Chapter 439
Chapter 439
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Acalusia (11)
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Tears streamed down Erzsebet's cheeks.
"Answer me, Liz. When did you betray us?"
"My lady... I..."
The maid Liz trailed off. She glanced around, searching for an escape, then bit her lower lip. Every exit, including the windows, was blocked by a shimmering purple barrier. It was Erzsebet's renowned defensive shield, famed even among the Acalusians for its sturdiness.
"Don't even think about denying it. The evidence is already clear."
Erzsebet raised her index finger. A faint bluish powder clung to the first joint of her delicate finger, like sugar.
"This is star mushroom spores. They were on the sofa where Asel sat. It's such a rare ingredient that I wondered where you could have picked it up... and then I saw it on your hands while you were clearing the tea."
"On my hands... you say?"
"You wouldn't notice. You need exceptional mana sensitivity to see it clearly. That's why even you, the master of cleaning, overlooked it."
Liz glanced down at her hands. Just as Erzsebet said, her calloused palms looked their usual flesh tone.
'Did I pick it up in that lab?'
There was only one place she could think of. Iluan's laboratory, where she'd gone at dawn to hand over Captain Ajax's body. The moment she'd touched Asel was when she'd held his hand to calm him after his nightmare. Who would have thought she'd make such a blunder?
Erzsebet continued.
"That's when I realized. You must have gotten the star mushroom spores somewhere and then held Asel's hand with those same fingers. I tried to piece it together because it felt off, but I was too drowsy to think straight. Thanks to the sleeping potion you put in my tea."
"...You knew."
"Of course. I loved the tea you brewed me. Honestly, the fact that it had sleeping potion in it wasn't that strange. You've always been slipping small amounts into my drinks, thinking of my sensitive nature and poor sleep. I was even grateful for it. But the tea you brought me at dawn yesterday had an excessive amount. I thought it was still just your consideration... but."
Erzsebet shook her head. In truth, she adored the tea Liz prepared. The reason Asel had been fine was that he'd suspected Erzsebet and hadn't touched the laced tea at all.
"Anyway, I fell asleep soon after drinking it. Up to that point, everything went according to your plan. If that someone hadn't come in at dawn and woken me, that syringe would have gone into my neck right on schedule."
"Who was it?"
"You're an idiot, Liz. Like I'd tell you."
Liz's eyes narrowed.
Erzsebet shuddered as she recalled the events of that dawn.
At the time, she'd truly thought she was fainting. A strange man she'd never exchanged words with had barged into her bedroom without warning. When someone poked her cheek, she opened her eyes to find Ronan's face right in front of her.
-Kyaa... Mmph!
-Shh. Quiet.
Erzsebet tried to scream and resist immediately, but it was futile. Strength aside, the sheer intimidating aura radiating from him was unreal.
Terrified, she had no choice but to stay quiet as Ronan said. Up until then, she was convinced he had come to retaliate for the humiliation she'd inflicted on him that morning.
- Listen carefully, Eri. Liz might try to kill you today. Do exactly as I say if you want to live.
- ...?!
But that wasn't it. Instead of killing or assaulting her, Ronan fed her something. It was a ball of crushed herbs, and the moment it went down her throat, the drowsiness vanished.
With the sleeping potion's effects neutralized, Ronan explained the terrifying secret of the Acalusian family.
"I heard it all. Adeshan unni wasn't killed in an accident—she was murdered, her body wasn't cremated but preserved, and I was turned into some basement-dwelling recluse I'd never even visited. Driven mad by the loss of a loved one, conducting sinister experiments... But do you know what's the most horrific part?"
Erzsebet's voice trembled.
Liz shook her head, thinking there might still be a chance.
"That my father and you—whom I treated like a sister—were behind all these atrocities. What the hell happened? Didn't Father die by Mother's hand?! If he was truly sealed deep underground, why did he suddenly break free and start committing these crimes?!"
Fresh tears burst forth. Erzsebet clutched her chest. In the silent room, only her ragged breathing echoed clearly.
Liz finally spoke after a long silence.
"You're sharp, my lady. As you said, I am the culprit."
"Liz."
"My goal from the start was to destroy the Acalusians. I first discovered the sealed Lord Iluan while cleaning the basement. In that moment, I realized how to bring this family down."
Liz closed her eyes. The memory was still vivid. Iluan, said to have died in a lab accident, was sealed underground, fused with the meteor he'd summoned. Even in his muddled state of consciousness, he mumbled about his beloved family, his proud house, and his unfulfilled ambitions.
"He was a good man. Among the random words he uttered, the ones that came up most were your name and the family head's. I made a deal with that Iluan."
"...A deal?"
"Yes. I wrote up a contract: I'd break the seal and provide a new body if he restored the Acalusian house. When I added that you and the family head were in danger, he agreed immediately. The contract was sealed, and its magic shifted Iluan's priorities from family to reviving the house—just as we intended. After that, things unfolded as you know."
Tricking Iluan in his vegetative state was as easy as taking candy from a baby. Liz muttered dryly.
"If he'd read the contract carefully, none of this would have happened. Emotions are truly useless."
"H-How dare you...! What was your motive?!"
"For the sake of a great star, I suppose. Sorry, but I can't go into details."
Liz shook her head. Erzsebet stood frozen like a statue, shocked. Meeting her trembling violet eyes, Liz smiled faintly.
"And you're as unchanged as ever, my lady."
"...What?"
"You wear your heart on your sleeve too much. No matter how advantageous the situation, you can't let your guard down. I told you that countless times while serving you."
It made no sense. Just as Erzsebet opened her mouth to respond—
Click! A sharp spark, like flint striking steel, rang out from Liz's face.
At nearly the same moment, a tongue engraved with a tiny magic circle emerged from her open mouth.
"Huh? Heh."
"...!!"
Erzsebet's eyes widened. As she frantically began chanting a defensive spell, the magic circle on Liz's tongue glowed, unleashing a powerful shockwave.
Boom! Erzsebet flew back like she'd been rammed by a bull, crashing into the opposite wall.
"Ack!"
"You're right. I'm worthless outside of cleaning magic. Breaking the seal and providing the new body? That was another executive's doing."
Liz strode over and crouched in front of her. The spent magic circle on her tongue had reverted to a simple tattoo.
"Still, I'm not ashamed of myself. It went a bit off-script at the end, but in the end, I took down the Acalusian lady herself. Unlike that idiot Dolan rotting away in Grancia for seven years."
"L-Liz... Cough!"
Erzsebet spat blood. She never imagined Liz had magic tattooed on her tongue. She wanted to cast a spell, but the pain made it impossible. Her neglected training since Adeshan's death was holding her back.
Liz tested the syringe one last time and bid farewell.
"It was fun, Eri."
"St... stop..."
"It won't hurt, so don't worry. Close your eyes for a moment, and you'll see Adeshan."
"Ugh, ughh."
Erzsebet struggled, but to no avail. Liz pressed the syringe to her neck with the indifference of a chef chopping a chicken. The needle touched her skin. The chill of metal made her hairs stand on end.
"N-No...!"
The golden liquid that would send her to eternal sleep sloshed inside the piston.
The moment the needle's tip pierced Erzsebet's skin—
KABOOM-!!!
A deafening roar, like the sky ripping apart, exploded from beyond the wall.
"Kyaa!"
"What...?!"
It was as good as a command to stop and look.
Erzsebet and Liz whipped their heads around simultaneously. The room's window shattered in an instant. The clear blue sky peeked through, only for a storm of glass shards to sweep inside.
For Liz, who had no cover unlike Erzsebet tucked against the wardrobe on the left, it was disastrous. Hundreds of fragments tore into her side.
"Aaaagh! My... my eye!"
Liz screamed shrilly. The syringe clattered to the floor. Blood poured from her left eye, struck without resistance. Erzsebet seized the chance. She kicked the syringe away and pointed at Liz. Mana gathered, forming a small fireball that shot out. But it fizzled harmlessly, singeing only Liz's hair.
Erzsebet's face paled.
"N-No way!"
"Eri, you...!"
Liz's face twisted for the first time. Pinned like a porcupine by glass, enduring agony, she forced her eye open. By then, Erzsebet was limping toward the door.
"Hngh... You think you can escape?!"
Liz looked back at Erzsebet and curled her lip. She hiked up her skirt to her ankles. Lace-trimmed underwear, smooth white thighs, and a magic circle etched above them were revealed.
"Hah."
"Hah... ha...! Think I skipped leg day for nothing?"
Liz chuckled. It wasn't just her tongue. The circle glowed red, flames coalescing into a fireball ten times larger than Erzsebet's. Potent enough to incinerate her instantly.
"Bye, Eri!"
No resistance this time. The fireball launched with Liz's shout. Time slowed for Erzsebet facing death. Everything felt infuriating and unjust.
"Ah..."
Dying at the hands of her loved one's killer, failing as future head to uncover Acalusia's darkness, unable to resist properly—and the cause being her lapse into indolence and neglected training. Even amid it all, some pathetic brain cells noting how alluring Liz's tattooed thigh looked.
'A pathetic death. I brought it on myself.'
No tears came. The fireball, now mere four steps away, closed in slowly. Heat washed over her. Her hair singed from the tips. She strained desperately to escape, but in this slowed world, her body obeyed the same law.
The fireball was now three steps away.
The exact moment Erzsebet resigned to her fate—
A dark shadow burst through the broken window and landed in front of her.
"...?!"
She thought it was a dream at first. In this world where everything lagged, the shadow moved like lightning. The delayed thud of landing echoed. A coat like a devil's wings fluttered.
The shadow glanced at Erzsebet and muttered.
"Holy shit, good thing I came just in case. That was close."
"...!!!"
A familiar face. She wanted to cry out Ronan's name, but her voice was still climbing her throat. Ronan gripped his sword hilt without hesitation.
Slash!
The fireball split in two, revealing Liz. She still held her skirt hiked up. Lace underwear, pale thighs, and the now-cooled magic circle remained exposed.
"You...!"
Liz finally spotted Ronan and gasped. Her hand released the skirt hem. But Ronan was already done. Another slash, and her arms shot toward the ceiling as she tried to counter.
Thud! Ronan kicked Liz in the gut.
Her body flew back, slamming into the same spot where Erzsebet had crashed earlier.
"Kahak!"
Liz vomited blood. Her severed arms hit the floor. Blood fountained from the stumps, soaking the bed. Agony hit late, drawing a piercing scream from her.
Ronan looked down at her like a bug and said to Erzsebet.
"You did well. It's over now."
"...Huh?"
"Wooooaaahhh!!"
Sudden cheers erupted from outside the window.
Startled, Erzsebet looked. Under the clear blue sky, Acalusia's garden gleamed. Hundreds of rock fragments floated lazily above the territory, heat haze rising from them. Each had a razor-sharp cut surface, as if sliced by a blade.
Before she could ask what happened, Ronan draped his coat over her and grinned.
"Let's head out first. Gotta say our goodbyes."