IRLDM 15

Chapter : 15

Encounter, or Crossing

Left alone, Lowell stood still for quite a while. Then he let out a soft “Ah,” as if he had realized something, and headed straight outside. Right now, there was something far more important than wondering why Leon was acting that way.

“Miss!”

Fortunately, he didn’t have to go far to find Aria. She was standing on the bridge over the garden pond. Dry fallen leaves covered the surface of the water, making Aria, standing amid them, look somehow even more forlorn.

“Gasp, Lowell….”

At Lowell’s call, Aria reacted immediately. Her already large eyes widened even more as she took a step back.

“I’ll come to you!”

Fearing that if he left her alone she might run off again, Lowell shouted loudly first—meaning, I’ll go to you, so please stay there.

“No, it’s okay!”

But Aria almost jumped in place and began backing away.

“Huh?”

And that was probably why it happened. As Aria hurriedly tried to turn her body, she lost her balance—and her body tilted toward the pond.

Whoosh.

Yet Aria did not fall into the cold pond. A gentle force lightly pushed her back, straightening her posture.

Because of that, Aria suddenly found herself standing upright, frozen, blinking in confusion. What was that? the thought rose in her mind.

“Miss! Are you all right?”

Aria’s thoughts couldn’t continue. Lowell had already run right up to her, taking her hand and asking anxiously.

“Huh? Uh….”

Only then did Aria calm down a little and shift her gaze to Lowell.

But the moment she met Lowell’s violet eyes, the obscene scene from earlier flashed through her mind, and dizziness washed over her again.

Bodies pressed against a wall, lips brushing her neck before pulling away.

So it was all my misunderstanding. Right—he said he has someone he loves.

Avoiding Lowell’s eyes, Aria thought this hurriedly. She felt foolish for having suspected a newlywed couple.

“It’s cold outside. Let’s go back in.”

Since Aria remained dazed, Lowell lightly held her shoulders and helped her up. Until they returned to the villa, only Lowell spoke, making small talk about the scenery and other meaningless things, while Aria responded vaguely—an oddly one-sided conversation.

In truth, the reason Lowell kept talking about trivial things was to distract Aria’s thoughts.

I swore I’d act perfectly, and yet I used magic the moment I turned away.

Recalling his mistake earlier, Lowell reproached himself. When Aria had nearly fallen into the pond, he hadn’t even had time to think before instinctively sending out magic to catch her.

What’s more, he hadn’t immediately grasped the situation even after using magic—only after seeing his power envelop Aria’s entire body did he realize what had happened and withdraw it.

Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to be paying attention to it right now.

Watching Aria barely manage to answer him, unable to hide her confusion, Lowell suppressed his anxiety.

That day passed without any further special incidents. Lowell thought this calm was a reward for the earlier commotion, so until he went to bed, he was able to relax somewhat.

“Ugh….”

But that peace vanished completely in the middle of the night, along with a splitting headache that struck Lowell’s mind like lightning. As he forced himself upright, a painful groan escaped his lips.

Panting, he looked around and saw that Leon was gone. In Leon’s place, only the sharp red light of the crimson moon outside the window remained.

For a moment, Lowell wondered where Leon had gone. Then, unable to endure the surging pain, he fumbled in the red moonlight and opened the drawer beside the bed.

Inside, a necklace set with a blue gem glittered in the moonlight.

It suppresses magic and blocks unstable mana flow.

Lowell recalled Leon’s words as he took out the necklace.

Seeing how Lowell struggled every time he practiced magic, Leon had said, Your body isn’t trained to use magic, so excessive use causes physical strain, and had given him a mana stone made with Leon’s own power.

I only used magic today to catch Miss—why is it like this….

Trying to end the thought, Lowell tightened his grip on the necklace.

The moment it settled around his neck, Leon’s mana—carrying its distinctive warm, nocturnal scent—wrapped around Lowell’s body, and the headache quickly began to subside.

“Haa.”

Only then could Lowell breathe properly. As he gradually relaxed the hand gripping the mana stone, he saw a blue glow slipping between his fingers.

“…?”

But just as the pain vanished, an unmistakably chilling sensation crawled up Lowell’s skin. A force that felt as though it could strangle him at any moment. This was… absolutely not human.

Miss.

In instinctive terror, the first person that came to Lowell’s mind was Aria. He hurriedly jumped out of bed and ran, mind blank, toward Aria’s room.

And the moment he opened the door, Lowell froze, unable to move.

A man with red hair and eyes even redder, glowing cruelly, was astride Aria on her bed, his face close to her neck.

“As expected, you carry His scent.”

The man muttered dangerously, his voice so low it sounded almost like he was talking to himself, though it was clearly meant for someone else.

He leaned even closer to Aria’s neck, murmured a few words in some long-lost language, then turned his head to look at Lowell standing in the doorway.

And the instant Lowell met that blazing red gaze, he realized with certainty: the immense power pressing down on the entire villa belonged to this man—and this man was a demon.

Those red eyes tightened around his nerves. Locked in that gaze, Lowell forgot even how to breathe.

“Mmgh….”

Then, at a muffled groan, Lowell’s eyes darted away. There was Aria, struggling desperately, her mouth covered by the man’s hand.

“Miss!”

Seeing her pain-distorted face, Lowell shouted instinctively.

Whoosh.

At that moment, something flew past Lowell’s cheek at incredible speed. Blood immediately trickled along a thin cut, making the warning clear: Move, and you die.

“Why does the strongest scent cling to a mere human?”

As if nothing had happened, the man turned back toward Aria.

“But… there’s another smell mixed in.”

He muttered in a flat voice.

“It makes me want to cut it away.”

With those unpleasant words dripping with irritation, he brought his sharp claws to Aria’s neck.

“And this golden hair, those green-tinged eyes… it’s as if you absorbed Him yourself.”

The man continued muttering incomprehensible things, repeatedly stroking Aria’s hair, as though overlapping her with someone else.

Crack.

“Time is up.”

The one who broke the near-snapping tension was a small demon who appeared from one side of the wall.

“….”

At those words, the man slowly withdrew from Aria.

“Gasp—cough, cough.”

As his hand fell away, the breath that had been trapped burst from Aria’s mouth.

“Let’s go.”

After watching her for a moment, the man said so.

And in that instant, from the tenacious gaze that lingered on Aria until the very end, Lowell knew the intruder would definitely return. A shiver ran down his spine.

Only long after the demons vanished into the darkness were Lowell and Aria able to move again.

“…What a ridiculous woman.”

At the same time, Leon—still unable to sleep—walked briskly, recalling what had happened that afternoon.

Peach-tinted lips drawing close, violet eyes looking up at him beneath lifted lashes.

“How absurd.”

Just remembering that brief scene made the spot where their lips had touched feel hot, and Leon covered his neck with his hand.

And yet, the fact that he was out in the garden, sleepless over something so trivial…

“…?”

Suddenly, Leon’s thoughts came to a halt as a familiar, chilling force crept over his skin. An overwhelming pressure pressed down on the villa—something impossible to ignore.

“A demon?”

It was the power of demons. Not the kind he had felt on the battlefield, but something even stronger.

Sensing instinctive danger, Leon ran—toward the place where the magic felt strongest. That was Aria’s room, on the far right of the third floor.

“Ugh.”

The moment Leon opened her door, the powerful scent forced him to cover his face with his sleeve. The room was filled with a cold, heavy stench, suffocating in its density.

“Lord Leon.”

That calm voice reached him only after he managed to breathe properly.

Looking up, he saw Aria sitting on the bed, struggling to catch her breath, with Lowell supporting her.

“What….”

Sensing that something tremendous had occurred, Leon let out an unfinished question.

“Please go downstairs and call the servants. And contact the knight order. Right now.”

“What?”

“A demon infiltrated the villa.”

Lowell’s firm tone was undeniable proof that something truly serious had happened.