Chapter 58: Gentle Moon (1)
Act 5
Muriel spat out smoke and glued herself closer to the knight standing outside the bars.
“Shall I make a prophecy? It’s about you, Sir Knight. Aren’t you curious?”
Muriel moved as if she wasn’t being confined in an underground prison, freely extending her arms and legs outside the bars, as if to seduce the knights.
One knight was tempted to turn his head, but his colleague next to him quickly wanted him. It was because of a special order they had received.
‘Do not fall for the deceitful tongue of the Blue Serpent.’ Sharan had said, specifically instructing them not to look at Muriel or exchange words with her.
Before being assigned, they couldn’t understand why Sharan compared the Saint who oversaw the kingdom’s well-being to a snake. But by now, they could understand Sharan’s meaning.
Far from being noble, she didn’t even seem human.
Muriel seemed determined to test their patience, blowing smoke in their faces. Then, with a strange expression, she examined their faces, as if having fun wondering when they would explode.
“Aren’t you curious? If it’s a future the saint has seen, it’s not going to be something good. You need to know what disaster is coming so you can prepare for it, right?”
“…”
“…Well, even if you’re not curious, I’ll tell you this much.”
The knight collapsed listening to Muriel’s final words, unable to say anything.
He had felt his consciousness was a little cloudy and that his body was losing its strength a little, but he’d attributed it to the murky air. Without realizing it, he had already been poisoned.
“When I’m gone, run away. That’s the way to save your life.”
Muriel quickly found the key on the fallen knight’s body and escaped from the prison.
She moved cautiously, afraid of waking them up, but it seemed she didn’t need to worry.
Even when she kicked and hit several parts of their bodies, they slept as if they were dead.
It was the effect of the drug that Jaron had given her. After confirming that the two knights had been defeated, she finally realized the true power of that item from the 0-store, which supposedly had no ‘too’ dangerous items.
“To smoke something this strong everyday…”
It was also a moment when she realized the true extent of the pain Jaron was enduring.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Muriel didn’t hesitate and started running. The underground prison was a complex place where even Sharan’s knights could get lost without a map, but Muriel was familiar with every structure here. The explanation that it was a place she had “seen” enough to be vivid in her mind was not enough.
Now, Muriel vaguely acknowledged that the source of her memories might not be a novel.
Such vivid memories were things that could not be obtained without firsthand experience. Perhaps she truly was born with the power of a saint and had seen future events that threatened the kingdom.
She couldn’t explain the sparse, empty memories, how she couldn’t feel pain, and the strange sense of detachment from reality. But the reason she could run through the underground prison so familiarly was undoubtedly because she’d experienced it herself at some point.
From the eastern exit… one, two, three.
The wall decoration located between the third and fourth stairs.
A door that appears when one puts their hand on the lion decoration made of rough stone and channels magic into it.
In the future, Muriel ran this road to kill a silver-haired man trapped here.
If she wasn’t a character in the novel, that meant that the real Muriel, with her own hands, killed an innocent man out of greed to get Sharan’s power.
There were so many missing links that Muriel couldn’t understand why she had committed such a vicious thing. But now, she’d come to this place not to kill the man, but to save him. Suddenly, Muriel wondered if it was God’s will that she was given the ability of a saint to correct her evil deeds herself. It was a thought that seemed overly convenient, but still.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Muriel nodded as she looked at the seventh demon trapped in the ice. Fortunately, this time it was neatly frozen. Due to her lack of skill in magic, the previous demons had either been skewered and turned into grotesque kebabs or had gruesome holes in them, spewing blood as they died. Finding their appearance too cruel, Muriel was practicing a method of creating a massive block of ice to contain the demons.
Of course, Muriel didn’t care how the demons died since she was going to kill them anyway, but what concerned her was Sharan’s eyes. Muriel had no choice but to use the fragment of Ur when she was using magic, which meant Sharan’s eyes were watching Muriel as she slaughtered the demons.
Muriel hoped he wouldn’t be frightened.
Her first impression had already been fierce, so she was worried that Sharan’s eyes might be scared by her aggressive appearance.
“I’m almost there now.”
Muriel said to the man who was watching her, awkwardly curling up the corners of her mouth.
It was to create a somewhat gentle image, but she didn’t think it was too successful.
Well, Smiling in front of a frozen demon. Wouldn’t it be a little eerie…
Muriel diligently made her way through the maze. It was a maze set up by Sharan Kasal to imprison his brother, complete with secret doors. The maze had dim lighting that made it difficult to see, and demons were densely packed within. There was even a magic spell that made you lose your way if you didn’t follow the predetermined path, which resulted in a considerable amount of time being spent trying to escape the maze.
Muriel urged her steps, her breath catching at the tip of her chin since she couldn’t tell when the fallen knights would regain consciousness.
“…!”
Muriel, who finally found Sharan’s eyes, couldn’t get too close and paused momentarily.
She had expected the man to look quite pitiful.
Imprisoned underground like an exhibited prey, bathed in harsh lighting with only the sound of monsters’ cries echoing, she thought it would be a pitiful and miserable sight to behold.
But the man that came into Muriel’s gaze was mysterious.
Of course, she felt sorry and sympathy for him, but that was only because she knew his circumstances. The only sensation she felt from what she saw him was awe.
It felt sacred.
Covering his eyes with black cloth, his long white hair draped over his body like a protective shield, he looked not only beautiful but also noble.
Gulp.
Muriel, unconsciously swallowing his saliva, approached the man sitting silently..
“Um….”
“I’ve been waiting.”
“…Oh!”
Muriel couldn’t help but let out exclamations at the sight of the man greeting her way more calmly than she’d expected.
Although she couldn’t tell completely because he was blindfolded, going by his calm expression, he didn’t seem as scared by her appearance as she’d worried. So Muriel quickly changed her approach.
“Let’s get out of here first. We don’t have much time, so details….”
The moment Muriel firmly grabbed the man’s wrist, the man, who didn’t seem particularly strong at first glance, effortlessly threw her to the other side with great force. It was an incredible strength that one wouldn’t expect from an ordinary human.
“Ah… I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know you would touch me. I was just so surprised…”
The man apologized repeatedly, fumbled and surprised even more than she was.
Muriel couldn’t answer immediately as her lungs seemed to have been pressed by the immense shock, and just lowered her hand. Then, when she saw the black cloth covering the man’s eyes again, she quickly squeezed out her words.
“No, it’s okay. I’m fine. I’m sorry for startling you. I should have explained properly and moved more calmly, but I was too impatient.”
Muriel looked down at the trembling man, feeling embarrassed.
She forgot that men have a fear of physical contact. In particular, he, who’d been forced into unwanted affairs with women must have a strong aversion to it. She’d thought he wasn’t scared due to his expressionless face, but that had been a great misconception. The man was so good at restraining his emotions that he quickly returned to his blank face. However, his shaking body betrayed him, and she felt sorry.
“…I’m sorry for touching you without permission. I didn’t consider your feelings. Anyone would be startled if their hand was suddenly grabbed when they couldn’t see.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“…Why are you sorry, Your Highness? It was my fault. Ah… but I don’t have the ability to turn off the lights here…”
In other words, it meant she had no choice but to hold his hand to lead him out of the maze when he couldn’t see in bright light.
To lead him out of the maze without sight, it meant that she had to hold his hand.
“…I can see. If you use a fragment, I can see.”
“Ah, that’s right. Can you see me now?”
Nodding.
“I’m sorry. I’ll never touch you freely from now on, so don’t be afraid.”
“…”
“Yes? I promise. You know I keep my promises, right? That’s why I’m here to save you, just as I promised.”
Nodding.
“Then shall we go now? We don’t have much time…”
Instead of answering, the man sat silently without nodding or asking anything. Muriel anxiously waited for him, her legs trembling and her fingers nervously tapping, unable to even touch the man.
“Your Highness, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. It would be better if you could come with me quickly.”
“…How do you know me? How did you get in here?”
It was a sharp question.
Sharan was the only person in the world who knew of his existence, so how could Muriel know and find him? It was a very natural question to ask. He might mistake her for being part of Sharan’s trap. Muriel couldn’t honestly say she’d seen a future where she killed him, so she struggled to stretch her words.
“It’s a bit complicated to explain…”
“…”
The man didn’t press for Muriel’s answer, but he did not make any move to follow her either.
“I just want to help…? Because I want to help. Just… just because.”
“…”
…”
Once again, the man didn’t budge. But Muriel could not easily confess since she wasn’t sure if he would believe and follow her when she told him the truth.
“Actually, I saw it in my dream. Something like foretelling the future. I’m not sure if it’s exactly a future prophecy or not.”
“You truly are a saint. What kind of future did you see? The saint only sees moments that threaten the kingdom…”
“…I think someone will die.”
“…Is Sharan going to die?”
“Well…”
“Am I going to die?”
Mhm so we’re establishing that Muriel is indeed the saint since it seems she’s gone through those events in her dreams
Thanks! Kyaaaa she’s finally saving him!! I’ve been waaaiting!
But also, like, i kinda ship her with real sharan! But her with kaiton is also cute! Ahahahaha