Chapter 191: Encounter (5)
“The man without a head.”
At Behad’s words, I asked again, just in case.
“I’m only asking to make sure… are you perhaps referring to something like a Dullahan?”
“No.”
Behad shook his head firmly, as if to say there was no way that could be the case.
His face still held a strange mix of curiosity and tension, as if the memory from back then remained vividly clear.
“No, obviously it wasn’t something as lame as a Dullahan. If it were a Dullahan, I would’ve just said it was a Dullahan.”
With that, Behad let out a quiet cough.
“Hmm, how should I even describe it… Again, let me be clear—it definitely wasn’t anything like a Dullahan, and it wasn’t an undead either. If it had been an ordinary undead, it would've been discovered and obliterated by the members of the Holy Sun Church who were gathered there, long before it could even get near me.”
“True.”
I nodded at his words.
“And more than anything, it didn’t give off that undead feeling at all.”
Behad added, almost as if making an excuse.
“I may not look like it, but I’ve always had a pretty sharp intuition.”
After pausing briefly, Behad stared into space, as if searching for the right words.
“First of all… its outfit was incredibly strange.”
“Was it wearing something like tattered rags?”
“Haha, rags? Hmm, I suppose you could call it that, in a way.”
Behad laughed aloud as he replied.
“If I had to put it nicely, I’d say it was vintage. If I were being honest, I’d call it tacky… What’s the best way to put it? It was the kind of outfit that made you think the guy was a few centuries off—like he’d gotten the timeline completely wrong. You know, like the stuff you only see in illustrations in old history textbooks.”
“Ah… I understand what you mean.”
“Right, anyway, he was dressed like that.”
Then, as if he couldn’t forget it, he muttered,
“And he had one of those masks—like the ones you use at masquerade balls. You know them, right? The kind with a stick handle that you hold in your hand to cover your face.”
“Yes, I know what you’re referring to.”
When I nodded, Behad continued.
“He was holding one of those masks in one hand.”
“…”
I reviewed Behad’s description in my mind.
A man dressed in outdated clothing that looked like it belonged to a different century.
Holding a masquerade mask in one hand.
And most of all, without a head.
“No matter how I think about it, that does sound like an undead.”
At my remark, he let out a sigh.
“Yeah, I know. To anyone else, it would sound like an undead. But I’m telling you, it really wasn’t.”
“Hmm…”
There wasn’t even a hint of deception in his voice.
If anything, all I sensed was firm conviction.
Had it been someone else, I might have assumed they were mistaken—or misremembering something from long ago.
‘But this isn’t just anyone…’
I knew well that Behad’s intuition surpassed that of most beastkin or animals.
If he was this certain, then it seemed far more likely that the thing in his memory wasn’t an undead.
“Anyway, that thing—looking like that—was moving through the crowd…”
He trailed off, then shuddered involuntarily, as if the memory still gave him chills.
“What’s strange is, no one else noticed its presence. Only I could see it. No—if I’m being exact, Menoruka… she saw it too. She was desperately trying to run away from it.”
He muttered, his words faltering slightly.
“And somehow… um, well… Anyway, I got dragged into the incident, and in the process, I ended up helping her. When she says I saved her life, I guess she’s referring to how I bought her time and hid her so she could escape from that headless man.”
She must have been in an emotionally heightened state from the fear.
As he spoke, a faint frown formed between Behad’s brows.
“She was extremely terrified—even sensing the faintest trace of it made her visibly afraid.”
Then, Behad began to mumble to himself.
“But now that I think about it… No, maybe I’m overthinking it.”
“What is it?”
“Hmm.”
He hesitated before speaking.
“…Thinking back on it now, even if it was a Wyrmling, how did something terrifying enough to make a dragon run fail to find a mere child like me?”
After a moment of contemplation, Behad shook his head lightly and said,
“Well, that aside, that encounter continued throughout the Departure Festival. And right before we parted, she asked me to take her as my bride.”
“…And you agreed just like that?”
At my pointed remark, Behad coughed awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.
“Come on, don’t look at me like I’m some shallow scoundrel. Lian, if you were in my shoes, you’d have said yes too.”
Avoiding my gaze, he continued with an excuse.
“Think about it—how old do you think I was back then? And there was this beautiful older girl, crying and clinging to me alone like that…”
Suddenly, Behad let out a sigh and muttered like a complaint.
“I didn’t have any ulterior motives, not at all. It’s just that… seeing her cry so sorrowfully, even at that young age, I felt like I had to calm her down somehow. Honestly, how scared and desperate must she have been to cling to a kid like me?”
“Yes, well…”
I nodded.
Even so, I couldn’t help but think that what Behad experienced now was simply reaping what he’d sown.
He had deliberately glossed over the details, giving only a vague summary, but it was likely that, in just those few days, he had completely won Menoruka over with his natural charm.
No—there was little doubt about it.
“And then.”
Whether he had caught on to my thoughts or not, Behad shrugged.
“Of course, I figured she wasn’t from an ordinary family. But I never imagined she’d be a Dragon.”
“Well, anyone would’ve thought the same.”
“Exactly. At most, I figured she’d already married someone else long ago. That’s why, when you first asked me, I didn’t even think of her. Besides, the name she gave back then wasn’t Menoruka either.”
Eventually finishing his explanation, Behad looked at me and raised the corner of his lips slightly.
“…Now then, it’s your turn to keep your promise, Lian.”
“Yes, it is.”
“I’m not planning to ask anything weird, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Behad grinned, and I nodded calmly.
“Yes, feel free to ask.”
Behad looked into my eyes for a moment, then carefully opened his mouth.
“My half-sister…”
He murmured almost like a whisper.
“I mean Velita. Would it be alright if I asked what on earth happened between you and that woman?”
“…You mean Princess Velita?”
I immediately understood why he would ask such a question.
Behad and Mercedes—those twins had been wary of Velita for a long time.
Considering that, it wasn’t surprising that they were now growing suspicious of me, someone who had recently been in frequent contact with Velita.
It was possible that the reason Behad, after initially approaching me with friendliness, had started to keep his distance was because of this.
I answered calmly, as if to reassure him.
“There hasn’t been anything particularly noteworthy between Her Highness Princess Velita and me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If I had to say, I merely caught Her Highness’s attention by chance and ended up assisting her with a few tasks.”
I paused briefly, then added,
“Since we’re on the topic, I may as well elaborate…”
With a composed and untroubled manner, I continued.
“Lord Behad, Lady Mercedes—both of you have probably done some degree of research on me already. I suspect the reason Lady Velita took interest in me was because I happened to be at the center of several incidents that would naturally draw her attention.”
“…Hmm.”
Behad nodded slowly.
His expression was hard to read, but he didn’t seem to doubt my words.
“…I suppose what I said earlier might have come off as a bit rude. For that, I apologize.”
Then, as if to clarify and avoid any misunderstanding, Behad spoke again in a light tone.
“It’s just that lately, that woman’s been openly distancing herself from people in the Holy Sun Church. She even dismissed the ones she used to keep close. But with you, Lian, it looked like she was the one making the approach. So I was just wondering if there was a particular reason for that.”
He followed with a shrug.
“So, I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
Saying that, he stretched, looking tired.
“Ugh, anyway, I should get going now. As you know, Lian, I’ve been… pretty worn out in various ways.”
With that, Behad turned and left.
Left alone, I gazed for a moment at the spot where he had disappeared.
‘…The man without a head.’
For some reason, the phrase Behad had mentioned kept nagging at me.
I considered going back to the library to ask Amaruah about it—but shook my head.
Amaruah had looked extremely exhausted just moments ago, and even if I were to ask Menoruka, I wasn’t confident I’d get a proper answer.
‘It’s probably better to wait for a better opportunity to bring it up with them later.’
Having spent a bit of time with Behad and even securing his promise and a token of his intent to return, it was unlikely Menoruka would act rashly anytime soon.
For now, the urgent matter concerning her could be considered resolved.
‘Perhaps it’d be best to ask Professor Windy May.’
I was just about to move, thinking that—
“Excuse me.”
A soft voice.
But an unfamiliar one, prompting me to turn my head.
“Are you Lian Gwendil?”
Standing before me were two men I had never seen before.
But the moment I saw their uniforms, I could easily guess who they were.
They wore the attire of the Holy Sun Church.
“Yes, I am.”
“If you don’t mind, may we have a moment of your time?”
“My time?”
“Yes, we would like you to accompany us somewhere.”
They were polite, but there was a firm tone behind their words.
“We serve His Eminence, Cardinal Bruyant.”
One of them bowed deeply toward me as he spoke.
“The Cardinal wishes to meet with you, Lian Gwendil.”