Chapter : 6. The Cursed Young Lord (2)
Elia was just about to complete her second spell.
Gordon stepped through the open door, frowning, his eyes darting around in irritation.
“What is all this?”
Gordon was flustered as he saw the mystical barrier surrounding Elia.
It was obvious why he had come all the way here to find her.
Now, she was no longer just the half-sibling with an agreeable face—she was, after all, a princess. He must have been wondering if there was any way to exploit her.
Elia looked at him, the one harboring such vile intentions, and smiled gently.
“I’m cutting off the flow here.”
Elia’s first spell severed the luck of the Rafasha family.
Strangely enough, this petty family had always been fortunate.
Fortune had favored them even after everything Elia had endured in the past—more than she could tolerate any longer.
“You’d better brace yourself. Great misfortune is about to strike you and your family.”
It wasn’t fatal misfortune, but it was enough to make them live long lives of hardship, cast out onto the streets, constantly tormented.
They likely wouldn’t die easily. Misfortune wanted them to endure suffering for a long time.
“What are you talking about? Hey…!”
“Well then, goodbye.”
That was the second spell.
When Gordon reached out, Elia’s body faded like smoke.
In the end, Gordon’s hands grasped nothing but air.
“Where, where did you go?!”
Elia, now a pale, misty form, passed right by him.
The surrounding Imperial Palace guards were on high alert, but none of them noticed Elia leaving the estate.
Her destination was never the Rafasha estate.
Moreover, one of the three spells she could use was meant for him.
“Time to go.”
Axion Mahart. To the man who had given her peace.
Whoooosh!
A blinding white snowstorm tore through the land.
Elia gripped her robe tightly to prevent it from being blown away.
She had arrived in the northern region of the empire, a vast territory where winter lasted more than half the year.
‘I can’t tell the direction.’
The forest stretched endlessly, packed with tall, spindly trees.
Elia struggled to follow the compass’s direction, but even that was a challenge.
It had been difficult to navigate on her way in, but now, with the snowstorm raging, she could barely see ahead.
‘I must have gone quite deep in.’
Just a few days ago, the area had been summery, but now she was walking through snowfields.
Why did this family have to be at the far north?
Elia trudged through the snow, muttering pointless complaints dozens of times.
“Making it here alone is a miracle, I guess.”
She ducked behind a tree trunk and let out a deep sigh.
The time Elia had after escaping the count’s estate would last at most a day or two.
‘They’ll only realize I’m gone by evening. The next day, the Imperial Palace guards will storm in.’
If they realized she was gone, they should have reported it immediately—but the count, afraid to take responsibility, would likely stall as much as possible.
‘I have to meet Axion first.’
Because there was something she absolutely had to tell him.
Since the count’s estate was outside the capital, she didn’t have to deal with the hardest checkpoint.
Elia headed to the portal, avoiding all eyes.
The long-distance portal required careful identification, but Elia could create illusions with her spell to fool the inspectors.
‘I’ve made it to the city closest to Mahart…’
Who could have known that the real challenge started here?
Portals only existed in major cities.
Elia had to start from Parche, the large city nearest the north, and pass through four more towns.
She had paid merchants traveling to Mahart to carry her this far, but the weather was a problem.
‘Even if I offered gold, it wouldn’t work.’
A severe, unexpected snowstorm had struck the villages and winter forests.
The merchants said she would have to stay in homes until the storm passed, which was expected to take two weeks.
There was no way of knowing when the emperor’s soldiers would come after Elia.
In the end, she had no choice but to enter the winter forest alone.
“If I keep going like this, I’ll freeze to death before even meeting him.”
Her hands and feet were already numb from the cold.
Had it been too reckless?
Still, she wanted to believe it was a better choice than being caught and dragged to the palace by the guards.
‘Let’s go.’
Elia summoned her remaining strength and continued forward.
Awoo!
A long howl cut through the forest.
Startled, Elia glanced around and saw dozens of glowing eyes closing in from all directions.
‘Wolves.’
Their bright yellow gaze advanced steadily toward her. They were hunting her.
‘This is the problem with the spell.’
Elia clutched her book and lamented.
‘I can borrow emotions, energy, and the power of nature…’
The spells covered broad domains, like severing the flow of the land or cursing a lineage over generations—far more comprehensive than mere magic.
But there were few spells that could directly attack.
This was why mages had exterminated spellcasters so easily in the past.
Grrrr!
“…!”
A massive gray wolf emerged in front of a tree.
While Elia hesitated, the wolves had already surrounded her.
Grrr!
Suddenly, one lunged, drooling, mouth wide open, aiming at her.
She bent down to dodge, but other wolves closed in from all sides.
She had just escaped the palace. That was all.
And now, she was about to be torn apart by beasts before achieving anything.
‘Is this really how it ends?’
A supporting character ends as a supporting character.
Would defying fate be punished?
A shadow of a beast loomed over Elia’s head as she huddled, clutching her book.
“Kiiiiiing!”
A sharp, piercing sound split the winter forest.
The wolves’ cries subsided, and they collapsed to the ground.
‘What…?’
It was hard to understand what had just happened.
She heard multiple sounds of something being torn out and thrown to the ground.
Finally, there was silence.
Elia slowly lifted her head. A man stood in the snow, stained red.
His hair was as black as night, his eyes red, staring down at her.
“Axion.”
A flawless face, like a glass doll made from pale moonlight. Elia recognized him instantly.
“…!”
When Elia called his name, his eyes widened. She laughed at the sight.
It was strange to see such a stoic face show that reaction.
“This time, you saved me.”
Only Elia knew the story he did not.
The memory of betrayal had been the most intense shock.
Elia was curious about the man who had given her peace.
Now, seeing Axion again, a strange thrill ran through her heart.
‘Is this happiness… or anticipation?’
The only person who could get her out of the palace.
In the world of happy novels, only she and Axion had to walk a path of misfortune and destruction.
Perhaps it was camaraderie. But at this moment, meeting him was the most important thing.
“…You are—”
Axion said something, but Elia couldn’t hear him.
Had she wandered the winter forest for too long? Or was it that her tension finally released? Her vision blurred.
Axion instinctively caught Elia as she began to collapse, and then flinched at his own action.
“It’s the same as before.”
Elia smiled even with her eyes closed.
Though the snowstorm raged on, she had found warmth in the cold winter.
“Ugh…”
Elia shifted her body.
The bed was soft, the blanket warm and cozy, tempting her to burrow in further.
‘Feels good.’
She couldn’t recall clearly, but it seemed she had dreamt a dream that wasn’t a nightmare for once.
Had she ever been this comfortable recently?
‘No… had I?’
In the end, the uneasy feeling gave way. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the red drapery above.
The ceiling was decorated with a pattern of beasts and humans intertwined. Everything visible through the partition was unfamiliar.
