WDEDLF-Chapter 132

“I appreciate you creating a gap in the barrier, but I can’t go with you.”

 

“Barrier? I don’t know what you’re talking about, but this is no time for jokes! Marquise Haberon has staged a coup. She even summoned some kind of monster—maybe a dragon! I know it sounds unbelievable, but it’s true!”

 

“That must be true.”

 

“We can talk about it in detail at home. Hurry up and come with me!”

 

Lark grabbed Elaine’s arm again and pulled her towards him, but Elaine used a small shockwave to shake off Lark’s hand.

 

Lark’s eyes widened as he felt some unknown force push his hand away.

 

“What….What is that, Elaine?”

 

“I just shocked you with magic. Don’t worry, there’s no harm done to your body.”

 

“Magic…? Are you saying… you’re really a witch?”

 

Elaine nodded slightly.

 

“It hasn’t been that long since I realized it either.”

 

Lark was surprised that what Lorina and High Priest John had said was true, but more than that, he felt even more anxious.

 

“It’s okay, Elaine. I’ve cleared out the annex, so if you hide out there, no one will know.”

 

“Ahh…Are you trying to lock me up like Uncle did to my mother?”

 

“It’s for your own good! Do you even know that the High Priest excommunicated you? If you go outside like this, you’ll either get stoned or be dragged away by a prince whose true intentions are unknown!”

 

“Then why would you take such a risk? What will you do if people find out I’m staying at the Count of Newt’s house?”

 

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a witch or not! You’re part of our family.”

 

Elaine felt like she heard the words, ‘You are mine!’

 

Anyway, the place she was going was not Count Newt’s house.

 

“I’m sorry if I made you waste your time. But I have to go to the imperial palace.”

 

“What? Do you even know what’s happening there right now?”

 

“I have a rough idea. That’s why I have to go. I have to go and meet Sergey.”

 

“Sergey…?”

 

The moment Lark heard that name, his eyes turned bloodshot.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you really think I’ll let that bastard take you away again?”

 

Lark violently grabbed Elaine once more. He didn’t seem to care whether he was hurting her or not.

 

All Elaine could feel from him was an obsessive madness—an uncontrollable desperation to keep what he believed was his.

 

But Elaine was no longer what she used to be.

 

“Let go of this, Lark.”

 

“Stop being so stubborn and just come back! Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?”

 

As Lark pulled her by force, Elaine cast a spell before she could be dragged away.

 

“Apartie!”

 

With a quiet spell, the strong-bodied Lark flew backward.

 

Lark, who had rolled on the floor, looked at Elaine with an expression of disbelief.

 

“I told you. I’m a witch.”

 

A blue light shimmered over Elaine’s hand.

 

“It means that I am not a weak human being who can be dragged around at your will.”

 

“Elaine…!”

 

Just then, a deep rumbling sound shook the entire building. At the same time, a mercenary rushed in from outside.

 

“Hey! We have to run! There’s something strange here! And Prince Abel is coming this way!”

 

At those words, Lark looked at Elaine again and shouted.

 

“I said we have to run, Elaine!”

 

“You go quickly. As payment for making a gap in the barrier, I’ll at least open a path for you to return.”

 

Elaine temporarily stopped the activation of the magic designed to bring down the building when the barrier was destroyed. She created a way out for Lark.

 

“It won’t last long. Go! And let’s never see each other again.”

 

“No, Elaine! You have to go with me!”

 

Lark couldn’t give up and tried to grab Elaine, but the mercenary grabbed Lark’s arm first.

 

“Just leave her if she won’t come! We need to save our own lives first!”

 

In the end, Lark was dragged down the stairs by the mercenary.

 

It was annoying and absurd—he had come all this way, found Elaine, and still couldn’t take her with him. 

 

However, as Elaine said, she was no longer someone he could take away at will.

 

Besides, the building was really strange.

 

When he had entered, he had clearly seen the staircase leading straight to the second floor. But now, as he tried to leave, endless doors kept appearing.

 

Was that what Elaine meant by “opening a path”? The moment Lark approached one, it swung open on its own.

 

“Damn it! There was no mention of a haunted house! You’ll have to pay us extra for this!”

 

The mercenary who was running out of the villa with Lark shouted in anger.

 

And just as Lark, under the mercenaries’ protection, barely escaped from Sasha’s villa, Abel and Anais appeared.

 

They held their breath at the sight of knights lying mortally wounded and the signs of battle surrounding the villa.

 

“It looks like someone attacked this place before us.”

 

“We should check. Let’s go inside the villa.”

 

Anais led Abel and the demons toward the villa.

 

At that moment, a sharp voice was heard from far away.

 

“What do you mean Abel has come!”

 

It was Sasha. Thanks to Malek’s teleportation, she had arrived at the villa much faster than Anais and Abel had expected

 

She brought with her the imperial knights she had prepared beforehand, as well as the holy knights from the Temple of Pavelo.

 

But upon arrival, she found that the villa’s guards had already been attacked—and now she was hearing that Abel was there.

 

Abel, who should have been locked up in his bedroom.

 

Sasha, sensing something was seriously wrong, shouted urgently.

 

“Attack! Kill everyone except Abel!”

 

At her command, the knights she brought charged towards Abel’s small group with drawn swords.

 

“We’ll hold them off here. Your Highnesses, please go find Miss Elaine…!”

 

Hubert and the other demons blocked the only path leading to the villa, while Anais and Abel hurried inside.

 

But the moment of concern—whether Elaine was even in the villa—turned out to be unnecessary. 

 

The very person they were searching for was already coming down from the second floor.

 

“Lady Elaine…?”

 

At Anais’ call, Elaine came down to the first floor and bowed slightly to them.

 

Anais took a step back, feeling that her polite manners did not fit the situation.

 

Although her appearance was clearly that of the young lady she had met at the imperial banquet, the atmosphere she gave off was completely different.

 

“Are you really Lady Elaine?”

 

“Yes, Your Highness. I’d love to explain everything in detail, but it seems we don’t have time for that.”

 

“Oh, that’s right! We have to get out of here! Sir Hubert said we have to take you to the palace—!”

 

Before Anais could finish, a loud explosion, the clashing of metal, and people’s screams could be heard from outside.

 

Anais and Abel instinctively turned toward the door they had entered through—only to find that it had vanished, replaced by a different wall and another door.

 

“Uh…? Just now…”

 

Abel flustered, moved toward the door, but Elaine stepped forward, pulling him back.

 

“Excuse me for a moment. Contero!”

 

Elaine cast a powerful destruction spell toward the door.

 

Then the door and the wall came crashing down, revealing another wall and door.

 

Elaine, standing in the rubble of destruction, preparing to cast her spell again, didn’t look like a helpless hostage at all.

 

In fact, no one had ever heard of Elaine casting such powerful magic before.

 

Abel stiffened in shock, while Anais pretended to be calm and spoke.

 

“It seems this entire villa under that dragon’s magic.”

 

“They’ve certainly gone to great lengths with their tricks, but it’s all just for show.”

 

Elaine smiled faintly and destroyed the wall and door again. 

 

It collapsed too easily for a trap designed by a dragon.

 

‘Certainly, there is something wrong with this dragon’s magic.’

 

Elaine was convinced once again.

 

Malek was undoubtedly stronger than mere monsters or demons, yet his magic was noticeably unstable compared to Rabes.

 

The same was true of the barriers that surrounded the villa.

 

It was definitely a barrier that had strong magical power, but it could be destroyed even with a small gap.

 

‘Or maybe….it’s me that’s different.’ 

 

Elaine felt her magical powers were much stronger than in her previous life as a great wizard, and she broke down the last wall and door and left the villa.

 

The demons of Count Lindell were pushed back right in front of the villa.

 

Hubert shouted urgently when he saw Elaine.

 

“Miss Elaine! There’s no time! Please take their Highnesses and escape! Marka will clear the way!”

 

“Butler…!”

 

Elaine clenched her fists at the sight of Hubert, covered in wounds.

 

His appearance now reminded Elaine of the time when he was brutally beaten while trying to protect her from Malek.

 

And he wasn’t the only one.

 

All the maids and servants, including the head maid Luisa, chef Courbet, the gardener Marka, and Rosie, were fighting with all their might.

 

So much so that parts of their demon forms—horns, tails—had begun to show.

 

“She brought more holy knights than expected.”

 

“Yes! Now is not the time to—!”

 

Just as Hubert was about to shout something at Elaine, Sasha—who had spotted Anais standing behind Elaine, ordered all the knights and holy knights to stop attacking.

 

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