Seeing my strange expression, he scratched his head, smiled softly, and took a step back.
"It's natural, between friends. Right?"
He looked deep into my eyes and whispered. Perhaps he misunderstood my expression and thought I was feeling burdened. I looked at him and nodded. And I whispered playfully as if to shake off the sticky atmosphere and the pounding of my heart.
"Of course, I also want to be friendly with the Master, or rather, Isaac."
In an instant, a cold wind blew hard, messing up my hair and then leaving. I tidied up my hair and shuffled my feet.
Oh, I forgot to say this.
I grabbed Isaac's sleeve.
"I'm saying it's suspicious, Isaac."
First of all, it was an opportunity to change the topic of conversation from Dominic to something else. I asked him quietly.
"Do you remember? The man at the auction house I saw that day."
Then his eyebrows rose. Apparently, this man had become more emotionally expressive these days. When we first met, he just smiled softly all day. I thought that must have meant he had opened his heart to me more, so I didn't dislike the new expressions he showed.
"No matter how much you think about it, isn't there something suspicious?"
I thought about the shadow I saw in him the whole time. And the people who were strangely sympathetic to him at the auction house.
Isaac nodded and replied, "Actually, I'm here to talk about it too."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes, you told me."
Obviously, anyone could see that he had a "I'm suspicious" look on his face. I looked up into his deep eyes as if to tell me to speak quickly. In the pitch-black darkness, only his eyes shone clearly. Feeling somewhat overwhelmed, I held my breath quietly.
The night when the moonlight softly shone through our gaps. The tone of his words was lowered by about half.
"That day, the man…"
"…"
"I'm worried."
Maybe it was because of the chilly night air. His voice felt somehow thin. Isaac continued in a soft voice.
"I found him."
It was surprising and new news. I spoke to him.
"Really? What kind of person was he?"
I stopped when I was about to ask if he was Hesmann or Babyloa's entourage. Isaac spoke first with a strange face.
"It's better to hear the exact things directly."
"…?"
His half-languid, uncomfortable expression spread like a flower blooming profusely.
"Let me tell you one thing in advance, Mel?"
"Yes?"
"That's him."
Isaac looked at me and smiled softly like a flower.
"I've been looking for you all the time. To be precise…"
"…Yes?"
"I was looking for a direct blood relative who would be granted the title of Marquis of Kinnoa."
A speculation hit me in an instant. Isaac, who made eye contact with me, immediately cleared up my doubts.
"He was a collateral blood relative who survived the Marquis of Kinnoa."
Isaac's eyes deepened into darkness.
"I think that man could be the key to solving the dragon's curse that exists in you."
That's why he asked for my name.
So he wasn't a close associate of Sheria or Duke Hesmann.
Why did he find me? I remembered the man who had disappeared while talking to me.
I shouldn't have sent him away like that back then.
I looked at him, my lower lip biting tightly.
"Where can I meet him?"
But Isaac did not answer my question and stared at my lips.
"…Lips, Mel."
His gaze lingered on my red lips. A little confused, I turned my eyes to the side. Isaac looked down at me and said again.
"If you keep biting it, it will hurt."
It became difficult to answer, so I shook my head and turned my head.
Oh, why are you so embarrassed?
Maybe my plump front cheeks turned a little red.
After the walk, Isaac and I returned to the stationery store.
Come to think of it, Dominic was looking for the collateral blood relatives of the Marquis of Kinnoa.
I wanted to tell Dominic quickly, so I sent a telegram.
'Dominic, where are you now?'
However, I couldn't easily contact Dominic.
'Dominic! Kinnoa's collateral blood relatives that you have been looking for every night have finally been found!'
I tried to talk to him a few more times, but Dominic still didn't answer.
I'm worried…
First of all, we needed to start interrogating him quickly and find out where Dominic was.
"I'll summon him to the front of the Round Table."
At Isaac's words, I nodded wildly. For now, the priority was to talk to Kinnoa's collateral blood relatives.
I sat down at the round table first, and then waited for Kinnoa's kin who was about to arrive. Isaac drew a simple summoning circle inside the stationery store. At the same time, the man appeared.
After a while.
In front of the round table sat the suspicious moderator of the dark auction house, who said he had found me. I sat with my arms crossed and whispered earnestly to him.
"It's been a long time."
"…Do you know me?"
Come to think of it, I met this man when I was disguised with carrot-colored hair. He wouldn't know my true face.
Instead of giving him an answer, I looked at Isaac.
"What did this person's name say?"
"My real name is Basil Kinnoa. Sometimes I use the pseudonym Dilton."
The suspicious moderator, Basil's face, was stained with despair. Was he afraid of me? Why was this happening?
"Listen carefully. I don't want to kill or hurt you. I just have something to ask."
Basil stared at me with a look of resentment. I grinned at him and said.
"My name is Meldenik Kinnoa. I heard you were looking for me?"
I continued as if I was free. At my words, Basil's eyes widened as if he had been hit by a bomb. If it weren't for the invisible magic that bound him, he would have jumped.
Basil immediately looked around and suddenly spoke to me.
"Now, listen carefully. I'm 190 centimeters tall!"
…Why was he saying this all of a sudden?
"Where did you scam?" I frowned and said to him.
"No, I don't. It looks like 170 centimeters."
Basil's eyes widened.
"Hey, I think it's real! You won't be fooled by my lies!"
Did he test me? No, was this person's ability to lie? I looked at him suspiciously. Basil, who didn't notice my gaze, poked his cheek.
"So far, only two people have noticed my lies. The scarlet-haired man I saw at the auction house, and you!"
"It's both me. I have a lot of doubts."
Then Basil's eye sockets grew so big that they couldn't get any bigger.
Anyway, if lying is an ability, I can understand why people behaved strangely in the auction house.
I looked at Basil and thought about it. Now that I'd finally caught this person, it was time to find out about the dragon's curse. I tried to open my mouth to him.
However, his emotional voice came first.
"If you really want to be a marquis, please spare the people of my family!"
I exchanged glances with Isaac with a puzzled face. What else was he talking about?
And weren't all the members of the Kinnoa family dead?
Receiving our questioning looks, Basil began to explain the situation.
"It is a well-known fact that our Kinnoa family is cursed by dragons. But in reality, it was not a curse, but a blessing."
Basil continued to stutter.
"However, the dragon that gave the blessing fell asleep for some reason, and the bloodline of the Kinnoa family had an inevitable side effect."
That is, when the ability is awakened, it undergoes the phenomenon of mana reflux. The phenomenon of mana reflux has been overcome through experiments for several generations, but the problem is that the priests of the Holy Kingdom go to kill people who have been blessed by different races. To be honest, I didn't really understand it.
Why do people who claim to have received God's teachings go to kill those who have been blessed by different races? I didn't know or understand it. However, the story he told did not seem to be false.
"…The priests of the Holy Kingdom killed people?" I muttered in surprise.
"That's right. In the Holy Kingdom, they are looking for and killing humans who have been blessed by different races."
Isaac, who was sitting next to me, asked with his eyes narrowed.
"So, what the people of the Kinnoa family were saying was a murder after all?"
"That's right. I heard that if you are a direct blood relative, you can awaken your extraordinary abilities. Please protect us with your power!" Basil replied seriously.