Chapter 201
“I’m telling you clearly—I’m not innocent.”
I stressed each syllable, emphasizing it.
In my past life and in Ceryl’s life, the only people I could ever call family were the parents I had lost when I was young.
Varen stared quietly into my wide eyes, then gave a small shrug.
“I just asked in case. You’re a warm-hearted human.”
“When have I ever been?”
“You always are. Ceryl, you’re full of affection, and you take responsibility seriously.”
“Wait. When you put it like that, I sound like—”
“You can’t pass by people in need. You always try to help somehow.”
The way he listed off praise without hesitation sent a shiver down my spine. If you only listened to him, you’d think I was some incredible, benevolent person.
I even shook my shoulders exaggeratedly on purpose. But Varen only smiled softly and brushed my cheek.
“Sometimes, you suit being a king more than I do.”
“...Ugh, a king? I’ve never even been class president.”
“Class president?”
“Stop saying useless things. Let’s go.”
Cutting off the embarrassing conversation, I grabbed Varen’s hand again and pulled.
But he stood there like he’d been nailed to the ground, not moving at all.
Time was tight, and his hesitation made irritation bubble up inside me. I put a hand on my hip and turned to him, ready to snap at him.
But Varen was staring into empty space, his eyes somehow clouded.
I paused.
Then, as if nothing had happened, his face returned to normal.
“...Damn.”
A single word slipped from his mouth, sounding like something had gone wrong.
A chill ran down my spine, and I grabbed his arm immediately.
“What—what is it? What happened, Varen?”
“Let’s sort this out first before leaving, Ceryl. You said not to kill any humans?”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Explain properly.”
Varen lifted his head and looked at the ceiling. I followed his gaze instinctively.
There was nothing there but dark stone.
But he seemed to be looking at something beyond it.
“...Ah. Seems like breaking that barrier was a mistake.”
“Why the barrier all of a sudden?”
“If you break a barrier by force, the caster can sense it.”
“.......”
“We’ll be surrounded soon.”
He said it plainly, but each word hit the back of my head like a blunt blow.
I recalled the barrier Varen had broken.
It was a system that only opened when touched by someone authorized.
Like a fingerprint lock.
So of course, forcing it open would trigger an intrusion alert.
Unlike Varen, who looked completely unfazed, all the color drained from my face.
The plan had been to steal everything about the death magic before dawn, take Milo, and escape.
Now it had collapsed completely.
I stood there, mouth open, and Varen kindly closed it for me.
“Why are you so surprised, Ceryl? Are you worried we won’t be able to escape?”
He tilted his head slightly.
When I didn’t answer right away, he continued quickly, almost offended.
“It’s just one mage and a few dozen ordinary humans. Why are you worried when I’m here?”
“...A few dozen?”
Varen puffed his chest slightly and frowned fiercely. It wasn’t intimidating at all with that youthful face.
For a moment, the familiar thought that he was cute crossed my mind, but I steadied myself and gripped his hand tightly.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just didn’t expect this.”
Only then did his expression soften. He lifted his chin.
“If you allow it, I can kill them all in an instant. For a Dravergh, it’s easy.”
I let out a strained sound.
Letting Varen kill people so easily—or letting our group fall into danger instead—neither option sat well with me.
Faced with that impossible choice, I scratched my head.
Kill them or don’t.
Is there no middle ground?
Looking at the extreme dragon in front of me, I asked carefully.
“What about knocking them out instead of killing them?”
“.......”
“That should be enough for us to escape.”
This time, Varen looked troubled.
He pressed his lips into a straight line, hesitated, then muttered quietly,
“...I was planning to burn them all at once.”
“Hey, what if the fire spreads through the forest again? It didn’t go out easily last time.”
“...That’s true.”
His oddly uncertain response made a laugh slip out of me.
I cleared my throat to suppress it, then grabbed his hand again.
We really had to hurry now.
If what a Dravergh saw in the future couldn’t be changed, then being surrounded was inevitable.
So I decided to focus on getting out of here without getting hurt.
As we rushed up the stairs together, I sorted through my thoughts.
I went over everything again, making sure I hadn’t missed anything because of impulsive decisions.
Then a short exclamation escaped me.
“Ah! Phiren!”
“Why? Changed your mind? Want to kill him after all?”
Varen answered immediately, as if ready to do it at any moment.
I flicked my own forehead in frustration.
“Damn it... I was thinking we could use him. He knows a lot, and he’s close to the king.”
“Then use him.”
“How, when he already knows I’m not on his side?”
As his nephew, I had thought I could approach him, pretend ignorance, and slowly draw information out of him.
But the moment we broke the barrier and ransacked the basement, that plan fell apart.
After this, Phiren would completely distrust Ceryl—he might even consider him an enemy.
This is why I shouldn’t act impulsively.
I had just lost a perfect source of information.
As I ran a hand irritably through my hair, Varen, climbing behind me, spoke.
“If he’s that useful, take him to the Drunkard. With his skill, he could tear through his mind easily. He could even brainwash him and make him act as we want.”
“...Oh?”
“If you need a connection to the king, you could have him meet Morpha. Morpha could disguise themselves as him and approach the king directly.”
I turned to Varen with wide eyes.
How did he come up with something this smart?
I wanted to pat his head and kiss him properly.
But we reached the end of the stairs and stepped into the reception room, so I held it back.
I settled for lightly smacking his backside and hurried outside.
Despite Varen’s warning, the surroundings were quiet.
I focused, listening carefully. The only clear sound was the approaching footsteps of two people.
I turned toward it and saw Margon running toward us with a young boy.
The boy, who looked to be in his late teens, had a small frame barely half of Margon’s size.
They stopped in front of me, breathing hard.
The boy looked back and forth between me and Varen in confusion, then bowed immediately toward me.
“H-hello, Lord Ceryl. I’m... Milo.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at him.
Even with all of Ceryl’s memories, his face didn’t feel particularly familiar.
When I glanced at Margon naturally, he curled his lip slightly.
“He’s shy.”
“Is he Leobin’s sibling?”
“Yes. Not by blood, but Leobin cared for him like one. Said he reminded him of you when you were young, or something like that.”
At that, I looked at Milo again.
Soft black hair. Black eyes. Pale skin.
The boy stood there with his shoulders hunched, watching me nervously.
After coming to this house, the young Ceryl had spent years watching his uncle and the servants, constantly on edge.
Milo’s fragile appearance and frightened expression reminded me of that.
I let out a quiet laugh and glanced up at the dark night sky.
Calling someone unrelated “younger sibling” and caring for them like that.
So even that came from his instinct to protect Ceryl...
Either way, it was his request.
And based on the regret I felt after losing Leobin, I resolved to protect Milo’s life no matter what.
Milo was shorter than me and kept his head lowered.
To meet his eyes, I had to bend slightly.
“Hi, Milo. You were surprised to be called out so suddenly, right?”
“......”
“Leobin asked me to take care of you. Come with me somewhere safe.”
At my words, Milo lifted his eyes slightly.
His wide pupils were filled with fear.
He looked around uncertainly, then asked in a trembling voice,
“Leobin... where is he?”
Even that single trembling question made him seem pitiful.
When I couldn’t answer right away, Margon grabbed Milo’s shoulder with his large hand.
“Leobin left. Far away. Across the sea.”
“W-why?”
“To make money. Guards don’t earn much.”
“...Then when... when will he come back?”
At the innocent question, I gave a bitter smile.
Then, recalling my last conversation with Leobin, I answered.
“A very, very long time from now. You’ll be able to see him again.”