Chapter 6
Hasen’s eyes narrowed in confusion.
“W-Why are you here?”
After what looked like a desperate escape, the little girl’s body sagged as though all the strength had left it. She stood there trembling, struggling to catch her breath.
Barkhan studied her in silence, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Hasen turned to him with an awkward expression.
“What should we do, Sir Barkhan? Should we report this to Duke Rothwell?”
The moment those words left his mouth—
“Please help me!”
Diena’s eyes flew open.
Without hesitation, she threw herself at Barkhan’s feet, clinging tightly to him.
His brows shot upward in annoyance.
“Please save me!” she cried desperately. “I’ll do anything if you help me. If I stay here… I’ll die. Please!”
Barkhan remained silent, staring directly into her eyes.
“Why would you die just because you stay here?”
Diena’s tiny hands tightened around the hem of his coat.
She showed no intention of letting go.
For someone so painfully thin, the strength in her grip was astonishing.
It was proof of just how desperately she clung to hope.
“Please take me with you,” she pleaded. “I can really be useful! You won’t regret bringing me along.”
“…What?”
For a brief moment, Barkhan looked genuinely taken aback by the confidence in her voice.
Then he recovered and let out a faint scoff.
“I don’t know what kind of help someone like you could possibly be.”
“And honestly?”
“I have no interest in relying on a kid who looks even younger than I am.”
“B-But…”
Diena’s eyes trembled violently.
She had never expected this Barkhan to treat her the same way he had in her previous life.
Unlike her, he remembered nothing.
To him, she was simply a strange little girl he had never met before.
Besides…
Hadn’t Barkhan himself once admitted it countless times?
“Back then, I had absolutely no social skills. Honestly, it’s a good thing I didn’t meet you when I was that age.”
Back then, she’d found that impossible to imagine.
The Barkhan she knew had been playful, gentle, dependable—someone who always looked after everyone around him.
He had once explained why.
“After my family fell apart, I wandered from place to place. Life forced me to grow up.”
“It softened my personality.”
“Back then, revenge against Duke Rothwell was the only thing on my mind.”
Whenever he said that, Hasen would always laugh and add,
“Exactly! If Lady Diena had met Sir Barkhan back then, you probably never would’ve joined House Kardian.”
“He was completely cold-blooded!”
“Watching him back then gave me a headache every single day.”
“Still… you’ve changed.”
“Only when Lady Diena’s around, if you ask me. What a hypocri— Ahem.”
She had known from the beginning that he wouldn’t welcome her warmly.
Even so…
Seeing those cold eyes look at her as though she were nothing more than a stranger still hurt.
Barkhan tilted his head impatiently.
“Wouldn’t it be easier if you just went back to your family?”
Diena looked up at him, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Yeah… I knew this would happen.
If their positions were reversed, she would have been suspicious too.
A complete stranger suddenly begging to be taken away?
Anyone would hesitate.
If I keep begging… he’ll eventually take me.
He had witnessed what happened to her during the gathering earlier.
Surely he had already guessed why she wanted to escape House Rothwell.
But…
Even if he decided to help her now, there was a good chance he wouldn’t bring her to House Kardian.
That won’t do.
I have to go there.
Simply worrying wouldn’t change anything.
Rather than relying on sympathy…
She had to give them a reason to choose her.
This time…
I’ll be the one to reach out first.
Having made up her mind, Diena finally spoke.
“You hate my uncle…”
“Balthazar Rothwell.”
“…Don’t you?”
For an instant, Barkhan flinched.
Then he answered without hesitation.
“Of course.”
“I know how to make him furious.”
Interest flickered across Barkhan’s eyes.
“And how exactly would you do that?”
“Take me with you.”
The moment the words left her mouth, his expression darkened.
He thought she was making fun of him.
“You little—”
Before he could continue, Malakar sighed loudly.
“Barkhan.”
“When are you ever going to fix that icy personality of yours?”
“You should at least hear her out first.”
Clicking his tongue, the older man crouched until he was eye level with Diena.
“Why do you think you’ll die if you return?”
“And judging by the way you’re running…”
“Someone’s chasing you, aren’t they?”
“I’d like to know why.”
Diena stared silently into his gentle face.
Master…
Just seeing him again nearly brought tears to her eyes.
Every face gathered here was familiar.
Of course they were.
These were the people of House Kardian.
She studied Malakar carefully.
He doesn’t look well.
He’s at the point where he needs a suppressor immediately.
That only made things easier.
This was my plan from the beginning.
There wasn’t enough time to explain.
The shouts of searching soldiers were drawing closer by the second.
“If you take me with you…”
“I’ll show you exactly why it will make Duke Rothwell furious.”
Malakar frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Without a trace of hesitation—
Diena reached out and grasped his hand.
The instant she did…
Malakar froze.
When he first awakened his ability…
Life had seemed perfect.
It had felt as though the entire world lay within his grasp.
He had once been the heir to a prestigious marquis household.
But because he failed to awaken an ability, his family had abandoned him.
“Malakar.”
“A noble without an awakened ability isn’t a noble.”
“You’re worse than even a commoner with a low-grade ability.”
The lives of powerless nobles cast aside by their families were miserable.
Fortunately, Malakar possessed exceptional talent for magic and eventually entered the Mage Tower.
There, he earned recognition as a true mage.
Then fate played its cruelest joke.
Only after becoming an accomplished magician…
His ability finally awakened.
At fourteen years old.
An awakening that late was almost unheard of.
A mage…
And an ability user.
People admired him.
Respected him.
Feared him.
For a while, he believed there was nothing left in the world to frighten him.
But that joy never lasted.
From the moment his ability awakened…
A horrifying pain followed him for the rest of his life like a shadow.
Sometimes…
He thought it would have been better if he’d remained powerless forever.
Every time he used his ability, darkness accumulated within his body.
Without a suppressing medicine to restrain the side effects, even living an ordinary life became nearly impossible.
That had been true…
Until just now.
What…
What did this child do to me…?
Malakar’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The instant the little girl took his hand…
The hellish agony that had tormented him for years began unraveling, thread by thread.
The darkness that had seeped into every corner of his body slowly melted away.
It was as though warm sunlight had broken through the frozen surface of a lake in the middle of winter.
“T-This is…”
For the first time in his life…
His face showed both shock and wonder.
Barkhan frowned.
“Old Man Malakar?”
At that very moment—
The voices of soldiers echoed through the forest.
“Where did she hide?!”
The three of them exchanged glances.
Malakar immediately spoke in an urgent tone.
“Hide her in the carriage.”
“…What?”
“She’s right.”
“If we take this child with us…”
“It will be more than enough to enrage Duke Rothwell.”
There was no time left for explanations.
Without another word, Malakar grabbed Diena’s hand and hurried her into the carriage, concealing her from the approaching soldiers.
