I had to open Emilia’s chest and engrave the spell onto her heart.
No matter how I thought about it, it had to be done.
“Damn…”
I just realized how stupid I was.
I had expected that those who wanted to ruin my midterms would send crows or thugs to mess with me.
But my preparations were incomplete.
I thought it would be enough to just stay inside.
I thought as long as I didn’t go out, it would be fine.
But even with this goldfish-like brain, I could figure out that the target wasn’t limited to just me.
There could be hostages.
Even if it wasn’t me.
And currently, the most suitable person for a hostage was…
“Emilia!!!”
It was Emilia.
I yelled as I came up from the training room, but there was no response.
She said she was going to buy groceries this morning.
It seemed she had already left the house.
I hurriedly ran towards the front door.
“Hah…”
A letter slipped under the door.
A sense of ominousness suddenly overwhelmed me.
I didn’t want to read it.
I didn’t even want to touch it.
I wanted to pretend I hadn’t seen it.
But I couldn’t do that.
“Huuh… Hah…”
I took a deep breath and opened the letter with trembling hands.
The scribbled writing said this:
-Your attendant is with me. If you don’t want to see her die, come to 31st Boulevard…
“What the hell…”
Hair was yanked from my head in clumps.
I didn’t even notice the pain in my head.
I was just angry.
Angry at myself.
At my foolish, no, STUPID self.
At my complacent self.
Damn it. If I had just put the spell on her heart earlier, this wouldn’t have happened.
It was clear that being overly considerate and trying to be nice led to this situation.
“I have to go.”
I didn’t even have time to berate myself further.
I bolted out of the mansion.
*
“Hmph. Hmmm…”
Humming a tune, Emilia entered the market with a shopping basket under her arm.
Before long, the bustling scenery filled with people unfolded before her eyes.
“Oh my, Emilia! Are you here to shop?”
“Ah, yes. We ran out of groceries at home.”
Merchants began to recognize her as she walked past their shops.
The girl in the maid outfit who always comes to shop around this time.
She was practically a celebrity in the market thanks to her charming personality.
“Well, I heard that in that big mansion, you’re the only maid? You must be busy.”
“Haha. Not at all…”
The word that she worked at a big mansion had come from that shop over there, and the one saying she was the only maid must have come from the opposite shop.
It seemed the speed at which rumors spread was astounding.
‘Seafood, huh. Schlus loves seafood…’
As she looked at the tank full of fish, Emilia found herself deep in thought.
It was true that Schlus liked seafood.
Even when he visited the imperial palace, he couldn’t resist stopping at a seafood restaurant and indulging in a meal.
The problem was that Emilia didn’t know how to cook seafood.
“Seafood doesn’t come in often. If this batch sells out, it’ll be two months before the next shipment.”
“Hmmm…”
Hearing that made her even more worried.
Should she ask someone for cooking tips?
But who?
There was no one around who might know seafood recipes.
“Just give me two.”
“Make sure to preserve it with cold magic right after it’s been caught.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
In the end, she bought it.
She thought that if she just went with her gut, she’d somehow make it taste good.
After all, Emilia had a knack for cooking, and had never failed in her attempts before.
‘Should I grill the fish? Or maybe make a soup?’
Recipes using fish quickly sprang to her mind.
Schlus… no, Hainkel would surely love it.
‘But when will I get to call him comfortably?’
Suddenly, that thought annoyed her a bit.
They had shared a roof and lived together for quite some time.
By now, it felt like it was time to be casual and speak informally.
It felt like he was keeping a deliberate distance.
Could it be that he realized I was a spy from the intelligence agency?
If so, then why did he go out of his way to save my life?
Why did he say I was someone he had to protect at all costs…?
‘Should I call him first? Schlus… big brother…’
Just thinking about it made Emilia’s face heat up.
No, that was definitely pushing it.
There was still a considerable psychological burden.
Maybe she wasn’t that close to Schlus after all.
As she thought that, she forcibly calmed her racing heart and continued walking.
“Huh?”
She noticed something weird about her surroundings.
It had definitely just been a market, but how had it turned into a dark alley in such a short time?
Emilia dropped her shopping basket in shock.
“Huh?”
When she turned around, she was considerably flustered.
The way behind her was blocked.
By a high wall.
Panicking, she turned to look in front, and the path that had just been clear was now blocked by bricks.
“What, what’s going on?”
Magic?
No, I couldn’t even feel the spell being activated.
Emilia tapped on the wall with her hands.
As she felt the rough texture, she realized something was off.
It was a barrier.
“Hah…”
Stepping back, she lifted her skirt.
Then, she pulled out the dagger she had stuck into her left thigh.
It was called a Magic Breaker.
The object her brother had given her…
With one hand holding the sword, Emilia calmly felt along the wall.
She was trying to find the core of the barrier.
Reading the flow of mana, Emilia found the center where all the magic converged — the core —
“Found it!”
Without hesitation, she thrust the dagger into the wall.
The blade plunged in with no resistance.
As it did, the scenery surrounding her began to collapse.
‘Cunning…’
The barrier had been well-crafted to the point that one could mistake it for reality.
Emilia held the dagger reverse-wise and focused on the flickering barrier beyond.
She saw two men who appeared quite flustered.
“What, what is it?”
“How did she get out?”
“What a fun little trick you have!”
There was no time to hesitate against the magicians.
She had to strike first.
Emilia quickly lunged forward and swung her sword.
The two men, reaching out as if to cast magic,
“Gyaaaak!”
“Ugh! My hand!”
In an instant, their hands were severed and they fell, spraying blood.
“Who sent you?”
“I’ll tell you if you let me go…”
*Puk!*
The dagger plunged into the man’s neck.
The blade spun as it followed Emilia’s wrist,
“Cough! Ugh! Grrr!”
And was pulled out, spraying blood in all directions.
The man lay on the ground, creating a pool of blood, before he finally stopped moving.
As Emilia’s gaze fell, the other man turned pale.
“So, who sent you?”
“Eek! Ugh! Please, please! Just let me go!”
“I said if you tell me who sent you, I’ll let you go…”
“I-I’ll…”
*Thud!*
The dagger struck into his forehead.
The sound of a skull breaking echoed, and he stopped moving.
“Why are you screaming…?”
Pulling the dagger out, Emilia frowned.
She thought one example would be enough to get the information, but she didn’t expect him to scream so foolishly.
In the end, she got no information and was left with two corpses.
Holding the blood- and brain-covered dagger between her thumb and forefinger, Emilia began searching her pockets.
“There’s nothing…”
No handkerchief.
The pretty ribbon-patterned handkerchief she always carried.
After glancing around and confirming there was no one in the alley, Emilia discreetly lifted her skirt.
“Ugh, really…”
She felt it was ridiculous to have to go this far, and her cheeks flushed.
But she absolutely hated the idea of putting the bloody dagger against her thigh.
“Hah…”
Carefully lowering the white cloth, she lifted one leg and pulled it out.
Well, at least the pink ribbon made it look similar to a handkerchief.
Emilia wiped the dagger with that cloth and tossed it away.
Just as she was about to put the gleaming sword back into its sheath,
“Ugh. That feels nice…”
A sudden breeze brushed against her legs, making her feel a little too exposed.
Although it was a temporary measure, she didn’t want to do it again.
It was too embarrassing…
“Shall I head back now? Hmm… I wonder if the path over there leads to an exit.”
As if enchanted, Emilia began walking through the alley.
Surely there was a way out of this alley somewhere.
She just needed to get out and think things through.
But no matter how much she walked, there was no exit in sight.
It felt like she was just going around in circles.
“It’s probably just my imagination…”
Yet she kept walking, not thinking much of it.
Surely a way out would appear eventually.
It was only natural that paths have an end.
She just hadn’t walked enough.
Thinking that she’d surely find a way out soon…
“Wait, where’s my handkerchief?”
Emilia tilted her head as she unconsciously searched her pockets.
That handkerchief was made from mana and should stay attached to her body at all times.
The absence of her handkerchief meant…
“Ah.”
That she was caught in a mana-controlled environment created by someone else.
At that realization, Emilia let out a sigh.
In a panic, she looked around.
She finally realized she had been walking along an infinitely repeating alleyway since some time ago.
It was absurd that she hadn’t realized it until now.
“An overlapping barrier…!”
Her teeth ground together.
She didn’t know what sort of magic had been used on the barrier, but trying to think about it made her head hurt.
If she hadn’t thought about her handkerchief, she would have walked this path forever.
Feeling a shiver down her spine, Emilia began feeling along the wall to locate the core of the barrier.
“How did you notice?”
“…!”
At the sound of a voice from behind her, Emilia quickly drew her dagger from her thigh and swung it.
But there was no one there.
As she frantically looked around, at that moment—
“If you keep this up, I’ll have to put a strain on your body…”
“Ah! Ah!”
A sweet, soothing female voice floated into her ears.
Her hand with the dagger wouldn’t listen.
No, her entire body refused to move.
Taking advantage of that, a small glass vial approached and touched her lips.
Emilia had no choice but to stiffen up and gulp down the mysterious potion.
“Aah… Ah…”
Sleepiness swept over her.
Despite her fierce resistance, her eyes slowly closed, and Emilia’s body went limp.
“Oh dear.”
Someone wrapped their arms around Emilia from behind.
At that moment, the scenery of the alley began to crumble.
Before she knew it, the two were standing in a secluded area behind a bustling market shop.
A hooded woman confidently walked forward and closed the shop door.
After turning back, she removed her hood, revealing the face of a woman with red hair.
“Hehe. What should I do with you…?”
Looking down at the sleeping Emilia, she clasped her hands at her mouth.
It was Schlus Hainkel’s woman.
What on earth should she do with this?
How could she bring deep despair to Schlus Hainkel?
How could she make him crumble?
It was a delightfully happy dilemma.
