DMHS 80

The stream of questions left Kian’s head reeling.

Kian awkwardly smiled and stepped back again. But Lucien’s hold kept him from retreating.

“Tell me. You said you were my mate. Just as I had a reason for choosing you, you must also have a reason for becoming my mate.”

“That is…”

“If you are too shy to say it, then I’ll guess. You liked me, and you wanted to be my mate, right?”

…That could never be.

Kian had no thought of becoming his mate. He only planned to have an audience with His Majesty the King and then leave the capital.

But Lucien’s face, who expected pure affection, was far too familiar. Kian knew that face.

-You too, right? You couldn’t wait until tomorrow, so you came to see me?

The night before their wedding, Lucien had been unusually excited when he saw Kian enter his room.

His two eyes sparkled as if they held stars. His cheeks flushed red. His restless hands betrayed his inability to hide his excitement.

It was regrettable that look vanished quickly.

-At this late hour, what do you want to say to me? You’re not here to break off the engagement now?

He immediately regained his composure. Eyes that had been soft and melting turned as keen as a honed blade, and the smile on his lips vanished without a trace.

After that, Kian had never seen Lucien’s guileless face again.

When pleased he would grin and even tease, but in truth he always watched Kian’s mood. Lucien skillfully revealed or concealed his feelings in response to Kian’s reaction.

‘He’ll probably accept it this far.’

‘Or did I go too far this time?’

Kian was not blind to Lucien’s heart.

But since it happened so often, he let it pass as nothing strange. He even thought it better than being burdened with Lucien’s affection.

That was why, when he saw the other laugh like an innocent boy…

‘This feels strange.’

He was seized by emotions too hard to define.

Kian’s stomach churned. His head spun, and his chest throbbed.

After some time, he felt anger too. It was only frustrating not to know where the layers of rage were directed.

Who was he to be angry at?

At the one who willingly humbled himself for love?

Or at himself, who could not be more kind because he had no wish to accept him?

Neither had done wrong. This was simply unavoidable.

Kian lowered his gaze and exhaled. Though he had not planned it, he naturally lied.

“Yes. I liked you, Lord Lucien. So I wanted to be your mate, and when I was chosen as your mate I was so happy I could not sleep.”

For the first time Kian thought it would be nice if that were true.

Fortunately the other did not notice the lie. He raised his brows glad that his guess had been right.

“I knew it. Even in the mate selection contest, you must have tried to impress me, right?”

Once his lips had spoken one lie, they spoke another with ease.

“Dragons like pale skin, red lips, and splendid skirts, so I dressed the part and went.”

“You, a man, made such an effort? Surely the stares from others were harsh.”

“Showing myself well to you, Lord Lucien, was more important.”

“Ah, impressive. Now I see why I chose you as my mate. Your devoted effort moved my heart.”

“I also… think so.”

A satisfied smile appeared on Lucien’s lips. After calmly scanning the area, Lucien summed up the situation.

“Cooperation ends here. I’ll destroy this place as planned. I see no need to leave these people alive.”

“Understood. Thank you for your help.”

Kian too thought he had gained enough from another dimension. He had grasped the outline, so it was better to return to reality and collect the details there.

What remained was only to pay the price for Lucien’s cooperation.

“What is it you want to ask me?”

“Ah, yes, there was that.”

Lucien hesitated with an awkward voice.

“Don’t misunderstand me. What I want to know is…”

“Please speak.”

“I swear I’m not going to do anything strange. So my question is…”

“Yes.”

Lucien let out a long sigh and then opened his mouth.

“Where can I go to meet the you of this world?”

“……?”

Kian was startled by the completely unexpected question. Seeing his reaction, Lucien ears turned red and added a clumsy excuse.

“I could just be curious. Curiosity isn’t wrong, right?”

“That’s true.”

“How you seduced me, whether you were always gentle and tender in speech, what you looked like when you were restless because you liked me? Anyone alive would wonder about that.”

Perhaps realizing even he sounded absurd, Lucien clenched his teeth and returned to the point.

“So where would the you of this world be?”

“If I hadn’t entered the selection contest, I’d still be serving as a guard. In a northern village called Paleon.”

“Paleon, good. But he might not be there. Since the dimension is different, there could be variables. Tell me more places where I might find you.”

Kian told him the names of three or four villages where he had stayed before reaching Paleon. Lucien engraved every name Kian gave into his memory.

“Thanks. It was nice meeting you. I almost regret that we have to part.”

Just as he said, in the short time his gaze toward Kian had changed.

Kian gave an awkward smile and left his farewell.

“I enjoyed it as well. I hope a day will come when we meet again if chance allows. Then, farewell.”

Kian ignored the stare he felt on his back and exited the headquarters of the Heart of Dawn.

When he retraced the path he had entered through, he came out to the chapel of the God of Destruction.

Whatever Lucien had done in the meantime, the believers gathered in the chapel were unconscious.

Kian jumped onto the altar. On the floor where a person stood, the same magic circle he had seen in his world was drawn. Kian infused mana into it.

Flash.

His vision flipped, and a familiar office appeared.

Kian first checked the documents placed on the desk. Unlike earlier, when papers concerning the temple’s finances were there, this time the desk was covered with reports related to the Heart of Dawn.

‘There is definitely a difference.’

After fixing the contents of the documents in his mind, Kian stood before the full-length mirror. The reflection staring back still had the form of a demon.

Kian slowly stretched his hand toward the mirror. As soon as his fingertip touched the frame,

Flash.

His sight brightened, and his body felt like it was sinking in the ground. Yet although his body had moved, what he saw ahead looked much the same.

Kian checked the papers on the desk again.

Financial Plan for the Fountain of Celestia, Second Half of the Year

Fixed Maintenance Costs …

Fixed Project Costs …

Ceiling Leak Repairs …

Labor Costs …

Kian let out a breath of relief.

‘Good.’

The contents matched exactly what he had first seen in the office. The types and order of the documents were the same, even the blank line left for the High Priest’s signature, so he seemed to have returned to his original dimension.

Kian opened the door leading outside. Passing through winding halls, he again arrived at the chapel of the God of Destruction.

Kian sought the same place he had seen in the other dimension.

‘It was at the far right of the chapel.’

Here too was a carving of two snakes entwined. When he set his hand upon it, the heads split apart and revealed a passage large enough for a man to pass.

Kian threw himself in without hesitation.

‘Good.’

Now it was time to uncover the truth of the clues he had seen in the other dimension.

***

A little earlier.

Lucien quietly opened his eyes in the dark.

‘I can’t sleep.’

Though he counted sheep dozens of times, his mind grew not drowsy but clearer as time went on.

At last Lucien gave up on sleep and sat on the bed. Looking at the opposite bed, where clothes made a bulge beneath the blanket, frayed his nerves even more.

‘When will my mate return?’

Tonight, his mate had left without a word. Since he had canceled the plan to move at night, he must have intended to act alone.

From evening until now, Lucien had not slept once. He had been awake even when his mate had thrown off the blanket, though he gave no sign.

‘He must find it easier to act alone.’

His mate was not human.

But at the same time, his mate had no intention of revealing this.

Lucien respected Kian’s secret. Or perhaps, he feared that if it were revealed, his mate would use it as reason to leave his side.

‘Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter.’

Lucien had no thought of discovering Kian’s true identity.

‘If I follow him, I’ll only annoy him.’

He did not think his mate’s ability was lacking either. Lucien had already felt his power several times.

The first was in the goblin village. Thieves who had set their sights on Lucien’s group had tailed them.

The thieves were skilled at concealing their presence. Even Frederick and even Daisy did not seem aware that they were being shadowed.

But when they entered the village, his mate, apart from the group that was searching for the inn, was staring somewhere. At the end of that gaze stood a disguised thief.

It was then that Lucien felt a chill.

-…..!

The thief, who had been scanning the area with a triumphant face, suddenly froze. He trembled all over, seized by panic.

Then one of his comrades spoke to him. The thief shook his body as if he had just woke from a dream and regained his senses.

‘He must have frightened the thief to drive him off.’

It was only his mild nature that kept him from using harsher methods, not lack of skill.