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chapter 46
Cracks spread across the red moon, and a crimson aura, like the sunset, consumed everything around it.
Both the noble and the lowly lifted their heads simultaneously, witnessing the fragments of an apocalypse.
Instinctively sensing the ominous energy, Lyla murmured in a trembling voice,
“What… what is that…?”
Lyla’s face, as she looked up, was bathed in red light. It resembled a sunset, but the foreboding crimson aura was far more terrifying—a prelude to a catastrophic disaster.
At that moment,
A crimson crack shot out like a beam, shaking the ground as if it were splitting apart.
―It’s begun.
Zerodines’ casual remark sounded like the overture of a disaster. Cold air cut like blades as the space around them began to tear apart.
Into the rift, Iris, Adeline, and the two princesses were helplessly drawn.
“No—!!”
Their piercing cries chilled the spine.
I, who had been with them pouring water, coincidentally grabbed the same pillar as Eve Maria to brace myself.
Lyla’s desperate scream, as she was being pulled into the rift, echoed toward us.
“Help me, Princess Grimmoire! You’re a mage!”
Technically, she was calling for Eve Maria.
But Eve Maria only crouched tighter around the pillar, and I let go of mine to rush and embrace Lyla.
“Levieta…?”
Her large lavender eyes.
I’m not Eve Maria, but I suppose an apology is in order.
“Close your eyes and hold your breath. We’re going in.”
Lyla and I were pulled into the black rift, like a black hole, following the two princesses who had gone in first.
And the moment the rift swallowed us, it vanished without a trace, as if it had finished its meal.
One regret: I didn’t get to see Eve Maria’s stunned face.
The air was heavy and damp.
Pain radiated up from my waist, where I had collided trying to protect Lyla, but it was bearable.
I calmly surveyed the surroundings.
‘We flowed into the demon realm, so I expected some cave-like trap… but it’s completely open everywhere.’
Before me stretched a wasteland, bathed in the eerie light of the red moon.
It was unlike the normal world: morning never came, and bloodthirsty monsters lurked about.
‘I don’t see Eve Maria.’
If she had stolen someone else’s power, at least she could use it justly. But she only cares about surviving herself, leaving others to fend for themselves.
As I clicked my tongue, I heard sobbing.
“Sniff… I’m scared, sister. Where are we…?”
“Don’t know, but stop crying for now. Don’t make noise.”
Adeline and Iris, who had been pulled into the rift first, were terrified.
Their expensive dresses were caked in dirt, and ribbons tangled in their hair.
The spirited energy they had shown earlier when giving orders had vanished.
Watching them from a distance, Lyla, who had come through the rift with me, grabbed my hand tightly.
“You… Levieta said you’re a mage, right? Do you know anything about this place?”
I looked at Zerodines without speaking. Lyla probably thought I was simply scanning the area.
―To be exact, this is the boundary between the human world and the demon realm. If we defeat the monsters ruling this area, the rift will reopen.
In other words, there seems to be a “boss monster” here.
I nodded in understanding. Lyla shivered at my gesture.
“You know how to get back?”
“Really? Wh-what way?!”
“If we defeat the strongest monster here, a portal back will appear.”
The princesses, relieved moments ago, now looked hopeless again at my words.
“How are we supposed to do that with our own strength…?”
Just as I was about to explain,
The ground trembled, and a dark figure approached from afar.
A large quadrupedal monster, vaguely beast-like, exuded an aura too ominous to be an ordinary animal.
“Everyone, step back.”
The command was short, almost rude.
Yet the three princesses obediently moved behind me, holding their breath.
As if waiting, the monster emerged from the shadows.
‘I thought I’d leave the final boss to Zerodines and handle the rest myself… no chance.’
A skull-like head. Sharp teeth dripping with acidic saliva. Tough leather and muscular, sturdy legs.
Without the word “monster,” one could not describe its form.
“Kyeeeaaah—!!”
The monster’s roar sent shivers down our spines. The youngest princess, Adeline, lost strength in her legs and collapsed.
―Have I scared them enough?
I nodded.
―Considering the humiliation the princesses suffered being clutched by you, I could torment them more.
I shook my head. My true target is not the princesses, but Eve Maria.
She allied with the Archmage and even married the male lead’s double. How could I not resent those arrogant princesses?
‘Forgiving them now would only increase their guilt later.’
I extended my left hand, releasing a flash of bright light.
To make the magic appear more natural, I mixed Zerodines’ nickname into the incantation.
“Answer my call, Zerodin—!!”
The moment I finished, chains of magic and scorching flames erupted.
The chains bound the monster, while flames twisted like a dragon, striking it directly.
“Kyeeaaah!”
The monster thrashed and collapsed. Its body turned to black ash, carried away by a sudden wind.
The princesses, unable to believe their eyes, gasped.
“Th-that such incredible magic… from such a small body…?”
“I heard that using two types of magic simultaneously is extremely difficult…”
Adeline, who had previously sneered at me, now stared in genuine amazement.
Once again, the first to step forward was the eldest, Lyla.
“Levieta… no, Princess Grimmoire.”
The title, reserved for the head of the family, had been transferred from Eve Maria to me—a noteworthy event.
But I had no time to comment on the sudden change in her attitude.
Lyla collapsed to her knees before me.
“On behalf of the princesses, I, Lyla, apologize for the earlier unpleasant incident. It’s a bold request, but please, with your mercy, save me and my pitiful sisters.”
Her forehead finally touched the ground.
Following Lyla, Iris and Adeline also knelt and bowed.
“I deeply apologize for my rudeness.”
“I’m truly sorry. I was thoughtless.”
Although the situation had completely reversed, it didn’t feel entirely pleasant.
Princesses, who cannot inherit royal powers, live as secondary figures, married off when suitable. Their insult toward me had been to appease the empress.
Unbeknownst to them, the true mastermind behind this was the empresses’ mother.
‘Cordelia…’
Why did a rift, absent for centuries, appear today?
And why did it absorb only the princesses before vanishing, as if by design?
A sinister conspiracy would soon strike the royal family while we were gone.
“Your apology is accepted.”
A brief silence.
“It wasn’t necessary. I’m honored you allowed me, insignificant as I am, to serve the princesses.”
“Princess…!”
“Will you help me find the exit?”
“Of course! Absolutely!”
The three princesses simultaneously ran and embraced me.
The flood of gratitude was indistinguishable from one voice to another.
‘I understand the sentiment, but we should hurry and escape…’
Three princesses and one royal consort were missing. The palace must be in chaos by now.
