Chapter 64
After a short while, she sat down in a chair, her expression deeply twisted. It was because her attempt to leave the detached palace had been thwarted so easily it was almost absurd.
When she tried to step out of the palace, a guard blocked her path as if he had been waiting. When she asked why, he replied that it was “by order of the Imperial Prince.” Persuasions like saying she would only step out for a short while, or that she would not go far, did not work.
‘I can’t even get out here even if I tried to slip out through a hole…’
All Lynette could do was wait for Euphen.
If she asked, would he allow it? Since he had the guards keep her from taking even a single step outside, it didn’t seem like he would obediently let her out.
‘If I say I have to meet Sillian… will he get angry?’
A sigh escaped. From the moment they were seen dancing together, Euphen seemed to dislike everything about Sillian. What should she do? There was no other way to prove it except with that pendant.
At some point, the sound of footsteps reached her ears.
Someone stopped in front of the door and knocked.
“Lynette.”
At the familiar voice, she quickly ran to open the door.
“Your Highness the Imperial Prince.”
“Where were you trying to go?”
Euphen asked, his face rigid.
She had thought he would smile kindly, but because he began by pressing her with questions, Lynette’s mood sank a bit. It felt like she was the reason he had become like this.
“I just… had some business outside for a moment……”
“If there’s something you need, tell me.”
She shook her head. If she brought up Sillian in this situation, Euphen would probably get angry and oppose it.
The man, who had been quietly looking at Lynette, let out a long sigh and ran his hand down his face.
“I didn’t mean to get angry. It’s just…”
His voice was self-mocking.
“I worry about you. That’s why I get on edge.”
“I’m fine.”
“You always say you’re fine.”
He gave a bitter smile.
“I heard Eshar came to see you. What did you talk about?”
Lynette hesitated whether to speak, then decided to be honest. After all, they were things she had already told Euphen anyway.
When she said that she had told Eshar as well that he was her fate, the man let out a short laugh.
“You believe that?”
At those words, Lynette’s eyes sparkled. Now was the time to bring up Sillian.
“Your Highness doesn’t believe my words either, do you?”
“My Guide is you.”
“You just cannot accept that Miss Eshar is your fated partner.”
“Even when I came into contact with that woman, nothing changed. I don’t know why you’ve come to think that……”
“I can prove it.”
Lynette cut off his words. At that, Euphen’s eyes widened, then he laughed.
“What, did Eshar suddenly awaken or something?”
“With Sillian’s help, I can prove that Miss Eshar is Your Highness’s Guide.”
The sudden mention of Sillian made him frown.
“I don’t know why that man’s name keeps coming up.”
The light, joking tone of his voice instantly grew heavy. Lynette clasped her hands tightly together.
“There’s an object through which I found out that I was his Guide.”
“Lynette, you are my Guide.”
“But……”
“You, another person’s Guide? That cannot be.”
He whispered scornfully.
His hand, close enough to touch her cheek, conveyed only its burning warmth instead of contact. If Lynette moved even a little, it seemed she could have touched him, but she held back, fearing that guiding him would only make Euphen sadder.
The man moved his hand as if to caress her cheek, then firmly emphasized again.
“Forget that man.”
But.
Lynette swallowed back the words that had risen to the tip of her tongue. The fact that Sillian had suffered, and that he had found comfort through contact with her, were both true.
She had also heard about his family, she had come too far to deny it. She had rejected it over and over again, not wanting to believe it, but the more she denied, the more it had felt “real.”
“Your Highness.”
“That man is not your fate.”
His tone made it clear he did not want to hear any more.
“He has a magic tool.”
“Lynette, don’t speak of him again.”
“He said it can reveal one’s destined partner.”
At those words, Euphen gave a small laugh.
“That magic tool pointed to you, didn’t it? Is that why you believed his words?”
At his attitude of refusing to acknowledge it, Lynette felt stifled. That pendant was the only tool that could prove everything, yet he was refusing to believe even that.
How was she supposed to explain this?
‘Well, if he believes that, then he’d have to admit that I am Sillian’s destiny…’
Her head throbbed.
She had thought she had found a breakthrough, only to be blocked again.
After mulling it over, Lynette hesitated, then carefully spoke.
“If you cannot believe it, then you can check.”
There were not many Espers and Guides, but it was not as though they were extremely rare either. They could simply bring in two people who were already “proven” and test the pendant on them.
‘If it is confirmed to be real… then I’ll have no choice but to believe it too.’
But instead of welcoming the idea, Euphen’s expression hardened unexpectedly.
“No.”
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