Light and Darkness

After settling down at a decent restaurant near the Imperial Palace, Kyle let out a short sigh as he watched Sylvia across from him, continuing her meal with a demure posture.

Surely, this innocent miss probably doesn’t even know what kind of behavior she’s committing.

A philosopher once said that purity and evil are only a paper’s width apart, and somehow that statement seems a bit convincing.

“Kyle, try this. It’s very delicious.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Watching her naturally move a piece of gnocchi onto his plate, Kyle really had a lot to say, but he decided to endure it.

It’s not like she did it with malicious intent, so what good would it do to blame her?

If he mistakenly let his mouth run wild and gave her the prejudice that he’s a guy with lewd thoughts, that would be even more troublesome.

‘Maybe I was a little too playful.’

Meanwhile, the very person Kyle believed to be an ‘innocent woman’ was watching him, struggling to hold back her laughter.

From the start, how old was she even before the regression? There’s no way she wouldn’t know the meaning of such actions.

No, she knew very well.

How Kyle would react, what kind of misunderstanding Vermillion would have.

She did it all knowingly. It was her own way of stamping a seal, so to speak.

However, she was also aware that her prank was a bit much.

To be precise, it wasn’t about feeling sorry for making Vermillion misunderstand. That was intentional, after all.

It’s just that she didn’t expect Kyle to be so immune to this kind of behavior, so she felt a bit sorry watching him repeatedly try to say something, then stop, then try again.

‘Seriously, such a pure man.’

Kyle thought of Sylvia as an innocent woman, but Sylvia felt that he was more untainted.

Just thinking about walking together on the street, it’s like this.

If she held his hand pretending not to know, she could feel his body trembling, and if she leaned against his arm, she could feel his gaze looking down at her in embarrassment.

Even though he looks like a Casanova who has made many women cry, that clumsy charm really drove Sylvia crazy.

So much so that Sylvia even had self-reflection, wondering, ‘Am I too devious?’, because Kyle seemed so immune to that kind of thing, which was also amusing.

She could have let him off the hook after teasing him this much, but Sylvia had no intention of stopping here, remembering how badly she had been tricked before going to see the Emperor today.

So, she put down her fork and knife, put on a nonchalant expression, and casually spoke to Kyle.

“By the way, Kyle.”

“Yes, Sylvia.”

“Why did Duke Drake react like that earlier? He seemed very embarrassed.”

“…That’s what I’m saying.”

‘Hehe, he’s flustered.’

Ah, how fun.

Sylvia repeated her unspoken thoughts to herself, wearing a faint smile so that he wouldn’t notice.

She felt a little pity for him, knowing full well but pretending not to know, trying his best not to bring up a stern story to her.

But on the other hand, she was a little disappointed.

‘I wish he wouldn’t think of me as a pure woman.’

Of course, the word ‘pure’ itself is good, but Sylvia at least didn’t want to be a pure woman.

Purity sometimes makes you feel repulsed by being tainted.

Of course, there are some people with a slightly unique taste who put humans on the same line as drawing paper and try to paint their own things on it.

Most ordinary people feel guilty about imposing their values on others and coloring them with their own things.

Sylvia was sure that Kyle was also one of those types.

That’s probably because he’s a good person.

But for Sylvia, it was a very unfortunate thing.

From the beginning, she wasn’t pure, and she felt sorry for Kyle’s reaction to being reluctant to taint her.

What she wanted most was for the painter Kyle Lionheart to use her as a canvas, paint new colors, and paint her with his colors.

“Kyle seems to be quite scared.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Hehe, I know. I just had that thought.”

Sylvia chuckled softly as she watched him make a dumbfounded expression after spitting out her impressions without any order.

I wonder when it will be.

The day when that man’s colors will paint me.

Although she prides herself on not being inferior to others in patience, she just hopes it doesn’t take too long.

The reason she was able to pretend to be a patient person was because she had never wanted anything so much in her life.

But if she just dangled and shook delicious food in front of her eyes like now, even she wouldn’t be able to hold on.

If that happens, you will see a canvas jumping into the painter’s arms before the painter even paints his colors.

That would be a truly bizarre and mysterious thing.

“Sylvia, why are you just smacking your lips in front of the food?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry. It looked so delicious that I just admired it with my eyes.”

“That can happen. It certainly looks quite delicious.”

“I know.”

Without realizing that the food was himself, Kyle continued his meal indifferently.

＊＊＊

Inside a dark room with marble floors.

Since only one small torch in the center was the only light illuminating the surroundings, only the outlines of the figures inside were vaguely revealed, and a conversation began.

“Did you find out where they are staying?”

“I’m sorry. I haven’t been able to find out where the witch is staying.”

At the man’s heavy words, the man standing across from him expressed his regret and opened his mouth.

Originally, his mission was to identify the residences of Kyle Lionheart and Sylvia Eleanor, who were stationed in the Imperial Palace, and to start the groundwork, but it was only half done.

Nevertheless, the person who appeared to be higher in rank than the man simply nodded calmly without uttering any rebuke.

“You mean you found out where Kyle Lionheart is staying.”

“Yes. And I expect that the witch’s residence will not be far from where he is staying.”

“Still, as the matter is a matter, it would be good to be sure.”

“That’s right.”

Anyway, the opponent resides in the Imperial Palace. This means that it is the most heavily guarded space in the Empire.

In fact, befitting it, the barrier surrounding the Imperial Palace is strictly managed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by barrier masters inside who take turns.

In the case of Caintreche Castle, it was protected by the barrier set up by Kyle Lionheart, so the level of the barrier and the alert level were inevitably lower than here.

The barrier surrounding this Imperial Palace is managed by ten high-ranking magicians, especially those who are among the best in the Empire in terms of barrier magic, so the alert is also strict.

Moreover, the double barrier does not simply detect creatures containing magical power, as was the case with Caintreche Castle.

First of all, the primary barrier that surrounds the Imperial Palace most widely is the same type as that, but the secondary barrier that surrounds the main facilities detects all moving objects. Even leaves fluttering in the wind.

It is too much for one person to detect all of this, so ten people are working together to manage it.

Rolling in there without proper certainty is like forming a suicide squad.

“Leave Kyle Lionheart to me. I will use what you gave me before.”

“Okay. But there is also a one-in-a-million situation, so I will send comrades at the scheduled time. Where is the room?”

“It’s the room at the far right end on the 3rd floor of the annex.”

“I understand.”

Knowing that alone makes the operation much easier.

Originally, it would have been necessary to go through the trouble of sending intelligence just to find out this information, but he nodded in satisfaction, realizing once again that bringing in this man was a useful choice.

“Then we’ll take care of the witch. All operations must be completed within 3 minutes at the latest and leave the Imperial Palace.”

“Yes, then I will leave immediately.”

As the man bowed and greeted him and quickly disappeared, the man’s lips twisted and created a subtle smile as he silently stared at the empty seat.

Swish….

At that moment, the torch that illuminated the two went out weakly.

As if to say that no one existed in this place, and that no story was exchanged.