Chapter 107
Raylenne’s gaze traced up the hand gripping her wrist. At the end of her line of sight was a man with black hair wearing a silver mask, grinning.
“Miss Raylenne, I told you we’d be seeing each other often.”
The man’s black hair was unfamiliar, but his voice was recognizable.
‘Harbian…!’
She hadn’t expected him to appear like this.
Raylenne tried to shake off the hand, but something felt odd. It was as if her body lacked strength.
‘Huh…?’
It was a strange sensation.
For a moment, a red glint flashed in Harbian’s eyes. They were already unusual golden eyes with a reddish tint, but now they looked slightly different.
Her vision distorted as if seeing a mirage.
Raylenne forgot about shaking off his hand and stared blankly at the sight for a moment.
Harbian, seemingly pleased with Raylenne’s docility, whispered with a smile:
“We should leave before the hunting dogs find their master.”
Harbian grasped Raylenne’s wrist and walked away leisurely.
Raylenne looked back. By now, Aiden and Caverion must have noticed she wasn’t following them.
She could see Aiden and Caverion looking around urgently, but they didn’t seem to be able to find her.
Raylenne was bewildered.
‘Why can’t they find me?’
Even though she was wearing a mask that changed her hair color to red, they should know that. They also knew she was wearing a sky-blue dress.
“No one will be able to find you. Your hair color has changed again now.”
Raylenne looked down at her long hair. As Harbian said, it had indeed turned blonde.
“I put a special spell on your mask. Your hair color will change according to my gestures.”
Raylenne, trying to shake off her foggy mind, asked:
“Why are you going to such lengths?”
Harbian merely smiled quietly in response.
He slipped behind a curtain hanging in a corner of the party hall. Behind the curtain was a door. Opening it revealed a long corridor.
‘A place like this…’
Despite having walked only a few steps from the noisy party hall, the corridor was incredibly quiet.
Harbian opened a door at the end of the corridor and led Raylenne inside.
The space was very dark, but the faint moonlight revealed several statue-like objects. It seemed to be a storage room.
As Raylenne was exploring the unfamiliar space, Harbian suddenly drew very close.
Raylenne managed to take a few steps back with her heavy body, but soon her back hit the wall, cornered.
Trapped, Raylenne glared at Harbian.
“Why did you bring me here?”
Harbian’s eyes curved slightly.
“This party was for you from the beginning.”
“What…?”
“This party was a great opportunity.”
Harbian pulled Raylenne’s hair gently and lightly kissed it.
“An opportunity to have you.”
Raylenne swatted away Harbian’s hand holding her hair.
For some reason, it was easier to move than before.
“You can’t have me in any way.”
“…”
“I’m not an object to begin with.”
Harbian lowered his head to meet her eyes.
“Are you sure about that?”
As she met Harbian’s gaze, Raylenne felt she could perfectly understand what Aiden had said.
Eyes gleaming with obsession. A sinister aura lingered between his brows. He needed to have what he wanted, no matter what.
It would be a lie to say such a Harbian wasn’t frightening, but Raylenne straightened her back instead.
“My brother will be looking for me.”
“Yes, I know. Not just your terrifying brother, but Aiden Bedeusian as well.”
Despite his words, Harbian looked very relaxed.
“But they won’t find you. They won’t think you’re here in this vast imperial palace.”
As frustrating as it was, Harbian was right. How would they know she was trapped here in this enormous palace?
Raylenne glanced at the doorknob.
‘Maybe it would be faster if I escaped myself…’
Although Harbian was close, escape wasn’t impossible. His strange ability seemed to be weakening, as it was much easier to move her body now.
Raylenne watched for the right moment.
Just as Harbian briefly looked away, she quickly placed her hand on the doorknob.
But at the moment she tried to turn it,
‘What’s this…?’
Her body froze as if petrified, her hand stopping mid-motion.
Raylenne looked up. Harbian’s eyes glinted in the darkness.
It was the same as before. The red light created an eerie sight as it rippled over his golden eyes.
At the same time, her mind felt foggy. Her body immediately became heavy again.
“You won’t be able to escape from here. It’s better not to waste your energy unnecessarily.”
“…What have you done to me?”
Harbian briefly looked away. He seemed to be considering Raylenne’s question.
Soon, he quietly rolled his eyes back to meet Raylenne’s gaze.
“Hmm… I’ve never told anyone before, but I’ll tell you specially.”
“…”
“I’m telling you this because I think you’ll be more subdued if you know about my ability.”
Ability…?
Suddenly, Lavita’s words flashed through her mind.
[It’s true that I felt attracted to His Highness Harbian… but how should I put it, that day I felt dazed as if I had been drinking.]
It was very similar to her current state. So Lavita hadn’t been mistaken after all.
As her heart pounded with foreboding, Harbian delivered a shocking revelation.
“The truth is, I’m an Awakened One. I can control people’s minds.”
This time, Raylenne was truly astonished.
‘No way…!’
To think that the different kind of Awakened One Aiden had mentioned was so close at hand.
Seeing Raylenne’s shock, Harbian let out a small laugh.
“It’s understandable to be surprised. I’ve kept my ability hidden from everyone.”
“…Why did you hide your ability?”
“If people knew about this ability, who would want to be close to me? Wouldn’t they avoid me out of disgust?”
As he said, it was indeed an unpleasant and repulsive ability. To control minds.
However, there was something Raylenne couldn’t understand.
“You’re saying no one noticed the red flash in your eyes?”
At Raylenne’s question, Harbian’s smile briefly faded.
“You… can see the aura in my eyes, it seems.”
So that red light was an aura.
While Aiden and Caverion’s auras emanated from their entire bodies, Harbian’s seemed to come only from his eyes.
“It’s so noticeable, how could anyone miss it?”
“Usually, people don’t notice. I make sure of that. It appears you can resist my power to some extent.”
Harbian silently gazed down at Raylenne, then curled his lips up again.
“You really are interesting.”
Raylenne glared at Harbian.
“What do you intend to do with me?”
“I’m going to take you here.”
“If this gets out, you’ll be in danger too.”
Caverion wouldn’t stay quiet about this.
It seemed Harbian was also aware of her special relationship with Aiden, yet he was doing this without considering the consequences.
However, Harbian didn’t seem to think so.
“Men are like that. They lose interest in things others have used. Your brother may protect you now, but this incident will change his attitude significantly.”
“…”
“The same goes for Aiden Bedeusian. Who would want a woman who’s lost her purity?”
Harbian stroked Raylenne’s cheek with the back of his hand.
Though she inwardly disagreed completely with his words, Raylenne gave up on arguing.
She squeezed her eyes shut, repulsed by his touch.
But at that moment, she made an unexpected discovery.
When she avoided Harbian’s gaze, her stiff body gradually regained strength.
This revelation felt like a lifeline from heaven, and Raylenne’s mind raced.
Perhaps she could momentarily break free from this absurd ability.
But she couldn’t escape with her eyes closed.
So, when the ability weakened while her eyes were closed, she needed to find a more definitive way to resist it.
‘I need to think of a method.’
As Raylenne frantically racked her brain, one idea came to mind.
It was a somewhat extreme method, but it seemed like it could definitively free her from Harbian’s ability.
Opening her eyes, Raylenne scanned her surroundings. She needed a tool to execute her plan.
Fortunately, a marble statue stood nearby.
“Are you still looking for a way to escape?”
Harbian asked mockingly, seeing Raylenne looking around.
Ignoring him, Raylenne closed her eyes.
As Harbian’s ability momentarily weakened like before, Raylenne used all her strength to push the nearby statue.
The statue lost its balance, teetered, and then shattered with a loud crash.
Fragments of the broken statue scattered everywhere.
Harbian watched the scene with an expressionless face.
“If you did that intending to make a loud noise, you’ve misjudged—”
“No.”
Raylenne grasped a shard of the broken statue. The sharp fragment was as threatening as a knife blade.
“Then… do you think you can attack me with that?”
Harbian frowned.
Instead of answering, Raylenne tightly gripped the marble shard. As the sharp edge dug into her palm, red blood flowed from her hand.
Raylenne curled her lips upward.
‘There’s no sensation more primal than pain.’
As the piercing pain sent a chill through her head, Raylenne’s body finally broke free completely from Harbian’s control.
