Chapter 59

‘This person…’

As if drawn by an unseen force, I slowly looked up.

My gaze landed on the castle wall that was supposed to be completely solid.

Then, I turned toward Ben, who was trembling, eyes shut tight.

And then, I looked at the figure sprawled on the ground.

Lowering my voice so only Ben could hear, I muttered,

“Let’s just get rid of him quietly.”

“H-he’s not dead! And shouldn’t you be worried if he was?!”

“Haha. That’s unfortunate.”

I replied, completely devoid of sympathy, as I stared down at the unconscious intruder.

It was a very attractive face.

The kind of face that would probably get even more popular if it just stayed quiet.

Ahern lay motionless, his lips sealed tight, completely out cold.

But my gaze remained icy.

Why?

Only one question filled my mind.

Why is Ahern here?

The last time I saw him, he was down in the village, drowning himself in alcohol and picking fights.

So why had he wandered into the Demon King’s castle?

Even ordinary people, hardened by a life of struggle, wouldn’t dare step foot into these ruins.

I had never fully let my guard down around Ahern.

The only time he had been useful to me was pure coincidence—like a lucky accident.

And now that he had crawled his way into the Demon King’s castle, my suspicions only deepened.

‘…Should I show him to Adam?’

But then I considered the possibility of Adam getting charmed by Ahern’s silver tongue.

No. That was a terrible idea.

More importantly, how had Ahern even found his way in through a secret passage?

Even I had only discovered it after dozens of attempts.

How did Ahern know?

I crouched down beside the unconscious man.

His long eyelashes didn’t so much as tremble. His tightly shut eyes showed no sign of opening anytime soon.

Leaning in slightly, I whispered near his ear.

“Ahern… how long are you planning to pretend to be asleep?”

“How did you even know about this hole?”

This little passage was, in a way, what had allowed Adam to bring down the Demon King in this timeline.

Through it, he had managed to slip past the beasts and Abraxas, who guarded the castle gates, and infiltrate the Demon King’s fortress before anyone noticed.

Even the Demon King himself had never known of its existence—he had only realized it after Adam’s sword had already struck him down.

And yet… Ahern knew about this entrance?

I called his name sweetly.

Then, lowering my voice so only he could hear, I spoke softly to the unconscious man.

Letting him know I was well aware he was faking it.

Only then did Ahern lazily stir, slowly sitting up.

His murky gray eyes came into view.

“You’re not even worried about the fact that I just got smacked out of nowhere? That hurts, you know.”

“Hmm, well. I don’t see a reason to be kind to a suspicious intruder.”

Smiling brightly, I spelled it out for him.

“I’m not suspicious! I was just… yeah, I was here to sell some goods, and somehow I ended up here.”

“Hoooh.”

I scoffed at his flimsy excuse.

Ben, who had been watching wide-eyed, realized that I seemed to know this guy too. He sidled closer to me while cautiously observing Ahern.

“Isn’t sneaking into the Demon King’s castle already suspicious enough?”

“Wasn’t it because of Potato?”

Ben muttered quietly.

…That was a possibility.

Word had been spreading that a beast guarded the gates of the Demon King’s castle.

Even the emperor had once questioned whether the warrior had somehow tamed a monster.

“That might be true, but…”

I stared at Ahern, who was nodding frantically, feigning innocence.

‘So Abraxas wasn’t the only one who had disappeared.’

I hadn’t seen Ahern for days.

Even when I went down to the village, people said he had vanished, so I had assumed he had simply returned to wherever he originally came from.

But then, suddenly, he appeared here, in the Demon King’s castle?

Something felt off.

And even more troubling—someone else’s actions weren’t adding up.

I had wanted to ask earlier but hadn’t had the chance.

So I turned to the most suspicious person here.

Or rather, the most suspicious demon.

“By the way, Abraxas, what are you doing here?”

“…Huh?”

Abraxas flinched, clearly caught off guard.

He had been about to retort about how it was none of my business, but my next words shut him up completely.

“Abraxas, you can’t leave the Demon King’s domain, can you?”

Unlike the other demons, Abraxas was bound to the castle.

The farthest he could go was the outer gates, including the back garden.

That was why he had always run into Adam’s former companions there.

Because of the oath he had made with the Demon King, he was physically incapable of stepping beyond the castle grounds.

A death pact—one that could only be broken if either side perished.

But since the oath was with the Demon King himself, the contract had been so powerful that even after his master’s death, Abraxas remained bound to the ruins.

“So… what exactly are you doing here?”

Normally, Abraxas never even left his room.

He would just wander through the unused chambers of the castle, hiding himself away.

Since I knew he couldn’t leave the premises, I never worried when he disappeared for long periods.

I had just assumed he had holed himself up in some random room again.

And yet, here he was, in the back garden—a place he never usually visited.

And at the same time, Ahern just so happened to enter through the hidden passage behind the castle wall?

It was all a little too convenient.

‘Could the two of them be connected…?’

A human with some kind of relationship to a demon?

I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

That was a bit too far-fetched.

At that moment, I noticed Abraxas murmuring something to Ben.

Was he… threatening him for knocking him out?

I was about to step in to separate them when—

Ben spoke first.

“Abraxas aside, don’t you think it actually makes sense that he came to sell something?”

“Huh?”

“Look over there. He’s got a bunch of jewels to sell.”

Ben slowly extended his arm, pointing at Ahern.

His gaze looked strangely unfocused, and his mouth opened and closed like a marionette on invisible strings.

“I mean, the warrior is living so modestly… maybe he just came to offer a good deal.”

Following Ben’s finger, I glanced over—just in time to catch a glimpse of the jewels glittering inside Ahern’s slightly open sleeve.

“Isn’t that right?”

“…I guess it could be.”

“See?”

Ben grinned, solidifying his point.

Something about his actions felt off, making my unease grow.

Then, Ahern spoke.

“Well, isn’t that enough? It’s late at night, and I had no idea keeping someone standing outside this long was considered polite among humans.”

“……Fine. Come inside.”

Whatever his intentions for sneaking into the Demon King’s castle at night, at the very least, Ahern knew who lived here.

Even he wouldn’t be reckless enough to try stealing from a hero who had slain the Demon King himself.

I kept my eyes fixed on him, watching carefully as I led him inside.

I brought him to the reception room—one that had never been used.

Even the thought of the former Demon King hosting guests here was laughable, so it had likely been untouched for hundreds of years.

Fortunately, thanks to Abraxas’s diligent cleaning, there was no dust storm when I opened the door.

For some reason, Abraxas looked especially proud just then.

“So, what exactly did you come to sell in the middle of the night?”

Ahern, who had been lounging lazily on the sofa as if he owned the place, straightened up at my sharp tone.

With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a string of jewels from his sleeve.

The glittering gemstones looked valuable, but the way he handled them made me uneasy.

Instead of treating them with care, he tossed them around as if they weren’t his to begin with.

Wasn’t a merchant supposed to treasure their goods as if they were their own life?

“Here, take a look. Jewel bracelets, necklaces, and… oh, even a dreamcatcher. Since we have such a wonderful bond of friendship, I’ll give you a discount.”

Ahern smiled languidly.

A sudden chill ran down my spine.