Chapter 11
Tilda replied indifferently.
“Thanks to Stella, the girl you assigned to spy on me.”
“Spy? I only ordered her to look after you.”
“Sure you did.”
At Tilda’s sharp reply, Kalus straightened up from his bent posture.
“Prejudice against the Turin people won’t disappear overnight, but I’m curious when you’ll finally calm down.”
“I’m not a cat for you to tame,” Tilda shot back with a glare. Kalus smirked.
“Should I call you ‘Saint’ instead?”
Tilda turned her head away, ignoring him, but Kalus didn’t mind and sat next to her. She kept her gaze elsewhere and spoke first.
“…I saw a little boy around here.”
“Komri?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“The only boy here is Komri.”
The name didn’t matter. Tilda glanced at him and asked,
“Is he your kid?”
He blinked in surprise, then lowered his head and started to laugh. Tilda narrowed her eyes at his strange reaction.
“Hahaha!”
Kalus burst into laughter. Tilda flinched.
“…What’s so funny?”
He finally stopped laughing and answered,
“The fact that you thought Komri was my son is hilarious.”
“…”
“You really thought I had a secret son, didn’t you?”
Annoyed by his mocking tone, she pressed her lips together.
“Komri and Stella are siblings.”
“…I thought you were lying.”
“You really think I’m that much of a liar, huh?”
“You’re not exactly innocent.”
Tilda’s response was cold.
Even though she knew he had saved her and might be useful to her, she couldn’t shake the bitterness she felt toward him. She felt ashamed for crying during his sweet words in the middle of their tryst, knowing those gentle whispers were just to get her to open herself up.
But despite her harshness, Kalus seemed completely unfazed, treating it like a mere scratch from a kitten.
“Everyone here, including Komri and Stella, is Turin. They can’t change their hair or eye color because they lack the ability. I use my power to help them maintain a normal human appearance.”
At this unexpected revelation, Tilda’s icy demeanor softened a bit. Stella had mentioned something similar before.
“…So, they’re really no different from regular people?”
“Except for the label of being Turin, yes.”
If what he said was true, then without Kalus, Stella and Komri would’ve been exposed as Turins and likely executed long ago.
Even though it sounded absurd, the thought that it could’ve really happened left her feeling a bit dizzy.
“Do I need to swear again to make you believe me this time?”
“…That won’t be necessary.”
Though it had only been a day, she couldn’t entirely dismiss what she had seen and felt.
“I wonder if learning the truth has changed your mind,” Kalus mused.
“….”
“Are you finally willing to cooperate with me?”
Tilda, who had been staring at the ground, finally looked up.
She had a lot on her mind.
If the Turin people were being persecuted for no reason, it was only right to correct that, even if it was more important than her own personal vendettas.
It might be the only thing she could truly do—after all, she was still the Pope’s sole successor, as Kalus had reminded her.
But she was still scared.
Scared of stepping out in front of people and earning her grandfather’s approval.
Yet if she wanted to fulfill Kalus’ request, her own power wouldn’t be enough. She needed her grandfather’s influence.
“…It’ll take time for my grandfather to return to the Empire.”
Her grandfather was currently far away on another continent, offering advice on relief efforts and the extermination of monsters. It would take several months for him to return.
Kalus shrugged.
“Then use that time to solidify your position as the successor and build your power base.”
“…Build a power base?”
“You still need to get your revenge, don’t you?”
Her heart sank at the mention of revenge, a topic that came up so casually.
“…You haven’t decided yet, have you?”
She paused as she was organizing her thoughts, then looked up to answer.
“Like you said, I’ll pay off my life debt by helping you meet the goddess Vallinea. She’s always said debts must be repaid.”
“You take the concept of give-and-take to a frightening level,” he remarked.
“I don’t fully trust you about the Turin people yet, but I’ll help clear up any misunderstandings since I feel responsible.”
“And what about your revenge?”
With a subtle question and a heavy gaze, Kalus made it clear he wasn’t letting this go.
She instinctively knew that involving him in her revenge would bind her to him in ways she couldn’t undo.
The sudden fear gripped her chest, and her guard, which had been relaxing, tightened once more.
“That’s none of your business.”
Her voice was as cold as the expression on Kalus’ emotionless face.
“And I don’t need your help.”
It was the first time his sharp eyes flickered like that.
With a sudden movement, he placed his hand against the wall beside her, leaning in. His dark pupils seemed so deep.
This side of him was unfamiliar.
His usually relaxed, almost playful demeanor felt heavy and even a bit threatening now.
“Seems like you still don’t get it, so let me spell it out for you.”
“….”
“That night, when I pulled you out of the sea, we became inextricably linked.”
“….”
“We can never go back to being strangers.”
His warning gaze wrapped around her body like a heavy blanket as it flashed like a smashing wave.
Tilda swallowed dryly.
“…Back off.”
Despite the weak warning, he slowly pulled away. A peculiar chill replaced the heat that was emanating from him.
“Seems like you’re hesitating on revenge. Still got some feelings for your ex-husband?”
His energy had calmed down, but his snide tone made it clear he was still irritated.
“…I don’t owe you an explanation.”
In truth, Tilda had no lingering feelings for Windson. There was never love between them. Only bitterness and resentment.
The reason she hesitated wasn’t because of attachment. She just hadn’t found a clear justification for it. The goddess Vallinea had said revenge wasn’t right. Even though theology, which her late mother had devoted herself to, gave a clear answer, a sly voice deep in her heart kept persuading her:
‘Punish them.’
The goddess may have said revenge is wrong, but she also said all sins must be paid for. On the other hand, her conscience, faint as it was, begged her not to become like them. Not to dirty her hands for the sake of her desires.
As she stayed silent, he grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. His red eyes glinted sharply.
“Thinking about your ex-husband?”
“…No, I’m not.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
Without warning, Kallus crushed his lips against hers. Startled, she clenched her mouth shut, but he bit her lower lip.
Ah…!
It didn’t hurt, but the suddenness made her gasp, and in that moment, his tongue invaded, rough and forceful.
This was different from before.
His relentless tongue overwhelmed her, stealing her breath as it swirled deep, pulling at the root of her tongue and devouring every corner.
I can’t breathe…!
She pushed against his chest, and Kallus slowly pulled back. A thin string of saliva connected their lips. Tilda’s face flushed with embarrassment.
Quickly, she wiped her mouth.
“What the hell was that?”
“I was healing you.”
His reply drained the fight from her.
“You’re unbelievably rude!”
“Well, you’re not exactly being cooperative with me either.”
“Are you still talking about my revenge? I told you, it has nothing to do with you!”
Tilda glared at him.
“It does.”
His face was unreadable as he pressed a finger against the reddened skin near her eye, slowly sliding it down.
Tilda, feeling the intensity of his actions, couldn’t react right away.
“I want to see you fall.”
Fall…?
The unsettling chill his words gave her was worse than his rudeness. She finally slapped his hand away from her face.
“In that case, I’ll make sure you don’t get what you want.”
“Let’s see if you can.”
He spoke with a cryptic tone.
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That woman, Aclea, she’s far more vicious than you realize.”
Tilda’s brow furrowed.
“You speak like you know her well.”
“I do… very well.”
He mumbled before lifting his gaze to meet hers.
“She’s like a parasite that gnaws at the guts of corpses. She’ll never stop tormenting you.”
“Aclea thinks I’m dead.”
“I told you, she’s like a parasite. Relentless, and she’ll come for you.”
His words left her with a lingering sense of unease.
Kallus twisted his lips into a smirk.
“That’s why, Tilda.”
“…”
“If you want to deal with her, you’ll have to fall.”
His voice, a low whisper, rumbled heavily in her ears.
“All the way to the bottom, where no light reaches.”
