Chapter 186
No wonder I survived so easily in this utterly absurd situation.
If Kyle was a hidden character, there had to be a special reason for it.
It seemed I had underestimated a world that places so much importance on the original story.
Indeed, Kyle’s aura was far from ordinary for a human, so it wasn’t completely surprising that he was a guardian deity.
“Still… I need a little time to think.”
If I followed only my heart, choosing Kyle a hundred, a thousand times would be the right thing to do—but rationally, it wasn’t an easy path.
“You can’t answer… So I guess you don’t want to become a bride now, huh?”
At the moment Yuliter hit the nail on the head, I deliberately avoided Kyle’s gaze.
“It’s not that I don’t want to… it’s just too sudden for me.”
I was startled as if Yuliter had read my mind, but I had no choice but to answer calmly, pretending nothing was wrong.
There was no denying that I liked Kyle.
But as long as this world didn’t deviate from the original story, I—the villainess—would vanish on the execution ground accused of poisoning Roelin, and he was the empire’s guardian.
No, perhaps now he should be called the guardian dragon. And that wasn’t all.
“He’s a dragon, and I’m human…”
I had to consider whether a human, who lives barely a hundred years without incident, could truly live alongside a dragon that lives for ages.
Thinking of Kyle, left behind after I departed, suffering for his entire life—that was not the outcome I wanted either.
“Human hearts really aren’t to be trusted.”
Yuliter twisted his expression as if he had received the answer he wanted from my mouth.
Though I was annoyed at him, I could understand it a little.
I wouldn’t be happy either if someone showed up who couldn’t give Roelin certainty.
“Enough.”
Kyle stopped Yuliter, who was mocking him with a cruel smile.
Even though I could see the struggle on his face, I had no choice but to step back.
“I’ll go back now.”
I merely tried to exit through the door I had entered, but with a soft pop, the door disappeared.
It seemed Yuliter had removed it.
“I told you from the start. This is not a place for humans to wander freely.”
“Unless you’re a dragon’s partner.”
Yuliter said that while staring at Kyle intently.
“…You brought a human here with no desire to stay, and that was unbecoming of you.”
It seemed he meant, “You’ve seen enough of her mind.”
I supposed he was telling me to give up on a human who couldn’t offer certainty and return them to where they belonged.
I didn’t know what Kyle’s intentions were in bringing me here. So I couldn’t immediately say I would stay.
“Kyle… if it’s uncomfortable for you to have me here, it’s okay to take me back there.”
At that, Kyle, who had been looking at me pitifully, reluctantly parted his lips.
“If you need time, I’ll step aside for a while. But going back is not allowed.”
Even as he rejected me, his expression was remarkably gentle.
Though I noticed his sharp gaze and furrowed brow, I couldn’t ask him anything.
And then Kyle disappeared.
A while later, Yuliter restored everything as if this bedroom had always been where I first woke up.
“The space suddenly… by itself…”
Flustered, I couldn’t finish my sentence, and Yuliter scoffed.
“This forest is different from the human world. All spaces are created with my permission as the forest’s guardian.”
“So if you’re not here, I can’t leave this forest?”
Yuliter’s eyes narrowed at my question, and he nodded approvingly.
“But I have no intention of blocking your path. Your safety is not my priority.”
He was implying that, if I truly wanted to, I could leave anytime.
Yet Yuliter showed no intention of sending me home himself.
Even after several days, Kyle didn’t appear, and the only place Yuliter allowed me to go was this bedroom.
Of course, I tried leaving the room several times, but completely exiting the mansion was impossible.
[“Why not just send the human back?”]
[“Mind your own business.”]
Somewhere, it sounded like Yuliter and Kyle were raising their voices again.
What surprised me was that I could understand their words.
I realized for the first time that I could comprehend the words of the two, which were not human speech.
I hadn’t even been aware of it…
[“You swore vengeance, not I. If you fail to properly exact it, you could die faster than that human. You should be the one anxious, not me.”]
Hearing Yuliter’s words scared me.
The thought that Kyle might die sooner than me made my heart race and my nerves tense.
“I don’t want Kyle to be in danger because of me…”
[“I’m still searching for the target of vengeance. It’s unrelated to El.”]
[“How can you guarantee that human isn’t the target?”]
[“Impossible. El carries a special light.”]
[“Hmph. That very light makes me more suspicious. If you’re not the dragon’s bride, I’ll cast you out of this forest anytime.”]
I knew from the start that I was not a welcome guest here.
Yet I had never thought Kyle would be in a difficult position because of me.
For now, I was too exhausted just trying to figure out what to do next.
“Dragging my feet here without making a clear decision might just be a nuisance.”
I gathered all the wind I had and called strongly and desperately to Risma.
After all, the only power I could use here was the spirit I had contracted with, Risma.
“Please… appear.”
Perhaps because this place was so intertwined with nature, I felt Risma pulling strongly toward me, unlike before.
A warm wind began to ripple around me. I closed my eyes and let myself flow with it, and the sounds of the surroundings faded.
A flash.
When I opened my eyes in a daze, I realized I was in a familiar forest.
“Risma?”
Naturally, I expected to see Risma when I opened my eyes, but no matter how I looked, all I could see were countless glowing orbs floating in the air—no Risma in sight.
“Why aren’t you appearing? You contracted with me!”
Of course, I couldn’t be sure if he had truly contracted with me.
It had to be the contract made when I, Elufe, was the master of his body.
But until now, that hadn’t caused any problems.
So there was no reason for Risma to reject me now, right?
“I called you! Please appear before me!”
[“El.”]
I heard Risma’s voice calling me with difficulty, but I couldn’t see him.
I scrutinized the glowing orbs, thinking he might be among them, but I couldn’t identify which one he was.
“Risma, I can hear you. Your voice.”
[“I cannot reach you.”]
I was disappointed by Risma’s shocked words.
I, too, was frustrated and distressed at not seeing him, so I couldn’t say I was okay.
“My father and older brother were executed. I have no home to return to, no other place to stay.”
There was a way to go back to Kyle, but I couldn’t bear the consequences of choosing that path.
To me, Kyle was an unclaimed target—more unknowable than any character whose ending I hadn’t seen.
[“Follow them to me.”]
Following Risma’s words, I looked up at the glowing orbs. It was clear Risma was not among them.
They slowly began to move, as if guiding me. I was so exhausted that each step left me more drained.
“Is the spirit forest incompatible with my body? Why am I so weak?”
When I finally finished the journey, I saw Risma sitting on a chair made of vines.
In the time I hadn’t seen him, he had become even more beautiful and powerful. Yet, I felt weaker as he grew stronger.
“Risma.”
As I called his name, he ran toward me. I hadn’t noticed while he was sitting, but the moment he hugged me, I realized Risma had completely changed.
Wearing a crown made of lively leaves, Risma looked like a king reigning over this place.
[“Finally, we meet again. I am Risma, the Spirit King.”]
Elufe Inferna. I have awakened again for you.
His words sent a chill down my spine.
It was shocking enough that the hidden character Kyle was both a guardian and a dragon.
But even the spirit I had grown up with was not an ordinary spirit—it was the Spirit King.
“What… what’s going on suddenly…”
[“The more I regain my power, the more I realize I cannot touch you, El.”]
“So you couldn’t come to me even if you wanted to?”
[“…Yes. I hate to admit it, but it’s because your dark magic and my power are incompatible.”]
Thinking back, dark magic and spirit magic never truly complemented each other. I had never seen anyone wield both in any fantasy story.
“If what Risma says is true, we might never recognize each other again for the rest of our lives?”
[“…El.”]
Risma called me pitifully, as if telling me not to say such things.
I, too, felt my heart break, but I needed time to think.
“Why does the world suddenly hate me so much? Does it feel good only by taking everything from me?”
I had nowhere to stand—neither in the human world, the dragon’s forest, nor the spirit forest.
At that moment, I felt utterly desolate.
