The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 27.2
“Prove results befitting this position.”
His gaze did not waver. Compared to the beginning, when he had doubted the post given by Kailos, his eyes now carried firm resolve.
Kailos smiled with satisfaction.
“As you now see, Leslun is clever. He knows his place, and he is humble. That is why I want him.”
Emotion began to seep into Kailos’s words. At the end of his sentence lingered a strange thirst and obsession toward someone not yet fully in his grasp, along with a subtle possessiveness. Robin, who sensed it first, quietly swallowed hard.
Though he kept his expression firmly in check, cold sweat trickled down his back. Kailos said there were things about Leslun he did not like, and yet he never let him leave his side. Something was flowing in an unexpected direction.
“I want to keep him right by my side.”
“Is he not already Your Highness’s man?”
Baron Kelly, not knowing the full circumstances, found the remark suspicious, as if it carried a hidden meaning.
“He isn’t mine. If I had to be precise, there are quite a few things about him that grate on me. But that doesn’t mean I want him gone.”
So that was why he wanted him close? While Baron Kelly remained doubtful, Ian screamed inwardly.
Had Kailos not once been jealous when Leslun sought to save his foster parents? Then why now speak of keeping him close? Ian could not make sense of it at all.
“For life. He’s got far more amusing sides than he appears.”
At Kailos’s words, Robin had to suppress the urge to drag his hand down his face. To cloak “I want to keep him nearby and torment him” in such roundabout phrasing—
“In that sense, I’ll have him absorb the connections that can be gained here at the Academy as well.”
Kailos intended to use this Academy to broaden Leslun’s narrow circle of acquaintances.
“It’s a long-term view. Building a foundation while also forming new ties. Isn’t that good?”
From Kailos’s reaction, Baron Kelly could tell there was something he did not know. Yet being shrewd, he did not demand an explanation.
Kailos liked that silence. Taking advantage of the brief respite, he thought of the one not present.
Before departing for the Academy, when Leslun had woken alone and stepped out, he had spotted Kailos and, sensing his intent, quietly followed behind. Kailos had secretly smiled at that. The sight of him carrying Blue in his arms as he came along had been so natural.
Leslun had once fled from the master he served.
At first, Kailos had thought it nothing more than desperate flailing to save his own skin. Indeed, he had nearly taken the blame for the Count’s crimes.
He was quick-witted, but that was all. Up to then, Kailos had felt little interest in him.
But once they actually spoke face to face, Kailos sensed something unsettling. He had to uncover what it was.
His instincts told him so again and again. Which only made him all the more certain he wanted Leslun by his side.
That was why he had maneuvered to push Leslun into this place.
“For now, watch how he gets along with the new students. And if anyone bullies him, come tell me.”
Kailos spoke in a casual voice. His posture, leaning against the armrest, was loose, but his tone had already grown tinted with something personal.
Baron Kelly could not hide his disbelief.
“That is for him to handle himself. Do you expect me to go around checking on every matter between grown adults?”
The ridiculous thing was that it had been none other than Crown Prince Kailos who declared that gathering students for this Academy was the Headmaster’s responsibility.
Yet here he was telling him to watch over Leslun. Wasn’t that precisely something Kailos should do himself?
“Leslun is like that. If you take your eyes off him, you never know where he’ll be, curled up and hurt.”
Kailos tossed out the words as though careless. Then, just before continuing, the corner of his lips lifted in a faint smile.
“And besides—doesn’t he have a face that makes you want to tease him a little?”
Though Kailos’s voice was relaxed and playful, it carried a hint of relentlessness.
Kelly narrowed his eyes and asked,
“Why not attend to him yourself, Your Highness? Is there truly a reason you must borrow my hand?”
At that, Kailos’s lips curved slightly.
“If I handle it myself, he’ll notice. And then it won’t be any fun.”
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