42. Punishment
42. Punishment
"Speak if you don't want to die."
In the basement of the mansion.
In front of a secret palace where only the chosen could set foot, a sharp voice echoed out.
Hatred, contempt, disgust. In front of the girl mixed with all sorts of negative emotions stood a woman covered in blood as if she had suffered a fatal wound, gasping for breath.
"......You are a being I simply cannot understand."
Doubt settled in the woman's eyes. It wasn't simply because of her excessive martial prowess. She had heard many stories. The greatest genius in the empire to appear once in a millennium, the Miracle of Elysia... Her name was one that never failed to appear in high society. There was no way she, who had no choice but to be well-versed in such matters, didn't know.
They would tilt glasses of wine across snowy-white tables, making a fuss about how she was a miracle that would shine even brighter upon this glorious empire, and asking if she wasn't a genius who would take a seat in the Magic Tower in ten years and drive the progress of wizards which had stagnated after Hameln's death, sucking up to a girl who was barely twenty years old now, but she only matched their mood and didn't really care.
Rumors were bound to be exaggerated. Especially rumors originating from the academy. Whether it was to exaggerate their own achievements or for whatever reason, the geniuses they spoke of were usually just empty husks with a flashy exterior, or prodigies who were merely precocious.
When she went to the academy in person to see the boy called the reincarnation of Zarul in mythology, she had wanted to tear the owner of that rumor limb from limb. Because she thought, What kind of bastard dares to bring up the empire's myth over such trash?
Well, that was a story from over half a century ago. The idiots of high society and cowards pretending to be instructors who had never experienced a single war hadn't lived through the era of chaos, so they thought the legends passed down by word of mouth were exaggerated. That must be why they threw tantrums day in and day out, blabbering about someone being the reincarnation or second coming of a myth, chewing on it like it was a side dish for drinks.
Because of that, she hadn't felt any particular danger from the girl called the Miracle of Elysia either. There had been a brief commotion over rumors that she had been summoned by His Majesty the Emperor, but if she truly had ability, she wouldn't have made it out of the imperial palace alive.
So she let her guard down. When a girl bearing the name Yuriel came to this place and demanded "that," she had wondered how on earth this girl had found out about this fact, but that was just curiosity about the people behind her, not anything about her herself.
That was the woman's mistake. Engulfed by the countless experiences she had lived through up until then, she had overlooked the possibility that the girl was a true talent who far transcended her field of vision.
In the first place, the right to let one's guard down should have belonged to Yuriel alone.
"Stop talking bullshit and tell me the location quickly. Don't make things annoying."
"......Who are you?"
At the irrelevant answer, Yuriel's brows narrowed. The fact that, as a result of viewing with the Eyes of Truth, it was a question born from pure curiosity was even more absurd. It was hard to look at a woman covered in blood and bristling with weapons like a decisive battle weapon, blinking her eyes blankly.
"......If you don't talk while I count to three, I'll kill you. One, two — "
"Answer me. Are you truly a normal human? No, the question was wrong. By any chance, are you time...?"
She had a lot of questions. Her talent wasn't that of someone running on the same timeline as them. No matter how talented a human was, it wasn't an achievement that could be attained within a span of twenty years. By any chance, if she had ridden another timeline and forced her body into this place, it could be a historical moment to witness the realization of her family's long-cherished wish that had been desired for hundreds of years. If so, she could hand over whatever she demanded without a shred of regret. I-If that were truly the truth —— !
"Three. What are you babbling about."
Of course, Yuriel's achievement was simply that her talent was overwhelmingly extraordinary. That was all there was to it, though. Yuriel severed the threads of consciousness of the woman, who was gradually making an ecstatic expression for some reason.
And wove them back together.
"Uhee-eubi-at-chichi-geuk —."
Along with an unidentified sound resembling rewinding a tape, the dilated pupils contracted once more.
And the consciousness connected like thread repeatedly ticked and flickered according to her signal.
Moon-reading. An ultra-high-level mental magic that granted qualification only to those with the ability to completely replicate a target's consciousness down to its bedrock.
One could peer into another person's life from start to finish, and the moment it was cast, the target's consciousness became subjugated to the caster.
To Yuriel, who felt a strange aversion to manipulating other people's minds and knew that both the user and the victim felt quite unpleasant, it was a magic she didn't want to use if she could help it, but because of the woman in front of her who kept talking on and on until the end, she ended up using the forbidden magic.
Perhaps this woman would live out the rest of her life without ever knowing the fact that Yuriel had visited this place. Unaware that the steering wheel of her own life had already passed over to Yuriel.
"...I should just extract the rough information and leave quickly."
Lately, Seolhwa's condition has been strange.
Lately, her tension felt noticeably lower, and she hadn't even told her to the very end that she was scheduled to undergo a forced marriage.
There shouldn't have been any reason to feel disappointed that she didn't tell her that fact just because they had become close over a mere few weeks, yet she needlessly blamed herself. Wondering what on earth she was lacking.
...Could it be that she didn't want to cause me worry?
......Then what does that make me, who would hear the news that my friend was sold off as a plaything to an old man without even knowing the reason why?
Yuriel bit her lip without realizing it.
Prepare yourself. If you had told me, it would have been free, but since it's come to this, I'm going to demand a proper price.
I'll make you spin around an amusement park for several laps. This is a punishment for not trusting and relying on me entirely, so take it sweetly.
Feeling friendship toward Hong Seolhwa settled in a corner of her heart, Yuriel let out a smirk and quietly muttered to herself.
"What is that bastard Siwoo up to right now? Isn't he dying of boredom because he sneaked away without me?"
Well, seeing his characteristic greasy personality, there's no way that would happen even if he died and came back to life.
"Yuriel, you made a friend behind my back, didn't you?"
Even to myself, I could feel that my voice had sunk in a sticky manner. The hatred filled to the brim in my eyes rode along the corners of my eyes and spread into the empty air. Yuriel beside me, as if still tired whether my insides were bursting or not, breathed softly with her eyes closed.
"I really couldn't have imagined it, that you would end up making a friend I don't even know about."
"......."
"And what's more, in a place I don't know. Behind my back?"
It was an impulse without much thought. Entering Yuriel's room as usual, I found out that she wasn't inside, so I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her.
Lately, I had resented Yuriel just a tiny bit for wandering around alone without me, but believing there wouldn't be anything special going on, I just left her be. Without ever imagining that she would be running around here and there with some other idiot.
Just as I was sinking into memories while looking at a picture of Yuriel and me taken when we were young, a single sentence popped out of the mouth of Yuriel, who opened the door and walked in.
'Ah, I'm exhausted. Making friends with Seolhwa is fucking tough.'
...Seolhwa?
......Who the hell is Seolhwa?
I don't even know who the hell Seolhwa is for words like making friends being so fucking tough to pop out of your mouth in the first place it makes zero sense rationally that you would make a friend behind my back without saying a single word to me just think about it if you found out that the person you like went out of their way to make another friend without telling you anyone would go completely insane just thinking about whether you might have made friends with someone else besides this person or whether the person before that might have been a guy just thinking about it makes those memories rise up and makes me so anxious and anxious and anxious and anxious —— !!
"......I feel like I'm going crazy, Yuriel."
I could let the mere fact of making a friend slide. For a piece of trash to cling to her side is quite a disgusting thing, but if Yuriel enjoys it, well. I could swallow my tears and allow it.
...However, the fact that she didn't tell me about this.
Just in case this isn't the first time. In case the previous friend she made behind my back turns out to be a guy. Out of fear that that trash named Seolhwa might become a more precious existence to her than me.
I regret the past days. Setting her free with the pathetic arrogance that she had already become solely mine. The past where I didn't hold her leash.
Women are dangerous in the first place. The emotion of affection built between people of the same sex belongs exclusively to them. Even though I couldn't wedge myself between that, what on earth was I thinking to feel at ease and leave her like this?
I am afraid of Yuriel.
Making friends behind my back like this, time and time again, until the distant future.
I could abandon everything else without a single moment of hesitation for Yuriel, but I'm terrified that Yuriel might not do the same. Terrified that she might weigh me and those other pieces of trash with a hesitating expression, and end up looking at me with a sad face and saying she's sorry—I'm so terrified I feel like I'm going crazy.
From now on, I won't let that happen.
So that Yuriel, trapped in suspicion, can no longer approach anyone else besides me.
So that Yuriel, with nowhere else to go, can ultimately look only at me and depend on me.
So that Yuriel, who finally comes to realize her twisted romantic feelings, can blush and confess to me.
I will grab hold of the loosened leash once more.
Never again,
To anyone else,
I will not have Yuriel stolen away.
Recalling the terrifying memories of that day, I gently patted Yuriel's cheek.
"Now, wake up, Yuriel. It's time for your punishment."