Chapter 07
Ring—
As Daphne left and the bookstore door closed completely, the old man locked it.
He glanced out the window for a moment before returning to the books, pulling them out, and putting them back repeatedly.
“This is a bit annoying,” he muttered under his breath.
Clicking his tongue, he stepped inside and placed a foot on the stairs.
At that moment, his hunched back slowly straightened.
With each step he climbed, his white hair darkened to jet black, and the wrinkles on his face vanished.
By the time he reached the top, the old man was gone—replaced by a young man who still had traces of boyishness.
Without hesitation, he opened the door in front of him.
Inside the room, Theophanes lounged on a chaise lounge, a cigar between his lips, looking as relaxed as a predator resting after a hunt.
As he spoke, a stream of smoke left his mouth, spreading into the air.
Now that he noticed, the room was filled with thick smoke.
The young man, Dante, frowned and waved his hand.
At his gesture, a gust of wind stirred the air, scattering the smoke instantly, even though no windows were open.
“Master,” he called.
Theophanes glanced at him.
“Dante, what about the lady?”
Dante let out a small sigh, touched his face, and murmured something.
His expression relaxed slightly before he responded,
“I watched her leave. She should be fine.”
Theophanes tapped the ashes from his cigar into a crystal ashtray.
“Do you think this is just a coincidence?”
Dante sighed. As usual, he was the only one taking things seriously.
“Maybe she came because she knew you were looking for her.”
Theophanes laughed as he stubbed out his cigar. It was a clear, youthful laugh—almost like a boy’s.
But Dante knew better. The more his master laughed like that, the worse his mood was.
“She came looking for her husband,” Theophanes said. “Without remembering anything.”
“Is she the person you’ve been searching for?” Dante asked.
“Yes,” Theophanes confirmed.
He pulled out a cigar case, took one, and cut off the tip with a cigar cutter.
A brief silence filled the room.
Dante, sensing his master’s reluctance to continue the conversation, changed the subject.
“You should stop smoking so much.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“If you smoked in front of that lady, we’d probably have to plan a funeral,” Dante muttered. “Especially if she has that power.”
Theophanes paused at that.
“I suppose I should cut back,” he admitted.
“Just cutting back won’t be enough. You should quit—wait, what?”
Dante was shocked by his master’s unexpected agreement, but he quickly realized something was off.
“Don’t tell me…!”
“A new wind has blown in Himonas,” Theophanes mused. “What a shame.”
“You mean… the lady is a transcendent?”
“Yes. Though she doesn’t seem to realize it yet.”
Dante scowled.
“When I say I’m struggling, you never listen, but suddenly you’re interested in her?”
Theophanes gave him a look that practically said, Well, you’re not dead, are you?
Dante clenched his fists, resisting the urge to hit him.
Theophanes’ cigars contained Kalea, an herb that was both medicine and poison—especially to transcendent beings.
A small amount could be used for healing, but the concentrated version Theophanes smoked was pure poison.
For ordinary people, it would only cause mild stomach pain.
But for Theophanes, it was self-destruction—an ironic way to numb one pain by creating another.
Dante sighed.
“Do whatever you want. You’re not going to listen to me anyway,” he muttered.
He figured he should prepare some medicine to counteract the damage.
Theophanes lit his cigar again.
“You’re too young to nag me.”
“You’re too old to ignore your health,” Dante shot back.
“You never let anything slide, do you?”
“Who raised me this way?”
“So it’s my fault now?”
“I never said that.”
Dante shrugged, amused. Theophanes chuckled but didn’t argue further.
After a few puffs, Theophanes seemed to recall something.
“Dante,” he said.
“Yes?”
“What do you think about someone proposing marriage to a stranger?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“Because you’re young.”
“Are you bragging about being old now?”
“If you want, I can age you faster,” Theophanes offered.
“No, thanks.”
“Maybe it’s just interesting,” Dante suggested.
“Interest?”
“You know, the kind of interest between men and women.”
Dante watched Theophanes closely, smirking playfully.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know what that means?”
“Dante.”
Hearing his master’s low voice, Dante quickly stepped back.
“I’ll be downstairs reading. Call me if you need anything!”
Peeking through the door before slipping out, Dante waved.
“See you later!”
Theophanes watched the door close, then murmured to himself.
“Interest…?”
He chuckled and crushed his cigar into the ashtray.
“That can’t be right.”
Someone interested in him wouldn’t propose marriage like that.
He swept back his hair, letting out a short laugh.
He was thinking about her proposal again.
—
“Let’s introduce ourselves properly,” Theophanes had said. “I am Theophanes Himonas.”
Daphne, equally formal, nodded.
“Now, can you tell me why you’ve come all this way to find me?”
There was no more time to delay. If she hesitated any longer, she’d seem suspicious.
Daphne took a breath and spoke.
“Please become the father of my child.”
A heavy silence filled the room.
“You’re asking me to marry you?” Theophanes’ expression turned unreadable.
“Yes. I’m proposing to you, Duke.”
“Why me?”
“Because I need a man with enough power to protect me and my daughter.”
Theophanes murmured, “Power, huh?”
“Yes.”
“I expected you to refuse,” Daphne admitted.
“Refuse?”
“What did you just say?”
“Let’s do it. Let’s get married,” Theophanes agreed easily.
Daphne was stunned.
She had been prepared for rejection—she even had backup plans.
This man, known to the world as a reclusive young duke, was the first transcendent.
An immortal who had changed identities over time.
The original story never explained how he survived alone, but one thing was clear:
She held the key to helping him.
Theophanes suffered unbearable pain from his immense power—that was why he stayed hidden.
Transcendents gained their strength through the World Tree, but their bodies couldn’t handle it for long.
To recover, they needed regular time with the World Tree, facilitated by the Winter Transcendent, the ruler of Himonas.
But for years, no Winter Transcendent had appeared.
Without them, the transcendents grew weaker, their pain increasing.
That’s why Jacquette, Daphne’s daughter, was so special.
In the original story, Jacquette eventually met Theophanes and made a contract with him.
Daphne had planned to use this as leverage for marriage—yet he had agreed before she even mentioned it.
“Tell me your conditions,” Theophanes said.
He had already pulled out paper and a pen, ready to draft the contract.
His willingness was both convenient and suspicious.
Could she trust him?
Daphne hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“First, I want the wedding to happen as soon as possible. And I want a legally binding contract signed by a priest. The second condition—”
She had no choice but to take this chance.
Even if staying by his side was another kind of hell, she’d deal with it later.
Right now, all that mattered was keeping Jacquette safe.
