Chapter 63 …
I Married My Fiancé’s Younger Brother
Chapter 9: Beware of Beasts on the Shortcut
“Does that mean the experiment is showing some degree of success?”
“Yes. It’s practically at the success stage.”
“Ha!”
Freya let out a hollow laugh in disbelief. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how many spirits must have been sacrificed for that experiment to reach this point.
She had no idea how they had managed to secure such a large number of spirits safely in the first place.
Once that line of thought opened up, a single hypothesis came to mind. It was an assumption she didn’t want to make, but for some reason, it felt the most plausible.
Freya rubbed her face dryly.
The culprits would have to be people capable of siphoning off spirits with ease while avoiding the eyes of spirit summoners. And on top of that, the Imperial Family knew nothing about it.
As far as she knew, there was only one place capable of helping conceal the experiment successfully for such a long time.
Freya asked in a cold voice.
“Is the Spirit Association helping with this?”
“…I didn’t say that.”
Merenny replied slowly after a long pause. But her gaze said otherwise. It seemed she couldn’t give a direct answer because of the mark.
Was it a forbidden word engraved into the sigil? If so, that meant this wretched experiment had been ongoing since before Merenny was even born…
“I don’t understand what the Spirit Association stands to gain by helping with the experiment.”
“I can’t tell you that much, but… they’re scheduled to receive appropriate compensation.”
Merenny looked troubled. That, too, was apparently something she couldn’t say.
As Freya’s hands began to tremble, Milliann—who had been quietly listening beside her—asked with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“No. I’m not.”
Freya answered immediately and sprang to her feet, prompting Merenny to stare at her blankly.
Then Freya held out her hand to Merenny.
“It looks like this is going to be a long conversation.”
At Freya’s request for a handshake, Merenny let out a small laugh. It was her way of expressing her willingness to cooperate.
“Thank you, my lady.”
Merenny clasped Freya’s hand and smiled brightly.
The conversation with Merenny took longer than expected.
Freya had dinner plans scheduled, so in order to arrive on time, they exchanged only the most urgent information first.
As she traveled, Freya recalled the conversation they’d shared. At some point, the topic had shifted to the mysterious deaths of the mages.
‘I believe Duke Acid is connected to the recent mysterious deaths of the mages.’
Merenny had spoken with absolute conviction. When Freya tilted her head and asked for an explanation, she continued.
‘Everyone thinks they died of natural causes, but I don’t. It was clearly murder. The condition of the dead mages’ mana cores was a mess—like they’d been poisoned.’
Freya stopped reminiscing there and looked at Milliann.
He also seemed to believe that the mages’ deaths were murders, but unlike Merenny, he didn’t appear convinced that Duke Acid was responsible.
With an uneasy expression, Freya asked,
“Do you really think Duke Acid did it too?”
“Well, it’s true that all the dead mages were close associates of Empress Anemone. That alone makes the suspicion reasonable.”
Milliann answered casually and turned his gaze out the window. Wind slipped through the gaps as the carriage moved along.
After hearing Merenny’s account, he seemed to be keeping open the possibility that Duke Acid was the culprit.
Freya also looked out the window.
She had planned to go alone after parting with Merenny, but Milliann had insisted on escorting her all the way to her destination. She had tried to shake him off, but he’d been stubborn about it.
Did Milliann know who she was meeting? That it was Silver?
Freya looked at him with a slightly bitter expression.
Since that day, she had been avoiding Milliann. This time was only because of Merenny’s matter—otherwise, they wouldn’t have been facing each other like this.
She even felt guilty that he was seeing her off without knowing she was on her way to meet Silver—especially because she knew he wanted to spend more time with her.
Since she had already decided to try things with Silver, she needed to be careful not to let her distance from Milliann shrink any further.
Besides, compared to their time in Gladian, Silver felt more comfortable now—more in sync with her. After meeting three times, it was possible she might come to like him even more than Milliann.
If she ended up marrying Silver, leaving the capital altogether wouldn’t be a bad option.
If she stayed in the capital, she’d inevitably keep running into Milliann, and she couldn’t be sure she’d always be able to stop him.
Why had she kissed him and caused all this trouble?
No matter how she tried to explain it, it would only sound like an excuse, which made it all the more frustrating.
Though he could be pushy at times, he never forced her when she said no. Even if it felt a bit cowardly, she should have rejected him cleanly and decisively so he couldn’t do anything at all.
Lost in those countless thoughts—
“What are you thinking about?”
Startled by Milliann’s sudden question, Freya froze for a moment, then quickly pulled up her earlier conversation with Merenny.
“Ah, nothing much. Just wondering if Duke Acid really killed Empress Anemone.”
Milliann looked at her intently, as if asking whether she’d been that absorbed in thought.
He muttered in a slightly stiff tone.
“That sounds like you’re hoping it’s not true.”
“Mm… I guess. The duke I know didn’t seem interested in that sort of thing at all. He was saddened by his mother’s death, and he didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d kill someone for power or ambition.”
Freya spoke haphazardly, then flinched. Milliann’s reaction had turned noticeably stiff.
He stared at her for a long moment before speaking quietly.
“That kind of acting is easy to learn after a few years in the Imperial Palace. It’s better not to trust him too much.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Freya replied calmly.
He was right. Royals were always wary of one another—people who could put on any beautiful words or demeanor to gain loyal followers.
Freya didn’t argue and fell silent.
In any case, now that she knew why Empress Anemone had entered the palace and how her conflict with Acid had begun, she couldn’t blindly defend him.
Since the empress had tried to kill him first, their relationship had long since ceased to be normal.
Why he harbored such resentment toward the Mage Tower, and why he had to kill his mother—those were things Freya needed to uncover herself.
She had exchanged a secret communication device with Merenny.
They also agreed that whenever they met in person, it would be safest to do so at Milliann’s castle.
His estate had secure spaces hidden from prying eyes, as well as concealed gates.
In the slightly heavy atmosphere, Milliann spoke in a gentle voice.
“It’s been a while. Just the two of us like this.”
“Yeah…”
“Ever since that day, you’ve just been avoiding me.”
Milliann looked at Freya with a hint of disappointment, then muttered softly.
“But… you look pretty today.”
“Huh?”
“Who are you meeting that you dressed up so much?”
Freya jumped in surprise at his question. A faint smile played on his lips.
She’d relaxed because he seemed uninterested—only for him to suddenly strike.
Had he pretended not to care just to catch her off guard with an unrelated question?
Freya stumbled over her words.
“I—I’m having dinner with Erica. It’s been a while.”
“Hm?”
Milliann stared at her suspiciously.
Realizing she’d lied without thinking, Freya scolded herself internally.
Why make an excuse using Erica? She should’ve just said she was meeting Silver outright.
Sneaking glances at Milliann, Freya desperately hoped they’d arrive soon.
“I still haven’t heard your answer from that day.”
Milliann smiled broadly and brushed his fingers through Freya’s hair. Leaning down, he placed a light kiss on her hair and looked back up.
When their eyes met, Freya’s heart began to pound again.
“O—of course it’s a rejection!”
“How heartless.”
Freya swiftly pulled her hair away and protested. Milliann muttered bitterly at the sight, then obediently leaned back.
He only stared at the flustered Freya. Somehow, he looked a little dejected.
The heavy air lingered as Freya parted her lips—
But at that moment, they arrived at their destination, and her words never made it out.
Milliann stepped down first and offered his hand. Freya placed her hand lightly in his, quickly got out of the carriage, and withdrew it.
Milliann clenched and unclenched his fist a couple of times, as if trying to reclaim the lost warmth. Then he smiled gently at Freya.
“Have fun.”
“Thanks for bringing me.”
Freya hurriedly bid him farewell and went inside.
It was a newly opened dessert café, and unusually, the interior was designed with partitioned seating—perfect for secretly meeting Silver.
She peeked outside just in case Milliann hadn’t left yet, but the carriage was already gone.
Freya gave the clerk the name under which she’d made the reservation.
The clerk skillfully guided her to a secluded seat.
With a soft curtain covering the entrance, Freya sat blankly and waited for Silver.
She hadn’t expected to face him with such ambiguous feelings. Still, she was sure she’d like him more once they met.
Shaking off stray thoughts, Freya took a hand mirror from her bag and checked her face again.
She’d tried to look effortlessly dressed up, but since Milliann noticed immediately, Silver might too.
Wondering if she’d tried too hard from the very first meeting, she checked the mirror a few more times.
“Your guest has arrived.”
The clerk announced from the entrance, and soon, the curtain was drawn aside.
