Chapter 47
The wizard suddenly looked as if he’d rolled through a bramble patch — utterly mangled in an instant.
Seeing there was no chance to win like that, the wizard stopped hurling spheres and gathered his power into one place to form a large magical shield.
“So you’re switching to defense because attacks aren’t working? Not a bad choice, but can you really win by just running away?”
“Shut up!”
The wizard twisted one corner of his mouth into a grotesque smile and quickly chanted another spell.
Then the Beltine ship, which had seemed stuck in place as if glued by grass, began to move again.
“Your Grace, the spell that held the ship seems to be broken!”
The sailors of the Beltine shouted, but their joy was short-lived.
The Beltine veered off on its own and began racing straight for the center of the dragon-infested waters.
And in the center of that sea lay——
“The Beltine is heading straight for a huge pile of rocks! If we hit that, even the Beltine will be smashed to pieces!”
“I know that!”
Duke Lupellen snapped back in a rough voice like someone scratching his throat.
Following Advisor Elliot’s orders, the crew rushed and dropped the anchor to try to stop the ship. But the ship, already moving with momentum, showed little sign of slowing.
The wizard watched the chaos he’d caused on the Beltine and laughed ominously.
“Now, Duke. Time to choose.”
He snapped his fingers and black, weed-like plants sprouted where Jiana stood, tangling around her feet.
“W-what is this?”
Jiana, who had been watching the duke’s fight, gasped and tried to pull her feet free, but the magical vines had already slithered up her calves.
“Jiana!”
As the duke drew back the hand he’d been moving to strike, the wizard laughed loudly as if he’d expected this.
“So, that girl is your weakness, huh?”
“Gah—Creator! Are you alright?”
“Duke, I’m fine, so go and catch him first. Gariya, stop fussing and stay still!”
Jiana blasted the black vines with streams of magical light, trying to reassure the duke and Gariya.
But the moment Jiana was attacked, Duke Lupellen’s mind went blank.
“How could I think of attacking you—!”
“If this keeps going, the Beltine will hit the rocks soon! Duke, what should we do?”
The Beltine filled with screams from the duke, Jiana, and the crew.
The wizard watched the scene with a gloating smile.
“See? I told you—you’d do anything to win.”
He sneered, then slowly began to back away.
“I’ll make my exit here; see how you clean up this mess.”
“Damn it, where do you think you’re going!”
The duke ground his teeth and leapt toward where the wizard stood, but the wizard shook his head and snapped his fingers again; the vines constricting Jiana made her scream.
“Argh!”
The duke froze in place, unable to move.
Every scream Jiana let out made his eyes wobble uncontrollably.
‘Not Jiana.’
He could see her summoning streams of magic to slash the black vines—desperation like a rabbit surrounded by snakes, frantically searching for an opening.
Watching her struggling alone, the duke swallowed hard.
If he got rid of the wizard, he could save the Beltine from being dragged onto the rocks, and save Jiana too.
Jiana is strong. She’s not someone a little wizard a handspan away could actually do anything to.
But the duke couldn’t bear to attack the wizard.
“Don’t you dare step closer.”
If he so much as moved toward the wizard, the man would squint and flex his fingers.
Then Jiana would scream like she was in the wizard’s grip.
Her scream hammered into the duke’s eardrums, circling through his body and stabbing his heart.
A white, blank helplessness and the sense of defeat—of not being able to protect her and losing her—quickly took over Lupellen.
While he stood there unable to decide anything, the wizard reached the end of the ship, grinned, and waved one hand.
“A so-called Sword Master that weak? Tsk tsk. Tied up over a woman like that, it’s no wonder the Sword Master would drive his own ship onto the rocks. I’ll see you later. If you happen to survive this, that is.”
With that, the wizard chuckled and leapt away over the sea, disappearing.
The duke let out the breath he’d been holding and ran toward Jiana.
“I told you I’m fine!”
I, ashen-faced, punched the duke’s shoulder as he rushed at me and scolded him.
But he seemed incapable of hearing me; trembling, he clutched me and looked me over.
“You’re okay, okay? Jiana?”
“I’m fine, I said! You should’ve caught that guy first! I could’ve escaped using magic streams—don’t you trust my skill?”
How inept must I have looked for him to freeze where he was instead of dealing with that wizard?
“Anyway, do something about the ship. We’ll all die like this!”
As I said, the Beltine was now almost on a collision course with the rocks.
But the duke still had half his wits gone and was only checking me.
I had no choice but to ignore him and sprint to the bow. I summoned the largest, thickest streams of magic I could make, as many as I could.
“Turn the bow! Gariya, help me—quick!”
“Don’t worry, Creator!”
The Beltine, which had been out of control, thankfully returned to normal once the wizard had gone.
While the crew turned the bow, I wedged as many light streams as possible between the ship and the rocks and then expanded their volume all at once.
The magical light bulged like inflated balloons and slowly pushed, driving the ship away.
Gariya also helped, bracing and pushing with all his might, entwined with the light streams.
The Beltine, which had been nearly kissing the rocks, slowly moved away.
After confirming the ship was back in a safe channel, I collapsed flat on the deck.
I had used so much energy instantly that my head spun and I felt dizzy.
Gariya shrank back and lay down beside me, exhausted.
“Ugh, I really hate the sea…”
I whimpered like I might cry, and Duke Lupellen—now finally a little more himself—hurried to my side and knelt on one knee.
“Jiana… my diver. Jiana.”
“I’m not some octopus diver, you know. You really have no learning ability.”
I disliked how he was acting, so I snapped back curtly.
“Duke, do I look that weak to you?”
Admittedly, I was a bit dramatic.
The wizard’s attack looked very dangerous, but it wasn’t truly lethal to me. With a clever use of the light streams I could have torn them away—so it wasn’t that painful.
It was just creepy—having something crawling up my leg felt like sexual harassment.
“I screamed because it felt weird, not because it hurt!”
I jerked upright, grabbed the duke’s arm, and squeezed it hard.
“Really, it was only gripping me that much. I just screamed in surprise, not from pain.”
“But, Jiana.”
He lifted his other hand and gently pried my hand away, then clasped both of my hands in his.
“You were screaming like that—how could I ignore it?”
“If you don’t trust my skill, that’s one thing. Think about this: during battle, say one of your men is injured. If you personally go to rescue him, the unit could be wiped out. Would you go rescue that soldier, or trust him to get out on his own?”
“Jiana, it’s different if that soldier is you.”
“What’s so different?”
I couldn’t understand his attitude. He was supposed to be the empire’s greatest warrior, the one who ruled the Lupellen domain!
How could his judgment be so clouded?
“If it’s not about my life, you should obviously prioritize the greater good. Besides, the Beltine is an heirloom handed down through our family line, right? Then you should’ve tried to save the ship first, not me! Isn’t that your duty as the duke?”
“But, Jiana. Even if I live, save the Beltine, and save everyone, what good is it all if you die?”
