The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 28.2
Everything he thought was his own was like bubbles rising from beneath the surface of water.
They burst in an instant, vanishing without leaving a trace.
Not that. Kailos wanted to seize something truly his own.
Whatever it might be.
“So no matter what the Empress does…”
Suddenly, his vision spun. Kailos braced himself against the wall to steady his balance.
His heart began to pound wildly, as if it had lost all rhythm, and the edges of his sight slowly blurred. His surroundings warped as though the very space were bending.
He could hardly keep his body upright.
“This is insane.”
Even breathing felt burdensome. If this was a trap set by the Empress, then this time he had been caught properly.
He had expected that it might only influence him slightly—but that expectation was mocked. The true target had not been Blue, but himself.
He didn’t know how long he walked forward with his vision clouded. He couldn’t even gauge where he was anymore. He simply kept moving as his body carried him.
“Your Highness?”
It was then.
Warmth pressed against his arm.
“Are you all right?”
The moment his wavering gaze met the eyes of the man supporting him, thunder crashed through Kailos’s mind. Words, stored deep within his consciousness, surged forth.
‘The more I see you, the more I like you.’
‘Isn’t he small? But small things are always cute.’
‘Does the aide like good men?’
‘I’ll keep him by my side for life. He’s more interesting than he looks.’
Every word he himself had spoken flashed past.
[If you like him so much, then seduce him. Tell him you’ll give him everything.]
Say you love him.
The resonance was so powerful it left his mind reeling. Like a blade, it pierced through his thoughts, sharp yet irresistibly alluring.
Kailos opened his eyes wide—and saw Leslun standing before him.
Pale, delicate skin that would suit crimson blood, a frail body hidden beneath a sturdy chair.
He was a man like himself, yet the aura he carried was utterly different.
He had meant to keep him by his side for life, to torment him.
[You love him.]
The whispers grew clearer, taking the shape of words. Kailos felt as if he were destroying with his own hands the fence he had built around his emotions.
[Take him.]
Dangerous light began to gleam in his eyes. Desire and possession, expectation and pull, all tangled together and erupted at once.
***
After leaving the headmaster’s office, Leslun made his way to the library housed in the Academy’s main building. From the moment he entered the Academy, it was the place he had been most curious about.
From the entrance itself, the library exuded a solemn stillness. Rows of untouched shelves stretched on like walls.
“Amazing.”
Though muttered offhandedly, Leslun’s words brimmed with sincerity. The largest library he had ever seen until now had been the study in Count Robert Camilo’s estate. Even then, he had thought himself in another world when he saw how many more books it held compared to a village bookshop.
Since regaining memories of his past life, he realized how small that perspective had been. But even including that past life, this was the most magnificent place he had ever stood in.
Closing his eyes, Leslun drew in a deep breath. The scent of paper filled him, and it was hard to suppress his smile.
He checked to see if anyone else was present, then strolled between the shelves. His gaze dimmed slightly, clouded with recollections of the past.
The library had been the place most familiar to him in his previous life. It was where he had spent the longest hours of his day.
There had been times when reading all day long had been enough to make him happy.
He read while he worked, and when work was over, he read still more.
Now and then, discovering and reading a book with no foreknowledge at all had been his quiet hobby. It thrilled him, as if he alone had awakened some long-slumbering book that had lain buried in the stacks without ever seeing light.
This very world had been like such a discovery—a fantasy novel stumbled upon.
Even he, who had read so much, had never seen a book like it before. He recalled faintly how his heart had pounded back then.
It had been a story centered on the tangled power struggles of nations and generations. Different factions ceaselessly formed alliances and betrayed each other in their battle for vast lands and the imperial throne that lay within.
He had thought it a story well-woven with characters carrying their own secrets, each driven by desire into intrigues. Who could have imagined he himself would step into such a novel?
After setting Blue down nearby, Leslun pulled a book from the shelf. He ran his hand lightly along its clean spine, which made it clear it was new. The sensation was not unfamiliar, and he couldn’t help but smile.
Just then, small footsteps echoed.
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