Chapter 66
“Can I decorate the lady’s room with these flowers?”
In the greenhouse filled with lush greenery, Lune fixed her gaze on a few tulips and asked Deflin.
Deflin, who had been inspecting the condition of the flowers, raised a brow at the unexpected question.
“She won’t be back for a while anyway. What’s the point of decorating? The flowers will wilt before she even sees them.”
“Still, I want the scent of flowers to linger. That way, when she returns, the whole room will be filled with their fragrance.”
At Lune’s words, spoken with a happy smile, Deflin let out a sigh of defeat, followed by a chuckle.
“Do as you like.”
Lune’s face lit up more than it had when she was offered a gift. Even though Sophia wouldn’t see the flowers, she carefully selected the best ones.
After gently trimming the tulips and arranging them in a vase, Lune cradled it carefully and headed to Sophia’s room.
Just as she finished placing the vase on the windowsill, a voice came from behind.
“These flowers are lovely.”
“Oh, yes. I arranged them for the lady… Huh?”
As she turned at the unfamiliar voice, Lune saw an unknown woman seated in the single sofa chair—and beside her stood Lucion, who had once been Sophia’s attendant.
Lune’s gaze shifted from the serene woman with water-colored hair to Lucion, the only familiar face.
‘Explain. Now.’
Though Lune said nothing, her desperate eyes said it all. Lucion, understanding her silent plea, shrugged and spoke.
“I came to see you, Lune. Oh, and I’m not a servant here anymore, so I won’t use formal speech. You don’t have to either.”
Lune’s stern expression made it clear she had no patience for nonsense, prompting Lucion to clear his throat a few times before gesturing to the woman.
“This is Jay.”
“Why is she here…?”
“This is Sophia’s room? It’s well-kept.”
Lune tried to ask Jay a question, but Jay cut her off and looked around the room instead.
“No, excuse me—”
“With Loray gone too, no one here knows me. It’s easy to come and go now. I might start visiting often through Sion.”
“Aren’t you using him a little too much?”
Lucion muttered while brushing his immobile legs, half complaining.
Lune watched the two converse as if she weren’t there and let out a soft sigh before firmly asking again.
“Who are you, and why are you here?”
Her voice sliced through the air between Jay and Lucion. Only then did Jay shift her full attention to Lune and respond.
“It’s nothing else. It’s about Sophia. Something urgent, so I came to find you.”
“And who are you?”
“Jay…”
“I didn’t ask your name.”
“Well, well. You’re not one to be swayed easily, huh?”
Faced with Lune’s sharp demand for a proper identity, Jay paused before answering.
“Langcell left something with you, didn’t he?”
“…How do you know that?”
“Because I was the one who told Langcell to pass that power on to you. Think carefully. Among the people Langcell said you could trust, I should’ve been one of them.”
Lune fell silent at that, and then the suspicion in her eyes slowly faded. Seeing her soften, Jay continued in a more relaxed tone.
“I’m going to use your power.”
With that, she took out several small glass bottles from her coat pocket.
There were vials filled with unfamiliar herbs… and one with a worn piece of paper inside. About five bottles in total, which she handed to Lucion.
“Sion, give these to the female physician in this castle. Tell her to make the medicine according to the recipe in the bottles.”
“Yes.”
“And once the medicine is ready…”
Jay’s silver eyes returned to Lune.
“You’re going to drink it.”
“What kind of medicine is this?”
“Sophia is under a spell and has fallen into a deep sleep. This will let you enter her dream.”
“…What happened to the lady?”
“I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
Jay admitted cleanly under Lune’s sharpening gaze and continued.
“Sion kept nagging me that I was being too hard on an already struggling girl, so we came to find you.”
“I…”
“It’s okay. Only you can do this—because you’re the only one who can disrupt the magic.”
It involved Sophia. Despite her worry and uncertainty, Lune nodded firmly for Sophia’s sake.
Sophia listened with one ear to the flood of curses from Leon, who was clearly holding a grudge, while keeping her gaze fixed on the group in front of her.
“Hey, hey. We didn’t come to pick a fight.”
One of them stepped in to stop the man with the bottle. He had short, dark brown hair and round, puppy-like eyes that might have been considered cute, but his demeanor was anything but gentle.
‘Giselle. That bastard’s name.’
Tuning out the voice pounding in her head, Sophia focused on the man’s words.
“Sorry for throwing the bottle. But we had to get your attention somehow, right?”
“If it hit me wrong, I might not be able to see you at all right now.”
“Not my problem.”
He grinned, but it was incredibly irritating.
“Anyway, it’s not a big deal. You’ve got a magician at your house, right? We want to meet him.”
“Why don’t you just go get him yourself?”
“Don’t say horrible things. I don’t want to end up like my brother.”
His smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression.
Not like his brother? Confused by his words, Sophia tilted her head. Leon’s voice followed in her mind.
‘There’s a curse that says those who force sacrifice and then approach the house of the sacrificed fall under a spell.’
Force a sacrifice? The house of the sacrificed?
‘There’s an evil god that brings misfortune. People hold rituals begging it not to, offering sacrifices.’
‘They used to offer animals, but last year that wasn’t enough… so they used a person.’
Leon paused. But Sophia didn’t need him to finish—she already knew. The sacrificed person was his mother.
After a long silence, Leon forced himself to continue.
‘Giselle’s brother came to my house, and he’s been unconscious ever since. It’s been almost a year.’
Now it made sense. What had happened, and why Giselle wanted Peyton.
And that was exactly why Sophia didn’t want to bring him.
If you gamble with someone’s life for your safety, you should take responsibility for everything that follows—without relying on a magician’s power.
As Sophia showed no sign of agreement, Giselle smiled again, unfazed.
“I’m not trying to do anything bad… Okay, how about this?”
“…?”
“Hide-and-seek.”
Hide-and-seek? She frowned at the absurd suggestion. Giselle smiled even brighter.
“We used to play all the time, didn’t we? If I win, you bring the magician. If you win, I’ll give up.”
He sounded like he was suggesting a fun little game between friends. Then a voice only Sophia could hear whispered again.
‘This is bullshit. I’m the only one hiding, and the rest are seekers. And it doesn’t end with getting caught—they beat me. What part of that is fun?’
Yet even as he said that, he didn’t suggest running away or calling Peyton. He already knew.
No matter what she chose, there was no option not to play.
“Fine.”
Sophia agreed easily. The whispering voice fell silent. Giselle, delighted, laughed louder than before.
“Then I’ll count to ten. Run, Leon!”
“Count well.”
“Ten.”
Nine.
Even as the number dropped, Sophia didn’t move. She wouldn’t run. What they wanted was to see Leon running foolishly in fear.
As expected, Giselle stopped counting and frowned when she didn’t move.
“What are you doing?”
“Watching you count like a child.”
Her mocking words brought Giselle stomping over. He grabbed her collar and lifted her up. She was shorter than him, so her heels left the floor.
It was clearly threatening, but Sophia wasn’t intimidated.
Why would she be afraid? She had seen colder, more terrifying eyes. She had grown used to the pain of blades slicing her skin.
Staring back with steady eyes, she made Giselle grit his teeth. Just as he was about to unleash more threats—
“Let her go.”
A tall man stepped between them, long red hair like a tied rose cascading down his back, blocking her view of Giselle.
He stepped forward, grabbed Giselle’s collar, and twisted it upward.
“Scram.”
He let go with a shove, then spoke loudly enough for Sophia to hear.
“If you’re not going to ask properly, leave.”
His growl made Giselle flinch and step back.
“…Fine. I’ll come back when I’ve figured out what to say.”
Giselle hadn’t meant to go this far. But worrying about his brother and facing Sophia’s stubbornness had made him lose control.
“…Sorry.”
With that brief apology, he left with his group.
As their voices faded, Sophia reached out and grabbed the arm of the man who stood before her.
Red hair. Only one person came to mind, though she knew he couldn’t be here. Still, she gripped his arm tighter.
“…Lune.”
Unable to keep it in, the name escaped her lips. The man slowly turned.
She finally saw his face.
“Yes.”
An unfamiliar voice. A somewhat familiar face.
Soft pink eyes curled gently, full of warmth.
“It’s me, my lady.”
‘My lady?!’
Leon’s voice shrieked in her mind.
