ILBTD 32

Chapter 32

I swallowed the piece of meat I’d been chewing and smiled at Castian.

“It’s nothing. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

“What kind of thought makes your face look like that?”

“Uh… I was just wondering how the Saint is doing right now.”

At the mention of the Saint, Marcus’s expression turned serious.

“She’ll be fine. She’s not someone those dark mages can do anything to.”

He said that, but his worried expression said otherwise.

Even though Saint Irine—the heroine of this world—was probably fine, I couldn’t be completely at ease. After all, this was a story where even the male lead had died.

The heroine got kidnapped, the hero died… Maybe the author made such a mess that they couldn’t fix it and just abandoned the novel halfway.

Either way, I’d soon find out what happened to her.

At sunrise tomorrow, we’d finally be entering the dark mages’ stronghold.

Thinking that the moment was approaching—the one that would decide not only my fate and Castian’s, but the fate of this whole world—made my heart race.

Marcus, looking full of determination, asked,
“Are we going straight into the castle tomorrow?”

“We don’t know yet. Apparently, the dark mages’ barrier is blocking the road to Malfren Castle.”

“A barrier?”

“Yes. Because of that, even scouting was impossible. We’ll have to break it first.”

“If the Saint were here, she could’ve easily dispelled a dark magic barrier like that. What a shame.”

“We have skilled mages. It won’t take too long.”

“So once we break through the barrier, it’ll be all-out war?”

“The vanguard will open a path to Malfren Castle’s gates first. You’ll stay in the rear with the imperial troops and tend to the wounded.”

“Understood.”

Marcus answered more solemnly than usual, and Castian turned to me.

“Lydia, you can stay here.”

“Are you saying that because I’d get in the way?”

I had been hoping he’d give me a role, so I asked in a sulky tone when he didn’t.

Castian shook his head gently, his voice soft.

“No, I just don’t want you to be burdened.”

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to come along. I might not be much help, but I still want to try.”

“Not much help? You’ve already done the most important thing in this expedition—you saved my life.”

Castian smiled confidently and wrapped my hand in his large one.

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

“True. I did save Heimnard, didn’t I?”

I shrugged, a bit drunk on his confidence, and he chuckled quietly.

I couldn’t tell if he was laughing at me or with me, but he looked good when he smiled—so I ended up smiling too.

In any case, it was decided that I’d stay in the rear with Marcus.

Still baggage, but I resolved to at least cheer hard from behind as I returned to my room.

Castian walked me to my door. I waved and said, “See you tomorrow,” but he didn’t say a word.

He just stood there, looking at me with eyes the color of blue waves—and my heart started pounding.

His silvery hair, shining faintly like moonlight, glimmered in the dark. Then, he reached out his hand.

His fingers brushed past my right ear… and touched my shoulder.

All the sensations in my body seemed to focus on that single point, freezing me in place as I looked up at him.

Castian plucked a single curled strand of hair from my shoulder.

Just one stray hair, yet he rolled it between his fingers and smiled faintly.

“Good night, Lydia.”

Why did he always catch me off guard like this?

Who says good night like that—so… sultrily?

How was I supposed to sleep after that?

I didn’t even manage to reply. I just opened and closed my mouth like an owl and fled into my room.

That night, having had a single strand of hair stolen by a man more dangerous than any demon lord, I tossed and turned restlessly until the moon went down.

The next morning, twenty-two expedition members, eighty Bernstein knights, and a thousand imperial soldiers from Heimnard assembled at the base of Mount Malfren, its slopes aflame with autumn leaves.

A shadowy, black wall surrounded the entire mountain.

“That must be the barrier.”

I looked up at the towering wall and spoke to Ethan beside me.

“They’re about to break it, I think. Please step back,” he said, positioning his body protectively in front of me.

I wanted to see them destroy the barrier—why was he blocking me?

I rose on tiptoe, craning my neck past Ethan’s shoulder, and accidentally met Castian’s eyes.

That morning, he had warned me over and over to stay close to Ethan and Marcus once the expedition began since he wouldn’t be able to protect me.

He still looked worried, so I gave him a bright smile—then nearly went blind.

Not because of his usual dazzling smile, but because the high priests beside him had begun unleashing holy power to weaken the barrier.

I yelped and ducked behind Ethan as the wave of divine energy swept across the area.

Even from this distance, the sheer force of that holy energy made my stomach churn.

Unable to endure it, I crouched down.

Ethan spread his cloak like wings, shielding me, and asked anxiously,
“Are you alright? Should I escort you to the carriage?”

I didn’t even have the strength to answer and just shook my head weakly. Then suddenly, the crushing pressure on my chest lifted.

The headache and nausea vanished as if they’d never been there.

“Oh… I’m fine now. I guess it’s over.”

Sighing in relief, I looked up to see Ethan whining softly like a worried dog.

His big frame curved protectively around me like an umbrella—it was almost funny. I couldn’t help but laugh.

When I did, his face lit up.

Feeling touched by his concern, I said softly, “Thank you.”

“No, thank you! Protecting Lady Lydia is my duty!”

He replied with gusto, wiping his nose and grinning proudly.

For all his hot temper and simplicity, he wasn’t such a bad guy.

When he was my enemy, he was terrifying—but as an ally, he was oddly reassuring.

With that reassurance, I followed him closer to where the mages were working to dismantle the magic circle powering the barrier.

Apparently, removing the entire barrier would take too long, so they were creating a small opening instead.

Even that seemed difficult—the mages’ foreheads glistened with sweat.

Time stretched under the heavy tension.

Castian, sword drawn, stood nearby, ready to be the first to rush through once the opening appeared.

When I stepped closer, he shot me a warning look and shook his head slightly.

It said clearly: Don’t come closer. It’s dangerous.

Easy for him to say—he was in the danger zone himself.

It frustrated me that I could only stand back and watch.

Just then, I noticed one of the mages pull something from his pouch—a small glass vial filled with violet liquid.

It was Ralph, the mage who had once applauded me in the meeting hall. He downed the mana potion in one gulp.

Ethan and I muttered at the same time:

“He’s using that thing…”

“That expensive thing…”

Then we both turned to each other in surprise.

“He’s using that?”

“That’s expensive?”

And again, in perfect sync:

“Yes, incredibly!”

“Yes, ridiculously expensive!”

We both turned to look at Castian.

On the day we set out, Castian had given me seven bottles of mana potion. Counting the one I’d spat out earlier, that was eight bottles total—and now, hearing they were so valuable, I felt a pang of alarm.

I noticed Ethan gazing at Castian with a kind of reverent awe and quietly asked,

“How expensive are we talking?”

“Well, the price varies, but one bottle could probably buy a small house on the outskirts of Spellwood.”

“One bottle costs as much as a house?!”

“Yes. Huh? Where are you going?”

I didn’t bother answering as I spun around and ran.

Right now, there were eight houses’ worth of mana potions just rolling around inside my carriage!

I’d shoved them into my bag without much care—what if they’d cracked or leaked?!

I flung open my luggage, and thank goodness—all eight bottles were intact.

Carefully, I wrapped each “house” in clothing, tucked them between my dresses, and closed the bag.

Then I moved it to the most stable corner of the carriage, where it wouldn’t shake.

Outside, Ethan’s voice rang out, “They’ve broken through the barrier!”