Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Hidden Path
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As the sun set, the lighthouse began to shine.
While I rested on the bench, Darsi stepped away for a moment. When he returned, he had a black robe in hand.
“You could have come with me.”
“…I had some business to attend to separately.”
His vague response to my words made me wonder if he’d just stopped by the restroom.
I had to understand that much. Nodding, I slipped on the robe.
After that, we started walking toward the lighthouse.
The path bordered a bustling street full of people, making it feel almost like a stroll.
Breathing in the fresh air while digesting my meal was killing two birds with one stone.
…Though for an outing, I was dressed pretty darkly, complete with a gun in my bag.
Everything felt so novel.
“A lighthouse connected to a prison…”
“It’s a secret only the locals know. Outsiders have no idea.”
He said it like he wasn’t one of them.
“So you’re not an outsider?”
“I put in the effort.”
I chuckled at Darsi’s cheeky remark. In any case, we had to wrap this up at a reasonable hour and get back by morning.
Otherwise, my disappearance would be plastered across the front page of the newspapers.
As we drew nearer to the lighthouse, the view opened up wide, but the number of people dwindled. It was a spot where sneaking in unnoticed would be tough.
“You can’t go through the lighthouse.”
“There’s another way?”
“Escape routes exist everywhere. Clinging to just one is foolish.”
I frowned slightly at his last words. I could sense they weren’t just about our current situation.
‘Is he projecting his own life, where he only thought about running?’
Darsi was all too accustomed to casually putting himself down like this.
‘And here I was, in a similar spot, needing help.’
Wasn’t I just the same, holed up at home, unable to do a thing? The situations weren’t perfectly comparable, but still.
“Darsi.”
I stepped in front of him, grasping his hand tightly as I called his name. It felt good rolling off my tongue.
“Don’t think like that.”
It was my attempt to muster all my courage. I tilted my head up to meet his eyes.
Beneath the dim night sky that had settled in, his shimmering silver hair looked like a galaxy.
A short distance from the lighthouse lay a small forest. Darsi led us inside and deftly found the cliff connected to it.
Attached to the cliff was a ladder sturdy enough to hold a person. The narrow path hugged the sea, dizzying even to look at.
“…”
I’d thought after a year of all sorts of ordeals, I’d grown numb to it all—but no, scratch that. Seeing the churning waves made my chest tighten.
“Should I go alone?”
Darsi smiled. Looking at him, I steeled myself.
‘I want us both to be happy.’
To be honest, how much my presence could help him overcome his trauma was anyone’s guess.
But isn’t the unknown full of possibilities? Whether small or immense, who knew.
I gripped the ladder. Staring at Darsi, I declared resolutely.
“You’ll hold me, so it’s fine.”
Because Darsi had been the one to see the real me, when no one else believed in me, swayed by rumors.
I could handle this much.
The playfulness faded from Darsi’s eyes, turning serious. His silver hair fluttered like blossoms in a gentle breeze.
His gaze, folding more delicately than the crescent moon in the sky, turned to me.
“Of course.”
That was enough.
The cliffside path led into a cave. And that cave passage headed straight to the underground prison.
Where the cave met the prison corridor stood a door, flanked by what looked like a logbook.
It was filled with records of crimes. Checking today’s date, I spotted ‘Eaton’ listed with the offense ‘unauthorized entry.’ The rest were gruesome crimes I didn’t care to repeat aloud.
‘I just need to confirm the kid’s name is Eaton.’
After that, we ventured into the corridor.
Light came sporadically from torches.
Strangely, hardly anyone wandered about. Security wasn’t all that tight either.
‘Doesn’t it require much manpower?’
The underground prison was vast, but mostly empty space.
Maybe because getting onto this island in the first place was so difficult? Well, even the Emperor had given up on it.
That made the boy all the more impressive.
As I scanned the prison while walking, I finally spotted someone.
“Darsi, over here.”
Darsi nodded instead of replying. He’d already noticed.
Thanks to that silver hair that had caught my eye earlier. It was still gleaming even in this dim space.
Since we’d found him first, greetings were in order.
“Hello, Eaton.”
The boy, scowling fiercely at me, finally spoke.
“How do you know my name?”
So he really was the unauthorized intruder. Good thing he wasn’t some heinous criminal.
Otherwise, coming all this way would’ve been for nothing.
“I came to get you out.”
“You’re with that guy? Then I don’t need your help.”
“Who’s that guy?”
I asked on purpose.
We were still hiding our identities.
“You think I’m stupid? It’s Darsi. The mage.”
He spat irritably, calling Darsi a mage.
“I’d rather die than accept help from him.”
“That’s extreme. Not right at all.”
My natural scolding fell on deaf ears.
‘This runs deep.’
It wouldn’t resolve in one go.
I gazed steadily at Eaton, then noticed a crumpled drawing on the prison floor. It looked like a family portrait of his.
“What’re you looking at!”
Catching my gaze, Eaton hurriedly snatched the drawing into his hand.
I pointed at myself.
“Do you know who I am?”
“…”
Eaton didn’t answer easily.
“You seem to know what I really look like.”
I tossed out the hint first. His lack of denial suggested I was right.
Time for a proper introduction.
“I’m Marso Etwar.”
“…Marso Etwar? You mean his lover?”
“Sadly—no, actually that’s not true. Don’t misunderstand.”
I nearly let my inner thoughts slip. Calmly, I replied.
Eaton knew the rumors better than I expected.
“If not lovers, then what! Newspapers don’t print lies!”
“That’s just your assumption. They fabricate quite a bit. We’re…”
I thought for a moment before continuing.
“Friends. Friends.”
I felt Darsi’s gaze on the back of my head, but he said nothing. He planned to let it slide.
A bit disappointing. Maybe I’d hoped he’d deny the ‘just friends’ part.
‘…Because I want something deeper.’
“…Unbelievable. Friends with that monster.”
The lover misconception was cleared, but his resentment lingered.
“You’re some cheap pity case he passed on to you? Stay away.”
“If you hadn’t come here, there’d be no need for this.”
“…”
“And the reason I came to rescue you is separate.”
I took a deep breath, locking eyes with Eaton.
“I want to make a deal with the mages.”
“…A deal?”
This time, Eaton didn’t snap back. He just looked incredulous as he repeated it.
Eaton had tried sneaking onto this island.
But it wasn’t just for himself. The way he cherished that family portrait made it obvious.
So why sneak in here?
To help the mages.
He knew Darsi’s identity and what he’d done.
No idea how much, but it was true he couldn’t stomach their enemy looking after them.
‘So he tried finding another way.’
He couldn’t just cut off Darsi’s help without alternatives. The boy was doing everything he could, in his own way.
This unauthorized entry was part of that.
Meeting Eaton face-to-face gave me a good read on his situation.
It stemmed from my long-honed knack for observing and empathizing with people.
‘My quick intuition’s coming in handy.’
This was my chance.
By returning Eaton to the mages’ hideout, I could win their favor.
And help him too.
Truth be told, more than these calculated reasons, I just wanted to help Eaton.
“I want to offer the mages a new life.”
Eaton’s eyes wavered for the first time.
“…Don’t pity me.”
He said again, but his voice lacked its earlier force.
“It’s not pity—it’s a fair deal. I value their skills and knowledge. We’ll use it, along with magic crystals, to make magic tools.”
“Magic tools?”
“Mystical items made with magic crystals.”
“I know that much. But nobles…”
Don’t like magic tools much? Same as mages.
His furrowed brow finished the thought.
I grinned.
“I’m not like other nobles.”
He flinched—probably heard I was the villainess. But more importantly, the rumors would’ve spread my personal details too.
“If you’ve heard the rumors about me, then you know how loaded I am.”
About how rich villainess Marso Etwar was.
His perked-up ears stood out vividly in the familiar darkness.
“I’ll pay in magic crystals. Generously.”
For now, I stuck to the deal’s facts. Declaring blind help would just rebuild walls for Eaton, who was starting to lower his guard.
He already disliked Darsi; sudden unearned kindness would backfire.
“…Why would you act differently from other nobles?”
His question implied it was because of Darsi. I lifted my chin.
“One reason’s enough.”
And I proclaimed it proudly.
“Because I’m Marso Etwar.”
That alone was reason enough.