Neither getting closer nor further away.
As if telling me to follow.
'No way.'
A butterfly calling me? This isn't some fairy tale. It's surreal.
But...
'When was I ever realistic?'
Being betrayed by my family and falling into the Abyss, meeting an evil god there and making a contract, and returning to the past.
All of it was an unrealistic story.
Besides.
'Something's bothering me.'
Perhaps because of the dream I had just before, the butterfly felt even more unsettling.
'Let's just check it out.'
Where that butterfly came from, whether it's really calling me.
Swish.
I got out of bed and put on my slippers.
As I took a step towards the butterfly.
Flutter...
The butterfly moved away exactly the distance I approached.
Could it be.
'Is it real?'
With a half-doubting heart, I jumped closer this time.
Flutter flutter.
Then, again, the butterfly maintained its distance from me with a few flaps of its wings.
It's real. The butterfly is luring me.
The butterfly headed straight for the door. And then...
'...It went through?'
It passed through the door.
A physically impossible event.
Could that butterfly be...
'Magic?'
If it was a butterfly made of magic, then entering my sealed room, calling me, and passing through the door would all be possible.
Which means.
'Someone is calling me.'
A conflict arose for a moment.
Who on earth is calling me?
'Is it okay to follow that?'
Am I just putting myself in danger?
A moment of conflict arose, but the time for 고민 wasn't long.
I immediately approached the door.
'With that level of magical skill, they wouldn't bother trying to lure me.'
If they were trying to harm me, they could have threatened me while I was asleep.
That was proof that they had no intention of threatening me.
'What on earth is it?'
I stood for a moment, lost in thought.
'Who's calling me?'
Currently, there were many outsiders staying in this building.
It must be one of them.
'Who broke through Rodbel's magic and sent a butterfly to me?'
Just in case, the white building we were currently staying in had magic cast on it that nullified all magic except Rodbel's.
But now, the owner of that butterfly broke through the nullification magic and sent a butterfly to me.
'An amazing person.'
As far as I knew, none of the VIPs possessed that level of skill.
With this level of skill, their reputation must be great, but the fact that there's no information...
'Means they're hiding their identity.'
Thump, thump.
My heart was racing with a sense of anticipation and nervousness.
Click.
I turned the doorknob.
I paused belatedly.
'The knights will be guarding the door.'
Before the banquet, Leaguein mainly stayed by my side, so he didn't deploy knights, but after that, as his visits became less frequent, he stationed knights in front of the door.
'Aiden is said to have returned to the Crown Prince's side.'
After the banquet and completing his mission, Aiden returned to the Crown Prince.
What to do...
After hesitating for a moment, I just opened the door wide.
I was going to say that I couldn't sleep, so I was going for a walk.
But...
'What? Where did they go?'
The knights were nowhere to be seen.
I looked around and then looked down.
"..."
The knights who weren't visible were sprawled on the floor.
...Why are they like that?
I was momentarily flustered and just blinked my eyes before cautiously approaching.
They're not dead, are they...?
"...Kooool..."
"Snore..."
Fortunately, they don't seem to be dead.
The knights were sound asleep.
'Is this magic too?'
Amazing and useful.
Thinking that, I avoided the knights and moved in the direction the butterfly was flying.
On the way, I found servants who were also asleep.
It seems that this butterfly put everyone to sleep.
'How strong is it, really?'
To render so many people powerless in an instant.
Just how skilled of a magician are they?
Admiringly, I chased after the butterfly.
Thanks to the constant distance it maintained, it was easy because I didn't have to rush.
The butterfly crossed the hallway and headed downstairs.
'The floor below is the guest room floor.'
Sure enough.
The butterfly changed its course and flew into the hallway.
As expected, the owner of that butterfly is among the attendees.
'Who could it be.'
With anticipation, I passed through the doors that were placed at intervals.
'What business could they have with me.'
I vaguely tried to guess, but it didn't come to mind.
That's because I'm just a bastard who's starting to get noticed.
There's no reason for them to have any business with me.
'I'm curious.'
A curiosity deeper than fear washed over me.
And.
Flutter.
The butterfly flew into a room.
It was the last room in the hallway.
But...
'Isn't that Sir Aiden?'
Sir Aiden was in front of the door.
Of course, slumped over.
Just like the knights guarding my room, Aiden and the other imperial knights were sound asleep.
'The fact that Sir Aiden is here means.'
The owner of this room is...
"..."
Holding my breath.
Click.
I turned the doorknob.
Swish.
The door slid open smoothly without friction.
I slowly entered the room.
The room at the very end of the second floor is the most spacious and elaborate of the guest rooms.
Moonlight poured in through the wide window.
The luxurious scenery of the room was revealed under the pale light.
But the Crown Prince was nowhere to be seen.
Instead of looking for the Crown Prince, I looked for the butterfly.
Flutter flutter.
The butterfly was hovering over the bed.
'It's there.'
I approached the bed without hesitation.
But...
'It's not there?'
Only rumpled blankets and pillows were scattered on the bed.
Then where is the Crown Prince?
That's when it happened.
Swish...
I heard a noise from inside the bed.
I was startled and turned my head.
After hesitating for a moment, I approached that side.
And...
"...Found you."
I was able to find the owner of the room who I couldn't see.
The Crown Prince was sitting leaning against the side of the bed.
His eyes were tightly closed, and his condition seemed strange.
Above all.
"What on earth is that?"
Around the Crown Prince, something like black heat haze was wavering.
With an ominous and eerie feeling...
My instinct was screaming that it was dangerous.
It was the moment I took a step back unconsciously.
"Ah..."
From the darkness, the Crown Prince raised his head.
His eyes, which were blue-gray, looked black in the darkness.
The focus of his eyes was blurry. But the Crown Prince was definitely looking at me.
I hesitated and asked cautiously.
"Are you okay?"
It wasn't the words to say to someone who could burn an ogre to a crisp, but the Crown Prince in front of me seemed very dangerous for some reason.
The Crown Prince stared at me for a moment and then chuckled.
"Is it a hallucination?"
Thinking that I'm being treated like a hallucination often today, I was about to answer.
"I don't care if it's a hallucination or not."
The Crown Prince's voice, saying that, was somehow hoarse and heavy.
It was like... I didn't know the Crown Prince.
Eyes, blue-gray, sunk in darkness, turned to me.
Gradually, gradually his eyes were dyed black.
"Don't come."
As he was gradually being swallowed up by the darkness, the Crown Prince rejected me.
What on earth is this situation?
It was difficult to understand the series of events that were as surreal as a dream.
It was difficult, but...
"...You're my savior."
One thing was quite clear.
"I don't know what's going on, but maybe I can help."
That I can't turn away from him.
As he said, he was the savior of my life. I had received his salvation, and I couldn't turn away from him here.
With that will, I looked at him.
The Crown Prince stared blankly at me like this.
"Ha..."
He lowered his head and laughed as if he was dumbfounded.
"That's right. The princess was that kind of person..."
The voice muttering that sounded like someone who knew me well.
We've only met once.
"But there's nothing the princess can do. This has never let me go."
The Crown Prince smiled faintly.
Even that face was obscured by the deepened darkness and not clearly visible.
"I'll be fine soon... Don't get caught up in it and go back. There's nothing you can do anyway."
He pushed me away with a firm voice.
'He'll be fine?'
I stood still and looked at him.
The heat haze had grown even larger and had become something that could no longer be called heat haze.
It was wavering and surging and was relentlessly swallowing the Crown Prince.
Now the Crown Prince's appearance was barely visible.
'Can this really be okay?'
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