Chapter 182
I already knew that Hailon had infiltrated the birthday banquet with the Holy King as his target.
Since the Basilian family was secretly supporting Hailon’s rebellion, I had expected that if something blew up, it would blow up spectacularly.
But I never imagined I’d witness such a flamboyant entrance.
Cheshire stared up at Hailon in a state where her soul felt half-gone.
The building was three stories tall, and the banquet hall was on the first floor.
The one who had pierced through it from ceiling to floor with the Chains of Condemnation wore an expression so calm it bordered on icy.
There wasn’t even a hint of excitement; he was composed and utterly expressionless.
It was hard to believe this was the person who had caused such a massive incident.
His dyed-black hair slowly shifted back to silver.
The black suited him well, but the silver locks fluttering against the backdrop of the round moon blended with Hailon so perfectly that it sent a faint shiver down the spine.
‘Yeah, silver hair is better after all.’
The moment that thought crossed her mind absentmindedly, their eyes met.
He had been staring directly at the Holy King, but now he slowly scanned the interior of the banquet hall.
And the instant he spotted Cheshire, his ice-like demeanor shattered in an instant.
Hailon was someone whose emotions rarely showed.
Even in the moment he slammed those chains into the banquet hall to kill the Holy King, he maintained a chilling composure—yet now, surprise was plainly evident on his face.
A unfamiliar expression on that face, with longing flickering in his blue eyes.
Confirming his emotions, Cheshire bit her lower lip.
“……”
Her heart pounded.
Everyone who saw the suddenly grown-up Cheshire thought of the same person.
The late Countess Basilian.
It didn’t stir much emotion in her.
As a fairy, she must have left a deep impression on many humans during her lifetime.
So, when someone who resembled her mother appeared, it was only natural for such reactions to follow—or so Cheshire had assumed.
She’d merely thought, briefly, that she must really look a lot like her, even to outsiders.
The situation was unfolding so urgently that she didn’t have time to dwell on such trivial details anyway.
But the moment Hailon appeared out of nowhere, that trivial detail swelled into something suffocatingly enormous.
Thoughts flooded her mind all at once, rising and vanishing without a chance to stop them.
Hailon was different.
While everyone else saw her mother in Cheshire, he alone saw Lichesia.
Realizing that fact made her heart tingle unbearably.
In any moment, he would be thinking of her.
Even if the continent were to end tomorrow, he would chase after Lichesia.
A truth she already believed in was reaffirmed as an absolute certainty.
The pounding of her heart grew louder.
Along with it, she suddenly became aware that she was no longer in a child’s body.
‘Are my arms and legs properly attached?’
She wondered if, in her rapid growth, they might have ended up mismatched.
Or maybe something like twenty fingers, or three eyes.
All ridiculous notions, but for a brief moment, Cheshire pondered them with utter seriousness.
Then, realizing she was entertaining such nonsense in this emergency, she quickly reflected on it.
Her cheeks felt hot, and she wanted to turn her head away to avoid his gaze.
But she couldn’t bring herself to do it, and instead, they locked eyes as if entranced.
The man with the appearance of a model holy knight possessed eyes that didn’t suit a holy knight at all.
Immersed in the affection and longing emanating from him, she felt a twinge of regret.
The way Hailon looked at Cheshire was distinctly different from how he looked at Lichesia.
‘Just a little longer…’
The moment to confess everything honestly to Hailon wasn’t far off.
Feeling the weight of the crown atop her head, Cheshire finally tore her gaze away.
Without much thought, she turned her head to the side.
And her eyes locked right onto Kierne’s.
His unblinking stare gleamed like glass marbles.
He seemed to have intuited something from the brief exchange of glances just now.
She hadn’t even thought to hide it, her emotions spilling over in her eyes as she looked at Hailon, so it was only natural.
With someone so terrifyingly perceptive, she had no idea how to deflect it.
“…Chesha.”
Kierne called her by the nickname suited for a child, offering a slight smile.
He lowered his voice to a whisper so that the nearby Cereen wouldn’t hear.
“Don’t keep secrets. It makes Daddy sad.”
But she’d already committed lies that were beyond sad—they were maddening, strung together like a chain of sweet potatoes.
Given the way things were unfolding, she still hadn’t properly explained her disappearance over the past year, along with various other matters.
‘That we might be blood-related, that to revive my dead mother I’d have to become the sacrifice, and my true identity too.’
Truths that would upend everything were cozily huddled together, waiting their turn.
She felt a momentary despair, but Cheshire smiled back for now.
Then, she uttered the words that seemed easiest to evade with in the current situation.
“You too, Daddy.”
After all, Kierne had likely told his share of whoppers, so it was meant to buy a little time.
However, the man who had layers of secrets hidden like an onion replied smoothly.
“Yes. I’ll tell you everything.”
Kierne slowly shifted his gaze from Cheshire to Hailon, murmuring.
“…Because it’ll all be over soon.”
The word ‘over’ struck her ear with particular clarity.
A sense of foreboding slammed into her heart.
Setting aside the part about offering Cheshire as a sacrifice for now.
What if, even after using forbidden black magic, he failed to revive her mother, the late Countess Basilian?
‘What happens then?’
Kierne, who had come this far clinging solely to the determination to bring back the dead…
She didn’t even want to imagine the worst possible outcome.
Cheshire hurriedly grabbed Kierne’s hand.
No longer a child, she could grasp his hand freely without standing on tiptoe.
Kierne smiled briefly at the hand clasping his, but he didn’t turn back to look at Cheshire.
“Hailon!”
The Holy King Sianor’s roar erupted, robbing Cheshire of the chance to call out to him again.
Sianor wore a deeply furious expression, yet oddly, a subtle undercurrent of glee lurked beneath it.
Frowning slightly at the incomprehensible emotion, Cheshire watched as Hailon slowly descended into the banquet hall.
Tap, the light sound of his feet touching the floor echoed.
Sianor burst into laughter upon seeing Hailon standing before him.
“I never expected to see a traitor from the Holy Empire here.”
He forced a leisurely smile, but he couldn’t hide the faint stiffness in his voice from the tension.
Even before Sianor could gesture, the holy knights and holy priests swiftly surrounded Hailon.
But everyone knew that encircling someone wielding the Chains of Condemnation was pointless.
“Will killing me end it?”
Clink clink, amid the sound of chains, Sianor continued with bloodshot eyes bulging.
“Will you live the rest of your life on the run? If that’s truly what you desire, Hailon, then it’s regrettable.”
To Sianor’s thunderous words, Hailon gave an unfitting reply.
“There’s only one thing I desire.”
Cheshire, who knew exactly what that one thing was, felt her face flush hot.
Since it was a statement only she could understand, Sianor furrowed his brows in confusion for a moment.
But soon dismissing it as irrelevant, Sianor suddenly turned around.
“Count Basilian.”
At the unexpected call, Kierne, who had been watching with keen interest, raised an eyebrow.
The two men’s gazes clashed sharply.
There was no way the Holy King hadn’t guessed that Kierne was covertly supporting Hailon.
Cheshire had expected him to say something to Kierne, but Sianor threw out words that were utterly unforeseen.
“Why aren’t you using magic?”
