Chapter 009
Ramio clutched both of his eyes. He couldn’t endure the intense itching and searing pain caused by the pepper powder.
“Li… Lillian! You—!”
At that moment, the black barrier dissolved as its duration expired. Lillian quickly spun around to survey her surroundings.
‘Damn it, I’ve been moved far from where the group was.’
Though the night was pitch black, the silhouettes of the trees were different. Ramio must have transported her some distance after capturing her with that illusion.
‘I don’t know how far I am, but…!’
Lillian lunged forward, throwing herself into the dark forest thickets. If she were caught this time, she wouldn’t just be exiled to the Northern Villa.
‘They’ll never let me out of the estate again until I marry Karkin!’
In truth, Lillian knew; though she was powerless, her lineage was overly prestigious, while the Pavil family was obsessed with perfection. They wouldn’t discard her, but in return…
“Lillian, I am the only one who would accept a ‘powerless’ woman like you as a wife. So you must remain silent even if I father illegitimate children. Why? What if your child is also born lacking? This is something everyone has agreed upon; Duke Tillard, Young Duke Quern, Iris, and even the Empress… your opinion has no value in this world.”
That impending future… the drivel she had read in the ‘original novel’ felt as though it were happening right now. She felt nauseated even though she hadn’t lived through it yet.
Lillian grit her teeth as she ran.
‘I hope I find a place to hide. If I get lost here, even the Prince’s group won’t find me…!’
But the moment she found a bush to hide behind, her right wrist was seized with a rough, powerful grip.
“……!”
“Heh, starting to rebel now, are we, Lillian?”
Ramio held one eye shut while glaring at her with the other, which was bloodshot with rage.
“I treat you leniently because you’re my cousin, but you—Gwak!”
Pung—!
A small explosion echoed along with a flash of light. Ramio fell, writhing on the ground.
“Aaaagh…!”
“Huff… did you think you were the only one with a weapon?”
Lillian replied, struggling to catch her breath. How lucky she was to have found the time to rummage through her bag while running.
‘And it’s good that this bastard won’t dare to disfigure my body.’
Because she was still a “commodity” of value in the marriage market. Unfortunately, Lillian had no offensive power, but she did have a magical torch that reached 1,400°C. And she could fire a small puff of flame with that torch too!
Lillian gripped the torch like a pistol and grit her teeth.
“Don’t you dare rebel against me, you damn bastard.”
* * *
The tent was in utter chaos due to the attack that occurred after Evren’s departure. No one was injured, but the woman who had been here had been abducted and vanished—at a time when she was suffering from a fever and could barely stand.
‘Lillian Tillard.’
There was no scent of her nearby. It felt as if she had departed from life itself. Evren had been through many near-death situations, but he had never felt like this. His heart beat with a violent strength he had never known before.
‘Because there’s no longer a reason not to tell you… and because it’s the last time.’
She was someone he should despise—because of old political feuds and because of her foolish pursuit of her idiotic fiancé. But hell had broken loose in his mind. His power scolded him fiercely; how could he let her be destroyed before he even possessed her?
‘I must find her immediately!’
He confirmed from the injured knight in the tent that her abductor was “Ramio Tillard.” Since Ramio intended to meet his original squad, he couldn’t have gone far.
As he swept the perimeter with speed, one of the knights pointed toward a mountain slope shrouded in darkness.
“Your Highness! Look there!”
At the bottom of the slope where only the forest’s blackness showed, points of white light erupted. But before he could realize what that light was…
Kieeeeeeeeeee…
An echo rang out, sounding like sharp nails scratching a steel plate. A terrifying sound that could not be mistaken for the howl of any ordinary animal…
Elias turned, his face pale as the dead. “Your Highness, that—”
A Maul monster had appeared. And Lillian’s scent was emanating strongly from the source of that howl.
* * *
After detonating her last explosive artifact—Lillian staggered away from the scene. But after a short distance, she reached the end of her energy. She hunched over, resting her hands on her knees.
“Huff… ugh…”
Her head began to spin from the fever, and she felt suffocated within the dark forest.
‘I used light-emitting tools on purpose.’
So the Prince’s group could find her…
But when she thought about it, it seemed ridiculous.
‘Who guarantees they’ll even come?’
She hadn’t read the final page of the novel, but it was clear.
‘In any case, the villain was destined to be defeated by the hero and heroine.’
Then he would die. So she viewed them as a mere means to escape and cross the border. To her, they were just paper dolls, and surely they viewed her the same way.
‘Just a tool to extract information about the Tillard family.’
It was exactly as she expected.
‘At least it’s good I took my bag.’
The fake ID, the supplies to settle in the Kingdom of Tenbrine—everything was intact.
‘I hear water nearby.’
Following the flow of water usually led to villages; there she would recover her strength, and from there she would start anew… but her body, failing against the fever, fell forward against her will.
Kieeeeek, kieeeeeeeeeeek…
Her feverish body trembled at the deafening sound of metallic friction.
‘No… it’s not supposed to be here.’
Lillian moved her eyes with difficulty to check the surroundings. She had confirmed before setting out that the area near Aeterna was free of monsters, unless…
‘Unless it’s the Northern Villa.’
Monsters sometimes roamed there at night…
Suddenly, terrifying realization came with the weight of a massive wolf-like monster’s paw pressing down on her back. She couldn’t stop a groan of pain as claws sank into her flesh. A shadow fell over her immobilized head.
“…Damn you.”
Lillian knew who had approached.
And she uttered the foulest insult she could think of: “You cockroach…”
Her damn cousin…!
* * *
Ramio smiled, his face smeared with blood. “Hah. I told you nicely that I’d take you back, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Lillian was struggling under the monster’s foot. Artifacts that summoned monsters were forbidden, but Ramio hadn’t hesitated to use one.
“This monster—isn’t it lovely to see it after all this time? It’s the one that loves you most, Sister.”
“It can’t be that…! All this time, you were the one summoning…! Ugh!”
“Stay still, Sister. If your face is disfigured, Young Duke Pavil really will reject you.”
Though Lillian’s power was worthless, she had the most beautiful face in a Tillard family known for its beauty. And one must not destroy a “winning card” for the family.
Ramio pulled out his communication device to call the family knights. “Hey, I found Lillian. I’m bringing her—”
But Ramio didn’t finish his call.
Kieeeeeek! Kieek!
The wolf monster pressing on Lillian’s back let out a piercing shriek. It began leaping away from Lillian frantically, as if its front paws had suffered severe burns.
“What? Why is it doing that…!”
The monster, jumping in pain, suddenly froze in place. In the blink of an eye, the world was dyed white. A world where noise fell completely silent, as if snow had suddenly piled up. Then the monster melted away entirely, like snow placed under the sun.
“……!”
Ramio remained agape before his face was slammed with force into the nearest tree. As soon as he tried to lift his face, a powerful hand calmly pressed down on his head to re-bury it into the tree trunk.
“What a refined way you have of dealing with your elders.”
“Gu—…!”
“I feel as if I’m looking at someone’s brother, so I feel a strange affection for you.”
