Chapter 99
Inside the returning carriage, Eric and Lynette remained silent.
It hadn’t felt as though they had spent long in the library, yet night had already settled quietly over the land.
Back at the Detached Palace, Lynette readied herself for bed and slowly lay down. Tomorrow, she intended to ask Sillian about what she had read in the book. Surely, he would know better.
‘To return what was received…’
If those words were true, then perhaps even Espers and Guides of the present day could return their powers.
No. It might not be the same. The hero of the legend had received their powers ‘directly’ from the dragons, while Espers and Guides of today were born with such abilities ‘from the very beginning’. Something innate could hardly be said to be ‘returned’.
Lynette furrowed her brows slightly and shifted restlessly beneath the covers.
‘Should I tell His Highness the Imperial Prince?’
What she had read was no more than a legend. Dragons, the nation of Etel, none of it remained in the present. She hesitated, worried she might give false hope to a man desperate for an answer.
For now, she decided to hear Sillian’s opinion first.
She let out a long sigh and rolled over. She knew she shouldn’t expect anything, yet her heart fluttered faintly, stirred by the thought that she might have stumbled upon the faintest of clues.
If it really was possible to erase power… If Euphen were no longer an Esper, but only an ordinary man, then would it be all right to touch him?
She had never known what that sensation would be like. From the moment she had met the Imperial Prince, she had always been a fake Guide, and every touch brought her pain.
To hold his hand without a trace of agony was something she could barely imagine. In truth, each time she felt that sharp ache, it only reminded her that she was with Euphen, and that alone made her happy.
Would it feel warm, like with Sillian?
In the dark, Lynette stared at her own hand for a long time. Then, as she clenched it tightly into a fist, something flickered past the window.
‘What was that? Did I imagine it?’
It had been too quick, too dark to make something out of it.
Perhaps a bird flying at night, or maybe a bat. She wasn’t even sure if bats lived here.
She brushed it off and pulled the blanket higher, but her gaze returned again to the window. What she had seen lingered in her mind. She had never believed in ghosts, so she felt no fear, but still, it seemed wise to make sure.
“…”
Carefully, she rose from the bed. Approaching the window, she craned her neck to peer outside.
Nothing unusual. The garden lay faintly lit by moonlight, only unfamiliar because she had never looked upon it at such a dark hour.
‘Huh? The window’s open.’
The latch hadn’t been properly locked. There was a slight gap, barely noticeable unless one paid attention. She reached out to close it, but the latch refused to catch. Perhaps she hadn’t secured it properly earlier.
She opened the wide window fully and tried again. The hinges creaked with a long, grating screech. At night, the sound seemed especially loud.
As she leaned out slightly to shut it, her eyes met another’s.
Her entire body froze the moment she realized.
Someone was outside the window at this hour. Dressed entirely in black, face concealed.
Only the whites of his eyes glinted faintly in the darkness. Though she could not see him clearly, she knew with chilling certainty that their gazes had locked.
“Ah.”
She instinctively sucked in a sharp breath and tried to slam the window shut out of pure reflex.
The window shut with a rattling sound, but the latch didn’t lock, just like before. Or perhaps it was because her hands were trembling so violently.
Seconds passed as Lynette fumbled in vain. Then suddenly, the figure in black was at the window.
She stumbled, then her legs gave in. She fell heavily on the floor.
“Hhhk…”
She wanted to scream. But fear choked her voice, strangling it before it could escape.
“Creak-”
The man slowly pushed the window open and slipped soundlessly inside.
Her whole body trembled. Her mind screamed at her to run, yet her limbs refused to obey. Lynette clasped her cold hands tightly together.
She didn’t need to think twice to know who he was. He wasn’t a thief. No common burglar would risk infiltrating the Imperial Castle merely to steal. He had come for the one person in this Detached Palace who mattered most.
As though certain she could do nothing, the man moved at leisure, every step unhurried. His very posture conveyed confidence that she wouldn’t even scream. Lynette retreated step by step.
The distance between them shrank. In that instant, she summoned all her strength, sprang to her feet, and dashed for the door.
“Argh!”
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