Chapter 21
Helios merely looked down at her with a frighteningly serious expression, maintaining his silence. His hand, not yet fully lowered, lingered near Enya’s chin. Thinking he might lift the corners of her lips at any moment if he disliked what he saw, Enya widened her smile even more.
“…….”
“…….”
She tilted her head back and met his gaze. Though she hadn’t intended to, she found herself observing Helios closely.
Some strands of his golden hair had clumped together and fallen over his forehead, likely loosened when he held her earlier, yet it did nothing to diminish his beauty. Looking closer, even his hawk-like eyebrows were a slightly darker shade than his sunlit blond hair.
A face that looked like it belonged in the pages of a pristine book, paired with a personality that didn’t match—it was rather unfortunate.
As Enya stared at him, Helios, who had been tracing the corners of her lips and her hollow cheeks with his eyes, finally spoke after a long silence.
“The subjugation unit…”
His voice was low, like someone who had been swimming for a long time.
“As you said, a hundred men would be difficult. However, I’ll give you the roster, so you may select the knights yourself. Ten… that much I can allow.”
Enya’s eyes widened. She had expected to be allowed to bring only the bare minimum; she hadn’t imagined he would compromise like this.
Ten wasn’t quite enough, but it wasn’t bad for dispersing the nightmare demon’s mana. In truth, what worried her most about the subjugation was Laila’s safety. As the chances of Laila getting hurt decreased even slightly, Enya found herself smiling genuinely.
“Alright, I can do that.”
Helios remained expressionless. Afraid he might change his mind, Enya suddenly grabbed his wrist. He immediately shook her off, but she didn’t feel embarrassed.
“As you’ve experienced yourself,”
Enya playfully wiggled her eyebrows before continuing more seriously,
“hallucinations are never something to take lightly. But I promise you, they will all be safe. There are levels even within mental magic.”
“I can’t rely on you alone. They’ll need training as well. It’s their first time facing a mental-type monster like a nightmare demon.”
“Ah, I agree with that too.”
Perhaps because she felt so relieved, polite speech flowed out of her effortlessly.
“If you permit it, I’ll prepare the training. Since falling into hallucinations is inevitable anyway, we need to focus on overcoming them.”
He looked down at her, then gave a small nod. After that, he said nothing. Unsure of his intentions, Enya blinked. Was that permission?
With his gaze resting on her eyelashes, Helios spoke again.
“…Mari.”
“Yes? Yes!”
Mari, who had been standing idly, answered in surprise.
“Report capable knights to the Tower Master. There’s little time, so you don’t need my approval.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Wait, Sir Helios!”
Just as he seemed ready to conclude, Enya quickly cut in.
“Then when would be a good time for our next meeting? Ah, come to think of it, we won’t be able to meet for a while.”
It was the day he had mentioned having a schedule. She didn’t know what he would be doing, but they needed to set a date.
“Please let me know a convenient day.”
“…Once the knights are selected, I’ll send word.”
“Sounds good. Don’t go back on your word, alright? A verbal agreement is still a contract.”
Without replying, he simply turned and walked away. She had expected him to tease or provoke her further, but instead, he stomped off as if annoyed, which she found amusing. Was my smile that unpleasant? Or does hearing formal speech from me creep him out?
Even though she was the one speaking politely, he looked far more irritated.
‘Well, not bad.’
Watching his retreating figure, she cheerfully saw off the other holy knights.
“Mari, I’ll be expecting an excellent roster. Keep the achievements brief, but detail their battle experience and specialties.”
“Yes.”
Gone was the cold or childish demeanor from earlier; Enya now spoke quite warmly. It felt natural, giving her a friendly impression. Though she was generally intimidating, it didn’t mean she couldn’t appear kind.
Even Emperor Targen, who had been notoriously cruel during his time as a prince, acted like a meek raccoon in front of his daughter Ogatai. There was no reason Enya couldn’t be the same.
Though one might not feel fondness for someone who seized the Magic Tower by killing her master, it was difficult to disregard her.
Mari bowed deeply.
“I look forward to seeing you again, Tower Master of Morgenda.”
For the past few days, Enya had been overwhelmingly busy. Using the roster Mari had sent, she had to select knights for the subjugation team, plan individualized training, and organize schedules—darting around like a butterfly newly emerged from its chrysalis.
“Enya, about the training…”
Hasan, who was helping her in the office, spoke while scanning through documents.
“It’s mostly planned out, so we need to coordinate the schedule with Alio. It’d be better to meet and discuss it.”
“Alio” here referred to Helios. Hasan, who was terrible with names, called him Alio, Olio, Halio—whatever came to mind.
Since Enya knew Hasan was always like this, she didn’t bother correcting him. If anything, she hoped he’d make that mistake in front of Helios.
Sinking into a large chair, Enya tapped the papers.
“Why meet? We can just leave it in documents and adjust accordingly.”
Hasan replied indifferently.
“We’ll leave documents anyway, but since each knight has different training, coordinating through carrier pigeons would waste too much time.”
“I have a magic tool that can replace pigeons. Not the crystal balls mages use—something designed for ordinary people. With that, it’s like talking face-to-face…”
It was a communication device she had once extorted from another tower master. As Enya hurriedly searched for it, Hasan shook his head.
“It expired a long time ago.”
“Wait, it was that short-lived?”
“Well, it was made for general use…”
Enya sighed. Until proper training began, she had wanted to avoid seeing Helios as much as possible, but it seemed unavoidable.
“Since we have to go to the capital anyway, how about meeting Helios then and coordinating the training schedule?”
In two days, there would be an event at the publishing company that released Hasan’s book Wilderness.
For some reason, Hasan wanted Enya to come along. She didn’t ask why—if Hasan wanted it, she agreed.
She was always like that. Unless it threatened their safety or lives, she generally granted Hasan and Laila whatever they wanted, without questioning or opposing it.
Just one exception: anything about getting along with Helios.
Even that wasn’t something she consciously recognized.
With a tired face, she said,
“Let’s rest for a few days, then meet Helios. Write down a suitable date and send a letter to the temple.”
“Okay.”
“So, Hasan, when should we go? If there’s anything to prepare, it might be better to leave the day before.”
“……”
“Hasan?”
“…Ah, well.”
As Hasan hesitated, Enya narrowed her eyes with concern.
“Did something happen? You said you were writing an affair novel recently—any trouble?”
“Hah, no. It’s not that…”
Hasan’s gaze shifted to Laila, who pretended not to notice.
You say it, Laila. You’re the one who suggested it.
You agreed too. You’re the one who revised it.
Their silent exchange continued until Enya stood up and sat on the edge of the desk. When Hasan finally gave in, Enya gestured lightly.
“Hasan lost. Talk.”
Hasan hesitated uncharacteristically, then swallowed.
“Enya, my book has no issues. It’s actually a popular theme.”
“Then?”
“The issue is Wilderness. Well, not exactly an issue, but…”
As he kept trailing off, Laila, frustrated, finally spoke.
“Actually, the contents of Wilderness are based on a journal you wrote in the past.”
“……”
“……”
“……What?”
Enya pointed at herself in disbelief. Hasan and Laila nodded like scolded dogs. She pointed at herself again; they nodded again.
“How…? Wait. I burned that journal.”
“You told us to burn it along with other trash.”
Laila raised both hands.
“We secretly kept it, adapted it, changed the names, and published it. So technically… you’re the real author of Wilderness.”
“Why would you do that…”
Hasan and Laila glanced at each other, then back at her.
“Because it felt unfair.”
Laila’s voice grew stronger.
“Everyone talks about you however they want. It felt unfair. We didn’t expect it to become this popular…”
“……”
Enya lowered her head, utterly dumbfounded.
They quietly waited for her anger to explode. No matter how lenient Enya was, this wasn’t something she would overlook.
To be honest, Laila almost wished she would get angry. She was worried, but also slightly hopeful. Ever since her master died, Enya had been endlessly lenient with both Laila and Hasan.
“Hasan.”
After a long silence, Enya finally spoke.
“What do I need to do there?”
Contrary to Laila’s hopes, there was no anger or irritation in her voice— not even the earlier shock. She simply wore a dull, lifeless smile.
“I’m asking what I need to do. There must be a reason you called me.”
Hasan was about to say she didn’t need to do anything, but Laila grabbed his wrist to stop him.
“You just need to sit in the author’s seat. Hasan uses multiple pen names and is known as a faceless writer anyway.”
“So you want me to act as the author.”
“No—you are the real author.”
“…Alright. Got it.”
Laila felt a lump rise in her throat at her calm response.
“You’ll sit there, give autographs to the passionate readers of Wilderness, and hear just how much they adore its protagonist.”
Regardless of their intentions, they had taken Enya’s hidden past and exposed it to the world. No matter how they dressed it up, it was a grave mistake.
Her heart must be tearing apart.
Rather than enduring it silently, Laila wished she would just get angry.
