Chapter 110
Raylenne nodded, understanding that Aiden and Caverion were desperate to know who had caused her such harm. After all, she had vanished suddenly and was found covered in blood.
“Was it Harbian?” Caverion asked.
The answer was both yes and no. Raylenne struggled to figure out how to explain the complicated situation. Her head still felt foggy, and it took her a moment to gather her thoughts. After mentally organizing the events of that day, she began to speak.
“Harbian did appear suddenly that day and took me away secretly, without either of you knowing.”
“So, he did take you. Does that mean someone else is responsible for what happened to you?” Caverion pressed.
“Yes,” Raylenne confirmed.
“Who then?” Caverion’s eyes sharpened, realizing someone else was involved.
‘In truth, the person who did this to me was myself…’ Raylenne thought but decided to speak calmly after clearing her throat.
“First, let me tell you something about Harbian.”
Caverion seemed eager to press for more information but reluctantly held his tongue. Aiden also remained silent, watching her intently.
“He has a special ability.”
Both Caverion and Aiden frowned at the mention of a special ability. Raylenne expected this reaction. It was an unusual topic, something they had never encountered in their lives. Without hesitation, she continued.
“Harbian can control people’s minds.”
“How on earth…?” Caverion began.
“He called himself an Awakened. When he used his power, his eyes glowed with an aura.”
“That’s…”
Caverion was visibly shocked. Aiden, too, had a dark look on his face. They were understandably unsettled by the revelation that their enemy possessed such a sinister power.
“What exactly did Harbian aim to do with this power?” Caverion asked.
Raylenne hesitated here. Should she tell them the truth? She feared that if she did, Caverion and Aiden would rush to kill Harbian immediately.
When Raylenne nervously bit her lip, Caverion pressed again.
“Raylenne, tell us.”
“…”
“If you don’t, I’ll have Harbian captured and brought here to extract the truth.”
The threat in Caverion’s voice left her no choice but to speak.
“…Harbian tried to force himself on me. He believed that if he took my purity, you would have no choice but to send me to marry him.”
“What?” Caverion’s face contorted with rage. His aura filled the room with such intensity that Raylenne found it hard to breathe. Given her weakened state, she started coughing violently.
“Cough, cough.”
Hearing her rough cough, Caverion’s aura slowly receded. ‘I understand you’re angry, but this is too much in front of a patient,’ she thought.
Even though Caverion withdrew his power, his chest heaved with barely contained fury. Aiden approached Raylenne.
“Did that scoundrel touch you?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Raylenne shook her head, knowing Aiden would strangle Harbian if he believed he had. “No, I fought back as best as I could.”
She looked at her bandaged hands.
“Even though it left my hands and side like this.”
“You got hurt trying to fend him off?” Caverion asked, incredulous.
“No, I did this to myself.”
Caverion and Aiden’s faces, normally composed, showed shock.
“What do you mean…?” Caverion asked first.
“To break free from his control, I inflicted pain on myself. Stabbing my side was a last-ditch effort to throw him off guard.”
Caverion ran a hand through his hair, looking drained.
“No matter the reason, who stabs themselves to the point of near death?” he exclaimed.
“It was my final act of resistance,” Raylenne admitted. It was a crude method, but it worked.
Raylenne looked at Caverion, who seemed troubled.
“By the way, have you seen Harbian since then?”
“I’ve only instructed people to find witnesses from that day, waiting for you to recover before taking any action,” Caverion replied.
There wouldn’t be any witnesses. Harbian knew the palace well and had taken her to a secluded spot. Even if someone had seen them, they wouldn’t recognize anyone due to the masks they wore.
Caverion clenched his fists. “Don’t worry. Harbian will pay for this. I’ll make sure he understands the consequences of laying a hand on you.”
Caverion looked like he would deal with Harbian regardless of evidence. Raylenne hoped her kind brother wouldn’t have to stain his hands with blood.
“Whew…” she sighed, then addressed Caverion again.
“Brother, could you call Janie for me?”
Caverion, suppressing his anger, pulled the bell rope. While waiting for Janie, Raylenne glanced at Aiden, who remained silent, staring at the floor.
‘What’s wrong with him?’ she wondered. Just then, Janie rushed in.
“You called for me… Milady!” Janie exclaimed, tears welling up as she saw Raylenne sitting up. She ran to the bed.
“Milady…! You’re awake…!”
Raylenne forced a smile with her weak facial muscles. “I’m okay.”
“It’s such a relief…! Just thinking about you collapsing here…!” Janie trailed off, bursting into tears. Raylenne hadn’t realized Janie cared so deeply.
“Sniff…”
As Janie’s sobs subsided, Raylenne spoke again.
“By the way, Janie.”
Janie wiped her eyes with her sleeve and responded. “Yes…?”
“What happened to the dress I wore that day?”
“The blood-soaked dress…? I threw it away because it was too horrible to look at.”
Raylenne held her forehead.
“There was something inside that dress. Did you find it?”
Janie’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “Oh! There was something in the sleeve.”
Raylenne let out a deep breath.
‘I was so close.’
“Where did you put it?”
“Since it looked like a jewel, I put it in the jewelry box.”
“Can you bring it here?”
Janie tilted her head curiously but quickly fetched the item from the jewelry box. As soon as Raylenne saw the green jewel in Janie’s hand, Caverion recognized it first.
“That’s…”
“Yes. I used it to record Father’s voice,” Raylenne said.
Before going to the party, she had hidden a recording magic device in her sleeve.
‘I’m so glad I took it just in case.’
Raylenne tapped the sharp end of the device a few times, and Harbian’s voice began to play.
― I only used this power on my uncle once when he wouldn’t listen to me… but other than that, I haven’t used it much.
Harbian’s confession to killing Emperor Claude’s brother was precisely recorded.
“When did you record this?” Caverion asked.
“You and Aiden have been warning about Harbian’s danger for a while. That’s why I took it with me that day. The masquerade ball seemed suspicious to me too.”
Caverion let out a light laugh. “Just like with Father, this time you were a thousand times better than me.”
“Now you know,” Raylenne replied playfully. Despite her teasing tone, Caverion looked at her with admiration.
As Raylenne smiled with pride, she asked, “By the way, how did you find out where I was at the party?”
Harbian had assured her that no one would find her in the secluded hallway where she collapsed. There was even a hidden door behind the party curtains leading to it.
Caverion’s smile faded as he glanced at Aiden. “Aiden found you.”
“How…?”
“With the power of the Awakener.”
Caverion took a deep breath and continued, “He located you, stopped the bleeding, and took you to a healer. If he hadn’t stopped the bleeding there, you would have died from blood loss.”
Raylenne blinked slowly. Faint memories of Aiden holding her and speaking desperately came to mind. There was one striking scene she recalled. Though it seemed unrelated to their current conversation…
‘Was Caverion crying…?’ she thought. ‘It seemed like he was almost sobbing…’
That image was so out of character for Caverion that Raylenne wondered if her memory was distorted.
“Brother, did you cry when I collapsed?”
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Caverion said, turning away abruptly.
“Then get some rest. I need to take the recording to the palace.”
So it’s true… Raylenne confirmed to herself that Caverion had indeed cried. It was surprising to see her usually stoic brother show such emotion. He had even readily acknowledged Aiden’s actions, which was unusual. Typically, he would have begrudgingly admitted it.
Caverion’s tone had been quite calm this time. Before leaving, he looked at Aiden.
“I’m going to the palace. Take good care of Raylenne.”
Aiden, who had been staring down, nodded without expression. Only then did Caverion leave the room with relief. Janie also exited, saying, “Miss, please call if you need anything.”
With just Aiden and Raylenne left, an awkward silence filled the room. Raylenne glanced at Aiden.
“Why does he look so upset…?” she wondered. Throughout the conversation, Aiden had suddenly fallen silent. The change had been abrupt.
Unable to bear the uncomfortable silence, Raylenne asked, “Aiden, why aren’t you talking?”
Aiden didn’t respond.
“Could it be…?” she thought. Was he having difficulty controlling his Awakener’s power? Recently, he had become skilled at managing it, but his power was so immense that it was always a possibility.
Worried, Raylenne placed her hand on Aiden’s cheek. “Are you feeling unwell?”
At her concerned question, Aiden’s eyelashes trembled slightly. A tear fell from his eye.
Raylenne, shocked, withdrew her hand from his cheek. “What…? Aiden?”
For a moment, her surprise silenced her, making her forget to ask why he was crying. But soon, her shock turned to pity. She realized Aiden was crying because of her.
“Aiden…”
Knowing that a grown man was crying for her made her heart ache. Aiden continued to cry without stopping or wiping his tears.
Raylenne extended her arm and gently embraced his broad back. Like soothing a child, she patted his back carefully, her own eyes growing red with tears. Aiden couldn’t stop crying for a while.
