Chapter 58
Elsez’s eyes blinked slowly as she looked up at Tezet.
Then, without warning, she swung her fist with surprising force—
and drove it straight into his solar plexus.
“……!?”
The blow was so sudden and so strong that Tezet staggered back, clutching his chest, unable to breathe for a moment.
When he looked at her with a pained frown, bewildered by the unexpected attack, Elsez smiled sweetly, almost serenely.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?”
“……”
“But the pain I felt, loving Your Excellency all this time—was much worse than that.”
Of course, that wasn’t her own emotion. It belonged to the previous Elsez, the one whose body she had possessed. The current Elsez felt none of it herself.
Still, looking at Tezet—this man who trampled over others’ feelings so easily—she couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of guilt and responsibility.
Because I’m the one who raised you to be like this.
So now, it was her duty to make him understand that he couldn’t go on that way.
“Your Excellency, people’s hearts aren’t toys.”
“……”
“Using that handsome face to toy with people’s feelings just because it’s convenient for you—
that’s pretty vile, you know?”
Elsez watched Tezet’s face twist faintly from pain, and for once, she found it satisfying.
It was nice to see some real emotion on that usually expressionless face.
“I don’t like you anymore, Your Excellency.”
“……”
“So if you want something from me, you’ll need to start caring about how I feel.
Because in this world, the one who wants something more… is the one who bends first.”
Tezet stared down at her.
The golden eyes that met his were no longer shining like before.
She wasn’t the same Elsez Rohen who used to love him.
But he didn’t care.
Whether she was that Elsez or not, whether she was possessed by a ghost or a demon—it didn’t matter.
Still, when he looked at this different Elsez, the one who was no longer his Elsez Rohen,
something stirred in the void that nothing had ever filled before—curiosity.
This woman who stood before him without fear, when everyone else only trembled.
Just like that first time he’d met Luel—
the only person who had approached him when everyone else had called him a soulless doll.
Elsez Rohen isn’t Luel.
He knew that perfectly well.
But strangely enough…
Even if he still didn’t understand other people’s feelings,
even if he didn’t know why he should care about them,
one thing was clear.
He wanted to understand her feelings.
What was this woman—who no longer loved him—thinking as she looked at him now?
What emotion did she feel?
Tezet narrowed his eyes slightly as he met Elsez’s gaze.
Then, after a pause, he finally opened his tightly closed lips.
“I… don’t really understand how other people feel.”
“……”
“I don’t know what to do to make you happy,
or what I should say to make you go to the banquet with me.”
He tightened his grip around her hand slightly, holding it a bit more firmly.
Lowering his long lashes, he added quietly,
“So tell me. Tell me what I should do.”
He was just being honest, but Elsez understood.
For someone who had lived his whole life suppressing and ignoring emotions,
this was the most genuine truth he could show her.
With that face, saying something like that… That’s a whole new level of evil.
And the worst part is, he has no idea how impossible it is to refuse that face.
Still… she wanted him to learn.
She wanted him to learn how to feel,
how to share emotions with others—
so that someday, he could truly love someone from the heart.
Elsez sighed softly, as if admitting defeat.
“It’s simple. Just be honest about your feelings, Your Excellency.”
“……Honest?”
“Say you want to go to the banquet with me. Ask me if I’ll go with you.”
To show him, Elsez held out her hand.
Tezet looked at her hand, then back at her, and spoke quietly.
“I want to go to the banquet with you.
Will you… come with me?”
He extended his hand the same way she had, waiting for her answer.
He looks like an obedient puppy right now.
Well, he was learning—slowly but surely.
Smiling faintly at his effort, Elsez placed her hand over his.
“All right, fine. Let’s go to the banquet.”
Tezet’s eyes froze on her bright, cheerful smile—
as if that moment alone had stopped time.
The next day, Elsez arrived at Rasiel’s private mansion.
As usual, she was in the library, browsing through books.
Rasiel, on the opposite side of the shelves, was doing the same.
I should probably bring up the banquet soon.
The reason she’d agreed to attend the banquet with Tezet wasn’t just because he’d asked.
She had her own goals.
I need to observe the nobles and the imperial court’s atmosphere.
So far, everyone they had uncovered who was connected to the cult trying to resurrect the Demon God was a noble.
Which meant—those still hidden were likely nobles as well.
And since Rasiel’s wanted notice had gone out recently, those people would be keeping a low profile.
But that might make the banquet the perfect opportunity for them to appear.
She needed to attend—for the sake of the investigation.
If I’m lucky, I might find one of the nobles involved… and maybe even catch the masked man’s trail.
Rasiel’s responses to her subtle questions had been evasive at best,
and he hadn’t done anything overtly suspicious.
At this rate, she wasn’t making much progress as his assistant.
So attending the banquet was the best chance she had.
Peeking through the shelves at his back, Elsez stepped over to the other side.
“Lord Rasiel.”
Rasiel looked up from the book he was reading.
“May I take tomorrow off?”
“Why?”
“There’s a banquet at the Imperial Palace. I was invited—by His Highness the Crown Prince, actually.
It’d be awkward to refuse… But if you’re worried I might betray you—”
“Go.”
The ease with which he granted permission surprised her.
“Really?”
“You said you trust me, didn’t you?”
He closed his book, slid it back onto the shelf, and turned toward her.
“If your trust is genuine, then I’m no traitor.
And if that’s true, I’ve no reason not to trust you either.”
Elsez just stared at him for a moment.
Maybe… maybe he’d also wanted someone to trust him.
She hid that thought behind a small smile.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Are you going with your husband?”
“My—”
She almost said I don’t have a husband,
but then she remembered she was currently living under the identity of Anna Ritz.
“…Right. Of course, I’ll be going with my husband.”
At that, something cold flickered in Rasiel’s violet eyes.
“What kind of man is he?”
“…Pardon?”
“Your husband.”
Why is he suddenly interested in my nonexistent husband?
Elsez blinked, but quickly spun up a fictional husband in her head.
“Um… He’s kind. And diligent.”
“What does he look like?”
“He’s tall, strong, and… handsome.”
“I’m tall, diligent, and strong too.”
“…Sorry?”
“And handsome.”
Rasiel tilted his head slightly, meeting her gaze, a faint smile playing on his lips.
As he moved, his soft silver hair and earrings swayed gently—
a deliberate gesture, from someone who knew exactly how dangerous his beauty was.
Elsez found herself staring, mesmerized, before she snapped back to herself.
Yes, you’re handsome. But why are you telling me that?!
She didn’t know his motive, but one thing was certain.
That face was dangerous.
The longer she looked at him, the more she feared she might fall under his spell.
And the narrow space between them suddenly felt suffocating.
“Wow, sounds like the perfect husband material!”
She forced an exaggerated smile, threw out a cheerful line, and quickly turned to leave.
As she did, the faint amusement vanished from Rasiel’s eyes,
replaced once again by his usual cool, distant gaze.
“Where are you going? Weren’t you here for a book?”
“Oh—uh, the one I wanted is a bit out of reach. I was just going to get a ladder.”
She said the first excuse that came to mind,
trying to get out of the cramped space between the shelves.
That, however, was a mistake.
Rasiel folded his arms and leaned casually against the bookshelf, watching her.
“What do you need?”
He clearly meant to fetch the book for her himself.
Elsez rolled her eyes for a second, then pointed to a random book on the top shelf.
“That one—the purple one.”
At her words, something flickered faintly in Rasiel’s eyes.
He followed the direction of her finger, looked for a moment,
then reached up and pulled out a brown book next to it.
Elsez shook her head.
“No, not that one. The one next to it.”
Rasiel withdrew the purple book and handed it to her.
Elsez smiled gently, meeting his amethyst-colored eyes.
“Thank you. I’ll get the rest myself.”
“Fine.”
He picked up his own book from the shelf and walked out from between the aisles.
Watching his retreating back, Elsez suddenly remembered the way he’d looked at her in the garden yesterday—
not at the blue rose, but at her.
And then… another memory surfaced—something Astaire had once said.
‘Your Highness, is there such a thing as a magic tool that changes eye color?’
‘I’ve heard of it, yes. But it’s unstable—causes eye damage sometimes. That’s why it’s rarely used or sold.’
…Why was that particular conversation coming to mind now?
