# Chapter 60
“When you’re in a high place, you can see many things.”
Levi’s fingertips, which had been resting calmly, twitched. His gaze finally shifted from the distant darkness to Ion. The light from the brazier nearby flickered like a painting across the helmet that covered his cheeks.
“Even if those below can’t see, the one looking down can find everything they seek.”
Ion recalled a time when his mother had taken him to a high hill, remembering her words. Back then, he had only focused on the view from the high hill, but looking back now, he felt his mother might have meant more than just that.
Perhaps from her high position as a “princess,” his mother had discovered something others couldn’t see.
The meaning behind his mother’s words and actions during her lifetime still remained a puzzle for Ion.
However, Levi didn’t need to contemplate such complex meanings. He could simply understand it literally—that from a high place, he would be able to find the person he was seeking.
Ion turned his head and gazed kindly at Levi, who was looking at him with sparkling eyes.
“Count Aden, you will definitely find that person you’re looking for.”
Levi’s black eyes wavered beautifully.
“…Yeah.”
His distinctly vivid red lips moved even amid the brazier’s red light.
“I definitely will.”
After murmuring these words, Levi turned completely toward Ion and took a step closer.
“Those words.”
When Levi’s left hand gripped his arm, Ion could feel his distinctively cool body temperature despite the solid armor between them.
“Who said them before?”
As Levi’s eyes trembled with distant memory and his right hand firmly gripped Ion’s other arm as if to restrain him, Ion finally noticed that besides the black glove on Levi’s right wrist, there was a bracelet inscribed with strange writing.
“Long ago, some woman said the same thing. I want to remember who, but I can’t recall.”
Ion deliberately lowered his head, fearing Levi might recognize his face through the gaps in his helmet if he faced him too closely. His gaze naturally fell on Levi’s right hand and the bracelet on his wrist. The texture of Levi’s right glove, reflected in the flickering brazier light, looked distinctly different from what he had expected.
‘This… isn’t a glove made of Etlun leather.’
To seal Levi’s ability, an Etlun leather glove should have been used. But the long black gloves Levi was wearing were made of the soft, high-quality leather commonly used by nobles.
‘Not only is it strange that he’s wearing such gloves, but he’s touching people with his right hand without any hesitation.’
Considering Levi’s personality, this was impossible. He wouldn’t initiate contact with his right hand wearing a non-Etlun leather glove, knowing it would surely kill the other person.
Ion’s quick mind deduced that the secret must lie in the strange white ring with bizarre inscriptions before him.
Unable to contain himself, he grabbed Levi’s right arm and pointed at the bracelet on his wrist.
“Who gave you this bracelet?”
“Raziel gave it to me. But more importantly, those words earlier…!”
Just as Levi, who had answered without hesitation, was about to ask again about what Ion had said—
“Count Aden.”
Ion’s body stiffened at the sudden voice that came without any warning.
No matter how focused he had been on Levi, it was impossible that he wouldn’t have noticed someone approaching close enough to speak. If anything, he should have been more sensitive to his surroundings precisely to secure this time with Levi.
Yet he hadn’t detected the presence at all until the person spoke. If the person had approached with the intent to kill, without making a sound, Ion would have only sensed them at the moment they reached out.
Ion looked at the man who appeared from between the shadows of the fortress wall behind Levi.
He wasn’t particularly striking in appearance, nor did he possess an imposing aura. Yet instinctively, Ion could tell he was incredibly skilled. Even looking directly at him, there was no sense of presence with each step he took, which automatically put Ion on edge.
While there was no way to identify who he was by appearance alone, the long, elegant black jacket he wore easily suggested his noble status. Ion quickly bowed respectfully, as if he had known the man all along.
From that position, Ion urgently whispered to Levi:
“I know who the woman you mentioned is.”
“Really?”
Levi, matching Ion’s hushed tone, made his pure eyes sparkle intensely. Ion smiled gently behind his helmet as he looked at the childlike Levi. Despite most of his face being covered by the helmet and shadows falling over the visible parts, Levi could still recognize his smile.
“I’ll definitely tell you later, but I’d like you to keep our conversation a secret.”
Though he didn’t think the content was important enough to be kept secret, it seemed that his mother’s words had become an unforgettable memory for Levi. If it were discovered that Ion had been here and approached him in disguise, Levi might be hidden away completely or surrounded by numerous guards.
“I’ll come find you again personally and tell you later.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Levi nodded readily at the thought of finally learning who the woman was in his fragmented memories. If he could find even the tiniest piece of his shattered memories, he could certainly keep such a secret.
The man, who had been approaching without taking his eyes off Ion, draped a black robe that he had been carrying over his arm around Levi’s shoulders.
“It’s time we head back inside.”
“Yes, but…”
Levi looked back and forth between the man and Ion, as if wanting to talk more. The man looked Ion up and down as he maintained his bow, then said coldly:
“I believe orders were given that no one should come up to the south wall while the Count is here.”
“I apologize. The night wind is so cold, I was concerned for the Count’s well-being and took the liberty of coming to check.”
“I’m taking care of the Count’s well-being, so there’s no need to worry. You may go down now.”
“Yes, understood.”
Though he answered that way, his feet wouldn’t move.
How can I just leave when we’ve finally met again like this?
His mind was filled with laments and desires. Nevertheless, Ion desperately suppressed them all.
The man had probably been watching Levi from a distance the entire time he was up on the wall. Though he claimed to be concerned for Levi’s well-being, it seemed more like surveillance with a sharp eye.
Even now, judging by his barely detectable presence, he was clearly a master among masters whose defeat wasn’t guaranteed even in direct combat. While it might not be “absolutely impossible” to win, it would certainly be a difficult fight. If Levi, who was allied with that man, joined in such a situation, Ion’s defeat would be inevitable.
The proper course of action was to continue pretending to be a sentry soldier and go back down from the wall. Though neither his feet nor eyes wanted to leave, he needed to somehow turn around and move naturally.
Just as he finally steeled himself and turned his body, Levi reached out. His black hand grasped Ion’s gloved left hand. Ion felt a tingling sensation in his already-healed left hand from Levi’s body temperature and stopped in his tracks.
“Your name. Tell me.”
Ion half-turned toward him and moved his lips, but swallowed the name “Ion” deep in his throat. His name would only be an object of hatred to the current Levi, so he had to give a different one.
“Iellin.”
After a brief hesitation, the name that flowed out was one very familiar to Ion.
“It’s Iellin.”
The new name of his mother, who had discarded the name “Claudia,” thus became Ion’s alias.
Unlike others at Iron Fortress, the soldier who had treated him kindly and warmly soon disappeared completely from view down the stairs from the wall. Levi stared quietly at the stairway, silently repeating the soldier’s name several times.
‘Iellin. Iellin…’
The androgynous name, which sounded like it could belong to a woman, felt somehow familiar. Though he was certain he was hearing it for the first time, strangely, it rolled off his tongue with ease.
“Count Aden.”
Chepel Lance, who had been observing Levi, stepped in front of him, blocking his view. The stairway Levi had been staring at was now completely hidden.
“What did you discuss with him?”
His voice was gentle but cold. Levi looked back at him before turning his head away.
“He asked what I was looking at, so I told him.”
“Was there anything else?”
“No. Just…”
Levi repeatedly recalled his conversation with Ion. What remained most clearly at the end was that he would tell him about the woman in his memory and the word “secret.”
“That’s all there was.”
Levi felt his heart beating pleasantly for the first time in a long while. In sync with it, he felt the nucleus settled at his collarbone trembling finely, as if resonating.
He hoped Iellin would come back again soon.
Next time they met, he wanted to ask many things. About that woman, and about him, whose smile strangely remained in his memory.
