## Chapter 238 – Malice (2)
I was so startled that I couldn’t even scream.
Ryu lifted Claire’s head with trembling hands.
Her tightly closed eyes seemed to declare her death.
“This is a joke, right?”
Just as Ryu was about to caress her cheek to check if she was alive, Claire’s eyes snapped open and her mouth moved.
“You don’t have to be so surprised.”
Even with those words, it was impossible not to be shocked.
Without realizing it, Ryu let out a short scream and threw Claire’s head to the ground.
With a dull thud, Claire’s head rolled on the ground, instantly becoming dirty with soil. Claire’s headless body calmly walked over and picked up her head.
Only then did Ryu see it.
The blue flames burning above Claire’s severed neck.
Claire’s body was approaching Ryu with her head tucked under her arm.
It was such an unreal sight, like a scene from a horror novel unfolding before his eyes, that Ryu couldn’t move from his spot.
Was it strange that he couldn’t accept this situation?
Ryu asked in a trembling voice.
“W-What’s going on?”
“Do you know about Dullahan?”
Her voice sounded awkward, coming from lower than usual.
He had never seen one in person, but he had heard of the Dullahan.
A being from the books Charlotte sometimes read to scare Ryu when he couldn’t sleep.
A knight who brings death.
He thought their numbers had dwindled significantly after the wars of the past, and now they only existed in stories. Seeing one right in front of him felt unreal.
“I understand why you’re looking at me like that. Our family carried on the will of the last remaining Dullahan.”
She sat on a flat rock, placed her head next to her, and continued her story.
“I mentioned my family before, right? It’s our family’s traditional way of finding the strongest knight. Surviving that and serving you is who I am.”
He had heard about her past at the academy. Back then, he just thought Claire was a bit strange and suddenly decided to serve him, but hearing about the Dullahan made a bit more sense. Knights of the Demon Realm, befitting the name of knight, they were constantly searching for a lord to serve.
Claire’s head looked at Ryu, then smiled slightly and opened her mouth.
“It seems like this story will be long. Shall we get going again?”
After speaking, Claire grabbed her head again, positioned it precisely, and while holding her head in place with one hand, she touched the tattoo on her neck with the other. Soon, the blue flames slowly died down, and her neck returned to its original position. In perfect condition, without a single scar.
As long as Claire followed him, he would continue to see this sight, but having heard the whole story, he couldn’t get used to it.
Still, he thought it would be rude to show it on his face, so Ryu didn’t express it outwardly. He started walking again, looking as normal as usual.
Following the familiar path he had taken so many times, a tower that seemed to pierce the sky soon appeared before them.
As he naturally walked towards Lowe’s magic tower, a familiar face came into view.
She seemed to have felt Ryu’s magic power from the moment he entered her territory, and was waiting outside. As the sound of leaves being crushed underfoot and approaching footsteps grew closer, Lowe turned her head to look in the direction of the sound.
Lowe’s face lit up with a bright smile when she saw Ryu’s face.
She quickly walked towards Ryu and hugged him, speaking in her usual affectionate tone.
“Oh, my dear, it’s been a while. What brings you here today?”
“I have something I want to ask Lowe-nim.”
“Is that so? Then let’s go upstairs quickly.”
Lowe, who was stroking Ryu’s head with a kind smile, finally turned her gaze to Claire, who was behind Ryu. Lowe narrowed her eyes, as if she wasn’t too pleased that Ryu had brought a woman, and trailed off.
“You are…”
Even Claire seemed quite nervous to be facing Lowe at such a close distance, and she carefully swallowed and opened her mouth.
“I am Claire, serving Ryu-nim.”
“Is that so…? You were definitely from the Aberdeen family. The peerless knight produced by the family… Still, I don’t particularly like that method.”
Claire’s eyes widened.
“Y-You knew about me?”
Lowe nodded slightly.
“Even if I look like this, I’m a Demon Lord. I remember all the families that have some name in the Demon Realm…”
Claire bowed deeply, her voice filled with genuine emotion.
“I-It’s an honor.”
However, Lowe’s interest in Claire ended there. Depending on her future efforts, it might change, but right now, Lowe had no reason to pay attention to Claire. Lowe turned her affectionate gaze back to Ryu.
“Now, let’s go.”
Following Lowe, the two went up the tower and entered Lowe’s room at the very top, guided by her.
Claire was the first person besides the two of them to enter Lowe’s room, which still had traces of Ryu’s presence. While Claire hesitated, looking for a place to sit, Lowe quietly opened her mouth.
“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll bring you some tea soon…”
“Claire-sunbae, please make yourself comfortable too.”
Having been told to make themselves comfortable, they couldn’t refuse. Claire sat next to Ryu and just turned her head to look around the room. Various magical tools and liquids bubbling in suspicious colors. The savory scent of snacks felt subtly harmonious beyond the smell of medicine.
Soon, Lowe placed snacks and tea on the table.
“Here, eat a lot.”
Ryu, used to this, reached for a snack as usual, but Claire couldn’t easily eat. Lowe’s image was so different from what she knew. Always solemn, and rarely even showing herself conversing with other Demon Lords, and now she was personally making cookies? Could she, a mere resident of the Demon Realm, really eat this?
“Sunbae, have some too.”
Claire couldn’t resist Ryu’s gaze and carefully brought the cookie Lowe had baked to her mouth.
And the sweetness that spread instantly in her mouth, to the point where all her worries had been for nothing, melted away her concerns in an instant. She looked at Lowe with an admiring tone and said.
“It’s delicious…”
Lowe sat across from Ryu with a faint smile on her face and said.
“So… what’s the reason you came all the way here?”
Ryu took the cookie out of his mouth and made a worried expression. Seeing that expression, Lowe also realized that it wasn’t a trivial matter, and without urging him, she sat with her legs crossed and comforted him.
“My dear, it’s okay. I’m on your side no matter what.”
Encouraged by those words, Ryu told Lowe everything that had happened during his training with Clara in District 5, leaving out as little as possible of what he remembered.
Lowe, who had listened to Ryu’s story without a word, nodding, let out a short sigh as if she understood.
“Ah… so the time has finally come.”
This reaction, she clearly knew something.
“Do you know something?”
Even with Ryu’s urgent question, Lowe didn’t lose her composure, speaking in her unique gentle voice.
“Of course I know… I was the one who treated your mother’s illness.”
Ryu’s expression darkened instantly at the negative word “illness.”
“Illness…”
“It’s not that serious.”
Lowe took a sip of tea and continued her story.
“The dragon is an existence that grants the wishes of all people, but not everyone lives as righteously as you, Ryu… Granting wishes means accepting all negative emotions as well…”
“Accepting the malice of others isn’t easy… It’s only natural that it eats away at your heart like an illness.”
Ryu asked with a worried tone.
“Then what should I do? Keep going like this…”
Lowe cut off Ryu’s negative words as if cutting them off with a knife.
“Didn’t I just say? Your mother suffered the same symptoms. Do you think I want to see the person most precious to me suffering?”
After speaking, Lowe got up from her seat.
“Follow me.”
He couldn’t disobey her words. Ryu and Claire reflexively got up from their seats and followed her. Lowe was heading to the basement of the tower. On the way to the basement, Claire whispered to Ryu in a small voice.
“Lowe-nim seems much kinder than I thought.”
As Claire positively evaluated Lowe, Ryu’s shoulders lifted.
“Right? Lowe-nim is much more wonderful and considerate than other people think.”
“My dear, I can hear everything.”
Lowe’s ears were slightly red as she said that.
