Chapter 72
At the words Rixion Luhanes delivered calmly, a faint smile on his lips, I stared at him blankly.
This too?
It was as if he knew more than he was letting on.
Don’t tell me… even that ridiculous moment when I shouted something like “Open sesame!” and showed my power—was that real too?
It wasn’t a dream, and I actually told this man everything about my power?
Did I really do something that stupid?
“What do you mean by that?”
The moment doubt and suspicion surfaced, the words slipped out.
Without realizing it, I glared at him with eyes full of hostility, but Rixion Luhanes merely wore a gentle smile.
He watched me for a moment, as if assessing my overly sharp reaction, then opened his mouth.
“The name of the woman Liz bumped into in the plaza is Ji Eunha. A woman with black hair and black eyes…”
He deliberately trailed off, persistently observing my reaction.
“She perfectly matches the name and appearance Liz mentioned before.”
I kept my face blank and breathed shallowly, but my heart was pounding so hard my chest refused to calm down.
“For now, her existence is being kept secret, but soon the world will learn of her. As an outsider from another world, and as a saintess summoned by the gods.”
After saying that much, Rixion Luhanes smiled again.
“You don’t look surprised. As if you already knew.”
“……”
I couldn’t reply at all. After meeting his blue eyes, I let out a deep breath.
“So what is it you want to say to me?”
“The saintess revealed herself in the sacred pond within the imperial palace just yesterday. Yet you knew of her existence long before that. And it didn’t seem like you had any intention of hiding it.”
That was true. Still, if I had to make excuses…
I hadn’t been awake for very long, and my judgment had been clouded because all I could think about was Ji Eunha.
At the time, I truly believed I could finally return to being just one of countless extras.
For a moment, I’d let my guard down and made a mistake.
“How did you know?”
“How did you know of her existence?”
A third silent staring contest broke out between Rixion Luhanes and me.
I stared at him. He stared at me.
Well—more accurately, I was the one glaring, but still.
“What happens if I say I don’t want to answer?”
I spoke in a deliberately flat tone, trying my hardest not to show any emotion.
Rixion Luhanes looked at me quietly and replied without changing his expression.
“Then I’ll pretend I never heard that either.”
It was an unexpected answer.
His attitude was completely different from before, when he used to pry relentlessly.
I looked at him in slight surprise, then flinched.
“…That too?”
Just like before, his ambiguous wording made me frown—but then I noticed something strange.
Rixion Luhanes’ expression had changed.
He turned his gaze away from me and toward the window, urgency flickering in his eyes—something I had never seen before.
What? Why all of a sudden—
“Liz!”
Before I could finish the thought, Rixion Luhanes’ arm shot out and pulled me tightly into his embrace.
Startled by the sudden contact, I instinctively shrank back—
BOOM!
A horrifying explosion rang out as the carriage shattered apart.
I felt my body lift into the air, and instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, certain I was about to be slammed into the ground.
But no matter how much time passed, the pain never came.
What…?
Gasping for breath, I cautiously opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was the wreckage of the carriage, engulfed in red flames.
Then I realized that my body was floating in midair, wrapped in a translucent barrier.
And that I was being held tightly in Rixion Luhanes’ arms.
So this is magic…
It seemed that the moment the carriage exploded, Rixion Luhanes had pulled me close and cast a spell.
Guessing that this translucent film was some kind of shield, I clutched the fabric of his clothes with all my strength, as if it were a lifeline.
“One, two, three… only three of them.”
Rixion Luhanes let out a short, incredulous laugh. His blue eyes gleamed strangely.
A chilling murderous intent flickered in his gaze, shining coldly.
His pupils—did you see that? Holy crap. That’s terrifying.
Watching him from such close range sent shivers all over my body.
I forced myself to look away—and saw three people floating in the air just like us.
They were dressed exactly like the masked men who had attacked me earlier.
The difference was that these three looked as though they were being strangled by something invisible.
They clawed desperately at their own necks, faces twisted in agony.
The sight was grotesque and horrifying.
What was happening? Was this magic too?
Were they accomplices of the masked men from before?
Did they chase me?
No—why me?
Lost in the flood of questions filling my head, I felt my feet touch the ground.
We’d only been floating briefly, yet the sensation of standing on solid ground felt unfamiliar.
At the same time, the translucent barrier surrounding us dissolved away.
I turned to look at Rixion Luhanes, who was now gazing calmly at the masked men.
He released his hold on me and, without even glancing my way, started walking straight toward them.
Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed his clothes.
He stopped at the tug.
“Ah—sorry.”
Only then did I realize what I’d done, meeting his surprised gaze.
I hurriedly pulled my hand back and hid it behind me. My fingertips were trembling.
Until now, I had believed that no matter how many people like that came at me, I could defeat them on my own.
I really did have the strength for it.
But just now, I realized—I would have died if not for Rixion Luhanes.
Fear washed over me.
I’d been treating this world like some kind of virtual reality game.
Only now did I finally understand it wasn’t.
There was no invincible cheat key in this world.
If you died, that was it.
This life—and even the hope of returning to my original world—would end right there.
Realizing that too late, I was seized by a raw, overwhelming fear of death.
“Liz.”
I was clenching my trembling hand into a tight fist when Rixion Luhanes returned to stand before me.
He reached out, took the hand I’d hidden behind my back, pulled it forward—and pressed his lips against it.
Not the back of my hand, but my ring finger.
The sensation made me freeze in shock.
Eyes wide, I stared at him as he pulled back slightly and spoke as if nothing had happened.
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, I won’t let a single strand of your hair be harmed.”
He met my gaze directly as he said it, then slowly released my hand.
At some point, my trembling had stopped.
I stared blankly at my freed hand, then lifted my eyes back to him.
“I’m about to show you something a bit unpleasant.”
Just like before, Rixion Luhanes reached out and gently tucked my disheveled hair behind my ear.
I accepted the touch quietly, blinking slowly.
“Could you cover your ears and look the other way for a moment?”
Under normal circumstances, I would have found his child-soothing tone irritating.
But I was already half-dazed, completely overwhelmed by the atmosphere he exuded.
I didn’t even have the mental space to object.
“Okay.”
Like a well-behaved child, I nodded, covered my ears, and turned around.
Seeing Elizabeth obediently cover her ears and turn away, Rixion turned and walked forward.
His blue eyes, now fixed on the three insects he had suspended in the air, glowed with cold light.
The sight of them gasping and choking was revolting.
Rixion glanced back once more to confirm that Elizabeth was still turned away, her ears firmly covered.
A brief smile touched his lips.
Then he turned his gaze forward again and slightly loosened the invisible grip around the insects’ throats.
Only then did they gasp desperately for air.
Rixion walked slowly toward them and sliced his hand sideways through the air.
At his gesture, the neck of the masked man hanging on the far left was severed.
Blood burst forth as the head fell to the ground.
With a dull thud, it rolled limply across the floor.
The remaining two stared in disbelief at the severed head of what had once been their comrade.
“I’m in a bad mood right now,” Rixion said flatly.
He cast an indifferent glance at the two remaining insects.
“And I don’t feel like torturing you one by one and asking questions.”
