Chapter 33

Iris Viden had to try hard to hold back her laughter as she watched Theo’s back as he ran away somewhere without looking back.

Theo Lisitoel, who didn't forget his confident attitude even while being nervous enough to have sweaty palms.

“Ah ah─ it’s fun.”

Thud, the astonishment that spread like dropping paint into water was always as sweet as candy in her mouth.

And she couldn’t resist the pleasure of toying with it on her tongue, rolling it around in her mouth, and then biting down on it with a crunch

.

Keke, the small laugh that had continued soon stopped abruptly, as if something was caught in her throat.

“I don’t have any business with you yet, young master of Nevera?”

“What on earth did you say to Theo?”

At the question asked with thorns raised, Iris couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Just as she couldn't touch Count Lisitoel, the young master of Nevera was also a person she couldn't touch.

So what could she do.

A mere merchant could only give the answer to the question the young master of Nevera was curious about.

She sat on the terrace railing and tapped her foot.

Just like in the underground prison that day, she rested her chin down and looked at her opponent with her blood-red, distorted eyes─

“I gave him the key to the underground prison where that child, Lerwon, is locked up. So he ran off without looking back.”

“Underground prison?”

At Zephyros’s incomprehensible expression, Iris couldn’t hold back her laughter at all.

But, like a ripple, the laughter stopped abruptly.

An eerie silence followed, but the one who broke it was, as expected, Iris Viden.

“Not all parents are as moderate as your father.”

Rather, the Duke of Nevera is sooooo boring.

He rarely moves, being conscious of those around him, like his cause and his vassals.

He’s free, but no different from a prisoner with shackles.

“If it were me, I would have tormented him more, but you don’t, do you?”

It would be fine to live by surrendering your body to your instincts more.

An orchestra plays music outside the terrace.

Iris lightly swayed her body to the music that flowed on the wind and looked at Zephyros.

“Child of the wind.”

Her eyes glistened with pleasure.

“How does it feel to have participated in my poor son’s hell?”

Won’t you please tell me?

Golden asked the wind.

* * *

“X-na sad.”

Tears welled up a little because of the lingering feeling of the final story of Lapidemy Part 1, which I saw on the bus on my way home from work.

Just in case someone saw, I quickly wiped the tears that had formed in my eyes.

“Sigh.”

The protagonist’s mentality and the empire crumbling together.

Actually, the most pitiful one was ironically Lerwon, who was the final boss.

“To be honest, his patterns were vicious.”

He would use an instant-kill pattern every 10 seconds, and when half the time passed, he would use a wipe pattern.

During the raid, the community was flooded with filtered curses at Lerwon and the developers.

But, when the raid ended and Lerwon’s past and final death were fully revealed, the atmosphere was instantly reversed.

I really thought Lucian was pretty unlucky, but the final boss was here.

I didn’t move on to the next story and just stared at the illustration of Lucian sitting in the ruins, looking at the place where Lerwon had been with empty eyes.

“No, no!!”

I was about to be buried in the memories of my past life.

For that brief moment, I even forgot to breathe.

I quickly gasped for breath.

Get a grip, Theo Lisitoel.

If you lose your mind here, all that’s left is Lerwon’s death.

“It’s still okay.”

He can be saved. The system clearly informed me so.

“He can still be saved.”

So, I have to save him and prevent him from contributing to the destruction!

“I’m not dead yet.”

If Lerwon was so broken that there was no way to save him, my quest is a failure.

Failure of the quest means death. The fact that I’m alive means there’s still a chance for Lerwon.

《What on earth are you talking about?》

“Albedo, be quiet.”

I put him in my pocket.

Don’t come out, I whispered quickly and scribbled the words.

「Lerwon’s body is healed.」

For a moment, a nosebleed trickled down.

Now, my hands were trembling not from shock, but from exhaustion.

Healing magic was a magic that only a very small number of people with an aptitude could use.

As much as I had forcibly activated it, it seemed to be returning as a rebound on my body.

Should I be glad that I’m not vomiting blood?

I quietly observed Lerwon.

Fortunately, his breathing became a little more stable. Though it was still faint, as if it would go out at any moment.

“Let’s go to the infirmary like this.”

Professor Artemia would surely heal him.

“By whose permission?”

I wasn't particularly surprised by the voice from behind.

Anyway, the one who led me here was none other than─

“Iris Viden.”

It was her.

I pulled the weakened Lerwon towards me.

I couldn’t feel any warmth from Lerwon’s body.

If it weren’t for the faint heartbeat I felt from beyond our touching bodies, I would have mistaken him for a corpse.

As hostile eyes turned to her, Iris crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

“If you put that child, Lerwon, down, I’ll consider this incident as if it never happened.”

“By whose permission?”

“By my permission.”

Iris declared confidently. It was a truly arrogant statement.

Even at her proposal, I didn’t let go of Lerwon.

Rather, I pulled him closer to my side, as if I had no intention of ever letting him be taken away.

“That child is my masterpiece.”

My body flinched for a moment at her words.

I already knew that Iris Viden was that kind of person.

Even though I knew everything and proposed a contract, why does my blood boil from head to toe like this?

I held Lerwon tighter and strengthened my grip.

“If you’re going to give up my masterpiece, you should pay a proper price too.”

I’ll be able to pay a proper price by using the knowledge of the original story.

What does she want? The moment I was about to ask, Iris struck first.

“For example, Theo Lisitoel.”

“What on earth are you talking about.”

“If you discard the name of Lisitoel and become a Viden.

It means I’ll let Lerwon go. Is it difficult to understand?”

Ah, so it was bait for that from the beginning.

The realization followed belatedly.

“That child, Lerwon, is pitiful, isn't he?”

What Iris wanted from the beginning was me.

Everything was a trap prepared by that woman for this very moment.

Just as I had done, a trap made so that you can't escape even if you know full well that it's a trap.

“Do you think my father will accept that?”

“It’s fine. Evan Lisitoel is a father who loves his son, so he’ll respect his son’s choice.”

Iris looked straight at me with eyes full of conviction.

How can a sweet and soft voice be so disgusting.

For the first time, at a known fact, I clenched my fist so hard my hand hurt.

“Or are you going to turn away from that poor child? I don’t mind that either.”

“No, of course not.”

I will never give up on the people of this world.

But, ‘Theo Lisitoel’ was also included in that.

This body is mine now, but it’s not entirely my own.

“If so─”

The woman’s hand reaches out to me.

She smiled contentedly, as if looking at me placed on her palm.

“Take my hand. I will protect everything you hold dear.”

Instead, she would destroy Theo Lisitoel, thoroughly.

I clenched my fist and quietly hid my hand behind my back.

Iris’s gaze followed my moving hand, but fortunately, it seemed she didn't realize what I was about to do.

If she had, she would have cut off my wrist right away.

Right, that’s good enough.

“Shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“If I escape from you, Iris Viden, like this, you’ll give up on both me and Lerwon-senior.

”

“And what do I get out of it?”

“What, you scared?”

There is no benefit.

But, even a provocation has its power.

The master of Golden, one of the most prominent mages and alchemists on the continent, avoiding a bet because she’s afraid of a chick who hasn’t even been transferred for a month?

“Hahahaha!!!”

The woman’s high-pitched laughter hung in the underground prison.

It was like a strangling rope.

If I fail, it will strangle my neck and cut off my breath.

“Alright, have it your way. If you escape, I’ll give up on both you and Lerwon.”

Though I’ll never let you go─ a red tongue licked her lips fiercely.

“On your magic?”

“Yes, I’ll swear on my magic. So how on earth are you going to escape?”

The only passage in the underground prison is blocked by Iris Viden.

There was no way to break through this situation. At least, that’s how it seemed.

But, I have a cheat key.

“I’ll escape like this.”

It was a sentence I had been thinking of throughout our conversation.

「I move to the Academy’s infirmary.」

The moment I wrote the last letter, a huge pain hit my body like a hammer.

“Kkeuaaaaaak!!!”

It was the same severe pain as when I had caught ‘Baal’.

Even if I were trampled by a giant’s foot, it wouldn’t be this painful.

Even as my vision flashed red, I didn’t let go of Lerwon.

“Damn it….”

Ah, the strength is draining from my fingertips.

Just when I thought I might let go of Lerwon, I felt the familiar sensation of a bed.

“Keoheok!!!”

What I vomited from deep inside my body was dark red blood.

Damn it, it hurts like hell.

I can’t lose consciousness yet. I picked up the quill pen with a trembling hand.

「Zephyros hears Theo’s words」

“Kkeueueuk.”

With the continuous use of skills, this time a tinnitus rang in my ears.

Piiiiiii─

I barely let out a tight breath at the tinnitus that seemed to tear the world apart.

Tears flowed endlessly from the unbearable pain, but I didn’t care.

“Zephyros Nevera, get Lucian out of there now.”

I was wrong, and Zephyros was right.

My fingertips trembled at that fact.

No, is the trembling all because of the pain?

Ulkuk! The surging blood once again stained the pure white infirmary sheet red.

“That woman is crazy.”

That was all I could say.

I just gasped for breath, barely spitting out the blood that seemed to block my airway.

“Theo Lisitoel?”

Chwareureuk─

With the sound of the curtain opening, Professor Artemia appeared.

“Professor, you have to send my father… to the Golden mansion.”

“Theo! Theo?”

I feel a sense of relief at the strong hand holding me.

Only then did I let go of my consciousness.