Chapter 157
At those words, a brief silence fell.
Unlike Lynette, who had first doubted whether such a country even existed, Eshar and Euphen seemed to know where it was. They didn’t bother to ask what kind of place it was.
“Why is a prince of that country here?”
The woman frowned as she asked again.
“I’m aware it’s quite far from here. That only makes it more suspicious. For what purpose did you come all the way to the Empire?”
Euphen, who until now hadn’t shown any sign of suspicion, stared calmly at Sillian.
Lynette tightly closed her lips.
There’s nothing she could do. What could she possibly say?
It’s Sillian’s responsibility to prove and explain that he was, in fact, a prince.
‘What is he planning to do?’
Revealing that he’s a prince may have only caused more suspicion.
After remaining silent for a moment, the man brushed his hair back and let out a quiet sigh.
“I came to the Empire to find Lynette.”
“Didn’t you say you first met at the Imperial Castle?”
“…”
“Then what was the reason for disguising yourself as a guard?”
Eshar looked ready to interrogate him, but unexpectedly, Euphen spoke first and even more sharply.
“Or did you approach her on purpose?”
Sillian lowered his eyes slightly, as if organizing his thoughts, then slowly parted his lips.
“I should start by telling you about the story passed down in my family… no, within the royal lineage of Calles.”
Lynette listened silently.
She assumed he would start with the legend he once told her, and the explanation that most of them awakened as Guides or Espers due to their thickened bloodline, but he skipped that and began with the dream he had instead.
Those who cannot easily meet their destined partner have dreams. One day, he saw the Imperial Castle in his dream. Believing it was a clue, he had come here.
‘It’s not that he struggled to meet his fate, but that in the now-erased past, Sillian never met me and died.’
She remembered how shocked she had been when she first learned that. She believed that her desperate feelings for Euphen had turned back time, but contrary to her expectations, her regression had been because of this man.
Lynette lowered her head without a word.
“I did think I would meet her if I came to the Imperial Castle… but since I couldn’t know when or where, I simply chose a way that allowed me to stay for a long time.”
“So you did approach her intentionally.”
Euphen cut him off with a stiff tone.
“I did come to the Imperial Castle on purpose, but since I didn’t know who my Guide was, saying that I ‘approached intentionally’ would be incorrect.”
Sillian calmly corrected him. While the two men stared at each other, Eshar tapped her fingertips lightly against the table and spoke.
“If you’re truly a prince, it does make sense. The pendant that helps you find your destined partner, the refined manners unfitting for a simple guard, even the way you speak.”
“…I will take that as a compliment.”
“So you’re saying you came to the Empire blindly in search of your Guide?”
“That is correct.”
The woman quietly observed Sillian.
“Do you have any proof?”
“I do not.”
His firm reply made her frown.
“You may send someone to Calles to investigate me. And you should also easily find records about the royal family’s characteristic red eyes.”
Listening quietly, Lynette finally opened her mouth.
“I saw it in the Imperial library. Information stating that the Calles royal family has red eyes. Thanks to that, I was able to realize Sillian is royalty.”
Euphen looked noticeably displeased.
Eshar simply tapped the table faintly with her fingertips as though deep in thought.
“Then the place the two of you were heading to is Calles?”
“That is correct.”
Another silence followed his short reply.
“If you are a prince of Calles, then isn’t it possible that the attack happened because of you?”
“That is not the case.”
Sillian denied it firmly and once more explained the situation in Calles, including the fact that he’s far from the line of succession.
Euphen and Eshar didn’t seem completely convinced, but perhaps thinking it wasn’t their place to pry into another nation’s politics, they didn’t press the matter any further.
“Do you still have doubts about me?”
Sillian asked calmly.
Eshar still seemed unable to fully believe him and asked several more questions, all of which he answered obediently.
Euphen, lost in thought, silently turned his gaze toward Lynette.
The moment their eyes met, she unintentionally flinched and straightened her back.
She couldn’t tell what the meaning behind those blue eyes was.
His expression also seemed somewhat bitter, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
By then, Eshar seemed to have resolved all immediate doubts.
She let out a short, sharp breath and nodded.
“Without proof, I can’t fully believe you, but for now, I will.”
“You are free to send someone to verify.”
“I plan to.”
She answered with a faint smile.
Sillian simply shrugged lightly, as if he had expected it.
There’s no reason to fear any investigation since the truth would be revealed regardless.
Euphen glanced at Eshar briefly, then looked straight at the man seated before him and spoke.
“Then it seems we will continue traveling together.”
“That is correct.”
“…You may call me Euphen.”
“I will hardly have any reason to address you. Please also call me Sillian.”
“I doubt I’ll have any reason to say your name either.”
Neither of them backed down.
The one who left first was Euphen.
“I’ll head up now.”
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