Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Lena Rubel's Abyss
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Rin, who had swallowed Lena's blood, cut his own hand as well. Then he made her drink his blood. Rin confirmed his blood flowing between Lena's lips and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was in an unfamiliar darkness.
‘Did I get in properly?’
Rin looked around with a novel sensation. At first, he thought it was just darkness, but as his eyes adjusted, the surroundings came into slightly different view. This was indoors—a pitch-black room like nighttime.
‘Is the inside of a person's consciousness like this?’
Truth be told, this was Rin's first time too. Invading someone else's consciousness using the Eastern Duke's Authority. So it felt daunting in many ways, but he had no time to hesitate now.
“Lena!”
Rin called out first.
“Lena! Are you here?”
He didn't know what might pop out, but he had to wake her up as soon as possible.
“Lena!”
He was raising his voice to call her again when something dripped down from above. Rin sensed the presence and reflexively dodged, but it pursued him deliberately, swinging a thin blade at him.
‘A sword?’
It was a person wielding a sword. The thing that appeared from the darkness swung at him right away, pressing Rin hard. Rin barely dodged and reached for his waist. He had no sword, but he could make one. Thinking that, Rin swung his arm. A sword appeared in his hand. Clang! Rin struck away the assailant charging at him. But the assailant didn't get repelled and came at him fiercely again. Clang! Clang! Clang! Their swords clashed several times without a moment to breathe.
‘Strong.’
Rin tensed up facing an opponent who wasn't pushing him back easily. The foe leaped forward swiftly once more. Clang! He barely blocked, but the impact shook his bones. As Rin tried to counterstrike.
“Rin?”
The assailant muttered in a suspicious voice. Rin opened his eyes wide in surprise, and it asked again.
“The real Rin?”
“You...”
As Rin stared blankly, the assailant pulled off the mask covering their face. At the same time, the room, dark as night, brightened like dawn. Rin's eyes widened further at the revealed face.
“Lena?”
The assailant had Lena's face. But it wasn't Lena. Or at least, not the current Lena. This Lena was shorter than the real one, with shorter hair. And her eyes were fiercely sharp. The suspicious Lena muttered while looking at Rin.
“I thought you were a snake because your eyes were red.”
Hearing that, Rin realized his own eyes were dyed red. His eyes had turned rabbit-red from manifesting the Authority, and he looked at Lena in confusion. This Lena-like figure was different not just in appearance but in speech and behavior too. The young Lena suddenly reached out and grabbed Rin's chin. She turned his face this way and that, then said.
“It really is you. What happened? Why are you here? The East's Authority?”
“I came to wake you.”
Rin answered dazedly, then asked back.
“Are you Lena?”
“No. Well, yes, but... how should I put it? If someone asked your right hand, ‘Are you Rin?’, what would it say?”
“I'm...”
“Tricky, right? That's what this is.”
The tempestuous Lena said that and tossed the sword she was still holding into the air. The sword didn't fall to the floor but vanished just like that.
“I'm Lena Rubel too, but I'm not the one you came to fetch. The main consciousness is separate. If I had to name it, I'm something like Lena Rubel's self-preservation instinct.”
Rin finally understood from the instinct Lena's explanation. He'd thought she was too fierce for Lena, but if she was the part handling self-preservation, she might look like this. Fortunately, the teenage Lena didn't attack Rin further. But she didn't fully lower her guard either.
“You came to wake me up, so that means you're here to help?”
“Yeah.”
“Good call making that alliance.”
At Rin's affirmation, the short-haired Lena replied coolly. Rin feigned surprise but remembered this wasn't Lena's main consciousness and nodded silently.
“Where's the real Lena?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“Hiems Grasha blasted me off somewhere.”
The fierce-eyed Lena said that and turned around. Rin followed her gaze. With the window brightening outside, the room's shape was clearer than before. It was a room fit for a noble young lady. Carpeted, with a wardrobe, a comfy chair under pretty curtains, that sort. And behind it, two doors. The blunt Lena had been looking at that door.
“That door...”
“One side leads to Lena Rubel's memories, the other to her heart. I'm somewhere in there.”
Rin moved right away at the words that Lena was in there. But he was stopped by the black-clad Lena before taking a step.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“I have to find Lena.”
“No. You can't go in there.”
Lena's guardian Lena refused him firmly. Rin halted and asked.
“Why not?”
“Because it's directly tied to the dignity of the person called Lena Rubel. Even friends or lovers would have a hard time getting permission for that territory, let alone a mere ally.”
Rin was taken aback by the indifferent Lena's rejection. More than not being allowed in, the words "mere ally" stung deep. He'd thought he was at least a friend if not a lover, but he'd been line-drawn at the instinct level. It hit hard, but Rin pretended otherwise and asked.
“Then is there another way?”
“Call her from outside. But for that to work, Lena Rubel has to be near the door.”
“What if she's far?”
“Wait till she comes close. Keep calling.”
The prickly Lena glanced up at Rin and added shamelessly.
“Sorry for being picky when you're the one helping, but no choice. Better she stays out for days than let someone in there.”
“...Days?”
“Lena Rubel's consciousness probably isn't stuck in one spot. Time flows faster here than outside, so a few days' wait and you'll meet the main one.”
“No can do.”
“I'll pay back the debt several times over.”
“No, it's not that. We don't have time. If she doesn't wake by tomorrow evening, the Emperor will kill you.”
“What?”
The clone Lena's eyes suddenly widened. Lena's self-preservation instinct reacted gravely to that, and Rin pressed further while he was at it.
“The Emperor's furious about Do-um Palace collapsing. He pinned the blame on the South, and I barely bought time, but if she doesn't wake by tomorrow, it's over.”
“Really?”
“Really. We can't afford to wait like that.”
“Eek...”
The girl Lena scowled at Rin's persuasion. Seeing that, Rin inwardly understood why she wouldn't let him in. The Lena he knew and the one before him now were worlds apart. The usual Lena Rubel he knew was kind, polite, refined, yet bold when needed—an ideal person. In contrast, this little Lena was hot-tempered, rough-spoken, and calculating. She said it was self-preservation instinct, so those traits were amplified, but even accounting for that, it was surprising Lena had such a side. She probably didn't want to show this raw face to others. He got that, and part of him thought he might end up hated, but Rin didn't back down.
“Let me in.”
“But you're...”
“Your fiancé.”
“What?”
At Rin's words, the scowling Lena's eyes rounded. Her fierce eyes looked just like the usual Lena's when wide like that.
“Not just an ally—your fiancé.”
It was temporary, but Rin slyly asserted it, feeling indignant at being pushed away. At the unexpected claim, Lena stared at him with surprised eyes. Then she scowled and flushed red. As Lena's cool face turned red, Rin was surprised too.
Blushing—that used to happen only to him. As Rin stared in wonder, the flushed Lena gritted her teeth and snapped.
“That side of you, I've hated it since before.”
“...Why didn't you say so earlier.”
“Shut up.”
Lena snapped irritably for no reason. But it didn't seem like real dislike.
“Fine. If it's that situation, I'll let you through.”
Lena exhaled sharply to cool her face, then spoke in her chilled tone again.
“Lena Rubel is probably in some past memory or emotion. Find another Lena Rubel existing in there like me.”
Rin nodded and moved to go, but Lena grabbed him urgently.
“Wait!”
Rin stopped and turned. Lena hesitated looking at him, then muttered in a small voice.
“And one more thing you should know.”
Rin questioned with his eyes. Lena hesitated unlike herself, then finally confessed softly.
“When you open your eyes, I might end up hating you.”
What's inside that door is Lena Rubel's true heart. It includes secrets, wounds, feelings deeply hidden from others. How she'd react if all that was exposed—even she didn't know. Rin paused briefly at Lena's warning. But only briefly. He gazed at the young-faced Lena, then answered flatly.
“No helping it.”
With that, Rin resumed his steps. Leaving behind the anxiously watching Lena, he opened one of the two doors.
. . .
The moment he opened the door, Rin was invited to yet another new space. It was a study filled with books. But a bizarre study where books floated in the air. Rin looked at the messily drifting books, then reached for one nearby. A foreign scene flashed before his eyes. It was a view from horseback. But a little kid sat in front of the saddle. Uni? No, blonde hair.
―What kind of woman has that much strength...
The small back of the head in front of the saddle chattered arrogantly. Lena laughed and replied.
―What do you think of a boy who cries because strong women are weird?
―Ugh...
The kid ground his teeth bitterly and turned back. Rin was startled at the revealed face.
“Rubid Plenus?”
The kid in front was none other than Rubid. But he was very young. Rin examined it and noticed the clothes the kid wore were unnaturally large.
‘No way, is this from yesterday?’
When they went to deal with the King of Burning and Scorching, Lena and Rubid were together. He'd heard they'd struggled, but not that this had happened. Rin looked at the shrunken Rubid with a slightly creepy feeling. Rubid kept whining rebelliously at Lena, who was taking care of him. But Lena accepted it with a smile. Watching that, irritation welled up for no reason, and Rin snapped the book shut. His view returned to the cluttered study.
‘Lena's memories.’
Having touched the book, Rin finally understood what this place was. The watchman Lena outside had said the two doors led to Lena Rubel's memories and heart respectively. This seemed to be the memories side. Rin reached for another book experimentally.
―Rin...!
His own name burst out, startling Rin.
―Rin, mmph!
Lena's cry was muffled midway, replaced by red eyes filling his view. Seeing that, Rin yanked his hand back in shock.
‘This is that time.’
That time, when he unwittingly pinned Lena down in the King with Many Hearts' trap. His heart pounded. Suddenly facing the incident he regretted to death, Rin fell into shock. At the same time, he felt a frightening temptation. Rin didn't remember that moment. So he wanted to see. Just what he'd done.
‘No.’
But instead of reaching for that book again, Rin shook his head and stepped back. When he came to, Lena had been wearing his shirt. Meaning her clothes had come undone midway—rewatching that would be too rude. Thinking that, Rin suppressed his curiosity and turned away. He reached for another floating book. Each time, scenes of Lena's experiences in the palace or tombs appeared.
‘The ones floating in the air are recent memories.’
After touching a few, he grasped the structure a bit. The freshly floating ones were recent memories; those scattered on the floor were everyday ones not too memorable. If Lena's consciousness was lingering somewhere, it probably wasn't here. So Rin turned to the bookshelves. Looking closely, the shelves varied too. Some neatly organized, some haphazardly stacked, some locked. And on the table, an open book with a pretty bookmark. The one on the table seemed specially cherished by Lena. So Rin reached for it. Then a very young child's voice sounded. A cry calling "Big Sis."