The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 72
This wasn’t something to simply end with an ‘Ah, I see.’
“I don’t know how you’ve seen me. I know it might be shocking. But I…”
Hedonia’s fingers, clutching my hand, were trembling.
From this, I could tell how seriously he was taking the situation.
“I have always been sincere in my dealings with you…”
Was he worried that I might feel betrayed?
He might be worrying about being abandoned by me.
“I really…”
Struggling to continue, Hedonia’s attempt to express his situation was pitiful.
The true feelings of the person who had kissed me so fiercely were now starkly revealed.
The image of a trembling puppy, afraid of being abandoned, was vividly imprinted in my mind.
I pictured Hedonia’s desperate struggle to survive alone, concealing his gender all his life.
I interlocked my fingers with his trembling ones, wanting to offer him the words he needed most right now.
“It’s okay, Lord Hedonia.”
I whispered to soothe him.
“I don’t doubt what you’ve shown me all this time. I trust the Hedonia I have come to know.”
That was the raw emotion he had shown me, the efforts he had made for me.
“Thank you for telling me.”
All those facets of him transcended gender; He was simply ‘Hedonia’ as a person.
“…You.”
Hedonia’s voice choked up slowly, his eyes reddening, as he responded to my words.
“How do you always know just what I need to hear?”
“I don’t try to; it just happens.”
I chuckled lightly.
“You can cry if you need to. Holding back tears can make you sick.”
He wiped his eyes with his fingers, murmuring.
“…I won’t cry in front of you.”
“Oh? Then perhaps you’ll cry elsewhere?”
At my words, Hedonia let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
“…I just don’t want to cry. Instead…”
He dived onto the bed and then sat beside me.
“I want to stay like this.”
Leaning against the bed’s headboard and lowering his height, he rested his head on my shoulder. It was an uncharacteristic show of childlike behavior from him.
It was a vulnerable side, different from the mature front he always maintained in front of me…
But this fragility reassured me more.
“Then I will too.”
I comfortably leaned back in his direction as well.
As we stayed like that for a while, my eyes began to close.
It was a blissful night, as if floating gently on clouds.
* * *
Robert frowned and paced around the room in a full circle.
He had just finished inspecting his domain and had heard a report on the affected population.
But even after hearing it, his questions remained.
He met with Cayden to alleviate his frustration.
After all, Cayden had volunteered to take charge of this incident as he had the previous one.
“What in the world is going on? Cayden, you took it upon yourself to investigate. You should have been able to figure something out by now.”
He confronted Cayden, who was standing before him.
Though older, Cayden was an A-class Esper, recognized for his exceptional abilities.
His power was hypnotism.
As an Esper, he was popular because he could temporarily enhance the abilities of other Espers during operations.
His ability to self-hypnotize also made him capable of solo combat.
His opinion was respected, not just because he volunteered, but because he was one of the few individuals who could thoroughly investigate people with his rare psychic ability.
However, Cayden had failed to find any evidence or clues regarding the incident among Charlotte’s acquaintances.
“…I apologize.”
Considering Cayden’s abilities, it was bizarre.
The number of Espers was strictly managed.
Given the power and status they were afforded, it was only natural.
Of course, Robert had a hand in it.
The number of guides was also determined based on the number of Espers managed.
“I have found a commonality between the last incident and this one,”
Cayden finally spoke, stoically receiving Robert’s criticism.
“The difficulty of the dungeons seems to be increasing. We need to assign more Espers to each region,”
Cayden proposed a solution, causing Robert to frown.
“…That means we also need to increase the number of guides, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Tch.”
Instead of responding verbally, Robert just clicked his tongue, clearly reluctant to agree.
“Let’s try to resolve it with what we have now. It might not even be a dungeon issue. Who knows, there could be another reason.”
Disagreeing with Robert was not an option.
Cayden nodded.
“…You make a valid point.”
Robert looked at Cayden and then cleared his throat.
“I just hope the nobles aren’t sacrificed too much.”
At least the Espers who disappeared this time were of common origin.
Hearing Robert’s muttered words, Cayden paused.
His eyes trembled, disturbed.
Robert, perceptive as ever, noticed.
He smirked, almost mockingly, as he murmured.
“You seem surprised. You still remember ‘that time,’ I see.”
“…I apologize.”
“That time was unavoidable. It was different from now.”
Cayden’s hands tensed as he listened to the stream of justifications, but his lips remained tightly sealed as if they were zipped shut.
“Surely you don’t think that the sacrifice of your wife was entirely our fault?”