Far.

The short distance from the main hall to the bedroom felt exceedingly long for Hades Croitner, a first in his life.

Donovan Castle was not just where he was born and raised, but also a place synonymous with a destiny he had to shoulder; he should have been able to walk from the spire to the underground dungeon without difficulty.

But now…

‘Why isn’t she saying anything?’

Hades sneaked a glance at Angelica. She was walking, staring straight ahead with a poker face, entirely different from her usual happy self after vanquishing demons.

Of course, she had run toward him with a wide smile just a while ago, in front of everyone.

But even if others didn’t know, Hades knew how easy it was to see through Angelica’s acting.

Whenever Angelica feigned expressions, wrinkles formed on her nose bridge.

The smile she lifted high was bright and pretty, but felt awkward somewhere. Probably because he had seen her genuine smile.

‘…All madeup.’

Meaning, Angelica’s current cold, masklike expression reflected her real emotions.

Hades suppressed the urge to ask her what was wrong. He was nothing to Angelica. He had no obligation to scrutinize her feelings, and she had no obligation to report to him meekly.

The problem was still the absurd urges to know all her trivial thoughts.

“Your Majesty.”

Angelica opened her mouth for the first time after entering the bedroom. Hades’ heartbeat quickened ever so slightly.

“How were the demons today?”

His heart sank. He had been foolish to expect something and be disappointed.

“They were strong.”

Still, hiding his feelings, Hades answered curtly.

“Thanks to your excellent strategy, we were able to win.”

A surprised expression flitted across Angelica’s face.

“It wasn’t me; it was the Holy Sword.”

“You think I’m a fool, Holy Maiden?”

Hades couldn’t hold back any longer. Having actually implemented Angelica’s plan and fought the demons, what was a vague suspicion became a certainty.

Angelica was intentionally hiding her own merits.

He decided he wouldn’t play along with her truths mixed with lies anymore.

“Sure, the Holy Sword may have revealed their powers.”

A strange expression floated onto Angelica’s face. Hades didn’t like it.

Especially because she looked as if she knew something he didn’t.

“But if it’s the Holy Sword, there’s no need to think of something like oil. The one who thought of using oil as a tactic was you.”

Silence ensued. Angelica avoided his gaze and looked outside the window, but quickly turned her head away startled by the blizzard pounding the glass.

Hades Croitner was standing right there.

Realizing she had nowhere to run, a resigned expression appeared on Angelica’s face.

“You know well.”

“Of course.”

Hades bowed his head to look directly at her. They had closed the distance so much that he could hear even her shallow breathing.

“Ah, worse things might come!”

Angelica took a few steps back, seemingly emphasizing that her mind was full of thoughts about demons. Hades lifted the corners of his mouth.

“Is that what the Holy Sword said?”

The moment Angelica’s pupils shook, a pointless curiosity crossed his mind.

Just like he saw through Angelica’s fake smiles and laughter, did she see through him?

“…That’s what I think.”

Angelica moistened her lower lip with her tongue. A habit when she was extremely tense.

“I think the same.”

Hades calmly admitted.

“It’s frightening to think what might come next.”

For a moment, Hades hesitated at his own words.

Strange fears he could never express to others often sprang forth in front of this peculiar woman.
Angelica gazed up at him thoughtfully. A corner of her heart twitched suddenly at his clear eyes that resembled the sky.

Hades thought. Perhaps, this is…

Merely a natural feeling one has for someone you want to trust but have no reason to.

“You have something you fear as well, Your Highness.”

Hades looked squarely at Angelica. He became curious about how she would react to the sincerity that had inadvertently burst out.

“Are you disappointed, holy maiden?”

“Not at all.”

Angelica answered with an exaggerated tone.

“I simply wish to lighten Your Highness’s burden a little.”

The heart that had swelled slightly with expectation sank instantly. Even a threeyearold could tell those words weren’t sincere.

Angelica, despite her poor acting skills, was a person whose depths were inscrutable, a mystery.

She didn’t have many years left to live; multiple doctors had crossverified this.

But…

‘You think a lot. And your movements are strange too. You don’t act like someone who is about to die.’

Would a person who claims and appears to have no regrets about life fuss over an array of rare seeds in a greenhouse, to the extent the gardener makes a fuss?

When those seeds sprout, become trees, and bear fruit, by then she would no longer be in this world, would she?

Another question was why her meager holy power produced such extravagant results.

But the biggest problem was something else.