I opened the door and saw stairs leading down. I took a step nervously.
I gripped the oak horn tightly, feeling a mix of nervousness and anticipation. The staircase seemed to stretch longer than I expected.
As I got closer to the source of the noise, the clanging became even louder, almost deafening. I carefully moved forward, suppressing the sound of my footsteps.
As soon as I turned the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight before me.
‘That kid……!’
There, in front of me, the blue-masked group and the red-masked group from the auction were engaged in a fierce battle, with the child known as Nectar caught in the middle.
Despite being outnumbered, the blue-masked group had a remarkably skilled swordsman among them.
Strangely, the sight of the man swinging his sword felt familiar to me.
I was about to open my mouth to question it when a voice broke among the chaos.
“We will take care of things here, so please escape with the prince.”
One of the blue-masked men said to his companion. His tone and the way he referred to the child seemed to indicate that they weren’t the villains in this situation.
Could it be that they had infiltrated this place in disguise to save the child?
I watched the scene for a moment, and it was only then that I realized I was still holding the oak horn Logan had given me.
I was about to use it when I made eye contact with one of the red-masked individuals. Suddenly, he threw a small dagger directly at me.
The dagger flew straight toward my eyes, but the highly skilled swordsman from the blue-masked group swiftly drew a dagger and intercepted the blade mid-air.
“Ah……!”
I let out a gasp as the dagger narrowly missed my face and nicked my wrist, drawing blood. Startled, I dropped the whistle.
Everyone stopped fighting and turned their attention toward me.
I felt the urge to run, but I was afraid that if I showed my back, another deadly weapon might fly in my direction.
As anticipated, one of the blue-masked individuals swiftly approached and thrust a knife towards my neck.
My heart pounded like I was on a roller coaster without a seatbelt.
Taking advantage of the momentary confusion caused by my unwelcome arrival, the red-masked man landed a blow on his opponent.
“Ugh.”
The owner of the groan was the man who blocked the dagger that flew at me.
The man who was struck on the right shoulder held his sword in his left hand.
The form he displayed while holding the sword in his left hand was familiar.
As if his wounds weren’t too deep, he unleashed another fierce attack on the Red Masks group.
However, he was unable to perform the same swift movements as before, and the situation began to turn in the Red Mask group’s favor.
Then the shortest of the blue-masked men chanted an incantation. A black mist spewed out of his hands.
The man pointing a knife at me shouted to his companion.
“Stop!”
The man didn’t listen and continued to create more mist. Then something unbelievable happened.
One by one, the red-masked men fell to the ground as the mist engulfed them.
The fierce battle that had taken place a while ago ended so easily.
All of the Red Mask men lost consciousness, and the man who had created the mist collapsed, vomiting blood.
“I must have used my magic too much.”
“You foolish bastard, what are you going to do if you use up your precious lifespan here…….”
I didn’t know the details, but it sounded like that black mist was probably created using magic power and that every time they used it, their lifespan would decrease. If so, these people are…
‘Black mages.’
If they were ordinary mages, using magic wouldn’t shorten their lifespan. Black mages got their power from demons at the cost of their lives.
At that moment, I remembered the strange magic weapon James had thrown at me. That weapon, too, had fulfilled its purpose and turned into a black mist, dissipating into the air.
My shoulders involuntarily shrank at the eerie thought.
“We will leave Asha with the prince immediately, but…”
At those words, the blue-masked group turned their heads towards me in unison. My lips went dry, and a chill ran down my spine.
After a moment, a man emitting a familiar atmosphere somehow made a gesture, and the one who had been guarding me stepped back, putting away his sword. The man moved closer.
As the distance between us closed, the pressure intensified, and my hands trembled uncontrollably. The man who had approached me closely obscured my view of the others.
Our bodies formed a straight line with a slight gap between us, preventing the others from seeing me.
The man gently lifted my mask. The angle was subtle enough that only he could see it.
For some reason, his touch felt delicate and cautious. After examining my face, the man whispered something to the person beside him.
I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Then the blue-masked men left, taking the child and the fallen member of their organization with them.
Only me and the man who saved my life remained in the basement.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
He took my whistle that had fallen to the ground and put it in his pocket. Then he grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me away.
When I resisted and refused to go, he pulled out a knife and held it up. The sight of it took my breath away for a moment.
The sharp tip of the knife was giving me an unspoken warning. Don’t struggle, and obey.
The man grabbed my wrist again, trying to drag me away.
“Ah……!”
As soon as he grabbed my wrist, I felt a sting in the area where the dagger grazed me. Blood was still flowing from my wrist.
He quickly released his grip, looking very surprised. He pulled a pale blue handkerchief from his inside breast pocket and tied it tightly around my wrist.
It was as quick and deft as his skill with the sword. One minute he’s scaring me with his sword, and the next he’s applying pressure to my wound.
The man’s behavior left me baffled . Somehow…… this man seems to know me.
I glanced at the blue handkerchief wrapped tightly around my wrist. He must be a black mage; instead of being scared, curiosity overcame me.
I stole glances at him as we walked down the street.
‘Is he the same blue-mask man that stared at me at the auction house earlier…….’
As I continued to stare at him questioningly, I felt the man’s pace slow down a bit.
He let out a faint groan.
“Ha…….”
The pain in his right shoulder, where the knife had struck earlier, seemed to be getting worse. Blood was dripping down the sleeve of the man’s black cloak. I gathered my courage and asked the man.
“Excuse me, are you badly…… hurt?”
The man did not answer but took my hand and urged me to walk diligently. As he held my hand, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
I remembered Theo’s warm hand pulling me along as we left the banquet hall. But this man was a fearsome black mage.
Amidst my uncertainty, the man stopped walking. We finally reached another doorway that led to the other side.
There seemed to be more than one entrance to this underground space. As soon as I stepped out, the man handed me the whistle in his pocket.
Is…… he just going to let me go now?
“Excuse me, wait…”
Before I could say anything, he turned and headed in the opposite direction. I stared at the man’s back as he walked away.
Was it simply an illusion that this man, whose name and face I did not know, resembled that person so much?
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
In the end, the missing member of the Priodos organization was never found that day.
Later, when I returned to the palace, I dispatched men to scour the area, but not even a trace or clue was found.
I wondered if the blindfolded child’s father had misunderstood and harmed the member of the Priodos. The horrifying thought never left me.
“The members of the organization are highly skilled both strategically and in martial arts, so there’s got to be something going on. We’re expanding our search, so don’t worry too much.”
Their leader, Stella, was rather good at soothing.
Other than that, my mind was complicated.
Ever since I returned from the auction house, I felt uncomfortable, like I was sitting on a thorny seat.
<It’s just a tool for exchanging messages. You can have a conversation with anyone, anywhere. Originally, they come in pairs, so you share one with someone.>
I overheard the true nature of the magic notebook at the auction. I flipped through the pages, reminiscing about all the conversations I had with Alexis.
Could it be that the spirit who had encouraged me and become my good friend was actually Theo?
My eyes lingered on my last conversation with him.
[I’m from another world, and I was accidentally dragged into Lethenia’s body.]
Theo knew I wasn’t the real Lethenia.
Having cherished Lethenia so much, he may feel a great sense of betrayal toward me.
I have deceived him by taking Lethenia’s body and pretending to be her. How can he accept someone like me?
As if to reinforce my ominous premonition, he hasn’t been in the Empress’ palace for some time.
I couldn’t muster the courage to face him, so I couldn’t send him any messages.
Tears threatened to fall from my eyes whenever I imagined his cold gaze settling on me. I was looking out of the distant window with a lonely heart when Stella came in.
“The Marquis of Claflin has sent word that he will not be able to visit the Empress’ palace for some time.”
“Yes, I see.”
While I gazed absently out of the window with a heavy heart, Stella continued speaking with a somber expression.
“However… according to the information from our contacts connected to Claflin’s, they say that Lord Claflin locked himself in his room and hasn’t come out for several days.”
“Why?”
“They’re not sure of the exact reason, but they found bloodstains at the door. One of the servants saw him clutching his injured shoulder and going inside…”
Stella’s words made me remember the man with the blue mask, the one with the injured shoulder.
