The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 217
The sight of all the Espers sprawled out on the ground was reminiscent of corpses.
‘That might be an accurate description.’
If Hedonia, Pheon, Esban, and Shaelock hadn’t done their jobs properly, those lying there might have actually been corpses.
“The moment I’ve been waiting for so long…”
Cayden laughed out loud, sounding dejected.
“Then let’s send the criminal to the underground prison. Now that things are somewhat settled, he should pay for his crimes,”
Shaelock, who had finished receiving guidance and stood up beside me, ordered.
“I’ll do it,”
Esban, who had returned after closing the gate, stepped forward at Shaelock’s words and tightly gripped the rope binding Cayden.
Cayden, who had seemed indifferent to Esban until now, glared at him.
“If only you hadn’t come back…”
“Fortunately, I was able to prevent Father from taking an irreversible path,”
Esban replied calmly, then gripped the rope even tighter. The veins in his clenched fist bulged. Despite his words, it must have been difficult for him to accept Cayden’s change.
…Still, I truly respected Esban as a human being for accepting the current reality.
I stood in front of Esban and extended my hand. It was a gesture of respect I could offer him.
Esban stared at me blankly, seemingly gauging the meaning of my outstretched hand.
“You have returned.”
He seemed to have forgotten about the guidance in all the chaos. As I reminded him first, Esban let out an “Ah” sound.
“…Thank you.”
With a soft voice, Esban reached out his hand to me. I grasped it firmly.
“You… aren’t you disappointed in our family?”
Esban spoke haltingly.
“It’s understandable to feel that way.”
“It wasn’t even your mistake, Lord Esban. I think it’s admirable how you’re stepping up now.”
“…”
“I can hardly believe you’re the same person I met at first.”
At my words, Esban’s face, which had been clouded, gradually brightened.
“Anyone can make mistakes, and in this case, it wasn’t even because of you, Lord Esban…”
The way he moved forward while shouldering the responsibility of his family was literally exemplary of nobility.
“Thank you for saying that.”
Esban smiled faintly with a relieved expression.
“Thank you for making me not regret choosing this path.”
Esban, whispering to me, turned around with Cayden in tow.
“Tsk, tsk, how could Esban be at fault?”
Shaelock, standing next to me, clicked his tongue.
“By the way… when did you improve your guiding skills so much? I used my power so diligently, but I wasn’t getting tired at all”
“Haha.”
…As I was trying to avoid saying that I improved through bodily conversation because it was embarrassing, Hedonia gently pulled me away from Shaelock into his arms and replied.
“Through the method the princess is thinking of.”
“…Lord Hedonia!”
“I deliberately didn’t use the word because I thought you wouldn’t like it.”
“Hmm, as expected… s****l intercourse is the best method. Both for guiding and improving skills.”
At Hedonia’s words, Shaelock muttered with a serious face without blinking.
“It’s a pity that I or Karina don’t like the same s*x. Otherwise, I would have taken the duke’s position.”
Shaelock made a genuinely regretful face and then hugged me tightly.
“Anyway, thanks to Karina, we were able to resolve this issue safely. Good job.”
After that, Shaelock smiled at me.
“Get ready to come to the coronation ceremony soon.”
“…Coronation ceremony?”
“Yes, I think I’ll be inheriting the emperor’s throne. The senile emperor has held on for a long time.”
“Has he passed away?”
“Probably.”
There was an ambiguous part in Shaelock’s words. As I tilted my head, Shaelock continued to explain his statement.
“I left the emperor in a rough state when we came out earlier. It wouldn’t be strange if he lost his life in this chaos. To non-Espers, that is.”
Shaelock spoke calmly about the possibility of his father’s death.
“You’ve been expecting this.”
“…Because of the emperor’s power to use Espers as he pleased, I’ve been living with my head down until now. I can’t miss this opportunity.”
Shaelock winked at me.
“He tried to poison me too, so we’re actually even. He might still be alive. He’s quite tenacious.”
But Shaelock’s face suggested he had an intuition that the emperor was already dead.
“You could call it the only gift Cayden gave me… or maybe his revenge. He must have always been sharpening his blade of vengeance.”
I shuddered, remembering when I saw Emperor Adron.
Honestly, just hearing Shaelock’s words, such an anticlimactic death was hard to imagine.
“This is often how truly bad people go, you know.”
Shaelock patted my shoulder and exhaled deeply.
“I need to return to the imperial palace first and sort out the situation. Pheon, follow me.”
Pheon, with a disheveled face, nodded while wiping sweat.
It was a bit pitiful to see him still suffering, even though the brainwashing wasn’t his fault.
After all, the confinement hadn’t even lasted an hour.
“See you later, Miss Karina.”
Pheon whispered to me before trotting after Shaelock.
‘The honorific is back.’
It was unexpected that he even changed the way he addressed me, when I thought he would smoothly move on as usual.
Still, trusting Pheon was the right choice. He quickly broke free from the brainwashing and then acknowledged his mistake, immediately guiding us to the festival.
“Karina.”
Hedonia whined, resting his face on my shoulder.
“Let’s go home now.”
Hedonia’s golden eyes, looking up at me, shone like the sun in the sky.
…Finally, the missing Esper case that had been troubling us was resolved.
The unsettling incident ended, and changes came to the key figures of the country.
Cayden Cairoze became a criminal, and Emperor Adron’s survival was uncertain.
Although as soon as one problem was solved, another arose…
‘After experiencing this today, I feel confident that I can accomplish anything.’
Hedonia also succeeded in breaking the brainwashing on everyone affected.
“Karina, call my name.”
Hedonia, still gazing at me, spoke in a whiny tone.
“You don’t usually act like this…”
“Today was really tough.”
Hedonia said with a heavy sigh. It was surprising to hear these words from Hedonia, who usually didn’t show signs of struggle.
“I wasn’t sure if I could really do it…”
Hearing his words, I realized once again how dangerous the task he had to accomplish today was.
“It was possible because you were there.”
“…The same goes for me.”
The reason I was able to guide four Espers today without collapsing was also because of Hedonia.
I was able to do it because Hedonia was there.
“Let’s go rest.”
Hedonia began to move, holding me in his arms. I smiled, knowing where he was likely taking me.
“We’re really just sleeping today, right?”
“I’ll try my best.”
“You’re already exhausted enough.”
“This is how I rest.”
Seeing Hedonia’s comfortable smile, I felt all the tension leave my body. Well, what’s good is good.
‘If that’s what Hedonia wants.’
It’s just spending happy time with the person I love. I wrapped my arms around Hedonia’s neck, hugging him, and kissed his cheek.
Hedonia glanced at me sideways.
“How am I supposed to hold back until we get there?”
“I was just encouraging you to hold back.”
His platinum hair tickled my neck.
“You can be more mischievous than me sometimes.”
That was really an unfair thing to say. But Hedonia, already heading towards the mansion, didn’t seem to hear it.
