Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Disaster (2)
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Lian felt heat rising in his body.
Time was running out in every sense.
The thorns embedded in his limbs brought waves of excruciating pain so intense he wanted to just hack the limbs off.
It felt like the thorns were shredding his nerves.
Now was the time to settle this quickly and decisively.
"You look like you're suffering quite a bit. How about backing off now? Then I won't say a word about what happened today."
"Why? Those branches of yours look pretty spindly. Starting to get cold feet?"
"No. I really shouldn't bother talking to the likes of you..."
Lian readjusted his grip on his sword and steadied his breathing.
Neither of them had any room to spare.
The Delico Matron probably hadn't planned to squeeze out her life force this far at the start.
Kyaaaaah—
Meanwhile, the flowers continued shrieking, interfering with Lian's hearing even as he tried to focus.
'Damn it! I can't just hack away at every single one of those flowers...'
Then, his eyes caught the Delico Matron's gaze lingering around him.
The mage had called them spirits.
Those unseen presences were still desperately warning him of danger.
Kwagak! Kagagak!
As thorns burst mercilessly from the ground,
Lian instinctively reached out following the Delico Matron's gaze.
Still invisible and intangible, but he could definitely feel them.
For the first time, he was making contact with the beings that had always lingered by his side.
"Huh. Surprisingly warm."
That simple act alone let Lian feel a deeper communion than before.
For some reason, it felt like he could try something new.
"What are you—!"
The sudden shift in Lian's aura.
The Delico Matron felt an eerie unease and urgently tried to extend her thorn vines.
But Lian moved first.
Kwajik!
As he charged forward, Lian slammed his sword into the ground.
And nothing happened.
He had severed the vines before they could even grow and rise.
"Oh. So this works."
"You... you really are full of tricks."
The Delico Matron's face twisted harshly, wooden bark chips crumbling off.
The eerie screams from the flowers no longer disturbed Lian at all.
Like tuning a radio frequency, his mind could now focus solely on the sounds he wanted.
And it didn't stop there—he gained a new insight.
"Yeah. Let's end this once and for all today! Try blocking this if you can!"
The Delico Matron's remaining leaves fell off in an instant.
Soon, the flowers bathed in moonlight began to emit a strange glow.
Lian ignored it and charged straight through the flowers radiating a ferocious light.
As he did, he rubbed his fingertips together, blew on them, and then gripped the blade, sliding it lengthwise along his hand.
Suddenly, the flowers burst like fireworks, sharp petal blades whirling toward him all at once.
"Ha! Foolish brat!"
She had overconfided in her abilities and made a reckless decision.
The Delico Matron was convinced of her victory.
But shock spread across her rigid face instead of a smile.
Hwaruruk—
Lian's sword, now glowing red-hot, traced a long arc, incinerating the petals.
"What is that?! When did you learn such a petty trick...!"
"Just now."
"Urgh! Impossible!"
The eyes in the knots below trembled.
There was no way left to stop him!
"Hah! If that's how it is...!"
If she couldn't achieve revenge alive, she'd do it dead if she had to.
Kwagagagak—
The Delico Matron wildly extended vines as if to expend her remaining life force in one go.
Her remaining leaves withered and fell in seconds.
At the same time, grotesque flower buds bulged up like boils.
But even that desperate struggle ended there.
"If you're gonna do that, you should have from the start, Matron."
Chclang!
The vial Lian tossed shattered, poison trickling down the base.
It worked beautifully.
The poison seeped in instantly, turning the roots gray and hard like stone from the base up.
"N... no...!"
In a final spasm, the unripe buds at the branch tips forced themselves open.
But they soon withered powerlessly and shriveled shut.
"Ha... this hurts like hell..."
As the tension released, the forgotten agony in his limbs surged back.
The thorns weren't drawing much blood, but the nerve-piercing pain showed no sign of stopping.
He'd probably need the mage's help for this.
Lian turned on unsteady feet.
Pasusus—
Soon, all the plants in the secret garden withered dead, crumbling bit by bit in the night breeze brushing past.
Lian gazed hazily at the ceiling.
So... where was this place again?
He tried to recall, but his memory blanked out after finishing the job and trying to escape the castle with Pablo.
He must have passed out.
"A stranger's ceiling..."
He nearly uttered the clichéd line, then remembered the ceiling's appearance.
It was the inn Pablo had recommended he stay at.
Evidently, Pablo had done his job properly as an escort.
"Eh? Yer awake already?"
"Ah, Pablo."
"Ye completely passed out midway, scared the hell outta me. Well, with those nasty things stuck in yer limbs, can't say I blame ya."
So the pain really wasn't ordinary.
According to Pablo, tiny thorns had sprouted from the main ones, extending like stems and shredding the inside of his flesh.
If they'd pierced his organs instead of limbs, it would've been a real disaster.
"Did the mage handle the treatment?"
"Yup. Said she removed all the thorns clean, so rest easy."
"Yeah, it doesn't hurt much now."
Lian carefully touched the bandages wrapped around his limbs.
The wounds hadn't healed overnight, so the pain wasn't entirely gone, but it was bearable now.
"But that... mage lady."
"She ain't human no matter how ya look at it, right?"
"So you saw it too!"
"Oh yeah, what about the chicken?"
"Ah, she said to hand it over, so I did."
Pablo scratched his head, glancing at Lian cautiously.
It was pocket change to Lian, but still his money and his property.
Defying the mage, though? Pablo didn't have the guts.
"Since we made it back safe, you must've memorized the way anyway?"
"Ah, yup. Once I pass a path, even if it's a maze, I never forget it!"
"Good enough. Call it payment for treatment, then."
Lian propped himself up and looked toward the window.
Long rays of sunlight stretched to the opposite wall.
"It's morning now?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I didn't pass out for a full day, did I?"
"Nah, not that. Honestly thought ye'd wake around noon, so I'm surprised yer up already."
Thankfully, no full day lost.
He still had a lot to do; he couldn't afford to lie in bed.
Lian tried to rise from the bed.
His legs buckled, his body swaying heavily.
"Ack! Lian! Can't get up yet!"
"Gotta move quick. Leon's gonna come raging soon."
He'd worked hard the night before to leave no evidence.
But there were only two suspects on this island who might pull something like that.
And with the timing like this, Leon would naturally suspect Lian first and come grilling him.
"Then back to South Harbor? But the ship's already missed."
"No. That'd make it look like we did it and ran."
"So what's the plan?"
"Pin it on someone else."
Lian straightened his clothes and forced himself upright.
Thankfully, the wounded areas were all covered by clothing; unless they strip-searched him, it'd be hard to notice.
"Pin it... you don't mean betray the mage and sell her out?"
"Nah, come on. Do I look like that kinda guy?"
"Nah, ye don't."
Betrayal.
Even saying it from Pablo's mouth, the word didn't suit Lian at all.
Crash!
Amid household items scattered across the floor, Adjutant Simon stood rigidly with his head bowed.
"So not a single one saw the culprit? Not even a glimpse of a face or shadow?"
"Yes. It was like magic..."
"Magic. Don't you think that's a magically convenient excuse? Even if the target was me or my family's lives, you'd say the same?"
"I'm sorry."
In truth, Simon thought it fortunate that creepy tree was gone.
A person turning into a tree was bizarre enough, but hadn't her specialty been mind-control magic?
Honestly, he'd suspected more than once if Leon was already under that old woman's sway.
But allowing an intruder into the castle wasn't enough—they'd found no traces at all. A grave failure.
He had no choice but to accept the reprimand.
"What about the tower guards? What excuses did they make? I get the patrols missing it, but they faced it directly."
"They... say the only suspicious thing they saw before passing out was a chicken."
"A chicken..."
Chickens were birds, after all.
Definitely creatures affected by that cranky old man's magic.
"My Lord. It has to be the fugitive court mage."
"Don't jump to conclusions. What did they teach you in the security force?"
"...I'm sorry."
Lately, apologies stuck to Simon's tongue.
"What about Lian? Still hanging around North Harbor?"
"Yes. Reports from the soldiers investigating say he's been sighted in the markets and workshops since morning."
"That brazen punk. Obviously pretending to be casual to dodge suspicion."
"You suspect him?"
"Who else?"
Simon clamped his mouth shut, answering only with his eyes.
Who else? Circumstantially, it screamed mage.
The soldiers not spotting the culprit was proof.
She could've ghosted around the castle undetected for ages.
Timing it now? When Leon was distracted with Lian, her guard was down...
"Adjutant Simon. Bring her in immediately."
"On what charge? Even you, my Lord, can't arrest without evidence."
In this kingdom, not even a lord stood above the law.
"No need to arrest as a criminal. Make up any pretext to detain her. We find evidence after."
"Understood. I'll invite her to the evening banquet, then."
"Good. Don't disappoint me this time."
Tail failed.
Guards failed.
Both kingdom troops and private soldiers had let Leon down; now the adjutant had to step up.
"What are you waiting for? Move! On the way, call a servant to clean this mess."
Leon bent to pick up items, gave up, and flopped into a chair.
Simon watched him, then spoke as if steeling himself.
"My Lord. 'The law is the king's word'—wasn't that your mantra as Security Commander? I trust you still hold it dear."
"Yeah."
A perfunctory reply, not even a glance at Simon.
Simon swallowed a sigh.
He hadn't been this reckless back as South Harbor Security Commander.
But now as acting lord, he was the spitting image of his father.
Blood will tell, huh.
'Please don't end up like him...'
If father and son both ended on the scaffold, what greater tragedy for Madella?
The royals would have to question House Monteir's worthiness.