Until now, he had been someone I thought was intelligent but only ever warm like sunlight.
But the man standing before me now was someone whose perceptiveness was far too sharp, to the point it sent chills down my spine.
‘Is this really the Ifrit I knew…? Is he someone else who only looks like him? Or perhaps, did another soul possess that body?’
My mind spun, unable to keep up with the impossible gap.
As if he knew my thoughts or didn’t care, Ifrit spoke calmly.
“A special force is currently in effect here, so it’s completely cut off mentally from the outside. You could call it a kind of barrier. In other words, no one outside can notice that you are here or come to rescue you.”
“What…?”
It was a detailed and kind explanation, but the content was anything but kind.
***
“Oh? It is His Grace!”
“What? Wasn’t he supposed to return tomorrow?”
“That’s right. Ah, this is not the time! Open the gate first!”
At Rastan’s sudden appearance, the gatekeepers of the Blake ducal estate hurriedly opened the gate.
The head butler, Jeff, also heard the news and quickly came out to the main entrance to greet his master.
Although he greeted him respectfully, he couldn’t hide his confusion.
“Master, what has happened? Did some kind of accident occur…?”
However, Rastan’s eyes were moving busily elsewhere, as if searching for someone else.
“No, I simply finished my business early and returned. But where is Evelyn?”
“Ah, Madam has gone to meet a friend.”
“A friend?”
One of Rastan’s eyebrows sharply rose.
He knew that ever since House Krone had declined and it became certain that Evelyn wouldn’t manifest an ability, she had almost no one she could call a friend.
“Marquis Pavel invited her to a meal…”
“What?”
As Rastan’s face twisted harshly, Jeff sensed that something was wrong and trailed off unusually.
“Yes… However, she did go with Ris accompanying her…”
Biting his lower lip until it bled, Rastan raised one hand into the air and snapped his fingers.
A moment later, a glossy black crow with purple eyes flew in.
“Raven, go to Marquis Pavel’s estate immediately and find out what that man is doing. Whether he is truly having a meal with Evelyn.”
Even as he gave the order, he thought he must look like someone in the final stages of pathological jealousy, but the unidentifiable anxiety tightening his chest left him no choice but to do something.
Raven flapped his wings, dipped his head once, and flew off swiftly.
Before long, Raven returned to Rastan’s office.
“It appeared that the Marquis was out. There were no signs at the estate of preparing to receive a guest or of a meal being prepared.”
At the report, which differed from what he had hoped, Rastan let out a sigh and ran his hand roughly through his hair.
‘Evelyn took Ris with her, but since her exact whereabouts are unknown…’
The anxiety made him feel like he was going mad.
At a loss for what to do, Rastan suddenly realized his own state and let out a self-mocking laugh.
‘At this rate, I am no different from a dog whining from separation anxiety toward its master.’
He told Raven to go and attend to his duties for now and dismissed him.
‘I know that locating a lady without her consent is not something a gentleman should do… but what does it matter? Right now, I am no better than a dog.’
Rastan closed his eyes and quietly focused his mind. Soon, a faint blue aura began to seep out from his head.
However, as if something wasn’t working, his expression gradually hardened, and he suddenly opened his eyes.
His blue eyes had already turned blood-red.
The moment he opened his eyes, the aura that had surrounded him like smoke vanished instantly.
Rastan’s face was filled with shock. He muttered in disbelief, his lips trembling.
“Gone…?”
Nowhere in this world could he sense Evelyn’s presence. The same was true for Ris, who had gone with her.
Just in case, he looked down at his own hand. However, from his palm, various colored auras flowed out one after another according to his will.
In truth, he knew better than anyone that there was nothing wrong with his ability, even without needing to see it visually.
‘The only time someone’s presence cannot be sensed at all is when that person is dead.’
That could also happen if someone moved to another world, but statistically, death was far more common than such an occurrence.
Was this the true nature of the vague anxiety that had been tightening his chest?
It felt as if everything before his eyes was turning white. However, Rastan tightly clenched his faintly trembling hand and tried to think calmly.
‘With Ris there, Evelyn wouldn’t be overpowered by mere thugs, or even mercenaries.’
He had always found that Pavel bastard’s presence unpleasant, but judging from the way he treated Evelyn, it didn’t seem like he intended to kill her.
At that point, Rastan suddenly recalled that Evelyn had gone to meet Ifrit.
It was unpleasant, but if he tracked Ifrit’s presence, he might be able to learn Evelyn’s location or situation.
However, when he closed his eyes and concentrated as before, he opened them again with a bewildered expression.
‘What, is that man dead too?’
Ifrit’s presence also couldn’t be detected anywhere in the world.
‘Unless they were together and something happened.’
After confirming even Ifrit’s absence, Rastan began to think that Evelyn hadn’t died, but that something else was wrong.
‘Yes. It has to be that.’
To think that the day would come when that irritating Pavel bastard would give him hope.
Biting his lower lip tightly, Rastan immediately left his office. Raven, who had been about to enter, stood outside the door with a slightly surprised expression.
“My Lord, where are you going…?”
“I’m going to find Evelyn.”
“Since she went with Ris, if you wait a little…”
Not knowing the full situation, Raven couldn’t understand Rastan suddenly behaving like a man consumed by jealousy.
However, Rastan hurried forward and gestured for him to follow.
Raven quickly followed and leaned in close to hear him.
“Evelyn, Ris, and even Marquis Pavel’s presence can’t be detected at all.”
“What?!”
Raven knew very well what that meant.
“But for some reason, it doesn’t feel like they are dead. I will go find them, so you mustn’t leave the ducal estate.”
“But is there anything I can do to help…?”
“When I’m gone, shouldn’t there be someone to receive communications and direct the situation if necessary?”
“…Understood. Please go.”
Knowing Rastan’s abilities well, Raven didn’t add empty words like telling him to be careful or to stay safe.
He bowed where he stood, and after Rastan disappeared into the distance, he returned to the office as instructed.
***
Rastan left the ducal estate alone on horseback.
‘He said it was a meal appointment.’
He intended to go to the district filled with high-end restaurants in the Capital and check whether any incident had occurred.
He wanted to confirm and eliminate the possibility, however small, that all three of them had died.
In truth, he could have sent someone else to investigate, but he was too distraught to think of that immediately.
It felt as though he had to go himself and confirm it with his own eyes, so he left at once.
However, after leaving the ducal estate, another thought occurred to him, and he stopped his horse.
‘To confirm whether they are alive or dead, nothing is more certain than determining the location of their souls.’
He intended to check whether even one of the souls of Evelyn, Ris, or at least Ifrit was in the spirit realm rather than the human world.
Having changed his mind, he tied his horse by the roadside for a moment, confirmed that no one was watching, and closed his eyes.
And the next moment, he opened his eyes in the spirit realm.
In a dark space where time seemed not to flow, pale souls drifted aimlessly in the air, and if one looked closely, the human world could be faintly seen beyond the darkness.
Before he realized it, Rastan’s eyes had returned to their original red color.
“I should find Evelyn’s soul first.”
But at that moment, a man suddenly appeared before him as if dropping straight down from the sky.
He had blond hair brushed back to reveal his forehead, blood-red eyes like Rastan’s, and wore a black suit over his entire body.
Unlike the other souls, he had a distinct form and color, making it obvious at a glance that he was a high-ranking demon.
“Hey, Leviathan. Long time no see.”
Floating in the air, Astaroth raised one corner of his lips and greeted Rastan with a crooked smile.
