“That is right. But I am hesitating a little.”
“There is absolutely no need to be mindful of me. If you have something you want to say, say it.”
Even after hearing that, I hesitated a little longer. But Rastan had clearly said it himself.
‘He promised that once we were engaged, he would tell me everything about himself.’
We had already been legally engaged, but today we had even held a grand engagement ceremony. Now, there would be no noble in the Capital who didn’t know that we were engaged.
It meant that even if my question made him uncomfortable, he no longer had any excuse to avoid answering.
‘I should have asked sooner, but I kept putting it off because of various things.’
In that case…
“I want to know exactly now. What your ability is. No, what your true identity is.”
For an instant, Rastan’s face darkened. No, to be precise, it twisted ever so slightly, as if in pain.
“You will be surprised when you hear it. Even so, do you still wish to hear it?”
“When you say it like that, does it not only make me want to hear it more?”
“Then, before you hear it.”
Rastan turned his body slightly and looked straight into my eyes. The large hand I had been playing with had already turned, now holding my hand instead.
“You must remember that even if you learn my true identity, you will not be able to leave me. Because we are bound by contract.”
Just what kind of identity was it, for him to act this grave?
“…Are you, by any chance, a serious criminal? Like, a serial killer or something?”
“Well. It would be more accurate to say something far worse than that.”
I had deliberately exaggerated to an absurd degree, but something far worse than that?
Seeing my pupils tremble, Rastan spoke again with an uneasy expression, tightly holding my hand.
“Remember. We made a contract, and that contract contains a clause stating that it cannot be terminated unless one party intentionally attempts to harm the other.”
Was that so? I didn’t remember reading such a clause.
But it wasn’t such an unusual clause, and since he was the one who had written the contract himself, it must be true.
“That sounds like you are saying that even if you were a terrifying serial killer, you would never harm me. Because you are the one who wishes to maintain this engagement contract. Is that correct?”
“Of course. Ah, I am not a serial killer. I do not harm innocent people.”
It was reassuring to hear. Having come this far, it was hard to show any more fear. In the end, I gathered my courage and decided to hear it.
“…Alright. Whatever you are, I will not ask to terminate the contract, so please tell me.”
At that, Rastan hesitated slightly, then released my hand and raised one hand to the height of his face.
As I absentmindedly looked at his hand, I was startled.
A red aura was seeping out of his hand like smoke, lingering above his palm.
“Are you… a mage?”
At that moment, when I turned my gaze to his face, I was even more shocked.
“Y-your eyes…!”
His blue eyes had somehow turned a deep red, like blood.
I recalled the times before when I had thought his eyes looked red. Each time, I had dismissed it as something I must have seen wrong.
‘Strangely, my mind would grow hazy, and I would stop thinking about it.’
But had it not been a mistake after all?
I stared blankly into his blood-red eyes.
Even though he was standing right in front of me, alive and breathing, his existence didn’t feel real at all.
‘Could it be that I have unknowingly entered a dream right now?’
Of course, that was certainly not the case. If it were a dream, everything would unfold only according to my will.
‘Nothing outside my expectations could happen in my dreams.’
Now that I looked closely, his red eyes, which looked like blood or rubies, suited Rastan’s smooth and cold features perfectly.
His blue eyes had been beautiful, but the inhuman red eyes made his appearance seem even more unreal.
‘To the point that he looks like a demon that seduces people and steals their souls.’
Under the moonlight, his face, radiating a clear and chilling allure, was dangerously seductive.
However, his handsome brows soon lowered, as if in concern.
“Evelyn. Are you alright?”
Rastan took my hand with his other hand. Only after feeling the warmth of his touch did I realize that my fingertips had grown cold.
“Your complexion…”
Still with those blood-red eyes, he reached out toward me with a worried expression.
When his hand lightly touched my cheek, I flinched unconsciously, my body stiffening.
“Ah…”
Seeing that, Rastan also paused, then withdrew the hand he had been extending.
As he lightly bit his lower lip and lowered his gaze, a sorrowful air settled over his beautiful face. Strangely, seeing that expression stirred my heart, which had been filled only with fear.
‘Even with those ominous red eyes, Rastan is still just the Rastan I know.’
Because of that, calming down slightly, I was finally able to ask.
“What happened? Are you a mage?”
“…I can use magical power, but it would be difficult to call me a mage.”
“Then what are you? Stop going in circles and tell me.”
“…”
Rastan still kept his gaze lowered, as if hesitating. His long eyelashes cast shadows over his red eyes.
However, as if he had made up his mind, he soon began to speak slowly.
“First, to explain my eyes… This is their original color. I only change them normally because people would be afraid.”
“I think I have seen your eyes red before, or mixed with blue. What was that?”
Now seeming slightly resigned, he answered without resistance.
“When I use magical power, their original color reveals itself.”
“Why?”
“Because that is my true form.”
Rastan murmured bitterly.
“I promised to be truthful with you, and that is why I have shown you part of my true form now.”
“Part…?”
A person’s eye color was changing at will, and yet that wasn’t all?
“What are you, do you transform into an animal or something? Like Raven?”
Perhaps sensing the fear rising in my eyes, Rastan’s expression grew pained.
“…You promised that no matter what happens, the contract would not be terminated. That you would not leave me.”
Even though he had already received my promise, Rastan still seemed anxious, wanting to confirm it again before answering.
“Yes.”
When I nodded, he bit his lip, then, as if resolved, turned his gaze toward the window.
A white aura, different from before, seeped into the hand he had raised to the height of his face.
Curious about what he was about to do, I watched only his hand, when Rastan spoke softly.
“Evelyn, not here. Look at the moon outside.”
Following his words, I turned my gaze toward the moon. He pointed at it with his finger and slowly traced an arc through the air.
And then…
‘The moon is moving!’
Following the direction Rastan’s hand, which was emitting a white light, pointed toward, the moon slowly descended and then disappeared beyond the distant horizon.
Shocked by the sight, I couldn’t say anything and only blinked.
‘Am I dreaming right now? If so, have I been pulled into someone else’s dream, someone more powerful than me, and am being toyed with?’
All kinds of thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant.
Just as my head began to ring, as if I had bitten down on a mouthful of ice, Rastan carefully asked, watching my expression.
“Are you… very surprised?”
“I have never heard of magic on this scale.”
Even in my dazed state, I recalled the Archmage of the Imperial Palace’s most famous achievements.
He had single-handedly destroyed enemy fortress walls during war, and even when surrounded by high-ranking monsters, he had easily slain them all.
‘Those were certainly incredible abilities, beyond human level, but…’
What Rastan had moved wasn’t merely a stone wall or monsters.
‘He moved the moon.’
That meant he possessed the power to move time faster, or slower.
In truth, what he had moved wasn’t the moon, but the planet we stood upon.
“What… are you?”
Seeing something so impossible, my body began trembling again with instinctive fear.
Every sense in my body was screaming.
That it was ominous, that the power was too vast, that I should run.
