Chapter 173
The place the three brothers of House Basilian chose to evade Kierne’s eyes was Duke Ibroiel’s residence.
After all, the darkest spot is always right beneath the lamp.
Duke Ibroiel’s mansion was the one location Kierne would never suspect, while his surveillance there remained lax.
Especially since Ishuel had often visited the duke’s home to study magic.
Coming and going by teleportation magic would draw no suspicion whatsoever.
“You really… came…”
Duke Ibroiel—Serea—stared at the Basilian brothers with a face that looked a decade older.
She let out a hollow laugh, the same woman who had imagined Kierne discovering the full truth and smiling as he beheaded her.
After chuckling bitterly for a moment, she turned her gaze to Chesha.
“Hello.”
Chesha politely brought her small hands together and offered a proper bow.
At the greeting, Serea grinned so widely her cheeks rose like balloons, then spoke without bothering to hide her wonder.
“My goddaughter has changed beyond recognition.”
She was startled by the sight of Chesha grown into a child, yet there was not the slightest hint that she viewed her as some kind of monster.
Instead, her eyes—filled with a mage’s pure curiosity—scanned every inch of the girl.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a fairy’s growth. Usually I only meet fully grown ones.”
With a soft “up we go,” she lifted Chesha into her arms and gently rocked the small body back and forth.
Chesha simply smiled brightly, pretending she understood nothing.
“So, what do you plan to do?”
Still cradling Chesha with one arm, Serea asked.
Belzeon, standing with arms crossed, answered.
“We intend to attend the banquet in our adult forms.”
No one would easily guess that three fully grown men were the three brothers of House Basilian.
“And at the banquet, we’ll let him meet the youngest. He’ll notice the moment we step into the hall anyway.”
They had no intention of dragging things out.
They meant to torment the irritating Kierne, but not to drive him to the brink.
They knew better than anyone how deeply he was suffering.
After all, he had already lost his mind to the point of committing serial murders in East End.
Belzeon had been carefully suppressing any rumors about Kierne.
But if his madness deepened any further…
There was a chance he might draw his blade right in the middle of the imperial palace.
“We’ll keep it moderate.”
At Belzeon’s words, Serea groaned in distress before finally nodding.
She shrugged her shoulders and said,
“The Palen social scene is going to be noisy for quite some time.”
Whatever else she said, Serea was a notorious gossip who thrived on every incident and scandal in Palen high society.
The chance to be part of the entertainment about to unfold in those circles…
Since a major incident was already inevitable, her attitude made it clear she might as well enjoy the ride.
Having secured Duke Ibroiel’s full support, the three brothers took Chesha and headed off somewhere.
What they offered her was the beastkin potion that would turn them into adults.
“Baby— no, no.”
Karha, who had habitually called her baby, gently shook his head and corrected himself.
“It would be nice for Chesha to become an adult too.”
The plan was for all of them to enter the banquet together in adult forms.
If Chesha transformed as well, it would be even easier to slip past Kierne’s notice.
Ishuel was already happily lost in thought about which dress to put on her.
Chesha obediently drank the beastkin potion they handed her.
Gulp. Gulp.
Naturally, nothing happened.
The three brothers, who had been waiting with faces full of eager expectation, stared at one another in bewilderment.
“Uh… maybe it doesn’t work because she’s a fairy.”
“Looks like it.”
“What do we do?”
Having a young child attend the emperor’s birthday banquet would be rather awkward.
Unless one belonged to the imperial family, children under a certain age were generally not permitted at official banquets.
Chesha raised her hand and offered her opinion.
“Should I hide secretly? I don’t have much power back yet, but I can manage that much.”
Her fairy powers still had not fully returned.
Yet for some reason, the moment the three brothers heard her suggestion, they fell silent—then suddenly broke into identical sly grins.
Ishuel drew out his words in a long, teasing tone.
“Our little sister… yeees, you don’t have much power, do you…?”
With a smile brimming with mischievous intent, he pressed a kiss to the back of Chesha’s hand.
“Big brothers will protect you?”
The words, spoken with sparkling eyes, should have been touching, yet Chesha felt nothing of the sort.
She narrowed her eyes and wore a slightly sulky expression for a moment.
‘They look way too excited.’
It was painfully obvious they were thrilled by the thought that Chesha probably couldn’t run away anywhere.
There truly could be no less trust between family members than this.
At Chesha’s lukewarm reaction, Ishuel put on a pitiful face and voice.
Shadows fell across his long-lashed eyes.
“We’ve always only received from you. This time, I’d like our little sister to lean on us.”
Karha stuck right beside him, making an equally pitiful kitten-like face.
Even Belzeon—though not as blatantly as the twins—subtly drooped the corners of his eyes.
Now that they had taken adult forms, even their shameless acting was exactly like Kierne’s.
To think there were now three more people just like him…
The future of House Basilian looked very bleak indeed.
‘At least they’re not locking me up; that’s something.’
Reflecting on her own past deeds, Chesha thought the three brothers’ current behavior was actually quite mild.
Without realizing it, thinking entirely in Basilian terms, she smiled brightly.
“Okay!”
The imperial palace, readied for the emperor’s birthday banquet, was so lavish it felt almost oppressive.
She had thought it splendid on her previous visit, but now, fully decorated for the occasion, there was simply nowhere for the eye to rest.
Yet there were figures even more breathtaking than the palace itself.
The men of House Basilian.
Born of a fairy mother and a father with an inhuman appearance, the three brothers had possessed striking beauty even as boys.
Now grown into adults with those same looks, they were dangerously eye-catching.
Just like Kierne.
Escorted by three men whose appearances drew attention no matter where they stood, Chesha felt a quiet swell of pride.
‘My boys really are something!’
As if she were the leader of the three brothers, she unnecessarily lifted her chin.
Noticing exactly what she was thinking, the brothers chuckled softly.
The moment laughter rang from those with flower-like beauty, countless gazes snapped toward them.
Everyone was brimming with curiosity.
Since these were faces never seen in Palen society, people whispered that they must be foreign nobles.
The three brothers led Chesha toward a quiet area with few signs of life.
“This is the private space within the palace prepared for His Grace Duke Ibroiel. Chesha, if you wait here for a little while with Karha…”
Belzeon had been explaining as they walked down the silent corridor when he suddenly stopped.
Chesha, nestled in Ishuel’s arms and leaning against his chest, was just about to turn around—
Clink. The sound of chains echoed.
Immediately after, a sharp noise burst forth.
Karha, who had been unable to bring weapons into the palace, had seized the chains with his leather-gloved hand.
“Why have you entered the palace in that form?”
The pure white chains pulled taut.
Swallowing a low groan, Karha narrowed his eyes and glared in the direction the chains had come from.
A chilly voice approached along with footsteps.
“You haven’t forgotten our deal…”
There stood Hailon, his hair dyed black.
He was dressed in banquet attire rather than his Holy Knight uniform.
He froze mid-sentence.
His blue eyes trembled faintly.
Chesha, too, parted her lips in shock.
She had never imagined she would reunite inside the imperial palace with someone who had become a traitor.
After slowly blinking a couple of times, Hailon opened his lips in disbelief.
“…Chesha?”
