38. Two Men
Esika stared at him without answering for a moment.
She held a short, dark sword.
It was too long to be called a dagger and too short and light to be called a rapier, and it looked quite fragile, unlike Lesban's long sword.
"...... No."
Lesban said with a faint smile.
"What a shame. It would have been interesting to end it that way."
If Esika had answered that, who do you think she would have been avenging?
"To me, even you seem no different from thieves."
Lesban's gaze was fixed on the sword. The name Klaus lingered in his mind.
Esika said, feeling her fingers tensing on the sword, sheathed it.
A calm, clear voice flowed near Lesban's ear.
"This sword... was not held to swing, but to forget."
At those words, Lesban's pupils trembled deeply.
His golden eyes slowly turned towards Esika's.
"The things important to me."
Her gaze was serious.
This was not the Wulin, and martial prowess was merely an auxiliary means of cold rationality and sharp judgment.
Unless she was going to war like Lesban.
At most, she had goals when she first regained the memories of the past life.
And this sword was a kind of flag to not forget and protect those goals.
Of course, there might be times she drew the sword for self-defense,
But she hadn't made the sword to kill someone.
After staring at Esika for a long time, Lesban opened his mouth.
"I hope that among the things you forget, I am included too."
With a soft voice, Esika flinched.
The words Super had said to her came to mind.
But Esika had no intention of asking him about that day while looking into his deep eyes.
'Why does he always look at me with such eyes...'
If he said something, it wouldn't end with an answer.
When looking into his eyes, it felt like deep, intense waves of fate rising to the brim.
Some time ago, the words he had said came to mind.
"If I, with blood-stained hands, reach out to help, will you scream and run away?"
"Your Highness... seems to have a lot of interest in me lately."
As if answering Esika's words, a soft voice came from Lesban.
Soon he raised his index finger and brought it close to Esika's chin.
There was a precarious distance, his touch didn't reach, but Esika felt a pressing aura and looked into his beautiful eyes.
Lesban, who had led her gaze, whispered.
"Yeah. I have very great interest. I always want to help you... ."
High nose bridge and red lips, decadently flickering.
Creating a tension that made her breath stop, he slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.
"Very often, I think about your thoughts. Several times a day."
"Prince. I am..."
"I have been dreaming about you for a very long time."
His voice cut off Esika's words.
He was still asking Esika today.
Or it seemed like he was courting her.
Was he wanting an answer? He spoke as if monologuing to ask for an answer.
Sometimes it seemed like he was waking her, sometimes reprimanding her. Like a gentle threat.
Esika's eyes looking at Lesban trembled thinly.
At the time when the red sunset was receding.
The men had barely regained their senses and fled to the alley outside the shop, but their arms and legs didn't move properly.
Their knees were dislocated, so they could barely walk, staggering.
Even opening their mouths, no voice came out.
'What kind of trick did that witch-like woman Yuri use?'
They couldn't even see the sword's trajectory. They only realized after falling what had happened.
'Somehow, I have to take revenge on that damned woman...'
Even the subordinates who couldn't make a sound like her were in despairing expressions.
'...... I will definitely do it.'
And at that moment, a black shadow fell over his field of vision.
Srr— A chilling sound of a sharp blade scraping the scabbard.
When he opened his eyes wide, he saw his last landscape.
A man with pitch-black hair and deep golden eyes, with a cold atmosphere that made one feel chills just by looking, without the slightest hesitation, slashed the sword.
He was wearing black uniform with the royal insignia.
The vision flashed red.
"No aftereffects would be good."
Soon, the black-clothed men following Lesban beheaded the remaining men.
Blood splattered here and there, but Lesban didn't even flinch an eyebrow.
To someone who had spent a long time in the battlefield, this was not even worth watching.
Among the men who processed the males, the man called Panix bent his knee for a moment to inspect the sword, then reported to Lesban.
"Cut the vocal cords with amazing skill. This... I've never seen it."
Panix's eyes were really surprised.
Unless one knew the human body's structure very well, how could one slit a person's vocal cords without any bleeding using just human strength.
"What on earth did the Duchess... "
"Forget what you thought just now."
With a voice carrying the scent of blood, Lesban's soft voice was heard.
Lesban's deep golden eyes were shining coldly.
"Obey."
Panix's voice came, bowing his head.
It was a pretty good day.
The weather was good, and the wind was moderate.
So, it wouldn't be more regrettable.
If the burly men who died just now hadn't run out of the shop, he could have enjoyed a leisurely walk.
A cold smile appeared on Lesban's lips.
'It's a dream about me.'
Every time I meet Lesban, it feels like one difficult problem after another is piling up.
The interest he shows me. The connection in Hasets. And the dream...
When I look into his eyes, it feels like some fate is pushing towards me like waves.
Unavoidable...
"Madam. Do you know what happened earlier?"
As soon as Esika returned, Sella said excitedly.
"The palace soldiers took the maid away."
Esika's lips, which had guessed what was happening, twisted thinly.
Sella continued speaking more happily with the master's reaction.
"I don't know for sure, but she seems to have committed a crime. Her face was very pale. The Grand Duchess was a bit pretty to her, so she raised her nose high and harassed the madam, and it's a good thing."
"I see."
Esika answered shortly and looked at her own appearance in the mirror.
"You know, actually, when the maid came to the mansion as the madam 's maid... I didn't know at the time, but thinking about it now, that woman seems to have helped the madam quite a bit."
"What kind of gossip?"
Beautiful silver hair reaching to the waist and clear blue eyes.
Skin softened more than before due to qi and diet, and even her eyelashes...
Anyone would think she's a beauty and tell her to go away.
Sella hesitated for a moment, then continued.
"The madam is foolish. She is extravagant... and the madam 's personality is bad, so it's hard for the one who serves her closely. So, His Highness the Duke... Ah, sorry."
Sella realized she made a mistake and covered her mouth.
But a faint smile was still on Esika's lips.
"It's okay. Continue."
"... But."
"It's okay."
"The Duke said he couldn't be loved by. Thinking about it now, she's really a bad woman. Gossiping about friends like that."
Sella began combing her silver hair calmly.
"Yuri Anesis is originally such a child."
She smiles outwardly while doing other things behind.
She pretends to be kind and weak, stabs a dagger in the opponent's back,
And Esika, who had experienced this from childhood, even though she knew the nature, recalled her past when she entered this mansion, it was amusing.
"Her ambition is great and her jealousy is strong, but..."
Esika's lips, looking at her beautiful self in the mirror, continued to flicker.
"She is not capable of that much."
So, she would dig her own grave deeper,
And at the end of that road, destruction would surely be waiting.
While receiving Sella's combing, there was a presence outside the door.
Kalian, not knowing that Esika would accept the dinner, was very happy upon hearing the news.
And he called the chef Hemos and told him to prepare the food thoroughly.
He also told Hans to make sure there was no discomfort.
Kalian also looked at himself in the mirror for the first time in a long time and dressed up.
And he arrived at the dining room first to wait for Esika.
After waiting about 20 minutes, the door opened and Esika entered.
"......"
Kalian's eyes, seeing Esika, trembled deeply.
He had never seen a woman so beautiful that he was captivated by her appearance.
Even at the time of marriage... or even a few months ago, it wasn't this much, but now she was so beautiful that anyone would turn their head twice when walking.
Gracefully lifting her beautiful silver hair and clear blue eyes, with a prominent nose and soft skin... Grace flowed from her calm expression, and her steps were the same.
When he saw the long white neckline stretching out, he felt an indescribable sensation rising.
He wanted to spend tonight with her.