Karan said he had casually restrained Iris’s magic, but her situation was more miserable than expected.
With shackles on her neck, wrists, and ankles, she was practically suspended in midair.
Her feet barely touched the ground, but if she bent her knees even slightly, the shackles on her neck would tighten, causing pain.
Iris, who had endured this state for a full day, looked terrible.
Her mouth was parched, her hair disheveled, and her skin was raw where the shackles had rubbed against it.
“Release this immediately!”
Clank.
“Ugh!”
Iris’s neck was choked as she tried to lunge forward upon seeing Elise. Tears welled up in her eyes. Iris backed away, panting.
“If I get out, I won’t let you off easily! Do you think you can live well after doing this to me? You?”
Iris shouted, her neck veins bulging. Elise looked at her with an emotionless face.
“Elise, are you going to keep listening to this nonsense?”
Elise stroked Karan’s hand.
“Karan, could you leave us for a moment?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“You’ll be nearby, right? Just for a moment.”
Karan looked at Elise worriedly and slowly backed away.
“Call me anytime you need me.”
Karan tapped his chest, reminding her once again that she didn’t even need to make a sound to call him.
Seeing Elise and Karan’s affectionate interaction, Iris sneered.
“You said you couldn’t live without Chase, but you’ve already fallen for that guy. Did you develop some physical attachment? Does he treat you well at night?”
Iris wanted to hurt Elise in any way possible.
“Not just at night. He treats me well during the day too.”
But Iris’s struggles didn’t affect Elise in the slightest.
“I’ll kill you!”
Iris screamed, unable to contain her anger. Elise smiled slightly.
“Who will die first? Me or you, sister?”
Elise approached the iron bars. Thanks to the brightly burning torch fixed to the wall, the two could see each other clearly.
Seeing Iris’s bloodshot eyes and chapped lips made Elise feel satisfied.
“Sister, accept it. There’s nothing more you can do. There’s no place for you here.”
Iris flinched. Although she was hearing these words for the first time, they felt familiar.
Elise smiled brightly.
“That’s where you belong originally.”
Elise gestured with her chin.
Iris’s cheeks trembled. As anger enveloped her body, sparks flickered at her fingertips, but that was all.
She couldn’t use magic.
Elise watched the shaking Iris.
“The underground dungeon suits you well, sister.”
“You… You planned all this, didn’t you?”
“I’d be happy to say yes to that, but I’m sorry, that’s not the case. You brought this upon yourself.”
“What did I do wrong! I only tried to save this country! From Ragnaros.”
“Really?”
Elise tilted her head and leaned in. Iris flinched as their eyes met.
She felt as if Elise’s cold eyes were thoroughly examining her innermost thoughts.
Iris gritted her teeth and averted her gaze.
It wasn’t that she was avoiding Elise’s eyes out of fear. It was because she was tired from keeping her eyes wide open…
Despite trying to rationalize, honestly, Iris was afraid of Elise.
She felt pathetic and miserable that she now feared Elise, whom she had once considered insignificant.
How did I end up like this?
I’m pretty, and I can use magic. Everyone used to look up to me as an object of envy.
Elise grinned.
“Sister, you’ve just returned to your original state. Don’t blame me. This happened because you were too greedy.”
“Why… Why are you doing this to me?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t!”
“Then spend your life pondering until you understand. But before that, there’s something you need to tell me. Tell me what you know about Ragnaros.”
Iris pressed her lips tightly. Her intense gaze was full of determination not to speak.
Elise searched her pockets and pulled out paper and a magic crafting pen.
“I almost felt disappointed that you’d comply so easily.”
She placed the paper on her palm and drew a simple magic circle.
Iris’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, Elise placed the completed magic circle on the floor.
One or two ants started to emerge from the magic circle, then dozens of ants climbed onto Iris’s body.
“T-this, stop! Remove them! I said stop!”
The ants bit Iris’s skin and burrowed into her wounds. It was itchy, painful, and horrible.
“I’ll come back when I remember.”
Elise didn’t even ask twice. If it were now, Iris would tell her everything about Ragnaros.
Iris couldn’t even try to stop Elise. She kept her mouth shut for fear that ants would enter if she opened it.
She couldn’t even watch Elise leave. She kept her eyes tightly closed, fearing the ants might burrow into her eyeballs.
Tears streamed down, but there was no one to wipe Iris’s tears away.
****
Elise snorted as she heard Iris’s screams.
Elise hadn’t actually summoned any ants. The ants were just an illusion.
But Iris believed that real ants were crawling all over her body.
So she would be in pain. Not just mentally, but her body would also be damaged.
Elise knew well how much the mind could damage the body.
“Elise, shall we go up?”
As she turned the corner, Karan appeared. Despite Iris’s agonizing screams, Karan didn’t ask Elise anything.
Instead, he firmly held Elise’s small hand and led her towards the sunlight.
As they opened the door, bright light enveloped Elise. The contrast between underground and above ground was stark.
Elise savored the fresh breeze and warm sunlight.
It felt like finishing a homework assignment.
An indescribable feeling welled up tightly inside her ribcage.
It had taken so much time to climb from the underground dungeon to here.
Though she didn’t show it, her legs had been trembling as she descended to the dungeon.
But as she came up, she realized. She was no longer afraid of the underground. The moldy smell was no longer disgusting.
All the terrible memories and miserable moments of the past underground dungeon had been taken away by Iris.
She had finally shaken off the nightmare of the underground dungeon.
Elise’s body felt lighter and her heart refreshed.
The reason this was possible was all because of…
“Thank you, Karan.”
Elise hugged Karan, who was standing half a step ahead of her.
“It’s nothing.”
Karan, remembering Elise from the underground dungeon, quietly looked up at the sky as he felt her warmth.
‘I’m glad it wasn’t you who was trapped in the underground dungeon in this life.’
Karan thought to himself.
***
Two full days had passed since David’s surgery.
Leber had been constantly by David’s side, nursing him with great care.
“The prognosis isn’t bad,” Leber said, massaging his shoulders firmly.
“You’ve worked hard, Leber. You should get some rest.”
“When he regains consciousness.”
Elise didn’t insist on rest further. She knew she wouldn’t be able to rest either if she were in Leber’s position.
“I’ll be taking my leave now.”
Leber had come to report on David’s condition during a brief moment.
“Let me know if you need anything.”
Leber replied with a weak “Yes” and left, and Haltbin entered.
“We’ve received news from Bedrokka.”
Karan raised his body from where he was buried in the sofa.
“They say they’re implementing an acting crown prince system. His Highness Chase is the acting crown prince.”
“Acting crown prince?”
It was unprecedented.
“Yes, Lady Elise. They’re likely planning to naturally seat him as crown prince if something happens to His Highness David while he’s acting.”
“Did King Lange accept Chase without any suspicion?”
Elise couldn’t understand Lange’s actions.
Didn’t he sincerely care for David? How could he immediately make Chase the acting crown prince without even looking into the situation in detail?
“The stability of the country takes precedence over denial, Elise. So, Haltbin? Surely this isn’t the end of the report? We anticipated this much on our side.”
“Yes, there’s more. His Highness Chase strongly protested to the Ivory Tower. He demanded they take appropriate responsibility for Ember’s attempt to assassinate His Highness David. The Ivory Tower immediately revoked Ember’s sage status and made it so she can’t use magic.”
It was tantamount to a death sentence for a magician. Ember would likely live out her life lonely under the constant surveillance of magicians.
“So Bedrokka has gained leverage over the Ivory Tower.”
“Yes, the Ivory Tower tried to compensate with money, but it was firmly rejected. They say they need to see His Highness David’s condition first. But His Highness Chase…”
Haltbin trailed off. His face darkened. Karan raised an eyebrow.
“Chase is trying to pin the responsibility for David’s situation on us, isn’t he?”
Karan saw through Chase’s actions. Haltbin’s head nodded heavily up and down.
It seemed this would eventually lead to a diplomatic dispute. At a time when they should be uniting to stop Ragnaros.
“I expected as much,” Elise’s voice was unusually bright in the serious situation.
“There’s no need to worry, Your Highness. Chase’s arrogance will be short-lived.”
“If His Highness David wakes up, there won’t be a problem, but if he doesn’t wake up, it will be difficult to avoid responsibility.”
“He will certainly wake up, but even if he doesn’t, Bedrokka won’t be able to hold us accountable.”
“What do you have in mind, Elise?”
Karan and Haltbin looked at Elise simultaneously.
