083. Forest of Mist (1)
The conversation with him was everything.
[See you later.]
With a farewell, just like before, his vision blurred, and Owen woke up from his sleep.
“Up already?”
Lucia’s voice was heard.
She, who had opened the closed curtains wide, turned around to receive the morning sunlight.
“Yeah.”
Her hair, bathed in the early sunlight, looked particularly red.
It seemed as if the setting sun had just descended.
Owen got up from the bed and headed towards Lucia standing by the window.
As he embraced her from behind, Lucia let out a small chuckle.
“What’s wrong, did you have a nightmare?”
“No. It wasn’t a nightmare.”
“Then?”
Looking up at him and asking, Lucia’s voice, Owen also laughed in response.
“It was a dream with you in it.”
It was a peaceful morning.
* * *
“Long time no see.”
On the day they set off for the Northern Imperial Palace, Owen, Kyle, and Bella gathered.
The fact that only these three were included in the group was not surprising.
It was only natural.
It would be strange if there were no attendants in a group that included the Topju, the Duke of Verdin, and even a Saint.
In order to attend Bella, two shrine maidens for the temple, five knights from the Order of the Holy Knights, and five knights from the Imperial Order of Knights assigned by the Emperor were scheduled to accompany them on this journey.
Owen and Kyle could have brought attendants, knights, and mages, but they decided not to bother.
The more attendants there were, the more troublesome it would be, and with a larger group, the slower the progress would be.
“I didn’t know you were so shameless, Saint.”
As Bella was the first to greet them, Kyle approached her and whispered softly as he got closer.
“Leaving a sleeping potion in my carriage and welcoming me so warmly.”
Whispering as if sharing a secret, Bella smiled.
“It’s a misunderstanding. I offered the same tea to everyone.”
“So you didn’t drink it either.”
“You didn’t either, Your Highness.”
When Bella glanced at Owen, Kyle smirked.
“You’re so confident you won’t get caught, that’s why you’re here like this.”
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about….”
“If you bring up the sleeping potion story, you’ll cover it up as an attempted poisoning. The three teas were truly the same, despite what the Saint says.”
Bella tilted her head in response to Kyle’s whisper, only showing a look of not understanding.
In the face of her brazen attitude, Kyle clicked his tongue.
“Since Kyle knows anyway, there’s no need to act like that.”
Watching the two converse from a distance, Owen finally spoke up.
When Bella gave him a questioning look, Owen added a brief explanation.
“It seems the tea was hotter than expected.”
“…Did you overhear part of the conversation?”
“Something like that.”
As Owen affirmed, Bella let out a short sigh.
Then she turned her gaze back to Kyle.
“If Topju knows too… are you not bothered at all?”
“What do you mean?”
“That the person you like is that kind of person?”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
Kyle didn’t respond to Bella’s question.
Bella seemed like she wanted to know more facts, but at that moment, knights from the Royal Order arrived, preventing further conversation.
“Presenting Her Highness.”
“We greet Marquis Top and Duke Verdin.”
The five knights greeted the three in succession.
“Pleased to meet you. Please take care of this itinerary.”
While Kyle and Owen simply nodded, Bella responded with a friendly tone.
The knights looked touched by her words.
“We will do our best.”
After exchanging greetings with the knights, knights and maids from the Holy Order who were waiting followed suit.
They all mounted the carriages and horses in turn.
What Owen and Kyle had prepared were horses as well.
“Would you like to ride together?”
As Owen approached his black horse and Kyle was about to mount his own, Bella came over and asked.
She seemed to be about to board the white temple carriage.
“The journey is quite long, so I thought it would be nice to share stories along the way.”
If Owen and Kyle were to board the carriage with Bella, one of the knights would have to manage the horses as well.
They hesitated, but in the end, they nodded.
There was something to tell Bella.
“Let’s do that.”
“Indeed.”
Owen and Kyle handed over the horses to the knights and boarded the carriage.
The white carriage, fitting for a princess, was very spacious and elegant.
As they boarded the carriage and the coachman closed the door, the group set off slowly.
Bella spoke up as the carriage started moving.
“A soundproofing spell is cast on the carriage.”
“Seems so.”
“So, it means we can speak frankly now. Topju, are you not bothered that the person is not really Owen?”
At her question, Kyle furrowed his brow.
With a look of not understanding, he replied.
“You’re asking as if it’s not okay to not be bothered.”
“It’s only natural. He took over the body, that human.”
Bella pointed at Owen, affirming.
But Kyle sighed and replied.
“If there was mutual consent, then it’s not a problem.”
“How can it be okay? If the original person ends up dead, isn’t that just murder?”
“I heard their souls merge. That’s not murder.”
“…What on earth have you been talking about, you.”
Bella’s gaze turned towards Owen.
With an emotionless face, Owen simply let his voice out.
“I just spoke honestly.”
“Are you nuts? You said all of that?”
“What’s there not to do? Is there any point in hiding when we’ve been found out?”
As harsh words were exchanged between Owen and Bella, Kyle, after a moment of surprise, cleared his throat twice before speaking.
“It’s as Owen said. I demanded an explanation. Since everything’s out in the open, Owen had to explain.”
“Did Master Tapju believe that… just like that?”
“Isn’t it strange not to believe when two people exchanged such stories?”
Bella was speechless at Kyle’s response.
She let out a long sigh and rubbed her head.
“So, they laid out all the facts, shared secrets, and still remained friends.”
“That’s correct.”
“…Are you a fool too?”
As Kyle affirmed, Bella muttered with disbelief.
“Yes…?”
Surprised by the mention of being a fool, Kyle made a puzzled sound, which prompted Bella to nudge him.
“Exactly. Otherwise, how could you… How could you just stay like this without asking anything from the person you like?”
“…It seems like there’s a big misunderstanding.”
As Bella nudged Kyle, Owen narrowed his eyes.
“Could it be that the ‘person you like’ refers to me?”
“Yes.”
Bella nodded in agreement to Owen’s question.
Owen seemed to wear an incredulous expression.
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“I believe Kyle is not under the misconception that he likes me romantically.”
“What? Why would I like you…?”
Taken aback by Owen’s words, Kyle blurted out in surprise.
Then, with eyes widened in astonishment, he looked at Bella again.
“No way. Did ‘liking’ mean that?”
“…How else could you interpret the word ‘liking’ differently?”
Bella, too, looked bewildered by Kyle’s question.
“There’s also friendship, you know.”
“It’s not common to ask that way… at least.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“…”
Bella gazed at Kyle with a bubbling feeling inside.
To think that he wasn’t romantically interested, like a fool.
That meant their relationship was truly just that of close friends.
Yet Kyle hadn’t shown even a hint of affection towards Bella.
“Ha… Anyway, the important thing is that both of you currently consider me an enemy, right?”
The situation had already reached a deadlock.
There wasn’t much Bella could do at this point.
“It might change depending on your actions.”
“The term ‘enemy’ doesn’t quite fit. ‘Trading partner’ would be more suitable.”
When Bella posed a confirming question, two different responses came.
“Whatever I do, that’s my decision, right?”
“I hope you realize that goes both ways.”
“I don’t like that. Then I’ll have to give up what I want.”
Bella replied brightly to Owen, then turned her head towards Kyle.
Currently, Kyle and Owen were sitting side by side, with Bella sitting across from them.
In the midst of this, Bella continued to interchangeably look at both of them as she carried on with the conversation.
“What do you mean by ‘trading partner’? Please explain, Master Tapju.”
“Just as it sounds.”
In response to Bella’s question, Kyle took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
“I can assure you that you can survive after leaving that body. So please, come out of that body.”
The paper was tattered with the marks of time.
Bella silently looked down at the paper.
Seeing no sign of surprise from Owen, it seemed like Kyle and Owen had discussed this beforehand.
“It’s an ancient magic circle. It can move between dimensions. It’s said to be possible even in the form of a soul.”
“So that’s why you easily accepted my and that human’s existence.”
Finally understanding Kyle’s explanation, Bella nodded.
“Was there a concept of dimensions? In this world?”
“Both Owen and the Holy Maiden mentioned that.”
“Of course… No one easily thinks of such a thing. I don’t know about this world.”
Listening to the story with an amazed expression, Kyle soon responded.
“The universe is composed of multiple dimensions. This place is just a small one among them. Where you and Owen were is probably one of those many dimensions.”
“The universe…? You know about that too?”
“That’s already the second time you’ve said that.”
Despite Bella’s surprised expression, Kyle responded calmly.
Bella tilted her head and murmured.
“I wonder what kind of worldview the author has created…”
“The world in the book is not real.”
Owen firmly countered her murmuring.
“The world in ‘Empire’s Flower’ is real, but it’s not solely created by the author. What we’ve seen is just a part of it.”
“You speak as if you know everything.”
Bella retorted mockingly as Owen pointed out.
“I don’t know everything. But I can be sure of that much.”
Owen continued without batting an eye at her attitude.
“In the end, this place is reality too. It’s not a place where people can only be seen as characters.”
“Are you criticizing me? Don’t analyze Owen.”
“Is that how it sounds?”
“Yeah, totally. You made a fuss about staying by Lucia’s side, but you really know how absurd that is, right?”
Bella sneered at Owen.
Owen replied with indifference, still not showing any concern.
“I don’t see Lucia as just a character or a figure.”
“Of course. You were a lunatic, weren’t you?”
“I don’t see Kyle as a character in print either. And the same goes for Bella.”
Bella glared at Owen as he continued speaking.
Owen met her challenging gaze and gestured towards the paper Kyle was holding.
“It’s a magic circle that will take us back to Earth, to Korea. We can return without getting hurt or dying.”
It was convincing.
It was also a final mercy.
Bella knew it too.
Kyle, the man possessed by ‘Owen,’ all of them were people who cared about others to a strange extent, enough to never let her die.
As expected, the two of them brought a way that involved no sacrifices.
“No, it’s not that no one is sacrificed.”
Bella reached out her hand.
Her hand touched the paper Kyle brought.
When Kyle handed her the worn paper, Bella simply handed it back.
Perhaps she thought Bella had chosen this method.
“Owen is disappearing.”
Bella forcefully clenched the worn paper that had been transferred to her hand and tore it apart.
“It’s not needed.”
The worn paper easily tore in half.
Bella smiled brightly and tore the paper in half again.
“Because it won’t bring him back.”