Chapter 59
Because I Missed You
“Eek! No! This isn’t…! I didn’t mean it in a disrespectful way…!”
Serven, face pale with shock, quickly let go of Rasillia’s hand.
It wasn’t even something to be that surprised about, but the golden eyes glaring at him like they’d stab through him made his brain freeze up.
Flustered, Serven hastily released her hand just as Rasillia was stepping off the carriage platform—causing her to stumble.
“Ah, Your Majesty!”
“Move.”
Rescal shoved Serven aside without hesitation and caught Rasillia in his arms.
Thud!
Serven fell and smacked his nose on the wheel shaft of the carriage.
“Ugh…”
He groaned, holding his nose.
But no one asked if he was okay.
Because Rescal, still holding Rasillia, hadn’t moved an inch.
“…Your Majesty. You can let go now.”
Rasillia spoke softly, averting her gaze.
She was flustered—flustered enough to feel embarrassed.
There was a huge difference between treating the emperor as a fake husband and being embraced by someone who might actually be your destined mate.
The intense gaze locked onto hers, those dazzling golden eyes—those felt completely different now. So did the low breaths brushing her skin and the warmth of his body.
Before, his gaze had only been burdensome. But now, it was like his emotions were whispering directly to her.
The golden eyes that once felt cold like metal were now burning hot.
“I didn’t think you’d come.”
Rescal replied with something completely unrelated.
The central plaza was in chaos with the aftermath.
People were busy clearing rubble, moving bodies, putting out fires, and tending to the injured.
Dust clung to Rescal as well. He’d removed his coat and had his shirt unbuttoned at the top. Sweat shimmered faintly on his neck, and his shoes were dirty.
“I sent that half-grown bird with a message. Told you to stay safely at the palace.”
“Yes. Pipi delivered it.”
“Then why?”
“Well…”
Rasillia had come because she’d gotten involved in some trouble at the temple and needed to be here, but before she could explain—
Rescal cut her off.
“You came to see me, didn’t you?”
“…From the temple, yes?”
“If you came here, it means you’d see me sooner. If not, there’s no reason for you to be here. You must’ve heard that demons appeared here. So unless you wanted to see me—there’s no reason you would have come. Right?”
“No, that’s not…”
Even that reply was taken from her.
“That’s it. You came to see me.”
Rescal pulled her tightly into an embrace.
“Um…”
Rasillia didn’t stop him.
She could feel how genuinely happy he was about this—completely, from head to toe.
‘We were going to meet at the palace anyway… Is he that happy just because he didn’t expect it? …But he’s really too happy. I didn’t even do anything.’
Though, actually—she had done something.
She had come to him. Without being summoned. For the first time ever.
Even if she had her reasons, those didn’t matter to Rescal right now.
The empress who had tried to leave him was now by his side again. The price was divorce. If one had to pick the most dreadful word in the common language of the continent, it would undoubtedly be “divorce.”
Of course, he’d never allow it, but hearing that horrific word from her own lips had left a chill in his chest.
Since then, she’d avoided him for days. He didn’t know if it was because he’d refused her request—or if she still wanted to leave him. Every moment since had felt like walking on thin ice.
So today’s moment meant a great deal to him.
“I’m really happy.”
“…Ah.”
Rasillia fidgeted with her fingers, unable to bring herself to say “please let go.”
Even if being embraced by the emperor was still overwhelming—it no longer felt as foreign as it once did. She worried that she might get used to this warmth.
‘If I really am his destined mate, then maybe this is natural… But the emperor is supposed to kill me.’
Looking at how happy he was, it was impossible to believe he’d ever do such a thing. She couldn’t imagine him coldly turning away, discarding fate.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to push him away.
And that… frightened her a little.
That no matter what, the one fated to be with a demon would always love them—that might just be the destiny of a mate.
“Piii…”
Pipi, not wanting to be left out, squeezed between them.
Rescal caught Pipi with one hand and flung him aside.
“Stay out of this.”
“Pii!”
Pipi flailed, unable to flap his wings in time, tumbling helplessly.
“Your Majesty. That was too much.”
Rasillia took the opportunity to push Rescal away.
Rescal never let go unless she explicitly told him to.
“Let go now. Pipi looks like he’s going to throw a fit.”
“…Now? You want me to let go now?”
“Yes.”
“You came to see me.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Pii!”
Pipi flapped his wings wildly in agreement.
“…And that half-grown bird throws tantrums all the time anyway. No point in pacifying him. He’ll just do it again later.”
“Pii! Piii!”
Furious, Pipi squawked in protest.
“See? Just like I said.”
“Pii! Piiit!”
His wing flaps grew more violent—but his tiny size made him look more adorable than threatening.
Rescal, still holding Rasillia tightly, shot Pipi a side-glance.
“You’re noisy. Be quiet.”
“Pii! Pii-biiit!”
“Grow up, then talk.”
“Pii! Pii!”
Rasillia began to worry the bird would scream his throat hoarse.
“Stop it, Pipi. I know you don’t get mad for no reason. And Your Majesty, please stop too. There’s no need to argue with Pipi.”
Rescal rolled his eyes—a gesture that meant he was embarrassed and also asking her not to think poorly of him.
“I wasn’t arguing.”
“You were.”
“I just told the loud bird to be quiet.”
“Yes, and to Pipi, that’s enough to count as a fight.”
“…That wasn’t my intention.”
“I understand. Now please let go.”
His eyes rolled again, slowly.
“…Do I really have to? You came to see me.”
“There’s still work to be done, isn’t there?”
“…That’s true.”
At last, his arms released her.
Rasillia stepped forward and took in the devastated state of the plaza.
“There’s a lot of damage. It’ll take time to recover.”
“No, we’ll use mages. Once we find all the injured, they’ll use healing spells.”
“Oh. I see. That’s good.”
—
It took about two more hours to locate all the wounded. Pipi called other birds to help, saving much time.
Then, mages from the guild arrived and drew large restoration magic circles.
Thanks to that, by dawn, the central plaza looked nearly as it had before. But there was no way to bring back the dead. Though the square looked the same, sorrow and grief still lingered in the air.
And amidst all this, some moved faster than anyone else.
Silver Shield and the elite guards led by Rian stormed the Harios Temple in what was essentially a surprise attack.
It failed.
“I couldn’t believe it. Even seeing it with my own eyes.”
Attacking the temple brought heavy political consequences.
The nobles allied with the temple would be outraged, and devout citizens would likely turn against the crown.
But they couldn’t ignore the demons. They believed a search would prove the temple’s connection to them—and thus launched the raid.
But it was a failure.
“Those corpses… Were those demons?”
Rian clenched his empty fist.
They found no traces of demons in the Grand Harios Temple—only piles of corpses.
Priests were dead. Slaughtered and tangled together across the temple grounds. The scene could only be described as a massacre.
“They must’ve had their minds stolen before leaving. Turned on each other, killed each other.”
Dekan, who had accompanied Rian, hadn’t been able to shake the horror from his face.
“Did they do it to erase all evidence? Even so, it’s… inhuman. That’s what makes demons so terrifying.”
Rescal swept a hand through his disheveled hair.
When he thought of the instincts awakened by the Blue Moon, he couldn’t deny his demonic nature.
But his blood had a master—his mate. His thirst for her suppressed all other instincts.
The demon that had appeared seemed to be trying to erase the existence of his mate. Dragging the Empress into it with that denunciation letter made that much clear.
They were trying to leave him as a demon alone.
The reason? He didn’t yet know.
“…I’m going to the Empress.”
The mere thought of someone touching his mate sent heat raging through him.
He wanted to keep her close—bind her to him if he could. And he would not close his eyes. Not even to sleep. Who knew what would happen in a blink?
“The Empress’s palace is secure. We’ve reinforced the magic circles. Double-layered protection spells are in place.”
“Well done. Make sure everything that can be done is done.”
Still, Rescal was already standing.
Rian and Dekan followed behind without protest.
“What else would you have us do? If we’re to track the demons’ base…”
“No point. Demons can’t be traced by magic.”
“Then are we just supposed to wait for them to appear again?”
“Maybe… No, track their people. Humans can be followed.”
“Huh? Their people? But they killed all the priests.”
Rescal’s golden eyes gleamed strangely. It reminded the shadow knights again—he wasn’t fully human.
“Malik’s knights.”
“…What?”
The unexpected words nearly made Rian and Dekan stumble.
“Malik’s knights? Weren’t they the remnants of the order that once fought the demons? Why would they work with them?”
“That was 700 years ago. Plenty of time to forget useless grudges.”
“Still…”
“Check the bodies again. If none of them were Malik’s knights, then we can investigate the link between the knights and demons.”
Rian frowned and rubbed his chin.
“Oh, I see. That makes sense. Got it. But if those snake-heads really did ally with demons… well, maybe their minds were tampered with. They could be using some kind of ancient, twisted magic.”
Dekan added,
“Then we’ll need records. Anything about ancient magic or Malik.”
Rescal nodded.
“Ready the elite guard. We don’t know what we’ll face next.”
“…Understood.”
As the tense conversation ended, Rescal finally stopped walking.
He stood before the Empress’s chambers.
