I had no intention of appearing before Maxel. I planned to leave everything to Palides and Tristan, watch from behind, and then make a swift escape.
What changed my mind on the spot was hearing Maxel murmuring my name.
He had come out leisurely to enjoy the night air, and finding it strange that he was thinking of me for no reason, I moved without even realizing it.
I still can't forget Maxel's expression when he saw me then. It was the first time I had ever seen him so discomposed because of me.
"I missed you, Anneli Roam."
He said such things.
How dare he say he missed me. How dare he.
How could he spout such nonsense without a shred of respect or consideration?
"Crazy bastard."
"...Pardon?"
"Not you."
Just recalling it gave me goosebumps all over.
"My former fiancé."
"The former fiancé I know?"
"Who else would there be?"
When I answered curtly, Xenon murmured with a bewildered expression.
"...I'm glad you broke up with 'Lord Heinri' quickly. If you had insulted royalty to his face, there would have been no way out."
"He wouldn't have reported me."
If anything, he would have played along.
After the chaos at the farm, since Palides's appearance was too conspicuous, we decided to hide near the city for the time being.
Having safely escorted her out during the commotion, I rejoined Heinri and Xenon, acting innocent.
It wasn't until daybreak that we heard news of Maxel. The nobles had urgently contacted Heinri.
It seemed Maxel, having been stung by hornets, had returned to the imperial palace as if fleeing in the night. Most of the Crown Prince's originally scheduled official engagements had been canceled.
For the few engagements that couldn't be canceled, the Emperor had urgently ordered Heinri to serve as a substitute.
Heinri, who had supposedly come out making the excuse that he would rest quietly at separate lodgings in the city, sighed.
He was extremely reluctant to leave me alone with Xenon, but reluctantly turned to leave.
Instead, before departing, he gifted me a communication magic tool. It was a standard one-way communication tool typically used for giving orders.
"Communication is only possible from you to me. It's impossible for me to initiate contact first. So I hope you'll accept it without burden."
The necklace-shaped magic tool had only a red jewel hanging simply from it.
"I brought it with me wanting to give it to you in case we met by chance. I hope you'll contact me comfortably when you feel like it, Anneli."
"Do you not think I might just throw this away or use it for other purposes? That could put you in danger, Lord Heinri."
"That danger is something I must bear. But I don't think you would do that."
"Why?"
"Because I wouldn't be worth that much to you."
Surprisingly, his answer was true. He was a prince who had lost his power and was barely alive, and having made an enemy of Maxel, I had no particular use for him.
Ah, of course, there might be times when I need to find out news from the imperial palace, so keeping it would be better than throwing it away.
Heinri wore a faint smile at me, unable to answer. It was similar to the expression he had made after I ignored his confession.
"I'll wait for your contact. To me, you are someone worth that much, and more."
I eventually hung the communication magic tool Heinri gave me around my neck.
It was partly because I had no particular reason to refuse, but honestly, Heinri's words didn't sound bad either. Even if they were just empty words.
Lost in thought, Xenon interrupted my reverie.
"I heard your former fiancé was the Crown Prince."
"Is there anyone who doesn't know that?"
"Then why are you so affectionate with 'Lord Heinri'?"
"Where did you see affection?"
"If you're not affectionate, why are you holding that necklace so tightly?"
Only after Xenon's pointing did I realize I had been tightly gripping the red jewel hanging around my neck.
I naturally let go of the jewel, but Xenon's suspicious expression didn't clear at all. Looking at him with a sour feeling, I cast my eyes down at the necklace.
"I'm just curious."
"Curious?"
"Don't you know how I died?"
The Empire's villainess, Anneli Roam. Everyone spoke with one voice that she should be eliminated quickly, for if left alone, she would incur divine wrath and be cursed.
That was me.
"It's ridiculous. If there had been no oracle, everyone would have argued that since I came back to life, 'she must have become undead, so we should burn her to eliminate her completely.'"
Glancing at Xenon, who fell silent with a stiff face, I continued calmly.
"Do you think Lord Heinri would have approached me if I hadn't been praised as a resurrected one?"
Even if the affection he harbored was sincere, if my evil reputation had still remained, he wouldn't have approached me.
Not only that, but everyone. My parents wouldn't have called me their beloved daughter, and the temple wouldn't have treated me so graciously. Also...
"Maxel wouldn't have had occasion to say he missed me."
Xenon, who somehow heard my muttering, opened his eyes wide.
"Did that former fiancé of yours spout such nonsense?"
Here's another person who could be arrested for insulting royalty.
Seeing him indignant, I chuckled and nodded lightly.
"He did."
"No, and you just listened to that?"
"Did you forget the news that he couldn't even handle his official schedule and hurriedly returned to the imperial palace? I had him stung plenty by hornets."
Even at my indifferent response, Xenon clicked his tongue with an annoyed face.
"Someone died and came back to life, so what's the big deal about hornet stings? For someone who left his fiancée to be beheaded, to now say he missed her—does that make any sense?"
"She wasn't his fiancée then."
"Still, you were engaged, weren't you? Even just spending a few days together, feelings develop—that's human nature. And if you were engaged, isn't that an even more precious relationship?"
Perhaps because he's emotionally sensitive, Xenon unexpectedly took my side quite seriously. Even though he must have known my evil reputation.
Finding it unexpected, I looked at him for a while before turning my gaze indifferently forward.
"If anyone heard that, they'd think even just spending a few days together is enough for feelings to develop."
In a world where even families who lived together for decades can easily turn away, how remarkable could spending a few days together be?
At my listless muttering, Xenon furrowed his brows.
"I'm not helping you because you're a resurrected one."
"I know. You're someone I hired..."
"Money—of course, the relationship started with money, but that's not all there is to it."
Xenon continued in a voice mixed with a sigh.
"I told you. Not everyone in the world looks only for gold coins."
I could see his always emotionally expressive face settling into an expressionless mask.
For the first time, I examined him closely. His red hair, always disheveled from lack of care, swayed in the wind.
His golden eyes looked quite dark when viewed from the side. His lips, usually busy with complaints, were pressed into a firm line.
Since he always showed such a frail appearance, I hadn't noticed, but Xenon was actually quite good-looking.
If I, who had lived admiring Maxel's excellent appearance, felt this way, he probably heard compliments about being handsome elsewhere too.
Lost in sudden sentiment, I inadvertently asked.
"Then what do you want?"
He, who had been quietly gazing at the straight dirt road, answered calmly.
"Simple gratitude."
"Where I used to live, such comfortable words don't work."
I feel this every time we talk—I really don't know how he managed to travel in one piece all this time.
I was about to shake my head and laugh it off when he suddenly looked back at me.
"You're not going back there."
His golden eyes looked straight at me.
"Right?"
"...Right."
"See? So practice saying thank you from now on."
Xenon smiled brightly. It was definitely his usual frivolous appearance, but something felt strange.
What is this? What kind of feeling is this?
"...Ah, Nesi! I told you not to eat random things!"
[Stupid male! I'm not eating, I'm checking the scent!]
When Nesi bared its teeth in annoyance, the horse Xenon was riding startled and bolted forward.
Xenon, clinging to the horse, shouted while blaming Nesi. Nesi began to chase after the horse, skillfully soothing it.
I watched the scene for a while before just turning away. I don't know what I lost, but losing to that kind of creature. For some reason, I felt ashamed.
* * *
It was definitely a monster. At night, one might mistake it for a ghost, but it was unquestionably a monster. There was no reason to be this scared.
Xenon repeatedly told himself this as he smoothed his chest.
After his secret was revealed, Anneli no longer hid the Dullahan's true identity in front of Xenon.
Whether unfortunately or fortunately, what initially shocked and surprised him was gradually becoming familiar, so he was managing to endure it.
Still, that Dullahan named 'Palides' was just too terrifying in a human way.
'A headless human.'
A headless human. It was only because he had securely fixed a helmet over the armor as camouflage that he barely avoided developing a heart condition he never would have had otherwise.
Near the stream where they had stopped to rest, there were many rocks suitable for sitting. Looking around, Xenon perched on a suitable rock. Then he looked at Anneli, who was conversing with Palides.
The babbird, black horse, and hornet had also gathered around them.
'Even though it has no head, how does it speak, really.'
No matter how many times he saw it, it was a strange combination.
'No one would imagine it's a resurrected one and her Dullahan subordinates.'
He shook his head without realizing it and met Anneli's eyes. She had been looking at him with dissatisfied eyes for some time now.
What was so displeasing—she had been giving him this kind of look since earlier.
"What exactly is your dissatisfaction? You need to tell me so I can fix it."
"I don't know. I don't know what it is, but it feels unpleasant."
No matter how many times he asked, only incomprehensible answers returned, so Xenon had just given up.
'She's so extraordinary in causing trouble, she must be judging by her own standards.'