Refusing Your Ex-Husband’s Obsession: A Guide - Chapter 198

Chapter 198

Translator: Yonnee

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As he rode, his subordinate caught up.

“Your Grace, as per your orders, we have arrested them and put them in custody.”

“Good. Those who dare to make light of the commands of His Majesty the Emperor deserve severe punishment.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

Ciel pulled out a map and checked a marked location.

“We should head to the next nearest location.”

“Yes!”

Ciel led his men to another destination. As urged the horse to go faster, his thoughts returned to Irene, whom he had left at his estate.

He had wanted to be by her side when she woke, but an urgent summons had forced him to leave, and it weighed on his mind.

He wanted to quickly resolve his duties and return, but it wasn’t as easy as he thought.

Many nobles were exploiting the imperial decree about Espers, treating it like some kind of event. They claimed to revere Espers in words, but in reality, they knew nothing about them.

No wonder there were rumors of curses whenever an Esper’s powers manifested.

As he took a shortcut through the forest, a cry for help echoed.

“Please, anyone! Help!”

Unable to ignore the desperate plea, Ciel immediately turned his horse towards the sound. When he arrived, a woman was holding onto a man, screaming.

“My boy! Please, come to your senses! Please!”

The two, apparently on their way somewhere, were carrying heavy luggage. They looked like commoners, not nobles. The woman, upon noticing Ciel’s group, urgently cried out.

“I beg of you! Please save my son!”

Ciel instantly recognized the young man as an Esper from the energy emanating from him. He used his wind ability to lift him up high.

“Your Grace!”

“Protect this woman.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Chris! My son!”

As the knights pulled the woman away, Ciel stepped forward. He realized that the Esper was on the verge of rampage, so he had lifted him high into the air as a precaution.

Then, he then took out the vial of holy water he had brought and poured it into the man’s mouth using the wind.

Facing a life-and-death situation with an Esper in the empire, Ciel began to understand why Irene had come directly to the palace.

While had so completely lost himself in her, it was Irene, as a Guide, who had been more concerned about him, an Esper.

He felt he couldn’t face her, having nothing to say in his defense. He felt a strong impulse to disappear with this man into oblivion.

This impulse led him to unwittingly elevate the Esper higher and higher into the air, and he himself rose with him. He thought it would be good to vanish without a trace.

A heart-wrenching cry snapped Ciel out of his trance.

“Chris!”

Hearing the woman’s desperate and frantic call, Ciel finally regained his senses.

“Haah…”

He trembled at the thought of what he had almost done, nearly taking someone else along on a journey to the afterlife.

He examined the Esper’s condition. Fortunately, the holy water seemed effective, as the violent energy that threatened to erupt had calmed down.

But this was not a permanent solution. Proper guiding was necessary.

Once back on the ground, a subordinate approached him.

“Your Grace, is he indeed an Esper?”

“It seems so. Is he in the reports?”

“I apologize, but only noble families have issued official reports.”

“Hmm…”

Ciel carefully lowered the Esper back to the ground. The man, appearing unconscious, was embraced by his mother.

“It’s not a curse! I saw it. His Majesty the Emperor is recruiting people who might be Espers…”

“Did you receive the decree directly?”

The woman shook her head, her face turning pale.

“I heard rumors at the noble house where I work…”

“I see.”

“Yes… So, I thought if we went to the palace, they would accept my son. He is not cursed. He loves the Goddess so very much. He bought roses every day with the money he earned to offer to Her. There’s no way he could be cursed by the Goddess.”

Ciel reassured the strongly asserting woman.

“I do not doubt your son. Be at ease.”

“…Haah. Thank you.”

“But we should take him now. It’s just a temporary calm, not a fundamental cure.”

“…Please save him. I’ll do anything if it means saving my son.”

Seeing the woman’s strong maternal instinct, Ciel was reminded of the baroness, and then of Irene.

Mocking himself for having contemplated ending his own life, he muttered,

“One should die beside those they care for.”

He couldn’t die far from her. His instinct to return was directed solely towards Irene.

Thus, he moved towards the place where he needed to be—back to her.