After we arrived at the mansion, my father and mother arrived too not long afterwards...
The evening air was cool, and the gentle flicker of torches along the walls made the white stones of the Esmond estate shimmer faintly. Everything looked calm again, but my heart was still restless.
Now we are eating in the dining area with Raye beside me. The long table gleamed under the chandelier, silver utensils perfectly aligned, steaming dishes releasing a soft aroma of herbs and roasted meat. Yet, even amidst all the refinement, my attention drifted again and again toward Raye.
I can't help but look at him from time to time. Even his table manners are top notch— measured movements, quiet posture, not a single sound as his utensils touched the plate. He looked like he'd spent his whole life among nobles.
'I want to learn that from him,' I thought, trying not to stare too obviously.
"I'll teach you when we're going on a date."
Then, Raye suddenly said that playfully, without even glancing at me. His voice had a teasing lilt, light and confident.
It looks like he read my mind and now he's teasing me again.
"Koff...!"
"Honey, are you okay?"
My father coughed and my mother immediately helped him, gently patting his back with worry in her eyes.
"Y–yes, I just got surprised and choked."
"Be careful, okay?"
Their small exchange was so natural, so affectionate, that warmth filled the room for a brief moment. Seeing them being chummy with each other in front of Raye made me want to hide because of embarrassment.
"Don't be embarrassed, two people loving each other is a beautiful sight," Raye whispered softly.
"That's why when I see kissing couples I usually stare at them... And well, they stop for some reason."
I was about to smile at his first sentence— it sounded sincere— but after hearing his next words, I just got annoyed at him. I turned my face away, pretending to focus on my food, but he just smiled like he enjoyed every bit of my reaction.
"But seriously," he said, this time with a quieter tone, his voice deepening, "nobles nowadays just marry each other for their own gains."
He said it while looking at my father and mother, though not disrespectfully— just stating a truth that lingered heavy in his voice.
"Love is really a beautiful thing."
Raye's face was so bright that I unconsciously stared at him. Even though he's wearing a mask, I could see the subtle lift in his cheeks, the warmth in his eyes—it was enough to show the full expression behind it.
"Do you believe in love?" I asked Raye, my curiosity slipping through before I could stop it.
He continued eating, unhurried, almost like he was thinking deeply about something. Then, after a few seconds, he spoke quietly.
"I didn't, until I met you."
The words made me frown... But, well, my chest tighten unexpectedly. I looked down at the food in front of me, trying to hide the heat rising to my cheeks.
"I can't return your feelings for me," I said softly, "though I'm grateful to you for saving me. I already have someone I love."
I glanced at Raye, expecting a change in his expression, but he only smiled faintly, calm as ever.
"Don't misunderstand," he said casually, his tone soft yet confident, "I don't want to pressure you to like me by using the fact that I saved you. That's not love."
Then he leaned closer. His shoulder brushed mine, and his breath touched my ear, sending a shiver down my neck. His pinkish lips were almost touching my skin, and my face grew hot as I felt and heard his steady breathing.
"Plus, sooner or later," he whispered, voice dropping into something darkly playful, "you will come and find me always, wishing that I will be with you forever."
He pulled back slowly, his gaze fixed on mine, and mouthed each word deliberately.
"I'm gonna make you fall in love with me so hard that even if the god of beauty himself descended and tried to seduce you, you wouldn't give a damn— you'd still only see me."
He said it with a smirk that was both infuriating and… somehow, dangerously charming.
I blushed and just continued eating without replying, pretending his words didn't make my heart pound so loud.
*****
Unbeknownst to Kyana, the two of them were being watched by her family and the maids inside the dining area. The Esmond family had finished eating but hadn't left; curiosity had glued them to their seats.
Raye knew it, of course, but he didn't mind. He didn't even bother to tell Kyana about it. His every action was deliberate, confident, like he was putting on a quiet show that only he fully understood.
"Isn't he too bold?" Kyana's father, Alger, asked his wife, trying to keep his tone calm, though there was a hint of disbelief.
"Yeah, but maybe he's telling the truth?" Edith, Alger's wife, said softly.
"He's serious about being in love with Kyana," Annice added, her eyes still locked on Raye. "I don't know why, but he's not joking around."
Alger looked at Raye thoughtfully. The young man's demeanor, the way he held himself— it was both noble and unsettling.
Raye, feeling the gaze, looked at Alger and tilted his head slightly, as though asking silently, 'Do you have something to say?'
And seeing that look...
"Um, are you a swordmaster, Sir Raye?" Alger asked politely. Even though Raye looked young, Alger could feel the power hidden behind his calm expression.
At the question, all gazes turned to Raye.
"My main weapon is a scythe, not a sword," he said with a playful smile. His point was clear— it would be foolish to call him a swordmaster.
Alger's expression turned complicated, unsure whether to laugh or take offense, but before he could respond, Raye continued.
"But I can use aura," he said casually, "much stronger than any swordmaster that ever lived."
Raye's tone was filled with calm confidence, not arrogance. The Esmond family didn't look too shocked— they already knew he was immortal and had lived for over two thousand years.
But then—
"YOU'RE LYING! There's no way that's true!"
A guard who didn't know any of that exclaimed, glaring at Raye.
It was the same guard who had insulted Kyana before and been choked and thrown aside by Raye.
At this, the Esmond family frowned.
Raye turned to the guard calmly.
"Don't you know that lying in front of the duke is a great crime!" the guard shouted, trying to use Alger's position to get revenge.
Raye looked at him with a deadpan expression.
"Lying? I'm sitting, though."
His tone was serious— so serious that it became absurdly funny.
Pfft—
Small laughs rippled through the room, and the guard's face turned red with rage.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
His heavy steps echoed as he walked closer, iron armor clanking with each movement. He glared at Kyana, who was struggling not to laugh, and her smile quickly faded under his glare.
The Esmond family noticed and their expressions went cold.
Raye noticed it too.
When the guard stopped in front of him, towering over the seated immortal, he sneered.
"You must be getting proud after catching us off guard earlier and defeating us."
"Proud?" Raye looked up slowly, his voice low.
"What is there to be proud of for defeating bugs?"
His words hit like a hammer. The guard's face contorted with rage. And in anger—
"YOU DAREEE?!!!"
SWOOSH—
He unsheathed his sword and swung it down with all his strength!
SWISH—
TING!
But the blade shattered before it even reached Raye, the broken half clattering loudly on the marble floor.
"Huh?"
The guard froze, confusion and terror flashing across his face.
"..."
Then silence filled the room.
Everyone saw it— the faint aura glowing around Raye's fingertip.
"N-no way... T-that's impossible!"
The guard stammered, trembling. But Raye only looked unimpressed.
"You're bluf—"
"Shut up."
FWOO~
Chills ran through everyone's body except the Esmond family. Raye's voice was cold, suffocating, filled with killing intent.
"My neck hurts... Kneel down."
THUD-
The guard's knees buckled. He fell to the floor, trembling uncontrollably.
Raye's gaze turned downward, sharp and merciless.
"Want proof that my aura is stronger than any swordmaster that ever lived?"
He asked with a terrifying smile.
He placed his finger lightly on the guard's iron armor.
Shing—
And with a single motion... The armor split apart into several pieces, falling in a metallic heap!
CLANK!
"...?!!"
The guard trembled violently, eyes wide in terror.
Raye sighed softly, his expression shifting into something strangely tired.
"I promised myself to kill you if you did something like this again," he muttered, "but I can't kill while eating. That would be rude."
The guard's body froze. Everyone heard it.
"Guess I'll just settle with this," Raye said.
Plop.
Then a hand fell to the floor.
"Huh...?"
The guard blinked in confusion— before realizing his right hand was gone.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"
His scream echoed through the hall—
"I said shut up."
BAM!
Then Raye slapped him.
His strength sent the guard flying into the wall! The impact shook the room, dust falling from the ceiling.
The guard was unconscious— alive, but barely.
"Sorry for the commotion," Raye said casually, turning back toward the duke.
"It's okay, as you did nothing wrong, Sir Raye," Alger replied, calm as if nothing had happened. Edith and Annice nodded in agreement.
Raye smiled faintly and turned back to Kyana.
"He's pretty rude and scary, right? Well, he's gone now, so let's eat again."
He resumed eating like nothing happened.
Though what Raye did was terrifying, Kyana didn't feel fear— only certainty. She knew, somehow, that Raye would never hurt her.
"Thanks," Kyana whispered.
Raye glanced at her and smiled.
Those staff in the dining room who had harbored ill feelings toward Kyana now sweated nervously, unable to look at her. What they witnessed had silenced every whisper in the mansion.