Chapter 44: The Town (2)

“Hi.”

“Hello.”

I awkwardly responded with formal speech to the girl’s greeting. Despite her youthful appearance, there was a certain air of experience about her.

She gave a half-hearted nod at my response, then placed the long-stemmed pipe she had been holding onto the table.

After scanning me for a moment, she spoke again.

“So, you’re Cain’s person, huh?”

“Huh?”

Cain.

Hearing an unfamiliar name from her mouth caught me off guard.

For a moment, I wondered if I had come to the wrong place and asked her again.

She tilted her head slightly before letting out a sigh, as if realizing something.

“Ah, you don’t know that name, do you?”

She lazily tapped the end of her pipe as if the conversation itself was tedious.

“I’m talking about Duke Hardenberg. He’s a regular here.”

So Abel had another name—Cain. Well, it made sense. Someone operating in the underworld couldn’t exactly go around using their real name.

Still, I couldn’t remember if this setting had been in the original novel. Then again, I had never read the original, so I couldn’t be sure.

A friend wouldn’t bother sharing details like this, after all.

‘Of all names, Cain…’

Abel and Cain.

Even I, who knew little about the Bible, had heard of them before.

The first murderer—Cain.

And the first human to be murdered—Abel.

Did Abel deliberately choose such a name because of the author’s intent?

Since I had never read the original, I had no way of knowing.

“What’s wrong? Something bothering you?”

I shook my head at the girl’s questioning gaze. Finding me dull, she simply put her pipe back in her mouth.

“Anyway, this is interesting. That guy, getting involved with a woman? If the gossipers got wind of this, they’d be spreading it everywhere.”

“Um, can I ask you for some information?”

“Oh? You’re the type who doesn’t like small talk either?”

I nodded slightly, and she let out a deep sigh before lighting her pipe with flame magic.

A pungent tobacco scent spread from the pipe’s tip.

The acrid smoke stung my nose, making me cough involuntarily.

But just as quickly, the smell vanished, leaving behind a surprisingly fresh, almost cooling scent.

She tapped her pipe over the ashtray before speaking again.

“Ah, right. We haven’t been properly introduced, have we?”

Despite saying that, she continued to puff on her pipe without a care.

Her shamelessness might even surpass Abel’s.

I knew it was rude of me to think that.

But since she had been impolite first, I figured it didn’t really matter.

“Louis. Just call me Louis.”

“I’m Adele. Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Her expression showed clear boredom. From the way she spoke and carried herself, she seemed to have lived a long life.

Well, elves were known to be a long-lived race.

Still, I hadn’t expected to meet one in this world.

Perhaps noticing my lingering gaze, Louis smirked and asked,

“What? Never seen an elf before?”

“Huh? Ah, no, I haven’t.”

“Figures. We’re on the brink of extinction.”

“Ah…”

She said it so matter-of-factly that I wasn’t sure how to react.

Seeing my awkward expression, she let out a short chuckle.

“Don’t look so serious. It’s just the way nature works.”

She casually placed the pipe back in her mouth, exhaling another cloud of white smoke.

The scent, which should have been unpleasant, wasn’t too overpowering.

No, if anything, it had a refreshing quality to it.

“Strong, isn’t it? Smoking’s just a habit for me.”

“Not really. It actually smells kind of… fresh?”

“Fresh?”

Louis’s eyes sharpened in an instant.

Just a moment ago, they had been hazy and indifferent, but now they gleamed with interest.

Her sudden shift in demeanor caught me off guard.

She climbed onto the table and locked eyes with me.

Before I could even react to her abrupt actions, she spoke.

“Hoo…”

Then, she tilted her head, examining me closely.

Unlike before, her gaze was meticulous and searching.

“Uh…”

Louis ignored my hesitation, crossing her arms as she seemed to contemplate something.

Then, with a faint smile, she muttered,

“You’re a half-blood, aren’t you?”

“Half-blood…?”

I had never heard that term before.

But Louis’s confident gaze made it hard to dismiss.

Half-blood of what, exactly?

Was she suggesting that Adele had non-human ancestry?

“You’re part elf.”

“What do you mean?”

She didn’t answer my question. Instead, she simply stared into my eyes.

At this point, it was clear—she was someone who did things entirely on her own terms.

Whether or not she knew what I was thinking, Louis just continued to scrutinize me.

“Eyes like rubies…”

Her words made me instinctively touch my necklace.

If my artifact was working properly, my eyes should have appeared blue.

Noticing my reaction, Louis smirked.

“Artifacts like that don’t work on elves.”

We see the essence of things. Elves’ eyes do.

She added that remark before collapsing back onto the sofa, this time chain-smoking without restraint.

“It’s not a strong trace, though. Maybe ten generations back, an elf was in your bloodline.”

“Me?”

I unconsciously touched my ears.

I only felt the familiar shape of human ears.

Seeing this, Louis shook her head slightly.

“Only pure-blood elves have pointed ears. Half-elves have normal ones.”

“Ah…”

Pureblood.

Did that mean the woman in front of me was a pureblood elf?

The realization that I was standing before someone of an entirely different race felt strangely surreal.

“Still, this is quite a surprise. Who would have thought Cain’s woman was part elf?”

“Can you even call it a mixed blood?”

If my only elven ancestor was ten generations back, calling me a half-blood felt like a stretch.

But Louis shook her head as if dismissing my doubts.

“Elven blood runs thick.”

She gestured toward my face.

“Even your looks make sense now.”

I had often thought my appearance seemed almost inhumanly beautiful when looking in the mirror.

Was this because of my elven heritage?

“Well, it’s not that important, so let’s move on.”

Saying that, Louis tapped the end of her pipe again.

“Normally, I would’ve just sent you away. Cain probably wanted that too.”

“...Excuse me?”

Normally?

Did she mean she had intended to turn me away empty-handed?

“I’ve stopped dealing in information about the emperor. Cain must have known that too.”

She let out a deep sigh before continuing.

“But well, running into a descendant of my kind in a place like this… I suppose that’s worth marking the occasion.”

“Are you saying…?”

“Yeah, here.”

With that, Louis reached into a spatial pocket, rummaging around inside.

For a while, her hand shifted through empty space before she finally pulled something out and tossed it toward me.

Before I could even process her sudden action, my reflexes kicked in, and I caught it.

I opened my palm to reveal a silver compass.

“It’s a compass that points to the place you’re looking for.”

A thin wisp of white smoke curled from the end of her pipe.

“The rest… is up to you.”

“Ah, thank you.”

As I bowed my head in gratitude, Louis frowned in distaste and waved her hand dismissively.

“Don’t bother with thanks. This was an exchange. We both got what we wanted.”

With that, she placed her pipe down on the table.

Resting her chin on one hand, she studied me for a moment before speaking again.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t overuse regression.”

At her words, a shiver ran down my spine.

When I met her eyes, they were serious—too serious.

I didn’t ask how she knew.

Someone who had lived as long as she had would likely have no trouble seeing through my abilities.

“But—”

“Listen to me carefully. This is a warning from one kin to another.”

Her expression was filled with a deep, indescribable sorrow.

A gaze so heavy that it left me speechless.

“There is no such thing as power without a price.”

“...I understand.”

With that final exchange, I stepped outside.

My hands trembled slightly.

I never expected my ability to regress to be exposed so easily.

And even more shocking was the fact that she had seen through it—despite the fact that I had never once used it in front of her.

****

Inside the Inn

The tense silence between Lily, dressed in a maid’s uniform, and Evan, clad in armor, stretched on.

Unlike her, Evan seemed completely unfazed, resting quietly as if accustomed to such an atmosphere.

But Lily, unable to bear the silence any longer, was the first to break it.

“Evan, how did you meet the duke?”

At her question, Evan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.

Then, he calmly answered.

“We met at an orphanage in the backstreets.”

“An orphanage?”

“Yes. My birth parents sold me off.”

Hearing that, Lily awkwardly averted her gaze.

She had meant to lighten the mood, but instead, the conversation had taken a heavy turn.

Noticing this, Evan chuckled softly before continuing.

“It’s a common story, isn’t it? I don’t mind. If not for that, I wouldn’t have met the duke, so I have no regrets.”

“...I see.”

“What about you, Lily?”

At his question, Lily folded her arms, seeming to hesitate before eventually answering.

“My story is similar. My so-called parents abandoned me and ran away.”

Her voice carried a bitter edge as she gave a faint smile.

“And then Miss Adele picked me up. Called me a ‘raw gemstone buried among the rocks.’”

“Sounds familiar.”

“Yeah… Though she’s changed a lot.”

Lily suddenly recalled the Adele of the past.

Violent, tormented, always on the edge—like someone being chased by something.

Even now, as she watched Adele, who had lost her memories after the accident, flashes of that time still came to mind.

Especially the moment when Adele abandoned her once again, casting her back into the slums.

That memory was her deepest wound.

That was why Lily feared the backstreets.

That was why she had trembled with unease ever since they arrived here.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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