*** *** *** *** ***
“Hey, Rigel.”
It was from his childhood, just after turning twelve. The boy remembered that day vividly.
“What are you?”
Asked the girl with black hair softer than his own and spring-green eyes. Sprinkling water over her precious lily garden, she looked as lovely as a doll.
Sunlit water droplets scattered in all directions.
“What exactly are you? I’ve always wondered.”
What had he answered then? Ah, yes.
“Arfair.”
That’s what he must have said. The boy hadn’t lied. He saw no need to.
“I see. Well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter anyway.”
The girl nodded indifferently. Returning her attention to the flower bed without hesitation, it seemed she hadn’t really been curious after all.
Or perhaps she hadn’t expected any special answer from him.
But the boy wasn’t kind or attentive enough to deeply contemplate the meaning behind the girl’s question and provide an appropriate answer. He couldn’t see the world through human eyes. It was the only thing he found difficult, despite being capable of everything else.
Everyone who knew the Arfair Duchy’s heir said the same about him. A child detached and indifferent to worldly matters. A quiet boy reminiscent of a moonlit lakeside. Humans always compared him to impenetrable darkness.
But if Terzia, and no one else, had pressed him for answers, he would have told her anything he could.
The girl was the only colorful existence in his monochrome world. From the moment he first saw her, the boy had decided to make her his own.
Terzia was his only special human, taking priority in almost everything except his own desires.
He had never considered the reverse. Things like how Terzia saw him, what kind of existence she considered him to be, or what feelings she held for him—her emotions weren’t included in his concerns.
More precisely, Rigel had never even considered the possibility that Terzia might reject him. Not even once.
However, returning to human lands after six years, he suddenly felt the need to confirm something.
“What kind of mischief are you up to this time?”
Deran Aikabal, pale as a sheet, whispered to the man following behind him.
They had barely made it to the return ceremony thanks to their racing carriage, but then—the man who had been quietly following them to the palace suddenly unleashed his presence.
The overwhelming pressure was terrifying, making it hard to breathe and causing his legs to tremble. But with all eyes in the hall focused on them, Deran Aikabal had to use every ounce of strength to endure the suffocating sensation.
While some looked like death warmed over, Rigel Arfair remained unchanged as ever. His gaze sweeping across the banquet hall even carried a hint of boredom.
But in the next moment, he smiled like a painting came to life.
How many young ladies clutched their hearts with enchanted eyes at that smile was of no concern to him. Since entering the banquet hall, Rigel’s gaze had been fixed on only one place.
Deran Aikabal quietly swallowed when he confirmed who stood at the end of that gaze. It was that lady. Terzia.
“You asked what I’m planning to do? Aikabal.”
Rigel Arfair said while removing his formal hat. His bored expression had vanished, replaced by a satisfied tone.
“I wanted to confirm. As you said, whether Terzia had forgotten me or not.”
“What…?”
“But it seems that wasn’t necessary after all.”
An intoxicating scent pierced his senses. Her enchanting fragrance vibrated throughout this vast hall.
That very scent he could never forget even at its source. The woman with the drug-like scent that always shook the very foundations of the great Rigel Arfair’s rationality stood trembling, looking at him as if she might collapse at any moment.
Terzia.
The only human who responded to him.
Rigel couldn’t bear the thought of being forgotten by her. Even merely considering it was enough to make him unpleasant.
But it had been needless worry. The brainwashing he had planted in Terzia’s body and mind six years ago was working splendidly.
Rigel drew back his power while drawing a warm arc with his lips.
The heavy air pressing down on their lungs vanished instantly. Suddenly released, Deran Aikabal quickly drew breath, while the woman staggered and grabbed the table for support.
With vision far surpassing humans, he clearly caught her lips forming his name.
He knew that the time he’d been away wasn’t short by human standards. He had prepared himself for the possibility that she might have forgotten him, but Terzia remembered him very well.
And surprisingly, it made his mouth water.
Feeling an unbearable hunger, Rigel smiled with delight.
*** *** *** *** ***
Familiar, those blood-red eyes. That black hair.
Rigel Arfair.
Her beloved old friend. The one who left without a word and hadn’t sent so much as a single letter in six years. This friend of hers smiled devastatingly beautifully the moment their eyes met across the void. He looked exactly as he did in her memories.
In that instant, the thick, suffocating air that had bound her immobile suddenly lifted. The abrupt release made her stagger.
“My Lady!”
Thanks to Marquis Caul’s quick reaction in catching her, she barely avoided colliding with the floor. As her constricted breathing suddenly freed, air rushed excessively through her nose.
Terzia coughed and gasped in the Marquis’s arms as if about to faint. Fortunately, with the march music blaring and all attention focused on the return procession, their small commotion went unnoticed.
Terzia finally managed to tear her gaze away from Rigel and collect herself. It took several more seconds for her body to function properly after being released from that painful sensation of being dragged into the depths.
Suddenly, a large hand approached her.
“Pardon me.”
The Marquis had already placed his hand on her forehead before finishing his words. Despite his genial and gentle appearance, his hand was cold.
“No fever.”
He examined her complexion with worried eyes.
Only then did Terzia realize how inappropriately close she was to him.
The embarrassment came belatedly. If anyone saw her and Marquis Caul this close together, it would surely cause troublesome gossip.
Terzia hastily pushed away from the marquis and straightened her posture. Though her fingers and toes still tingled with that eerie sensation, she managed to compose herself somewhat.
Hoping her body would quickly return to normal, Terzia bowed her head.
“Thank you for your help. I must have been nervous since it’s been so long since I attended a ball. I’m embarrassed to have shown such an unseemly side.”
It was a declaration of her intention to leave. The Marquis gave a bewildered laugh.
“My Lady, you look like you could faint at any moment. Please wait here while I fetch the count.”
“No! This happens often. Please don’t worry.”
“This happens often?”
His eyebrows shot up immediately. With the change in expression, his gentle demeanor vanished instantly. What remained was only a searching gaze that seemed to dissect Terzia.
“You often find yourself unable to breathe and trembling in fear like this? Why?”
“P-pardon? Why, you ask…”
“Did you see something? Or perhaps sense something?”
The dissonance snapped her to attention.
Terzia forced an awkward smile.
“As I just mentioned… I’m nervous because it’s been a while since I attended a ball, and I’ve never been comfortable in crowded places.”
“……”
“I’ll be fine after taking a brief rest on the balcony.”
Though she didn’t understand why the Marquis was suddenly so sensitive about this, Terzia had no time to think deeply about it. Her scar still itched, and the commanding voice in her head remained persistent.
—Come out.
“At least wear this for now.”
The Marquis removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
Meeting his determined blue eyes, Terzia knew that a hundred protests would be useless. The head of House Caul was quite a stubborn man.
She glanced sideways at the ongoing return ceremony. Count Brandel was observing the ceremony from the front row alongside the Minister of Military Affairs.
Terzia nodded compliantly, feigning resignation.
Leave a Reply