chapter 38

As the sun went down and darkness came, the rain that had been falling for two consecutive days suddenly became weaker and looked like it would stop at any moment. May went into her room, saying that she wanted to go to bed early. Cersinia stood up to give Ben a place so he could sleep in the living room and told him to stay there so what happened this morning wouldn’t happen twice.

“Cersinia,” Ben called her, who got up to get the blanket.

“What?”

“I think I need to go to the capital for a while.”

“Now?” Cersinia’s eyes widened in surprise.

She looked at the window, it had been long since the sunset, so outside was already pitch-black and there was not a single light outside.

“It’s already past 9 o’clock, and you’re going to go to the capital now?”

“I’ll be back before noon.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go in the morning?”

“I think I need to leave now so I can come back before noon. Will you wait for me?”

It seemed like they were concerned about different things since Cersinia was not worried about when he would come back but about the fact that it was already dark outside. As she thought about it, Ben watched her carefully.

‘It was me who disappeared without a word.’

He can’t help but feel sorry for asking her to wait again.

“Have a safe trip.”

Even though Cersinia was still disappointed, she still cared for him. Cersinia then closed her mouth as she had finished what she had to say.

“Yes…”

Ben replied sadly. He wanted a definite answer but didn’t ask her again. With his shoulders drooping, he picked up the uniform hanging next to the fireplace and said.

“I’ll go change.”

Cersinia nodded as she heard his gloomy voice. Then she pointed to her own room. Ben took his uniform and headed towards Cersinia’s room with heavy steps. Cersinia chuckled upon seeing Ben, whose shoulders were droopy, not befitting his large size. As she was smiling alone, something round came into her eyes, twinkling in the light.

When she approached and took it from the floor she realized that it was a dark red button with golden stitchings. It was obvious that it had fallen from Ben’s uniform, and judging by its size she couldn’t tell if it was a front or sleeve button. Cersinia took the button and headed to her room, in case Ben was looking for it.

“Ben, the button…”

Cersinia, who was entering the room, couldn’t continue her words and covered her mouth. Shocked, the button in her hand fell to the floor helplessly.

“Ah…”

Ben looked like he was trying to hide something as he turned around and quickly put on his uniform while clearly feeling a presence behind his back.

“…What’s that?”

“…What are you talking about, Cersinia?”

Ben pretended not to understand. It was like a silent request for her not to ask, but Cersinia couldn’t let it go. The wounds she saw were stuck in her mind and shocked her to her core.

“The…The wounds on your back.”

“…”

He frowned. Ben didn’t want Cersinia to see it. He really hoped she didn’t see it. A dark shadow fell on his face, stained with misery.

“What happened?”

She saw them clearly, under the moonlight. There were wounds all over his back and that reminded her of the past, of when she has treated his wounds multiple times. But if she remembered correctly she ended up getting rid of most of them. The only few left were the unusual ones on his shoulder and even those were barely visible. But now, there were so many wounds on his back that it made her speechless. He had more wounds than she had fingers. And there were all types of them, mostly scratches made by claws, other parts looked like torn skin, and long dark red wounds. They all looked like they were embroidered on his back.

“They are wounds from training. It’s nothing.”

Ben said hurriedly as if he just thought of an excuse.

“What kind of training causes you to have wounds like that?”

“I’m telling you. They are wounds from sword training.”

Cersinia faced Ben with her lips pursed…Ben was lying now.

‘Ben lied to me…’

Everyone would know that they weren’t wounds caused by training. Nevertheless, he was lying. Even though he knew he would get caught.

“It’s really nothing.”

Ben approached Cersinia, standing firm. As if nervous, he couldn’t find it in him to hold Cersinia’s hand. Instead, he grabbed her sleeve. Cersinia looked up at Ben, standing in front of her while biting her own lips.

‘Why are you hiding it? And what happened during the three years you disappeared?’

Question came rushing through her mind but she didn’t ask since she knew he wouldn’t answer. He lied before even though he knew he would get caught doing so, so she knew he wouldn’t tell her anything.

“Let me pick this up, thank you by the way.”

Ben lowered himself to pick up buttons that fell on the floor. Cersinia stared at his back, covered by a shirt.

‘The wounds on his back…’

She clasped her hands tightly. If she didn’t do that, she might have forcefully lifted his shirt and checked his wounds. It really took everything out of her to turn away from him and leave the room. It was then that she had a gut feeling that the wounds on his back were related to why he hadn’t given her any news for three years. And at that thought her crimson eyes gleamed.

* * *

It was 4 am and obviously everyone was asleep, well except two people. Limapheus glanced at the uninvited guest, who came at dawn, with dissatisfied eyes.

“Do you know what time it is?”

Ben strode forward and stopped in front of Limapheus, who was very nervous. In formal attire and in an upright posture, Ben looked so different than when he was with Cersinia. The dark red lion on his uniform looked huge even under the dim moonlight. Ben looked indifferently at the Crown Prince, who was glaring at him. The Crown Prince greeted him in comfortable clothes, showing that he had just woken up. And as if to make Ben uncomfortable about the fact that he came at this time to see a Prince.

“I came to meet you directly after coming back to the capital, Your Highness.”

Standing in front of him, Ben ended his greeting with courtesy.

“I’m really at a loss for words. Who told you to meet me at dawn?”

The Crown Prince scolded Ben, who answered in an emotionless voice, in a brotherly manner. The spacious room, where the two of them were, was adorned with colorful furniture. The marble floor and antique pillars were sculptures like works of art, and on the high ceiling, the paintings by Mirandriel, who was called a genius in the Empire, spread out like wild plants. There were numerous works of art that couldn’t be bought even by selling everything in the room. Ben clicked his tongue inwardly towards the Crown Prince, who was still enjoying luxury.

‘I told you to be a little frugal.’

“Show your face more often, or else I’ll forget what you look like.”

The Crown Prince complained to Ben, whom he had not seen in a long time. Ben ignored him and held out the documents he was holding. He had to get to the point and go back to Cersinia. Every second of being away from Cersinia was a waste to him.

“What is this?”

The Crown Prince looked through the documents he had received one by one. His face hardened sharply as he read the documents.

“Is this real?”

“Please deal with it.”

“Alex, I asked if this was real.”

“We’ve already found out the location of their base.”

“Huh…”

‘How long has he been investigating this?’

Limapheus couldn’t believe that the Empire was making money by trafficking humans just because he forbid prostitution. He was stunned by the outrageous truth.

“Alex, what do you want by doing this?”

There must have been a reason for him, who does not engage in any political activities, to suddenly step up.

“Please deprive Count Dexter of his title.”

“Count Dexter is the vassal of Duke Kailos. And Duke Kailos would never stand still if he knew you were involved in handling this case. Don’t you know?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Ben’s eyes showed no sign of wavering, instead it flared up with even more determination in the subtle darkness. Upon seeing that the Crown Prince became curious as to why Ben was so determined.

‘He, the one who didn’t have anything he wanted or wished for, suddenly wanted something from me? Could the reason be because of what I heard last time?’

“Is it because of that woman I heard about?”

Ben’s eyebrows flinched subtly at the question, and the small move wasn’t missed by Limapheus’s keen eyes.”

“Oho, I guess I’m right.”

‘I can’t believe that person, who always acted like an emotionless doll, changed like this. I wonder who this woman is?’

Limapheus’s blue eyes gleamed with deep interest, like a child who had found an interesting toy.

“Please deal with it.”

“Show me the woman who changed you.”

“Your Highness.”

Ben growled violently, a dangerous glint shone in his dark eyes, and he looked like he could bite off the Crown Prince’s neck at any given moment. It was a serious warning for him, not to show the slightest interest in her.

“I won’t let you off the hook even if it’s a slight interest.”

Ben’s gaze was sharp, showing the fact that he was completely serious.