Chapter : 209
Lily recalled a memory that remained crystal clear, even though many other memories had faded over time.
“Before she gave me the poisoned music box, she made me drink the antidote first.”
Confusion spread across Jin’s face, which had remained expressionless until now.
Seeing his reaction, Lily continued.
“She hated me, but she never truly intended to hurt me. I still remember how she kept asking if I was sure I had finished drinking all the juice that contained the antidote.”
“…”
“It was probably a message for my mother. My mother would have immediately known that I had been poisoned. I think she was trying to protect you. If I remember correctly… that was the day my mother called you to see her alone. It was probably your mother’s own small threat—telling my mother that she could mistreat her if she wanted, but not to touch you.”
“…”
“I know you’ve already made up your mind, but after seeing that music box, I thought maybe you’d think about it one more time. And whether you know it or not… Ryan hates you even more than you think.”
Lily scratched the back of her head before continuing.
“After you returned to the Imperial Palace, he kept looking for chances to get rid of you. I wanted to warn you to be careful. I also wanted you to know that I’m on your side and that I’ll help you whenever you need it. Of course… now that Ryan has ended up like this, it doesn’t really matter anymore.”
Lily also didn’t forget to mention that she had secretly stopped the assassins Ryan had sent after Jin twice.
“I see.”
Lily carefully watched Jin’s reaction before confessing.
“Oh, right! I lied earlier. Honestly… I also sent it because I wanted you to become one of my people. If you did, great. If not, then so be it. That’s how I felt. I don’t need people who only care about my position. I want people who genuinely want to stand beside me. After you came back from Cheils, I thought maybe we could become close again. And…”
She awkwardly dragged out the last word.
She knew she should end the conversation, but suddenly felt embarrassed.
Lily scratched her head roughly.
“And if we stayed close, I’d also get to visit that cute little friend again. Ahem! Anyway… those were my reasons for sending it. But after hearing what you said earlier, it sounded like even getting involved with me makes you uncomfortable. So… I’ll think about it too. Ah, I should go.”
She hurriedly finished speaking and quickly stood up.
“Princess—!”
Thud!
Before Jin could stop her, Lily stood up too quickly and slammed her head against the emergency equipment attached to the ceiling of the carriage.
The impact was so loud that the whole carriage shook.
Jin looked at her with concern.
“…”
“Ah… I forgot that was there.”
Her eyes watered from the pain, but she pretended nothing had happened.
She rubbed her head a few times before opening the carriage door.
“Anyway… I wasn’t planning to ramble like that. I just suddenly felt frustrated because it seemed like you were treating me as a sheltered princess who knows nothing. That’s all. I’m really leaving now!”
With those words, Lily hurriedly got out.
“I’m leaving. Stay safe.”
Standing outside the carriage, she looked up at Jin.
Bang!
She quickly shut the carriage door.
“What was that…”
Lily let out a long sigh before turning toward the Princess’s Palace.
Only after she was alone did she finally feel the tension leave her body.
Even though she casually called Jin “you,” he was still her older brother.
The way she spoke and how she truly felt were two different things.
Still…
She had boldly declared that she was going to accomplish something great, yet she had become this nervous over such a simple conversation.
She felt a little pathetic.
Lily quickly pushed those thoughts aside and focused on Ryan.
If her mother found out about this, she would do everything she could to stop her.
Her mother was blindly devoted to Ryan.
If words weren’t enough, she might even try to harm Lily herself.
It was a bitter thought.
But it was true.
“Ah!”
Lily suddenly stopped walking.
Wait.
Now isn’t the time to go back to the Princess’s Palace.
First, I should—
“Eek!”
The moment she turned around, she let out a startled scream.
A hand instantly covered her mouth before she could scream any louder.
After recognizing who it was, Lily’s eyes widened in shock.
She immediately pushed the hand away.
“Didn’t you already leave?”
The person covering her mouth was none other than Jin.
Shouldn’t he have already left in the carriage?
Why was he here?
“Ah… I’m sorry. Your voice was getting too loud.”
“When did you start following me— No, you must’ve followed me from the moment I got off the carriage. Why? Did you forget something? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
She hadn’t sensed anyone following her at all.
Her heart had almost stopped.
“I didn’t expect you not to notice me.”
“Ahem… I was thinking about something else…”
Lily shook her head.
That wasn’t important.
This was the Imperial Palace.
If Jin had followed her here despite the danger, it had to be something important.
Even now, she found it amazing how he could enter and leave the Imperial Palace without being discovered.
“But seriously… why?”
Jin remained silent for a while.
Lily tilted her head.
What is he trying to say?
She found herself becoming nervous again.
After thinking for a long moment, Jin finally spoke.
“What you said earlier.”
Lily’s eyes grew round.
Huh…?
What did he just say?
“My decision hasn’t changed. But… after hearing you say all that, I’ll think about it. Don’t get your hopes up, though. I don’t intend to make you my enemy either. Goodbye.”
Jin bowed politely to the stunned Lily.
Then he grabbed her shoulders and gently turned her around.
Blink.
Blink.
Lily stood there, blinking several times.
Did…
Did Jin just speak to me casually?
Her mind became a complete mess.
“You… Jin— N-No… Brother… I mean, Jin!”
Startled, Lily spun around as fast as she could.
But Jin had already disappeared without a trace.
“Huh…”
“When did he leave?”
Lily remained standing there for a long time after he was gone.
“Jin really spoke to me casually just now… didn’t he?”
There was no doubt.
He hadn’t spoken to her as the Princess.
He had spoken to her as his younger sister.
She was sure of it.
The corner of Lily’s mouth slowly lifted.
She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
So that’s how it is.
It was truly the first time.
Since the days when they had been close as children.
“Ha… honestly.”
She couldn’t stop smiling.
It seemed Jin had finally opened his heart to her, even if it was only a little.
He had treated her like his little sister.
Although…
It was unfair that he had said something like that and then disappeared immediately.
Then again…
If she had been in his place, she probably would’ve found it awkward to stay any longer too.
“Still…”
He had dropped those words like a bomb before leaving.
The next time I visit the guild… will he greet me properly?
Should I stop calling him “you”… and start treating him like an older brother?
Just because Jin had opened his heart a tiny bit, Lily was already excited as if they had become close again.
“No… Ahem. If I do that, he might just go back to how he was before.”
I should stay calm the next time we meet.
As if nothing happened.
The corner of her lips curled upward once again.
Lily smiled.
After so many bad things had happened recently…
It felt as though, at last, something good had happened.
Kamil returned to the laboratory that evening.
By the time he arrived, the night had long passed, and dawn was just about to break.
He knew that Zen had sent him several signals.
He simply ignored them.
They were probably about something unimportant.
Walking deeper into the laboratory, Kamil paused for a moment in front of the large cylinder where the woman was sleeping.
Then he walked to his desk and slowly removed his gloves.
He took off his gloves.
Then his mask.
Finally, he removed the robe that had hidden his body.
Large burn scars running from the corner of his mouth down his neck were fully revealed.
They were scars from four years ago.
Scars left behind when the laboratory burned down.
If only the research materials hadn’t been destroyed that day…
I could have reached my goal much sooner.
Lost in thought, Kamil gently touched the scars.
Just then, he sensed someone entering and turned around.
“Why didn’t you answer?”
Zen walked in with a tired face, his voice filled with dissatisfaction as he looked at Kamil.
