When the Guide Stopped Playing a Villainess, the Obsession Began - Chapter 18
Back in her own palace, Lea looked at Zion, who hesitated to leave, with a puzzled expression.
“What is it?”
“Lady Haisley, there’s a wound on your cheek. I believe it should be treated…”
“Ah…”
She had forgotten that the shard from the porcelain vase had grazed her cheek. Lea reflexively lifted her hand to touch it, but Zion was faster. He gently grabbed her wrist.
“If you touch it, the wound might worsen. Please wait a moment.”
Zion took out a small round tin from his inner pocket and opened it.
“Do all knights carry ointment like you do?”
At her question, Zion let out a faint smile.
“During training, you’re bound to get small and large injuries, so we carry it ourselves.”
“I see…”
Lea recalled a scene from the past—Calix carefully applying ointment to Lucy’s wounded fingers as if he were handling something precious.
Lucy had never discriminated against Espers and had guided them freely. She had taken good care of the war orphans as well.
Back then, Lea had been too blinded by inferiority and jealousy to see her clearly, but now she understood it all too painfully.
That must have been why Calix cherished her so deeply.
Lucy, a rabbit werebeast with striking white hair and red eyes, had a gentle appearance that seemed incapable of telling even the smallest lie.
That was why the mocking sneer she gave right before Lea’s execution had felt so jarringly unreal, so out of place that Lea had wondered if she had imagined it.
What had that sneer meant back then?
A wave of unease with no known source washed over her.
Zion, noticing Lea’s slightly furrowed brow, asked,
“Does it sting?”
Instead of answering, she slowly shook her head.
Yes, it stung.
The truth about how immature and foolish she had been in the past now made her uncomfortable. It hurt.
“Still, it would be best to summon the court physician and have the wound looked at.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Even though she knew he was only being kind because of her guiding, Lea still expressed her gratitude to Zion.
“It’s nothing. Then…”
He hesitated for a moment, putting the ointment tin back in his pocket while his gaze wavered.
Rather than ask what was wrong, Lea quietly reached out and clasped his hand tightly.
As soon as she began guiding him, his expression went hazy with bliss.
“…Thank you, Lady Haisley.”
Even though she had guided him once already before going to the Empress’s palace, he still seemed unsatisfied.
With a look tinged with longing, Zion gave his thanks and slowly walked out of her quarters, as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to leave.
Lea understood the Espers’ desire well.
For now, a simple touch and a brief guiding might be enough to satisfy them… but it wouldn’t take long before they’d start wanting all of that Guide—completely.
Of course, in the past, there hadn’t been a single Esper who had desired her.
Any other Guide would have been wanted… but her?
How much must they have hated her, for not even one Esper to have wanted her?
Still, she was human. A part of her didn’t dislike the way Zion sought her attention.
Even if she was deceiving him, she intended to continue guiding him consistently.
A little while later, Rose came to visit, and through her, Lea summoned the court physician to treat the wound on her cheek once more.
That was when the Emperor’s chief steward arrived.
“By order of His Majesty the Emperor, I’ve brought the imperial seamstress, Lady Haisley.”
Lea suddenly wondered if the Emperor had ever sent a seamstress to Calix in the past. After all, after Calix got that scar on his face, he had always worn a mask.
Remembering how proud she had felt back then, thinking she had done something meaningful… she could taste the bitterness now.
