Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Ah…….”
So it really had been Alti.
“What? You know that name?”
Cheyeon’s eyes widened as he caught the smile playing at the corners of Seres’s mouth.
‘So she can smile like that.’
“I’ve heard of him.”
“Of course. He’s the most famous Mage Tower Master in history.”
Cheyeon nodded in agreement.
Even now, there were countless people—commoners and mages alike—who counted Alti as their favorite mage.
He himself had nurtured his own dreams of becoming a mage after reading that man’s autobiography as a child.
“But the puzzles are so difficult. Even after going through his autobiography and all the records I could find, I couldn’t get past the twentieth door.”
“…….”
‘Troublemaker.’
What kind of building did he construct anyway? His peculiar antics continued even after his death.
“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go get dinner.”
“Sure.”
Seres, who had been unable to tear her gaze from the white building, finally turned her head away at Cheyeon’s words.
‘Does Kai know?’
That Alti’s traces still linger thickly in this place.
Seres closed her eyes gently.
For some reason, she found herself missing Kainel terribly.
* * *
“…What on earth is happening here?”
Where his footsteps came to rest.
Mark, the only official employee and chef at this establishment, made no effort to hide his bewilderment.
‘What’s going on?’
Why had all the mercenaries suddenly vanished as if fleeing?
Just moments ago, the mercenaries had been loud and boisterous, savoring their stew contentedly—now they’d bolted out the door like foals with their tails on fire.
The sight of an empty tavern with not a single patron remained was the first time Mark had witnessed it since taking this job.
“Ah, this is your first time experiencing it, then, Mark.”
Jay, a servant of the Drow Baron Household who had encountered this phenomenon several times before, nodded with an understanding expression.
Soon her gaze turned toward a single man seated alone in the center of the tavern, occupying his space with leisurely ease.
“It’s always like this when he comes.”
Jay glanced cautiously at Kainel before whispering in the smallest voice possible.
“Everyone runs away whenever he shows up. Strange, isn’t it?”
“Who is that man?”
“I don’t know the details either, but apparently he’s quite terrifying.”
At Jay’s words, Mark found himself swallowing hard despite himself.
If even those brutish mercenaries were afraid of him, just how formidable a person could he be?
While Jay busied herself clearing the hastily abandoned tables, Mark cautiously approached and carefully delivered a tray of stew to Kainel.
“P-please enjoy your meal.”
Mark set the bowl down without making a sound, offered a respectful greeting, and took a step back.
“…….”
Kainel, not sparing even a glance at Mark, quietly picked up his spoon.
Seres had asked him not to come during busy hours, but today he’d had no choice.
Work had been heaping up these past few days, and he’d only just managed to carve out time to come here.
‘Kainel, please eat something. I’ll manage the work however I need to!’
It was only after coming to this restaurant that Kainel had recovered some appetite, but recently he’d buried himself in work again, regarding food like stone.
Had his aide Dell not forcibly sent him out, he would have spent today too without touching a single bite, wholly consumed by his duties.
“……?”
Yet as Kainel took a spoonful of stew, his brow twitched slightly.
After tasting another spoonful, he set his spoon down on the table with a sharp clink.
Mark, who had been watching his every move with an anxious gaze, finally gathered his courage to speak.
Could there be something wrong with the food?
“Does it not suit your taste, sir?”
“No. It doesn’t.”
“Sir?”
Is there really something wrong with the food? But the mercenaries all seemed to enjoy it just moments ago.
“Why has the flavor changed?”
“Has the taste changed?”
“It has.”
Kainel’s expression dimmed—only slightly, so faintly that those around him wouldn’t have noticed.
It wasn’t the same stew he’d been eating until recently. The difference wasn’t large, but something felt subtly off.
Why? Why had the taste changed all of a sudden?
‘Now that I think about it…’
That woman wasn’t there.
Kainel realized something was amiss when he couldn’t see Seres, who always wore that peculiar expression whenever he arrived.
“Where’s the owner?”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t see her.”
“Oh! Seres doesn’t come out anymore.”
“…She doesn’t come out?”
“No. She has other matters to attend to…”
……
Kainel’s gaze drifted toward where the kitchen was.
She was always out of the kitchen whenever he came, but now…
She… wasn’t there?
After staring at his stew in silence for a long while, he placed payment on the table and rose from his seat.
“Well, the price is fine, but…”
Seeing that he’d barely touched the stew, Mark tried to return the money, but Kainel simply left the shop without another word.
“Ah…”
Mark watched him go in a daze.
Gathering the coins from the table, Mark gazed blankly at the stew left behind and let out a long sigh.
“Do you think he’ll come back?”
“I don’t think so. Doesn’t seem like it.”
Jay shook her head as she cleared away his bowl.
“Right?”
Mark nodded in agreement at Jay’s words.
For reasons he couldn’t quite name, Mark kept glancing toward where the man had disappeared.
* * *
“Cheyeon.”
“Hmm?”
“Aren’t you working?”
“I am.”
“…I never dreamed the Mage Tower Master’s primary duty was floor sweeping.”
“Better late than never! It’s fine!”
……
Seres let out a short sigh, watching Cheyeon sprawl across the floor, bored, as he swept back and forth.
Perhaps now she finally understood why those who came and went from his office tried so hard to avoid meeting his eyes.
It was irritating just to watch.
‘Tsk.’
Seres clicked her tongue soundlessly and skimmed over the documents on the desk that secretary Luka had earnestly urged Cheyeon to read.
‘If at all possible, please get him to do even just one of these.’
Before leaving, Luka had made the same request to her, though his tone suggested he held little hope.
“Cheyeon.”
“What? Bored? Want to go out and have some fun?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
“Really? Where?”
As if he’d been waiting for exactly this, Cheyeon sprang to his feet. Seres held out a document toward him.
“The Imperial Palace.”
What she held was a request for attendance at a conference being held at the Imperial Palace.
“No, no. That’s not fun!”
Seres pressed the document closer as Cheyeon shook his head vigorously.
“It sounds interesting.”
“No, no. Conferences are boring!”
“When else will I get to see the Imperial Palace?”
“I can show you around anytime later on…”
“Cheyeon.”
Suddenly, Seres’s voice dropped low.
“If you’re not going to do any work, I’m not sure why I’d even be here.”
“What?”
“Taking 5,000 Gold just to idle around doesn’t sit right with me, that’s all.”
Truth be told, she’d abandoned any such scruples long ago, but she’d decided to extend Luka a favor—at least once—given that he’d clearly be living with that placebo for quite some time.
“What reason would I have to stick around while you laze about without lifting a finger?”
At Seres’s unequivocal expression, as though she might leave that very instant, Cheyeon’s eyes wavered violently.
“You’re going home?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go! Let’s attend the conference!”
“That so?”
Seres nodded, acknowledging it was a good thought. Inwardly, she let out a short laugh.
‘He’s exactly like Alti. Truly.’
Alti too had despised official matters with genuine passion.
And every time, she’d coaxed and cajoled him, done all manner of ridiculous things.
But she’d had no intention whatsoever of coddling Cheyeon in the same way just to get him to work.
Seres scanned the attendance roster attached to the conference participation request, her gaze catching on a single name.
<Creel Elrsia>
Upon spotting the name of the current House Elrsia patriarch, Seres recalled the man she’d encountered in front of the makeshift clinic set up just after the Black Forest was ravaged.
‘Something’s bothering me about this.’
It had nagged at her ever since.
That fake Ring he’d been wearing.
Why?
Why was he wearing a fake Ring?
‘I couldn’t have been mistaken about that, could I?’
There was only one way to dispel this unease.
It seemed she needed to verify it more carefully, at least once more.
* * *
“Hello, Mother.”
“…Cheyeon.”
“Hello to you too.”
“You…”
“Why can’t everyone show up a little earlier? Do they think they’re the protagonists of some novel or something? There’s no other reason to insist on making an entrance at the end!”
…And this was the same man who’d never even bothered attending meetings before.
Crown Prince Aserayan, who’d arrived at the conference room early, fell momentarily silent upon spotting Cheyeon sitting there with his hand raised in a cheerful greeting.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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