Chapter 12

(12) I Will Protect Your Majesty (4)

“I am Eyo Bastid.”

Eleanor silently gazed at the man introducing himself.

“I will wholeheartedly serve as a devoted aide to the distinguished guest of Tulip Palace.”

With a straight posture, serious eyes, radiant blond hair, fair skin, and slender eyes that held deep violet irises—his was a face she had never seen, and yet, it didn’t feel unfamiliar.

‘And that voice…’

She had heard it before.

‘It’s changed a little, but…’

Lower the tone of the voice she heard yesterday, and it would match this one. ‘That gardener.’

The man she encountered in the garden yesterday. Back then, he had brown hair, brown eyes, and an unremarkable face with no distinct features.

Not too tall, not too short, not overweight, not too thin, just the kind of appearance easily forgotten.

But the man in front of her now was tall and broad-shouldered. Solid arms and thighs, a narrow waist—anyone could tell his body was well-trained.

Still, Eleanor was sure the man before her and the one in the garden were the same.

‘What kind of trick is this? Is there a magic I don’t know about? No, of course there is.’

She gave a faint, bitter smile.

‘His Majesty still doesn’t trust me. He must’ve sent this man to watch me…’

What she wondered was whether Heraith knew that this man could change his appearance.

Was he on the emperor’s side, or an enemy? She couldn’t tell. But he wouldn’t answer if she asked, so Eleanor replied calmly.

“Eleanor Snow. Pleased to meet you, Sir Bastid.”

“Please, just call me Eyo.”

Instead of saying his name, Eleanor smiled and turned to look at the assassin seated on the sofa across from her.

The assassin had regained consciousness, but it was unclear if his mind had truly returned.

His gaze was hazy, his breathing slow, and his mouth slightly agape.

Brainwashed. Mission failed. No new orders. In a dormant state.

When the one who had cast the spell gave him a new command, his awareness would likely return.

Before Eyo had arrived, Eleanor had finished probing the spell cast on the assassin. Now, it was time to either distort or break it.

“Sir Bastid. As you can see, I have work to do. Could you leave for now?”

“Ah, yes! My apologies. I’ll be right outside, call me if you need anything.”

Thankfully, Eyo left without protest. Eleanor let out a short breath, stood up, and circled around the central table to stand in front of the assassin.

She reached out, lifted his chin, and locked eyes with him. Mana gathered near her heart stirred. The shapeless energy followed her will and took form.

Flowing through her fingertips, it entered the assassin and moved just as Eleanor desired.

She overwhelmed and tore apart the source of the spell—a dark energy fueling the brainwashing.

A single mistake in the process would shatter his mind, so Eleanor focused with unblinking intensity.

Beads of sweat formed on her once-smooth forehead, trickled down her cheek, and dripped onto the assassin’s forehead.

‘This level of skill…’

The brainwashing was strong and precise.

‘If someone with this power has been doing this to others…’

Then the force aiming to assassinate the emperor was far more powerful than she had imagined.

‘Is that why even the emperor hasn’t made a move yet?’

With a snap, something seemed to break, and the man whose chin she had been holding suddenly sprang upright.

Reflexively, he reached for his waist, but there was nothing there. His frantic gaze locked onto Eleanor.

Unfazed, she pressed his shoulders down to seat him and spoke.

“I am Eleanor Snow.”

Her soft yet firm voice etched itself into his ears.

“I am your new master.”

***

Caron.

At some point, the man had come to be called that.

Before then, he had no name. Even the woman who bore and raised him never uttered one.

Caron.

That’s what the man in the grotesque fox mask had called him. Caron had pledged his life to him.

But now, that conviction was gone. He felt nothing but rage—rage toward everything. He wanted to destroy it all. Even the silver-haired woman in front of him.

And yet, he couldn’t move. Despite the bloodlust radiating from him, the woman who introduced herself as Eleanor showed no fear.

Instead, she wore a faintly amused smile.

“Such a menacing aura. You’re strong, aren’t you?”

Her hand gently slid down his forearm. It had been so long since someone had touched him that he flinched without meaning to.

“You seem to know a bit of magic too.”

How could she know that? Magic was his hidden trump card.

“What’s your name?”

When Caron only glared in silence, Eleanor gently took his hand. In the next moment, he was wracked with unbearable pain.

“Ghhk!”

A moan escaped, a sound he hadn’t made during even the cruelest of tortures when brainwashed.

Now, he could feel pain again. And with it, fear.

“I’m not one for long conversations,” Eleanor said softly, as before.

“It’s better to answer in one go. What’s your name?”

“…Caron.”

“Caron.”

Eleanor let go of his hand and sat across from him. Even with the distance, Caron couldn’t move. It felt as if an immense force was pressing on his shoulders.

“Do you know you were brainwashed?”

Brainwashed? What’s that?

His eyes wavered.

“You don’t, huh? Then I suppose you don’t know how many others like you there are.”

He didn’t know. His memory was foggy.

But one thing was crystal clear—he had killed his own mother with his own hands.

–‘So now, there’s nothing you can’t kill. If I give the order, you must obey. Understand?’

And the voice of the fox-masked man.

He could remember the words, but not the sound of the voice. But there’s no need to explain that to this silver-haired woman.

As he thought that, Eleanor smiled faintly.

“Looks like something just came to mind.”

Caron flinched again, fearing she’d touch him and trigger more of that pain. But Eleanor remained seated.

“You tried to kill His Majesty and failed. I want to know who gave you that order.”

The memory faintly surfaced.

–‘You must cut off the emperor’s head. No matter what.’

The voice of the woman who had commanded him. And—

–‘Do you think you’ll get lucky and kill me one day? Hm? You can tell me that much, can’t you?’

That terrible torture.

The pain he hadn’t felt then came rushing back now, and fear of going through it again made his body shrink. Eleanor quietly observed all of it.

Caron looked up and met her eyes.

“If I tell you… will you let me live?”

Instead of answering, Eleanor tilted her head slightly.

“It was a woman. The most powerful woman in the palace.”

“The Empress Dowager.”

When Caron nodded, Eleanor let out a thoughtful hum.

He wanted to kill her, this completely defenseless woman sitting before him. Not just her—he wanted to burst out of this room and stab everyone in the palace through the heart.

His rage was unbearable. He couldn’t remember his whole life, but the anguish buried deep in his subconscious was beginning to rise.

He had killed his own mother to survive. Endured agony and obeyed like a dog.

“Caron. Do you remember the pain from earlier, when I touched you?”

Of course he did. That’s why he wanted to snap her slender neck.

“You should remember it well. If you ever go against my will again, you’ll feel that pain forever.”

“…!”

“As I said, I’m your new master. The bomb in your head will go off whenever I wish it—or if you try to kill me.”

Caron slowly raised a hand to his head.

He hadn’t even realized he could move again.

“You won’t die even if it explodes. But you will feel that pain for the rest of your life.”

Forever. That pain forever.

A brief moment of it had already felt like an eternity. Caron gritted his teeth and glared at Eleanor.

“Then I’ll just kill myself.”

“I wonder, Caron. Will you really be able to?”