Blink.
Elsez’s eyes blinked blankly as she stared at Rashiel.
‘What… does he mean?’
His words felt like a foreign language—something she almost understood but couldn’t quite grasp.
Facing the unfamiliar emotion hidden within his crimson eyes, Elsez instinctively averted her gaze.
She didn’t know what he was feeling. But she knew, instinctively, that whatever it was—it was beyond her ability to handle.
“Uh… I did think about you today, though…”
“What kind of thoughts?”
Still avoiding his intense gaze, Elsez suddenly remembered what she had meant to ask him.
“You’ve been investigating the Cult of the Demon King while impersonating the crown prince, right?”
Rashiel was annoyed that she had abruptly changed the topic mid-conversation, but he let it slide for now.
“…Yeah.”
“Did you learn anything about the demon king? I need your help.”
“It hasn’t been publicly revealed yet, but I know the demon king has been resurrected. Why do you ask?”
Elsez froze.
‘So Rashiel already knows that the demon king has returned.’
What would happen if she told him that she was the very being he spoke of?
‘Rashiel would help me.’
He was the first person she had sought out when she returned to this world in Elsez’s body.
She had believed he would help her.
And that belief hadn’t changed.
“I’m the resurrected demon king.”
“…What?”
Rashiel’s expression hardened.
Elsez opened her mouth to explain, but as soon as she tried to say “Ruel,” the words caught in her throat.
Unable to speak, she closed her mouth and sighed before rephrasing her explanation.
“When I died three years ago, I returned to the world I originally came from. And when I thought I had died there… I woke up here again.”
“……”
“As a noblewoman with the power of the demon king.”
She explained that she had spent all this time searching for a way to separate herself from that power.
The only thing she left out was Reti’s true identity.
‘If Rashiel knew, he wouldn’t be pleased.’
For the sake of peace in this world, she didn’t want them to be hostile—even if they couldn’t be allies.
After listening to her entire story, Rashiel finally spoke.
“Let’s find a way together.”
Elsez stared at him in a daze.
And only then did she realize—
‘…That’s what I wanted to hear.’
When she had first returned to this world, lost and alone, those were the words she had longed for most.
Her chest tightened at the weight of them.
At that moment, Rashiel’s hands cupped her cheeks and neck.
Then, his face suddenly leaned in, closing the distance in an instant.
So close, she could feel his breath.
Still caught in her emotions, Elsez flinched in surprise and quickly pressed her palm against his lips.
Rashiel blinked, looking at her in mild confusion. Then, he let out a quiet chuckle.
“I just needed to check something.”
He gently grasped her wrist and lowered her hand before asking,
“What were you thinking?”
The way he spoke, it was as if he already knew.
‘I always end up getting swept up in his pace…’
Feeling a sudden stubbornness, Elsez smirked and fired back.
“The same thing you were thinking.”
“And what exactly was I thinking?”
Rashiel tilted his head innocently, feigning ignorance.
Elsez’s eyes narrowed.
His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he burst into laughter. The deep, pleasant sound resonated in her ears.
Realizing she would never win a game of words against him, Elsez decided to return to the original topic.
“Anyway, what were you trying to check?”
“Just stay still for a moment.”
His fingers wove through her soft hair and brushed against her neck.
She shivered slightly at the cool touch but remained still.
“You can’t say Ruel’s name, can you?”
“Yeah.”
Rashiel cast a spell on her neck.
In response, a hidden black magic circle surfaced against her pale skin and immediately repelled his magic.
Even after trying again, the same thing happened.
As Rashiel watched the fading magic circle, his gaze turned ice-cold.
Lowering his hand from her neck, he met her eyes.
“Someone placed a silencing spell on you.”
“…A silencing spell?”
She had always assumed it was just a restriction of this world’s system. But a spell?
Silencing magic was an ancient, now-forbidden technique.
It had once been widely abused—used to force subordinates into secrecy before disposing of them—leading to its ban.
“But silencing magic only works with mutual consent. And if the target tries to reveal the secret, they’re supposed to die, right?”
“The magic circle must have been altered. Modified so that it could be cast without consent—and so that you wouldn’t die if you tried to speak.”
Altering an existing magic circle wasn’t something just any mage could do.
In truth, calling it an “alteration” was an understatement—it was closer to creating an entirely new spell.
The only ones capable of such a feat were the Elder Mages of the Magic Tower, those who had spent centuries studying magic—mages so powerful they were called Sages, having surpassed the limits of human knowledge.
Even Rashiel, for all his skill, wouldn’t be able to modify a magic circle like this.
Manipulating existing magic and creating magic were two entirely different things.
“If it rejected my magic, then the one who cast this spell is more skilled than I am.”
“Is there even someone like that?”
“There shouldn’t be.”
Rashiel answered without hesitation.
It was a response born from absolute confidence in his own abilities.
“However.”
He paused, absentmindedly running a finger over his lips before continuing.
“There is one exception. Someone who has surpassed human knowledge, a Sage, and someone I suspect possesses greater magical power than me.”
At that moment, a single name flashed through Elsez’s mind.
* * *
Elsez carried a glass of water from the kitchen and placed it in front of Rashiel.
“Rashiel, you should—”
She trailed off mid-sentence.
Rashiel had fallen asleep, still in the same position, arms crossed over his chest. Even in sleep, his posture remained perfectly composed—so very him.
‘No wonder he’s exhausted.’
Breaking the powerful anti-magic barrier created by two ancient ancestors must have drained an immense amount of mana.
And right after that, he had used defensive magic. It was only natural that he’d be completely worn out.
‘If I cover him with a blanket, he’ll probably wake up.’
Elsez sat quietly on the sofa across from him, watching him sleep. Her thoughts drifted back to their earlier conversation.
‘Saintess Dike… If anyone could do it, she could.’
Having lived for centuries in an immortal body, Dike’s understanding of magic would far surpass that of ordinary mages.
Even if she had lost her mana when she sealed the demon king, her magical power should still be intact.
Mana was the energy that made magic possible, while magical power determined its strength.
In terms of raw magical power alone, Dike, who had sealed the demon king single-handedly, was likely far stronger than Rashiel.
‘But why would Dike place a silencing spell on me?’
There had to be a reason—she wouldn’t have done it for no reason.
Elsez pondered for a moment before a thought crossed her mind.
‘Does Dike already know that I’m the vessel of the demon king?’
If that were the case, it would explain why she wanted to keep Elsez from revealing her true identity as Ruel.
Dike was the saintess tasked with protecting this world. Elsez was the demon king, the world’s greatest evil.
If the heroes were to falter because of personal emotions, it could put everything at risk.
‘But based on what I’ve seen so far, Dike doesn’t seem to know my true identity.’
She was aware that the demon king had been resurrected, but she didn’t know where it had appeared.
If she did, she would’ve taken action before Elsez’s power could grow too strong. The fact that she hadn’t come after her yet suggested she was still unaware.
‘Or… could it be someone other than Dike?’
Someone stronger than Rashiel. Someone who didn’t want the truth about Ruel to be known.
The mystery remained unsolved.
‘…I’m too tired to think.’
Elsez stretched, intending to head for bed, but her body refused to move as if it were glued to the sofa.
‘I can’t get up…’
Her vision blurred as sleep crept in. The last thing she saw was Rashiel’s sleeping face before her eyelids fell shut.
Her body slumped sideways, fully reclining against the sofa.
At that moment, Rashiel’s eyes slowly opened.
“…….”
He quietly observed Elsez, fast asleep before him.
Then, he reached for a nearby blanket and gently draped it over her.
Her voice echoed in his mind—
“You’re not a dangerous person.”
It was pure, unwavering trust.
Noticing a strand of her hair caught between her lips, Rashiel carefully brushed it aside.
Beneath the soft locks, her slightly parted lips were revealed, her steady breaths escaping through the gap.
Rashiel gazed down at her peaceful face and murmured,
“…Do you have any idea what I could do to you?”
Did she know what kind of thoughts had passed through his mind, just to keep her by his side?
‘Actually, I come from another world.’
It had been when he was twelve years old.
On a snowy winter day, just before the turn of the new year, Ruel had declared, “I’ll grant a wish to every child who has been good this year.”
Rashiel had wished to learn one of Ruel’s secrets.
But the wish, made in an attempt to draw closer to her, had only left him unsettled.
The more time he spent with her, the happier he became. The deeper his feelings grew, the more an occasional, creeping anxiety took hold.
What if one day, you returned to your world?
What if I were left behind in a world without you?
You are my whole world.
Without you, how would I even live?
Some nights, he would wake up in a panic just to check that she was still there.
“…If I could, I would’ve destroyed your world, just to keep you by my side.”
Even if she hated him for it.
He knew he was about to live through that same unbearable happiness and anxiety once again.
And yet, he was glad.
Because his greatest fear had returned to him.
Because she had come back to be his world once more.
Still watching her sleeping face, Rashiel lowered his lips to her hair and whispered,
“Welcome back, Ruel.”
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