Chapter 167
The ground was a muddy mess from the rain the day before.
Yet the boots stepping on the sludgy path remained pristine.
In his long coat, stylish suit, and even carrying a cane, Kierne stood out starkly in the chaotic alley.
Despite being the lord of the underworld, he was the most alien presence here.
His attire, clearly unsuited to such filthy backstreets—like that of a haughty noble—was enough to draw any onlooker’s gaze.
But no one spared him even a glance.
They were all too busy with their own affairs.
As if they couldn’t perceive Kierne’s existence at all.
‘He must be using black magic?’
In the underworld, there was no need to hide black magic.
Unlike outside, Kierne could wield his power freely here.
Amid that, the fact that he’d cast a spell to keep mud from splashing on his clothes and shoes felt somehow endearing.
“……”
Cheshire quickly regretted her own thought.
Endearing!
She glanced at Hata standing beside her.
He was so tense that his tail and ears were trembling from tip to end.
If he knew she’d thought ‘endearing,’ Hata might genuinely worry if she’d hit her head.
Cheshire pushed the stray thoughts away and resumed tailing Kierne.
Kierne strolled leisurely before entering a shop.
It was one Cheshire knew.
A high-end bar catering to nobles seeking an ‘underworld experience.’
It preserved the rough, unique vibe of the underworld while serving luxurious food and drinks.
With guards stationed, it was a tourist spot where one could enjoy the underworld safely, like a social club.
She’d heard it raked in enormous profits…
‘This must be Kierne’s too?’
He seemed brilliantly sharp when it came to such things.
Instead of going inside, Cheshire clung to the bar’s window with Hata.
She wanted to rest her face on the wide-open windowsill, but her height fell a bit short.
Hata lifted Cheshire to help her peer inside.
The interior, fashioned from fine materials to mimic shabbiness, was packed with customers.
Kierne deftly wove through the crowd of apparent nobles and briefly spoke with a waiting employee at the back.
Then he naturally took a seat at the largest table.
It was a card-playing table.
Those seated there wore especially fine clothes, some masking their faces to conceal their identities.
They were surely high-ranking enough to recognize Count Basilian, yet they welcomed Kierne without surprise.
They seemed to perceive him as someone else.
A bear-like, burly man beamed at Kierne.
His booming voice cut through the noise.
“You’re here! It’s no fun without you!”
As if he’d been waiting, he gestured to the staff to deal Kierne in too.
Kierne smiled lightly with his eyes and rolled the dice.
The game, where victory depended on dice and card numbers and suits, hinged on psychological warfare.
Naturally, she’d expected the perceptive and clever Kierne to win streak after streak, but surprisingly, he alternated moderate wins and losses.
Watching his actions closely, Cheshire soon realized the true purpose of the card game.
Kierne was gathering new information here.
Loosened by alcohol that relaxed body and mind, along with mild brainwashing, they didn’t guard their tongues.
They casually spilled words they’d never utter in their right minds, alongside the cards.
Then suddenly, a woman approached Kierne.
From her suggestive glances and gestures, it was blatant seduction.
As she leaned in subtly, Kierne politely smiled and declined.
“I should be going now.”
After spending just enough time, Kierne left the bar again.
Cheshire resumed her pursuit.
A breeze carried a faint scent of alcohol mixed with an odd perfume.
Feeling a slight unfamiliarity, she followed his straight back.
After walking a while, Kierne turned into a dimly lit alley.
It was a dead end—why would he come this way? She wondered.
Suddenly, Kierne whirled around and said in a voice laced with amusement.
“How long do you plan to watch?”
At the same moment, shadows surged from the ground.
Splitting into dozens of strands, the shadows engulfed the entire alley, piercing the sky before subsiding all at once.
Kierne scanned the path the shadows had swept with a short hum.
“Hmm.”
No traces remained in the alley.
Not a single drop of blood, let alone any dead or injured.
Confirming nothing had been caught, Kierne soon smiled brightly.
“Not bad.”
His red eyes gleamed with cruel interest.
‘This feels like a bad catch…’
Cheshire, breaking into a cold sweat, exchanged looks with Hata.
They’d barely—truly barely—evaded Kierne’s attack.
Cheshire was a child now, and Hata wasn’t large either, so they’d just managed to dodge.
If both had been in adult forms, they’d have lost at least an arm or leg.
Fortunately, Kierne didn’t attack again.
“I’ll spare you once since you’re skilled… If you don’t want to die, stop following.”
Leaving that leisurely warning, he hummed and continued on his way.
As if he didn’t care whether they followed or not.
Cheshire and Hata, thoroughly intimidated, suppressed their presence even more and cautiously trailed behind.
Kierne’s final destination was the master’s residence.
Passing through the overgrown garden ill-suited to the underworld, he entered the mansion.
Following Kierne inside, Cheshire diligently scanned everywhere.
It was a place she’d visited exactly once.
Of course, back then she’d been too distracted by Hailon to look properly.
The mansion, shrouded in faint darkness, had only sporadic lamps lit.
It couldn’t be for lack of money to light it, given the master’s wealth; Kierne simply saw no need for brightness.
His power stemmed from darkness, so perhaps he’d arranged an advantageous environment for any contingencies.
The central staircase split left and right, leading upstairs.
On the wall where the stairs diverged hung a large frame.
Unusually, it was covered with a white cloth.
Kierne, ascending the stairs, stopped before the frame.
“……”
Though nothing was visible, he didn’t lift the cloth.
He just stood silently, gazing at the white fabric, then smiled softly.
“I’m back, Rose.”
His voice was startlingly sweet.
Greeting the pure white cloth, Kierne was clearly not in his right mind.
Yet his eyes seemed clearer than ever.
With a faint blush on his cheeks, gazing with affectionate eyes.
Yet he could never lift the cloth.
As if fearing something.
Having finished his greeting, Kierne continued up the stairs and vanished to the second floor.
Confirming he was completely gone, Cheshire cautiously approached the frame.
The frame hung a bit high for her height, so she had to tilt her head back far.
The pristinely white cloth, almost bluish in its gleam, bore not a speck of dust or the tiniest stain.
It revealed how cherished and meticulously maintained it had been.
Cheshire gently tugged the long cord dangling beside the frame.
The cloth draped over the painting lifted smoothly.
Beyond it appeared a woman’s portrait.
“…!”
Cheshire trembled as if struck by lightning.
‘That’s… me?’
For a moment, she flinched, thinking it was a portrait of Lichesia. But upon closer inspection, while very similar to Lichesia, it was clearly someone else.
The woman in the portrait had pink eyes, not red.
Cheshire stared at the portrait for a long while.
The wavy golden hair, the luminous pink eyes, the elegant brows and nose, and the lips curved in a faint smile tinged with mischief.
She examined every detail without missing one.
Her chest grew hot, and a short gasp escaped her parted lips involuntarily.
“…Ah.”
Cheshire knew who she was.
The previous fairy queen, and Cheshire’s mother.
