Episode 113

Thud—!

A dull impact halted my flying body.

“Urgh…!”

When I regained my senses, I realized I was dangling in midair, my collar tightly grasped in Logan’s hand.

“Belze!”

Srrng—

Edwin immediately unsheathed his sword from his waist.

Even though it was a real, sharpened blade, Logan merely chuckled in amusement.

“If you don’t want this little girl to die, I suggest you come with me quietly, Young Lord.”

“D-Don’t listen to him! Run, Edwin!”

I seized the chance and shouted as loudly as I could.

But Logan, clearly irritated, shook me roughly by the collar.

“Urgh! Hack, hack!”

My body swung violently in the air.

The dizziness was one thing—but the choking sensation was far worse.

“Enough!”

Seeing me coughing and gasping, Edwin yelled.

“Fine! I’ll do as you say.”

“……”

“Just let Belze go.”

Clatter!

Any hope that Edwin would take the opportunity to escape vanished as he immediately tossed his sword onto the floor.

‘That idiot! What is he thinking…?!’

Even as I struggled for breath, I was horrified by his decision.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about me—he should have been thinking about escaping first.

Then he could have figured out how to rescue me afterward.

‘Pick up your sword! You can stab him right now!’

I shot Edwin a desperate look.

But despite knowing exactly what I was thinking, he didn’t move an inch.

“This is almost too easy.”

Logan smirked.

“Still, I should thank you, Young Lord. I’ve been wondering when I’d get the chance to dispose of this girl. And now, you’ve handed me the perfect opportunity.”

“…You—!”

Realizing Logan had never intended to let me go in the first place, Edwin’s face twisted in anger.

“Are you insane?! She doesn’t know anything! She’s only five years old!”

“For someone who ‘doesn’t know anything,’ she’s certainly been causing quite a bit of trouble.”

“What the hell are you talking about—”

“Ismail.”

Logan spoke a familiar name in a low voice.

“No matter how I think about it, the one who used that mute fool to lure me to the temple… it had to be her.”

His sharp deduction made me flinch.

‘No way… did Ismail get caught?’

If not, there was no way Logan could have figured it out.

‘That explains it. That’s why he came back earlier than expected…’

The situation was getting worse by the second.

If Ismail had been caught manipulating High Priest Magnus, his life was in grave danger.

My mind went blank with despair.

As my body went limp from the overwhelming sense of helplessness—

“…Aren’t you being a bit too paranoid?”

Edwin suddenly spoke, firmly denying Logan’s accusation.

“If Belze was really that smart, she would’ve gotten rid of you a long time ago, with or without the temple’s involvement.”

“……”

“She already knew that you constantly compared her to Diana. She knew you were the one who recommended Emma and Juliac. And yet, she did nothing. Doesn’t that seem a little odd to you?”

His words sounded like he was belittling me, but I didn’t feel angry at all.

I knew he was only trying to clear me of suspicion.

Besides, he was absolutely right.

Until I realized Logan was a temple spy, I had no reason to be wary of him.

There were plenty of people who disliked me, and as far as I knew, Logan had never directly harmed me.

Looking back, I had been careless—unbelievably foolish.

“Are you talking about yourself, Young Lord?”

Even as Edwin countered his claims point by point, Logan merely scoffed.

“I was quite surprised by that double ledger incident. It couldn’t have been easy to cross-check over five years of records…”

“……”

“Thanks to you, I nearly lost my head.”

It was difficult to follow their conversation.

I didn’t understand all the details, but from the context, it seemed Edwin had orchestrated something to get rid of Logan.

“Framing a dead man, how ruthless.”

At Logan’s words, Edwin shot him a look filled with contempt.

“Jester helped you a lot during your time at the academy. Do you have even a shred of conscience?”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t know about conscience, but I do know this: that impudent girl secretly met up with that mute fool again just yesterday.”

Since his identity as a temple spy had already been exposed, it wasn’t surprising that he knew my movements in detail.

What was surprising, however, was Edwin’s next words.

“…That was actually me.”

He smoothly pivoted and lied without hesitation.

“I was the one who manipulated Ismail to lure you to the temple.”

‘Stop. Please.’

I shook my head weakly as I looked at Edwin.

What was I?

How far was he willing to go just to protect me?

Unfortunately, Logan didn’t seem convinced in the slightest.

“…You, Young Lord?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you even know what kind of ability Ismail possesses?”

“……”

Edwin’s lips pressed tightly together.

There was no way he could know that.

Logan scoffed at him in disbelief.

“…I’ve been wondering this for a while now. Why are you so desperate to protect this insignificant girl?”

“……”

“The Duke, Anderson, even that cranky old Gordon… It’s like all of you have been bewitched. Tsk.”

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, Logan yanked me closer and scrutinized my face.

But when he didn’t find anything unusual, he scowled in frustration and pushed me away, making my body swing violently.

“Disgusting. To me, she still reeks like a filthy, mangy little orphan. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Waaah!”

The nausea and dizziness overwhelmed me, and I shrieked.

“Well, I hate your stinky breath! Get away from me, you gross dog-breath bastard!”

“You little—”

Enraged by my insult, Logan grabbed me by the collar and shook me violently.

It was unfortunate for me, but my suffering wasn’t entirely in vain.

Swiish—

A sharp slicing sound cut through the air.

“ARGH! Damn it!”

Logan let out a scream and staggered back.

I clearly heard the shhk of something being cut.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Clutching his side with his free hand, he roared in pain.

Blood streamed between his fingers.

“I told you,”

A step closer now, Edwin’s golden eyes gleamed coldly.

“Enough.”

When had he picked up his sword again?

A drop of Logan’s blood dripped from Edwin’s blade.

“So, you’re fine with killing this girl right now?”

“Waaah!”

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Logan yanked me forward, using me as a human shield.

But this time, Edwin didn’t waver.

“If you were going to kill Belze no matter what,”

His voice was eerily calm.

“Then before that, I’ll make sure to slice off a limb or two.”

“……!”

Logan flinched at the words, unnatural in their coldness for a child.

However, realizing that he had just hesitated in front of someone far younger, his expression twisted into something monstrous.

“……”

Muttering incomprehensible ancient words, Logan suddenly curled his lips into a sinister grin.

“Let’s end this meaningless conversation.”

“……”

“When you wake up, you’ll have forgotten everything that happened here. You’ll be peacefully asleep in your room. And as a bonus, I’ll erase all memories of this girl as well.”

“What…?!”

Edwin, realizing the threat, gripped his sword more tightly.

But before he could act—

Logan chanted another incantation in ancient language.

I still couldn’t understand the meaning, but this time, I knew exactly what he intended.

Whoooosh—!

The moment the words left his mouth, a circle of violet light surged from the ground beneath Edwin’s feet.

A spell. He was casting a spell.

“E-Edwin!”

“Belze!”

Edwin’s eyes widened as he looked at me, wrapped in the eerie glow.

No!

The thought of Edwin forgetting me—

For once, I didn’t even have my usual hypocritical musings that maybe it was better this way for the sake of the original story.

I didn’t crawl my way back into the duke’s estate just to lose everything again.

I refused.

I wouldn’t let this happen.

Desperate, I turned to look at Logan, still chanting his dark magic.

I tried pinching his hand, biting him—anything to break free.

Then, I saw it.

A faint violet glow shimmered at the top of his head.

His scalp.

Immediately, I gathered all the divine energy surging within me and focused it into my palms.

I didn’t even consider controlling the output like I had with Dunkeski before.

‘Goddess, please! Give me the power to stop this bastard!’

That single thought filled my entire mind.

As two glowing orbs of energy the size of oranges formed in my hands, I thrust them forward with a wild, frantic scream.

“BALDNESS BEAM—!”

 

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