EFLOB 120

Chapter 120

I slowly pushed myself up and leaned back against the head of the bed, calling his name once more.

“Nox.”

When he heard his name for the third time, he drifted toward me as if firmly bewitched by something.

The Grand Duke of Lupellen—no, Nox—was clearly looking straight into my eyes. And yet his gaze felt distant, as though it were piercing not me, but my very soul.

“Gianna.”

Hearing my name spill from his lips felt more beautiful than any name in the world.

It felt as though the temperature in the room suddenly rose. Overcome by the rush of heat, I pushed the blanket off me.

He stopped right in front of me, so close that I could clearly hear his ragged breathing.

The surroundings seemed to fade far away, leaving only his presence vividly imprinted on me.

“…Gianna.”

Very slowly, he lifted both arms and wrapped them around the nape of my neck.

A pounding sound rang chaotically in my ears. I couldn’t tell whether it was my heartbeat or his.

As he drew even closer, and his forehead finally came to rest against mine, I was too dazed to think clearly.

Our lips were only inches apart. If either of us moved our face even slightly, they would touch.

But there was one fact we had overlooked: I was a patient who had only just woken up a few days ago after hovering at death’s door.

“C-cough! Khk—!”

When I broke into a violent coughing fit, the unfocused, dreamlike look in Nox’s eyes instantly snapped back into clarity.

He quickly pulled out a handkerchief. Thanks to that, the blood mixed in with my cough didn’t end up staining the blanket.

“What on earth was I doing in front of a patient… no matter how enchanting the voice calling my name was……”

With the same hands that had been around my neck, he clutched his own head, as if punishing himself.

Truth be told, I had no room to complain either. I was the one who had provoked him first by calling his name.

“…Just once a day.”

Still wearing an expression of unbearable agony, he spoke in a voice that sounded like it was being squeezed out of him.

“Just once a day, call my name. I want to ask you to keep calling it, but… if you did, I feel like I’d completely forget that you’re a patient.”

“Then until I fully recover, should I not call your name at all and only address you as ‘Your Grace’?”

“That won’t do. There’s nothing more cruel than taking something away forever from a child who’s already learned the sweetness of chocolate.”

At last, he seemed to have regained his composure.

“Let’s stop here for today. Get plenty of rest.”

Nox—no, the Grand Duke—carefully laid me back down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over me, pressed a light kiss to my forehead, and then left the room.

For some reason, my forehead felt hot and faintly itchy.

Elarion clenched and unclenched his right hand, feeling the power he had given to Director Jang return back to him.

It seemed the man had died.

“How utterly foolish.”

Even without looking in a mirror, he could tell there was a deep smile curving his lips.

To think he would so easily throw himself into death. It seemed there had been no need to go to the trouble of killing him at all.

“Did you really believe I would truly give up a life of my own?”

Why would he desperately try to revive someone who was already dead?

Power only becomes more diluted the more it is shared. There was no need at all.

“Ahahahaha!”

Unable to hold it in, Elarion finally burst out laughing. It was an icy, deeply unpleasant laugh.

An albita perched by the half-open window heard the sound and fluttered away in alarm.

A bleak, ominous aura lingered around Elarion.

He yanked away the white cloth covering the table, revealing an hourglass whose lower chamber was nearly full of a glowing liquid.

“This much more.”

He lightly traced the middle-lower portion of the hourglass with his pale, slender index finger and laughed again.

The day he would fully regain his power was not far off.

Once this hourglass was filled, he would recover all the power he had expended casting creation magic.

And if that happened, what possible existence could stand in his way?

Bzzz.

The ring on his left hand vibrated softly.

Seeing that Director Melina was contacting him, Elarion touched the ring.

“What is it?”

The same gentle voice as always flowed from Elarion’s lips.

But the person on the other end already seemed to know just how cold and ruthless he truly was.

Director Melina’s voice, coming through the ring, trembled so badly it was almost painful to listen to.

Th-the Magic Academy is re-ready to pledge its lo-loyalty to you, my lord.

“Hmm, is that so?”

Elarion found great pleasure in Melina’s fearful attitude toward him.

All imperial mages have been gathered at the Magic Academy, and in an emergency, they will pledge loyalty to me, not the emperor. And my king is, of course, none other than you, Lord Elarion.

The reason Melina was trembling with such terror was because she had heard of Director Jang’s death.

To think that Director Jang, who had worked for Lord Elarion for nearly ten years, had died so futilely.

Only after Jang’s death did Melina finally grasp Elarion’s true nature.

That perhaps they had been nothing more than chess pieces from the very beginning. That their lord would, at a critical moment, sweep everyone away and seize power alone, standing loftily above all.

“Tell me the details. I haven’t heard yet exactly how Director Jang died.”

Elarion smiled softly as he pressed Melina for an answer.

There was no choice. Trembling violently, Melina had no option but to tell Elarion the truth.

It seems he drew a magic circle on the floor from the start and waited for Gianna. He stalled for time while activating it, and in the end, the circle succeeded in sealing Gianna’s dragon power, but……

Melina swallowed the rest of her sentence.

“So that magic circle was one that used Director Jang’s life as collateral from the beginning.”

…Yes.

“That’s a surprisingly extreme move for Director Jang, going all in right from the start. I thought it would end at most with Gianna getting a little hurt.”

If Gianna truly carried the blood of a dragon—if she was his brother’s daughter—

He never believed she would give up her life so easily to the likes of Director Jang.

And yet, Director Jang had achieved it. By sacrificing his own life.

In the end, he had been used to the very last moment, only to cast the world away by his own hand.

Without ever imagining that such an end would be his fate.

Laughter burst out once more. Hearing Elarion’s chilling laughter, Melina felt an overwhelming urge to throw the ring away and cover her ears.

“Director Jang is dead, and Gianna has lost her power……”

Elarion felt a surge of exhilaration well up inside him.

Yes, this was what he had wanted from the very beginning. Everyone rendered helpless, submitting before him.

Fearing him. Lives hanging in the balance with a single gesture of his hand.

…And ultimately, worshiping him like a god.

“Snowd will begin negotiations with the imperial emperor.”

At the word negotiations, Melina cautiously questioned him.

Negotiations… with the Empire, you say?

“Ah, of course, I have no intention of actually negotiating. I just plan to stall for time while the hourglass fills.”

By stalling for time, you mean…?

“During that time, I intend to demand compensation for all the years Snowd was forced to remain trapped in ice because the Empire brought evil into this world.”

…That’s a ridiculous proposal. How could the Empire possibly compensate for that time?

“Of course they can’t. It’s not a negotiation proposal meant to be honored. It’s closer to mockery, wouldn’t you say? Perhaps a false hope that they might reach a peaceful agreement with Snowd and avoid war.”

The corners of Elarion’s lips split into a wicked grin once more.

Melina’s lord was truly no ordinary monster. She couldn’t utter a single word and merely bit her lip.

“In the end, the Empire won’t be able to accept the terms we offer, and I’ll strike them while they hesitate. So prepare for war.”