CH 22

Most of his face was covered by an iron helmet, so the only thing that could be seen were his violet eyes. However, since I already knew he was Cassadin before hearing his voice, I wasn’t surprised.

“Did you know it was me from the start?”

Cassadin asked in a slightly surprised voice. It looked like the violet eyes inside his iron helmet narrowed.

“How could I not recognize you?”

Hearing that, Cassadin rapidly turned his head to the side. With the helmet on, I couldn’t see what expression Cassadin was making.

“Cassadin?”

When I called out to him, Cassadin responded with his head still turned to the side.

“Yes, Sister.”

“By the way, why are you here?”

Honestly, I was surprised at first. I did think it was strange that I hadn’t seen Cassadin in the morning, but I never imagined he would be at the Imperial Palace until I saw him strolling by casually.

“Am I not allowed to come?”

Cassadin said shamelessly. Now that I think about it, where did he steal that red Imperial Knight uniform and helmet from?

“It’s not stolen. I borrowed it. I’ve made sure the owner of these clothes will stay unconscious for exactly one day. When they wake up, they won’t even remember they passed out.”

His tone was calm and composed, but his comment was far from sane. I was so taken aback by how nonchalantly he said it that I couldn’t speak.

Seeing my silence, Cassadin tilted his head.

“What is it, Sister?”

“Cassadin, what if you get caught by someone else?”

I looked around nervously. Although there was no sign of people near the grungy tower, there might have been a few people on the way here who suspected the helmeted individual on their way here.

In response to my concerns, Cassadin confidently declared,

“I was sure I wouldn’t get caught. I completely memorized the knights’ patrol routes and movements the night before.”

“That’s not the point. You were lucky to get away with it last time, but if you get caught this time…”

“Are you worried for me?”

At some point, Cassadin turned his head back towards me. Even inside that iron helmet, his deep violet eyes sparkled like beautiful jewels. His eyes could not conceal their anticipation. Seeing his childlike innocence made me smile, and then I said to him.

“Did you know Cassadin? From the moment I open my eyes every morning to when I fall asleep at night, there hasn’t been a single day that I haven’t worried about you.”

It was the truth. Cassadin was already my family. Even if we did not share a drop of the same blood, even if he didn’t consider me his family, it didn’t matter.

Cassadin was going to be my kind younger brother who would volunteer to go to the battlefield in the stead of our father, and the sturdy shield that would protect me from Damian.

But he was also a wild beast that was hard to tame. It was Cassadin who tore up all of the books in the library and tried to assassinate the Crown Prince.

Cassadin was a time bomb that could go off at any moment. But I liked even that part of him.

“That’s nice to hear. That Sister worries about me.”

Then a soft laugh echoed from inside the helmet.

“Cassadin, did you come to the palace because you were worried about me too?”

“…”

Cassadin fixed his eyes on my face without uttering a word. Since it wasn’t a question that I expected to be answered, I had diverted my eyes from Cassadin and looked towards the large black tower when,

“If not, I wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing.”

Though it was a very faint voice, I heard it clearly. When I looked back at Cassadin in surprise, he suddenly extended his right hand. After I had used my healing abilities, his hands were pale and smooth, without any scratches on them.

“Do you see this? This is the hand Sister healed.”

As he said that, Cassadin smoothly interlaced his right hand with my left.

“For your information, I have also memorized the structure of the prison. The inner path is made like a maze. It’s made so that escape is absolutely impossible. The only person who enters the premises is the food distributor. The prison itself functions well on its own without the guards.”

Cassadin was clever. Even I, who had frequented the Imperial Palace since childhood, didn’t know such a tower existed, let alone its entire interior structure. Cassadin was much more capable than I knew from my previous life.

“But who exactly are you visiting in a prison like this?”

“You’ll know when you see him.”

I answered somewhat vaguely.

It was going to be embarrassing to act smitten with Damian in front of Cassadin, but it was going to be better than getting lost in the tower. It was all just an act, after all.

“…Let’s go in first.”

Cassadin’s hand gently enveloped mine.

Thus, we stepped into the tower.

As soon as we entered the tower, the damp, musty smell of mold hit us. The interior of the tower was darker than it appeared from the outside. Only the small torches hanging in the corners of the corridors were our sole guides in the darkness.

It was so dark that it made me wonder if the place had any windows at all.

“To think you planned to come here alone. You’re quite reckless, Sister.”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing that from you.”

Cassadin laughed softly and picked up one of the torches in the corridor.

“Let’s look around first.”

So we roamed around the labyrinth of a prison. The thick iron bars were designed to prevent anyone from getting out, and the occasional faces of the prisoners could be seen with the torchlight. They all seemed to have lost their will to live.

Heavy shackles were bound to their hands and feet, and the prisoners stood completely still, even though they must have heard the sound of us conversing.

After checking the corridor on the first floor, I shook my head. Damian wasn’t here. Then we headed to the staircase at the end of the corridor. There was a torch hanging on each of the brick walls.

The atmosphere became increasingly ominous as we walked up each step of the circular staircase. In that manner, we checked the faces of all the prisoners up to the seventh floor, but there was still no sign of Damian.

“There’s one floor left.”

Only the last floor, the eighth floor, remained. Oddly enough, the tower, which had become progressively darker and eerier the higher we went, had a large window that let in sunlight in the eighth floor’s corridor. Thanks to that, the torches in our hands were no longer necessary.

Unlike the other prisoners who had been crammed into narrow prison cells, there was only one person being kept in this cell, which was large enough to hold ten people.

There was a man bathed in the sunlight shining through the window as he elegantly flipped through the pages of a book while seated on a crimson-colored bed. And his hair fluttered slightly every time he flipped a page. He didn’t even have heavy shackles on his hands and feet.

I could already tell who the man was before I got close.

It was a familiar figure.

The fact that he was still illuminating despite being imprisoned made my expression harden unconsciously.

Damian, who had stabbed a sword into my heart in my previous life.

It was him, Damian.

There was once a time when I deeply loved his raven-black hair and emerald eyes that twinkled like stars.

But not anymore. Because I, who died at his hands, knew best what was beneath that seemingly beautiful exterior.

He must have sensed my gaze, as the man stopped flipping the pages and opened his mouth.

“Who’s there?”

Damian put down the book he was reading on the bed and stared at me. His leisurely manner of speaking made it feel like this place was his mansion, rather than a prison.

As soon as our eyes met, Damian immediately recognized me.

“It’s you, the young lady I saw last time.”

“Do you remember me?”

“Of course.”

Damian rose from the bed he had been sitting on and approached me. Now close to the iron bars of the cell, Damian smiled brightly at me. We stood facing each other, with the iron bars dividing us.

“You’re Lady Aren of the Serkia Earl’s family.”

“How did you know?”

“I tend to remember the people I’ve seen once.”

With a smile still on his face, Damian alternated his glances between me and Cassadin.

“This knight seems new, though I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere.”

“He’s the imperial knight who brought me here.”

“…I must have mistaken him for someone else, being locked up in this prison and all.”

Damian shrugged his shoulders. The corners of his mouth were lifted high, displaying his unchanging composure.

“But, what brings you to this prison, even bringing an imperial knight?”

“…”

“This place is off-limits to outsiders.”

He wasn’t behaving like a prisoner at all. It was as if he was expecting to be released from prison in the near future. I could tell just from his confident attitude.

I forced myself to smile, then responded.

“His Highness, the Crown Prince, granted permission.”

“…His Highness allowed it?”

“Yes.”

With a smile that was now more genuine, I added,

“His Highness personally guided me to the entrance of the tower.”

“Do you mean His Highness, the Crown Prince, personally escorted you?”

“Yes.”

Damian’s head tilted slightly at my answer. With narrowed eyes, he seemed to be gauging whether I was telling the truth. And his light green eyes shone sharply.

“May I ask why?”

“Grand Duke, the truth is…”

Deliberately trailing off, I then continued while looking at the man in front of me.

“I know that you aren’t the culprit.”