Chapter 6
“…Huh?”
“Go hide there secretly. You know the way, right? I’ll look for you when things have calmed down a bit.”
Hestia’s words made my eyes widen. She bought that house? When?
“Don’t make your presence known until I get there. Got it?”
I was reeling from the whirlwind of events, but even amidst the chaos, the key in my hand felt like a lifeline.
“Thank you. I will, Hestia.”
***
The mansion’s interior was spotless, not a speck of dust, despite appearing to have been vacant for a long time. Clearly, someone had been diligently cleaning and maintaining it.
‘Hestia, when did you even…?’
‘Oh, whatever. It’s not like her appearing out of nowhere is anything new. This house and land are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her secretly acquired properties.’
Grumbling to myself, I entered the mansion, locked the door, and made a beeline for a guest room, throwing myself onto the bed. I’d been on edge waiting for them to return, and the exhaustion hit me the moment my cheek touched the soft sheets. The knowledge that I was safe made my tense muscles melt like cotton candy. I drifted off to sleep almost instantly. It was strange that I could sleep at a time like this, but it also made me realize just how mentally drained I was.
How long did I sleep? When I opened my eyes, the window offered only an impenetrable darkness. Was it the middle of the night, or perhaps early morning? As I blinked, trying to gauge the time, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
“…Huh?”
I knew this strange, twisting sensation in the air around me. This was a barrier created by divine power. It was the feeling of someone with divine power enclosing an area, preventing intrusion. Although I didn’t possess divine power myself, I’d experienced this feeling countless times during my years living at the temple. There was no mistaking it. Someone had cast a barrier of divine power around this mansion.
‘Who? And why?’
A prickling sensation started at the base of my skull and crawled all the way up. ‘I need to get out of here. Now.’
It was a visceral instinct, a premonition. I immediately sat up in bed and flung the door open. That was my mistake. I should have gone through the window. Unlike the dark guest room, the large drawing room, directly connected to the guest room, was brightly lit by a roaring fireplace.
“Awake?” And there, bathed in the warm glow of the firelight, as if he’d been expecting me, stood a handsome man, greeting me with a bright smile.
“Ah, Se, Seikan? Ha, ha. Long time no see.”
“Yes, long time no see, Adelina. Five months and fourteen days, to be exact.”
“….” Seikan placed the wine glass he’d been swirling on the table. His short, silver hair caught the firelight, making it appear almost orange, warm and inviting. I, on the other hand, was freezing, covered in goosebumps. As Seikan moved, his loosely worn shirt shifted, revealing perfectly sculpted pecs and abs.
“It’s been so long, and yet, my dear Adelina, why are you here, without so much as a hello?”
Everyone seemed unusually interested in my whereabouts today.
“I, it just happened… By the way, Seikan, how did you know I was here?”
“You’re aware that Helion’s older brother is in charge of the Treasury, managing the imperial family’s assets, aren’t you?”
“…Are you saying you secretly accessed the Princess’s property records? That’s illegal…”
“Adelina, I’m not here to argue legal technicalities with you.” Seikan cut me off, approaching with a languid gait. His loosely worn shirt gaped further, the exposed skin far too distracting.
“You know, it might be a good idea to put some clothes on. As you know, it gets a bit chilly here at night, unlike the south. You wouldn’t want to catch a cold…Oof!”
I couldn’t finish my sentence. Seikan had extended a long, muscular arm, trapping me between his body and the wall.
“Are you worried I’ll get cold?”
“Uh, huh?”
Seikan gazed intently at me, lifting the ends of my hair to his lips.
“Then you can warm me up.”
“…What…?”
“With your body.”
“This cra…”
My unfiltered thought, ‘This crazy b*stard,’ remained unspoken. The sudden proximity of bare skin was far too stimulating.
“Hmm? What were you about to say?”
“I… I’m sorry, but could you move? This position isn’t very conducive to a proper conversation…”
Murmuring something that sounded like, “Was I too hasty?” Seikan stepped back.
“Yes, the night is long, and we have plenty of time to talk.”
“.…”
“Don’t make that face, Adelina.”
“What face am I making?”
His jewel-like blue eyes turned icy for a moment, startlingly cold.
“The face you always make. The face that screams you’re desperate to run away.”
He’d taken a slight detour, but he’d still managed to hit the nail on the head. I froze, feeling like I’d been impaled, and Seikan’s languid smile returned.
“I’d prefer to give you time to prepare yourself, but you keep making me impatient.”
“Seikan, you…”
With his long legs, it took Seikan only a couple of strides to reach the table. He picked up a small glass vial and held it up for me to see.
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