Crazy Like a Fox

Chapter 10

* * *

Asius stood by the window, gazing down at the capital, which was shrouded in darkness. The friendly demeanor he had shown the princess earlier in the day had vanished, leaving his face cold and emotionless. He had been dispatched from the empire of Rattaeh to monitor Valdimar, so he had long ago reviewed the personal information of Valdimar’s royal family.

Bright blonde hair and blue eyes—the signature traits of the Valdimar royalty. Even if he hadn’t known her specific features, it wouldn’t have been difficult to recognize that she was the fifth princess—after all, she was the last princess remaining in Valdimar. The fifth princess of Valdimar was known for her madness, and she was the sole woman left in the royal family. Additionally, she was the divine child of the goddess Hellare, born after a hundred years.

The goddess’s prophecy had descended upon Valdimar thirteen years ago. Asius was the only one in the world who had understood the true meaning of the prophecy, which had been delivered after nearly a century. Hellare had sensed that the awakening of the divine child, born from her power, was imminent.

I never expected her to be royalty. Asius glanced out the firmly closed window. In the deep darkness of the night, a sudden burst of flames erupted from a certain point in the city. Soon after, a group of people began to move in unison.

His ashen eyes caught every barely distinguishable movement as they blended seamlessly into the darkness. It must be the knights from the royal castle searching for the missing princess. However, their demeanor suggested they weren’t looking to merely return the princess to the royal castle. Their movements were rough and aggressive. They drew their swords and searched the night-dark city with meticulous thoroughness. It seemed they intended to kill her on the spot should they find her.

Asius muttered to himself, “There must really be something going on.”

There was nothing particularly unusual in the letters the Valdimar royal family had sent to Rattaeh over the past ten years. However, judging by their intent on finding the princess—as if they were hunting a traitor—it was clear that the atmosphere in the royal family had not been peaceful for some time.

“Vaille.” Asius tapped the black earring on his ear, and a thick gray mist swirled around his feet. “It’s chaotic outside. Make sure it doesn’t get out.”

The aura emanating from the princess’s body—the divine power of a divine child who had just awakened and couldn’t control or even recognize her powers yet—filled the room. The concentration of the power was excessively thick, strong enough to even make him hesitate for a moment—if it were to leak out, it would likely not go unnoticed.

Asius’s third servant spirit, Vaille, split into dozens of parts and sealed the empty spaces in the room. Only after confirming the room was perfectly sealed did the Asius’ lips curve into a smooth arc.

He approached the bedside. Although it was late at night, the woman couldn’t fall asleep, so he had used magic to forcibly put her to sleep just half an hour ago. Even though she had been born with divine power, it would be useless if her powers were not fully awakened. Seeing her resist his magic even in her unconscious state, it appeared that it would be challenging to fully harness her powers in a single go.

She might need some time… Instead of sitting by the bed, Asius lowered himself to the floor beside it. He could see the princess’s face directly as she turned her head to the side. The woman who had boldly kissed him. He recalled the information his servant spirits had gathered overnight.

The fifth princess who is rumored to be crazy.

“Is she really an imbecile?”

Recalling how she had babbled nonsense and kissed him without hesitation made the idea seem quite credible. He hadn’t expected that the divine child born after 113 years would be insane, but to Asius, whether the princess was truly mad or not wasn’t of great importance. It truly didn’t matter if she was an idiot.

His fingers gently ran through silky strands of hair, smooth as fine silk, and Asius tenderly caressed her warm, smooth cheek. In the deep night, with eyes gently closed, she lay her head on a satin pillow. It was a scene, a masterpiece the likes of which he could never have imagined even in his own dreams.

“Beautiful...” Asius’ lips, which had been sealed in silence, curved into a sincere smile. He gazed at the sleeping woman and murmured happily, “I found her first, Hellare.”

So, she’s mine.

* * *

The man who rescued Lisbelle was very affectionate, and he seemed to have a naturally kind and considerate personality. During the three days she spent in that unfamiliar room, he provided her with everything she needed without her having to ask for anything.

A comfortably made bed, timely meals, and luxurious silk loungewear from who knows where. He even changed the bandages on her feet daily and cast spells to prevent water from touching her wounds while she washed.

“Shall I move you?”

“Yes.”

He even helped her move from the bed to a chair. The magician was overly kind to her, and his gaze never left her for a moment.

This is really strange, Lisbelle thought quietly as she leaned into him.

Why is he being so kind to her? She had never received such kindness before. When it came to the word kindness, all she knew was that the word existed.

The magician with black hair and gray eyes placed her in a chair in front of the tea table and then took a seat across from her. There was no avoiding his opaque gaze.

Lisbelle knew nothing about the man in front of her. She didn’t know his name, his age, nor his exact origin. She didn’t really want to know, either. He seemed to have no intention of letting Lisbelle leave. It had already been almost three days since she first woke up in this place, and she hadn’t been able to step outside this room. Of course, there was nothing new about this situation. When her seizures were really bad, Jekyll and Lucife would order her to be locked up in the attic at the top of the east tower.

Though in truth, Lisbelle had preferred it that way. Being locked up alone meant no one could kill her. But it’s a different story when you’re locked up with someone you can’t let your guard down around. The man sitting across from her was openly observing her with a keen interest, and eventually, Lisbelle let out a shallow sigh. The words that came out were practically a declaration of surrender.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Because you’re beautiful.”

The answer came immediately, as if he had been waiting for the question. He smiled slightly, and Lisbelle thought she caught a glimpse of mischief in his eyes.

However, his tone was earnest as he continued, “You’re so fascinating that I can’t help but keep looking. Perhaps because I’ve never seen a human as beautiful as you before.”

“Do you never look in the mirror?”

A compliment from someone with such looks lacked both realism and credibility.

While Lisbelle wore a doubtful expression, he murmured softly, “You’re really beautiful. I didn’t expect you to be this pretty.”

The table was small. Just reaching out his hand would allow him to touch. Asius didn’t hesitate to turn his thoughts into actions. The tips of his long fingers touched Lisbelle’s pale cheek. He gently caressed it before moving to her golden hair.

Lisbelle blinked and looked at the man who was confidently holding and playing with her hair. She felt like she had heard the word “beautiful” dozens of times in the past three days. She knew she didn’t look bad—no matter how much people criticized her, they couldn’t fault her looks—however, it was the first time she had been showered with such straightforward compliments.

As Lisbelle thought about it objectively, if this man wasn’t a fool who made everyone laugh, then there was only one reasonable explanation for his words and actions.

She asked suspiciously, “Have you perhaps fallen for me?”

“Let’s say I have. If that makes my actions more convincing, you can think that. It wouldn’t be entirely wrong.”

His answer was effortlessly smooth. The man brought her golden hair to his lips and kissed the end of it.

Lisbelle frowned. What on earth does that even mean?

Over the past three days, she had noticed that this man’s way of speaking was quite unique. His voice was always gentle, his words and demeanor friendly, but beneath the surface, there was no genuine consideration. He never answered the question with either affirmation or denial. He would just reassure her to think whatever she liked, without revealing whether her assumptions were true or not.

Lisbelle admitted to herself that her previous question had been extremely foolish. Thinking of his feelings as simple affection was overly idealistic.

“My lady…”

“That’s an odd title.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“I don’t care. Call me whatever you want.”

The man looked at her intently and then smiled.

“How are your feet?” he asked.

“The same. No different from yesterday.”

“Shall I unwrap the bandages and take a look again?”

“No, it’s fine.”

Lisbelle quickly shook her head. For the past three days, he had touched her feet every time he changed the bandages, and each time, she felt a chill course down her spine. His hands were excessively cold, and she could feel the fine hairs on her skin stand on end wherever he touched.

Resting his chin on the back of his hand, the man feigned a concerned expression. “Your feet need to heal well for you to leave here.”

Was he genuinely saying that out of concern for her? Since the moment three days ago when she pretended to be crazy and kissed him, Lisbelle had occasionally regretted that choice. She had thought that if he had no intention of killing her, she should do whatever it took to bring him to her side, but the very premise of her thinking had been wrong from the start.

You have no intention of harming me, right? There were more than a few doubts. Why on earth were the wounds that should have healed in a day or two still red and raw? Knights had been scouring the entire capital, so how had this place remained completely undiscovered? Why wasn’t she allowed to open the doors or windows?

This place was a cage. She was trapped, and he was the guard with the key. Those who imprison and those who are imprisoned typically can’t be on the same side. I feel like I’ve ended up in the lion’s den while trying to avoid the wolf...

How much longer would she have to hide in this suffocating prison?

It was obvious that once she stepped out, she would be caught by the knights of the royal castle. However, as long as there could only be one royal sibling remaining in Valdimar, her two brothers would find her no matter how long it took... But… that wasn’t the only outcome. It was possible… that they would never find her.

Her fingertips grew cold. Lisbelle bit down hard on the inside of her lip, though she showed no discomfort at the pain. She didn’t want to die, but she also didn’t want to remain imprisoned here for months or maybe even years.

Lisbelle kicked the table leg lightly with her foot and spoke bluntly.