Chapter 206

Chapter 206

* * *

“Here sis, take my hand.”

Jeremy helped me out of the carriage. It felt odd having to come back to the one place I thought I would never return to. He spoke to me as I slowly glanced around at my surroundings.

“Some places still need to be restored,” he said. It was true, much of the Black compound’s interior was still as barren as it had been that past winter. “Some areas might still not be aesthetically pleasing, but we’ll get them fixed in no time!”

It was unfitting for the situation, but Jeremy seemed rather excited. He was cautious of me the whole time we were inside the carriage. It was much too apparent that he was overjoyed to have me back in our homeland, but I also caught a glimpse of anxiety in his eyes. It seemed perhaps he was afraid that I might change my mind about returning to Agrece after seeing it in its horrendous state.

I spoke to assure him, “Not at all. I was just surprised at how quickly this place had bounced back.” His expression immediately brightened. I took his hand and stepped forward. “Besides, as long as you’re here, nothing else really matters.”

I could feel a stir within him through our hands because the pressure around mine began to intensify. Jeremy really was acting like he was dancing among the clouds. We held each other’s hands tightly as we headed toward the building. The servants came out and bowed as they greeted us. There were fewer of them than before, but still enough to look after the grounds.

Some of our other half-siblings came down and exchanged awkward greetings with him, while others turned away as soon as they saw his face. Their expressions seemed to say that they had seen too much. It was probably because he was still smiling all so brightly and without restraint.

“Lady Roxana!”

Just then, someone sprinted toward me. Since I recognized his face, I pretended to remember him out of common courtesy. “I see you chose to remain in Agrece, Yoan.”

Since he had served as the dungeon gatekeeper while Lante was still alive, we had exchanged a few hello’s here and there after Cassis had first been taken hostage. I was genuinely surprised to see he had stayed in the Black territory after my father’s death.

“Yes, Miss. I was certain you’d come back one day.”

He seemed moved by my very presence.

“And just who the hell do you think you are to speak so familiarly with my sister?” Jeremy, on the other hand, was in no way excited to see him.

“M-My apologies, Master. I was simply exhilarated to see that Lady Roxana had returned to Agrece.”

“Why you... I’ll let it slide this time, but make sure to remember your place from here on out. Understood?!”

“Absolutely! Yes, sir!”

But just as he was about to lose his temper, Yoan’s words seemed to have calmed him down a bit. I supposed he found the reason behind the man’s overjoyed, yet careless behavior acceptable since it pertained to me. Jeremy instantly changed his hostile expression to that of an innocent puppy before he turned around to address me again.

“Xana, why don’t you head up to your room and get some proper rest?”

I nodded in agreement. “All right. You should get some rest as well.”

“I told the servants to clean your room every day, so it should be spotless.”

He seemed to have forgotten how serious he had become because of Nix until recently. I smiled as I thanked him, and his lips curved upwards. He told me he would visit the other siblings before going to his own room. It was most likely to ensure nothing else had happened while he was away. I rejected his offer of accompanying me all the way to my room and climbed up the stairs alone. Before long, the quiet corridor was filled with the echoes of my footsteps. After seeing how clean the interior was, I theorized that the fire I had started never reached that part of the mansion.

The building felt a little more spacious than before, perhaps due to the reduced population since the past winter. Perhaps that was why the compound felt somewhat unfamiliar. A calming wind blew past me. Everything felt eerily different from when I had last walked through those halls. Then I realized that an aura of tranquility had permeated my surroundings.

Swish.

I could see leaves drifting in the wind through the open window. My hair glistened as it blew across my face. Then I returned my gaze from the window.

“So this is how it’ll be?”

Agrece was no longer a place where I had to remain alert and on guard at all times. That fact alone had made it into a world I had yet to experience since arriving in this fictional world.

I stood in that spot for a long time as I watched a whirlwind of greenery tussle in the courtyard beneath the window.

All the while harboring an inexplicable feeling.

* * *

That night, Jeremy and I had a late meal. As it had always been customary for Agreces to eat alone, he didn’t invite any of our other siblings to join us. If anything, it would have been more awkward to pretend we were suddenly one big, happy family.

Jeremy tried to stay by my side for as long as possible, but I sent him away to his room early so that he could finally get some rest. He had pushed himself too much since the winter, and he had even more duties to attend to regarding Yggdrasil. Besides, we would only be able to stay at the mansion for a few days at most. Each of the clan masters was to return to Yggdrasil within a week’s time. A large conference unlike any of the ones held before was scheduled for all five to attend.

After some time had passed since I sent Jeremy away, I snuck back out of my room. Just as he had promised, the servants had indeed kept it spotless. But as I slowly opened the door, a sharp screech was heard from the rusty hinges. I stopped momentarily in a panic since I had intended to leave undetected.

Thankfully, no one else was outside. If Jeremy were to find out, he would most likely rebuke the servants for their poor upkeep. I reminded myself to tell them to oil the door before he could find out as I tiptoed into the hallway.

Walking alone in the middle of the night reminded me of what had happened that past winter. I slowly made my way toward Lante’s office since it was the last place I had been in on my last night in Agrece. It appeared that Jeremy had not visited the room even after he became the clan master. As I looked around the office, I realized that it had been left completely untouched the entire time I was gone.

Although it was dark, I moved quite freely as my vision adjusted to the low light. I headed over to the display cupboard in the corner, took out a bottle of liquor and a glass, then placed them on the desk. The glass was spotless as if it were brand new, so I guessed that the servants had also kept it clean after all. I poured some of the liquor in the bottle into my glass, then took a sip. It was bitter, but I savored it as I peered out the window. I felt as though I had traveled back in time to a few months prior.

Then a useless thought crept into my mind. Come to think of it, what happened to Cassis’ cloak?

I could have sworn he dropped it somewhere, but I couldn’t remember exactly where. Of course, at that point, it would have been impossible to find it since I had lost it so long ago. I emptied my glass much more quickly than I had anticipated so I poured myself another. Everything reminded me of that winter. The view outside the window, the silence filling the room, and what I planned to do next all suggested I had gone back in time. But in reality, a lot had changed since then. If that had been the case, I should have felt more relieved, but... the sensation was like the feeling of having food stuck between one’s teeth.

By the time I emptied half the bottle and started to feel a slight buzz, the visitor I had been expecting finally showed up.

“Care for one?” I asked them after they silently made their way further into the room while I continued to stare out the window. That too also reminded me of the winter, except the reflection on the glass showed me a different person.

“Why are you drinking alone?” A soft voice echoed through the room after a brief moment of silence. I could smell the outside air that still clung to the ends of his clothes as he approached me.

“I was waiting for you.”

The butterfly that led him to this room flew over and lingered around me for a bit before perching itself on my glass. Then I turned around to fully take in the man who stood before me.

Cassis paused for a moment then looked down at me. His gaze quietly scanned my face. Without turning away from his gaze that seemed to pierce through me, I asked, “How did you get in here?”

“Through the secret passage from last time.”

“Really?”

“No.”

The moment I discovered him a little while ago, he was just about to enter this building. Hence, I was curious as to how he had even made it into Agrece.

When he mentioned the secret passage, I was certain he meant that he crossed the vast demon monster habitat near the northern border, but to my relief, he really was just joking. His actual explanation was far more humorous though.

“Your security at the front gates could use some work though.”

So he had slipped in right under my nose. To think that he would march through the front door made it apparent that the Black mansion was in need of some augmented security measures. Of course, it would probably still not be enough to stop him.

We gazed at each other for a while without saying a word. It had been a while since I had last had the opportunity to gaze into his face like his. Of course, I often saw him through my butterflies, but that was our first meeting since Yggdrasil. I knew he had gone into the neutral zone to look for Deon and Nix, but I hadn’t said anything about it to him. He didn’t speak a word about it either.

“Do you know which room we’re in?” I asked in a casual tone out of the blue.

He glanced around the room for a moment before responding. “It’s the master’s office, isn’t it?”

He had figured it out quite easily based on its interior. A smile played at my lips as I watched him.

“Would you care to... have some fun?”