# Chapter 34
Instead, there would be security patrols checking the area every few minutes.
When his view no longer reached the annex from the terrace, Ion immediately turned and left the area.
After leaving the ballroom, Ion rushed unhesitatingly toward the annex in search of the intruder who had disappeared without a trace earlier. Soldiers who recognized his attire paid their respects, but he had no time to acknowledge each one. If the intruder moved beyond the annex to somewhere else during this time, he would lose him completely.
‘It doesn’t matter if it’s not him.’
Even if it wasn’t Levi, if another assassin had come at this time, Ion felt they couldn’t be completely unrelated. They might not be comrades, but there was a high possibility they were following orders from the same person.
He desperately hoped the other person was after his life.
Meanwhile, Levi, who had successfully followed Kalvern’s orders by secretly infiltrating the ballroom annex and hiding the “object” he had given him, moved as if one with the darkness, his senses on high alert for any presence around him. Though his memories only stretched back three months, the art of concealing his presence and his nimble movements were already deeply ingrained in his body.
Now he just needed to leave the annex within the time limit.
Levi glanced outside through the window from inside the annex. Just then, two soldiers on patrol outside the building came into view.
He adjusted his posture, planning to go outside once they had completely disappeared from sight. Suddenly sensing a presence behind him, he quickly drew his dagger and swung it.
Snap, his wrist was caught in mid-air. Not only that, but the other person pushed his body against the wall near the window and covered his masked mouth with their other hand.
“Shh.”
Making a sound like a soft breath, the person briefly surveyed outside the window on Levi’s behalf. Only when the soldiers patrolling along their route had moved far enough away did he release Levi’s hand and mouth.
“They’re gone now.”
His whispered voice was so gentle that it didn’t really trigger any wariness.
The person was taller and broader-shouldered than Levi. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be one of the nobles attending the ball. Perhaps because he was wearing a curious mask with elaborate gold patterns on a white background, Levi couldn’t help but keep looking at it.
Not realizing it was Ion, Levi became so distracted by the mask he was wearing that he even forgot his intention to flee immediately. His black eyes, visible above his face covering, sparkled even more as they caught the moonlight streaming into the annex.
“Hmm?”
Noticing Levi staring intently at him, Ion suddenly realized he was still wearing his mask. In his rush to get there, he’d forgotten to take it off.
That was fortunate, actually.
Ion brought his face closer to Levi’s. Since Levi’s back was already completely against the wall, the distance between them could only decrease.
“What is it? Curious?”
He could have spoken loudly without any problem, but it was about the atmosphere, perhaps.
Thinking of how they were alone in the corner of a vast hall under the moonlight made it feel like a clandestine meeting, which kept making him whisper.
‘This reminds me of old times.’
When something intrigued him, he would stare at it like this before bringing it to his mouth if he was curious.
‘If I take this off too, will he put it in his mouth?’
Imagining Levi nibbling at the round edges of the mask made Ion think he was incredibly cute. Even when they were younger, Levi had been larger than Ion, and it was always adorable when he did such things, but now that Ion had grown bigger, Levi seemed like a cute baby bird.
While Ion was deeply contemplating whether to remove his mask or not, Levi sensed movement outside the window and adjusted his grip on his dagger in his left hand, his eyes changing. It seemed the soldiers were passing by again.
Around the time the soldiers had completely passed.
Levi flinched as he felt someone grasp his left wrist.
“Does it hurt?”
Since it was like a stranger suddenly asking if his wrist hurt, Levi just stared without answering.
Ion, who had slightly lifted his mask to reveal his lips, asked with concern:
“This was broken, wasn’t it?”
He gently stroked the grasped wrist with his thumb as if it pained him to see it. Levi didn’t know how the other knew, but he nodded obediently.
Levi still had no idea who the other person was since Ion was still wearing his mask, with only his lips exposed.
Ion carefully cradled Levi’s left wrist and pressed his soft lips to the inside of it.
“Did it hurt a lot?”
Levi nodded slightly. For someone who didn’t even know how to lie in the first place, that was the only answer he could give.
Ion’s brow beneath the mask contorted painfully. Even though he hadn’t known it was Levi at the time, breaking his wrist with his own hands was something he would regret and feel sorry about forever.
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
He spoke gently while placing small kisses on Levi’s wrist, almost tickling it. Not only that, he even lightly licked it with the tip of his tongue. Levi’s hand twitched from the ticklish sensation, but Ion kept pressing his lips to the inside of his wrist.
“Why are you sorry?”
Levi asked, completely unable to understand, but the other’s lips only showed a bitter smile.
‘Face…’
Levi’s hand reached toward the other’s mask. When it was completely hidden, it had been fine, but now that part of it was visible, he wanted to see all of it.
He lightly grasped Ion’s mask. The carefully lifted mask gradually came away from the other person.
“…!”
After confirming who it was, Levi sprang up like an arrow. But Ion quickly grabbed his arm, causing him to fall toward him.
“Let go…!”
“Wait, just a moment.”
Ion, holding Levi in his arms, patted his back to calm him down.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s okay.”
Completely captured by Ion, Levi rolled his eyes around, looking for a way to escape. If only the other wasn’t so strong, he could overpower him and flee, but the man’s arm strength was too great for him to move at all.
“An assassin doesn’t fight battles they seem likely to lose. If the opponent seems too much, escape by any means.”
Recalling Kalvern’s previous advice, Levi twisted his body, trying desperately to break free.
“Levi.”
A gentle, affectionate voice called his name. Levi suddenly felt a tingling in his collarbone. That was where the “core” that constituted him was located.
“Name…”
Levi, who had stopped struggling, moved his lips. Ion, feeling him calm down, raised his head.
Ion smiled kindly at Levi, who, due to Ion’s pulling him into an embrace, ended up sitting on his thigh.
“Your name is Levi, right? Isn’t it?”
Though there was actually no need to ask, he deliberately did so to approach Levi slowly. As expected, Levi nodded without any thought of denying it.
Whatever he had been secretly doing by sneaking in here, he was now caught by Ion, yet he was so cute. The way he behaved docilely again after calming down, and how he answered every question diligently when asked—it was all so lovable.
Earlier, Levi had seen Ion as an unknown stranger, but now he was aware of who Ion was. Meeting Levi’s pitch-black eyes in this situation felt like returning to the past.
An overwhelming emotion climbed up one step at a time. But if he expressed it all as he wanted, Levi would surely be frightened and confused again.
“Don’t push him too aggressively. If he’s only recently regenerated, he’ll be completely in a child-like state.”
It was just as Hest had said. At that time, as soon as he realized it was Levi, he had pushed him too urgently out of excitement. How could Levi not be frightened when his assassination target suddenly became excited, called out his name, and pressed him?
Ion slowly moved his arms, which had been restraining Levi, to his lower back so as not to startle him. Though Levi was behaving calmly now, if he tried to flee hastily again, Ion planned to quickly pull him back by the waist.
Looking up into Levi’s black eyes, Ion asked casually:
“Do you know my name, by any chance?”
“Grand Duke Verdit.”
The answer came immediately without hesitation. But that wasn’t what Ion wanted.
“Call me Ion.”
“Ion…?”
He nodded, his golden eyes full of anticipation.
Levi silently mouthed the other’s name. It rolled smoothly, as if somehow familiar. But Levi couldn’t guess why that was.
“Call me by that name from now on. Understand?”
His tone was gentle, like making a request to a child. Instead of nodding, Levi rolled the name around in his mouth several times.
Ion, who had been appreciatively watching the movements of Levi’s eyes and the slight trembling of his eyelashes, lowered his gaze.
“May I ask you something?”
He deliberately avoided eye contact, feeling that if he looked directly at Levi, he might notice the killing intent in his own eyes.
“That day, who ordered Levi to kill me?”
