Chapter 44

The man had a twisted smile, and his eyes contained her clear reflection like the surface of a lake. Dahlia licked her lips and shook her head. Every time that happened, she saw Jurgen’s expression grow stiffer and more terrifying. He clenched his fists so hard they looked white as he stared coldly at Reynon, like a predator preparing to attack.

“I can’t. N-now… .”

“Why?”

To her disbelief, Reynon put his forehead against hers and rubbed his nose against her cheek. Dahlia carefully escaped and pushed away his chest.

“I am a Sentinel, Your Majesty.”

“Sentinel. That’s right… . you are also a sentinel. Luster, too.”

Reynon snorted lightly in amusement and let her go. Then he shook his head in delighted disbelief and slowly paced around her as he studied her. She proposed to have a conversation in a quiet place to manage the situation somehow, but somehow she felt like she had led herself to a more bottomless quagmire.

What should I do? Lie? Or… tell the truth?

“Did you know, Jurgen?”

Jurgen, who was standing a step away and holding his hands behind his back, answered:

“Yes.”

“Did you intend to keep me in the dark when you discovered such a person with the abilities to wield both powers?”

“It is common. Many children have dual powers from birth. Of course, because of their short lifespan they are more difficult to find.”

“Therefore. The person who possesses the powers of Liberty and Luster at the same time… . you tried to monopolize her, right?”

“Is there any reason why I can’t?”

Reynon’s steps abruptly halted. Slowly turning towards Jurgen’s direction, his eyes contained a cold flare.

“What a meager excuse.”

“If I delay further, the temple will find out. I did not want to lose a guide to the temple again. Our Sentinel Knights also need high-level guides.”

“Now it’s too excessive.”

Reynon let out an icy smile and grabbed Dahlia’s wrist. He dragged her without hesitation and set her on a straight sarcophagus.

Icaruso’s light poured over Dahlia’s head. Without being given even a moment to be startled, Reynon grabbed her chin and ordered warningly,

“I’m not interested in Luster’s power. You should be my guide.”

“I- I can’t.”

“Are you defying the Crown Prince?”

“No, it’s not that.”

He was an overwhelming handsome that donned a chilling and creepy beauty. But she was terrified. Just staring into each other’s eyes made her feel like her neck was being strangled and thrown into a pit of suffocating quicksand.

“I’ve already imprinted her. Your Majesty.”

Dahlia looked up at Jurgen’s voice that came from behind. Suddenly, he embraced her from behind and gently pulled Reynon’s hand off her chin.

“She has already agreed to be my guide.”

“Shall we check?”

“It’s no use.”

With a grin, Jurgen took off his gloves. Then he lifted her wrist and kissed her on the ring on her index finger, and the red jewel turned to gold.

“She’s mine. So please cooperate. I do not want to send my fiance, Lady Dahlia, to the temple.”

“You are brazen. Didn’t you know why I was looking for Liberty?”

“Dahlia is not the Liberty your Majesty seeks.”

Reynan’s neat yet chilly gaze turned to Dahlia in response.

“Is that so?”

About ten years ago, an incident turned the imperial family upside down. The kidnapping of Crown Prince Reynon von Leonardo. It was Plum who kidnapped the Crown Prince.

They seemed to have learned that he was the Crown Prince of the Empire after forcing a Guide’s powers into his body. Plum, who wanted to avoid an all-out war with the Central Empire, Marcania, stopped the experiment and abandoned Reynon.

His eyes were covered with his hands and feet tied, looking like a runaway slave.

The shock and horror he experienced at a young age, the hopelessness and resignation to a painful death as his flesh and bones were cut. Moreover, Plum abandoned him in an unknown location.

‘You… . Are you hurt?’

When he woke up to a child’s voice in the darkness and a terrifyingly sweet power flowed through his clenched palms.

The sweetness of Liberty tasted for the first time was shocking in many ways. It was here that Reynon, who was so stunned he had fainted, opened his eyes. He was in the heart of Icaruso, the first portal of the capital.

The imperial family closed the case with the return of the Crown Prince. But since then, Reynon could not tolerate any guiding.

But the fact that Jurgen, who knew that fact better than anyone else, found Liberty first provoked him.

“Alright, I’ll pretend you fooled me. But in exchange … . She can join the knighthood. And as for the engraving, if you release her from it, that will solve it. Isn’t that so, Edelred?”