Chapter 31. Ailexia’s Secret

Iella, who was about to ask if Vanessa hadn’t listened to her, ended up holding her forehead at Vanessa’s continued confession. Someone was filled with worries right now…! A sigh escaped at her friend’s carefree words.

Vanessa, feeling awkward, removed her hand from Iella and scratched her cheek. Her gaze was distant.

“Oh, no. I was just curious.”

“…I told you not to hang out with those uncles because you’d get influenced. You picked up all those things and now look.”

“Well, I’m an adult now, so it’s possible! Anyway, that’s not important.”

Sensing the nagging she had heard countless times in her past life, Vanessa quickly changed the subject. She raised her index finger.

“I think it’s related to why Ailexia created a harem and why you ended up sleeping with Allen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ailexia has a congenital disease called sorcery depletion. Sorcery power is the force used to perform sorcery, so for a sorcerer to lack this means they are in a state where they could die at any time.”

Iella was confused. It sounded like Ailexia was a sorcerer.

“Ailexia is a sorcerer?”

“Precisely, a sorcerer who can’t use sorcery. Sometimes, girls born with sorcerer mothers are born as innate sorcerers, and they often suffer from this disease.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I created it? Well, this truth is something Allen discovers in the middle to later parts of the novel, so no one knows it now. Not even about her mother. Except for Ailexia herself.”

Iella carefully processed Vanessa’s words, which were suddenly pouring out. Then she gained a certainty.

Sorcery couldn’t be used on oneself, and Ailexia was a sorcerer who couldn’t use sorcery, so she might be a victim like herself.

“But what does that have to do with the voice I heard?”

“Yes. Until her mother died, Ailexia sustained her life with the sorcery power her mother provided, but that wasn’t a permanent solution, right? It would end once her mother died. So she found a similar power to replace it, which is…”

“No way.”

“Yes. Male yang energy, in other words, sexual energy. However, it wasn’t exactly the same, but the desire was similar enough to be converted into sorcery power. So a separate spell was cast on Ailexia to convert it, and now she sustains her life with it. I think it’s because of that sorcery. Oh, and it doesn’t harm the partner.”

Now it made sense.

Ailexia needed a sacrifice and prey to sustain her life, but there was a limit to finding a new man whenever needed, so she created a harem.

‘Her staying in the secondary palace might be related to this too.’

But there was still something she didn’t understand.

Why did she keep doing things that provoked the Emperor’s displeasure and became the subject of gossip? That would only create unnecessary noise. And why didn’t the Emperor stop her from creating a harem? He wouldn’t know Ailexia’s reason.

“I didn’t know there was a spell on her body. I didn’t detail that part. Anyway, since it’s related to a sorcerer, I thought it was about the soul…”

“Wait, then…”

At that moment, she heard Vanessa’s muttering. A sudden thought struck Iella like a bolt of lightning.

“Until I return to my original body. So to endure in Ailexia’s body…”

“……”

“I have to keep mixing bodies?”

The returning silence served as an affirmative answer.

***

The sky, brightening as if dawn was about to break, was reflected in his red eyes. Helios gazed indifferently at the myriad colors blending in the sky.

Vilt, who stood behind him, took a step forward after observing his lord for a while.

“Prince Bledin left the secondary palace early.”

Vilt, who had just received the report from the shadow planted in the secondary palace, glanced at Helios. He couldn’t guess how Helios would react to the situation not going as planned.

“On his own?”

“Yes. He left the secondary palace shortly after reaching the bedroom. There was no major commotion.”

“What about Ailexia?”

“The maid went in to help her prepare but hasn’t come out yet. It seems she doesn’t know that the prince has left.”

The sound of tapping on the windowsill echoed rhythmically. Helios habitually placed his hand on the sword at his waist. The soft texture of the handkerchief tied to the hilt caressed his calloused palm.

“What about her previous movements?”

“During your absence, she visited an illegal auction house. However…”

His half-closed eyes slowly opened. Helios’s gaze moved sluggishly, looking at the reflection rather than outside the window. Feeling his gaze, Vilt spoke up without hesitation.

“Duke Calver was with her.”

“That’s quite interesting news.”

Reacting to the unexpected information, Helios smirked. As if asking for more, his gaze prompted Vilt to continue.

“And there was a fire there. It didn’t happen where the auction was held but in the basement, and it wasn’t a small fire.”

“The rascal of the secondary palace must have been quite agitated.”

“Well, it’s strange. She appeared near the forest after the fire, and her clothes were already scorched in places, but she was unharmed. She only lost consciousness after meeting the Duke.”

Helios, who had been mocking with a short laugh, erased the faint change from his expression at the story. He furrowed one eyebrow, narrowing his eyes as if pondering something, then removed his hand from the handkerchief and leaned against the window.

“No seizure?”

“Yes.”

The affirmative answer, like a confirmation shot, made his fingers tap the windowsill again.

“Tell Duke Calver to come to the palace. And…”

He paused, staring at the uniformly gray sky before stopping his tapping fingers.

“Monitor Ailexia’s every move more closely.”

His red eyes gleamed sharply.

***

[“It should be fine for now.”]

The occasional gentle breeze and the soft rustling of leaves whispered, breaking the quiet stillness of the garden. Iella gazed at the sky, gradually turning crimson, with deep pink eyes, her thoughts distant.

Vanessa’s words echoed in her mind, saying it would be fine since it hadn’t been long since she slept with Allen.

[“Ailexia engages in frequent sexual activities more for pleasure than to sustain her life. That’s how I set it up. So, she only needs to mix bodies when the life-sustaining power is completely depleted. We just need to return before that happens. However…”]

But Vanessa didn’t know the exact period of her power depletion. She hadn’t detailed such settings.

The problem was that Ailexia’s frequent sexual activities, regardless of life sustenance, made it difficult to calculate the period.

As a result, Iella was now in a state of uncertainty, not knowing when her power would deplete.

‘Since it’s for sustaining life, it must be depleted even if I stay still, right?’

In that case, she really didn’t have much time. She had to return to her original body quickly. When the life-sustaining power completely vanished, there would be only two choices left.

Die unfairly in Ailexia’s body or mix bodies with Allen again.

She didn’t want either.

‘For now, I’ll trust Vanessa.’

With a deep sigh, Iella turned her head towards the tightly closed main gate of the secondary palace.

Vanessa, who had confidently told her to trust her, had gone out early in the morning. She left to check on her contact, who had not responded despite days passing since Vanessa reached out immediately after that day.

Iella, waiting for her, had come outside as evening approached, hoping to ease her worries with a walk.

‘Come to think of it, Allen didn’t come that day.’

Iella suddenly stopped walking, recalling a forgotten fact.

The Emperor said he would send Allen to Ailexia’s bedroom. It wasn’t an empty promise. But Allen hadn’t shown up until Iella and Vanessa had finished their conversation.

‘Allen wouldn’t have the power to refuse.’

Since he was sent as a hostage to the Empire, Allen couldn’t defy the Emperor. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have succeeded. The Emperor’s order could have forced the knights to drag him.

However, despite discussing the current situation and their past life, they hadn’t seen even a glimpse of Allen’s golden hair. Not even the sound of someone being dragged was heard.

‘Could it be…’

Was Allen being punished for refusing the Emperor’s order?

An uneasy thought crossed her mind. Considering her direct encounter with the Emperor, it wasn’t entirely impossible. It was unsettling that Allen hadn’t come to the bedroom, yet everything remained quiet.

Had the Emperor’s target shifted to Allen? Iella’s heart sank heavily.

If so, Allen was in an unfair position. It all started when she got involved with the Emperor. He was about to be dragged out in the middle of the night and now might be punished.

‘I feel so guilty.’

The guilt of an innocent person taking the blame weighed heavily on her. She wanted to find him immediately and confirm if her worries were true.

But she couldn’t go and apologize or show concern. Ailexia wasn’t that kind of person. That fact made Iella feel even worse.

‘When Vanessa returns, I’ll ask her to check on him…’

At that moment, while she was contemplating her best options, she sensed someone approaching.

Turning her head in that direction, she saw dark blue hair even in the twilight.

“Ast… Duke Calver.”

Iella bit her lip to stop herself from calling his name and addressed him again. Fortunately, he seemed not to have heard the first part and approached her without a word.

He stopped just a little beyond arm’s reach.