SOTBW - 158

“What?”

Mahilen asked, seemingly stunned.

Rakhshu gestured with his chin as if to say, “Just deal the last card.”

“That guy was collecting relics we used to gather. So, he snuck into the Holy Church’s treasure vault to steal my sword, and that’s when I ran into him.”

“…That crazy bastard…”

Mahilen clenched the deck of cards, rubbing his forehead and letting out a deep sigh.

The strained relationship between the Kingdom of Bastronian and the Astien Empire was all because of Mackanon’s antics. Mackanon would show up unannounced at the Noctis Fortress and steal the relics Aron had hidden everywhere.

On top of that, since the Astien Empire rejected the Holy Church, the people of the Bastronian Kingdom had even more reason to despise Mackanon. Seeing Mahilen’s reaction, Rakhshu chuckled.

“He was so happy to see me. He seemed crazier than the last time we met… Anyway, I heard quite a bit from him.”

“What exactly did you hear?”

“It’s not really important what Mackanon told me, Mahilen.”

Rakhshu considered revealing that someone’s will resided within Mackanon’s ring but decided against it after seeing Mahilen’s reaction.

“What’s important is that Najane is the reincarnation of Emaydis and Maximón is Saintes. My question starts there. Mackanon said that Najane and Maximón’s fate is the same as Emaydis and Saintes. So, shouldn’t those two fall in love at first sight? After all, Emaydis and Saintes fell in love the moment they met.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Why didn’t they fall in love at first sight?”

“Well, it’s probably because Maximón’s personality is a lot worse than Saintes’.”

At Mahilen’s words, Rakhshu smiled and revealed all his cards. Three Kings and two 3s. A full house. Rakhshu grinned triumphantly and lifted his chin.

“Right. I think so too. Maximón isn’t like Saintes. He’s more like you.”

“…What?”

Having finally reached 900 losses, Mahilen gave a look as if he had expected this outcome, but then widened his eyes at Rakhshu’s comment. His expression turned grim as though deeply insulted, but Rakhshu, having provoked Mahilen, seemed perfectly at ease, still smiling.

“Ah, let me correct that. More precisely, he’s like the old you. The you who despised all humans except Emaydis for no reason.”

“….”

“Oh, you’re looking pretty upset now, aren’t you?”

Seeing Mahilen’s face contort in anger, Rakhshu couldn’t help but laugh loudly, not bothering to maintain any decorum.

“Mackanon said that you made a mistake when you created Maximón’s body.”

“My magic was perfect.”

Mahilen immediately retorted.

He was the one who invented the magic. There was no way he could have made a mistake.

However, Rakhshu nodded in a manner that suggested he was certain of Mahilen’s mistake, as if comforting a child.

“Then tell me. How did you turn Saintes into Maximón?”

Mahilen, looking reluctant to speak, hesitated, but the fact that Mackanon claimed he had made a mistake still weighed on his mind.

Although Mahilen was the one who conceived the magical acts based on mana, being the creator didn’t mean he was perfect in everything. When it came to the precision or creativity of the magical formations, Mackanon had been better.

But Mahilen was sure that he hadn’t made any mistakes when creating Maximón. If he had, he wouldn’t have been able to create Maximón at all.

With a troubled look on his face, Mahilen crossed his arms and closed his eyes to go over the memories. Mahilen’s memory was incredibly sharp, so he could vividly recall that day.

“…I saved a dying infant and placed half of Saintes’ soul inside. At the time, half was the best I could do. Initially, I tried to make a possession by only putting Saintes’ will in, but… his will drifted around the Bersha body without a place to rest, and eventually, it lost its sense of self. So I judged that it couldn’t be used.”

“And then?”

“The soul of Saintes had been trapped inside Bersha for too long. So, his soul was essentially just the rationality of Serith himself. The infant body couldn’t accept his existence, and the fusion failed. If I had forced it further, the body we barely saved would’ve completely collapsed…”

Mahilen’s voice trailed off as he recalled the memory.

“Mahilen?”

Opening his eyes, Mahilen looked down at the scattered cards on the table.

A hint of surprise flashed across his golden eyes.

“So, I mixed my blood and flesh into that infant…”

Mahilen realized that this was the mistake Mackanon had mentioned. He hadn’t considered how dragon blood would affect a human.

Moreover, the soul he placed inside the infant wasn’t just any human soul, but the soul of Saintes Philux, which had been suppressing Serith’ instincts for thousands of years.

When Maximón’s personality and temperament were different from Saintes’, Mahilen had accepted it. He believed it wasn’t because of the dragon blood and flesh mixed when forming the body, but because the infant who carried Saintes’ soul had a nature of its own.

“So, the unintentional mistake Mackanon mentioned was that.”

Rakhshu said this flatly, and Mahilen’s expression twisted with pain. The shock was overwhelming because it was something he hadn’t expected.

“…I ruined Saintes?”

“That’s not Saintes, Mahilen. It’s just Maximón.”

Rakhshu tried to comfort him, but Mahilen couldn’t calm down. The guilt of ruining Serith’ plan made his head spin, and the extreme tension caused his facial muscles to stiffen.

This was an event far more significant than when Belsha used magic to save Najane from being kidnapped. It was as if Mahilen had ruined the plan even before it had begun.

Mahilen covered his mouth, his face pale as if trapped in a blizzard.

“I never thought that the two of them had to fall in love at first sight. I just thought that if I made them meet, everything would flow according to Serith’ designed fate…”

Mahilen panicked, not knowing what to do. It was something he had never once doubted, which made the weight of Belsha’s gaze even deeper with self-reproach.

At that moment, Rakhshu gathered the cards on the table and slammed them down with a sharp noise. Startled by the sound, Mahilen finally looked at Rakhshu.

Rakhshu sat on the old couch, but his posture and expression made him seem as though he were sitting on a throne. In contrast to Mahilen, who was in turmoil, Rakhshu’s expression remained calm.

“Calm down, Mahilen. Mixing your blood and flesh was unavoidable, and if others find out, they’ll probably understand. If guilt could fix things, I’d leave you to it, but I think this is something irreversible.”

Rakhshu spoke in a soothing tone, looking Mahilen in the eyes.

“It’s not your fault. So, even if you regret it, put it off for later.”

Mahilen slowly accepted these words. Though he was still suspicious about how Mackanon had figured out that mistake, Rakhshu couldn’t possibly know that.

Mahilen, having rubbed his cold palm across his face, seemed to calm down. After collecting himself, he gave Rakhshu a composed look, just like usual. As they discussed the issue and brainstormed solutions, it felt like the old days.

If Emaydis was the spiritual pillar and center of Astrun, then Rakhshu was their protector, the one who pointed the way forward as their conductor.

When unexpected events occurred, causing them to fall into a dilemma, Rakhshu, Astrun’s first star, would help them solve the problem by guiding them toward the answers they hadn’t yet discovered.

Rakhshu’s flame symbolized hope and a guiding light—a light that illuminated the darkness to help them walk the right path.

Mahilen snapped out of his nostalgic thoughts and gathered the cards. As he shuffled them, Rakhshu, as if waiting for this moment, smiled and continued the earlier conversation.

“Let’s assume that Najane didn’t fall in love with Maximón at first sight because of his completely different personality and behavior from Saintes. Then, why didn’t Maximón fall in love with Najane right away?”

Mahilen pondered the question and began thinking of a plausible reason.

“…Najane’s personality is also different from Emaydis’. He tries to live rightly because of his mother’s influence, but he’s not as bright as Emaydis, and he cares a lot about how others see him and their evaluations. He’s more easily swayed by other people’s opinions than you might think…”

“So, both of them have personalities and behaviors completely different from the ones we know. Their first meeting was the worst, but because they were destined to be together, they ended up falling in love eventually, is that it?”

Mahilen tried to explain with a look as though he had swallowed something bitter at Rakhshu’s cold comment.

“Or maybe they were just drawn to each other and ended up liking each other later.”

Mahilen shuffled the cards, trying to act nonchalant, but it felt strange to defend the relationship between Maximón and Najane. Hiding his awkward feelings, he checked the cards he had laid out, while Rakhshu, with his boot heels casually resting on the table, seemed to have already figured it all out, pulling his lips into a slight smile.

“You must have been pretty upset watching the two of them get together, considering they liked each other.”

“…Not really.”

Mahilen answered more nonchalantly than expected.

Rakhshu, although he could tell that Mahilen was speaking honestly, still wondered whether it was the truth or if Mahilen was pretending.

“Why didn’t you try to get along with Najane?”

“He’s not Emaydis.”

“But he is Emaydis.”

“They are different people.”

“Are you really sure you don’t love Najane?”

Mahilen shot Rakhshu a sharp look, as though asking why he was making him uncomfortable. Rakhshu, sensing this, shrugged instead of responding.

Rakhshu was genuinely curious.

Could Mahilen, who had even broken taboos for Emaydis, really have connected Najane with Maximón without any personal feelings?

After spending so many lonely and difficult years, trying to finish his past mistakes, Mahilen was trying to control his emotions and act rationally, but that was harder than it seemed.

And if that emotion was an unrequited love that had never been realized, could he have really completely moved on from it? Could he truly be certain that not a trace of lingering affection or love remained?

Rakhshu believed it was absolutely impossible.

Mahilen was controlling his affection for Emaydis purely out of his determination not to interfere with Serith’ plan. That was an emotion that could explode at any time if the right trigger appeared.

At first, he might have been happy that Maximón and Najane got together, perhaps because he was weary of a life that felt like a punishment. However, it was another matter entirely whether he could continue to watch their affection for each other without any issue in the future.

Having lost the bet with Rakhshu, Mahilen swore at that moment that he would never let his emotions show, as though he had been waiting for this moment. The reason he could hide those feelings so easily and act unaffected was that he truly loved Emaydis Bastronia.