Chapter 55
Dazar gazed quietly at the woman sitting across from him.
Platinum-blond hair, round eyes, a pure and delicate appearance—yet contrary to that gentle look, her nature was firm and unyielding…
Hmm.
As he searched for the right word to describe her, he soon found an answer and smiled in satisfaction.
A wild horse.
Yes—a wild horse.
Strong and rough, a wild horse that looked like it would never be tamed.
That was the impression Cillia had always given him.
“Shake the rattle. You don’t know what a rattle is? You made it cry, so take responsibility and calm it down, you scoundrel!”
“Dazar, you bastard!”
The fact that he was a duke of the Empire, or even a Transcendent who remembered a previous life, meant little to her.
What mattered to her was only herself and her son, Axion.
No—these days, Vanilla had been added to that list. As Dazar recalled the things she had done for Vanilla in the past, he thought to himself:
I don’t want to admit it… but I have to.
That he held her in very high regard.
“Why do you keep sneaking glances at someone else’s face?”
“When did I do that?”
Cillia, who had been looking out the window, noticed Dazar’s gaze and scowled.
When he shrugged with an innocent expression, she narrowed her eyes.
“You were grinning the whole time you were looking. You were badmouthing me in your head, weren’t you?”
“No.”
“Yes, you were.”
“I said I wasn’t.”
Dazar felt a little wronged. He’d been praising her as a wild horse, after all.
She just didn’t understand his feelings.
Had he spoken his thoughts aloud, he would’ve earned even more scolding—but thankfully, he didn’t.
Instead, he changed the subject.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were almost targeted by the followers of Ruben?”
“Well, at the time… no, why exactly should I have told you, Dazar?”
Dazar, who had been ready to listen confidently to her explanation, froze.
Huh.
Why should she have told him?
“Well… because it would be troublesome if you were put in danger?”
“Why would that be troublesome?”
Cillia asked with a sulky expression.
Dazar felt his mind stiffen for a moment.
In truth, there were two reasons why it would be a problem if she were endangered.
Publicly, it was because she was developing a new food source to save the continent.
Privately—something he couldn’t say aloud—it was because she was connected to Ruben.
Yet none of those reasons came to mind immediately.
Because instinctively, he realized that neither of those was the real reason.
“If you got kidnapped, it’d be a hassle for me.”
He threw out the first excuse that came to mind, but it didn’t satisfy him at all.
Judging by how Cillia’s eyebrows rose even higher, it probably only made her angrier.
For reasons he didn’t understand, a memory suddenly surfaced—of the four of them, Cillia, Vanilla, Axion, and himself, going on a picnic together.
What was that?
Dazar tilted his head internally. Something felt off.
He knew it would be a serious problem if she were hurt—yet he couldn’t properly explain why.
Nor why that picnic memory had surfaced just now.
“Well, I suppose it would be a problem if something happened to the person responsible for developing a new food source.”
Cillia, who had been staring at him with a sullen face, seemed to arrive at a reasonable conclusion on her own.
Dazar nodded slowly.
“Well… yeah.”
His voice carried an odd sense of lingering emotion, but Cillia clicked her tongue and turned away.
As silence settled between them, the carriage sped along and soon arrived at the Siaster Ducal Estate.
“Then I’ll be going in now.”
Cillia quickly stepped down from the carriage and disappeared toward the annex.
Dazar stood there blankly, watching her retreating figure, then slowly began to walk as well.
Not because he was still pondering the unanswered question from the carriage—but because he felt something strange.
The place he ended up was the main gate of the Siaster estate.
“Huh? Captain, what brings you here?”
One of the Black Hawks guarding the gate scrambled to his feet.
“Stand down.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
At Dazar’s curt reply, the guard broke into a cold sweat and awkwardly fumbled back into position.
“Good work!”
“Right!”
Dazar passed through the gate, not caring what exactly the man thought he was being praised for. He then gestured toward a corner.
It was an empty space—nothing there.
Had the guard seen it, he might’ve thought his captain had lost his mind.
“You’re following me properly, right?”
“……”
Dazar spoke as though someone was obviously there.
After walking a short distance beyond the gate, he stopped abruptly.
“We’ve barely parted, and you already missed me that much?”
His voice sounded almost gentle—but the anger beneath it was unmistakable.
He turned around with a slight smirk.
“No matter how shadow-like your abilities are, did you really think you could pass through my barrier?”
He sneered at the empty space.
“Oh? Or did you come to settle unfinished business from our previous life?”
“…That is not the case.”
To his surprise, the empty space rippled—and something rose up from the ground, taking form.
It was Morokanil, whom he had parted from earlier with Retsy.
Morokanil straightened from his kneeling posture and slowly stood.
“Then what is it? Why sneak into my estate like a rat? Didn’t we agree on non-interference in this life?”
“……”
Morokanil pressed his lips together, expressionless.
Without his usual gentle smile, he looked like a lifeless doll.
Cillia might’ve been startled if she’d seen him like this—but Dazar knew better.
This was Morokanil’s true face.
“I had no intention of breaking that promise.”
“…Then why are you here? And why secretly?”
More accurately, he’d tried to sneak in and failed.
Dazar narrowed his eyes, irritation growing.
Morokanil’s slow responses and unfocused gaze made him look oddly distracted—almost absentminded.
“I just… ended up here.”
“‘Just ended up here’…?”
What kind of idiotic answer was that?
“You sure you’re Morokanil? You’re not some puppet sent by Ruben’s followers?”
“No.”
Dazar could tell it was truly him from his unique aura.
So why would he dare intrude on his territory with such a vacant look and foolish excuses?
Unable to find an answer, Dazar frowned.
“After escorting His Majesty, I found myself walking… and grew curious.”
Morokanil glanced into the distance as he spoke.
“About what?”
“That new food source.”
Hmph. Still not convincing.
“His Majesty said it was very delicious. I just kept walking… and ended up here.”
“……”
Well. It was tasty.
But that alone didn’t—
As Dazar narrowed his eyes further, Morokanil suddenly spoke Cillia’s name.
“Has Lady Evanroar… already gone inside?”
“Why are you looking for her?”
“Since I was here, I thought I might greet her.”
You just saw her.
Dazar looked utterly baffled.
Was this guy actually sick? Or had he been captured and manipulated by Ruben’s followers?
As Dazar considered these very reasonable suspicions, Morokanil stepped back.
“No. On second thought, visiting without notice would be rude. I’ll take my leave.”
“…?”
Morokanil turned abruptly and walked away.
Watching his hurried retreating figure, Dazar thought:
That guy is suspicious.
And deep in his chest, something felt deeply unpleasant—and unsettling.
Damn.
Walking quickly, Morokanil let out a deep sigh.
I got too excited when I realized I’d found her.
That had been dangerous.
I almost got caught by Dazar.
He couldn’t let Dazar realize that Cillia was her.
If that happened, she would be taken away again—just like before.
Fortunately, he is still under a curse.
In that regard, Morokanil was far ahead.
And he had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
