Ceres stared at him, caught off guard by his sudden appearance.
What is this? Is he really just going to show up here randomly?
“Ceres?”
Cheion tilted his head, sensing that something was off about her.
“How is the stall?”
“Huh?”
Still watching Veilks, Ceres continued.
“Is Kainel alone?”
“Oh, I’ll be heading out soon.”
“Keep up the good work.”
“Uh...?”
...What? Am I being kicked out?
It was pretty clear Ceres wanted him to leave. Cheion tilted his head in confusion, then quietly headed outside.
“Nice shop.”
Veilks glanced around the shop and offered a casual remark.
“I guess you like old things.”
“Haha.”
Veilks simply laughed at the way Ceres spoke to him so casually.
“May I sit here?”
“Do you want some stew?”
“If you’ll give me some, I’ll have it.”
“My stew is expensive.”
I hate speaking politely to a murderer like you, and I don’t want to feed you my cooking either. But if you really want some, you’d better pay me well.
“Shouldn’t you give it to me for free?”
“Why would I?”
“Because I spared their life.”
“...Huh?”
Veilks said it with a faint smile. Ceres’s eyes turned cold.
Spared their life? Who?
“The people you’ve sent after me.”
“—!”
“I haven’t killed a single one of them. I’d say that earns me a free meal.”
“......”
He wasn’t wrong. After meeting Veilks at the party, Ceres had sent people after him through the intelligence guild Sky.
Of course, she hadn’t expected much. She already heard that Crown Prince Aseraian had spent a long time investigating the mastermind without finding any significant leads.
Still, she had decided to try just in case. She asked them to keep an eye on Veilks’s movements. As expected, they found nothing.
So he knew...
He was telling her that he had known about everything she’d been doing. He even let her people live, despite having every opportunity to kill them.
“Should I congratulate you, then?”
“Haha.”
When Veilks chuckled again, Ceres scoffed.
I guess he’s not even trying to hide it anymore. He talks about sparing their lives like it was nothing.
“So, I’m guessing you didn’t come all the way here just for a free bowl of stew.”
Did he come to threaten me? To warn me that he already knows I’ve been watching him?
“Do you happen to know?”
Ceres leaned forward slightly and met his gaze.
“Know what?”
“I’m very good at skinning people.”
Stop playing around. If I lose my temper, I might just forget about the consequences and peel that skin right off you.
“......”
At Ceres’s warning, Veilks was silent before a faint smile returned to his lips.
“Long ago.”
A very long time ago...
“There was someone who always got in the way of what I was trying to do.”
“.....?”
Long ago? Why is he suddenly talking about the past?
Ceres frowned slightly when Veilks abruptly changed the subject.
“There was someone who stopped the spread of a plague, exposed the truth about a false saintess, and even broke through an S-rank Black Forest.”
Ceres frowned even deeper at his next words.
“What.....”
Is he talking about me?
“Yes. Just like you.”
“Huh?”
If he’s not talking about me...
“That person had a very special ability.”
Veilks lowered his voice, as though he were about to share a secret.
“The ability to turn back time.”
“.....”
“With that ability, they kept getting in the way of everything I tried to do.”
Ceres’s mind went blank. She could only force herself to keep her expression from giving away her shock.
...What?
Is he talking about me from back then? Just who are you?
Ceres fought the urge to grab him by the collar and demand an answer.
How do you know about me from back then?
“So I stopped everything I was doing at the time. The ability to turn back time was far too dangerous. And then I waited.”
“...For what?”
“For that person to die.”
“.....”
“Thankfully, it wasn’t long before they died.”
“...That must have been nice.”
...Hah, what a b*stard. I should’ve lived a lot longer just to spite him.
“No.”
Veilks shook his head, looking almost disappointed.
“I ended up falling asleep too. I accidentally used too much of my power, you see.”
“What does that...”
Power? What kind of power? No, no! That’s not important right now!
So you’ve been around for three hundred years too?
Ceres genuinely began to wonder what on earth was hiding beneath that skin.
“Ha... Hahahahaha.”
Veilks suddenly burst out laughing under Ceres’s intense gaze.
“Oh, forgive me. I didn’t realize you’d take me so seriously.”
“...A joke?”
“You didn’t actually believe everything I just said, did you?”
After laughing for a while, he continued in a lighthearted tone.
“I was just curious. My grandfather used to talk about you quite a lot, Lady Ceres. I’ve always wanted to meet you myself.”
He put on a sorrowful expression, as though reminding her that he was a grandson who had just lost his grandfather, then slowly rose from his seat.
“I should get going. If I stay any longer, I think I’ll get in trouble with that man.”
He glanced toward Kainel, who was staring intently at them through the window. His eyes crinkled as he smiled before he left the shop.
“.....”
Even as Veilks went outside and exchanged a smile and farewell with Cheion, Ceres couldn’t take her eyes off him.
...A joke? You expect me to believe that?
“Hah.”
...What the hell are you?
Ceres pressed her fingers against her throbbing brow.
.
.
.
Chapter 62: The Holy Spring
“Why did you do that?”
Jutel, who was always at Prince Alex’s side, sought out Veilks on his own for the first time, even though Veilks hadn’t summoned him.
“Why did you go to Ceres yourself...”
He heard that Veilks had recently gone to see Ceres in person.
Why?
He couldn’t understand it. With Marquis Merial having turned into a monster, they were already keeping a close eye on everyone connected to him. So why had Veilks gone to Ceres himself and said something so suspicious?
And Marquis Merial, too.
He couldn’t understand why Veilks had suddenly discarded him. Then again, for Veilks, throwing away someone who was no longer useful was hardly unusual.
But...
When he heard that Marquis Merial had turned into a monster and been killed, he couldn’t shake the strange feeling that came over him.
“I was really curious.”
Veilks stood among countless white flowers, but unlike usual, he wasn’t watering them. The care he normally gave each one was gone. He simply stared at the flowers in boredom.
“Whenever I see her, I think of someone else.”
She was clearly a different person... so why did that woman from long ago keep coming to mind?
“Even though she died a long time ago.”
Why? Why did Ceres keep reminding him of her?
When they had briefly met at the party, the first thing she said upon seeing him had caught him completely off guard.
How did she know?
That he could use curse magic.
“That’s why I wanted to meet her again and talk to her properly.”
Yet seeing her again only left him with more questions.
“She knew right away.”
She didn’t even seem confused when he mentioned the person who had interfered with him long ago.
“How should I put it? It was like she understood immediately.”
She knew exactly who he was talking about.
“...Strange.”
It really was strange. Perhaps it felt even stranger because that man, Grand Duke Persia, was by her side.
Right. That’s strange too.
Why? Why would a man who had kept no one by his side for so long choose to keep her, of all people, so close?
It really makes no sense.
Could it be...?
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter