CH 41

Unlike me, who was anxious, Dianel seemed relaxed. Even in the face of the Demon King, he appeared calm. 

Perhaps Hierian would sneer and say, “That guy makes a tin can sound when he punches.” 

I was curious about when that iron-like face would show any emotion.

So, it seemed almost impossible to confuse him and lead him to something. 

‘What should I talk about to initiate a conversation?’

I had to think about why he would linger around me. Fortunately, I could speculate on the reasons.

‘He must have something to discuss with me.’ 

I had been watching Dianel even before he became the Crown Prince. He had been busy non-stop since then. 

After becoming the Crown Prince, there was no room for thinking. Even at the Sunflower Festival, the mansion was bustling with people looking for Dianel. In the evening, he said he would have long meetings with his subordinates. It was clear that he deliberately made time to come.

For such a busy Crown Prince to come to Astita…

There must be a reason why the Crown Prince, who seemed to have everything, wanted something from me, but I couldn’t possibly guess what it was.

‘There must be a reason.’

I took a deep breath and asked him, 

“What do you want from me?”

Then Dianel raised the corners of his mouth and smiled. Under the moonlight, his beige hair contrasted with his enchanting, bewitching eyes that seemed to pierce through me.

“What do you want?”

He took a decisive step forward and stood in front of me. Then he bent down, leaning closer to my ear, and whispered.

“You.”

“?”

“I want you.”

I instinctively stepped back. I was so surprised that I even let out a gasp.

He gazed at me silently with that kind of expression and then smiled enticingly. I stared at him intently.

Dianel, standing under the moonlight, was more captivating than the succubus who used to captivate people by seducing them in their sleep. At the same time, he had an intimidating aura that was hard to approach.

Who in the world would dare to look at Crown Prince Dianel and follow in the footsteps of the gods? He seemed more like a demon than a god. He seemed closer to a demon or something related to it rather than a god. 

Until now, Dianel had always been extraordinary, but I had never felt such a different atmosphere from him before.

The more I looked at him, the more dangerous he seemed, and therefore, more attractive…

Unconsciously, I found myself getting closer to him, but I quickly regained my senses and stepped back.

‘Pull yourself together, Siara!’

Being with Dianel was as dangerous as holding a cup filled to the brim with water and running. It was evident that something dangerous would happen the moment the water overflowed from the cup.

Feeling the danger, the back of my neck stiffened. It was on the verge of losing control at any moment. That’s when I could somewhat understand the frustration of the original female protagonist in front of Dianel.

‘No wonder the original female protagonist couldn’t even move in front of Dianel.’

In the original story, Dianel would approach the female protagonist like a shadow and then silently disappear. In such a meaningful atmosphere, he eventually became the antagonist who pushed the female protagonist into the most desperate situation.

As a result, the female protagonist would lose her mind. Around that time, “Withered Flowers Don’t Cry” quietly stopped serialization.

Anyway, the person in front of me was the antagonist from that novel. Mysterious and elusive, even in the original story, his true identity was never revealed. I always had to be cautious around him.

To regain my composure, I bit my lip. As I tasted the slight pain, I regained a bit of clarity. Sensing this, Dianel softly spoke.

“It’s …….”

‘What did he just say?’

As I regained my senses, he approached me quickly.

Unexpectedly, his smile, which had loosened, folded with his eyebrows, forming a pure and innocent laughter that didn’t suit him.

Just as I was about to divert my gaze, he brushed his finger under my eyes and murmured.

“You made me wait too long.”

Then he pulled me into his embrace and buried his face in my neck. As soon as he did, my body trembled with tension.

“Eek…!”

“…”

“….Hmm.”

While it was terrifying to meet him face to face, when he touched me, it didn’t feel awkward at all. Instead, it felt familiar and comfortable, as if Hierian and Adandito were right beside us. Could it be that the three years we spent together couldn’t be easily ignored?

It felt like I was holding a large cat or beast in my arms. In reality, he was nestled against me, emitting a soft breathing sound.

‘I might as well leave it be rather than push him away and stir up his emotions.’

After contemplating for a moment, I ultimately remained still. Due to Dianel’s large stature, it was unclear if I was the one embracing him or if he was embracing me.

Either way, it was comfortable. Above all, he blocked the mountain breeze, making it warm.

Some time passed like that. Unbeknownst to me, I dozed off for a moment. It was hard to believe that I fell asleep, but when I woke up, I found myself sitting on a flat rock.

He covered me with a thick coat on my shoulders and whispered.

“They’ll be arriving soon.”

“…Who?”

“We’ll see each other again later.”

As I struggled to lift my still-sleepy eyelids, he gently brushed my forehead as if he didn’t need to do so and took a step back. At the same time, I heard a familiar voice from afar.

“Siara!”

“Siara, are you okay?”

It was Hierian and Adandito.

‘So he knew these two would come.’

I chuckled, feeling a little silly.

My sleepy eyes fluttered open, and Hierian shook my shoulder.

“Sis, what’s wrong, are you sick?”

“No. I’m just sleepy.”

“Why are you smiling if you’re sleepy, did you have a nice dream?”

Hierian tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand. I couldn’t understand it either. All I could remember was that Dianel’s embrace was quite cozy, like a dream on a midsummer night. To shake off the dream-like memory, I stretched out for a long yawn.

“Hmm, I’m sleepy.”

As I did, Adandito extended his back toward me and said, 

“I’ll carry you to the mansion.”

I nodded and climbed onto Adandito’s back. Hierian grumbled, insisting that he could carry me.

And so, we safely returned to the mansion. As if nothing had happened, no one mentioned a word about what had just occurred.

* * *

Adandito and Hierian confirmed that Siara had fallen asleep before leaving the room. Their expressions were pale and devoid of color as if frozen by the solid wall. They silently exchanged glances and, without anyone needing to speak first, they began talking.

“It’s definitely Dianel’s doing!”

“I think so too.”

Hierian shook his fist in frustration.

“If she’s done something to Siara, I won’t let her get away with it.”

In contrast to Hierian, who expressed his anger, Adandito’s eyes darkened. Lost in deep thought, he shifted his gaze towards Hierian. 

Hierian, despite his youthful appearance, was not as skilled at controlling his emotions as one might expect. Even when he was at the Mage tower, he wasn’t like this. But since coming to Astita and being by Siara’s side, he seemed to have become even more extreme. 

It was for this reason that Adandito kept having dark thoughts that he couldn’t have imagined before, especially when facing the previous Hierian.

‘Did he say that even if he loses his limbs, he’ll still survive?’

In truth, ever since Adandito heard those words from Dianel, he had been constantly plagued by a strange impulse. He felt an overwhelming desire to rid himself of Hierian, who clung to Siara’s side. 

The dirty and vulgar thoughts that were worse than gum stuck to the sole of a shoe kept growing whenever Hierian showed any vulnerability.

Magic manifests through mental power, and while Hierian may have the same amount of magical power as before, he was not skilled at controlling his emotions. If they were to engage in a confrontation on a sunny afternoon in an open field, Adandito realized that he might easily defeat Hierian.

But was it the right thing to do? Why did Dianel reveal Hierian’s weakness to him?

There were still many unresolved issues. That’s why Adandito took a deep breath, suppressing his impulsive thoughts, and continued walking.

Then, Hierian immediately followed behind Adandito.

“Huh? Hey, aren’t you going to Dianel?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Why? Didn’t we agree to go together and ask Dianel about the kidnapping of Siara?”

“There’s no point in asking. It won’t make a difference.”

“No point? So you want to leave the crime of kidnapping Siara unresolved like this?”

Hierian let out a frustrated sigh as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“And yet you claim to stand up for Siara?”

At that moment, Adandito’s steps came to a halt. He turned his gaze and calmly stared at Hierian. His golden eyes were eerily calm.

“Do you think he is different from you or me?”

“…What?”

“Please don’t act as if Siara belongs to you. Siara did not criticize Dianel’s actions. Therefore, I will not criticize him either.”

“Are you… taking Dianel’s side now?”

“Do you still not understand? How naive.”

Adandito resumed walking as if he didn’t want to mix any more words. Hearing that, Hierian’s face turned red, and he blurted out angrily.

“You, you― don’t act all high and mighty!”