Episode 26
Kalec hurriedly drove his horse forward, approaching Kate, who was frantically searching with a pale face.
“You… Why are you looking for the child… Lirin here?”
“My Lord! The thing is, actually…”
Hiiiiiing!
The horse reared up, letting out a loud neigh.
That child… was here? Not in the mansion?
Kalec bolted forward like a madman, gripping the reins tightly.
Why?
Wasn’t she supposed to be safe in the mansion?
Then, he realized.
He had never actually confirmed her safety himself.
His once neat hair and clothes, which had remained pristine even during battle, were now a complete mess. The shouts of Ruska and the other knights felt distant.
And now, her whereabouts are unknown…
Finally, the surroundings came into focus.
Collapsed buildings, the lifeless beasts sprawled on the ground with their tongues hanging out, the terrified expressions of the townspeople. A few soldiers had sustained injuries, though none were severe.
“Lirin was in Lady Eliza’s carriage. She suddenly felt unwell, so we were about to return to the mansion together, but she vanished…!”
Kalec quickly ordered the knights to search for the child. He cracked the reins hard once more.
Slap!
“Dad!”
At the sound of that voice striking his mind like a whip, his vision seemed to blur.
A cottage. A small path. A tiny vegetable garden. A smiling face. A small hand. A child.
A fleeting vision, like an illusion, almost surfaced but was blocked by something, refusing to come into full view.
Slap!
His thoughts shifted in an instant.
The face of his deceased nanny came to mind.
She could already be dead.
Like the nanny.
Gone, just like that.
His past trauma overlapped with the present, dragging his thoughts to the worst possible outcome.
Perhaps he had been too careless.
He had forgotten that life always thrusts a dark blade at you when you least expect it.
“My Lord! Stop!”
Crash!
Just then, with a thunderous roar, a nearby building collapsed—right above Eliza’s speeding carriage.
Kalec’s horse instinctively skidded to a halt, and Ruska sprinted forward.
“Lady Eliza!”
As everyone stood in shock, an unfamiliar energy rippled through the air. Kalec snapped his head around.
This is…
“My Lord! Look over there! There’s a barrier around Lady Eliza’s carriage…! Who on earth could have cast such a barrier? A mage? Or… a priest?”
“……”
Trees had suddenly sprouted around the carriage, encasing it in an unyielding barrier. Not even the debris from the collapse could make it tremble.
Bang!
The carriage door was kicked open, and Eliza coughed as she crawled out.
“Tend to my mother.”
“My Lord! Where are you going?”
Kalec jumped off his horse and ran toward something.
For once, he was glad that his body still remembered.
This magic…
That pure burst of power—he knew it well.
Following the trail, he reached the end of an alleyway.
In the pitch-black darkness, something was writhing. Without hesitation, he dashed inside.
“You…!”
A small figure, slumped against the wall.
At first, he didn’t think it was Lirin.
Her hair was far too short.
The thick, flowing locks that usually tumbled wildly around her were gone—only a short fringe swayed beneath her chin.
Then, her vivid green eyes met his.
Kalec rushed forward, pulling the child into his arms.
“Lirin!”
The ends of her hair flickered with an eerie glow before the energy within them dissipated into nothing.
“…It’s a dream…”
A frail voice murmured.
“Lirin, what in the world…!”
Just then, blood trickled from under the child’s nose.
Kalec lifted Lirin into his arms and moved swiftly. His large, firm hands were trembling uncontrollably.
Fear.
Fear that she might die.
“Dad is an idiot…”
Because he had lost his memories, he feared he would lose what was truly precious once again—this time, forever.
He was terrified of the small body growing cold in his arms.
***
There are things about my past that I can no longer remember clearly.
“Will you come with me?”
When the man spoke those words, I was curled up in a dark corner of a laboratory.
“I didn’t expect to find a place like this here.”
The man surveyed the surroundings with a chilling voice. Then, without a sound, he crushed a parchment inscribed with magical formulas beneath his foot.
“If heroes exist, they should be weeping. To think someone dared to do something like this…”
I looked up at the dark figure standing before me.
His gaze lowered to the faint green magic flickering at my fingertips.
He moved first.
“…I will ask you once more. Will you come with me?”
I blinked slowly.
The man’s large frame radiated a cold, eerie presence. A feeling close to death.
Yet, even so, I crawled toward him and grasped the hand he extended toward me.
Because he didn’t yell at me.
Because he didn’t break things or throw them.
Because instinctively, I knew that within the death-like stillness surrounding him, there was also peace.
“……”
I clung tightly to his thick finger. His solid touch flinched, as if unfamiliar with being held.
But only for a moment.
Then, warmth spread through me, covering me completely.
***
Chapter 3
Blink, blink.
Slowly, I lifted my eyelids.
A ceiling that felt both unfamiliar and familiar at once.
Ah. This is my bedroom in the Duke’s estate.
“Lirin!”
Turning my head, I saw Eliza’s shocked face.
“Are you alright? Goodness, you’re awake! Say something!”
“…Lady Eliza?”
A deeply cracked voice escaped me.
Around me, besides Eliza, there were many maids wearing worried expressions.
Looking into those deep blue eyes, I felt a sudden rush of relief.
Eliza is alive. Thank goodness.
As soon as I realized that, all the strength drained from my body.
I tried to sit up to show that I was fine, but my body didn’t cooperate as I wanted.
“Should we help her up? What should we do? She’s so small—what if she gets hurt again…?”
Eliza, her face completely pale, hesitated, unable to even touch me, at a loss for what to do.
I chuckled softly and propped myself up against the bed on my own.
“Oh dear, what in the world happened…”
Eliza quickly stacked several cushions filled with soft cotton behind my back.
“My dear, why were you even there…? Ha. Let me see your face first. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No, I’m fine. After getting some sleep, I feel completely okay! Well, except for the fact that it’s a little hard to breathe right now.”
Squeeze.
“Oh, my! When did I start hugging you?”
“You naturally pulled me into your arms while placing the cushions behind me…”
As I rested in Eliza’s warm embrace, surrounded by her comforting scent, my mind drifted.
I really passed out like that…
It must have been because I hadn’t been sleeping well. It was also the first time I had used my magic like that.
Probably a mix of multiple reasons.
I seemed to have had a nosebleed, but fortunately, my clothes and face were clean.
“What about the injured? Is everyone okay?”
“No one was hurt. Except for you.”
“That’s a relief.”
“A relief?!”
Eliza pulled away and let out a long sigh.
“Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I saw you covered in blood in Kalec’s arms? You were supposed to have returned to the mansion, and then suddenly you appeared like that…!”
Hmm, imagining it now, it did sound quite horrifying.
“Are you okay, Lady Eliza?”
“Well… Yes. I survived thanks to the mages who followed us. It seems that the magical artifact embedded in the carriage malfunctioned in an unexpected way. A sudden labyrinth even appeared, so it looks like there was an anomaly in the surrounding magical energy.”
I didn’t say anything in response.
So that’s how they explained it.
“For now, the mages have taken the remaining fragments of the artifact to the Magic Tower for research. Not that it’s something you need to worry about…”
Back then, it had been complete chaos.
The mages assisting with the procession were running in all directions, casting barrier spells. They seemed to believe that stray magical energy from their spells had caused an unintended explosion in the artifact.
Well, of course. Who would ever think that I was the one who activated it?
Besides, the artifact I had planted had already lost its seed. It had likely gotten mixed up with the remains of the carriage’s original protective artifact, making it hard to distinguish.
There had only been three of them, so even if the wreckage seemed a bit excessive, no one would find it strange.
Even if the mages studied it, they wouldn’t be able to discover anything.
It was a relief that my power hadn’t been exposed.
Dad told me never to let anyone know…
“More importantly, explain why you were in that street! Goodness. I’ve regretted letting you go out so much. And you even shook off Kate! Hm?”
“Ah, that’s… Mmgh.”
Just as I was about to make up an excuse, something small and round slipped into my slightly open mouth.
When I lifted my head, my eyes met dad’s as he gazed down at me intently.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
