It wasn’t his fault that the Crown Prince had taken an interest in him due to his late-awakening overload-suppression ability.
Nor was it his fault that the Crown Prince had no interest in a High Priest who had possessed that suppression ability since birth.
As those thoughts swirled, he momentarily wondered how Teore could have ever taken an interest in this unappealing human.
Then, recalling his earlier delusion, he reasoned that since he also possessed the light attribute, he too might have the power to bewitch those who disliked him, just like Raha did.
With that logic, he resolved to hurry to the library, uncover this non-existent ability within the ancient texts, and use it to sway Teore’s heart back to him.
Before that, however, he wanted to rid himself of the annoying High Priest standing before him.
Edrion looked at Raha with the blankest expression he could muster.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about the Grand Duke. He’s your first love.”
“…I don’t know how you found out about that, but it’s a story from a very long time ago.”
“Are you saying you don’t care for him at all now?”
That posed a bit of a problem for his matchmaking plans, so Raha asked with a trace of anxiety in his eyes.
Accurately catching that flash of anxiety on Raha’s face, Edrion completely misinterpreted it.
He assumed Raha had seduced Teore under the impression that Edrion still loved him, and was now feeling cheated because Edrion claimed otherwise.
Edrion shook his head and spoke in a firm voice.
“Naturally, I don’t. And as I mentioned before, I spent the night with His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“A night is…”
Raha started to say that a night could be shared even without love, but he cut himself off.
While exchanging bodies without affection was common enough, he realized it wasn’t the best thing to voice out loud.
At a time when Edrion was already wary of him, there was no reason to go out of his way to ruin his own image.
“Well, if you say so. I thought it was still ongoing… I apologize for speaking so carelessly about the Grand Duke’s techniques.”
Raha bowed politely from the waist, looking genuinely apologetic.
Edrion frowned slightly at the sight.
He had no idea why Raha had shifted his attitude, but he thought the man was quite a skilled actor.
‘This act must be how he fooled Teore too…’
Deeply suspicious of everything Raha did, Edrion decided to test his reaction.
“It’s fine. After all, I also brought up the night I spent with the Crown Prince right in front of the High Priest, who loves him.”
‘Ah, that part is actually totally fine with me.’
“…Though it is puzzling enough to make me curious. Until just a few days ago, you acted as if the Crown Prince was the only person in the world to you. Was all of that a lie?”
At Edrion’s words, Raha let out an “Ah” and quickly shook his head.
“Up until that point, it’s true that I deeply admired His Highness.”
“Then are you saying that’s no longer the case?”
“Yes, it’s over.”
“A person’s heart shouldn’t move that easily…” Edrion trailed off suspiciously.
He suspected Raha was only denying his feelings out of wounded pride because Edrion had slept with Blizan, when in reality Raha was still single-mindedly devoted to the Crown Prince.
As if to dismiss such notions as absurd, Raha shook his head and firmly reiterated that he truly no longer liked Blizan.
At that, Edrion pressed further, asking if his object of affection had simply shifted from the Crown Prince to Teore.
In truth, Raha had answered yes to that exact question in front of Blizan a few days prior because it felt like the cleanest excuse for his change of heart.
Now, however, his ultimate plan was to experience a tryst with Blizan as well before escaping this story world entirely.
Thus, Raha shook his head in denial.
“You’re saying you don’t like Teore?”
“I do like him, but the meaning is a bit different. It’s not a mindless, obsessive infatuation like the way I hung onto the Crown Prince.”
The answer carried a heavy nuance—that because his affection was shallow, he was perfectly willing to sleep with other people. Edrion’s brow furrowed tightly at the implication.
He attributed this casual confidence to Raha’s innate pride in having been born with the light attribute, unlike himself.
Naturally, Raha’s posture rubbed his nerves raw.
A person who had despised him, and whom he despised in return.
A person who possessed several times more than what he had.
And on top of that, a person who had snatched away the object of his pure devotion.
To Edrion, Raha was a human being he could absolutely never bring himself to like.
Entirely blind to these swirling thoughts, Raha remained determined to get close to Edrion at all costs, pair him up with Teore, and successfully shift Teore’s lingering attention away from himself.
“I think this sort of conversation is better suited for a relaxed chat over tea. Would you like to join me in the glass greenhouse for a cup?”
Because Raha extended the invitation as if the Grand Duke’s greenhouse belonged to him, Edrion’s pride took yet another blow.
He stiffened and delivered a flat refusal.
“I’m sorry, but I’m rather busy. I’ll take my leave first.”
“Ah.”
Raha opened his mouth to say something as Edrion turned on his heel toward the door, but he quickly shut it and let out a short sigh.
Completely oblivious to how every single word and action was being twisted in Edrion’s mind, Raha merely assumed the original owner of his body must have tormented Edrion terribly for him to build such an impenetrable wall.
Letting out an involuntary sigh, Raha walked toward the glass greenhouse, wracking his brain for ways to close the distance between them.
Meanwhile, having arrived at the castle library, Edrion instructed the librarian to retrieve every ancient text related to the light attribute before heading to a sofa deep within the room.
He wasn’t sure exactly how many ancient texts on the light attribute existed, but he estimated that three days would be more than enough to read through them all.
‘Maybe I should have asked to read them on the sofa in Teore’s office instead…’
Now that he had a perfectly legitimate excuse to stay at the Grand Duke’s castle, spending the entire time cooped up in the library felt like a missed opportunity.
While he intended to visit Teore from time to time, spending continuous hours together would have been far more effective.
It would have been much better if he had requested the office from the very start.
‘Well, if I want to discuss what I find in the texts with Teore, this place might actually be better since his aides won’t be around.’
Staring at the substantial pile of books the librarian brought over, Edrion resolved to find the exact reason his powers had vanished, along with the secret behind how Raha had managed to capture Teore’s heart.
Once he had those answers, he would summon Teore to his side.
