TMLOST 14

Chapter 14

Escape from the Empire (1)

“I should look a little longer before leaving.”

Her legs were trembling, but she was not about to collapse yet, so Elia wanted to check at least one more bookshelf before going back.

And so, she stubbornly continued visiting only the library for several days.

Starting two days ago, she had begun sensing people outside the library entrance. It seemed either Llewellyn or his mother had started finding her behavior suspicious.

There was no way Elia could fail to notice the maids’ gazes constantly following her everywhere when they had normally been indifferent toward her.

Thinking today might be her last chance, Elia tightly pressed her lips together.

After locking the library doors so no one could follow her inside, she quickly moved through the room.

Before someone found it strange that the library had been locked and opened it with a key, she needed to leave.

Because she was in such a hurry, she could not carefully read every book one by one. The best she could do was randomly pull out books that looked suspicious and skim through the table of contents.

Then—

While flipping through another book, Elia suddenly froze.

One page looked as though a black hole were swirling across it.

“Uh…?”

Blinking blankly, Elia finally regained her senses and hurriedly tried to close the book.

If only she had not heard the voice.

[Hello?]

A lazy male voice that sounded capable of charming people echoed out.

Startled, Elia dropped the book and hurriedly stepped backward while looking around.

But there was nothing there.

It did not feel like someone was speaking beside her. Instead, the voice echoed directly inside her head.

[So you’re the one who called me into the human world?]

Without realizing it, Elia looked down at the fallen book.

The black hole-like swirl had disappeared, leaving behind only blank white pages.

What in the world was happening?

[Curious about who I am? Then make a contract with me. I’ll tell you.]

Whether he noticed Elia’s panic or not, the mysterious voice tempted her to form a contract if she wanted answers.

‘A contract…?’

A voice without a visible body or form was already abnormal enough, but hearing the word “contract” made it clear she was dealing with something far from ordinary.

“What if… I refuse the contract?”

Her jaw trembled violently, but she still forced herself to speak one word at a time.

Even after saying it, she did not understand why she had spoken so boldly.

Perhaps it was because she already realized there was no escaping this situation anyway.

Fear of the unknown existence mixed together with the desperate hope that perhaps she might survive if she made the contract.

[You know better than anyone that your body will die soon anyway. Making a contract with a demon before death could become quite meaningful. I might even be able to extend your lifespan.]

A demon?

Demons had never once been mentioned in the novel.

The closest fantasy-related existence mentioned before had only been magicians.

Just where was this situation headed?

For a moment, Elia almost nodded unconsciously at the demon’s tempting words, but she barely managed to hold onto her reason.

Her desire to live—

The hope that she might survive just a little longer and finally become happy—

That hope shook her heart deeply.

[If you keep wasting time, only you will lose.]

At the same time as the demon’s confident words—

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the library doors.

As though he already knew she was hesitating, the demon spoke with complete certainty.

Elia bit down hard on her lips and tightly shut her eyes.

She could not die like this before accomplishing anything.

And if she died because of the side effects of making a contract with a demon—

Then perhaps that too would simply be her fate.

[Good. A wise choice.]

The moment Elia finally nodded as though giving up entirely, the demon immediately answered as though he had been waiting.

Even without seeing his face, she could tell he was smiling.

Whether she died from illness or from the demon’s contract, she still wanted to see Aaron’s face one last time before dying.

But it was too late now.

All she could do was pray this contract became the best choice instead of the worst one.

[Now then. wunjō naudiz ōþila……]

A strange chant she could not understand echoed through her head like a spell.

At the same time, her vision began spinning.

[Aaaagh!]

Just as she felt her consciousness gradually being swallowed up, a scream suddenly rang out.

The high-pitched scream echoed painfully through her mind, making her head ring.

Startled, Elia instinctively covered both ears and collapsed to the floor.

She tightly shut her eyes and waited desperately for the screaming to stop.

When the room finally became quiet again, Elia slowly opened her eyes.

White light was pouring from her body.

“What… is this…?”

[You—how dare you deceive me?!]

The demon’s furious voice sounded sharp enough to resemble shattering glass.

What exactly had she deceived him about?

Elia was so overwhelmed by the endless confusion that she could barely think straight.

[You possess holy power, yet you tried to make a contract with me? Were you trying to kill me?]

This time, his voice sounded like the growl of a wild beast.

Fear rushed over her as though something were about to strangle her neck at any moment.

She expected her hands to already be trembling violently, yet strangely, her body remained calm.

Elia possessed holy power?

From what she knew, holy power was the only force capable of healing illnesses and solving problems completely.

Except against beings with opposing attributes like demons, it was purely beneficial power.

The white light soon faded away, and Elia hurriedly tried explaining the situation she herself barely understood.

“I-I truly didn’t know I possessed holy power.”

[How am I supposed to believe that?]

Elia felt wronged, but there was no way for her to prove it.

The novel had never once mentioned Elia possessing holy power.

The only mention related to it was the small detail that priests trained themselves to use holy power.

Still, because holy power often appeared in other novels, Elia at least knew it was connected to healing.

[To think I almost disappeared because of a mere human. You’ll have to take responsibility for this.]

Elia had no idea, but the demon’s curiosity toward her was rapidly growing.

Because he could read all her thoughts, he became fascinated whenever the word “novel” appeared in her mind.

And more importantly—

A human who did not even realize she possessed holy power had awakened through forming a contract with him.

That made her potentially very useful.

He already knew her words were not lies.

“W-What? Responsibility…?”

[Give me a name.]

Elia panicked at the sudden direction of the conversation.

Outside the library doors, she could already hear the sound of keys approaching.

She desperately forced her mind to work.

A name, a name…

Then suddenly, the name of a villain from a novel she once read came to mind.

Vane.

He had been a sly and playful villain.

Honestly, the name suited this demon surprisingly well.

“V-Vane!”

[Vane, huh. Yes… I like it.]

Vane sounded very satisfied as he accepted the name.

Receiving a name allowed him to remain longer in the human world, so honestly, any name would have worked.

Unaware of that fact, Elia felt slightly guilty for giving him a villain’s name, but she still thought it suited a demon rather well.

Fortunately, just as everything settled down, the library doors finally opened.

A knight entered, and Elia quietly followed him back toward her bedroom.

Even though she repeatedly insisted she was fine alone, he still escorted her under the excuse of assisting her.

In reality, it was clearly surveillance.

The emblem on the left side of his chest marked him as the Vice Captain of the Knights.

According to Elia’s memories, he was one of the people assisting Llewellyn.

In the original story, the current Empress had personally requested that the Vice Captain always remain near Llewellyn for protection, which was why they had built trust since childhood.

“Thank you, Sir Knight.”

“I wish Your Highness a peaceful rest.”

After exchanging brief formalities, Elia entered her room and let out a deep sigh.

Her head hurt from everything that had happened so suddenly.

A demon.

Holy power.

Elia collapsed onto the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Then she suddenly felt as though someone were watching her.

Turning her head toward the window—

“A crow?”

A single crow sat on the windowsill staring directly at her.

Its eyes were red, and strangely enough, it felt oddly familiar.

“Don’t tell me… Vane?”

[You’re sharper than I expected.]

That amused voice echoed through her mind once again.

For a moment, it had all felt like a dream, but seeing the demon she had named Vane made everything feel frighteningly real.

“What exactly is going on—”

[I can read your thoughts, so unless you want people thinking you’re insane, just think instead of speaking.]

His words made her deeply uncomfortable.

But even if she refused, he would still read her thoughts anyway, so giving up seemed easier.

Even now, at this exact moment, he was probably reading everything in her mind.

Elia slowly shook her head and looked toward Vane.

The crow nodded back at her.

[That’s a wise decision.]