Mischief overcame me, and I called to him in a playful tone. "Max,” I began. He turned to me. Even a slow-witted girl like me could tell there was love in his eyes. "Have you done something wrong to me?"
I expected him to fight back and ask me what I was talking about, however...
Clink!
He ended up dropping the fork and knife he was holding.
Max’s eyes trembled. How did… she find out? He knew this day was going to arrive eventually but he hadn’t been ready. His thoughts tangled into knots and he fell silent.
He was contemplating whether he should feign ignorance again when Jubelian spoke up once more.
"Max?”
She was frowning.
If he told her the truth...
He gazed into her periwinkle eyes. Immediately uncomfortable, he realized that he couldn’t be candid, afraid that she might leave him. Despite the terrible feeling that pierced his conscience, Max decided to lie once more. He hastily took her hands in his. "It wasn’t on purpose!” he began. "It’s because…”
He couldn’t continue, however, because he knew that he had already done her wrong by choosing to ignore the misunderstandings between her and her father. He had been so dense that he hadn’t realized that their father-daughter relationship was a grave problem until Jubelian had bawled her eyes out a few days ago. Ever since then, his heart had grown heavy at the sight of her. That was why he had avoided her. He never felt guilty for engaging in malicious acts before, yet despite his callous nature, he now felt eternally indebted to Jubelian.
Desperate to resolve this discomfort, he decided not to fool her anymore. He tightened his grip on her slender fingers and switched gears, now confessing. "It’s because… I was afraid that you would leave me once you found out how much Master cherishes you as a daughter.”
Jubelian’s eyes widened. Then, she sighed. Sternly, she asked, "So, you knew all along that Dad cared about me but you chose not to tell me?”
Instead of answering her question, he apologized, his voice becoming smaller. "I’m sorry,” he said. "I’m sorry for hiding it from you…”
As he waited for her to speak, his insides felt like they were being charred black. Silence followed, and he lowered his head helplessly. This was the end, it seemed.
Eventually, however, he felt her grab his feeble hands.
"Thank you for telling me this, Max,” she said. Her words were unexpected. "Actually, I wouldn’t have known even if you kept it a secret…”
Dumbstruck, Max’s eyes widened. That wasn’t... what she was talking about?
He stayed frozen as she continued. "Of course, you don’t have to tell me every little thing, but what you told me just now—you did it for the wrong reasons.”
Chastised, Max lowered his head again. "I understand…”
She sighed. "Still, at least you seem to have some sense of morality judging by how you were apologizing to me in your sleep…”
Morality?
Max knitted her brows at the unfamiliar term. He had slaughtered countless men and planned innumerable schemes against the empress’s conspiracies, yet he had never felt remorse until now.
"Guilt isn’t something you feel all at once, you know,” she explained. "It starts off as nothing but a menial worry at first, then before you know it, it’s grown into a huge thorn that you can’t ignore.”
A thorn?
Max recalled the discomfort he had felt the past few days. That must have been it. He had done wrong by her, and it was only afterward he kept being reminded of the evil deeds he had committed throughout his life. They kept bothering him, and soon, they had grown intolerable.
She tugged on his hand gently. "Well, do you feel better now after letting it out?” she asked. Max raised his head and took in her rosy cheeks and unwavering gaze. "You must feel relieved… like you’ve grown closer to me.”
He certainly did feel like that. Until now, he had been worried that she would leave him. Now that he had confessed the truth, he felt unencumbered.
She was truly amazing.
When he discovered that he had grown fond of her, he thought that she would become his weakness, so he tried to protect her. Little did he know that she would be the one to protect him, preventing him from falling into the depths of darkness.
She wasn’t his weakness. She brought him strength.
At that moment, he recalled his master’s words: "Swordsmanship exists to protect precious things, not to evoke a slaughter. You seem to have forgotten this basic principle.”
Max met her eyes. Although she could be slow-witted at times, she had accepted him unconditionally, and he had learned a lot from her.
I want to get stronger… for you, he decided.
"By the way, does that mean you weren’t going to date me if not for the contractual relationship?” she asked suddenly, pouting. He couldn’t help but smile.
"I would have chased after you no matter what,” he assured her. Then, he brought her into his arms. "Thank you for everything.”
She patted him on the back. Then, she reminded him about the very reason for their conversation. "So, are you going to tell me about what my dad said about me?”
Max flinched. Then, he sighed. "Ask away.”
In the depths of a dark cave where an illuminated pillar stood, a dignified voice spoke in welcome. "Come, young transcendent.”
Instead of answering, Regis drew one of the two blades at his waist and hurled it through the air. An opening formed out of thin air, and a man appeared.
"Don’t you know that bits of iron like this won’t leave a single scratch on me?”
Regis drew another sword in response, the silver blade becoming stained cobalt.
The man smiled with his eyes. "Both you and my son—humans are truly interesting creatures.”
Noticing how carefree he was despite the energy coming from the sword, Regis frowned. "Fafneil, I have come to inquire about the cursed ring you had created.”
The man laughed ridiculously. "How dare you address me by such a lowly term. It wouldn’t even be enough to address me as ‘The Greatest Existence’!” He clicked his tongue. "Kids these days have no manners.”
His pupils narrowed and he unleashed the breath of a dragon, something ordinary humans couldn’t survive. Regis, however, remained where he stood, completely unmoved.
With a tut, Fafneil retrieved the deadly energy. "How boring.”
Taking that bastard’s concern into account, he must be talking about that thing, Fafneil mused to himself, thinking of the Kirke’s Eye, a ring studded with sapphires and amethysts. It was modeled after the eyes of a deity that could charm humans with magic. Originally, it was made for a feeble child who was born out of wedlock, but… it seemed to have become a curse for Regis.
Fafneil scoffed. Well, it was none of his business.
"I think I’ve told you before, but I can’t break the spell caused by the Kirke’s Eye,” he said. "If I kill the caster, the target will die along with them.”
Fafneil expected Regis to be brought to despair at those words, but he remained indifferent instead. "I already know that,” he said.
Fafneil chuckled. Ah, there it was. That was the reason why he liked him so much. Fafneil’s son had passed away a long time ago, so he bore no ties to the Assiette Empire anymore. He decided to do Regis a favor.
"Well, there is a way,” he began. "If the ring finds a better owner, that might fix things. Maybe someone like… a sorcerer from the imperial family. It’s a shame there hasn’t been one for about ten generations.”
Desperate, Regis cut in. "What I want is...”
The duke explained his wish.
Afterward, Fafneil burst into laughter. "Wait, you really want to die, don’t you?”
I felt like I had been through a lot today, so I jumped into the comfort of my bed. It was weird hearing stories about my dad through Max. I doubted whether I was listening to stories about myself.
According to what I had been told, Dad constantly talked about me. I was embarrassed about some of the anecdotes he told Max and I struggled to manage my expression. I mean, why did he have to tell Max about the time I accidentally peed the bed as a kid? I didn’t even remember that!