Chapter 135
Sillian was an Esper, so he wouldn’t be taken down easily, but Euphen couldn’t help feeling worried.
‘Should I have assigned someone to follow them?’
He regretted a little that he hadn’t even asked where they were going.
Was it too late? Maybe he should send someone now.
Euphen clenched his fists tightly. He knew that if he found some excuse to keep that connection alive, he would want to keep watching her. He had cut that tie with so much effort, he couldn’t just let all of it become meaningless.
‘She’ll be fine.’
He knew that was a lie.
The ones targeting him wouldn’t just leave Lynette alone. Not knowing that the man beside her was an Esper, they would surely think it’d be easier to get rid of her first. If she lived, he would still have a chance to receive Guiding again, so they’d have to kill her.
“Haah…”
Unable to do anything, he sank onto the sofa. The knights who had wiped up the bloodstains on the floor left the room, carrying the last of the broken ornaments. The room fell silent.
‘Should I make it public that Eshar is my Guide?’
No, that couldn’t be the answer. Even if he revealed Eshar’s existence, it wouldn’t change the fact that Lynette was a fake Guide. If they intended to kill, they would target both of them anyway.
Euphen stared into empty space, his expression stiff.
‘Should I send someone to watch over her after all?’
The harder he tried not to think about her, the more vividly she came to mind. And now that he was starting to think she might be in danger, it became even harder to control himself.
He knew it was an excuse. Using her endangered life as justification, he would somehow find Lynette again, learn where she was going, and then tell himself it was fine to just watch from afar.
‘Just watching… that should be fine, right?’
It would be fine as long as he didn’t touch her, wouldn’t it?
As he rationalized it to himself, a bitter laugh escaped him. He had told himself the same thing countless times when they lived together, that it was fine as long as he didn’t make contact.
But whenever Lynette was near, he found himself wanting to reach out. Even knowing it caused her pain, knowing it drained her life, he had reached for her and pulled back hundreds of times.
Every day, he had to test his own self-control. Yet somehow, he never got used to it.
‘And now, knowing where she is, I’m supposed to just stay here as if nothing’s wrong?’
He let out a hollow laugh.
There was no way. He would have to push his patience to the very limits just to stop himself from asking the person he would send after her where she was.
Wouldn’t it be fine to just ask? Wouldn’t it be fine to just know? He would tell himself that much, and then maybe he’d end up asking about her whereabouts, convincing himself that merely watching from afar wouldn’t hurt.
And then… he’d want to talk to her.
He’d want to touch her.
He’d want to hold her.
And after that, he’d make her suffer again… stealing away her life.
“…She’ll be fine. That man’s with her.”
He murmured as if to convince himself.
He had never been able to figure out the man’s true identity, but at least he knew that he wasn’t an ordinary guard. The man’s desperation toward Lynette had been so clear that Euphen had chosen to overlook it, to feign ignorance. Still, that man had to be the son of some noble house, at the very least.
The way he held himself when he danced, his speech, his demeanor, even that calm gaze that seemed utterly indifferent to the title of ’Imperial Prince’, everything about him spoke of royalty. And on top of that, he possessed an absurdly powerful magical pendant. It was impossible to see him as an ordinary person.
‘No one in the Imperial Castle knew who he was… could he be a noble from another country?’
Even though Euphen had lived far removed from politics, he still knew the faces of most nobles. Yet he had never seen that man before, so the only answer was that he must be from a foreign noble family. And if he truly were of Imperial nobility, there’s no way he would be serving as some lowly guard. Lynette probably hadn’t thought that far.
Euphen sighed, realizing he’d never properly gauged Sillian’s abilities. If he had known this would happen, he would have found out what kind of power that man possessed. He had let Lynette go, hoping she’d be safe, but he hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
‘No. The real problem is how her existence leaked out in the first place.’
He had kept it a secret that he was an Esper, and that there was a fake Guide. It was information only his closest aides could know. So who had leaked it?
A wry smile crossed his lips.
He’d only ever been surrounded by people who had been with him since childhood, so which of them had betrayed him?
The thought that someone had turned their back on him made his chest ache. He had truly believed he could trust them with his life. Was it all just his own delusion?
His head throbbed.
Lynette’s safety, the traitor’s identity, the malice directed toward him… everything tangled together. It made him want to abandon it all.
‘If I could let go of even being an Esper… I’d throw everything away without hesitation.’
A dry laugh slipped from Euphen’s lips.
If that were possible… would he chase after Lynette then?
He closed his eyes.
He didn’t know when it had been, but she was there beside him, smiling. He was holding her slender hand so naturally.
Only after that did he realize it was a dream.
But Euphen lingered in that moment a little longer.
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