Chapter 124
“Ah.”
Beriette nodded, as if he understood. He glanced at Meril and Krisha, then folded his hands loosely and rested them on his knees, leaning forward. A mysterious smile tugged at his lips.
“Sigh, what should I do? I have so many things I want to tell Roy, so many words of comfort and advice… but my eyes and ears are cursed, so I have to be careful what I say. It’s such a shame.”
His exaggerated tone made me speechless. Beriette leaned in closer and whispered,
“Did you know? Even though I’m a cursed prince and everyone knows I’m the Emperor’s eyes and ears, no one ever investigated me. Isn’t that strange? Is it because Leon’s so into you he just forgot? With things this bad, I should have been thrown in the dungeon and had my room and body searched top to bottom.”
“…?!”
I stared at him wide-eyed, repeating his words in my head.
So… Beriette was sending a secret message: “I have important information. You should come search me.”
He grabbed my wrist and put a finger to his lips over his crooked smile.
Shh.
He signaled for silence, closed his eyes, and slowly lowered his hand. His fingertips traced every button and decoration down the collar of his uniform. Then he undid one button and shoved my hand inside his jacket. Startled, I tried to pull away, but Beriette held my hand tightly over something hidden in his inner pocket.
Gulping, I carefully pulled out the paper from his pocket. He let go, smiling with his eyes still closed.
And then he said:
“Ah, while you were away from the castle, I got so sick. My legs hurt, my shoulders ache… If only you could use your healing hands on my shoulders, that would be wonderful.”
…So the information wasn’t free.
I bit my lip, quickly hiding the bundle of paper in my clothes before Beriette could open his eyes.
“Alright.”
Still smiling, he patted his thigh and faked another groan.
“I’d love a massage right now, but you look too tired, Roy, so I won’t ask. Or… should I give you a massage? It’ll take your worries away!”
He stretched his glowing green arms and boxed me in. I was honestly flustered. He had short hair and wore a military uniform, and I’d always thought he was smaller and slimmer than me, but his shadow completely covered mine.
“Uh, w-well… Your Highness…”
I covered my mouth and glanced away. Beriette grabbed the back of my neck. One hand kneaded my tense shoulders, the other covered my hand. He was so close I could feel his breath, his lips nearly touching mine. I shrank back and turned my head away.
“Beriette.”
Just then, a low voice interrupted us.
I jumped up and shouted,
“A-Altair?! You’re awake?!”
“……”
“Ha. Professor—no, Altair Oswally! Listen to me, very carefully!”
“…Yes. I’m listening.”
After a week, Altair finally woke up, blinking slowly with a dazed look on his face.
“It’s not even April Fool’s and you’re scaring everyone! If you thought I was going to cry and say, ‘Professor, you were amazing! So cool!’ you’re very wrong! Do you know how scared I was seeing you cast that seventh spell? You took back all three tower keys and risked your life for magic—you know how much chaos that could cause! I’m only saving you this once. If you ever do something reckless again, I’ll never see you again! Remember that!”
“……”
“And take these library keys back! They’re not just for some local library. They’re a huge responsibility and power to judge right from wrong in the Mage Towers’ history! I don’t have any magic at all—how am I supposed to handle not one, but three towers? Just live a long, long life and don’t ever risk it again! You need to fix this mess yourself!”
As I scolded him, Altair’s eyes lowered more and more.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know if I can live long, but I’ll try…”
“Do I sound like I’m worried about your life span right now?!”
“N-no… From now on, I’ll always discuss things with Roy and ask for permission. But I thought long and hard about the tower keys…”
“There’s more!”
I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.
“…More?”
“You said there’s no guarantee I’ll love Tessarion forever. Did you hope for that, or believe it? That’s the wrong idea! Even if it were true, you have no right to say that to me. Do you mean you can’t promise to love only one person forever, either?”
Altair stared at me in shock.
Beside me, Beriette clamped his mouth shut and shrank back like a frightened cat.
Frozen, Altair slowly shook his head and grabbed my hand.
“Roy. That’s not what I meant! I just…”
“Let go.”
I shook his hand off firmly. Altair’s lips trembled. Before he could speak again, I snapped first.
“It’s not just uncomfortable—it’s honestly scary. If you thought of me as a friend or someone you could confide in, I’d be happy. But after seeing your real feelings, I don’t know how to deal with it.”
“I’m not trying to judge you. I just wanted to protect you, and wait for you…”
“That day—was my life in danger?”
“……”
“The Duke was protecting me. It wasn’t an easy fight, but I was still unharmed. I was about to pray to the goddess for Tessarion’s safety when you interrupted, gave me the tower keys, and risked your life to ‘answer’ my prayer instead. Was it because you didn’t like my prayer for Tessarion?”
“……”
Silence fell.
Beriette tried to slip away but paused at the sight of a pale Meril and the old lady, then buried his face in his hands with a sigh. He patted my shoulder, but I wasn’t done.
Even now, Altair sat perfectly straight, never blinking or looking away.
He gave a small, cold laugh. It sent chills down my spine.
But soon, he softened and spoke gently:
“To stop the monsters from moving north, there was no other way.”
“……”
Was that really true?
For a week I’d prayed desperately to that damned goddess to save Altair, replaying that moment over and over.
Why, at that exact moment, did he give me the keys and ask for salvation? If I hadn’t caught on to his spell, what would have happened? If the goddess, who ignored me for ten lifetimes, hadn’t answered right away, would Tessarion and Altair even be alive now?
I was confused.
The more I thought about it, the more it felt like Altair had tied me up on purpose. Was he really unconscious, or was he pretending so I wouldn’t leave his side?
If it were the Altair I know… I could believe he’d do exactly that.
“If I’d realized the spell a little later, or prayed to the goddess too late, you wouldn’t be alive. And you would’ve left me crushed with guilt.”
“I didn’t think my magic would fail. I trusted that you’d understand the spell and act immediately.”
I bit my lip and turned away. Altair reached out and grabbed my wrist.
“Roy. I was too hasty. I’m sorry.”
“Are you really sorry? You don’t even ask for forgiveness, and you don’t seem to regret it. You’re just… too confident.”
