Chapter 6
- I! ABSOLUTELY! HATE! IT! Neighbors, this pathetic Master is trying to kill her poor Needle! Oh my, what sin did I commit to suffer this trial! Not once or twice, but three times! Everyone, my Master is trying to abandon her companion Needle and die alone!
“Okay, I get it, I get it…” Arilleti covered her ears.
Then what should I do? Should I really reveal that I am the Sage?
But if the Needle is so uncooperative, I can’t use my power. So, what evidence can I provide?
More importantly, what if I reveal my identity carelessly and they seize me?
The harsh words that pierced her like daggers in her previous lives echoed vividly in her ears.
“If you refuse to be loyal to me, I have no choice. I will simply kill you and keep your power.”
“Friend? You are so naive, Arilleti. You were never my friend. You were a precious tribute to be offered to my brother.”
“Your life is almost over anyway; wouldn’t it be more rewarding for you to use it for a worthy cause?”
Am I going to repeat my previous lives?
All the color drained from Arilleti’s face.
‘No, I refuse!’
Her inner defense mechanism instantly swelled up.
When Arilleti shook her head violently as if having a seizure, Glenn frowned. Then he suddenly looked like he realized he had made a mistake.
“Arilleti.”
“Y-yes, yes. Hiccup.”
“I’m not trying to scare you, so don’t cry.”
Glenn picked up Arilleti and messed up her straight bangs. His voice softened compared to a moment ago.
“Aril, do you have family?”
Because he used her familiar nickname, Arilleti paused.
“N-no…”
“Siblings or relatives, do you know even one person?”
“No.”
Her father had been beheaded on the gallows before she was born, and her mother was caught and killed after fleeing for a year with her infant self. That’s what Albert Federka told her in her first life.
Since it was all too long ago to remember, Arilleti had never once imagined her parents’ existence across two lifetimes. The only thing she clearly remembered was her mother’s voice.
“Always remain neutral, Aril. The Sage of the White Forest, who holds this needle, must always stand one step back from the mortal world.”
Other than that, Arilleti knew nothing about her family.
Glenn watched the ripples in the child’s eyes carefully.
“Do you have a place to stay?”
“I don’t…”
“Do you remember how you ended up abandoned in the middle of the snowy field?”
“I was abandoned…” Arilleti paused after answering truthfully.
Snap out of it. You can’t be this honest, Arilleti.
Arilleti was a person who had used countless methods to bring down Glenn Hezeite, but she didn’t know his human side well. She knew the public’s evaluation that he was an upright and righteous knight among knights, and she knew his merciful nature, which had let her live. But.
‘He’s human, after all.’
If she used her power in front of him, he would surely covet her strength. And now, she had nowhere to run.
‘Stupid Arilleti. You were so naive; that’s why you were betrayed twice.’
“I-I want to go to Uncle Dunken.”
She felt an instinctive certainty that she needed to get away from him.
As soon as he put her down, Arilleti darted away. Glenn watched the child, who ran toward the knights as if fleeing, for a long time.
At this point, what exactly is the ‘White Forest’?
The White Forest is the center of this world, the navel of the continent, the very nature and world where the principles and order of all creation are decided.
To define it simply, geographically, without complex explanations, it is a huge forest located in the exact center of the continent. It is a massive cluster of unknown trees—where the trunks, branches, leaves, and even the fruit are all pure white.
An invisible barrier hangs around the forest, strictly prohibiting outsiders from entering. Those who attacked the White Forest were without exception consumed by the barrier. Only beings originating from the forest could freely enter and exit. These were the four Sages who guarded the cardinal directions of the barrier:
The one who supervises the world’s time. The one who constructs the world’s space. The one who reads countless futures. The one who crafts the tomb named destiny.
The Sages do not always remain in the White Forest. They travel throughout the world, seeking successors to pass on their mission. Sometimes to their own children, sometimes to disciples they established a relationship with, and sometimes to total strangers.
Because of their great powers, the Sages of the White Forest were always coveted individuals throughout history. In some eras, they were highly revered, but in others, they were treated like spoils of war, constantly taken and retaken.
The rulers of powerful nations focused not only on the Sages but also on the successors they designated. There were many cases where they would assassinate or torture a Sage to death and forcibly transfer their ability to the successor. The more the power was used, the shorter the Sage’s lifespan became. They would then transfer the power of the deceased Sage to the next successor, and exploit that successor as well.
Ultimately, by capturing a Sage, their abilities could be endlessly exploited. This was common practice until about 100 years ago. However, the lineage of Sages ended when the last remaining Sage finally disappeared. The entire continent searched for the lost Sages, but no one succeeded.
After 100 fruitless years, Arilleti appeared in the world. She would appear seven years from now, led by the hand of the 1st Prince Albert Federka.
Therefore, revealing her identity must be done carefully. She must not do anything conspicuous…
‘But I can’t just let this go.’
In the dark of night, after the inn’s lights were out, Arilleti carefully left her room.
Leon Bodapeti, the commander of the ‘Black Lion’ unit, was tied up in the stable. His mouth was gagged, and his hands were bound behind his back. The wound on his side, which Sir Roel had cut, was roughly bandaged, but blood was profusely soaking through.
Arilleti’s eyes narrowed chillingly. It’s been a long time since she saw this weasel-like face, who served as the Empress’s right-hand man.
Sensing a presence, Leon Bodapeti snapped his head up.
“Kuh… Kuh-ma. Eee-ree, Ruh-on. (Coo… Come here, little one.)”
He whimpered like a beast, making incomprehensible sounds. Roughly, it sounded like he was asking her to come closer and untie the rope around his wrists.
Arilleti stepped over the straw and approached him willingly. She nudged Leon’s knee with the tip of her toe.
“You were my tormentor in the 1st timeline, weren’t you, Bodapeti?”
“Mh, m-wha?”
At the end of her first life, when Arilleti was betrayed by Albert Federka and imprisoned, this was the man who tortured her. She had considered him a colleague, as they were both close servants of the same 1st Prince, though not close friends.
It had been her great misconception.
“Don’t resent your Lord so much, Arilleti. Isn’t it a great honor for you to be the foundation stone on the path he treads?”
The shoulder you mercilessly branded with a hot iron while spouting that nonsense still aches, even after I’ve lived twice more.
“Needle, do you remember this bastard too?”
In place of an answer, a fierce Kya-oook sound was heard.
The three overlapping Needles walked purposefully like a person and stopped in front of Leon Bodapeti. The Needle’s tone, which had been constantly whining, changed as if by magic.
– I will never forget him. The lackey of human trash.
“It would be a pity to just drag him along gently. Wouldn’t it?”
Since he was a man of extreme loyalty, he might commit suicide on the way.
“So, I guess I should use the ‘Blessing of the Time Mage’?”
– Of course.
The Needle lightly tapped the man’s cheek with its long point and settled above his head. As the hour, minute, and second hands aligned in their respective places, a golden ripple draped over Leon Bodapeti’s body.
Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.
Leon twitched at the sound of the clock above his head. An irresistible force restrained and compelled him.
The fluffy, angel-cheeked girl put her index finger to her lips and shushed him.
“To transform into an excellent chess piece, you shouldn’t have such a defiant look in your eyes, Uncle.”
The tick-tock of the clock abruptly stopped.
The beast-like whimpering that escaped Leon’s mouth was also cut off mid-sound.
The time of his body was frozen.
The Blessing of the Time Mage.
It required less power than activating her main ability, but it was Arilleti’s specialty, always effective. Since his biological flow was stopped, his wound wouldn’t worsen, but it wouldn’t heal either. It meant he would carry this extreme pain he felt right now, indefinitely. For as long as Arilleti didn’t remove the Blessing—perhaps his whole life.
“Cooperate with the Junior Lord, Uncle. If you do what you’re told well, I might let this injury heal. Got it?”
Of course, even if Leon Bodapeti swore loyalty to Glenn, Arilleti had no intention of removing the Blessing of the Time Mage.
‘He should suffer as much as I suffered.’
Returning as good as she got. That was the way the villainess Arilleti lived her life.
