Ch.51Secret (1)

“Hmm~ Hmm~”

Marie, a beautiful girl with white hair, was walking down the street humming happily. Her confident stride was far from the dignified demeanor expected of a noble.

She was also carefully cradling a book in her arms—the newly published Biography of Xenon, volume 9.

‘I was really lucky.’

The Biography of Xenon was known for selling out within an hour of each new release, boasting remarkable popularity. Rumors said that once publishers announced a new volume was coming, the war began.

People hired others to wait in front of bookstores all day, and there were even incidents of hoarding and fraud. Fortunately, after countries recognized the seriousness and imposed severe penalties, such happenings disappeared—though people still waited in front of bookstores. This wasn’t illegal, so it couldn’t be stopped.

Of course, purchasing more than one copy per person was strictly prohibited. A magical technology for identity verification was even invented to prevent this. If Isaac heard about this, he would find it ridiculous, but currently, he wasn’t paying any attention to it.

Despite these measures, the Biography of Xenon consistently sold out. Even Marie, daughter of the Reckyless family, found it nearly impossible to purchase a copy directly without sending someone or asking her family for help.

‘I won’t need to ask Father for help this time.’

But this time was different. Because the Biography of Xenon boasted sales beyond imagination, the publisher had made a decision.

They had already been using all printing houses like factories to print the Biography of Xenon, but even that had its limits. So they established a completely new large printing house and introduced new technology.

Thanks to this, even commoners could easily obtain copies of the Biography of Xenon, which had been difficult even for nobles to purchase. And even if they sold out on the day of release, new stock would be available three days later.

‘To think I got the very last copy. What incredible luck.’

Marie hugged the Biography of Xenon tightly to her chest and smiled happily. She had made a mistake on the release day and failed to purchase a copy, but when she visited the bookstore three days later, there was exactly one copy left.

She had been so nervous that she almost lost it to someone else, but she managed to buy it first. The competitor gave her a resentful look, but Marie didn’t care.

Now she was walking back to her dormitory with light steps. Though the mountain of assignments and exams was important, she planned to read the Biography of Xenon first to clear her mind.

‘I wonder if Isaac bought a copy?’

As Marie walked happily, she suddenly thought of Isaac. Lately, Isaac’s face had been appearing in her mind frequently.

Moreover, when they attended classes together, she found herself staring at his profile more often. If Isaac noticed her gaze and turned his head, she would quickly look away.

Originally, she had thought of it as simple affection, but as time passed, the meaning of this emotion became increasingly clear. Marie hugged the Biography of Xenon in her arms more tightly and smiled warmly.

As she had mentioned at the last gathering, Isaac might hide secrets, but he was honest in how he treated others. That alone was enough to earn Marie’s affection, and she found herself falling deeper.

At first, he was just a friend, but from the moment she realized that talking with Isaac was the most comfortable thing for her, the situation changed.

Whenever she was stressed for any reason, talking with Isaac made it melt away like snow, and before that, Isaac would catch her expression and ask what was wrong first.

‘But lately, Rina’s behavior has been concerning…’

However, such happy thoughts didn’t last long. Recently, Rina’s behavior toward Isaac had been suspicious.

To Rina, Isaac had been nothing more than an interesting subject. So unlike Marie or Cecilly, she rarely played pranks on Isaac or treated him with familiarity.

But in the past month, the frequency of her approaches to Isaac had increased. Marie couldn’t help but be concerned.

The biggest problem was Rina’s attitude. Rina tended to wear a “mask” when dealing with people. Though it was unavoidable due to her position as an imperial princess, Marie, who had been badly hurt once before, found this attitude extremely unpleasant.

‘…That mask is disappearing more and more.’

The problem was that she had started to remove that mask when dealing with Isaac. Originally, Rina only removed her mask when talking with Cecilly, but recently she had been removing it more often when conversing with Isaac.

Marie couldn’t understand why someone who had worn a mask since childhood would suddenly behave this way, but it was certainly not welcome news for her. Fortunately, Isaac still seemed wary of Rina, but no one can predict what might happen.

‘I can’t understand why she’s suddenly acting that way. Does she know something I don’t?’

As Marie was heading to her dormitory with an uneasy feeling, a very familiar hair color caught her eye.

It was a time when many people were moving about as all classes had ended, but the crimson color stood out. Marie blinked her eyes a couple of times upon seeing that color, then smiled broadly.

There was only one person with red hair at Halo Academy at present.

“Isa…!”

Just as she was about to call out his name, she realized there was someone else beside the red-haired student and quickly closed her mouth.

Black hair wasn’t uncommon in this world, but such a pitch-black shade was rare. And that wasn’t the only distinctive feature.

Horns protruding from both sides of her head, proving she was a demon.

The woman beside Isaac was Cecilly, the princess of Helium.

“… …”

Marie’s eye twitched as she watched Isaac and Cecilly walking side by side. As she had felt at the last gathering, seeing Isaac closely attached to Cecilly, of all people, made her extremely uncomfortable.

Above all, Cecilly often played mischievous pranks on Isaac, so Marie couldn’t look upon her favorably.

‘Where are they going?’

After briefly feeling the discomfort rising in her chest, Marie quickly tried to figure out where they were heading. She wanted to jump in, but decided to follow them first.

Since her white hair was as eye-catching as Isaac’s crimson hair, she had to follow carefully.

It felt like she was tailing them, but that’s exactly what she was doing. Marie was extremely cautious, afraid they might notice her.

Eventually, the place they entered was none other than…

‘…A café?’

It was a café. And one suitable for secret conversations at that.

Marie stared blankly at the café that Isaac and Cecilly had entered. She only visited this place when discussing family matters with her brother; otherwise, she never set foot in this café.

Though a bit expensive, each room was soundproofed, and it was famous as a place “couples” visited.

‘…It can’t be, right?’

Marie’s blue eyes began to tremble violently with anxiety.

*****

After entering the café, Cecilly and I were assigned a room. There was a slight incident when the café employee saw Cecilly and flinched, but it passed smoothly.

Soon after, we were assigned a thoroughly soundproofed room and went inside. It was neither cramped nor spacious, making it perfect for confidential conversations.

“I heard this café is usually where couples come.”

Cecilly, sitting across from me, spoke in a subtle voice. I heard her words and made an expression as if I was hearing this for the first time.

“Really? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

I genuinely didn’t know. The reason I knew about this café was simply because Nicole had brought me here once.

Cecilly looked at my expression, chuckled, and then smiled gently.

“You didn’t know? Well, I guess that’s why you came here. But don’t worry, there won’t be any strange rumors. It’s a place couples frequently visit, but it’s not really ‘that kind’ of place.”

“What kind of place is that?”

“Well… there are such places. Children don’t need to know.”

In response to my question, Cecilly gave a mischievous smile and wiggled her index finger. Thanks to that, I could roughly guess what couples did at this café, so I kept my mouth shut.

Despite coming here for a confidential conversation, I felt like we had come to the wrong place. I awkwardly rubbed the back of my neck.

“…Should we change locations?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like you’re going to do anything strange to me. It’s just a private conversation, right?”

“I think you’re more likely to do something strange to me, not the other way around.”

“What a joke.”

Cecilly waved her hand and joked. I was also joking, so I tried to laugh it off.

“Did I get caught?”

“…Pardon?”

Until she muttered in a voice so quiet it was barely audible. It was so faint that it was hard to tell if she was serious or joking.

When I asked with a greatly surprised expression, Cecilly shook her head with her characteristic playful smile.

“Pretend you didn’t hear that. There’s no way I would do anything strange to you, right?”

“Uh… yes. I… suppose.”

I felt inexplicably uneasy, but I dismissed it as a misunderstanding. While Cecilly was physically much stronger than me, given her personality, she wouldn’t act that way.

The situation almost took a strange turn, but fortunately, it was resolved when an employee came to take our order. Cecilly ordered an Americano, and I ordered a cappuccino.

After the employee withdrew, we were left alone again. As soon as the employee left, Cecilly rested her chin on both hands and began to stare at me intently.

I didn’t back down from her gaze. After all, I came here to reveal my secret, so there was nothing to be intimidated about.

“Isaac.”

“Yes, Cecilly.”

“Do you like writing?”

Rather than asking directly, Cecilly asked indirectly. Hearing her question, I nodded without hesitation.

“Yes, I do.”

“I see. So that’s it…”

After hearing my answer, Cecilly lowered her gaze slightly. She seemed to be organizing her thoughts.

Since I was planning to reveal all my secrets anyway, I wasn’t particularly nervous.

“…Isaac.”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember what you told me two months ago? You told me what demons are.”

I remember it clearly. I even remember hurriedly revising my manuscript afterward.

When I nodded and confirmed, Cecilly smiled gently. Then she began to verbalize what had happened at that time, one by one.

“At that time, you described us demons like this: beings who know they can’t become human but desperately wish to become human more than anyone else, beings who are more human than anyone.”

“… …”

“I’ll never forget that story. But a similar story appeared in the Biography of Xenon. It was what Xenon told Jin when he was troubled after Sacran’s death. Do you know it?”

I nodded again. I had originally intended to include what I told Cecilly in the Biography of Xenon, but I quickly revised it.

However, since I needed to convey the meaning somehow, some similarities were unavoidable. Perhaps Cecilly noticed from that part.

“As soon as I saw that part, I remembered what you had told me. It could truly be coincidence upon coincidence, but there are many suspicious circumstances.”

“Such as?”

“First, the callus on your middle finger.”

Cecilly pointed to my callus.

“That callus forms from holding a pen for a long time, right? But this alone isn’t proof. Isaac has a habit of taking notes.”

“… …”

“Second, your indifferent attitude toward the Biography of Xenon. I overheard your conversation with Jackson at the last gathering. For someone with an indifferent attitude, you seemed to know the story quite thoroughly. Normally, someone with that level of knowledge would be enthusiastic, but you were strangely indifferent whenever the Biography of Xenon came up.”

She heard the conversation I had with Jackson at the gathering? I thought Cecilly was far away at that time, so I couldn’t understand how she heard it.

Perhaps she enhanced her hearing with magic. While magic was prohibited at the academy, enhancing one’s senses wasn’t a problem at all.

While I was thinking about this, Cecilly presented her final piece of evidence.

“Lastly, the identity of demons you told me about. How many people in this world would think of us demons, who were treated as devils, in that way? Although there are countless people in this world, it would be extremely rare. Even if someone had read the Biography of Xenon, having such thoughts would be nearly impossible. Especially considering the discrimination our demons faced in the past.”

“… …”

“Combining just these three points is enough to be suspicious. And you just said you like writing? Combining all these clues leads to one conclusion.”

After speaking without pause, Cecilly looked directly into my eyes. I also didn’t avoid her gaze and faced her with a calm expression.

It seemed best for me to speak first here. I exhaled through my nose, leaned my upper body slightly forward, and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Cecilly, I have something I’d like to ask. May I?”

“Of course.”

“If you found the author of the Biography of Xenon, what would you do?”

This is the crossroads. If Cecilly answers honestly and straightforwardly, I’ll gladly reveal it; if not, I’ll postpone it.

Of course, postponing won’t keep the secret hidden, but I need to confirm what I need to confirm. I don’t have to look far—Rina’s example is there.

After hearing my question, Cecilly smiled deeply, then lowered her hands that were supporting her chin and clasped them together. Also, perhaps out of embarrassment, her cheeks flushed.

As I sensed that this response was unusual, Cecilly answered in a voice like a refined lady.

“As you know, the Biography of Xenon is a benefactor who fulfilled the long-cherished wish of our demons. I can live a happy life here thanks to that person.”

“… …”

“If I found that person… I would gladly give my all. Whether that person is a man or a woman, whether handsome or not, whether old or young, it doesn’t matter. Compared to the grace I’ve received from that person, even this is insufficient.”

That’s not insufficient at all. I couldn’t help but be greatly surprised by Cecilly’s answer.

I thought it would just be an invitation to Helium or protection, but giving everything? This is a response far beyond my expectations.

Who is Cecilly? She is the princess of Helium and the next demon king in line. If such a person says she will give everything, the impact would be beyond imagination.

“Uh…”

As my mind was in a jumble and I couldn’t think of anything, Cecilly saw my reaction, smiled brightly, then took my hand and slowly led it somewhere.

And the place she led it to was…

Squish-

The area with an overwhelming presence, namely her chest. The soft sensation felt by my hand instantly cleared my mind.

I hadn’t even revealed my secret yet, so I was confused as to why she was behaving this way. As I was thinking this, Cecilly spoke to me in a voice full of sensuality.

“How is it?”

“… …”

“Do you want to touch more?”

Thump- Thump- Thump-

Both Cecilly’s heartbeat, felt through her chest, and my heart pounded simultaneously. I stared blankly at Cecilly, forgetting what to say.

She too seemed embarrassed by her actions, as her face was flushed red. But it was probably mild compared to me. I felt like I might faint at any moment.

Meanwhile, Cecilly leaned her face forward, approaching my face closely. Then, in a voice that tickled my ear, she spoke.

“If you reveal your secret directly and show the evidence, I can give you more here. I’m always ready.”

“That…”

“Surely our Isaac isn’t impotent, right?”

Of course not. My manhood was gradually charging with power in response to her voice that stimulated male instinct.

I was desperately suppressing it, because if I applied even a little force, a disaster would occur. If the thread of reason broke even slightly, I didn’t know what I might do.

As I was barely holding onto my sanity and trying to withdraw my hand, Cecilly applied even more force when I pulled my arm, then brought it to her face.

And then…

“Nom…”

She put my middle finger in her mouth. Then she inserted it all the way to the joint where my callus was located. It was truly a bold action.

Lick-

If that wasn’t enough, I could vividly feel Cecilly’s tongue gently touching my callus. The sensation of her soft tongue transmitted through my hand, making my brain tingle.

This completely severed what little reason remained. I took a deep breath.

‘Screw it.’

If I backed down here, I couldn’t call myself a man. It seemed like I should follow my instincts now, regardless of revealing secrets.

Just as I was about to stand up abruptly with my eyes tightly closed.

Knock- Knock- Knock-

A sudden knock dispersed the tense atmosphere completely. I stopped halfway through standing up and looked at the door in an awkward posture.

It was the same for Cecilly. As soon as she heard the knock, she looked at the door with blank eyes, then frowned deeply.

“Of all times…!”

Cecilly muttered as if grinding her teeth. Thanks to that, my severed reason was restored, and I hastily withdrew my arm. Cecilly looked regretful as I pulled my arm away.

‘I don’t know if I should be relieved or not…’

In the awkward atmosphere, I glanced at Cecilly once and approached the door. It was probably an employee bringing coffee.

If things had continued, I might have caused an incident. My instinct was crying out in disappointment, but my reason was sighing in relief.

After opening the door to greet the employee who brought the coffee.

“…Huh?”

Instead of an employee, a very familiar face came into view. Snow-white hair along with blue eyes. And beautiful looks too.

“…Marie?”

Marie was standing in front of me with an expression mixed with anxiety and anger.