Chapter 154 - A Nameless Feeling

Rhema Reshith was quietly watching Azriel opening the curtains and going out to the garden. He neither attended the ball nor put on a mask. He just entered in his regular robe, but no one noticed his presence. It was advanced magic. He wondered what Azriel’s first ball would be like. He also wanted to know whether the dress he picked would match her well. It was a kind of excuse. Even though he had allowed her to come, he still attended on impulse. He had been watching her since she entered the ballroom. From a distance, he also watched her dancing with a blond man. However, he did not follow her to the other side of the curtains.

Usually, he would have done so out of his respect for her private life, but this time, it was purely because he was afraid that Azriel would notice if he approached her. Azriel had a keen sense for mana. Even if she was not paying attention to her dragon eye and he was hiding with advanced magic, she would notice his presence by intuition if he approached her that closely. If Azriel had not been so keen, he would have followed her inside the curtains. Even though she would definitely be disappointed in him if he did such a crazy thing, he could not wait to know what kind of conversation she was having with that man at the moment. ‘Why?’

Rhema could not explain his current state. He had felt similarly whenever Azriel paid attention to other people, but he had never felt extreme distress until now. This was way more unpleasant than her cherishing others and treating and giving affection to the seed. The person who danced with her, the one who invited her to the ball, must be Charlene. He was the person who was recently added to the list of people Azriel knew and the person Rhema did not kill nine years ago at Azriel’s request. Rhema Reshith tried to think rationally.

It was a positive thing that Azriel loved someone; it would increase the chance of her choosing a normal life in pursuit of love rather than digging into the dangerous truth. Then, there would be no reason for him to kill her. The king was a wealthy and powerful person. If he was earnest, he would make her happy enough. Rhema would only have to verify he was a good person, come up with more safety devices not to repeat the same mistake from nine years ago, erase her memories, and leave her.

That was it. Azriel would forget about him and live a peaceful and happy life, and he would return to the daily life that he had been maintaining for a thousand years. The egg would not crack anymore. Ofeq would also be quiet. Everything would be resolved cleanly. It was something that he should welcome. It was for her. But why was he feeling so unpleasant? Why was he feeling that something would flood inside? Charlene was neither a wizard nor someone harmful to Azriel, but Rhema now wanted to kill the man who grabbed her hand and led her.

At that moment, from far away on the roof of Rhema’s house, the crack that formed on the egg before became bigger again. Instead of going to his master and warning him, the bird swaddled the egg even more fiercely as if to suppress it. Violent things leaked from the enlarged crack. Emotions that had been locked up for too long were very thick. They wetted his inside, which had been dry for so long. They did not make a rapid stream… yet. Rhema did not know the name of the feeling that he was having. Since he would not be able to turn back when he learned it, he subconsciously pretended not to know it. He stood there for a while because his mana would go on a rampage if he moved even slightly.

*

Azriel soon found the garden house that Ash told her about. In the garden decorated in white, a garden house that was intertwined with red rose vines stood out easily. The inside of the building was not visible due to the intricately patterned windows and dense rose vines. Azriel raised her voice in front of the garden house. “Lady Lexina von Madriol? Are you there?”

A mumbling reply returned, but Azriel could not hear it well. She thought for a moment and pushed the door slightly. It opened with ease.

“Lady Madriol…!” As soon as she stepped inside, something flew by. As it zoomed past her ear, she did not even try to dodge it. She was only a little surprised. After hitting the wall of the garden house, the thing fell and rolled on the floor. Confirming what it was, Azriel raised her eyebrow. It was a flashy woman’s dress shoe made with white leather.

“Why is this…” Looking around, Azriel was stupefied by the scene before her eyes. “…L-Lady Madriol?”