Chapter 105
“Wasn’t this a strategy game?”
Eden looked at Hagen’ti in confusion.
Did he like the name “Choco”?
“It’s just the two of us here, so there’s no need to call me that…”
“…Okay.”
Hagen’ti seemed oddly sulky.
Did Hagen’ti always have so many expressions?
If someone else had seen it, they would be baffled, questioning what part of him showed any real emotion, but now Eden could keenly sense the subtle changes in Hagen’ti’s gaze.
“You’re not hurt, right?”
As Eden reached out to touch Hagen’ti’s forehead, his slowly extending hand was suddenly caught by a large hand.
“You seem fine.”
Surprised, Eden and Hagen’ti’s suddenly icy exchange of glances both turned to Asmun.
Asmun had already joined Eden, holding her hand tightly and meeting Hagen’ti’s cold stare.
“Your Highness… about the situation…”
“I have conveyed everything the Saint saw to the Emperor. He sent people to the mines, and soon he will find evidence.”
Asmun said flatly. Eden nodded but still wore a sorrowful expression.
The mines held crucial evidence. If Kiris hadn’t been captured by Patriar.
There was no longer a card to turn the situation around…
While thinking this, Eden suddenly looked up at Hagen’ti.
“Hagen’ti, has that person woken up?”
At that question, Hagen’ti concluded his intense stare down with Asmun and turned back to Eden. Upon understanding who “that person” was, Hagen’ti responded nonchalantly.
“Yeah.”
Without looking back, Eden rushed toward the room where Chediak and the woman were. Hagen’ti attempted to follow but Asmun coldly held him back.
“Eden…”
The moment Asmun spoke Eden’s name, Hagen’ti’s feet came to a halt.
“I can’t keep the promise I made with you.”
When he turned around again, he saw Asmun still looking at him with cool but more relaxed eyes.
“I won’t stop you from following Eden like a discarded puppy, but you should certainly keep this in mind.”
Asmun regarded Hagen’ti with a look of interest, reflecting on the information.
He was a sorcerer with the title of the continent’s only Great Mage, a wizard with truly marvelous magical power.
During the time when the Magic Tower and the Imperial Palace conspired for their mutual benefit, he was nurtured as a combat mage for the empire from the start, making significant contributions to the imperial wars and monster hunts.
Thanks to that, the Hesmoro Empire undeniably became the strongest empire on the continent, and as the number of rampaging monsters across the continent halved, his power was undoubtedly formidable.
Fifty years had passed since he went missing, yet not a single sorcerer had appeared to match even half of that extraordinary magic.
No one knew the reason for his disappearance, and in the desperate search within the Imperial Palace for Hagen’ti, who had decided to hide his existence, no one could find him.
They scoured the north for the castle he was said to be residing in, yet that castle left no trace behind.
Fearing that some unfortunate soul might stumble upon Hagen’ti, records of him were erased from the palace, and for decades he remained just a name.
How did Eden manage to find such a person?
Soon Hagen’ti opened his dry lips and spoke in an indifferent voice.
“Once I make you Emperor, Eden will return with me.”
His slow and quiet voice carried a firm belief in that promise.
Asmun retorted with a cutting tone.
“I’m afraid to shatter your premature fantasy, but it’s better to say this now than have you be greatly disappointed later. If you’re returning to that ancient castle, you’ll be the only one.”
Of course. Asmun had no intention of letting Eden go. Not even if it was Hamun’s paradise instead of a northern castle.
Hagen’ti, undeterred, shot back with an emotionless face.
“Eden is helping you purely out of duty. Because of that damned prophecy.”
At those words, Asmun’s eyebrows hardened coldly.
“…So your true colors are finally showing. You acted like a dimwit in front of Eden.”
Asmun had known from the beginning that Hagen’ti wasn’t the innocent fool Eden thought he was.
An innocent person cannot harbor such stubborn obsession in their eyes when looking at someone.
Even under Asmun’s cold voice, Hagen’ti’s expression did not shift. As if he hadn’t even heard the sharp words, he continued.
“So once that duty is over, our business will be finished. I’ll help you become Emperor. So, be satisfied with the throne.”
It was as if he was offering to hand over the throne. Asmun couldn’t help but give a cold laugh.
“You seem to be under some delusion. Have you considered that your feelings are rooted in pity?”
“……”
“Sorry, but I have no intention of letting go of the throne or Eden. So you might as well ditch those empty hopes. After the hunt, the hunting dog gets discarded.”
A sharp killing intent glistened in Hagen’ti’s indifferent eyes.
“Eden is mine.”
That blatant declaration made Asmun’s gaze turn icy enough to cut.
“I’ll shatter that delusion.”
“Chediak!”
Eden burst through the door. There, she found Chediak curled up on the sofa, dozing off, and a woman quietly gazing out the window.
“P-Please return it!”
Chediak jolted awake with a startled mumble.
“Huh…? Eddie?”
While Eden stepped past the dazed Chediak, she approached the woman to examine her cautiously.
On the table around them lay an untouched glass of water and a soup bowl that hadn’t been emptied at all.
The woman revived by Eden merely stared into space with dead eyes.
“A-Are you okay…?”
The woman, seen up close, was just a young girl about Eden’s age.
He hadn’t noticed earlier when she was on the verge of dying…
The woman’s gaze slowly turned to Eden.
“……”
She looked like she had somewhat gathered what had happened from Chediak. Perhaps she had been resigned to her fate, and Eden felt a pang of guilt. After all, she had many questions left unanswered.
“Um, what’s your name? You look about my age. I’m Eden.”
Eden tried to appear friendly with a smile, hoping to ease the woman’s tension. Maybe it worked because the woman’s dry lips parted.
“…Lydia.”
The voice was as parched and cracked as her lips.
Ah, Lydia.
Eden repeated the name softly in her mind and spoke kindly once more.
Lydia nodded.
“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, can I ask about what happened at the mine?”
At those words, Lydia’s expression darkened drastically. When Eden looked back at Chediak, he shook his head, perhaps having given up after several attempts.
‘Well, this isn’t something you can just press her for.’
She had been nearly dead when taken as a sacrifice, so everything must be confusing for her now.
If she didn’t know the people in the mines, maybe Lydia, who had been directly bound by the Dark Sorcerers, could know something about them?
Perhaps she might even have information about Patriar.
But asking such things to someone with such empty eyes felt impossible.
“Alright. Rest.”
As Eden easily gave up, Chediak’s eyes widened. He quickly approached Eden, whispering.
“Eddie… uh, I mean, Saint. Was the situation resolved? Did you stop the rite?”
For a moment, Eden pondered how to respond to Chediak’s question. She had stopped the Emperor’s soul from transferring, but things weren’t completely resolved.
“His Majesty is safe.”
At her quiet answer, the tension drained from Chediak’s face.
After thinking for a moment, Eden decided to share this unfortunate truth with Chediak as well. He had the right to know all of it.
“But we got it wrong.”
“…Huh? What do you mean…?”
“It wasn’t the 1st Prince; it was the 2nd Prince who colluded with the Dark Sorcerers.”
Chediak’s expression froze for a moment. It was then that Eden turned back to see Lydia, still gazing outside.
RUMBLE!
“Ah!”
The booming sound from the corridor startled Chediak, causing him to scream. Eden, startled and remembering she had left Hagen’ti and Asmun behind, gasped.
“Oh no…!”
Eden jumped up and hurried into the corridor. The ceiling and walls were crumbling and burning here and there.
“Your Highness, calm down!”
“C-Call the mages!”
In the chaotic duel, the knights couldn’t step in quickly enough to manage the situation and were flustered.
Chasing after Eden, Chediak gasped and covered his face, screaming.
“What’s going on? Why are the Princes and Choco…!”
Asmun unsheathed his sword, and Eden, alarmed, quickly stepped between them.
“Stop! Hold it!”
Chediak took the opportunity to rush in, barely managing to restore the damaged and burning corridor.
The knights and household staff let out deep sighs at the appearance of a capable mage.
“What are you all doing?!”
When Eden interjected, Hagen’ti, who had been glaring at Asmun, quickly switched his demeanor and approached Eden with an innocent face.
Huh…?
At that disgusting display, Asmun raised an eyebrow.
“Are you alright?”
Deceived by the sight, Eden turned to Hagen’ti and looked him over.
Hagen’ti submitted his face entirely to Eden’s touch and lowered his eyes, quietly murmuring.
“…I feel like my head’s ringing.”
