Chapter 72
“Meeting up with a suspicious guy?”
‘Meeting up’ might be an exaggeration, but it must be true that Lien met someone.
“What kind of guy was it?”
When I showed interest, which I had been lukewarm about until now, Blanche seemed to gain confidence and answered with a bright smile.
“He was someone who gave off a similar aura to that scary guy. I tried to stay as quiet as possible and secretly observed them. Like a shadow.”
She spoke grandly, but basically, she was saying she hid because she was scared of Lien.
Still, there was no need to point that out.
‘It would just waste time in some pointless argument.’
Instead, I encouraged her by giving small prompts so she wouldn’t stop talking.
“So?”
“I couldn’t hear much. But I could tell the suspicious guy was angry.”
“Hmm. How?”
“His expression gave it away. Anyone could tell he was mad.”
“And how did Lien react?”
“He kept his usual expressionless face and silently listened. Like a stiff wooden statue.”
Blanche shrugged her shoulders, mimicking Lien’s expression.
“In the end, maybe he got tired, huffed, and disappeared. Seeing that, I immediately flew over here.”
“Immediately?”
I widened my eyes in surprise.
If it happened just a few minutes ago, that suspicious person might still be in the garden.
“Where did those two meet?”
“I remember exactly. I’ll guide you, my king.”
Following Blanche, who had turned into a bluebird again, I entered the garden.
The Coral Mansion’s garden was divided into an upper garden and a lower garden, with the main building in the center.
On the first day I entered the Coral Mansion, I had passed through the upper garden, which was next to the main gate.
‘Even that alone was an impressive garden.’
The mansion’s fame came from the lower garden, which stretched out to the sea.
But since so much had happened upon our arrival, today was the first time I could properly explore the famous lower garden.
Although I saw the view every day from the window.
‘Wow…’
Walking through the garden in person was a completely different feeling.
I was so captivated by its beauty that I forgot my original purpose and kept exclaiming.
Compared to the Winter Mansion’s garden, it was smaller, but in terms of beauty, it could easily compete.
‘Honestly, just having the sea there is cheating.’
As soon as I left the main building, a huge central fountain greeted me, and a long waterway stretched all the way to the sea.
The garden was perfectly symmetrical along this waterway. If there was a fountain on the left, there was an identical one on the right.
I walked along the waterway toward the sea.
Near the mansion, the focus was on fountains and flowers, but as I approached the sea, massive trees became more prevalent.
“This way.”
I followed the direction of the thick forest, snapping out of my awe at Blanche’s whisper.
‘Right, I didn’t come here to leisurely tour the garden.’
Before I knew it, we were in a dense, green forest.
It looked natural, but it was all carefully designed as part of the garden.
I sharpened my senses to search the surroundings.
I wanted to detect any trace of the other party who might still be here.
But I quickly realized that effort was unnecessary.
At the spot Blanche led me to, the other person was waiting, confident and relaxed.
“So, you’re Danae?”
A dark navy-haired man, sitting high in a tree, noticed me and descended.
He was so light on his feet that even from such a height, he landed without a sound.
Clearly, he was extremely skilled.
“I sensed something suspicious behind me and… sure enough, there was a little mouse.”
He rolled his sky-blue eyes, similar to Lien’s, toward Blanche.
“Or should I say, a bird-brain instead of a mouse?”
<Yikes!>
Blanche shrank behind me, startled by the man’s teasing smile.
‘Is he using me as a shield?’
Gritting my teeth, I glared at him while he stopped in front of me.
“Still, it’s worth it. I waited just in case, and you really appeared.”
The man reached out and stroked my cheek. The cold aura made my body tremble.
“Nice to meet you, Danae. That guy rarely introduces me, so this is the first proper greeting.”
The first greeting?
His tone suggested he had known me for a long time; it wasn’t as if he hadn’t met me before.
“You know me?”
“Of course. I’m his friend.”
“Friend?”
By ‘that guy,’ he seemed to mean Lien—my master.
‘Did my master have friends?’
The thought must have shown on my face because he laughed.
“What’s with that expression? He has friends. What kind of image do you have of him?”
“Uh… I’d say a lonely recluse, disconnected from society?”
In my past life, he had secluded himself in the mountains, and even now, he didn’t seem to socialize.
“Not entirely wrong.”
The man laughed, amused by my honesty, and tapped my shoulder.
The mood softened a bit compared to our first encounter.
“Skargard.”
“That’s your name?”
“Yep. Friends call me Scar. I’ll allow you too, Danae.”
“Alright. I’m Danae. Some call me Dana. But you already do, I see. Even though it’s our first meeting.”
“Fresh.”
I narrowed my eyes, pointing out his rudeness, and he laughed like it amused him.
“It’s been a while since anyone has openly pointed out my rudeness. Maybe the first time?”
Scar tilted his head, genuinely pondering.
“…How have you lived until now that this is your first time?”
I asked, mouth agape. He laughed again.
“See? Fresh. No wonder he can’t let you go.”
He scanned me, as if trying to find an answer.
Each time his gaze passed over me, my body stiffened strangely.
‘His eyes are the same sky-blue as Lien’s…’
But the aura felt completely different—somehow alien.
“Well, I don’t need to know why he’s obsessed with you.”
When his long gaze finally shifted away, my body relaxed.
“There’s only one thing I want to tell you, Danae. Give Lien back.”
His tone was no longer playful. It was cold and commanding.
But even if Scar demanded it, I couldn’t do the impossible.
“I can’t.”
Scar’s eyes sharpened.
“Why?”
“I never had him to begin with.”
Only someone who possesses something can give it back.
I had never possessed Lien, so how could I return him to Scar?
His expression froze, as if struck hard on the back of his head.
“You’re not holding Lien?”
“Exactly, I’m not.”
“So, you’re saying… Lien is acting on his own?”
“Hmm… I don’t know what you mean by acting, but whatever it is, I didn’t tell him to.”
“Huh.”
As soon as I finished, Scar crossed his arms and chuckled. His eyes were on the mansion, not me.
“This guy… he’s crazier than I thought.”
But his confusion didn’t last long.
He regained composure and returned to his cold, authoritative stance.
“Fine. If you can’t give him back, then you’ll at least cooperate with me.”
“Cooperate?”
Before I could ask how, Scar placed his hand on my forehead.
A chill spread through my body, like tiny insects crawling inside.
‘Ugh… what is this?’
I shivered involuntarily, and he removed his hand.
“Take me to the mansion, little human.”
“…No. Why should I?”
My master said not to let suspicious people into the house.
I refused with wary eyes, and Scar’s eyes widened like I’d never seen.
“…Why?”
“Why? Obviously not! Why would I let you in?”
“No, I mean… why…?”
Flustered, despite his appearance, Scar placed his hand on my forehead again.
The same chill, the same command.
“Take me to the mansion.”
The process hadn’t changed at all. My answer was the same.
“I said no! Why are you trying to brush this off?”
“….”
Scar looked between me and his hand in disbelief, then gawked stupidly.
“…Uh… why isn’t it working?”
