When the Guide Stopped Playing a Villainess, the Obsession Began - Chapter 5
There was no way someone like her would feel pity for Lea just because she was her biological daughter. Lea had to silently endure the full week, chewing on rotten meat.
During her confinement, she thought constantly.
Is this situation really a dream?
Everything felt far too vivid and raw for that to be true. Even the stench of rot was nauseatingly real.
If it wasn’t a dream, then… could it be that the heavens were giving her a second chance?
If this utterly absurd situation truly was reality, then there was only one thing she wanted.
I want to live… for Cal.
As Lea mumbled inwardly, a sudden burst of bright light made her squint.
The people who entered were knights directly under Bianca, some of the few who knew the truth about Bianca and Lea.
“Excuse us, Lady Haisley.”
Among them, one man caught her eye.
The eldest son of Duke Grayson—Zion de Grayson.
He was the elder brother of Ilion de Grayson, currently Calix’s only supporter.
Because the two brothers served leaders on opposing sides, Ilion and Zion had a notoriously poor relationship.
Still, as the duke’s heir, Zion couldn’t be dismissed lightly.
Lea didn’t know how long this dream would last, but until it ended, she wanted to do nothing but help Calix.
Because it felt like the only way she could atone.
Lea’s golden eyes glinted sharply as they locked onto Zion.
Though the knights showed her courtesy as the empress’s daughter, there were no feelings beyond that. With an indifferent hand, the knight roughly removed her collar.
Well, in this vast imperial palace, not holding a noble title meant she wasn’t someone they were required to serve.
She was just ‘Lady Haisley’, nothing more.
The collar had been a magical device invented in the Leonis Empire, used to forcibly transform werebeasts into their animal form.
Once the collar, which had tightened so much she could barely breathe, was gone, she felt as if she could live again.
Lea calmly met the knights’ eyes. All of them were Espers who obeyed only Bianca’s orders.
Without Bianca’s guiding, they would eventually lose their minds from the pain of accumulated energy and die from going berserk.
Their absolute devotion to Bianca stemmed solely from the need to stay alive.
Lea looked up at them in thought.
If she was to plan anything going forward, she needed at least one connection among them.
The betrayal of someone she trusted at a critical moment would be the perfect way for a plan to fall apart.
Especially if that someone was one of Bianca’s people, but even more reason to maintain a tie.
The knights, accustomed to the procedure, laid down clothes in front of her and blocked off the space with a large cloth.
Lea, having returned to her human form, spoke in her human voice for the first time in a long while.
“I’m dressed, sir.”
“…Then, we’ll remove the screen.”
The knights, now hearing her speak in formal language—unlike before—looked at her uneasily.
She had no title, so it was appropriate for her to address the noble-born knights with courtesy. But her mother was their superior, which made it all the more uncomfortable.
Especially for knights, who adhered strictly to hierarchy, Lea was a difficult figure to deal with.
Lea stepped forward with an innocent expression. As she moved, she deliberately staggered toward Zion.
He caught her hand and firmly supported her so she wouldn’t fall.
“…Are you all right?”
His voice, which had been indifferent a moment ago, now wavered slightly.
“Yes. Just… a bit weak…”
Giving a vague answer, she carefully observed Zion’s condition.
She’d heard that Espers felt immensely comforted even from mere skin contact with a Guide.
That even without actual guiding, it was like receiving aromatherapy.
That’s why the current emperor couldn’t let go of Bianca.
It was said that from the moment of awakening, Espers endured the pain of walking barefoot across a desert made of razor-sharp glass.
They could never resist the temptation of even momentary relief from that pain.
Knowing this was her opportunity, Lea subtly attempted a guiding while Zion supported her without wavering.
“…Please lean on me.”
In the past, Lea had not been a high-ranking Guide.
Espers and Guides were divided into high, mid, and low ranks.
While Espers varied greatly in abilities, a Guide’s rank was determined solely by the quality and quantity of their guiding.
If high-grade guiding was a waterfall, mid-grade was a fountain, and low-grade was like a pot of soup simmering on a stove.
Though she was a low-ranking Guide, Lea had trained herself relentlessly to become skilled at controlling her power to give efficient guiding with limited energy.
Giving him the tiniest drop of guiding—barely noticeable—and pretending nothing had happened, Lea could tell that Zion’s tone had grown a touch more respectful than before.
He must be confused.
After all, he probably thought the only Guide was the empress.
