CHAPTER 92…………………………………..
“Could it be…?”
Even though she knew the possibility was slim, a seed of doubt had sprouted in her mind.
Ensie’s appearance was almost nothing like the Duke’s, but hadn’t people said she resembled the Duchess?
“Could it really be…?”
Come to think of it, Ensie’s hair was vermilion.
The ghost of the woman who had been near Duke Lund had orange hair.
She would need to discuss this issue when she returned.
Just as Laseil resolved that, the carriage shook violently.
“What’s happening?”
The impact was strong enough to lift her body off the seat for a moment.
The road was rough, but it wasn’t rough enough to cause this kind of commotion.
“Did we hit a rock…?”
Laseil, looking out the carriage, suddenly threw herself toward the window.
There was a face she could never forget, no matter how hard she tried.
“That scar…!”
It was Eryl, the dark mage.
However, it wasn’t a good situation to attack immediately.
The coachman was being held hostage by the dark mage.
“Hello, is this the second time we’ve met?”
“I heard you were imprisoned.”
The top priority now was not to provoke Eryl.
If she could also extract information from this conversation, even better.
“Imprisoned? Hmm, that’s right. It was just too much trouble to come out.”
“So she deliberately got caught.”
Laseil quickly concluded.
It seemed her ominous premonition had not been wrong.
“But why?”
If there was nothing to gain, there was no reason to go through the trouble of getting caught…
“The Imperial secrets!”
Where a dark mage was imprisoned would inevitably be the most highly secured location.
Naturally, it would have to be inside the royal palace, where management was easy.
In other words, it would be easier to learn the layout of the palace.
Ordinarily, this might seem like an absurd theory, but the opponent was a dark mage.
“A dark mage who had lived in hiding for over a hundred years.”
She had completely avoided the Empire’s surveillance during all that time.
She might still have hidden strategies.
“Anyway, long time no see. By the way, I was thinking…”
Laseil gripped her sword tightly.
As the aura gathered at the tip, Eryl continued speaking.
“I don’t think I can handle two swordmasters at once.”
The strike, filled with lethal intent, didn’t even reach Eryl.
The problem was that she couldn’t get close enough for fear of hitting the coachman.
“Also, you seem strangely favored by spirits. Even more than me.”
Laseil swung her sword horizontally again.
Just as the tip was about to touch Eryl’s body, she pushed the coachman forward like a shield.
“Damn…!”
Laseil quickly adjusted the trajectory of her blade.
Fighting while a hostage was present imposed many restrictions.
Especially since she was used to one-on-one duels.
“So we better deal with this now.”
Eryl was about to cast a spell.
She would likely try to kill Laseil this time.
Laseil had to neutralize Eryl quickly…
“Can I do it?”
Any strike risked hitting the coachman.
Shallow wounds would take too long to incapacitate her.
“I can’t strike a civilian.”
Hesitant, Laseil raised her sword again at the dark mage.
She barely found an angle that wouldn’t hit the coachman, but—
-■■■■
Eryl’s spell went off first.
As unintelligible words were spoken, pain surged.
A jet-black hand pierced through her solar plexus.
“The sword… still…”
But Eryl still held the sword.
From the moment Laseil staggered, Eryl hadn’t even glanced at her.
She must have assumed Laseil was completely unconscious.
“Now!”
Perhaps because of the pain, her mind felt unusually sharp.
Gritting her teeth, Laseil swung at Eryl.
Now that she was separated from the coachman, there was no need to hesitate.
“Why… aren’t you down yet!”
The sword left a deep wound in Eryl’s neck.
Blood gushed; if not treated immediately, her life could be at risk.
Eryl, perhaps realizing this, wrapped her hands around her neck and vanished hastily.
“Now I… need to treat her too…”
Her consciousness began to blur.
“I should’ve practiced fighting mages more.”
She berated her younger self for thinking she wouldn’t face mages so often.
Laseil climbed back into the carriage.
“…Get us there as fast as possible…”
“Yes, yes!”
The coachman, frozen and unable to speak, finally responded.
Laseil leaned against the carriage, unsure if it was sleepiness or fading consciousness.
The pain in her solar plexus became more vivid with time.
The scenery seemed different every time her awareness returned.
“Just a little more…”
She lost full consciousness only after seeing the entrance to her estate.
Her memories afterward were hazy.
She faintly heard Yujire’s voice, Risena’s scolding, and Elrut speaking…
“Huff…”
Laseil opened her eyes and sat up.
The last thing she remembered was inside the carriage; now she was on a bed.
“Ugh…”
Her head spun from standing up too quickly.
At that moment, Risena entered and saw her.
“You’re awake? Standing up so quickly will hurt your head.”
“Yes…”
“How’s your body?”
“Much better. How did you…?”
Given the penetrating wound, stopping the bleeding alone would have been difficult.
She also had to prevent the dark magic from contaminating the injury.
Even after treatment, pain usually lingered in such cases.
“The pain is almost gone.”
“There’s always a way. Do you think I relied only on spirits at work?”
At times like this, Risena truly proved she was a skilled doctor.
Her usual demeanor often made one forget that fact.
“Still, you need to be careful for a while.”
“How long?”
“At least a week. Could be sooner. Depends on your health.”
Since her body was generally strong, it would probably be one week.
“Looks like… you can have a conversation now. Right?”
“Yes. Did someone come?”
“The lord. Can I let him in?”
Laseil nodded.
As soon as Risena opened the door, Yujire and Rujea entered together.
“Lady.”
Seeing Yujire’s face, Laseil blurted out a question.
“You didn’t cry, did you?”
“Sir Zane… is that even… a question?”
Yujire gritted her teeth as she asked.
It was more like a reproach than a question.
Her emotions revealed more worry than anger.
“You think I didn’t cry?”
“You really did?”
Yujire seldom admitted she had cried.
Laseil was more surprised that she admitted it than by the fact itself.
“Of course! We didn’t know when you’d wake!”
“What day is it now?”
She had assumed a day had passed, but apparently not.
“It’s been a week since you collapsed.”
“……”
Laseil was silent for a moment.
It was fortunate Yujire didn’t faint from crying, considering her delicate and worry-prone nature.
“Reflect on yourself. Do you know how much the lady cried?”
Rujea, standing beside her, chimed in.
Her cheerful voice sounded unusually irritating today.
“But it’s my fault the dark mage appeared…”
“You swung your sword while pierced through the body, which worsened the injury.”
“……”
“If it had been normal, it might have been solved in two days.”
Yujire explained in a subdued voice.
Hearing this, Laseil couldn’t add more.
After all, it really had been her fault.
“What were you thinking, swinging your sword like that?”
Rujea interjected again.
“You knew moving would worsen the wound!”
“There was a dark mage in front of me.”
“Yes, how did you encounter that dark mage?”
“She came looking for me.”
Laseil summarized the events that occurred while coming by carriage.
The more Yujire listened, the paler she became.
“You really almost died.”
“Not quite that bad…”
“Not quite? No! Laseil, it’s because you don’t fully understand mages yet!”
