Everyone Except Me I Chapter 191 : Encounter (5)

Chapter 191: Encounter (5)

“The man without a head.”

At Behad’s words, I asked again, just in case.

“I’m only asking to make sure… are you perhaps referring to sothing like a Dullahan?”

“No.”

Behad shook his head firmly, as if to say there was no way that could be the case.

His face still held a strange mix of curiosity and tension, as if the mory from back then remained vividly clear.

“No, obviously it wasn’t sothing as la as a Dullahan. If it were a Dullahan, I would’ve just said it was a Dullahan.”

With that, Behad let out a quiet cough.

“Hmm, how should I even describe it… Again, let

be clear—it definitely wasn’t anything like a Dullahan, and it wasn’t an undead either. If it had been an ordinary undead, it would've been discovered and obliterated by the mbers of the Holy Sun Church who were gathered there, long before it could even get near .”

“True.”

I nodded at his words.

“And more than anything, it didn’t give off that undead feeling at all.”

Behad added, almost as if making an excuse.

“I may not look like it, but I’ve always had a pretty sharp intuition.”

After pausing briefly, Behad stared into space, as if searching for the right words.

“First of all… its outfit was incredibly strange.”

“Was it wearing sothing like tattered rags?”

“Haha, rags? Hmm, I suppose you could call it that, in a way.”

Behad laughed aloud as he replied.

“If I had to put it nicely, I’d say it was vintage. If I were being honest, I’d call it tacky… What’s the best way to put it? It was the kind of outfit that made you think the guy was a few centuries off—like he’d gotten the tiline completely wrong. You know, like the stuff you only see in illustrations in old history textbooks.”

“Ah… I understand what you an.”

“Right, anyway, he was dressed like that.”

Then, as if he couldn’t forget it, he muttered,

“And he had one of those masks—like the ones you use at masquerade balls. You know them, right? The kind with a stick handle that you hold in your hand to cover your face.”

“Yes, I know what you’re referring to.”

When I nodded, Behad continued.

“He was holding one of those masks in one hand.”

“…”

I reviewed Behad’s description in my mind.

A man dressed in outdated clothing that looked like it belonged to a different century.

Holding a masquerade mask in one hand.

And most of all, without a head.

“No matter how I think about it, that does sound like an undead.”

At my remark, he let out a sigh.

“Yeah, I know. To anyone else, it would sound like an undead. But I’m telling you, it really wasn’t.”

“Hmm…”

There wasn’t even a hint of deception in his voice.

If anything, all I sensed was firm conviction.

Had it been soone else, I might have assud they were mistaken—or misrembering sothing from long ago.

‘But this isn’t just anyone…’

I knew well that Behad’s intuition surpassed that of most beastkin or animals.

If he was this certain, then it seed far more likely that the thing in his mory wasn’t an undead.

“Anyway, that thing—looking like that—was moving through the crowd…”

He trailed off, then shuddered involuntarily, as if the mory still gave him chills.

“What’s strange is, no one else noticed its presence. Only I could see it. No—if I’m being exact, noruka… she saw it too. She was desperately trying to run away from it.”

He muttered, his words faltering slightly.

“And sohow… um, well… Anyway, I got dragged into the incident, and in the process, I ended up helping her. When she says I saved her life, I guess she’s referring to how I bought her ti and hid her so she could escape from that headless man.”

She must have been in an emotionally heightened state from the fear.

As he spoke, a faint frown ford between Behad’s brows.

“She was extrely terrified—even sensing the faintest trace of it made her visibly afraid.”

Then, Behad began to mumble to himself.

“But now that I think about it… No, maybe I’m overthinking it.”

“What is it?”

“Hmm.”

He hesitated before speaking.

“…Thinking back on it now, even if it was a Wyrmling, how did sothing terrifying enough to make a dragon run fail to find a re child like ?”

After a mont of contemplation, Behad shook his head lightly and said,

“Well, that aside, that encounter continued throughout the Departure Festival. And right before we parted, she asked

to take her as my bride.”

“…And you agreed just like that?”

At my pointed remark, Behad coughed awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.

“Co on, don’t look at

like I’m so shallow scoundrel. Lian, if you were in my shoes, you’d have said yes too.”

Avoiding my gaze, he continued with an excuse.

“Think about it—how old do you think I was back then? And there was this beautiful older girl, crying and clinging to

alone like that…”

Suddenly, Behad let out a sigh and muttered like a complaint.

“I didn’t have any ulterior motives, not at all. It’s just that… seeing her cry so sorrowfully, even at that young age, I felt like I had to calm her down sohow. Honestly, how scared and desperate must she have been to cling to a kid like ?”

“Yes, well…”

I nodded.

Even so, I couldn’t help but think that what Behad experienced now was simply reaping what he’d sown.

He had deliberately glossed over the details, giving only a vague summary, but it was likely that, in just those few days, he had completely won noruka over with his natural charm.

No—there was little doubt about it.

“And then.”

Whether he had caught on to my thoughts or not, Behad shrugged.

“Of course, I figured she wasn’t from an ordinary family. But I never imagined she’d be a Dragon.”

“Well, anyone would’ve thought the sa.”

“Exactly. At most, I figured she’d already married soone else long ago. That’s why, when you first asked , I didn’t even think of her. Besides, the na she gave back then wasn’t noruka either.”

Eventually finishing his explanation, Behad looked at

and raised the corner of his lips slightly.

“…Now then, it’s your turn to keep your promise, Lian.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I’m not planning to ask anything weird, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

Behad grinned, and I nodded calmly.

“Yes, feel free to ask.”

Behad looked into my eyes for a mont, then carefully opened his mouth.

“My half-sister…”

He murmured almost like a whisper.

“I an Velita. Would it be alright if I asked what on earth happened between you and that woman?”

“…You an Princess Velita?”

I imdiately understood why he would ask such a question.

Behad and rcedes—those twins had been wary of Velita for a long ti.

Considering that, it wasn’t surprising that they were now growing suspicious of , soone who had recently been in frequent contact with Velita.

It was possible that the reason Behad, after initially approaching

with friendliness, had started to keep his distance was because of this.

I answered calmly, as if to reassure him.

“There hasn’t been anything particularly noteworthy between Her Highness Princess Velita and .”

“Really?”

“Yes. If I had to say, I rely caught Her Highness’s attention by chance and ended up assisting her with a few tasks.”

I paused briefly, then added,

“Since we’re on the topic, I may as well elaborate…”

With a composed and untroubled manner, I continued.

“Lord Behad, Lady rcedes—both of you have probably done so degree of research on

already. I suspect the reason Lady Velita took interest in

was because I happened to be at the center of several incidents that would naturally draw her attention.”

“…Hmm.”

Behad nodded slowly.

His expression was hard to read, but he didn’t seem to doubt my words.

“…I suppose what I said earlier might have co off as a bit rude. For that, I apologize.”

Then, as if to clarify and avoid any misunderstanding, Behad spoke again in a light tone.

“It’s just that lately, that woman’s been openly distancing herself from people in the Holy Sun Church. She even dismissed the ones she used to keep close. But with you, Lian, it looked like she was the one making the approach. So I was just wondering if there was a particular reason for that.”

He followed with a shrug.

“So, I hope you won’t misunderstand.”

Saying that, he stretched, looking tired.

“Ugh, anyway, I should get going now. As you know, Lian, I’ve been… pretty worn out in various ways.”

With that, Behad turned and left.

Left alone, I gazed for a mont at the spot where he had disappeared.

‘…The man without a head.’

For so reason, the phrase Behad had ntioned kept nagging at .

I considered going back to the library to ask Amaruah about it—but shook my head.

Amaruah had looked extrely exhausted just monts ago, and even if I were to ask noruka, I wasn’t confident I’d get a proper answer.

‘It’s probably better to wait for a better opportunity to bring it up with them later.’

Having spent a bit of ti with Behad and even securing his promise and a token of his intent to return, it was unlikely noruka would act rashly anyti soon.

For now, the urgent matter concerning her could be considered resolved.

‘Perhaps it’d be best to ask Professor Windy May.’

I was just about to move, thinking that—

“Excuse .”

A soft voice.

But an unfamiliar one, prompting

to turn my head.

“Are you Lian Gwendil?”

Standing before

were two n I had never seen before.

But the mont I saw their uniforms, I could easily guess who they were.

They wore the attire of the Holy Sun Church.

“Yes, I am.”

“If you don’t mind, may we have a mont of your ti?”

“My ti?”

“Yes, we would like you to accompany us sowhere.”

They were polite, but there was a firm tone behind their words.

“We serve His Eminence, Cardinal Bruyant.”

One of them bowed deeply toward

as he spoke.

“The Cardinal wishes to et with you, Lian Gwendil.”