Chapter 33
“Pardon?!”
Isabella blinked rapidly, eyes wide with disbelief, as she tried to process what Cedric had just said.
“Y-you want to go with me? To the Marquis of Cherville’s estate?”
When she asked with a dumbfounded look, Cedric simply nodded. Her pupils, already dilated in shock, trembled violently.
Completely thrown off by the unexpected situation, Isabella couldn’t hide her expression. Pointing between herself and the outer wall, she asked bluntly,
“Your Grace? Are you serious? I know it’s ridiculous for me to be the one saying this, but what you’re proposing is a crime.”
“I’m aware.”
“Wh, what?! No, do you understand that you’d be my accomplice!”
“Indeed. But your safety is currently my responsibility. If anything were to happen to you, I would be… inconvenienced.”
“…”
Isabella was at a loss for words.
The head of the Ducal House of Caron, known as the Empire’s sword, was calmly talking about committing a crime for a reason like that? If anyone else had heard him, they would’ve fainted on the spot. Yet Cedric said it so casually, Isabella had no idea how to respond.
But he didn’t seem to care whether she answered or not. He simply reached into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled something out. It was a small, slender flute, no bigger than a pinky.
He raised it to his lips and blew. Yet no sound emerged. Only moments later, the distant pounding of hooves began to echo, rapidly drawing near.
Thud-thud, thud-thud, neigh!
In less than a minute, a massive black horse reared before them, its front hooves pawing the air. Under the moonlight, its sleek coat shimmered, its bulky muscles rippled, and its size dwarfed any ordinary horse.
The sheer presence of it was overwhelming, more like a centaur than a beast, and Isabella stared, utterly captivated.
It was then that Cedric suddenly leaned in from behind, his breath brushing her ear as he whispered, “Pardon me.”
Before she could react, he slipped an arm around her waist and lifted her smoothly onto the horse. There wasn’t even time to be startled. In a blink, Cedric had mounted behind her in one graceful motion.
“Y-your Grace?!”
The sudden proximity, the warmth brushing her shoulder, Isabella sat ramrod straight, body tense. But Cedric, unconcerned whether she was flustered or not, wrapped his arms completely around her to reach the reins and said,
“There’s no need to be nervous. It could be dangerous, so feel free to lean back.”
His tone was so calm, so unaffected, that a strange lump formed in her throat.
‘Why… why am I the only one freaking out here?!’
There was no way she could relax. She wasn’t sure if it was because she simply wasn’t used to physical contact… or if it was something else entirely. All she could do was desperately try to hide her blushing face.
Then Cedric’s voice brushed her ear again.
“We’re going over the wall. Please bear with the discomfort for a moment.”
He was so close, his breath tickled her skin. Startled, Isabella flinched and just then, Cedric’s arm wrapped fully around her waist.
“Ah!”
Her breath caught in her throat.
Because of the light, thin dress she wore for this mission, she could feel the firmness of his arm muscles far too clearly.
Thump, thump, thump.
Heat spread through her entire body like wildfire. But that sensation didn’t last long.
Neigh!
With a tug of the reins, the black steed charged headlong toward the high outer wall.
“W-wait…! We’re gonna hit it—AHH!”
The towering wall loomed closer in an instant, and convinced she was about to die, Isabella squeezed her eyes shut. Then—
A sudden rush of wind tore past her. Her body jolted sharply up and down as if gravity had vanished, and her legs tingled with an unfamiliar sensation. She shivered instinctively.
And once again, Cedric whispered, “There’s no need to be afraid.”
His unshakable composure worked like magic. Her trembling stopped as if someone had flipped a switch.
Gaining courage, Isabella cautiously cracked one eye open. And gasped.
“Wow!”
‘The horse… is flying!’
The black stallion had leapt from the ground to the wall, and from the wall into the air, gliding effortlessly across the sky like it was running on clouds.
Staring at the unbelievable sight, Isabella quickly turned from the landscape to Cedric.
“Your Grace! Is this horse… a divine beast? A pegasus? No, wait, if it were, there’s no way I’d be fine like this!”
As someone who possessed dark magic, she couldn’t come into direct contact with holy beasts like pegasi. Perplexed, she tilted her head and Cedric silently held out his palm.
‘His hand?’
Calloused and marked with old scars. As she stared at it, a small gust of wind swirled at the center of his palm. From within it, a faint light shimmered, revealing a tiny, white fairy.
“Wh-what in the world!”
Isabella covered her mouth with both hands, overwhelmed by the sight of the delicate little creature, its round eyes blinking curiously.
Still staring, she asked in awe, “I, is that a spirit of wind?”
“It is.”
His answer came promptly, and with it, the pieces fell into place.
A horse without wings flying through the air. Him locating her while she was in ghost-form. If it was a spirit, especially one of wind, it all made sense.
A bright smile bloomed on her lips.
‘I never thought I’d see a spirit with my own eyes!’
Among the various powers that existed – divine, dark, holy, aura – only one remained neutral and harmonized with all magic: the power of nature.
Affinity with nature.
For someone like Isabella, whose strong dark magic suppressed her connection to the natural world, spirits were the stuff of fairy tales.
The little spirit hovered near her, then spun in a circle before throwing itself against Cedric’s silver hair and rubbing its cheek affectionately.
“Ahhh! It’s too cute!”
Overcome with childlike glee, Isabella forgot all tension, squealing with delight.
Twisting her body as much as she could, she turned to Cedric and asked eagerly, “Your Grace, can I please touch it just once? Please?”
Just moments ago, she hadn’t even dared to look at him properly, now she was practically pleading. Perhaps that was why Cedric hesitated, flinching ever so slightly before nodding and signaling to the spirit.
The fairy blinked its innocent eyes, glanced back and forth between the two, then smiled brightly. Then it grabbed a handful of Cedric’s silver hair and floated toward Isabella.
It plucked a strand of her black hair, too, and with nimble fingers, began weaving the two together into a tiny ribbon. Apparently satisfied with the result, the spirit twirled in glee around its new creation.
Isabella silently stared at the braided hair, then lifted her head.
“…!”
And nearly forgot to breathe.
‘He… smiled?’
Cedric, who always scowled around her, was smiling. Barely the curve of a lip, but even that tiny change transformed his entire demeanor.
They say moonlight can charm the heart.
Bathed in silver light, his softened expression felt impossible to look away from. But only for a moment.
Weeheehee!
Was it the wind? Or the spirit’s laughter? A high, playful sound brushed past her ear.
She snapped back to her senses. And almost immediately, Cedric’s expression hardened once again. He turned his head to the opposite side from her.
“Ah!”
Unfortunately, the two of them were still bound by the spirit’s ribbon, and their heads jerked right back into position.
An awkward silence settled between them. And as it lingered, the thudding of her heart only grew louder. Unable to endure the embarrassment any longer, Isabella kept her eyes on the tied strands of hair and mumbled.
“I-I’ll undo it.”
There was just one problem.
‘Why… won’t this come undone?!’
No matter how she fumbled, the hair wouldn’t unravel. It wasn’t until the horse landed near Marquis Cherville’s estate that the ribbon finally, effortlessly came loose.
“…”
Looking sheepishly at the tousled ends of her hair, Isabella dismounted and placed her hand over her shadow.
“Baal, I need you.”
Unlike other magical beasts, Baal didn’t require a special summoning chant, so she could call him through the shadow’s pathway. But minutes passed, and the shadow didn’t stir.
‘Huh? Was the connection too weak?’
Frowning, Isabella poured in more magic and called again.
“Baal? Where are you?”
Still, no response. Now growing concerned, she began to wonder if something had happened.
But then, the shadow quivered faintly and Baal finally emerged. Only his goat-like head peeked out.
“…Baal? What are you doing?”
Her voice was incredulous. Baal looked at her with what could only be called a pout, glared daggers at Cedric beside her, then retreated back into the shadow with a hmph.
‘What was that? Is he rebelling?’
A demon with thousands of years under his belt, acting like a sulky teenager left Isabella completely dumbfounded.
Should she try again? She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and stood up.
Turning to Cedric, she said, “Let’s just go ourselves.”
“Weren’t you relying on his help?”
“I was… but it’s fine. It won’t be a big issue.”
She shrugged like it couldn’t be helped.
Baal was far better than her at detecting the energy of the Infernus Tear. But she could still do it. It would just take more time. Isabella reached a hand toward the estate wall.
“Grow.”
At her command, black vines sprouted along the wall, weaving into the shape of a ladder. She stepped onto the first rung and turned to Cedric.
“The wall’s not as tall as I thought. I’ll go up first!”
And without hesitation, she scaled the vine ladder and leapt over the wall. It was a smooth, confident motion, elegant and practiced.
Cedric watched her silently, the faintest trace of a smile touching his lips. But he quickly erased it and kicked off the ground in one fluid motion…
……
T/N: Cedric is silently head over heels about Isabella, and I’m loving that 😊
