Chapter 178
The first to react to the man’s words was Sionel.
“How insolent.”
Sionel glared at the man with sharp, piercing eyes.
A moment later, Marquis Nemeia let out a hollow laugh.
The Nemeia family—known as the lions who guarded the Palen Empire—had produced generations of exceptional knights. They were not people a clueless, green young man should dare to judge so freely.
But why?
Theo did not feel as if the man’s words were empty bravado.
Perhaps it was because the name Carha had risen in his mind.
“Be grateful I have no sword in my hand. Otherwise, your rudeness would have demanded atonement with your life.”
Sionel took a step toward the man.
Her undisguised killing intent made her presence utterly menacing.
Yet the man showed no fear, not even surprise.
He simply kept his gaze fixed on Theo.
He frowned faintly between his brows and asked,
“Are you still like this?”
“…….”
At the man’s question, Theo’s lips parted slightly.
Countless excuses swirled inside his mouth.
Theo had truly tried to change.
While serving as a guard knight for the Basilian family, staying by their side, he had learned so much.
He had vowed to become someone worthy of standing with the Basilians.
After the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly ended, he had planned to bring Lady Chesha to the marquisate and introduce her directly to his father and sister.
Then he would honestly tell them he wished to become her knight.
Of course they would oppose it fiercely, but that did not matter.
He was not asking for permission.
He simply wanted to show them the path Theo Nemeia had chosen to walk from now on.
For someone who had lived his entire life crushed beneath his father, it was a decision that overturned his whole existence.
Yet he was not afraid of the change.
Instead, he had been filled only with pleasant, hopeful anticipation.
He had even discussed these feelings and thoughts with Carha back then, and Carha had promised to support him with everything he had.
So he had gathered his courage to take the leap, but—
‘Because Lady Chesha disappeared.’
Everything had simply stopped.
He did not blame Chesha in the slightest.
It was only that the drive to change had been shattered along with everything else.
Because the entire resolution had come from his one pure wish—to stay by Lady Chesha’s side.
Over the past year, those feelings had slowly been chipped away and crumbled until he believed they had vanished completely.
Now, suddenly, they stirred once more deep inside his chest.
The man beckoned with a casual flick of his fingers, urging him on.
“I’m busy, so let’s hurry up.”
Theo bit down hard on his lower lip, then walked toward the man.
“Theo!”
Even when Sionel called out urgently, Theo did not stop.
“It seems he has business with me, so I’ll speak with him for a moment and return.”
Both his father and his sister stared at him in bewilderment.
They could not immediately respond to this act of defiance from Theo—something they had never once imagined.
While the two of them hesitated, Theo hurriedly followed the man who was already walking ahead.
Only after they reached a place where no other presence could be felt did he call the man’s name.
“Lord Carha.”
A mischievous, boyish smile greeted him in return.
“You recognized me right away? This must be the first time you’ve seen me like this.”
It really was Carha.
Theo, who had been inwardly uncertain, let out a quiet breath of relief.
“It has been a long time. Have you… been well?”
He could not have been.
Theo knew that perfectly well, yet it was the only greeting he could manage.
As if reading Theo’s heart, Carha gave a small shrug.
“Well, as you can probably guess, not so well.”
Theo looked at Carha with a strange sense of unfamiliarity. The boy had grown nearly to the same height as himself.
After Chesha disappeared, the three Basilian brothers had rarely shown themselves to the outside world, so no one knew what they were doing.
Yet even from the occasional fragments of news, it had been easy to imagine how agonizing their days must have been…
But the Carha standing before him now wore a bright, refreshingly clear expression.
“You’re still close with the security force, right? They all miss their old captain.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Theo answered in a daze.
He had maintained a close relationship with the capital’s security force.
They often gathered for drinks together.
Whenever they got thoroughly drunk, they would all cling to him, sobbing and begging him to return as their captain. That had become routine.
Carha nodded to himself, then said abruptly,
“Good. Decide right now.”
He offered no explanation.
He simply presented Theo with a choice.
“Will you follow the Basilians, or remain a member of the Nemeias?”
“The Basilians.”
Carha raised an eyebrow at the immediate answer, given without the slightest hesitation.
From the moment he had left his father and sister behind—or rather, from the time he had stood beside Lady Chesha—he had already made up his mind.
There was no reason to hesitate.
“You’ve thought well.”
After offering the praise, Carha glanced around briefly.
Then he lowered his voice even further.
“The reason I came looking for you, Sir Theo… is that I need you to draw the attention of the security force.”
Theo froze on the spot.
What could possibly require drawing the security force’s attention?
“L-Lord Carha. What exactly are you planning…? If it’s something dangerous…”
“In return, I’ll let you meet Chesha.”
“…What?”
To Theo, whose eyes had widened in shock, Carha declared with complete confidence,
“The world is about to change, Sir Theo.”
Carrying the unconscious Kierne, they first returned to Duke Ibroiel’s private lounge.
After laying Kierne neatly on the sofa, it was not long before Serea burst through the door.
“Kierne Basilian!”
She shouted so loudly that her voice rang through the entire room, veins standing out on her neck.
“You crazy bastard—turning the banquet hall into complete chaos and then passing out here like you’re taking a nap…!”
She stopped mid-sentence, freezing in place.
Serea, who had been blazing with fury, called out another name in a thin, cautious voice.
“…Rose?”
But she quickly realized her mistake and corrected herself.
“No… could it be… Chesha…?”
In the meantime, Chesha—who had grown so much—gave a slightly awkward smile and waved at Serea.
Serea stared at Chesha in disbelief, looking again and again.
After a long moment with her mouth agape, she muttered,
“This can’t be.”
She let out a short exclamation, then fell silent for another long while before murmuring to herself once more.
“This is… truly astonishing.”
Kierne had dashed out of the banquet hall like a madman.
At his insane behavior, Serea had thought she herself might faint.
Certain that the fool had gone to find Chesha, she had hurried after him.
The moment she flung open the door to the private lounge,
Serea thought, for a split second, that Rose was standing before her.
Because the lovely pink eyes and the dazzling golden hair were exactly the same.
But upon closer inspection of the still-youthful face, the slightly upturned eyes, and the other subtly different features, it was clearly her granddaughter.
With a grave expression, Serea asked,
“Have you grown again?”
Little was known about fairies, yet even Serea could tell that the current situation was far from normal.
The child had barely returned.
They had spent blood-draining days without her.
Serea loved Chesha as well, but her affection could not compare to the feelings held by the men of the Basilian family.
The tragedy of the Basilian family’s collapse after losing Rose had seemed to be repeating itself, to the point that Serea sometimes had nightmares.
Nightmares of her mad disciple finally going berserk and destroying the entire Palen Empire with the twisted power of black magic…
Serea did not love the Palen imperial family, but she loved the Palen Empire.
That was why she had personally fought on the battlefield in past wars to protect it.
To prevent the worst possible outcome—the destruction of the Basilian family and the disappearance of the Palen Empire—
The safety of Chesha Basilian, who had only just returned, was more important than anything else.
She had been at a loss, wondering what to do.
“Your Grace the Duchess.”
Chesha, who had grown so much that the word “child” no longer suited her, spoke with clear, distinct pronunciation.
“Please take me to the banquet hall as well.”
