The ntion of Kin had the best effect. With a whoosh, the Commander of the Royal Guards pushed Abel back to his original seat, and he pressed himself against the carriage door.
“W-why Sir Kin?”
The Commander of the Royal Guards asked in a terrified voice, and Abel, now slightly less dazed, nodded as if he understood.
“I’m also a bit worried about Sir Kin. Sothing must have happened in the palace since Truyde suddenly attacked, but there’s been no contact from Sir Kin.”
It was because of Karas.
However, the Commander of the Royal Guards, who had no way of knowing this, turned pale at the thought of Kin, thanks to Abel.
Co to think of it, wasn’t he the servant whom Sir Kin favored?
And yet he had almost done sothing inappropriate with his servant. The Commander of the Royal Guards struggled to regain his composure.
Yet, a small sense of defiance arose within him. Sir Kin had a wife and grown children, didn’t he?
Wouldn’t his family be unhappy if he engaged in an improper relationship with Lylie?
Moreover, Lylie, with his beauty, didn’t suit an old man like Kin. Rather, soone handso, young, who had amassed a lot of wealth through war, and skilled in battle like himself was more appropriate. Glancing at Abel, the Commander of the Royal Guards awkwardly asked,
“Ahem, S-Sir Kin will be fine. By the way, what does Lylie think of Sir Kin?”
“Sir Kin? He is a kind and good person.”
Kind and good?
The Commander of the Royal Guards picked up on these words sensitively and asked softly,
“Did Lylie perhaps receive a great favor from Sir Kin?”
Since he had indeed received much help, Abel nodded. The Commander of the Royal Guards’ eyes narrowed.
What’s this?
Could it be that he only likes him out of gratitude?
And was Sir Kin using that gratitude to make Lylie his own?!
Such unnecessary suspicions grew deeper. Only he could save Lylie from Kin’s devilish clutches.
“Lylie. Lylie has nothing to worry about anymore. From now on, I will protect you.”
“Thank you.”
Abel was a bit taken aback by his sudden vow but expressed his gratitude first. Then he hesitated before adding,
“And I’m sorry. Actually, my na isn’t Lylie.”
As he spoke, Abel seed to regain so of his senses and tried to explain the truth to him.
“What? Your na is different? Then why did you say it was Lylie?”
Abel, unsure where to start, opened his mouth with a troubled expression.
“That’s because Lylie was originally derived from this body’s original na.”
“This body’s original na?”
His expression looked as if asking for clarification, and Abel uttered the cursed na in response.
“Liliah Aretrin Chloride.”
“...”
Abel knew that people generally didn’t react well to this na, so he gave an awkward smile. However, before he could say that his na sounded a bit strange, the other person reacted.
“What a killer na! It’s totally aweso!”
The Commander of the Royal Guards’ eyes sparkled with genuine admiration.
To think such a cool na existed!
He was truly impressed, but his admiration didn’t last long as his own na ca to mind.
“D*mn, I want to change my na to sothing that cool.”
Knowing that the Commander disliked his real na, Abel took the opportunity to ask sothing he was curious about.
“Why do you dislike your real na so much?”
“Because it’s a woman’s na.”
“I see.”
Abel nodded, understanding, and the Commander of the Royal Guards burst out in frustration.
“But I can never change it. D*mn it.”
“Why not?” Abel asked, looking puzzled, and the Commander of the Royal Guards explained in a gloomy voice.
“When I was young, I was very weak. I don’t rember, but I guess I was at death’s door several tis. So, a master from a certain temple prayed for and gave his na.”
Giving soone your na carried significant aning. It ant sharing your life with them. Therefore, when a child was born, they could never use the na of a living family mber. Especially the Emperor’s na, which no one in the entire country could use.
It was considered a treasonous act, as it implied sharing the emperor’s life. When an heir to the throne was born, they were given several nas. The idea was that having multiple nas would ensure better health. When he grew up healthy and ascended to the throne, he would then choose his real na. That’s how important nas were, being closely associated with life itself.
“If that’s the case, I think it’s a very good na for you, Commander of the Royal Guards.”
“I know, but it’s a woman’s na!”
“Still, the Commander of the Royal Guards is more manly and impressive than anyone else. It’s a charm that no na can overshadow.”
The Commander of the Royal Guards felt his breath quicken again.
Charm?
Could it be that he’s falling for ?
As he was lost in his delusions of proving he and Kin were now finally comrades, the carriage stopped. Their destination was in front of an ordinary house. It was a place the Commander of the Royal Guards had never seen before, but Abel seed to recognize it and got out of the carriage first, hurrying to the door.
Following behind, the Commander of the Royal Guards asked, “Where are we?”
Abel, who was knocking on the door, turned his head.
“Yes, this is l...”
Click.
Before he could finish his answer, the door opened, and a small boy appeared. At first, he seed wary of the tall Commander of the Royal Guards but soon recognized Abel.
“Oh? It’s the fairy!”
At the child’s small shout, Abel got flustered, and the Commander of the Royal Guards looked down at the boy with narrowed eyes.
So young, and already appreciating appearances.
However, no matter what expression he made, the boy only had eyes for Abel. He quickly ca outside, glanced around, and lowered his voice.
“You’re here to see my father, right? Actually, I mustn’t tell anyone else, but...”
With reddened cheeks, the boy shyly pointed in a direction.
“I’ll tell you, fairy. My father is in the lab in that forest. But it’s a secret, so no one who doesn’t know can go there.”
The boy then looked ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) up at the Commander of the Royal Guards intently. The Commander of the Royal Guards growled at the child with an even more fierce expression, as if threatening him.
“Are you talking to ? Do you even know who I am?”
“No. What’s your na, mister?”
“My na is...”
“Yes, your na.”
“...”
“What is it?”
The boy won easily.
****
The docunts of the record keeper from twelve years ago were quite tattered, likely having been viewed by many people over the years. All of it was the result of efforts to create a fake Abel to deceive the emperor. Truyde had also seen this once before. Normally, he had no interest in Regas, as it was Norhox’s domain, but at that ti, he was curious.
Why did that big, ugly guy nad Abel capture the prince’s heart?
However, the records alone couldn’t provide an understanding, so Truyde quickly skimd through them and set them aside, rembering that mont. He didn’t know why it ca to mind now.
Truyde started skimming through the records from the beginning, trying to find the source of his irritation. About halfway through, the door opened, and the priest with anxious eyes entered. Truyde didn’t take his eyes off the records even when the priest ca, and after a long ti, he finally opened his mouth.
“A wooden pendant engraved with a dragon. Have you heard of it?”
The priest had thought he’d never have another chance after the incident with the queen. However, Truyde had called for him again. Thus, he couldn’t miss this opportunity. The priest focused all his attention, racking his brain.
A wooden pendant engraved with a dragon? He was sure he had seen it sowhere. Where was it...!
“Ah! Yes, I know it. A wooden pendant engraved with a dragon. I’ve definitely seen it in the records.”
As Truyde’s sharp eyes turned to him, the priest couldn’t hide his excitent and began to speak. Having studied the records more than anyone else to research Abel, he gave out an accurate answer.
“In the records written by the record keeper, there’s a section describing the contents of Abel’s room and body when he was under the influence of drugs.”
Before he could finish, Truyde quickly flipped through the pages.
[Inside his clothes: a pouch with a few coins, a linen handkerchief, and a shabby wooden pendant engraved with a dragon about the size of a palm.]
Truyde read the contents over and over again as if he were going to pierce the paper.
A shabby wooden pendant engraved with a dragon. The feeling of unease approached as if the ominousness was right in front of him.
What is this?
Surely it can’t be the sa, right?
However, a bigger question lood behind his doubts.
What if there was another one?
“Where is this thing?”
The priest thought for a mont, trying to rember, and then looked up with a troubled expression.
“At the ti, I examined his corpse, but I don’t recall seeing that thing. All of Abel’s clothes and belongings were kept well, in case they would be needed later.”
“Then who was the last person to see Abel?”
“That would likely be the person from the sa sect who helped him escape from his room. His na is lmond, the librarian at the ti.”
“lmond.”
Truyde muttered the na to himself, recalling his face.
Could it be that he took it?
“Bring him to imdiately.”
****
The boy was reluctant to let the Commander of the Royal Guards go to the forest, but Abel’s persuasion finally convinced him. Not wanting the boy to change his mind, Abel quickly led the Commander of the Royal Guards to lmond’s lab, which he had visited before.
However, the entire way, the disheartened Commander of the Royal Guards didn’t even ask where they were going. He had barely co to his senses when Abel knocked on the door of the small cabin they reached, and a familiar face appeared. He then realized he hadn’t yet processed all of his shock.
“Roy, you! If you keep coming here, you’ll really get in trouble.”
lmond, who had flung the door wide open and shouted, froze in place. His eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. His skin turned pale as if he had seen a ghost. However, Abel, filled with happiness, didn’t notice his state and greeted him first.
“Mr. lmond, how have you been?”
“...”
“I’m sorry for coming late. You must have been worried, and I couldn’t even contact you directly.”
“...”
lmond still didn’t respond. It was as if his soul had left his body. The Commander of the Royal Guards, puzzled by why lmond was there and why Lylie was acting familiar with him, whispered softly.
“Hey, isn’t that person acting strange?”
“Huh? Ah, Mr. lmond! Are you feeling unwell?”
Abel grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously. Luckily, the intense shaking brought lmond back to his senses, and he finally spoke.
“...You, you, uh, A-Abel?”
Abel?
The Commander of the Royal Guards frowned at the na. Where had he heard that na before? But before he could even rember, another voice ca out from inside the cabin.
“Mr. lmond, is Roy here again?”
With the question, another familiar face appeared behind lmond. Fortunately, this person reacted imdiately upon seeing Abel.
Thud!
The butler fainted.
*****
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
An apology that could not be counted as the number of tis it ca out of Abel’s mouth. However, lmond, still upset, kept repeating the sa words as if his anger was not going away.
“You should have contacted us! We all thought you were dead. His Majesty, His Majesty also thought you were dead!”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you first, but the urgent matter at hand seed more important, so I caused you to worry. I’m really sorry.”
“Now is not the ti to just apologize. The current situation is, ha...”
lmond, struggling to find words, took a deep, exasperated breath. He had so much to say, but soone else interrupted their conversation. It was the Commander of the Royal Guards, who had turned pale from shock as much as the fainted butler.
“W-wait a minute. So your na is, uh, Abel?”
The Commander of the Royal Guards was still confused.
Abel?
That na belonged to His Majesty’s Regas who had been reincarnated, right?
But he was supposed to be dead.
Why was lmond calling him Abel and scolding him?
“Yes, my original na is Abel. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, Commander of the Royal Guards.”
“No, that’s not the point. If your na is Abel, then your true identity is...”
lmond, displeased with the Commander of the Royal Guards’ informal tone, interrupted with a frown.
“Please watch your words with His Majesty’s Regas.”
“His Majesty’s...”
The Commander of the Royal Guards turned his bewildered eyes from Abel to lmond and back again.
“Regas?”
“Yes. His Majesty’s Regas. The reincarnated Regas of His Majesty.”
“...”
“So, from now on, speak to Abel with so respect, okay?”
Thud.
The Commander of the Royal Guards, who had been dreaming of a sweet honeymoon with Lylie just monts ago, collapsed to the floor, proving his earlier weakness as a child. Abel, wanting to apologize, sat down next to him, but lmond grabbed his arm.
“What on earth happened? Explain quickly.”
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