Chapter 14
Translator: Yonnee
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Ciel immediately knew what Jace meant.
In this empire without any Guides, the 'partial state' referred to the near possibility of rampage breaking out. In the first place, an Esper without a Guide could never be 'whole'.
If Ciel demanded for Seo-yoon to guide him right now, Jace would have understood better, but he couldn't understand why Ciel was acting this way right now.
Ciel had absolutely no intention of receiving Seo-yoon's guiding.
There was not a single person in the entire Stern Empire who'd be able to satisfy him. So, he instead chose to drink holy water instead, enduring and biding his time.
Then, Ciel realized-this meant that his body's constitution was different from before he regressed.
Before returning, his partial state was not as intense as it was right now. The power raging within him, too, had been weaker in the past compared to how it was now.
The state he was in right now was similar to when he would receive Seohyun's guiding back in Korea.
His wife's guiding was quiet and small, but extraordinarily pure.
The chemistry they had together was so good that he thought that she was born for him. That's why the 99% match rate that they had perfectly summed up their relationship.
However, the environment around them did not help foster their relationship.
"Is it that bad?"
For a moment, Jace asked Ciel worriedly, recalling how much he struggled in the past.
Right then, the doorkeeper's voice resounded, announcing the saintess' arrival into the hall. With a curious look on his face, Jace led Ciel away.
Ciel watched Seo-yoon walking leisurely through the banquet attendees, who made way for her.
"Of all things, why do they have similar names."
Seohyun and Seo-yoon.
Only one syllable perfectly matched, and yet the soul that was within that woman was completely parallel.
Putting everything else aside, Ciel could not take his eyes off Seo-yoon's black hair and black eyes, which reminded him so much of Seohyun.
Just that alone was making him crazy with yearning. With the saintess at the forefront of his gaze, Ciel felt his mood slowly sinking into a swamp, of which he did not know how far the bottom was.
And then, a very small whisper flowed into his ears.
Any normal person wouldn't have been able to catch such a small voice even when the hall had grown so quiet. Even so, as an Esper, that voice was crystal clear to him.
"...Seo-yoon?"
The emperor had yet to disclose the name of the saintess, and so the woman's voice who uttered the name struck his ears and his mind, as if he'd been hit with a bolt from the sky.
How truly... suspicious.
* * *
The star named Irene was the biggest and brightest star. It was a beautiful star that could only be seen at the height of summer.
The star would not shine until midnight, and so the highlight of the coming-of-age ceremony was to see the star Irene and pray.
I felt thrilled to watch the sky slowly be filled with more glittering stars. The view was so magnificent and vast beyond my reach...
Besides that, perhaps the scenery felt more beautiful because I wasn't alone-I was here with my family.
With Mom's hand tight in my grasp, we approached the edge of the balcony. It was relatively quiet here because there were still many people spending their time inside the hall.
"My daughter is going to be an adult soon."
Mom gazed upon me with a look that was full of pride as she said this. Even if I wasn't doing anything special, Mom always looked at me so lovingly.
Whenever this happened, I felt my heart getting full and myself getting awkward. Habitually, I chewed on my lower lip.
"I can't believe you're an adult now. You're still my baby..."
Next to Mom, Dad's eyes held such fondness as he said this. Then, Mom glanced sideways at him.
"What do you mean, still your baby? She's grown up to be such a beautiful lady now. Isn't it rude for you to call a lady like that?"
"Hoho, is that so?"
Then, Brother gently placed a hand on my back and tugged me close. He was about a head taller than me, so I had to raise my chin to look up at him.
"I can sympathize with Father, too. You're still very much my baby sister, but in a blink of an eye, it's already your coming-of-age ceremony... I don't feel all that swell because I feel so old now."
Dad burst out laughing at Brother's joke, and with me still in the middle, Mom started nagging Brother.
"You should start thinking about your marriage, too. Every time I try to broach the subject, you just run all the way back to the garrison! Irene will follow your example well, so you should get married first!"
Of course, I wasn't thinking about marriage either, but I didn't want to be the next target of Mom's firestorm, so I tried to sneak away from that spot.
However, Brother was faster. He blocked my escape route by putting more strength in his hand as it was behind my back.
"Haha, Mother, really-"
"Whatever you're about to say right now, don't try to make the same excuses. This time, I'm really going to make you commit to it."
Mom was firmer with Brother than usual, and so as he listened to her words, Brother lowered his eyes with a low curve on the corners of his lips.
He looked exactly as he did back in the day, whenever he was scolded after he got himself in trouble. I couldn't help but let out a peal of laughter.
Ah, this was true happiness.
It felt as if, now, I could finally understand what happiness was.
