Chapter 40

Whether Bianca knew the truth and was deliberately keeping him at bay or not.

Either way, if Diena honestly told Ardin everything she knew, he would likely ask to speak with her alone.

He might even take her to the Imperial Capital.

To the place that would become her next destination if her plans in Kardian went wrong.

‘Saying who I really am here could be one option too.’

For now, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to leave Ardin with a favorable impression of her.

Just as she was about to speak, heavy footsteps sounded from behind.

“Your Highness Ardin, aren’t you busy?”

It was Varkan.

For some reason, he seemed colder than usual, but Ardin was too surprised by his appearance to notice.

“Varkan? What brings you here? Is it okay for you to meet the Lady?”

He knew that Varkan usually avoided meeting Bianca.

Yet now, Varkan showed no hesitation whatsoever.

“Yes. More importantly, would you excuse us? I came because I need to speak with Diena alone.”

It was an insolent attitude for someone speaking to a prince.

Bianca reacted before Ardin could.

She gently pushed Diena toward Varkan.

As far as she was concerned, Varkan was a better option than Ardin, whose intentions she couldn’t read.

“Right, right. Have a nice talk, Brother!”

Instead of answering, Varkan simply nodded.

Then he looked at Ardin with a stiff expression.

“Please excuse us for a moment.”

Ardin shrugged.

“Well, if that’s what you want.”

But despite his response, there was still lingering regret in his eyes.

As if he was disappointed he hadn’t gotten to properly greet Diena.

Noticing that look, Bianca grabbed Ardin’s arm and pulled him away.

“Come on, Your Highness. Let’s take a walk through the garden instead.”

Once the two of them left, only Diena and Varkan remained in a corner of the garden.

“What is it?”

Diena looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

“I need to talk to you about Father. He suspects that you’re a Non-Ability User.”

Diena flinched.

“He wants to drive you out because he’s worried about Bianca keeping you close. If we reveal your ability, he might change his mind… but I think it’s better to keep it hidden for now.”

Varkan’s face grew serious.

“I just received news from one of my informants. People from House Rothwell are on their way here.”

“I see.”

“You already knew? You’re not surprised.”

“I only guessed. By now, my uncle must already know I’m in Kardian. It was only a matter of time before he came to take me back himself.”

Whether it was because of Daniel and Eshina, whom she had met previously, or because of a report from Sevar, she couldn’t know for certain.

“Have you already thought about what you’re going to do?”

Diena nodded.

“I’ve considered three options. If possible, I’d like to go with the third one…”

“Tell me. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. But it’s okay.”

She didn’t know if all her plans would succeed.

Still, Diena was confident that she would eventually heal Bianca.

She had only declined his offer because of that.

Yet for some reason, Varkan looked disappointed.

“Don’t say that. I don’t want you to leave our family either.”

“Varkan?”

Diena’s eyes widened at the unexpected remark.

Seeing her reaction, Varkan became flustered for a moment and hurriedly tried to explain himself.

“Isn’t it obvious? We have an important contract. So… ahem. It’s for Bianca’s sake.”

Accepting the explanation, Diena nodded.

“That’s true. There won’t be another contractor as helpful to the Lady as I am. I’d also like to stay here if possible. But don’t worry. Before long, I’ll find a way to keep healing Lady Bianca even if I’m no longer here.”

“…What?”

“When that time comes, it won’t matter whether I’m here or not. It shouldn’t take that long.”

“Ah… really?”

Surprisingly, Varkan didn’t seem happy at all.

Diena looked at him curiously.

“No, that’s not the only reason.”

Varkan ran a hand through his hair.

At this point, he was beginning to wonder whether Diena understood everything he was saying and was teasing him on purpose.

In the end, he decided to be honest.

“The truth is, we’ve gotten pretty close lately. That’s why I want to help.”

“…Ah. So we’re close.”

Her response sounded genuinely surprised.

Varkan frowned.

Maybe his suspicion was right after all.

“Are we not?”

Diena looked at him with a strange expression before nodding.

“We are. At this point… I’d say we’re close.”

They weren’t as close as she and the Varkan from her previous life had been.

Still, the fact that someone as guarded as him was now the first to call them close made her both happy and sad.

It made her realize once again that all the years they had once shared were truly gone.

Varkan lowered his head toward her.

“What’s with that reaction? Whatever. I think we’re close. So let me help you. Tell me your plan.”

After looking at him quietly for a moment, Diena finally spoke.

“First, I considered going to the Magic Tower.”

“Yeah… that’s a good option. Elder Malakar is already here anyway. Actually, he contacted me about that.”

“Lord Malakar did?”

“Yeah. He said that if you wanted to go to the Magic Tower, you could contact him anytime.”

A faint smile appeared on Diena’s lips.

It seemed Malakar’s compassion hadn’t changed from her previous life.

She remembered how kindly he had always worried about her.

Even though their relationship in this life had become nothing more than a fleeting encounter, she was grateful that he still cared.

“Just hearing that is enough. Thank you.”

“So what’s the second option?”

“Going to the Imperial Capital. His Highness Prince Ardin happens to be here right now.”

“What?”

“He’s someone I can trust.”

Varkan stared at Diena in shock.

She carefully chose her words, wondering if he might ask about Ardin’s true identity.

Instead, Varkan looked troubled for a completely different reason.

“Why do you think His Highness is trustworthy?”

“Well, politically speaking, he’s not on friendly terms with my uncle. I thought it would be safe to reveal my ability to him. If he saw my incredible ability, wouldn’t he naturally want to help me?”

“No… you’re definitely remarkable, but His Highness Ardin isn’t someone you should trust completely. He hides a lot of things. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, but you shouldn’t trust people so easily.”

As he spoke, Varkan looked at Diena with concern.

Apparently she was more naïve than he had thought.

“I’ve thought this ever since you followed me here… you’re far too trusting. You never really know someone until you’ve experienced them yourself.”

There probably wasn’t anyone who doubted others and looked for opportunities to use them more than he did.

While Diena was wondering which of them was actually the naïve one, Varkan quickly added,

“Of course, I’m someone you can trust.”