Chapter 128
“I Tried to Avoid It”
“……”
“And so, I’m asking while holding this in my heart.”
Then, he held out his hand to me.
“Can I hold your hand?”
His eyes stayed fixed on mine.
If someone were to learn what longing looked like, they could learn it from those eyes.
Cautious yet certain, filled with warmth and hope—yet shadowed by the fear of rejection. Eyes overflowing with a heart that yearned for only one thing.
“Do you not want to?”
“How could I not?”
I reached out.
At first, we clasped hands like a handshake, then I shifted and held his hand tightly.
Roitz raised his other hand to cover his face.
“This is driving me crazy.”
Even behind his hand, I could see his face turn red.
His voice was shy, yet happier than I’d ever heard.
My heart pounded so hard it was no longer thump-thump—it was boom-boom, crack, crash.
“Now I finally understand. This is what love is like when you share it with someone.”
“Of course. Can anyone really love all by themselves?”
“R-right. I’ve never heard of that…”
I squeezed his hand tighter, nodding with determination.
‘Yes, this is a teamwork project.’
Like a group assignment, we had to do this together.
So even though my hand burned and my heart raced uncontrollably, even though I thought Roitz might be in danger if this continued—I had to endure it.
‘An A+ only comes after suffering…’
I squeezed harder, like arm wrestling. Roitz flinched slightly.
It was so embarrassingly ticklish that it felt like I was holding a bean bug in my palm. But still, this was a trial I had to endure.
“Serdin.”
The way he always said my name—it suddenly tickled.
“Serdin.”
He said it again.
I blanked out a little.
“…Yes.”
No, this wasn’t good.
This was past my limit!
I tried to let go and walk ahead, but at that moment, Roitz pulled my hand toward him.
“Ah!”
I stumbled forward and crashed right into his chest.
It was less of an embrace and more of a body slam, but strangely, he didn’t move. He just let me stay there.
“Commander?”
He released my hand.
I had thought I couldn’t hold on any longer, but the instant he let go, a sharp emptiness rushed in.
I looked up at him and started to reach out again—only for him to pull me tightly into his arms.
“I still can’t believe this…”
His murmur brushed my ear.
I lifted my head in surprise—only to find his face right there, far too close.
Not only his eyes, but his nose, his lips, his warmth—everything was close.
I couldn’t tell if the warm breath between us was mine or his.
That was how little space there was between us.
“Commander.”
This was dangerous.
At this rate, I felt like I would swallow those red lips without even meaning to.
‘No—I can’t.’
I tried to step back, but his hand pressed against my back, stopping me.
“Don’t go, Serdin.”
His words were so close, the vibration reached my lips.
“I swear, I was trying to avoid this.”
I whispered, eyes locked on his.
Now, even I didn’t know anymore.
“You’re the one who stopped me.”
My head felt dizzy from the reverberation of his voice, reason scattering into the night.
And then—
Just as our lips were about to meet—
“Hey, I’m sure it’s around here somewhere!”
Terrian’s voice cut through the air.
“Senior Terrian, are you really sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. This was the spot.”
Lizzie’s voice followed.
My eyes flew wide at the same time as Roitz’s.
We dove into the bushes in a panic.
“According to the intel I got, it’s here.”
“Is that intel even reliable?”
“Yes. I heard it myself. Deneb said Roitz kept muttering practice lines, introducing this park as if to someone.”
“What? That’s all? Who knows who he was introducing it to!”
“Based on my years of watching Commander Roitz… that look in his eyes recently—it wasn’t unfamiliar.”
Terrian’s voice was full of conviction.
“I’m certain. I’ve seen those eyes before.”
“Really?”
“Yes. A few years ago, when Roitz was in love… those were the same eyes.”
His tone turned dreamy with nostalgia.
Hidden in the bushes, I turned to Roitz and whispered:
“You were in love a few years ago?”
He answered firmly.
“No. That’s a mistake.”
He didn’t say whose mistake, but it seemed he meant Terrian’s.
Either way, we stayed hidden until the danger passed, then stepped out with a somewhat awkward air.
We walked and talked casually until it was time to leave.
Though the mood from earlier had been broken—and the courage it gave me vanished—I still enjoyed simply walking and talking with him.
“Our first date, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Our first date.”
To spend time with him under that name.
For Roitz to have memories with me under that name.
That alone was enough to make me happy.
Later, I stopped by the Investigation Bureau’s storage to check on the progress.
The Imperial Central Bureau had requested advice from Kaella, known for handling covert missions. She sent one senior knight and one regular knight as advisors.
“Hello. Sir Anasha will be a little late, so I came first.”
“Hel—…”
My greeting cut short.
Roitz’s face twisted completely.
The knight before us, in a violet uniform with silver hair—was none other than Cute.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m here for work.”
As if expecting this reaction, Cute looked calm and unbothered.
He sat lazily in his seat, while Roitz stood, voice cold.
“Can a newcomer like you really handle this job, Beiche?”
“When Serdin was new, did you think the same of her, Sir Velkirente?”
“Don’t put her on the same level as you.”
“Then what level am I on? I thought you were known for being fair, Sir Velkirente, but now I see you’re pretty biased.”
Cute didn’t back down.
“Biased? Absolutely. I thank the heavens someone like you didn’t join Elche.”
“Is speaking rudely also one of Elche’s virtues, Commander?”
“Generous of you to call it rude. Coming from Beiche’s son, no less. Your brother was better than you—you take after him in nothing.”
If this kept up, they’d end up fighting instead of consulting.
I wanted to tell them both to leave, but unfortunately, we needed them.
“Alright, enough. Stop.”
“If you take my side, I’ll stop,” Cute muttered.
“Sit down, both of you. Sit.”
I did my best to mediate, and only then did we finally begin discussions.
I explained all the incidents and their connections, from the Entry Swordmaster case years ago to the most recent events.
“Let me organize this. Recently, masked men attacked people. Then, someone stole your aura. And now we know the masked ones and the aura thief are the same group, correct?”
“Yes.”
“The mastermind steals aura, then makes people sign a binding contract promising to return it. That’s why the masked ones attacked others.”
His summary was spot on.
“It’s a plausible scenario.”
Cute rested his chin in his hand, thinking.
Roitz, despite their earlier fight, listened seriously. In official matters, he didn’t underestimate Cute.
After a long pause, Cute finally spoke.
“There’s only one possibility that comes to mind.”
“What is it?” Roitz asked.
Cute hesitated a moment, then I asked the question that had been bothering me all along.
“But is this even possible? To steal aura… Does such power exist?”
After all, that was my biggest doubt. In this world, powers were limited.
There were two great forces: magic power and holy power.
Magic power had come from monsters long ago, passed to knights through sword cores, creating aura.
If magic power excelled at attack, holy power was the opposite—healing, protecting, and strengthening faith.
But I’d never heard of any ability that could steal aura.
So who, or what, could possibly do it?
“There is one power that could.”
“What is it?”
Cute shrugged lightly.
“Don’t be surprised when you hear it.”
“Go on.”
“Holy power.”
“…Holy power?”
“Yes. To be precise, a corrupted form of holy power.”
He drew his sword slightly from its sheath. A white aura wrapped around it.
“Like this.”
Sheathing it again, he leaned against the window, arms crossed.
“I’ve never heard that holy power had limits. If handled properly, maybe it could grow endlessly strong.”
Now that I thought of it, the aura on his sword almost looked like aura itself—different from the holy power I knew.
“Holy power is based on faith. If someone with strong holy power truly believed something, utterly and without doubt… then who’s to say they couldn’t steal aura?”
He shrugged at me as my body stiffened.
