Chapter 156: Sylvia Mervis Winterbane (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156: Sylvia Mervis Winterbane (2)
“Sylvia...?”
Iris stared blankly at the elf.
Her expression was a mixture of delight and surprise.
“Your Majesty!”
The elf, on the other hand, was 100% pure delight.
It was as if a haughty cat that would raise its claws at the slightest approach had instantly turned into a giant retriever.
If she had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.
The elf, who had been running over with a smile so bright it made me doubt she was the same woman who'd been trying to kill me just moments ago, suddenly froze. Then, her face contorted, she glared at me.
“You bastard! Take your filthy hands off her this instant! Do you have any idea who she is?!”
A killing intent so potent it could have given an ordinary person a fatal heart attack washed over me.
But strangely, I felt nothing. Maybe it was because Iris was right next to me.
“...My wife?”
We hadn't had a formal wedding, but I'd called her my wife when we entered the city, so it wasn't entirely a lie.
Besides, I didn't know when, but I was sure the day would come when Iris and I would get married.
“My wife... Hyun-woo, you're too much...”
Blushing, Iris covered her face with her hands. Her face was so small that her hands covered it with room to spare.
Taking advantage of the moment her attention was diverted from my wound, I quickly used my magic to stop the bleeding as much as possible.
It hurt quite a bit to forcibly constrict the blood vessels, but it was the best I could do for now.
“W-Wife...?”
The elf, who had been staring blankly at Iris pressed against my chest with her face in her hands, widened her eyes in disbelief.
Her face instantly hardened, and the fingers gripping the hilt of her sword trembled slightly.
Her elegant smile shattered, and her face twisted in a grimace. Biting her lip, the elf finally lowered her head.
“...So that's how it is.”
But contrary to her posture, a distinct Aura materialized over her silver rapier. Along with the Aura emitting a pure white light, the elf's entire demeanor changed as she looked at me.
Her killing intent no longer leaked out.
It was as if she had converted her refined killing intent into magic power, making the Aura much larger and clearer than before.
With my current barrier, I wouldn't even be able to block a single strike.
“Sylvia...?”
“Yes, it is I, Your Majesty's loyal knight, Sylvia.”
A faint smile appeared on the elf's lips.
“Please rest assured now. I will rescue you from that villain's mind control as swiftly as possible.”
“...What?”
“...What?”
The moment she finished speaking, the elf charged at me. Perhaps because she was conscious of Iris, her speed was slower than before.
However, the weight of her strike would be no less than that of the greatsword user I fought earlier.
Just as I was about to pull Iris into an embrace and dodge the attack.
“Stop!”
Iris suddenly broke free from my arms, ran forward, and spread her arms to block the attacking elf.
Screeeech!! The startled elf, clearly not expecting this turn of events, forced herself to a halt, looking as if she might dig her feet into the floor.
“Sylvia! Stop this at once!”
“Your Majesty!”
Gritting her teeth, the elf, who had been facing off with Iris in bewilderment, suddenly shot me a murderous glare.
“You lawless fiend! How dare you use Her Majesty as a shield to escape this situation!”
I said nothing. It seemed she and Iris knew each other, so there was no need for me to step in.
“Your Majesty, please step aside! I don't know what that man has done to you, but you are not in your right mind! He is in league with the villains who kidnapped the elves to sell them at auction...”
“Sylvia Mervis Winterbane!!”
“?!!”
Iris's resolute voice echoed through the hall.
Her queenly charisma spread out, dominating the surroundings, and for a moment, I was at a loss for words.
“This is your final warning. He is my husband and the future Royal Consort of Peledeia. To insult him is to insult me. I will not tolerate any further words or actions that tarnish his honor.”
Faced with Iris's unwavering composure, the elf's expression turned hollow.
Thud. The elf's lips parted several times as if to speak, but in the end, unable to find the words, she dropped the sword she had been gripping so tightly.
“Sylvia, do I truly look like I am under mind control to you?”
Watching the situation from a step away, I looked at Iris.
There wasn't the slightest hint of anything unnatural in her clear, transparent eyes.
The elf must have felt the same, as she quietly lowered her head.
“...Please forgive my rudeness.”
“You are mistaken.”
Iris pointed at me.
“Sylvia, I am not the one you should be asking for forgiveness.”
“...”
My eyes met the elf's.
With an expression that seemed to hold a thousand different emotions, the elf quietly sheathed her sword and walked slowly toward me.
I wondered if this was what a 'I'd rather die than do this' expression looked like.
I could see humiliation and disgust in the elf's face as she looked at me.
“...Please forgive my rudeness in not only causing harm with my hasty judgment but also tarnishing your honor with various insults.”
Grit. With the faint sound of grinding teeth, the elf placed a fist over her heart and bowed her head slightly.
‘Is this some kind of etiquette in this world?’
I glanced over at Iris.
Iris just gave a slight nod without saying anything else. She probably meant for me to handle it as I saw fit.
“...Forgive your rudeness?”
My shoulder was definitely throbbing, but I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from trying to curl up.
“Just like that?”
“...What must I do?”
Grind. At this point, I was getting worried about her dental health, but I wasn't sweet enough to care about the woman who'd put a hole in my shoulder.
“Well... I'll think about it and let you know later.”
“...Thank you for your generous consideration.”
I had plenty of ideas, but this wasn't the right place to drag things out.
We needed to leave before reinforcements arrived. It would be a pain in the ass if my face got recognized.
“Oh, right. Can you hold my sword for me?”
Thump. I tossed the sheathed Gilenium to the elf.
“As you can see, my shoulder is a little messed up.”
“...”
I patted my shoulder, and the elf silently took the sword with both hands.
But I could see her shoulders trembling slightly. It seemed she was suppressing her anger with superhuman patience.
“Hyun-woo, your wound...”
“This much is fine.”
It was a hole, but it wasn't that big, and there wasn't much bleeding. Besides, if I circulated both magic power and internal energy, the wound would heal quickly.
If I drank some Holy Water on top of that, it'll close up in no time.
“More importantly, you look very pale. Are you okay?”
“...I'm fine with this much, too.”
“You're a bad liar.”
I took some Holy Water out of my inventory.
“Here, drink up. I'll have some too.”
“...Yes.”
We drank the Holy Water together and took a moment to recover. As usual, Iris clung to my side, voicing her various complaints.
Like how I left her alone at the inn, or how I pushed myself so hard I got injured like this.
I spent the time placating the pouting Iris by stroking her hair or pulling her into a hug.
It was a normal part of our daily life, but someone nearby clearly disapproved, as I could feel a faint killing intent.
The elf, sitting on one side of the stage, was trembling all over while glaring at me murderously.
I curled one side of my lip up at her.
‘What are you gonna do about it?’
Seeing my mouthed words, the elf gripped the hilt of her sword but ultimately couldn't draw it.
Seeing that, I deliberately pressed even closer to Iris. My hand stroking her abdomen made her face flush, but she didn't seem to mind, subtly leaning her body against me.
The killing intent grew even more intense.
“By the way, how did you know to come here?”
“I followed your magic power, Hyun-woo. But I couldn't find the stairs leading down to the basement...”
“So you went through the ceiling?”
“...Yes.”
It was a drastic method, but if it hadn't been for Iris, either the elf or I would have been seriously injured.
“You did well. If you'd been any later, things could have gotten much worse. But didn't you say you couldn't manifest spirits in your current state?”
A spirit needs to be manifested to exert physical force in the real world.
But because her power is restricted by the sealing device, Iris is unable to manifest spirits.
“It's because Jin paid the price for me.”
“The spirit? Is that possible?”
“Yes, though I'll have to pay it back several times over later. Um... so, with that in mind, would it be okay if we went to find something the spirit would like soon?”
“Find something? You mean like gathering?”
“Yes, different spirits like different things.”
“That's fine.”
After about three minutes of light chatter, we headed for the underground prison.
Recovering from our wounds and fatigue could wait.
Right now, escaping with the elves was the top priority.
“...The elves.”
Iris radiated a quiet fury as she looked at the elves locked in the prison.
Her magic was mostly restricted by the sealing device right now, but if she were at full power, her emotional turmoil alone could have changed the surrounding terrain.
Of course, that was just my personal opinion, but it was a thought I could have only after witnessing the magic of a 7th Circle Tower Lord.
Once everything is over and Iris is restored to her throne, this city will have to face the queen's wrath.
We hurried out of the basement with the drugged elves.
Thanks to the sudden attack and the hole Iris had punched through the middle of the building down to the second basement floor, the inside of the auction house was in an uproar with terrified guests and staff.
Of course, since the guards were all incapacitated, there was no one to block our path.
Bang. We threw open the auction house doors and stepped outside, only to be greeted by the city guard.
‘Good thing I covered my face with a mask.’
Iris had also changed her face with magic.
But the elf named Sylvia made no effort to hide herself.
Then again, with such distinctive hair color, hiding her face wouldn't do much to keep her from being recognized.
“Everyone! Drop your weapons and surrender!”
A man who looked like the captain of the guard shouted, but we paid him no mind.
There were quite a few of them, but they were just ordinary people.
Would a great magical beast even blink if a few small puppies barked at it?
“Your Majesty, I will handle this. Please, your royal person...”
“Wait.”
I stepped in front of Sylvia as she was about to draw her sword.
“...What is it.”
“I'll take care of things here. You take responsibility for getting Iris and the other elves out of the city.”
If I left it to this human-hating elf, she'd slaughter them all, nine times out of ten.
And I'd made a promise that kept me from just standing by and watching that happen.
“Oh, and use the north gate when you leave. Even if you run into the guards, they'll let you pass without much trouble.”
I whispered quietly so the city guard couldn't hear. She must not have liked that, because Sylvia glared at me as if I were an insect.
“Didn't you hear me say surrender!!”
“...Your Majesty, I will escort you.”
Sylvia let out a quiet sigh and led Iris away. A cordon formed by ordinary city guards was no match for her.
The flustered captain ordered his men to pursue them, but I wasn't about to let that happen.
As long as I don't kill them, it's fine.
Countless magic circles formed in the air beneath the stars.
“Magic Bolt.”
Over a hundred Magic Bolts rained down on the city guards.
The next day, rumors of a meteor shower the previous night spread among the citizens of Wavel.
There were also sightings of a suspicious group leaving through the north gate, but that story was overshadowed by the talk of meteors and was soon forgotten.
*
“Hah, I'm exhausted...”
Laura, a maid at the Wavel Slave Auction House and a slave to the lord, was busy cleaning up the chaotic mess.
The previous night, an attack by a guest in a lion mask and a white-haired elf had turned the auction house from a mess into a complete wreck.
Thanks to that, not only would the auction house be out of commission for a while, but the lord would also have to cover the damages out of his own pocket.
Fortunately, she wasn't punished for having been the guide for the lion-masked guest, one of the attackers.
Even skilled warriors who had reached the level of Aura Expert had been defeated helplessly.
Everyone knew it was only natural that an ordinary slave like her couldn't have done anything.
“Laura!”
Just as she was about to finish cleaning her assigned area, a fellow maid came to find her.
“What is it?”
“A guest has come to buy you!”
“...What?”
Only then did she understand why her fellow maid had come to her in such a state of excitement.
All the maids at the auction house were the lord's slaves, but they hadn't been branded with a slave mark yet.
Only when a guest came to buy one of them would they be branded and become a formal slave.
In truth, it wasn't something to celebrate. Everyone knew that life after becoming a slave was far from hopeful.
But there were some maids who were obsessed with trashy novels about love between a slave and a master.
The maid who had come to find her was one of them.
“...Do you know who it is?”
“Hmm, I think he said he was a slave trader.”
“Ah...”
Laura quietly folded away the hope that had blossomed in a corner of her heart.
She pretended to be unfazed, but the lion-masked guest's words from last night had troubled her so much that she'd had a sleepless night.
-Don't you want to see your sister?
-Is that your answer as a slave? Or as the person named Laura?
-I lost my parents in a war when I was five. I had no siblings, not even relatives, and had to grow up in an orphanage until I became an adult.
-But you? You may not know if they're alive or dead, but you didn't have to see your parents' cold, lifeless bodies with your own eyes like I did, did you?
Of course she wanted to see her sister.
She missed her parents terribly, too.
But she was a slave, and such things were not permitted.
‘...If only I could know if they're alive or dead.’
If that were possible, she would have no other regrets, but it was an impossible dream.
Finding someone required a lot of money and time. Even more so for someone sold into slavery during a war.
But in the lion-masked guest, she had seen a glimmer of hope. A hope so beautiful and dazzling that she didn't dare even think of reaching for it.
And yet, if she could just grasp that hope, could her life change, even a little?
She had found herself thinking such thoughts before she knew it.
‘...Something like that only happens in novels.’
A staunch realist, Laura quickly dismissed the thought and followed her fellow maid to the reception room.
A man she presumed would be her new master was sitting there.
He was a scrawny man with the typical look of a slave trader. In that moment, the last flicker of hope remaining in her heart died out.
She hadn't seen his face, but the lion-masked guest had a sturdy build and sharp eyes that would stand out anywhere.
“Are you Laura?”
“...It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Laura.”
She finished her greeting according to the etiquette she had learned and took a seat.
The man spoke with the manager for a bit, then handed over a pouch that presumably contained cash and signed a contract.
‘...Are those silver coins? It looks like too much.’
After checking the pouch, the manager shook the man's hand with a satisfied expression and left the reception room.
“Hah...”
The man let out a heavy, inscrutable sigh and headed outside.
Following him down the hallway, she exchanged brief glances with her fellow maids.
She would probably never see them again for the rest of her life.
They were colleagues she had lived and worked with for ten years, so her eyes welled up with tears. But she fought them back, worried the man might find it unpleasant.
Once inside the carriage, Laura stared blankly at the auction house as it grew smaller in the distance.
She never thought the day she would leave that place would come so suddenly.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Master.”
Hearing his voice, she straightened her posture.
From the moment she first saw him at the auction house until now, the man's face had worn a constant look of displeasure.
“Are you from Aisha Village in the Palak Barony of the Lafria Kingdom?”
“...What?”
Words that should never have come from a stranger's mouth had just been spoken.
“Your family consists of a father, a mother, and a younger sister.”
“W-Why all of a sudden are you...”
“Tsk.”
The man clicked his tongue lightly and suddenly rolled up his sleeve.
“Do you see this?”
“...A tattoo?”
There was a skull-shaped mark on his forearm.
“The reason I bought you wasn't to make you my slave. It was to find your family, at someone's request. Hah, as if I'm some kind of information broker.”
The man explained that the skull-shaped mark on his forearm was a type of curse.
A curse that would stop his heart the moment it was determined he wasn't fulfilling his promise.
“Got tangled up with a crazy mage, what rotten luck... Ah, my life...”
The man clutched his head, complaining of a headache, but that wasn't important at all.
“Who on earth would make such a request...?”
No, it can't be.
This world is full of all sorts of injustice.
Even if you pray to the gods, they only listen to the prayers of those who offer more money.
That was the truth of this world she had come to realize over the past ten years.
But, could it be?
“...He asked me to tell you that the black tea was delicious.”
Thump!
Hearing those words, Laura shot up from her seat and leaned out the window.
The street, bustling with people since morning, held no sign of the person she was looking for.
But she didn't doubt for a second that he was out there somewhere.
Laura stared silently out the window until the very moment the carriage left the city.
“...Thank you.”
The sky was exceptionally beautiful that day.