Episode 113
Hierian quickly followed Siara’s presence. She was very close by, but the surroundings were like a maze, making it seem like it would take time to find her. Finally, Hierian looked around.
‘Where is this place?’
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a prayer room. Hierian rarely came here on his own, so he was even more puzzled.
‘Why am I here?’
Although he was puzzled, Hierian hurriedly set off in the direction where he sensed Siara’s presence. However, he was blocked by a wall.
He could sense that Siara was inside. But no matter how he examined it, there seemed to be no way to reach her. It was probably a secret passage concealed as a hidden door.
Hierian carefully examined the area near the wall. Inside, it was surrounded by a strong divine power, stronger than anywhere else.
To confirm, Hierian sent a thin stream of magic into the air. As his magic collided with the divine power, they repelled each other. Even though they had the same divine power, Siara’s divine power did not repel his magic. If it had been repelled, Siara wouldn’t have been able to restore him in the first place.
Then, this must be…
‘It’s Adandito’s doing.’
Having organized his thoughts, Hierian unleashed his magic without hesitation. As winds blew from all directions, wrapping around his body, his hair fluttered, and his clothes rustled. Star-shaped runes appeared in the air and embedded themselves in the wall.
Whoosh…
The marble wall, filled with divine power, neutralized all of Hierian’s magic. But in return, the hidden pattern on the wall revealed itself. Hierian’s eyes, unlike usual, glared fiercely as he looked at the pattern.
“So, that’s it.”
Understanding just that pattern would make breaking the door possible. With Hierian having discovered the way, he extended his hand towards the pattern.
Thud, intentionally making a sound as if to announce his presence, along with the low and sinking voice, reached his ears.
“Knocking sure is loud.”
“Adandito.”
Hierian turned around and faced Adandito. Unlike when he was younger, his gaze had become more determined, devoid of wavering.
Adandito was the same. Although his gaze seemed kind, it wasn’t overly gentle, just like when he saw the young Hierian.
Their dry gazes met. After a moment of silence, Adandito spoke.
“I will take care of Siara. She is sleeping peacefully and in good health, so please don’t worry.”
His voice, sharp as a knife, seemed to declare that he didn’t want any further interference. Hearing his words, Hierian burst into a bitter laugh.
“Hah, who do you think you are?”
“…I am the substitute guardian for Eora.”
“That’s not important. Who are you to take care of Siara? I can’t trust you. Isn’t that what Izaya told me? You joined forces with Dianel and prevented Siara from coming to me.”
“…”
“What about the future? What about when she disappears? Back then, you also joined forces with Dianel and imprisoned her. So how can I trust you?”
Under the torrent of accusations, Adandito couldn’t say a word. He simply bit his lips and eventually opened his mouth. His sharp pupils gleamed as if he was staring intently.
“But you are different, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m different.”
“…”
“At least I’m better than those who imprisoned Siara. So, if you have a conscience, open the door right now. I need to make sure Siara is okay.”
Adandito stared at Hierian for a while. Hierian, too, didn’t avoid Adandito’s gaze.
After a short silence, Adandito stepped aside. Their shoulders brushed as they passed each other, but neither of them retreated.
With that, Adandito placed his hand on the wall and closed his eyes.
A bright light burst forth from Adandito’s palm, and the solid barrier that had blocked their path opened. Looking at him, Hierian pursed his lips.
“Well done. If you hadn’t opened it, I would’ve broken it anyway.”
“Then I could have killed you in your weakened state, but that’s a shame.”
“It’s a joke.”
“It’s not a joke.”
“Still, I know that Siara would have sensed your intentions and wouldn’t have let you harm me.”
Hierian said, tapping Adandito’s shoulder and walking past him into the room. Adandito looked at him and chuckled, a burst of laughter mixed with a touch of self-pity.
“…You know me too well, Hierian.”
Because of that, Hierian couldn’t treat him lightly. From the very beginning, Hierian had risked his life for Siara, even in the vanished future. He hadn’t changed since then.
Hierian was willing to do anything for Siara’s sake, following her will and for her sake alone. He was a different person, standing between futile obsession and possessiveness.
In another sense, he might be the person Siara needed the most. That’s why it was right for him to step back now.
Adandito clenched his fist. After all, he needed to let go of his deep-rooted desire for Siara. Eora had created a substitute savior for the sake of balance. Siara couldn’t become Adandito’s possession alone.
Putting that aside, even if he wanted to, Adandito couldn’t single-handedly confront Dianel.
This was the palace, and Dianel’s arrogance had been particularly rampant lately.
Viscount Leven, as well as the scandalous scoundrels who shouldn’t have been given attention, were all captured, their various corruptions exposed. Since there was little justification for capturing them about Siara’s case, an inspector was sent to expose all sorts of corruption.
As a result, the high society that had been flourishing suddenly grew cold. Not knowing what was causing the prince to rampage, they had to be cautious to protect themselves.
They probably hadn’t thought that Siara would be the common thread among the captured nobles.
Even the deeply rooted nobles were confused by the extent of Dianel’s actions. Surely they would have thought of the prince’s actions as unreasonable, so they needed to be cautious.
Even Adandito, who connected with the power of darkness, didn’t know what was happening.
Adandito sensed that numerous changes were happening while he was clueless. And he felt uneasy about being completely disconnected from those changes.
‘While I was unaware, it seems that Hierian had a conversation with Siara.’
By the time it happened, Adandito sensed something unusual and went in search of Siara’s presence.
He found Siara collapsed in Dianel’s office. There, darkness and Dianel were both present, split into various strands. In a situation that he couldn’t comprehend at all, Adandito felt confused, and in the midst of that, Dianel asked him a question.
‘Is this the result of Eora’s power?’
He seemed to expect Adandito to have the answer. Since divine power was lingering around them, it seemed that there had been divine intervention. However, contrary to Dianel’s expectations, Adandito knew nothing.
As a result, he quickly picked up the fallen Siara and fled, as if running away.
Dianel, who would normally not be submissive, remained unusually silent. This made Adandito even more anxious.
The fact that he didn’t know about what had happened to Siara, especially if it was related to Eora, unsettled him. Even Dianel, who was connected to the power of darkness, didn’t know anything, and that fact made Adandito even more anxious.
Adandito chewed on his lips, took a deep breath, and exhaled, trying to appear nonchalant. Then, he calmly made his way to the bedroom where Siara was lying. It was a secret space hidden within the prayer room, the innermost room among them.
Although it wasn’t very spacious, when a single bed was placed inside, it became filled.
Siara lay on the white bed. With closed eyes, she was peacefully asleep.
Hierian stood there, holding her hand and pressing it against his forehead with a desperate expression. But for some reason, his current appearance bothered Adandito. It was an inexplicable occurrence.
Adandito struggled to calm the twitching muscles on his face and entered the room. He had vowed to abandon jealousy and possessiveness and not show any more despicable behavior in front of Siara.
He had promised to make an effort to appear good no matter what happened, even if she was asleep.
However, the discomfort he couldn’t hide emanated from his voice.
“She’s just asleep. Seeing that she’s safe, are you relieved?”
Even with a husky voice, Hierian held Siara’s hand tightly and nodded slightly.
“Yes. I’m relieved that she’s safe. Really…”
His voice, on the verge of breaking, touched the listener’s heart deeply. It was a tenderness that would make anyone who saw Siara feel moved.
Adandito didn’t like Hierian’s affectionate appearance, so he interrupted him, intercepting his words.
“By the way, why did you suddenly collapse? Siara asked me to take care of you.”
“….So that’s why I was in the prayer room.”
“Yes. But who could have done such a thing to you?”
Adandito asked as if he already knew the answer, but he still asked subtly. In response to his question, Hierian hardened his expression and murmured.
“It was Dianel.”
“…As I thought, there’s no one else.”
“Dianel used the power of the Demon King. He invoked forbidden power to make me faint. That bastard might even be planning to use the power of the Demon King extensively.”
Hierian looked at Adandito with a wary gaze. If given the chance, he seemed ready to rush at Dianel.
Adandito strangely felt relieved. He barely swallowed down the laughter that was about to burst out and spoke to Hierian.
“It was also because of Dianel that Siara collapsed.”
“…I figured.”
“I don’t know the details either, but when Siara’s presence became vague, I searched and found her collapsed in Dianel’s office. Fortunately, thanks to Eora’s help, she is unharmed.”
“And yet, you left that bastard alone?”
“Well, the safety of Siara was the priority at that moment.”
Adandito shrugged as if there was no other choice. Seeing him like that, Hierian understood that Adandito had protected Siara at the end of the struggle against Dianel.
If that was the case, Adandito’s actions were justified. Consequently, great anger towards Dianel engulfed Hierian.
“I can’t forgive Dianel.”
Hierian gritted his teeth. Adandito smiled at him.
Only now did a genuine smile emerge from his heart.
He thought to himself that he didn’t really suit being a good person.
