Chapter 49

“There’ll likely be a noticeable difference this time . ”

Instantly, Bastian’s gaze changed slightly . He studied Kalian’s face then he promptly asked .

“You, are you in touch that Selena’s knight, the prophet or whatever he’s called?”

Kalian slightly furrowed his brows .

“I know who you are talking about, but neither of those two titles are suitable for him, Grandfather . ”

“Who cares . You understood it anyways . ”

Bastian grumbled .

Kalian didn’t reply to that and chose to withdraw at this point .

“I will inform you later . Then, please get some rest . ”

Kalian left the greenhouse first and Bastian’s narrowed eyes remained staring in the direction he had left for a while .

* * *

Kalian stopped by the gallery before leaving the mansion again . As soon as he opened the door, the first picture ‘that portrait’ came into his sight .

A woman smiling beautifully, draped in a gorgeous dress decorated with jewels .

She was loved by everyone in the Crawford family and if she was currently alive, Genos Sheldon would be serving her as a knight…

But as of now, she had already vanished into thin air . She was the youngest daughter of Bastian from earlier and to Kalian, she was his aunt whose age didn’t vary much from his .

This portrait was painted more than 10 years ago, and shortly after, Selena was scarred in a fire and lost her former appearance . So the Selena in Kalian’s memory had a very different appearance from this portrait . Which is why he didn’t immediately think of Selena when he first saw Yuri .

But looking at it again, they really did look alike . Of course, even if that was the case, he doubted there was any other connection between the two of them…

After a while, Kalian turned away from the portrait and left the gallery . He had work to do for now, so he had to focus on that . *

* * *

Later that evening, Lakis and Yuri sat at the table, eating dinner . But for some reason, Lakis’ hand had stopped moving while he merely stared at Yuri .

Lakis’ gaze was focused on where Yuri’s flowing hair swayed over her shoulders . Feeling the pair of eyes following her, Yuri paused . Soon her hand touched the white ribbon on her head, which Anne-Marie had personally helped her put on at the coffeehouse .

“I’m trying it out, is it weird?”

She hadn’t thought much about it so far but since Lakis kept staring, she strangely felt a little awkward .

Hearing what she said, Lakis shook his head . Then his lips parted, and a low voice flowed out .

“It looks great on you . ”

At that moment, Yuri’s gaze changed slightly .

Surely it was just her imagination but…

Oddly enough, sometimes when Lakis said something and he was looking at her, she felt there was something strange about his gaze .

It was the same feeling now .

Yuri tilted her head and looked at Lakis . And as soon as their eyes met, his eyes crinkled beautifully as he smiled . Yuri’s suspicion grew a little more . She didn’t know when she suddenly began to have doubts that weren’t there before .

Maybe it was because she remembered that other day, when she clung to him and even hugged him, instead of pulling away, he hugged her even tighter .

Yuri felt her mood turning a little strange, then she looked away from Lakis and her hand began moving again .

Somehow, the atmosphere that evening was a little different from other evenings .

* * *

“What? Kalian Crawford?”

Damon was listening to the report then he heard an unexpected name .

“I knew someone would go looking for Genos Sheldon but Kalian Crawford? Why is that guy out there?”

“From what I know, he was dispatched to investigate a missing persons case . ”

Hearing that, Damon quickly understood .

‘So it’s because of the major disappearances or whatever that has been going on lately . ’

Everyone was hush-hush about it, but he’d heard there were even some nobles children among the missing people . Well, it made sense for them to send Kalian personally since it got to that extent .

Can’t expect less from those obvious people .

A crooked smile emerged on Damon’s face . He put the paper he was reading down on his desk, then he drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair .

Damon looked like he was mulling something over for a while, then he soon uttered a new command .

“You, follow Kalian Crawford . ”

“Gasp, are you asking me to tail him?”

“Wow, this little—! It’s an investigation . A very official one, at that . ”

He clicked his tongue, like their behavior was pathetic .

Kalian Crawford and Genos Sheldon were originally close to each other . So if Genos Sheldon was in this vicinity, there were a very high chance they were talking to each other .

After Genos was expelled, Damon didn’t pay any more attention to him, but the story was different now because the Guardian of the East might be reinstated .

“W-Won’t I die if they catch me?”

“Then don’t let them catch you . ”

“If it’s Kalian-nim, I’ll 100% be caught . ”

The man before Damon trembled as if the thought alone was terrifying but Damon’s reaction was lukewarm .

“Since you’ll die doing a good deed, you’ll go to heaven . ”

“It’s only a good deed for you, Damon-nim! If that’s the case, why don’t you follow him yourself!”

“This scaredy-cat . Courage, my ass . ”

Damon leaned his chin on his hand and slanted in his seat; the look in his eyes was as if he was seeing the most pathetic person in the world . Then as if he became generous and decided to show mercy, he rummaged through his desk drawers, picked something out and flicked it at the man .

“Stop whimpering . Take this and get lost . ”

The thing Damon threw was a yellow jewel that seemed to be refined with alchemy .

“T-This expensive thing in that dirty drawer…!”

This thing had the effect of erasing tracks . But if entered its 5m radius, it became useless, so you had to pay attention to that . That said, this should be enough to follow Kalian Crawford .

After solving one troublesome thing, Damon lowered his head again . His gaze was fixed on the paper he had been reading earlier . He stared at it with narrowed eyes, then he soon gave a cold smile .

“I don’t know who it is but…”

A low whisper sounded in the quiet room .

“Should I call them bold or ignorant . ”

Late last night, a letter of unknown origin arrived in front of him . On it were the simple words, ‘The thing called the philosopher’s stone from the auction is in my hands . If you’re interested, contact me . ’

And underneath was a shorter explanation on how to send a reply .

‘Do they really have the stone?’

Either ways, it was definitely a courageous bastard . Especially if you look at how they contacted him directly . Damon once again drummed his fingers on the armrest and fell into contemplation .

Should he send a reply or not?

Honestly, he had already made a decision .

* * *

The next day, the events flowed in a similar manner as usual . But when it was almost time for Yuri to get off work, Anne-Marie came to find her for something .

“Ms . Anne-Marie, I guess you got off early today . ”

“Yes! Are you done too, Ms . Yuri?”

“I just need to wrap up . ”

“Then…”

“But I have an appointment, so I’ll be stopping somewhere first before going home . ”

“Oh, I see…”

Anne-Marie’s eyebrows drooped slightly; it looked like she was planning on asking Yuri to go home together . However, she didn’t leave immediately but hesitated instead . From the way she behaved, you could tell she had something to say to Yuri .

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while now, can I ask?”

“Sure, go ahead . ”

Finally, with a bashful look on her pretty face, Anne-Marie asked .

“Do you have an older or younger brother?”

It was a somewhat abrupt investigation .

Yuri quizzically tilted her head then she paused .

‘…Did she notice it was me she met at the festival?’

“No . I’m an only child . Probably . ”

“Probably?”

“I’m an orphan . ”

Instantly, Anne-Marie stiffened . Then her mouth opened and closed . She looked like she was going to apologize for some reason, so Yuri spoke first .

“You must be happy to be getting home early for the first time in a while . I’m sure Hestia will be happy too . Please take care, Anne-Marie . ”

“Yes…you too, don’t get home too late, Ms . Yuri . ”

In the end, Anne-Marie said goodbye with a somewhat awkward smile on her face instead of apologizing . Left behind alone, Yuri felt a sort of discomfort like she had done something bad to Anne-Marie .

But to her, it wasn’t a bad thing because thanks to that, she had prevented herself from being asked more investigative questions .

Yuri soon finished her work at the store, then she headed to Leo’s hideout .