Terzia glared at the moonlight streaming through the window.
Her friend who bore the Arfair name would probably be unchanged. She didn’t think he could have changed much in just six years.
Somehow, it felt like he would always exist in that same place, with that same face, forever. That was just the kind of being he was.
Perhaps one day he would suddenly return and casually greet her with, ‘I’m back, Terzia.’
Maybe he would treat the gap of time as if it never existed, naturally biting her, consuming her, kissing her as he pleased.
“…Don’t make me laugh.”
Terzia’s beautiful face twisted with long-harbored anger.
She was no longer suffering from a lack of affection, nor was she that child anymore who would have happily accepted even a monster if it stayed by her side.
Moreover, there was no longer any reason or need for him to protect her like in the past. In the black darkness falling outside the window, there were no shadows of evil spirits to be seen.
So Terzia no longer needed him either.
‘Marriage? Don’t even dream of it.’
When you return, it’s straight to breaking off the engagement, Arfair.
She abruptly stood up and slammed the window shut.
*** *** *** *** ***
The procession of Elka’s First Division returning to the capital stretched long across the wasteland.
Deran Aikabal, the Wings of Brom, Elka’s Commander-in-Chief, and the Empire’s Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, was, as always, utterly exhausted. Not a single day in the past six years had been an exception, and today was no different.
Clenching his teeth, he dared to glare at the man sitting across from him. It was an act of insubordination made possible only because the man had his eyes almost closed, reclining deeply into the seatback.
The carriage rolled along gracefully, without the slightest jolt, and at an infuriatingly slow pace.
Finally, Deran Aikabal could no longer hold back and broke the silence.
“Lord Arfair.”
The closed eyelids lifted as slowly as the carriage moved.
The revealed eyes were a deep blood-red, almost black.
The man whose name had been called shifted his gaze lightly to look at Deran Aikabal.
It was barely a movement, not even enough to be called an action. Yet the moment their eyes met, Deran Aikabal felt a chill run down his spine.
But at the same time, it was a familiar gaze. That man always looked at people like that. It wasn’t the first or second time he’d been scared by it!
So Deran Aikabal mustered his courage. Though, in truth, it was closer to reckless bravado.
“Be honest with me.”
“About what?”
The man responded indifferently, his eyes still half-closed, and Deran Aikabal barely managed to suppress his boiling frustration, speaking in clipped tones.
“You seem to enjoy making my life difficult.”
“Hardly.”
The man dismissed the accusation with just two syllables, as if it were absurd. So Deran Aikabal pushed his courage further.
“I clearly told you we must arrive in the capital before the first day of the Green Month.”
“You did.”
Yet the man remained indifferent. His black hair, almost inhuman in its darkness, fluttered in the breeze seeping through the window.
After blinking a couple of times, the man finally fixed his gaze on Deran Aikabal, who was gnawing on his lips. Then, he lazily smiled.
It was a smile so breathtakingly beautiful it could make one’s heart drop, yet it was utterly devoid of warmth or substance.
“But I really like this carriage.”
The state-of-the-art carriage rolled smoothly without a single jolt, its ride quality as exceptional as its price. It wasn’t pulled by horses but powered by steam, clockwork, and a touch of magic.
Where horses should have been harnessed, there was only a cylindrical engine. There wasn’t even a driver’s seat. The only flaw was the sound of steam puffing out of the engine’s chimney, but for its time, it was undoubtedly cutting-edge.
The man lightly tapped the carriage wall and murmured.
“Humans are so clever. Six years ago, there was nothing like this.”
“Coming from someone who can make carriages move without wheels, that’s quite amusing.”
“That’s not a carriage, strictly speaking.”
“Well, it’s still a means of transportation. But the world does seem to change quickly. Maybe it’s because humans have such short lifespans—they’re certainly good at constantly creating things… No, that’s not the point.”
Deran Aikabal frowned mid-sentence. Conversations with the man always had a way of veering off course. That was his specialty.
Deran Aikabal almost screamed in frustration.
“Can’t we at least speed up? We absolutely must reach the capital in three days!”
Because of this man’s insistence on using the carriage, dozens of perfectly good horses and soldiers were crawling toward the capital at a pace slower than a turtle.
They had set out a week ago. The journey, which should have taken ten days round trip, wasn’t even halfway done.
Even if he wanted to abandon the man and hurry ahead, he couldn’t. The man was a direct descendant of a Ducal family.
The man rested his arm on the window frame and tilted his head. His face, as if sculpted from the most beautiful things in the world, was so dazzling it felt almost disrespectful to look directly at it.
“Give me three reasons why we need to hurry.”
“First, I’m bored to death. Second, the soldiers are bored to death. And third, I’ve already told you the return ceremony is scheduled to coincide with His Majesty’s birthday. If we don’t arrive on time, even you will find it quite troublesome.”
“Why would I find it troublesome?”
Deran Aikabal quietly closed his mouth. Then he banged his head against the carriage wall. Infuriating. What could he possibly say to that?
The man watched him with amusement before slowly bringing his hand to his mouth.
Between his fingers, something sharp glinted faintly between his slightly parted lips.
“You always seem to live under the watchful eyes of humans. Not just you, but the others as well. You must enjoy blending into human society.”
“Well, yes…”
“Is there a reason you have to live that way?”
“What reason could there be? It’s a beautiful world when we live together.”
“Isn’t it inconvenient?”
For their kind, the moment they set foot on the surface, they were plagued by extreme thirst and hunger.
“You have to hunt for food every single meal.”
“It’s worth the inconvenience. Not that you’d understand, no matter how much I explain.”
The man gently stroked my chin, seemingly deep in thought about my words. Then, he came to his own conclusion.
“How do you know that?”
“…Just leave me alone!”
Deran Aikabal buried his head as if he wanted to disappear into the wall.
That man was terrifying, terrifying, and terrifying, but… sometimes he was so irritating that it made me forget how scary he was. The endless string of questions, continuing until he was satisfied, had nearly driven me to a nervous breakdown more than once.
‘Ignoring a stubborn mule is the best answer, yeah. Damn it, but at this rate, I’m definitely going to be late…’
Deran Aikabal began to rack his brain for excuses as to why he might dare to be late to the Emperor’s birthday banquet.
Then suddenly, a clever idea to provoke the man came to mind.
Come to think of it, there was just one person. One person whom this lofty psycho treated with his heart rather than his head.
Aikabal decided to test the waters and cautiously brought it up.
“If we don’t hurry, the young lady might get angry. Lady Terzia, that is.”
The man’s ever-composed eyebrows twitched slightly. This alone was a significant reaction, enough to consider the attempt meaningful.
Soon, the man calmly acknowledged it.
“You’re right. It’s been quite a while since I last saw Thea.”
Anyone overhearing might think he had just been out for a half-day stroll. Clicking his tongue, Aikabal pointed out.
“It’s been a full six years. No matter the circumstances, six years is a long time for a human. You might have to beg for forgiveness when you return.”
“Me?”
“Even for someone like you. You’ve essentially left your fiancée to live in solitude for six years. Surely, the young lady must be upset. You’d be lucky if you don’t get dumped the moment you return.”
“Dumped, huh.”
The man let out a low chuckle, as if he’d just heard something amusing. Then, with an air of arrogance, he declared.
“Terzia can’t leave me.”
“That’s just because you don’t understand humans well enough to make such a hasty assumption. Humans are unpredictable creatures, which is what makes them so fascinating.”
“Even with the mark of servitude engraved on her?”
“What? A mark?”
Aikabal was startled and, without realizing it, felt a pang of sympathy for her.
Poor young lady, it wasn’t just a matter of being tied down!
No wonder this man had been dragging his feet and delaying. It seemed he had already ruined her life before leaving.
With nothing left to lose, there was no need for him to hurry. It was an infuriatingly arrogant way of thinking.
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