UHWKT 23

Chapter 23

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Feeling my face burn all the way to the tips of my hair, I hurriedly pulled the curtain shut and turned away.

From the other side, Caius—now changed out of his shirt—pulled the curtain back and reappeared.

“You seem like the type who lays traps rather intelligently.”

“I’m really sorry…”

“Is this your kind of taste?”

He chuckled as he toyed with the curtain.

As if it were.

But since it was entirely my mistake, I clamped my mouth shut and only bowed my head. It was embarrassing enough, but what felt even more humiliating was that I’d given this guy leverage over me.

“So, what is it you want to say? You’re not going to tell me you just admired my body for no reason.”

He’s really caught a perfect opportunity.

I calmed my burning cheeks, looked away, and said,

“When we return, I was wondering if you could spare a laboratory for me. The location doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, so you suddenly threw open the curtain just to ask me that?”

“Zsseungheudeugeu.”

I want to turn back time.

Why is there no dark magic that reverses time?

“…You know I specialize in potions. When we get back, there are things I want to try. If you give me a lab, I’ll make lots of potions that could be useful to the territory.”

Once the elixir is complete, I’ll be leaving this world anyway. Making a few things in advance wouldn’t be bad. More importantly, that would give me an excuse for having the lab.

Caius, who had fallen into thought for a moment, nodded.

“I’ll think about which room to give you.”

“Huh, really?”

That easily?

“I told you. It’s a reward for your achievements.”

Oh.

Jackpot.

What a real man.

“Thank you. I’ll only be using it briefly, so it doesn’t need to be large. Wherever you give me, I’ll use it carefully and leave it clean.”

Caius, who had been staring at me for a moment, asked,

“Come to think of it, have you thought about where and how you’ll live a year from now?”

“Well… for now, I’m planning to buy a house beyond the border. Somewhere no one knows me.”

I answered, counting on my fingers.

“I’m also planning to buy a bit of land for farming. Currency is shared across the continent, so for settlement funds I’ll just save the salary I earn while working in the Grand Duke’s territory… As for after that, I’m not sure yet. Honestly, I’ve only thought that far.”

From that point on, it’ll be Charlotte’s life, not mine.

What kind of life she lives after crossing the border will be her decision.

“Doesn’t look like you have any intention of returning to the capital.”

“I was exiled—how could I go back? There’s no reason to go there in the first place. There’s no one I want to see.”

Going back to the capital would just mean being surrounded by hostile people.

Above all, I didn’t want Charlotte to meet the count and countess again. They were wonderful parents to Leonie, but to Charlotte they were nothing more than people who had used her.

Caius, who had been watching me quietly, turned away.

“If crossing the border proves difficult, you can stay in the Grand Duke’s territory. I could try to make a place for you.”

…Huh?

“Does that mean if I quit being your exclusive mage after a year, you won’t kill me?”

Have you finally had a change of heart?

I yanked the curtain open as I asked. Caius, who had been pulling back the bedcovers, turned to look at me.

He rolled his eyes, then stretched his lips into a long smile.

“Ah, of course—on the condition that you don’t aim for the position of Grand Duchess.”

“Good night.”

I immediately closed the curtain and turned away.

Things were going so well—why do you have to be so unlucky like this at the end?

“Just in case, I’ll say this: please don’t cross over to this side while I’m sleeping. I’m a light sleeper.”

“I’m not crossing over!”

From beyond the curtain, I heard quiet giggling.

The cabin in the deep night was silent.

Daemon was organizing his belongings in the corner of the living room, with only a small oil lamp lit.

Sensing someone behind him, he turned around.

“…Your Highness, are you not sleeping yet?”

“And you aren’t asleep either. Planning to stay up all night?”

“It’s a place I lived in for eight years, after all. There’s more to sort through than you’d think.”

Daemon smiled awkwardly as he gestured to the pile of odds and ends in front of him.

Caius’s gaze fixed on one spot.

At Daemon’s feet lay a longsword stamped with the imperial seal. It was something the late emperor had personally bestowed.

Sensing the look, Daemon gave a sheepish smile.

“I threw everything away when I ran, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave this behind.”

“Wasn’t it a sword meant for you?”

Daemon didn’t answer.

Instead, he carefully picked up the sword and ran his hand over it for a long time.

“…In truth, for the past eight years I’ve been searching for the divine artifact and for the whereabouts of the Crown Prince.”

A faint crack appeared on Caius’s usually impassive face.

“I thought that was the only way I could atone for my sins, even a little.”

That day, the culprit stole the bodies of the imperial family along with the sword.

Unlike the emperor and empress, whose bodies were found missing only parts, the Crown Prince’s body vanished entirely, as if it had evaporated.

Because of the horrific scene and the large amount of blood believed to belong to the Crown Prince, imperial investigators officially confirmed his death.

The Crown Prince was buried in an empty coffin.

“…I regret that I wasn’t able to find them.”

“I’ve said it again and again—that wasn’t your fault. It was an убий intended to steal the divine artifact from the start.”

Among the three divine artifacts said to exist in this world, the only one whose whereabouts had been clear was the Sword of Dominion.

It was said to grant its owner absolute authority.

However, for a divine artifact to exert its power, a corresponding sacrifice was required.

At the time, the Crown Prince was of noble blood and possessed the greatest magical power among the imperial family. There was a strong possibility that the body that disappeared with the sword had been used as the culprit’s sacrifice.

Daemon held something out.

“Please accept this.”

“What is it?”

“These are the locations where the remaining two divine artifacts are expected to appear. If the culprit is after the other artifacts as well, they should show themselves at one of these places. I selected them while concealing my identity and relying purely on intuition, so they may not be accurate…”

Daemon joked awkwardly, saying perhaps it was because he’d inherited the blood of a holy knight.

“So while I thought you were just hiding for eight years, this is what you were doing?”

“I always thought I should deliver it to Your Highness someday. I just didn’t expect that day to be today.”

“You’re a difficult man to understand.”

Caius accepted the paper.

“I’ll pass it on to the mage.”

Even as Caius folded the paper and slipped it into his chest, Daemon continued to stare at him.

“What is it now, that look?”

“Are you truly nothing at all with the mage?”

Caius’s eyes lost their light.

“What answer are you hoping to hear?”

“I approve.”

“Nonsense.”

“The intuition of an old man.”

“It seems your wits have dulled as well. If you don’t wish to be dismissed immediately after your appointment, it would be best for you to go to sleep.”

Clicking his tongue, Caius turned away.

“Good night.”

When he returned to his room, ignoring Daemon’s farewell with ease, darkness still lay heavy.

Only moonlight, slipping through the leaves and past the window frame, faintly illuminated the room.

Caius stood for a moment with his hand on the doorknob, then turned his head.

Beyond the curtain lay the direction where Charlotte was sleeping.