Chapter 54
“Fine. You tell me. What did the two of you talk about? Say everything.”
“Sillian, don’t say a word.”
“……”
“Speak!”
The Imperial Prince shouted harshly, clenching his teeth before yanking the sword from Sillian’s waist. The blade, gleaming blue, stopped just short of his neck.
“This is an order. Speak.”
“Your Highness, don’t. It’s nothing… please……”
Lynette rushed to pull them apart. She tried to pry Euphen’s hand away, but he wouldn’t budge an inch.
“Weren’t you trying to figure out what a fake Guide was?”
At Sillian’s calm voice, Lynette wanted to scream.
“Sillian!”
“Do you think it’s only natural for others to sacrifice themselves? Or is it that you don’t even care about Lynette at all?”
Euphen’s expression twisted.
“Sillian, please stop.”
Lynette reached out to cover Sillian’s mouth, but the Prince released his grip on Sillian’s collar only to seize her wrist instead.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Do you not even know how a fake Guide is made?”
At his mocking tone, Euphen bit down hard. For just a moment, confusion flickered in his blue eyes.
Sillian, catching that brief look, broke into a laugh.
“Countless people must have died.”
“…And how would you know that?”
The Prince’s grip on the hilt tightened. The silver blade drew even closer to Sillian’s throat, sharp enough to cut at any second.
For Sillian, this was for Lynette’s sake. He knew the pain she endured, knew that her very lifespan was at stake. If he wanted her to live even a little longer, he had no choice but to speak the truth.
Lynette squeezed her eyes shut. It was clear Sillian truly meant to reveal everything.
‘I wish he wouldn’t know.’
Just as she had deceived Euphen until the very end in her previous life, she wished this time too he would remain ignorant. That way there would be no guilt, no regret. She could be nothing more than a fleeting passerby in his perfect life.
Pain throbbed in the wrist he held. She tried to break free, but Euphen showed no sign of letting go.
“Ask the mage who created the fake Guide. Then you’ll see if my words are a lie.”
“Ha……”
The man gave a heavy sigh, closing his eyes briefly before opening them again.
“Fine. If you’re right, then what else is it that I don’t know?”
Sillian looked at him as if seeking his agreement. Lynette shook her head desperately.
“Sillian, please……”
“…Forgive me.”
“I won’t see you anymore. Never again. I’ll never see you again!”
It was the strongest threat she could manage. At her words, that she would refuse to guide him, Sillian gave a bitter smile.
“Even so, it’s better than you disappearing.”
“Don’t.”
Euphen’s face hardened with open displeasure.
“No matter what answer you give, you’ll never see Lynette again.”
“The fake Guide……”
Sillian began slowly.
Lynette struggled with all her strength, but Euphen’s grip only tightened, shackling her wrist as though he would never let go.
“Please. I beg you.”
In her desperation, she dropped to her knees. Tears she hadn’t realized were falling soaked her cheeks.
“Stand up.”
Euphen yanked her arm up sharply. Her head bowed, disheveled hair spilling across her face.
“…Each time she Guides, she suffers.”
At Sillian’s words, the Prince’s brow furrowed before he let out a short laugh.
“So all this noise was for that ridiculous nonsense?”
He scoffed, lowering his sword as though it wasn’t worth hearing.
Lynette blinked slowly. The tears gathered thick on her lashes rolled down her cheeks.
Sillian’s face remained hard as stone.
“Ha… ha……”
He exhaled, finally breaking the suffocating tension. Never had he been so grateful that Euphen refused to believe him.
“After each Guiding, to purge the accumulated power, she suffers again.”
“Lynette has never once been in pain. It seems you’re the one who doesn’t understand Guiding.”
Despite the scorn, Sillian’s voice stayed steady.
“And every time she accepts and expels power that doesn’t suit her, she shaves away at her life. Do you not know that either?”
“Where did you even hear that Lynette was a fake Guide? That’s supposed to be a secret.”
“If Lynette continues Guiding you, she’ll last no more than five or six years.”
“Sounds convincing, but unfortunately, I know very well what Guiding is.”
“Lynette. Tell the truth.”
“Yes, Lynette. Speak honestly. Everything this man says is a lie, isn’t it?”
The Prince’s face carried certain triumph.
Lynette avoided Sillian’s eyes. She knew his heart, his thoughts. But for her, Euphen mattered more.
“…Everything Sillian said is a lie.”
“Lynette.”
His voice was low, almost pleading with her not to do this.
Lynette staggered to her feet. Crushed grass had dirtied her dress.
“How could I possibly be in pain, Your Highness?”
She even smiled faintly, as if to prove she wasn’t lying. Ignoring the throbbing in the wrist Euphen had held, she looked straight into his blue eyes.
His face grew steadily more rigid.
And in that moment, his own words echoed in her mind.
“You don’t have the talent for lying.”
Her expression stiffened slightly.
“Lynette.”
The hand gripping her wrist slowly loosened.
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