The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 210

name that only copied the first letter felt awkward for the moment, but it seemed like it would stick to the tongue if he tried hard enough. When she called him Cayan, he smiled faintly and called her by her alias in return.

“Well done, Lena.”

He quite liked this newly attached alias for her. Lena—whether human or elf, it was a commonly used name that really suited her light brown hair. He suddenly wondered if he would be able to find her if she hid among the tall reed fields when autumn came.

‘Of course….’

There would be nothing he couldn’t do. Even if she hid at the far end of the reed fields, he would find every trace of what her scent was like, of where those small hands had walked while brushing down the reeds.

He smiled slightly and called out once more.

“Lena?”

“…Yes? Oh, should I have answered right away?”

Playful fingertips tickled the bridge of her nose as if scolding her mistake.

“If you act like a scatterbrain, you’ll be treated as a criminal using an alias to run away.”

“Really? There were no such scary things in our hometown.”

“Since it was a household raising only daughters, they probably didn’t tell you. If they noticed signs of a criminal drifting into the village, they would have somehow reported and gotten rid of them, right?”

“That can’t be true. I’ll ask the village chi—! Oh, I wasn’t supposed to.”

In Evelyn’s expression as she recalled the important precaution, there wasn’t the dark shadow of having to hide her identity. Though she did feel sorry for preventing a longed-for reunion, since that barrier would also be removed someday, Cassis replied nonchalantly.

“You mustn’t forget.”

When that day comes, they’ll go again. Holding hands, having cast off both the magic that conceals their identities and their aliases, they’ll go proudly.

“I definitely will.”

Looking into her eyes as she made the firm promise, he asked.

“Who am I?”

“Lord Cayan.”

“That’s right, Lena. Remember it well.”
***

Several days later, Evelyn was standing with him at the border that divided Devran and Jupiter.

A gentle breeze rose from somewhere, playfully scattering their changed hair. With pale yellow hair that now reached down to her waist, she looked unfamiliar as she touched the end of the ribbon that tied her braid. Her eye color remained the same, but everything else—the tip of her nose, the shape of her lip corners, even her height—looked slightly different when reflected in the mirror. All of this had been accomplished through magic he had cast.

“Is there any part you don’t like?”

“No! It’s really amazing. To think magic can make us look so different without even dyeing our hair.”

The Cassis reflected in her eyes had short, deep black hair, and his pointed ear tips were rounded like a human’s. His facial features had also changed considerably like hers, and even knowing it was magic, it felt too unfamiliar.

He approached and took her hand.

“Now we’re going. Relax, and if it gets too hard, poke my side anytime. I’ll explain that your voice isn’t coming out well and handle everything myself.”

“No. I want… to try talking.”

Even if it was just a word, even if it was just a brief greeting, she wanted to face them without crying, as if they were meeting for the first time.

“Alright.”

Cassis smiled faintly and stepped boldly into Devran with her.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t go directly to Evelyn’s hometown village, which was their goal. Because it was a village that touched the border and was small in scale, the only road leading there was the one coming from the larger Dendra village. Therefore, if they made a mistake, the risk of being questioned about where they came from or being mistaken for suspicious people was too great. Even if such a situation arose, it wasn’t that Cassis lacked confidence in resolving it.

‘Hmm.’

Having deliberately taken a slow, roundabout route to Devran’s capital by horse-drawn cart, he looked at her, who must have been tired. Since it was already getting late and becoming afternoon, it seemed they should rest immediately at the inn he had reserved.

“Wow! There are really so many people. Oh, even though today isn’t supposed to be a market day, this many people must have gathered.”

If Jupiter Castle had a majestic and mysterious atmosphere, the capital where Devran’s residents lived was bustling and overflowing with vitality. To her eyes, having grown accustomed to the abundant and brilliant life of the elves, it seemed a bit drab at first, but she adapted before long. Just like her, who until a few months ago had extremely longed for life in this place.

He chuckled and spoke to her.

“Evelyn?”

“Mmph… ahem, hmm.”

She, who had been about to answer “yes” without thinking, realized she had fallen into a trap and quickly turned her head. However, by Cassis’s standards, it was a complete failure, so he couldn’t just let it pass. He lowered his head and placed his lips near her ear to tease her once more.

“Miss Evelyn from some wonderful place where trees are lush?”

“…There’s no such person here.”

“From your appearance, your name seems to be Evelyn, but am I wrong?”

“You are wrong…!”

Even though she played dumb as if she had done nothing wrong, he just kept laughing endlessly. His appearance, which had always looked brilliant due to his golden hair, now with black hair, was… strangely more stimulating than usual. She had clearly been angry, but that anger disappeared without a trace. The face of the Cassis she knew existed only in her mind now.

As she turned her head away sharply and just huffed, he laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.