Chapter 119
“Lady Rafaella!”
William, who had been floating high in the air, could barely hear the conversation between Rafaella and Blehel because of the distance.
The two exchanged a few light blows, then seemed to talk about something. Suddenly, Blehel burst into laughter like a mad demon. Then, without warning, he delivered a heavy blow toward Rafaella. As if everything before had only been a joke, the attack was filled with killing intent and hostility.
William struggled desperately to loosen and escape the hair binding him, but it was difficult to break free from Blehel’s power now that the black energy had been fully unleashed. Cutting through the hundreds of thousands of strands wrapped around his body one by one with his sword made him feel like he would burst from frustration and die.
In the end, he bit down on his lip and spat out his first curse in his life.
“Damn it! Damn you!”
While William was wrestling with the hair—
Leo was hiding behind a tree some distance away from them. Just as Rafaella had guessed, he had been horrified at the sight of Blehel’s long, grotesquely split mouth.
He was in the middle of activating an artifact that erased one’s very presence, so he didn’t need to hide, but the moment he saw that demon-like face, his body moved on instinct.
“What should I do? Elaela told me never to step in until she gives the signal.”
Watching Rafaella being gradually pushed back, Leo stomped his feet in agitation.
Worried that he might miss her signal, he even moved to a spot where he could clearly see Rafaella’s face. It was a move he could only make because his concern for her outweighed his fear.
However, Rafaella still wore a faintly mocking expression and gave no signal.
Left with no choice, Leo flew toward William, following the second plan.
Recalling the techniques of Blehel that Rafaella had explained the day before, he worked his brain frantically.
“If the worst-case scenario Rafaella talked about happens…”
Last night, Rafaella had given William and Leo several instructions. Knowing well how impulsive and fickle Blehel was, she had devised a plan that could be altered at any moment depending on the situation.
Fortunately, the current situation was still within the range Rafaella had anticipated. That was why Leo could move without hesitation to extract William first.
William had no idea that Leo had come right up beside him. With the artifact’s effect still active, that was only natural. But when the hair strands that had been barely cut one by one suddenly started being severed ten at a time, he realized Leo had arrived.
Leo had cast an enhancement spell on William’s sword.
William glanced at the place where golden light and black mist collided and whispered low.
“Leo. I have a bad feeling about this. The plan might fall apart, so help Lady Rafaella instead of me.”
But Leo did not follow his words, because Rafaella still hadn’t given the signal. Even if he answered, William wouldn’t be able to hear him, so Leo showed his resolve by stacking spells on the hair binding William.
Seeing dozens of strands being cut at once, William immediately understood that Leo would not listen to him.
He kept glancing toward Rafaella, growing more and more anxious.
“If we wait according to plan, it’ll be too late! Lady Rafaella is stubborn. She’ll definitely delay the signal as long as possible! Can’t you see how wildly that black mist is rampaging right now?”
At William’s words, Leo hesitated.
Just as William said, the golden circular barrier had gradually shrunk, and Rafaella was now sitting on the ground. Leo, too, was deeply worried about her.
If only he could at least talk it over with William, but the presence-concealing bracelet, while perfect in function, required a twelve-hour cooldown once used.
If he deactivated it now, Rafaella’s plan—everything—would fall apart. Her words about it being a trump card weighed on Leo’s heart like shackles.
“Leo!”
William pressed the invisible Leo, but in the end, Leo chose to follow Rafaella’s plan.
But no plan is ever perfect.
Things began to go wrong little by little from the moment Blehel grew enraged at Rafaella’s changed demeanor.
Even while fighting the black mist, Rafaella glanced toward William and felt confident that Leo was still moving according to plan.
‘At least that’s a relief. At least those two should be safe.’
Blehel’s power was stronger than she had expected. It seemed she had struck his rage point.
“Changed? Me?”
Rafaella couldn’t understand why Blehel was angry about her change. She only knew that his eyes were completely unhinged now.
‘I’m going to lose my mind too.’
This wasn’t the picture Rafaella had envisioned the day before.
Blehel binding William and Leo first, then revealing his true nature in response to her provocation, had gone exactly as planned. Even Leo escaping safely had been a success.
Blehel focusing his attacks solely on her as he was doing now was also within expectations. It was one of several branching plans.
Rafaella recalled the conversation at the inn the night before.
“If Blehel goes berserk, I’ll buy time. You two find the mirror fragment.”
“How are we supposed to find it on our own if we don’t even know where it is?”
“I’ll entrust you with the map. And if it’s him, he’s definitely built an enormous castle right in the middle of the forest. He would have absolutely made space to display his doll collection.”
“But the two of us can’t both go to the castle. I’ll have Leo search for the mirror alone, and I’ll stay by Lady Rafaella’s side.”
“No.”
“I can’t agree to that either. I can’t compromise on guarding you.”
“You two are exactly the type to be helplessly taken down by his attacks, so no. Listen to me.”
“You said you prepared a temporary shield. Wouldn’t that be enough?”
“You were hit by Blehel’s mental magic last time too. Aren’t you scared?”
“No. I’m not.”
“Right. Liam-Liam does seem like he has nothing in the world to fear.”
“Leo, you’re just too much of a coward. You need to train your weak mind.”
“Geez. Delicate geniuses like me don’t need training. I’ll win everything with my natural talent anyway.”
“Then you should first train yourself to escape your arrogance.”
“Arrogance? It’s confidence!”
“Even confidence needs moderation. Too much is ugly. Leo, you’re a little ugly.”
“What? My goodness. That’s the first time anyone’s ever called me ugly. First time ever! Why does Liam seem to be turning into Ela? Does sharp-tonguedness spread like a cold?”
“Hey! What did I say I’d do if you two fought again?”
“Liam started it—”
“…That wasn’t a fight. It was guidance.”
“Oh? William, even you’re muttering behind my back now? You’re learning only bad things from Leo.”
“Elaela, I don’t think that’s something I learned only from him.”
“Tch!”
“Fine. Got it.”
“Both of you, focus. This is the important part. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen, but just in case. If—by some chance—you’re hit by Blehel’s mental attacks, then the dolls—”
As long as Rafaella held Blehel back while Leo and William flew to the center of the forest and retrieved the mirror fragment…
‘How long can I really buy time?’
Blehel’s power, transformed into a raging demon by fury, was overwhelming.
‘No, the right question is how long I can endure.’
Rafaella knew that if this turned into a prolonged battle of attrition, her energy would run out before Blehel’s. This, too, was something she had anticipated.
But there was something she hadn’t told William and Leo during their discussion last night.
The worst of the worst scenarios.
That Rafaella would be killed by Blehel, and the two men would both be turned into dolls.
She wanted to prevent, at all costs, an ending where William and Leo were shattered by Blehel’s hands.
That was why she entrusted them with the map. It was an important mission, but also a safe one.
And she secretly handed Leo a note, sternly instructing him to read it only after finding the mirror fragment in Blehel’s castle.
The note read:
“The moment you see this! Get out of the forest immediately. If you have the foolish thought of trying to save me, be prepared to get beaten senseless. Someday later… I’ll come find you, so don’t worry. Until then, live happily while keeping the mirror fragment safe. It’s homework. I’ll check.”
Of course, she didn’t forget to add one last line at the end.
“P.S. William will definitely go berserk, so Leo, knock him out and drag him away.”
Fortunately, the two of them didn’t realize that most of the plans Rafaella had devised were centered on their safety.
‘I still have time left on my sentence, so even if I die, I’ll be reincarnated. But those two…’
Even if she died, Rafaella hoped there would still be people in the world worth finding after she was reborn.
She needed a place to return to.
People she wanted to protect—even at the cost of dying once.
