IATAOTHKG | CHAPTER 88

<CHAPTER 88>

I knew that Meyna was beautiful.

People around us were always generous with passing remarks about her looks, and above all, Caliph himself had eyes.

However, the Meyna at tonight’s banquet was something from an entirely different realm.

The word pretty was nowhere near enough to describe the woman before him.

She looked almost sacred, as if blessed by the divine, and yet the words Meyna spoke as her softly gleaming crimson lips moved were—

“Your Highness. Let us go somewhere private.”

Her eyes, deep and shimmering like a lake beneath the moon, were not directed at him, but at Biterion.

Caliph sharpened all his senses to observe Meina’s face, especially the subtle expressions formed by her features.

She was someone who could hardly conceal her true feelings.

So if he looked closely like this, he should be able to understand why she had said something so secretive and daring to his new Holy Knight, asking him to go somewhere private.

“Yes, my lady.”

The moment Caliph heard Biterion’s voice respond to Meyna’s suggestion, he could no longer maintain his composure.

He could not read Meyna’s thoughts at all.

Why had the woman who always lived like a plainly dressed lady whenever she was by his side come to the Day of the Holy War event so exquisitely adorned?

He had urged her countless times to at least buy some clothes with her salary, to try liking pretty, expensive, sparkling things like other noble ladies did, yet she had shown no interest at all and ignored him every time.

So why was she wearing such a fresh yet elegant pale lilac dress today, like a lilac in full bloom?

Had she really bought such clothes with her own hands?

Or had Biterion Parker himself chosen and gifted her the dress, the shoes, even the necklace?

More importantly, why was Meyna beside Biterion so overwhelmingly beautiful?

Why had she taken off the glasses she wore as naturally as a part of her own body?

What kind of change had occurred in her heart?

And was it at the end of that change that she asked Biterion to go somewhere private?

What exactly did the two of them intend to do in that secret place, free from others’ eyes?

Caliph could not understand any of it.

At some point, the two had already turned away, standing side by side with their backs to him.

“My lady. Please take my arm.”

Biterion spoke in an unbelievably gentle and affectionate voice as he offered his right arm.

Had his voice always been like that?

Had his manner of speaking always been so delicate, as if addressing something precious, so warm it wrapped around the listener’s heart?

Then what about himself?

Caliph recalled the words, tone, and expressions he had used when speaking to Meina all this time.

Everything was shrouded in fog, but one thing was clear.

In all those fragmented memories, he had never once treated Meina the way Biterion did.

Meyna cautiously linked her arm with Biterion’s.

The two, who looked perfectly suited to each other like lovers, gradually moved farther away.

* * *

Upon entering the banquet hall, nearly all the attendees greeted Caliph without even a hint of exaggeration.

Aside from a few proud, aloof nobles and key members of the imperial family, everyone gathered around Caliph to exchange at least a brief greeting.

“Sir Lennox, why are you so late today?”

“You look splendid as always.”

“A pleasure to meet you for the first time.”

“I am the eldest son of the Viscount Beuil family.”

“We have been sponsoring Guild 928 for three years now.”

Useless, old-fashioned remarks poured down on him like filth.

“I had matters to attend to.”

“Thank you for your support.”

Answering mechanically and smiling without soul, Caliph crossed the banquet hall.

It took a long time to reach the table where Curdon and Adonis were already seated.

“You’re here!”

“We were waiting for you.”

Adonis greeted Caliph brightly and raised his hand to call a server, requesting tableware and a glass for him.

Adonis placed a suitable portion of assorted appetizers onto Caliph’s plate, but Caliph reached for his glass instead, as if he could not even see the food.

As he extended his arm to grab the wine bottle, Curdon poured the drink for him instead.

Just as Caliph swallowed a mouthful of wine like a parched castaway, Sera approached.

* * *

The place Biterion chose after searching for somewhere secluded was a small prayer room in the annex.

With a single gesture, he easily opened the door that had been temporarily closed for the event and seated Meina in the back row.

After carefully examining the skin at the back of her neck once more, he made his diagnosis.

“It appears to be a deadly poison.”

“……”

“I will retrieve the antidote, so please wait here for a moment.”

Speaking calmly but unable to fully hide his urgency, Biterion immediately opened a portal.

Deadly poison?

If what he said was true, there was only one person who could reasonably be suspected as the culprit.

The Empress, Gardrien Parker.

Yet the fact that a suspect came to mind so easily only made Meina more doubtful.

If the Empress truly were the culprit, if she had intended to kill her by applying a lethal poison—

She would never have chosen such a sloppy method.

Calling her out for a private meeting in a way anyone could overhear.

Carrying out the act in a public place bustling with people.

Even the act of gently touching her face while applying poison to her neck.

Everything about it was far too clumsy and careless.

Just as the pain was becoming unbearable, the portal opened again.

The one who appeared was not Biterion, but Sera.

“On such a fine day, whatever could be the matter?”

Despite her relaxed, joking tone, her expression was somewhat stiff as she sat down beside Meyna without hesitation.

“Yes.”

“Deadly poison indeed.”

No sooner had she spoken than lips touched the back of Meyna’s neck.

An unfamiliar sensation.

Meyna’s hand gripping the chair trembled violently.

Shock and confusion compounded her surprise, making her heart race.

And astonishingly, right after Sera’s lips made contact, her consciousness rapidly cleared.

The burning, agonizing pain subsided as well.

“You feel better now, don’t you?”

Sera asked after confirming the color had returned to Meyna’s face.

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Meyna replied while nervously touching her neck.

“It was my brother, wasn’t it?”

“The one who called me.”

Relaxing her previously rigid posture, Sera glanced sideways at Meina.

“Your secretary informed me.”

“Was his name Axel, perhaps?”

Meyna closed her lips.

Sera lifted the corner of her mouth as if she had received her answer, though her face looked strangely lonely.

“The day a gate opened in Drain.”

“……”

“You two were together in the hospital room as well, weren’t you?”

As Meyna once again remained silent, Sera continued.

“Both the imperial family and our agency noticed Biterion Parker’s existence early on.”

“……”

“You practically exposed your mana as if asking to be investigated.”

Sera dropped her smile and stared into the empty air.

“I couldn’t understand what he was trying to do.”

“Someone who had been locked away his entire life in some secret estate, like a prison.”

“Signing a contract with Ocean Agency wasn’t enough, and now he even shows up at an event like this with that handsome face of his.”

A raw hostility surfaced in her sarcastic tone.

“But now I think I finally understand.”

“……”

“Meyna Winslet.”

“You will awaken within a few days, won’t you?”

Her languid yet sharp gaze fixed on Meina, like an interrogation of a suspect.

There was no point in denying it.

Mana was already flowing within her body, and Sera, an S-rank healer, must have clearly sensed it through their recent contact.

“Biterion intends to form an imprint with you.”

“……”

She had never considered it to this extent.

An imprint… between His Highness and me?

“The Duchess Motenson seems to want that as well.”

“……”

“That must be why she sent the Spiculum.”

“Wait, Your Highness.”