Episode 06
His gaze, still fixed on her, remained as if intoxicated—dark… deep… unreadable.
“Hey. Shouldn’t you be looking at me?”
Ogedai tilted his head slightly. Both Helios and Enya Valencia had been staring at each other in silence, cold and unmoving.
Startled, they quickly turned their eyes toward the prince.
“Apologies.”
“Ah, yes. Please continue.”
They spoke one after another.
Enya caught it and let out a faint, crooked smile.
“You apologize so easily.”
Helios felt heat rise in his chest. The memory of last night resurfaced—how he had grabbed her sleeve without thinking, stopped her, apologized… and then simply stared.
Like a fool.
Ogedai studied them both—Helios with clenched teeth, Enya with a languid, mocking smile—and spoke in a low voice.
“…A monster has appeared in the north—one even I find difficult to face.”
The scattered atmosphere sharpened instantly.
The prince slid documents across the table toward them. Enya picked hers up, brows knitting slightly.
A creature even the Iron-Blooded Crown Prince couldn’t kill?
[Expedition Log Excerpt]
- March 2, 878: A psychic-type monster, 몽마 (dream demon), confirmed between Ochen Canyon and the Naitan River.
- June 23, 878 – 1st Subjugation:
5 injured. Target not eliminated. - August 19, 878 – 2nd Subjugation:
4 injured, 1 critically wounded (left leg severed). Target not eliminated.
Helios’ brow furrowed as he read.
A dream demon—barely a 6th-rank monster, practically the lowest tier. Someone like Ogedai should have killed it effortlessly.
And yet… sixteen failed attempts.
The report stopped in August. Meaning for half a year, the prince had failed to eliminate it.
This wasn’t a joke.
“…A dream demon lures its prey with illusions and devours their vitality,” Ogedai said. “It’s far stronger than what’s known.”
Everyone already knew that.
Enya spoke carefully.
“Even so, Your Highness should not be affected. A mere 6th-rank—”
“No. I am affected.”
Enya’s head snapped back slightly.
The gap between a low-tier monster and Ogedai—avatar of a god—was insurmountable.
Yet both she and Helios could not refute him.
Ogedai continued calmly.
“Dream demons tailor illusions to their prey’s strength. The illusion it showed me…”
He paused, licking his lips faintly.
“…was extraordinary. I couldn’t escape it.”
That last line sounded almost… sweet.
A faint unease crept into Enya’s mind.
No… there’s no way…
“Your Highness,” she pressed, “even then, your divine power should purify such magic instantly—”
“Both of you,” Ogedai laughed, then abruptly stopped.
His expression hardened.
“The problem is me.”
Silence fell.
“I am weak to temptation.”
He leaned back casually, golden eyes gleaming without a hint of shame.
“I would willingly reach for the illusion it shows me. No—truth be told, I already did.”
Enya’s understanding of the world cracked.
He hadn’t resisted.
He had willingly indulged—allowing the demon to drain him again and again.
Sixteen times.
The thought alone was dizzying.
“Then these injuries…” Helios asked.
“They got caught in the illusion while trying to help me. Quite unfortunate.”
Enya covered her face.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“Is not reaching for the illusion an option?”
“No.”
Ogedai smiled slyly, eyes darkening.
“Desire is wish. When your deepest wish stands before you… can you truly refuse it?”
Enya sighed.
“With all due respect, dream demons typically exploit sexual desire. Did it show you… various naked men and women?”
Ogedai’s eyes lit up.
“How did you know?”
“…How indeed.”
Then he burst into laughter.
“Ha! Enya, you even know my tastes! Yes—various kinds!”
Enya slumped back like a drained corpse.
Helios ignored her and spoke firmly.
“I can handle it alone.”
“I agree,” Enya added lazily. “After all, he’s the one who killed the Demon King.”
But Ogedai shook his head.
“I want this resolved quickly. It’s already been half a year. And thanks to me, the creature has grown stronger. Recently… it’s even disappeared.”
He then explained the plan:
Enya would track the demon.
Helios would suppress his divine power and wait.
Once located—he would release it instantly and kill the creature in one blow.
“I trust you won’t fall to such temptation, Helios. Others… I cannot trust.”
Enya raised a hand.
“What about me? I’m a bundle of desires.”
“You?”
Ogedai tilted his head.
“Aren’t you just… someone living because you can’t die? What desire could you possibly have?”
The tone was clean. Casual.
But brutally sharp.
Helios glanced at her.
Will she break?
But Enya’s face remained utterly blank.
Then—
She smiled.
“True enough.”
“But I still refuse.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
Her eyes turned cold.
“I’ve never made a contract with anyone. There’s a reason.”
She leaned back, irritation clear.
“I don’t want to get involved anymore. Be it subjugations or territorial wars—I’ve long since stepped away. My decision is final.”
Silence lingered.
Then—
“I will exempt you from taxes. For life.”
“…What?”
“And I’ll clear all your debts.”
Her head snapped up.
“And if you wish, I’ll connect your potion business to Castamonu’s trade routes.”
That was a major commercial artery—linking mountains to desert.
Profit beyond imagination.
Enya stopped mid-sentence as if slamming the brakes on her own resolve.
“…Actually—”
She turned instantly.
“I would love to stain my hands with that demon’s blood! I’ll rip out its core myself!”
“Need research funding too?”
“YES!”
She shot to her feet, raising her hand.
“I swear lifelong loyalty!!”
“Lifelong is unnecessary. Just sign here.”
Ogedai smiled and handed her the contract.
Enya read it once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then—
“Add a clause. No taxes for the next tower master either.”
Ogedai hesitated.
“…That’s a bit—”
“At least land tax.”
Her black eyes were sharp.
After a long sigh, he nodded.
“Fine. I’ll inform the finance minister.”
“Verbal agreements are binding.”
“Mm.”
“Can I sign in blood?”
“Go ahead.”
Without hesitation, she bit her thumb and stamped the contract.
Not a trace of doubt.
Helios watched… and felt something hollow inside him.
He had thought she hid in seclusion out of guilt.
But there was no hesitation in her. No remorse.
Only calculation.
“Pathetic.”
He muttered.
But Enya ignored him.
As always.
“Now that the contract is done, I suppose I’m finished here.”
She smiled—a rough, abrasive curve of the lips.
“I’ll be taking my leave.”
She walked out without a trace of hesitation.
And for a long time—
Helios’ cold gaze lingered on her retreating back.
