Chapter 12
A small girl in a yellow dress who looked out of place stood among men in knight uniforms and men in wizard robes.
She had blonde hair and light brown eyes. Her eye color wasn’t particularly striking. Those two colors were common in the Empire. But the persistence and intense vitality in her light brown eyes captivated him.
Refusing help from others, the girl clutched her voluminous dress with both hands as she climbed the mountain.
She looked precarious, yet stronger than anyone else ascending.
He asked the knight standing beside him.
“Who is that young lady?”
It was the first time he had ever wanted to know about the existence of others.
Serira Ventus.
She was a famous spirit user, rumored to have contracted with a high-ranking fire spirit at the age of twelve.
Seeing the knight’s eyes ask if he didn’t know her, he recalled his brother’s joyful face when he heard that a talented individual who had contracted with a high-ranking spirit had appeared.
She looked young. Serira, climbing the treacherous mountain with her small frame, looked to anyone like a young girl whose baby fat hadn’t yet gone away.
He asked the knight again. How old is she? The knight’s short reply startled him with a strange feeling of surprise that she’s sixteen this year.
At first, it was curiosity. He was curious about her, who seemed to have such a strong will to live, unlike himself, who found everything boring.
What did she hope to achieve by trying so hard?
Contracting with a high-ranking spirit at twelve was an extraordinary ability, just like his own.
She had gained such great power at a young age, so why was she so full of life unlike him?
“Aren’t you bored with this life?”
From then on, his gaze kept following Serira. So much so that he wasn’t even conscious of watching her.
* * *
When did it start?
If someone were to ask him when he started loving Serira, it would be hard for him to answer exactly when.
His gaze was always on her, and at some point, he feared she might get hurt or be in danger as she scurried around like a baby chick.
By the time he realized it, the small ripple born from a small stone of curiosity had already become a wave called love, swallowing his heart.
He had read countless books and learned all the human virtues from esteemed scholars, but Havel never learned how to love. Or, to be precise, he didn’t know how to approach the woman he loved.
Havel wanted to approach her because he liked her so much, but he also feared that if he held her too tightly, she might break like a fragile baby chick.
Moreover, Serira lived a very busy life. She would coldly push away anyone who tried to obstruct her path or sway her unwavering resolve without the slightest hesitation.
Seeing that, Havel found it even harder to approach her. He merely circled around Serira from afar.
But that didn’t mean he just stood by and did nothing.
“Oh, I heard this mountain used to have so many peach trees. They say incredibly delicious peaches grew here… I want to try peaches too. But I guess I can’t, right?”
He wouldn’t miss her small whisper, and he would search the mountain in the middle of the night to pick a sack full of peaches.
“I need to find a house, but I don’t have enough money yet. I’m really dying here.”
When she said she needed a house in the capital, he quickly emptied a mansion he received from his brother and provided her with a home.
“I’m planning to buy a carriage.”
He sold her the carriage his father had custom-made for his birthday at a bargain price.
“The steak at Marignon Restaurant is truly fantastic.”
To help her relax, he booked her favorite restaurant using his brother’s name and directly advised his brother to give the main members of the subjugation team half a day off as a reward.
Just so her days would be a little brighter.
Even if he couldn’t stand by her side.
Yes, he had been content with that.
But then, unexpectedly and in a truly absurd way, Serira abruptly came closer to him.
A love potion. Believing this absurd potion was real, she offered him an antidote. She said drinking the antidote would make his love for her disappear.
He was about to tell her that such a potion didn’t exist but paused when he saw Serira’s resolute gaze.
All my feelings of love for you will disappear? These feelings that are growing deeper and driving me crazy?
How can you, with such innocent eyes, speak of erasing my feelings?
For some reason, a strange sense of injustice welled up in his chest, as if every moment he had loved her was being denied.
In a moment that was completely unlike him, he didn’t tell her the truth. Instead, he drank all of the antidote she offered, as if he believed her words.
When he opened his closed eyes, Serira, like a young deer unaware of the truth about the potion, was staring at him. Unaware that he was a beast hiding its fangs.
You should never have looked me in the eye. You should never have stood before me.
From deep within, the possessive desire for Serira that he had been suppressed, surfaced.
The beast, who had been staring at the deer caught in its own trap, finally decided to bite the deer’s neck.
“What should I do, my lady? Even after drinking the antidote, I still love you so much I’m going crazy… It’s not working. I feel like I’m going to die like this, so it seems you’ll have to take responsibility for me.”
Serira’s eyes widened in shock.
He tightened his grip on her small hand. Seeing himself reflected in her trembling brown eyes, he smiled for the first time without any trace of emptiness.
Serira, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can let you go anymore.
* * *
“Your Highness, the director of the Capital’s Public Welfare Center has arrived in the reception room.”
Havel’s hand, flipping through documents, paused at his aide’s voice. A flicker of light passed through his indifferent violet eyes.
He, who never stopped what he was doing unless it was important, rose from his seat without the slightest hesitation and headed for the reception room.
The director, a man with graying brown hair, was restlessly shifting his eyes, unable to sit comfortably on the reception room sofa.
His aide called out to the director, who had his back to them and didn’t know Havel had arrived.
The director turned around, his eyes wide, and hurriedly bowed.
“G-Greetings, Your Royal Highness the Grand Duke.”
His trembling voice was filled with fear. It wasn’t an unfamiliar reaction. There had never been anyone who had seen him for the first time who had not trembled at his presence.
Havel walked past him, sat on the sofa, and said,
“You may rise. Come sit and let’s talk over here.”
“Yes…”
He could clearly see the director swallow hard as he settled onto the sofa. Seeing his face etched with tension, Havel knew he wouldn’t have trouble getting the information he wanted.
“You must have been surprised that I summoned you so suddenly. I know you’re busy, so I won’t take up too much of your time.”
“No, no, Your Royal Highness. With the amount Your Highness donates to our center each year, my time is nothing. And surely, Your Highness is far busier than someone like me.”
“Right, let’s skip the pleasantries and get to the point. Two days ago, I heard that the young lady of Count Ventus’s family visited the center. Is that correct?”
“Huh? Oh… Yes. That’s correct.”
The director nervously shifted his eyes, perhaps not expecting such a question.
The night Serira walked into his trap, he secretly assigned people to follow her. He needed to find the source of the love potion, the one that supposedly influenced people’s hearts.
Of course, he didn’t believe the potion was real. After all, a potion that could control people’s hearts couldn’t possibly exist.
It had been 50 years since the black mages were purged, and many rumors about black magic were exaggerated, one of which was magic that could control people’s minds. However, while black magic could curse others by obtaining their blood, it couldn’t perform mind-controlling magic.
Nevertheless, many followers of black magic who firmly believed in such rumors still remained scattered about. Havel worried that Serira might have fallen into the clutches of these remnants.
Fortunately, his subordinate, who had followed her for three days, reported that after the incident, her movements were limited to the imperial palace and her estate, except for one visit to the center the following day.
But her visit to the center the very next day bothered him. There was no sudden reason for her to go there.
To find out why, Havel had someone summon the director.
“Why did Lady Ventus visit your center?”
“That… it was nothing serious…”
“Director. I didn’t summon you here for vague answers.”
“Ah, yes, well… The young lady came looking for an old woman who is at our center. But that old woman isn’t at the center right now… so they didn’t meet.”
“An old woman? What kind of person is she? And why isn’t she at the center?”
“She’s an old woman who used to practice magic, but now her mind wanders. She’s not at the center because she dislikes being confined to one place and frequently goes out and returns. We’ve sent people to look for her a few times, but since this happens so often, we just wait for her now.”
“Magic, you say… Does that old woman make potions or something?”
“Huh? Oh, good heavens, surely not again… She had been quiet for a while, so I thought everything was fine. Did she perhaps sell a ‘love potion’ to Lady Ventus?”
As expected, it was her. Havel let out a hollow laugh, looking at the director who was apologizing profusely, blaming himself for not managing things better.
Thankfully, it’s not the work of black magic followers.
“It’s fine. It’s nothing to be so apologetic about. I benefited from it.”
“Pardon?”
“When will that old woman return?”
“I don’t know that either. I apologize, Your Highness.”
“No, no. If that old woman returns, send a word to me first, not Lady Ventus.”
“Yes? Yes… Understood.”
The director, with a perplexed look, slowly nodded at his words.
Yes, this will buy me time.
Serira had shouted then that they were nothing to each other. The reason he couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth was because he knew that the moment he did, she would coldly turn away.
Yes, for now, a mask of lie was advantageous to him. At least if she thought it was her fault, she wouldn’t be able to easily abandon him.
The trap for the timid Serira had to be carefully laid, so he could suppress his desires for as long as needed.
Havel rose from his seat, his gaze deepening, and left the reception room.
