Chapter 67
‘Are you close with the shaman, Harnen?’
‘What do you think about the fallen Emperor Bellarician?’
‘Don’t tell me, the reason you asked that was…’
Was it to curse Harnen?
Were you afraid I might get in the way of that curse?
The pieces finally fit together.
My head was in turmoil with tangled thoughts, but the anger creeping deeper into my mind was the only thing that burned vividly clear.
It wasn’t just that he knew Harnen was the reincarnation of Emperor Bellarician.
He deliberately allied with the Belzesti Empire, using the corpse of the Emperor to conduct research in order to curse Harnen.
Now it was undeniable.
Grand Duke Baharman had joined hands with Belzesti.
In exchange for the death of Emperor Bellarician’s reincarnation—Harnen.
All for the sake of seizing the throne.
‘Grand Duke Baharman…’
My reason was bleached away in white fury.
Just to snatch that wretched throne, he prayed for Aques’ death and dragged in foreign powers.
And now, on top of that, he dares to curse my dearest?
Digging up the grave of poor, pitiful Bellarician to do it…?
“…”
The anger I had kept pressed down, telling myself he was destined to die anyway, finally broke past its limits.
‘…I will never forgive you.’
I will never let you go unpunished.
A violent aura surged out of me.
Unable to withstand the turbulent flow of mana, Undine burst into countless droplets and was forcibly banished back to the spirit realm.
Separated from Undine, my consciousness returned to my original body.
“…”
My eyes snapped open without warning.
“…Einra?”
Sensing the mana raging inside me, As called my name.
I rose slowly without answering.
When I looked back, As was staring at me with a stiff, tense expression.
“…Einra, are you crying?”
“Ah… I must’ve shed tears without realizing it.”
I muttered lightly, wiping my cheeks with my sleeve.
I hadn’t been able to restrain my emotions.
After hastily brushing away the tears, I reached out and stroked As’s head once.
“As, I’m sorry. I know you already have everything planned out, but…”
“Einra?”
“This time, I really can’t endure it.”
“What do you mean…?”
Before As could even finish, a violent gust swept through the room and the high-ranked wind spirit, Eryn, appeared.
Shimmering silver-white in a translucent human form, Eryn approached me calmly.
“Eryn, please… keep him safe at my side.”
Eryn nodded once, then lightly lifted As into his arms.
Frowning, As looked back at me in alarm.
“Einra…”
“Eryn.”
At my urging, Eryn vaulted effortlessly over the window sill, carrying As.
Both figures vanished from sight.
Whooosh—through the open window, a cold wind blew in.
But not even that chill wind could cool the flames of my fury.
“…How dare you.”
The mana I had suppressed in front of As now surged violently.
Ferocious streams of water swirled around me, resonating with my emotions in a storm of rage.
“You would dare use my dearest’s grave to curse him?”
Crack, crash, rumble—!
The intact room was reduced to a ruin in an instant, debris scattering everywhere.
Water droplets rained down from all directions.
From beyond the shattered door, startled voices of servants rang out in confusion at the sudden explosion.
“…That collapsing sound… check the cause…!”
“It could be an attack… the Emperor’s ambush…!”
“…Ensure Lord Johann is safe… evacuate quickly…!”
The closer I walked to the door, the clearer the fragments of their voices became.
I strode forward without hesitation.
Clatter.
A small stone rolled to my feet.
Expressionless, I kicked aside the pebble blocking my way.
The worthless stone tumbled harmlessly to the side.
So easily.
Ch. 11. When the Spirit Master Loses Her Temper
As soon as I left the room, I ran into Livia, who was rushing toward me.
Her face was ashen, and the moment she saw me, she hurriedly spoke.
“Ah, my lady, you’re safe! Just now, there was a noise from that direction…”
“I know. Where are the Grand Duke and Dante?”
“They’re all gathered in the drawing room. It seems the Imperial side attempted a surprise attack, so for the time being, they’ve raised a defensive barrier to ensure everyone’s safety…”
“The drawing room, huh.”
A faint smile touched my lips.
Livia nodded and quickly grabbed my arm.
“So you must hurry as well, my lady. You need to be protected. Right now, spirit arts are sealed, aren’t they?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Just as Livia said, the spirit-suppressing curse laid over the entire mansion was still firmly in place.
Even in a crisis like this.
‘So, they really want to keep me firmly in their grasp.’
That meant two things.
First, the House of Baharman did not fully trust me.
Second, to them, keeping me under their control was more important than my actual safety.
‘If they trusted me, they would’ve lifted the suppression so I could lend them my strength. If they valued my safety, they would’ve done the same so I could protect myself.’
A dry laugh slipped out of me.
Truly, weren’t they selfish enough to live up to the title of petty villains?
“The attacks have paused for now, but we don’t know when they’ll resume. Please, we must move quickly!”
Anxiously, Livia kept pulling me along.
Unaware that the very person she was leading me to was the culprit behind all this.
It didn’t take long to reach the drawing room on the first floor.
“Lady Einra.”
“Please, come inside.”
Passing through the layers of knights and sorcerers protecting the drawing room, I stepped inside to find the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Baharman, along with Lloyd, surrounded by Dante and other high-ranking sorcerers.
Lloyd spotted me first and rushed forward with a bright expression.
“Einra, you’re finally here! Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
He anxiously scanned me from head to toe.
The Grand Duke and Duchess quickly followed him over.
“Oh, our daughter-in-law is here! You don’t seem hurt—what a relief.”
“Come inside. No matter how reckless the Emperor may be, he won’t be able to break through Dante’s defensive sorcery. You can rest easy.”
As the Grand Duke reached to take my hand, I slapped it away harshly.
“D–daughter-in-law…?”
He blinked in bewilderment.
“The Emperor can’t break Dante’s defenses, huh…”
A crooked smile tugged at my lips.
“Yes, you’re right. Not even that reckless Emperor could break through Dante’s spells.”
Slowly, I raised my hand.
“But I can.”
Sensing the natural affinity radiating from me, Dante’s face went deathly pale. He was the one maintaining the barrier.
“H–how in the world…?”
His violet eyes, wide with shock, suddenly narrowed.
He shouted, “Your Grace, you must move at once—!”
But he never finished his sentence.
Craaaash!
With a violent rupture, the ornate decorations inside the room shattered all at once.
Dante tried to quickly constrict the barrier’s range, but the Eldimirs I had summoned were faster.
“…!”
Receiving my will, the Eldimirs kicked both the Grand Duke and Dante to the floor and pinned them beneath their massive forepaws.
They couldn’t even think of fleeing, let alone move.
The other sorcerers panicked and tried to attack me, but torrents of water struck them, hurling them against the shattered walls.
“Sp–Spirit Master, what on earth are you doing?!”
The Grand Duke shouted, almost frothing in rage.
“You’re on our side—why…?!”
“Side?”
I tilted my head slightly, and the Eldimir pressed its paw harder against his back.
A grating scream filled the ruined chamber.
“I’ve no intention of siding with the ones who tried to kill me.”
“W–what? When did we ever…!”
“Oh, is His Grace the Grand Duke of Baharman short on memory? Or is it that you keep only what’s convenient to remember?”
I walked closer, crouched down before him, and looked him square in the eye.
His pale-pink eyes blazed with fury as he glared at me.
I propped my chin on my hand and met his gaze with mocking ease.
“What. Back when I lived in the Haila County, you sent assassins wielding aura, didn’t you? Even blocked my affinity with nature.”
“…!”
His face drained of color in an instant.
He must’ve thought he’d hidden it perfectly.
He probably still believed I didn’t know that Aces was really As.
“T–that… it wasn’t to kill you, it was…”
“To kill As, then?”
The sneer on my lips twisted sharply.
The Grand Duke, fumbling for excuses, let out a strangled gasp.
The Eldimir, echoing my emotions, pressed down harder with its paw.
“You tried to kill As. Blocked all of my power. And then sent assassins?”
“G–ghk…!”
“And even disguised those assassins as Aces?”
