Adrian stared at Naomi.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
The woman who had been sitting across from him only moments ago was now kneeling on the floor.
Her head was lowered.
Her breathing was uneven.
And her eyes—
They were filled with something Adrian had never expected to see directed at him.
Reverence.
"My Lord…"
The words were barely a whisper.
Adrian's face remained calm.
His expression didn't change.
But inside—
What happened to her?
He had expected Naomi's ability to reveal some of his memories.
Perhaps she would discover his lies.
Perhaps she would see fragments of his past.
Maybe she would even discover that he possessed supernatural abilities.
He had prepared himself for all of those possibilities.
He had not prepared himself for this.
Naomi knew the honorific name.
She knew about the Fool.
She knew about Sefirah Castle.
And Adrian had never told her any of it.
That isn't possible.
His fingers tightened beneath his coat.
He immediately relaxed them.
No.
He couldn't show surprise.
He couldn't show fear.
He couldn't allow even the smallest crack to appear in the image Naomi had created in her mind.
That was what a Clown did.
Maintain the mask.
Even when something completely incomprehensible was standing directly in front of him.
Adrian slowly looked at Naomi again.
There was something deeply unsettling about her expression.
This wasn't an act.
She wasn't pretending.
She wasn't trying to manipulate him.
She genuinely believed that she had encountered something far beyond humanity.
And somehow, that frightened Adrian more than a gun pointed at his head.
An enemy could be understood.
Naomi couldn't.
What exactly did you see?
His thoughts returned to the kiss.
The moment their lips had touched.
The instant Naomi's mutant ability had crossed into his mind.
She had seen the gray fog.
The throne.
The ancient castle.
The vastness surrounding it.
But Adrian had never shown her those things.
She had somehow reached them herself.
His heartbeat became heavier.
Did she touch Sefirah Castle?
The possibility sent a chill through him.
If she had merely read his memories, that would have been understandable.
But if her ability had somehow allowed her consciousness to touch Sefirah Castle directly...
Adrian had no idea what rules had been broken.
And worse—
he didn't know whether there would be consequences.
Naomi slowly raised her head.
"My Lord, please forgive my ignorance."
Adrian stared into her eyes.
There was no deception.
No hidden hostility.
No trace of the clever spy who had spent the past several days observing him.
Only absolute conviction.
Adrian almost took a step backward.
Almost.
Instead, the corners of his lips curved upward.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Calm.
Mysterious.
Untouchable.
The mask remained perfect.
"So…"
His voice was quiet.
"You found my name."
Naomi lowered her head once more.
"Yes, My Lord."
Adrian's heart sank.
This is getting worse.
He had spent years hiding his secrets.
Now, after one kiss, he had somehow gained a believer.
And he still didn't understand why.
Naomi remained kneeling.
Adrian looked at her for several seconds before speaking again.
"How did you do it?"
Naomi hesitated.
"I don't know."
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Explain."
"I used my ability."
She swallowed.
"I wanted to see your thoughts. I wanted to know whether you were a spy."
Adrian remained silent.
Naomi continued.
"My ability allows me to read minds through physical contact. A kiss gives me more information than ordinary contact. The longer the contact lasts, the deeper I can go."
Adrian nodded slightly.
That explained how she had entered his mind.
It didn't explain the rest.
"When I touched your mind…"
Naomi's voice trembled.
"I saw darkness."
Adrian's expression remained unchanged.
"I saw gray fog."
Her hands began shaking.
"I saw a throne."
Adrian's heart skipped.
"And then…"
She closed her eyes.
"I saw something I cannot describe."
A strange silence filled the room.
"It wasn't a memory."
Naomi opened her eyes again.
"It wasn't imagination."
"It felt like…"
She struggled to find the words.
"Like I was standing before something that existed before everything I understood."
Adrian's pupils contracted slightly.
He forced himself to remain still.
She really saw it.
His suspicion was becoming certainty.
Naomi had touched something she should never have been able to reach.
And whatever she encountered had changed her.
"Then the words appeared in my mind."
"What words?"
Naomi looked confused.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I had never heard them before."
Adrian's expression almost broke.
"What did you say?"
Naomi stared at him.
Then, without understanding why, she repeated the words.
"I pray thee…"
Her voice became strangely solemn.
"The Fool…"
Adrian's body stiffened.
"Dominator of Fate…"
The room seemed to grow colder.
"Master of Sefirah Castle…"
Adrian's breathing stopped for half a second.
"Keeper of Mysteries…"
Silence.
Naomi looked at him.
"I don't know what those words mean."
Adrian stared at her.
For the first time since taking the Clown potion, his smile felt difficult to maintain.
She hadn't learned the prayer.
She hadn't memorized it.
She hadn't discovered it through investigation.
The words had simply appeared in her mind.
As though something had whispered them directly into her soul.
This isn't normal.
Adrian's mind raced.
Did Sefirah Castle imprint something on her?
Did she come into contact with the Fool's authority?
Or did she merely perceive something she wasn't supposed to perceive?
There were too many possibilities.
And Adrian hated every single one of them.
He had always believed that Sefirah Castle was his greatest secret.
Now he wasn't even certain that the Castle was something he could completely control.
That realization disturbed him.
Deeply.
But his face remained calm.
Because Naomi was watching.
And whatever she believed him to be—
he couldn't allow her to see the truth.
"My Lord."
Naomi lowered her head.
"I apologize."
"For what?"
"For mistaking you for an ordinary human."
Adrian nearly coughed.
Ordinary human?
He had spent the last several years desperately trying to maintain exactly that appearance.
Naomi continued.
"I used my ability without understanding what you truly were."
Her voice became softer.
"If not for your grace, I believe my mind would have been destroyed."
Adrian said nothing.
He wasn't sure whether that was true.
He wasn't even sure what she had encountered.
But correcting her would be a terrible idea.
Naomi raised her eyes.
"If you wish to punish me, I will accept it."
Adrian stared at her.
The woman who had once been trying to uncover his secrets was now offering her life to him.
Something about that was almost absurd.
Yet beneath the absurdity was something much darker.
Adrian suddenly realized something.
His danger intuition hadn't warned him about Naomi.
Not once.
Because she wasn't dangerous.
She had never intended to harm him.
She had simply been curious.
She had wanted information.
And somehow, that innocent curiosity had led her straight into the deepest mystery of Adrian's existence.
So that's the problem.
His danger intuition could tell him when someone meant him harm.
But it couldn't tell him when someone was about to create a completely different kind of disaster.
Adrian almost laughed.
The Clown potion was becoming more fitting every day.
"You are an Imperial spy."
Naomi froze.
"Yes."
"Why were you sent after me?"
Naomi hesitated.
"The military noticed your movements."
"My movements?"
"You're traveling toward Kanazawa."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Captain Ogun's territory."
Naomi nodded.
"The military believes Captain Ogun possesses information that could be extremely valuable. When they discovered that you were heading in the same direction, they assumed you might be another spy."
Adrian understood.
So that was why she had approached him.
Not because she had randomly chosen him.
Not because she had simply been attracted to him.
She had been assigned to investigate him.
And then she had accidentally discovered something far more terrifying than a spy network.
Naomi continued.
"I was supposed to determine whether you were working for another nation."
"And?"
"I was wrong."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
Naomi smiled faintly.
"You are far more important than that."
Adrian's heart sank.
Please stop.
He desperately wanted to tell her that she had misunderstood everything.
But that would only create more questions.
So he maintained his mysterious smile.
"Then tell me something."
Naomi immediately straightened.
"Yes, My Lord."
"Why do you believe I am the Fool?"
Naomi looked genuinely confused.
"Because I saw him."
Adrian's expression remained still.
"And you believe that was me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because…"
Naomi searched for the right words.
"Everything around you felt like it belonged to him."
Adrian fell silent.
That answer disturbed him more than he wanted to admit.
Naomi continued.
"The castle."
"The fog."
"The throne."
"The feeling that everything was beneath you."
She looked at him with absolute conviction.
"You weren't simply someone who possessed power."
"You were…"
She hesitated.
"Something greater."
Adrian's smile remained.
But inside, he felt cold.
That's not me.
At least—
I don't think that's me.
He had never considered himself the Fool.
He had merely inherited the pathway.
He had merely gained access to Sefirah Castle.
He was Adrian.
A human being.
A transmigrator who had been desperately trying to survive.
Yet Naomi was looking at him as though she were standing before an ancient god.
And Adrian suddenly wondered whether Sefirah Castle itself had allowed her to see something he couldn't.
That possibility was terrifying.
Naomi lowered her head.
"My Lord, what should I do?"
Adrian thought carefully.
There was one thing he absolutely couldn't allow.
"The prayer."
Naomi looked up.
"You must never speak those words to anyone."
Her expression became serious.
"Yes, My Lord."
"Not to your superiors."
"Yes."
"Not to your friends."
"Yes."
"Not to anyone."
"I understand."
Adrian nodded.
Good.
At least one problem had been contained.
For now.
Naomi hesitated.
"My Lord?"
"What?"
"When may I pray to you?"
Adrian froze.
Naomi's eyes practically sparkled.
"If I require your guidance…"
Adrian stared at her.
She looked like a dog waiting for its master to throw a piece of meat.
He wanted to cry.
He couldn't.
If he cried now, the entire image would collapse.
So he smiled.
"You may pray when necessary."
Naomi's expression brightened.
"Thank you, My Lord."
Adrian silently cursed himself.
What have I done?
He had wanted to hide from the supernatural world.
Instead, he had acquired his first follower.
And the worst part?
He still didn't know how it had happened.
Later, when Naomi finally settled down, Adrian sat alone in the corner of the compartment.
He stared at his hands.
For the first time since taking the Clown potion, he didn't feel amused.
He had always believed that he was the one manipulating the mask.
But tonight, something had happened beyond his control.
Someone had looked into his mind.
And instead of discovering Adrian—
she had found the Fool.
Or at least something she believed was the Fool.
Adrian slowly exhaled.
The Seer observes fate.
The Fool deceives fate.
Perhaps that was the path he was walking.
But tonight had taught him another lesson.
There were things even a Seer shouldn't try to understand too quickly.
Because sometimes—
knowing something was more dangerous than not knowing it.
Adrian closed his eyes.
Then he felt something strange.
A warmth spread through his body.
His spirituality shifted.
He opened his eyes.
For a moment, everything became clearer.
His movements.
His emotions.
His instincts.
Something had changed.
Adrian's expression became complicated.
He immediately understood.
A portion of the Clown potion had digested.
One quarter.
He leaned back.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
So even this absurd situation had helped him advance.
But the thought didn't make him happy.
Instead, he remembered Naomi kneeling before him.
He remembered those impossible words.
He remembered Sefirah Castle.
And he remembered the feeling he had when he realized he didn't understand what had happened.
Adrian looked toward the window.
The darkness outside seemed endless.
He slowly whispered to himself:
"I'm really becoming a Clown."
A pause.
Then he smiled.
"Even when I'm terrified…"
He adjusted his coat.
"…I still have to perform."
And somewhere deep within the gray fog of Sefirah Castle—
something seemed to smile with him.