Welcome to the Café of the Dark Guild’s Successor - Chapter 82

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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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It’s a café run by the Dark Guild’s heir.
82
“Well, of course. It’s famous, isn’t it?”
I clasped my hands together with curiosity, stealing a sidelong glance at Biedler.
“But isn’t it the Dark Guild? Seems like it could be dangerous if we’re caught….”
“It’s fine. I’m not trying to form an alliance under the Knights Order’s name.”
“What do you mean?”
“Actually, I own a Dark Guild myself. It’s been going on for a few years now.”
“Pardon?”
“I haven’t been very active with it until now, but I’m planning to move things forward in earnest.”
“I… see.”
“It’s called Ade. Only a select few within the Knights Order who can be trusted have joined. Seniel is also a member.”
Biedler mentioned Seniel’s name while stealing a quick glance at my expression.
It was something I already knew, but for some reason, I felt a flash of anger as Seniel’s sister.
“Seniel too? Isn’t a Dark Guild supposed to be dangerous?”
“I haven’t asked her to do anything yet.”
“But you’re saying you will in the future?”
When I lowered my voice to a frigid tone, Biedler flinched.
“No, that’s not it.”
“I mentioned this before. If you hurt my little sister, I won’t let it slide.”
Biedler seemed to remember, answering with a faint smile.
“My words about cherishing her were sincere. To be honest… I can’t promise there won’t be danger ahead. But Seniel will never face it alone. I’ll always stand before her. I give you my word—I’ll protect her.”
Biedler’s calm yet reassuring tone put my mind at ease.
Rather than a hollow lie about avoiding all danger, his genuine words quieted my heart.
“Understood. But if you do end up asking her to do something dangerous… please tell me too. She’s my only family.”
“I promise.”
I released the cold atmosphere I’d been cultivating and looked at Biedler directly.
“……But should I really be knowing all this information?”
He’d told me everything without my even asking—I was genuinely flustered.
“Of course. You’ve already stepped into the same boat as me.”
“I don’t think that ever happened.”
“You’re my fiancée. We are.”
Biedler’s low, measured voice burrowed into my ears.
He lifted the hand resting on the sofa’s armrest to his chin, gazing at me with unwavering attention.
In that decadent atmosphere, I missed my chance to turn away.
The moment we held each other’s gaze felt drawn out. My throat went inexplicably dry.
While our eyes remained locked, the corners of Biedler’s mouth curled upward.
‘Dangerous.’
I gave a small, artificial cough and turned my head sharply to the side.
“Should I clear out tomorrow?”
“No need. Since we’ve chosen this place as our location, Raven will already consider you one of us.”
“Understood.”
I’d planned to hide and observe if he’d told me to leave, but this worked out better.
Biedler set down the bag he’d been carrying and began pulling out its contents.
I looked at him again.
I watched carefully, wondering if he’d brought something for tomorrow’s negotiations, but all that emerged was an ordinary blanket.
“What is that?”
“A blanket.”
Biedler even confirmed I hadn’t misunderstood.
“…What are you going to use it for?”
As I asked, bewildered, Biedler hugged the blanket to his chest and stated shamelessly.
“Let me sleep here for one night.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“I said, let me sleep here.”
I stared at him in disbelief, blinking rapidly several times.
First a court official, and now a prince wants to spend the night at my place.
“Do you think this is an inn?”
“I know it’s not, which is why I’m asking.”
“Is that how someone asks for a favor? You even brought the blanket ahead of time—you were planning this from the start…?”
“Exactly.”
His shamelessness left me speechless.
“What about the other knights?”
“They’re coming tomorrow at the appointed time.”
“Then why did you come early, Your Highness?”
“To ask for permission.”
Permission, my foot—it was a declaration.
“There’s a village nearby. Of course there are inns.”
“I’d have to come back tomorrow anyway. I hate inefficiency.”
“You camp out often during outdoor training, don’t you? You could sleep outside.”
“My joints ache when I sleep outdoors these days. And on an important day like tomorrow—what if I caught a cold?”
The determined gleam in his eye made it clear he’d sleep here regardless. I conceded cleanly.
‘Cayden shouldn’t come here.’
I couldn’t imagine Biedler and Cayden, who made each other uncomfortable whenever they met, sleeping in the same place.
More importantly, if Biedler found out that Cayden frequently spent the night at my home, there was no telling what chaos would ensue.
‘…Why should I worry about that?’
What does it matter if he finds out?
I was shaking my head when I felt a sharp gaze and looked over.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You’ll bore holes through my face.”
At my complaint, Biedler tapped the spot beside him on the sofa.
“Come here for a moment.”
Watching him make himself so at home, my chest tightened a little.
Was this the natural ease of an innate prince?
No matter how much one is looked down upon or dragged across battlefields, that aloof gleam in his eyes stands alone.
When I sat down at a distance, Biedler rested his chin on his hand and asked.
“I heard you and Seniel were separated young. After being adopted, how did you live?”
“It wasn’t ordinary.”
Growing up as the Dark Guild’s successor was an arduous process.
“What’s your favorite food?”
“Dumplings these days.”
“Dumplings? What are those?”
“You make a dough wrapper with flour and wrap vegetables inside… I’ll let you try them next time.”
“Hmm. When was the most joyful moment of your life?”
“I’m not sure about the most joyful, but recently it might have been when we threw that celebration party.”
“That day was joyful for me too.”
A smile bloomed at Biedler’s lips. Today, with his frequent smiles, he seemed almost like someone else.
“Then when was the hardest moment?”
I answered without hesitation before stopping short.
There were too many to choose from.
The first that came to mind was that distant past—when I sent Seniel away alone and wept bitterly.
“And for you, Your Highness?”
“The day I had to watch my mother climb the scaffold.”
“…….”
“The current Empress gripped my head and wouldn’t let me turn away. I could only watch helplessly as she departed.”
I knew Biedler’s biological mother had died tragically, but I’d never heard these details and was struck by the revelation.
The deep hatred he harbored for Clione suddenly made sense.
“I could never forgive that.”
“Neither could I. I still can’t, of course.”
Biedler’s voice dropped to a murmur.
After a moment of silence, he shifted the atmosphere and resumed his questions.
“Have you ever met any men?”
“No?”
“Not even once?”
“…….”
“There’s supposedly a term for such a person. Some-…….”
Unable to hold back, I reached out and covered Biedler’s mouth with my hand.
“You’re awfully curious today.”
“You’re now my person—someone I must protect. I thought I should know. Everything.”
Biedler’s lips curved in a soft arc.
‘My person.’
The day we first met at the villa, I’d thought him obsessive after seeing him use that same phrasing with Seniel.
And now I’d fallen into that category myself.
I found it strange that so much time had passed, yet I couldn’t tell if I should be happy about it.
“To be precise, only while I’m your fiancée. And this is all a cover. You didn’t forget, did you?”
“I intend to treat it as real and act accordingly.”
Biedler’s voice dropped to a whisper, etching itself clearly into my ears.
My gaze kept drifting to his moving lips as he spoke to me.
A dull ache bloomed in my chest.
From his lips to his straight nose, and then to his crimson eyes.
The deeper my gaze traveled upward, the sharper the ache grew.
I belatedly noticed where my hand was. His hand lay right beside mine—when had it moved there?
The moment I became aware, my fingers felt heavy. They stiffened as if they weren’t my own, and I lifted them with effort.
At the same time, Biedler shifted his hand, and our fingers nearly brushed.
Heat suddenly rushed to my face, and I fanned myself with my hand.
“Meow.”
Just then, the cat that had been lying by the fireplace soaking in its warmth leaped onto the sofa.
As it settled between us, Biedler startled violently and twisted to the side.
I burst out laughing at the sight.
“Pfft, you’re afraid of cats?”
“That’s not quite it… this particular cat is a bit…….”
His expression was so disapproving that I demonstrated by stroking the cat’s back first.
“It’s docile. Try petting it.”
“I’ll pass.”
Biedler grew even more serious and scrunched himself into the corner of the sofa.
“Meow?”
The cat, finding him easy prey, stood and approached him closely.
Watching Biedler’s expression as the cat’s tail swished gently back and forth was pure reluctance incarnate.
I peacefully stroked the cat’s soft, quivering fur before fatigue suddenly washed over me.
“Aren’t you getting sleepy?”
I’d tried to suggest we call it a night by phrasing it differently, but Biedler responded with a soft laugh, resting his face against the sofa.
“I’m enjoying this conversation quite a bit. I think we could do this all night.”
‘This is nice—just a little longer.’
Unable to ruin the mood, I stifled my yawn.
“Don’t you have any questions for me?”
“No.”
“Surely there’s at least one?”
A question.
A question.
A ques…….
The yawn I’d been holding back burst free, and I covered my mouth with my hand.
As my eyelids began to droop from fatigue, Biedler pressed his finger against them.
“Enough. Then I’ll ask one more.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you believe in love?”
In an instant, I was wide awake.
“Did you just say love?”
“I did.”
It was such an unlikely topic for Biedler to broach that I doubted my ears, but his eyes held a serious gleam that suggested it wasn’t a jest.
“I do.”
Then, eyes widening slightly, Biedler countered as if to refute me.
“I don’t.”
“…….”
Before I could stop myself, I almost replied, “So what?”

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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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