088. Forest of Mist (6)
As the situation came to a close, the group returned to the mansion.
The ‘Seal of Protection’ they needed to set up remained uninstalled.
Returning to Viscount Taylor’s mansion, they received treatment for their injuries and rested.
Owen, who had shown signs of distress, was no exception.
“Are you okay?”
Even though Owen had cleaned up his appearance, Kyle seemed worried and asked.
Facing a large demon alone and using the ‘Eye of Spacetime’ yesterday, Kyle couldn’t rest and had come to Owen’s room.
“You look fine. I said you’d be okay with time.”
“Still, how can I not worry? You were so pale, struggling to breathe.”
After letting out a brief sigh, Kyle glanced at Owen and spoke.
“For now, rest. The schedule for today is canceled because some knights got injured.”
“How many?”
Taken aback by the news of the knights being injured, Owen asked.
“Quite a few. You know. There are only six people in the Empire who can handle large demons.”
“…True.”
The transcendent beings of the Freyon Empire were only six in total.
The lord of Keres Viscountcy guarding the northernmost part of the continent, Keres Viscount Keres.
The owner of the Freyon Empire’s Tower of Magic, Tower Lord Kyle.
The next heir of the Edelt Marquisate, Sub-Viscount Louis Edelt.
The Saint who awakened after 200 years, Bella Taylor.
The knight commander of the Verdin Marquisate, Jade.
And, the leader of the Verdin Marquisate, Owen Verdin.
Although there was no specific criterion for being called a transcendent being, people referred to them as individuals who possessed overwhelming power beyond human limits.
In the setting of ＜Empire’s Flower＞, it seemed to refer to saints, transcendent beings of six or more classes of magic, and knights above Sword Experts.
“Maybe there are more if you include other countries. Anyway, there are only six people in Freyon who can enter the depths of the Eye Forest and come out unscathed.”
In other words, those other than the six would die when encountering a large demon.
“You showed unusual symptoms, and I was distracted because of you. You might have been injured during that time.”
“…I see.”
Seeing Owen’s guilty expression at Kyle’s explanation, Kyle sighed and grabbed Owen’s shoulders.
“Hey, there’s no reason for you to look like that.”
“I know, but…”
“It was an accident. It couldn’t be helped. The Saint said it was your trauma.”
Owen simply nodded in response.
He was a bit taken aback that Bella had mentioned it, but it was true.
“But why are you apologizing? The only one at fault here is the Saint. It was a big mistake for me to lose my composure, but.”
After continuing the explanation, Kyle stood up.
“Anyway, rest. We’ll set up the barrier tomorrow.”
As he bid farewell and left, Owen stood there staring at the door before exhaling.
It wasn’t really tiring to rest.
The reaction he had shown earlier was temporary due to trauma.
It was like post-traumatic stress disorder.
Suddenly, lightning struck, and the accident happened due to the rain and wind on the day he was starting to recover.
And the weather that had temporarily changed due to Kyle’s magic had already returned to normal.
Outside the window, snow was falling instead of rain.
‘Are we expecting a heavy snowstorm?’
Owen stood up and approached the window.
The intensity of the falling snowflakes was increasing.
He was beginning to wonder if he would be facing a snowdrift up to his knees tomorrow.
‘It’s not the season for this yet.’
Frowning, he was looking at the outside scenery when a knock was heard.
Turning his body towards the door to go there, the door opened without permission.
“It’s me.”
The one who entered was Bella.
Dressed in new clothes to replace the wet ones from the rain and snow, she entered Owen’s bedroom with an expressionless face.
“…Let’s go to the drawing-room.”
Not wanting to cause any misunderstandings, Owen opened the door again, but Bella, seemingly lacking the will, plopped down on the sofa.
“It would be more appropriate to have this discussion in your room quietly, wouldn’t it?”
Saying so, she continued.
“I suppose that’s how it will be.”
Crossing her legs, Bella spoke askew before resting her chin on her hand.
“You still carry Owen’s trauma, don’t you?”
“Why ask when you’ve seen it?”
“Oh, just. I realized. You’re truly becoming Owen, aren’t you?”
With Bella’s simple response, Owen narrowed his eyes as if trying to guess the reason and purpose behind her sudden appearance.
“It was quite a sight. I don’t like the idea of Owen disappearing because of you, but… well, even if he disappears, thanks to you, I’ve realized that you become Owen.”
Bella spoke as if organizing her thoughts in her mind, then chuckled lightly.
“No need to rush on this end. Just need to stop Lucia and your engagement.”
“Why do you think it’s impossible?”
“I don’t understand why you think it’s impossible. You’ll see just from today’s events, won’t you?”
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At Bella’s probing tone, Owen coldly lowered his gaze.
“Releasing a large demon, was that the plan?”
“Aren’t you curious about the method? It’s surprising you didn’t ask. I thought you would.”
Even in her voice mixed with amusement, Owen rolled his eyes in disgust.
“That’s why the knights got hurt.”
“I feel sorry about that too. I didn’t expect that. I thought you and Kyle could handle it.”
“What exactly did you want to achieve?”
Bella tilted her head and replied to the question.
“Isn’t it obvious? First, tie up the loose ends in a hurry, then suddenly a large demon appears, so you also need to conduct additional investigations to drag out more time. And then, get injured just enough to consume more time.”
“So, what do you gain from this?”
At Owen’s question, Bella leaned back on the couch, raising her hand on the armrest.
“Holding you here?”
“What…?”
It was an unexpected answer.
Two weeks later, mentioning the engagement ceremony made it seem like she was planning to cancel the engagement.
But it was just about keeping him here.
“No, well. Of course, it would be better if we didn’t make it to the engagement ceremony. But that won’t solve everything, right?”
“Why did you say that during the meal then?”
“You seemed restless.”
At Owen’s puzzled expression, Bella smirked.
Bella chuckled, crossing her arms, “Ah, indeed, your face is handsome. Isn’t it?”
Owen’s expression turned even more grim, but Bella just smiled brightly.
“I haven’t given up yet, you know? I wish you’d just leave that body willingly. Kyle already says you’re Owen… “
Bella observed Owen as if pondering, piercing him with her gaze.
“I’ll admit it now. You do seem like Owen. It’s too Owen-like to deny.”
“So, what’s the conclusion?”
“Conclusion? Well, I guess I’ll just have to take Owen one way or another.”
At that, Owen’s expression crumpled.
Bella burst into laughter, flipping her hair.
“I guess it would be better if it’s the original Owen, but you’re not bad either.”
“It seems like your intentions weren’t that important.”
“Well, judging by your reaction, the original Owen would probably be better after all, right?”
Bella continued to ramble on, not even listening to Owen’s words.
Owen looked at the unresponsive Bella, trying to figure out how to react.
But since no reasonable conclusion came to mind, he just sighed.
“I heard they’re putting demons into illegal fighting arenas and betting on them. It’s happening secretly within the continent.”
“Boring. You knew about that too?”
“It’s listed as one of Viscount Selyd Yeong-sik’s illegal business ventures. They use magic to seal them and then transport them.”
“Yeah. You can seal them in a containment and transport them. It has no connection to the Imperial Tower or mages from other countries.”
As Bella casually added an explanation, she soon burst into laughter.
“That was the method this time, but there’s no evidence. They’ve already hidden everything.”
She explained the reason.
“Because this is Viscount Taylor’s territory.”
That was it.
The Misty Forest was within Viscount Taylor’s territory, and Bella was a member of the Taylor family.
If it were the original Bella, she would have been controlled by the Viscount’s people, but the current Bella was not like that.
She was, in fact, the one controlling them in reverse.
Bella was the Knight, and the rest were the other members of Viscount Taylor’s group.
“Do you know why I’m telling you all this? They don’t know. They probably just think it’s a magic trap, right? I asked them to set it up for this particular matter.”
“So, if you were caught, were you planning to cut ties?”
“Correct.”
Bella’s smile deepened.
It seemed the seal scroll containing the sealed demons was received from Lord Celid of Seld and sent directly to the territory by Bella without passing through my hands.
So, one could say there was no intermediary process.
To others, it might seem only Lord Celid of Seld and Lord Taylor of Backshire were involved.
“Do you think Lord Celid of Seld did that without any suspicion?”
“Why would he? He gave it to me because I promised to handle it.”
Bella smoothly chuckled and rose from her seat.
With a light step, she moved towards the window, making a rustling sound.
Leaning against the window frame, she opened it and said, “As you mentioned, that guy is involved in a lot of illegal activities. He’s done many murders, passing through others’ hands.”
The cold wind entered through the open window.
Ignoring the chilly winter air, Bella continued speaking.
“Among his business ventures are illegal gambling dens, drug trafficking, and plenty of poisons. What else is there?”
Seated by the window where snowflakes swirled in, Bella turned her head abruptly.
Her silver hair fluttered in the cold wind.
“…You.”
Due to the clouds filling the sky, the sun was nowhere to be seen.
Beneath the cold and desolate landscape devoid of sunlight, Bella looked like a fallen angel.
“What on earth have you done?”
“It wasn’t me. I just captured you and Kyle, that’s all.”
Bella let out a laugh.
The laughter, carried by the wind, felt quite eerie.
“I just obtained some demons. And the weather is helping me. Well, not exactly. Actually, the timing isn’t ideal.”
As Bella burst into laughter, she soon covered her mouth with her hand, pulling back the corners of her lips.
“You won’t remember. Because you’re not interested in Bella.”
After saying that, Owen realized.
There was an incident he had forgotten.
An incident that had only been troublesome for Bella, which he had never thought important.
It was just as Bella said.
Owen was not overly interested in Bella.
“There was an untimely snowstorm at Lord Taylor of Backshire’s territory once. So, the Lord’s men pressed Bella for help… The kind and pitiful Bella was in distress.”
“….”
“You probably didn’t even recall. The ＜Empire’s Flower＞ you remember is Luciya’s story.”