The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 212
I was ready to meet Hedonia. Of course, I thought he would come to meet me.
Not only that, but I had also finished planning to tease him and pull him out of the current situation. Knowing Hedonia, who would lose his cool over anything related to Karina, I believed it was more than possible.
“Where is Karina?”
“…”
However, after listening to Pheon, I was confused.
‘Have I been brainwashed?’
What Karina said, which I initially thought was nonsense, now had some credibility.
“…Duke Apharantes.”
“What is it?”
Hedonia frowned, intending to interrogate Pheon.
He thought Pheon would say something to shake him, but unexpectedly, Pheon remained silent. Instead, he looked at him seriously, which was unfamiliar.
It was a seriousness entirely different from his usual mischievous or polite demeanor.
“Is there a way to know if I’ve been brainwashed?”
“Brainwashed?”
“Yes, when you brainwashed me, at least I was aware that it had happened.”
Hedonia narrowed his eyes.
“…Is this after meeting Cayden?”
“Yes. After meeting Cayden that day, my thoughts changed, but I considered it part of my own self. However…”
If he had started to doubt, there must have been a reason.
“It’s because of Karina, isn’t it?”
Pheon didn’t deny it.
“There are two situations when brainwashing can be undone: when the caster’s magic is depleted or when the caster dies.”
“Is Cayden Cairoze’s magic that vast?”
“…Cayden’s brainwashing is different from mine. It’s weaker, but even if it’s undone, the remnants of the thoughts remain. However, the brainwashing on you seems to be continuing sufficiently.”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because normally, you wouldn’t have the thought of wanting to imprison Karina.”
At Hedonia’s words, Pheon let out a small laugh.
“That’s natural.”
He was confident.
“Isn’t that a feeling you have as well, Lord Hedonia?”
“I’m not stupid enough to openly admit it.”
Hedonia grabbed Pheon by the collar with a blank expression.
“If you’re revealing it openly now, it’s clear you’ve been brainwashed.”
Hedonia’s eyes gleamed. Pheon flinched but merely shrugged his shoulders, not fighting back against Hedonia.
[I believe in the Lord Pheon I’ve known all this time.]
Karina’s words, trusting him when he didn’t even trust himself, lingered in his mind.
‘…If I really have been brainwashed.’
He didn’t want to make Karina suffer because of something beyond his control.
Thinking of Karina when she first appeared as a stand-in, Pheon closed his eyes and surrendered himself to Hedonia.
* * *
“What do you mean by that?”
“No one knows how long I’ve waited for this moment.”
Muttering quietly, Cayden was now unreserved. He knew he could no longer hide. Watching Hedonia and Pheon facing off against the rampaging espers, Cayden laughed loudly.
“Ha ha!”
Revealing his true intentions for the first time, he felt a sense of relief. How much had he suppressed himself for the sake of revenge?
“Father, are you serious?”
Esban, who had rushed to Cayden with a desperate look on his face, asked urgently. Cayden looked at his adopted son impassively.
The boy he had brought in as a child always had eyes full of trust, as if nothing else in the world existed.
But now, those eyes were filled with betrayal, so clear even to Cayden.
“Tell me I’m misunderstanding something.”
“Why did you come back?”
Esban flinched at the reprimand in his voice.
“I came back to ask you. I wanted to prove that their suspicions were baseless, to tell you they are sorry for misunderstanding.”
His trembling voice showed how shocked he was.
“W-Why… Why did you do it?”
“Don’t ask why.”
Cayden muttered calmly, looking at Esban.
“I lived for this moment.”
Since that day, Cayden had never truly felt alive.
‘…He doesn’t intend to live at all.’
Esban realized that Cayden had no plans for what would happen after this. The person who had given him a new life as a child was already prepared to die.
“I won’t let you go like this.”
Esban sheathed his sword and restrained Cayden.
Even though espers had physical abilities far beyond ordinary people, Cayden couldn’t overcome Esban’s physical prowess. Their abilities as espers were different.
“Whether I move or not, the chaos has already begun, hasn’t it?”
“I respect your feelings, Father, but that doesn’t mean I condone sacrificing so many lives.”
Esban tied Cayden up with rope.
“Have you forgotten that I am an esper too?”
Cayden laughed mockingly.
“I’ll take care of him.”
Esban looked up at the familiar voice.
“Cayden. You are the disgrace of the Cairoze family.”
Christopher Cairoze was watching them.
