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Chapter 5
“Tie.”
“Wait a second.”
I stopped my sister, who looked ready to step in and finish things quickly, and stared ahead.
“Why? If we don’t hurry, it’ll be time for your medicine soon.”
“That’s not the important thing right now.”
The movements of the people around the gambling tables were strange.
Some pretended to roll dice while hiding blades.
Even the bartender was offering the prince a drink with something mixed into it.
They were openly plotting something, and nobody noticed?
“Please subdue the people playing poker over there.”
“And what about you?”
“I’ll take care of that drink.”
Holding tightly onto Minabel’s hand, I approached the prince.
“Excuse me.”
I removed the silver ring from my finger and dropped it into his drink.
“What are you—”
The prince stopped mid-sentence.
The ring was turning black.
At the exact same time, a huge gust of wind exploded behind us.
My sister’s wind magic flipped every table in the room at once, and blades spilled messily from the clothes of the people crashing onto the floor.
Lucian quietly observed the situation before turning to me.
“I think this requires an explanation.”
“It doesn’t seem like the best place for a detailed conversation. Would you come with us? It’s rather noisy here.”
Since it was such a sudden proposal, I had already prepared myself to be rejected.
My goal was simply to spark his curiosity.
Something like: What kind of person causes all this chaos and then calmly calls the place noisy?
That alone would be enough.
“Alright then. My instincts are telling me it’s safe enough to follow you.”
I expected rejection, but—
Wait, what?
My eyes widened without me realizing it.
Could things really proceed this smoothly?
Thankfully my face was hidden by the veil, or my expression would have given everything away.
“We’ll guide you somewhere more comfortable.”
“I wouldn’t mind somewhere uncomfortable either. Who would treat me with such courtesy anyway? I’m just a lowly wandering knight.”
At some point, his blue eyes had fixed quietly on me.
And I knew about the red hidden beneath that blue.
“My lady’s health is very poor. Please show some mercy.”
At that moment, Lucian’s gaze shifted from me to Minabel.
“S-Sword Master…”
Sword Master?
Well, now that I thought about it, he hadn’t moved even slightly when my sister used that powerful magic earlier.
Meanwhile, my head was starting to spin a little.
Maybe I staggered slightly, because suddenly someone supported me.
“Honestly, that doesn’t sound exaggerated. You really do look unwell. Let’s walk and talk.”
It was Lucian.
He carried a cool, refreshing scent, strong enough to completely cover the foul smell of the tavern.
I barely managed to steady my voice.
“Thank you…”
***
“I didn’t know a place like this existed.”
“It’s a place where no conversation can leak outside.”
“That sounds rather unsettling.”
The place we arrived at by carriage was an old mansion deep in the forest.
According to Minabel, the owner of the mansion had placed a spell over it that prevented anyone from speaking outside about what happened here.
Lucian looked at us before calmly speaking.
“You all seem to know who I am, so shouldn’t you reveal your identities now?”
Unlike his casual tone, there was subtle irritation and caution beneath it.
My sister started to speak first, but I stopped her with a hand and slightly lifted my veil.
After all, this face was disguised anyway.
“I’m simply someone who knows the truth. Thanks to a very fortunate coincidence.”
“The truth?”
“Yes. In a way, you could say I know the future. Enough to commit the rudeness of bringing Your Highness to a place like this.”
Lucian’s reason for following us so calmly was obvious.
He believed he could overpower the three of us whenever he wanted.
Because he was a Sword Master.
“So you intend to hide your identity to the very end. Well… fine. Even if you’re spies sent by someone, I don’t particularly care.”
As expected, Lucian still looked completely relaxed.
Meanwhile, following Minabel, who guided us from the front, we reached a room in the far corner of the second floor.
“I’ve never been to a place like this in the capital.”
“My apologies for bringing you somewhere so crude.”
Once everyone sat down, a maid whose face was difficult to make out appeared from somewhere and set down tea cups.
Minabel traced letters into my palm with her finger.
[ She’s a ghost living in the mansion, but she’s nice. ]
Right. At this point, even a living mansion didn’t surprise me anymore.
“Now that we’ve come this far, why don’t you finally get to the point?”
Lucian didn’t touch the tea.
Even after my sister drank from it first to prove it wasn’t poisoned.
Fine. At this point, direct honesty was the best option.
Without hesitation, I spoke immediately.
“If Your Highness does not ascend the throne, this empire will fall.”
“And you expect me to believe that…?”
Hearing the disbelief in his voice, I glanced subtly toward my sister.
Right on cue, she delivered the line we had agreed upon beforehand.
“I have traveled back through time. And the last thing I saw there was an empire collapsing as the prophecy came true. I won’t pretend my reasons for turning back time were noble either.”
As she spoke, my sister revealed the traces of forbidden magic left on her body.
The brand placed upon sinners who reversed time.
Only then did Lucian’s expression finally change as he watched her openly expose such a shameful mark.
“What exactly are you—”
But this was Minabel’s territory.
Nothing seen here could be spoken of outside.
“And I know the divine truth that Your Highness has been hiding.”
His killing intent slammed down onto me.
Nausea rose in my throat, but I forced myself to continue speaking.
“Heed the will of the gods, owner of the red eyes.”
Clang!
It happened in an instant.
Just before his sword could strike my neck, my sister’s powerful barrier magic wrapped around me.
Even so, the pressure already touching me made my vision blur and spin.
While checking my condition, Minabel whispered urgently.
“Let’s run. If you collapse, I’ll carry you.”
I barely held onto my fading consciousness and answered weakly.
“No. I’m not running. You said it yourself. Unni is strong.”
“…If you die here, what’s the point of any of this?!”
Minabel was overreacting.
Honestly, it wasn’t quite that serious.
Lucian had intentionally stopped his strength at the last possible moment.
He probably never truly intended to separate my head from my body.
As proof, he had already sheathed his sword again and was staring directly at me behind my sister.
Though honestly, even that alone was enough to make me sway.
That part was my own problem.
Before long, his blue eyes slowly bled into red like paint spreading through water.
“So tell me how you found out. Didn’t you just claim you saw it with your own eyes?”
This was where it truly began.
To prove that I was speaking the truth, I held a magical tool that forced only truthful words from the user and opened my mouth.
Do you know how hard it was to obtain this thing?
My sister had barely managed to acquire it by reconnecting with contacts she made at the Magic Tower in her previous life.
It was especially difficult because the Magic Tower had recently fallen into conflict with the Crown Prince’s faction.
“By coincidence… I saw it.”
“Coincidence?”
“Yes. When the magic wore off as you passed by. Coincidentally. Haven’t you been near the Rosena Duchy recently?”
“…I did pass through that area.”
His tone clearly said he couldn’t believe it.
But what could he do? It was the undeniable truth.
“The magic wore off there?”
My sister glanced at me before stepping forward.
“There are anti-disguise spells surrounding the duchy to prevent assassins and infiltrators. Since several ancient spells overlap, most people can’t even detect them.”
For a moment, I almost forgot we were hiding our identities and blurted out, Unni, you can use ancient magic too?!
Though honestly, the moment we mentioned House Rosena, hiding our connection to it had already become impossible.
“So you know the duchy’s protective magic, and you’re knowledgeable about ancient spells too, yet you’re acting as a mere bodyguard?”
I knew.
There was no way to hide everything forever.
If we wanted to properly persuade Lucian, this was the point where we needed to show him that I could become a reliable ally.
“And when Rosena’s dispelling magic activated, you happened to see me?”
But this really was an accident!
I wasn’t even the one snooping around. He was the one wandering around and accidentally exposing himself, so why was he pressuring me?!
“At this point, why not just reveal your identity? If I find you interesting enough, I might even let you leave with your head still attached.”
Suppressing the many rude responses rising in my throat, I let out a long sigh.
I’m telling you, the problem isn’t me seeing these things.
The real problem is that nobody else in this world notices anything at all!
