you could show me around Xeros, I would greatly appreciate it. Would that be possible?”
The girl looked flustered, clearly not expecting that request.
After chewing her lip for a moment, she nodded hesitantly.
“I… I’m not sure I’ll be a very good guide, but…”
“That’s more than enough. Thank you, Miss Heidi.”
Karlier smiled as he placed the whistle back in her hand.
But as she gazed down at it, his eyes chilled.
Heidi Eliana.
The girl he had come to see as his goal after ten long years of rage and thirst for vengeance toward Delphian.
She clutched the whistle tightly, as if she never intended to drop it again.
Karlier silently studied the girl’s eyes as she finally looked up to meet his gaze.
Under the golden sunlight, her bright blue eyes gleamed.
And at that moment, he was overwhelmed with the urge to wring her delicate neck.
To kill her right here, and make Delphian taste the same hell he had lived through.
“Is… is something wrong, sir?”
“No. My apologies.”
“Not at all. I’m just not used to being a guide… Is there anything in Adelly you’d like to see? Anything you’re curious about?”
“Hmm…”
“……?”
“I think… what I’m most curious about is you, my lady.”
“Me?”
Karlier smiled gently as he met her flustered gaze.
“Because, my lady… you are the reason I came to Xeros.”
