Chapter 107
(Lurelia’s Belated Bonus – Update 5/14 🎉)
“Shh, it’s me.”
The sense of security felt when his scent completely enveloped her still made her earlobes tingle.
But could this feeling be described merely as “being concerned”?
‘Even so, the male lead belongs to the female lead, doesn’t he?’
Even if the original work had become a complete mess, would the narrative of the destined male and female lead disappear?
Without their love, wouldn’t the original work itself cease to exist? That’s the main axis of the story.
“Just. I like kind people.”
Angelina deliberately ignored the stinging in her solar plexus.
“Kindness is something you’re born with. I’m not like that.”
‘…Right, I’m not even certain that he’s the Duke.’
She turned away from the doubts that arose.
Even though her memories weren’t fully clear, Angelina believed that her forgotten memories of the Dark Forest were connected to Blake.
She had faith that if she slowly traced her memories, they would eventually surface.
When she returned from Kuns Village, she had him stroke her head to confirm this.
“Is this enough for you?”
The comfort she felt, along with the incredulous voice, was similar to the sense of security she felt when he stroked her head…
Was it really thanks to Duke Kadenhart that she had safely escaped from there?
Could she possibly be that nameless child he said he met in the Dark Forest when he was young?
It’s true that she had felt a flutter.
But…
‘I…’
Even if, just supposing, by some great miracle, the male lead had started to care about an extra like herself…
‘I’ll be leaving soon anyway.’
She has a time limit.
‘There’s no way to prove or confirm that it was me anyway.’
Angelina had no choice but to ignore her feelings.
“So? What’s this interesting thing you wanted to show me?”
Trying hard to erase thoughts of Blake, Angelina turned her head toward the capital’s walls.
Though it was a long distance, flying high allowed her to see the entire capital at a glance.
“Aren’t you too relaxed? What if I kidnap you like this?”
Angelina smiled at Aesi’s words.
Here was another reason why she had to ignore her feelings.
The fact that her remaining time was barely enough to change her brother’s fate. She had no luxury to tend to her own heart.
“Then I’d have no choice. I’d have to live with Aesi.”
“What a fearless young lady. Saying such dangerous things so casually.”
“You’ll take responsibility, won’t you?”
“And if not?”
“Then I’d have to wait for my wonderful man to rescue me. My silver-haired brother always saves me.”
“When you say it like that, it makes me want to take up the challenge.”
“Then try kidnapping me. Let me see who would win.”
Angelina knew well. If such a thing were to happen, he would have no choice but to reveal his identity.
“What a cunning lady.”
“I take after my friend.”
Aesi chuckled at her brazen response.
Then, looking down, he twisted his fingers.
Black shadows formed beneath their feet.
“GRAAACK! KIRRR!”
Summoned magical beasts.
The beasts began moving from the shantytown they had just left. Then they started digging the ground a short distance away.
“AAAGH!”
Shortly after, screams were heard.
Looking closely, there was some kind of hideout underground.
“…The Order?”
“They had hidden a hideout in a place like this.”
The clothes they wore were Order attire. But unlike the usual white, they were a dark red.
A color that would make blood difficult to notice.
“KIRRR!!”
“AHH! AAAHHH!”
The beasts’ howls mixed with the priests’ screams.
It wasn’t a pleasant sound, and Angelina frowned. A warm barrier formed over her ears.
“Was it too cruel to see directly?”
Angelina turned to look at Aesi.
It felt somewhat unfamiliar.
When he was Ante Flaubert, he wouldn’t even show her knights training, saying it might be disgusting.
Yet as Aesi, he let her witness the raw scene of priests being eliminated.
‘Is this a side of my brother I never knew?’
Angelina reached out and cupped his face. She slipped her hand under his mask, but he didn’t stop her.
Hadn’t he said the mask was insurance? Then was the face beneath different from her brother’s?
Angelina didn’t particularly want to find out.
If the day came when he had to remove his mask, it would be when he decided to reveal his identity to her.
She gently caressed his cheek under the mask.
“I like you in any form.”
She whispered softly.
As if stirred, she felt his face twitch against her palm.
“I like it all.”
She smiled. This version of her brother, that version of her brother.
“Because I was loved.”
“….”
“But promise me. Learn to share your love with others besides me.”
It was the same thing she had said to him when he was in the form of Ante Flaubert.
Whichever was her real brother, she wanted him to understand this above all, so she said it again.
“Don’t suffer alone.”
Explosions were occurring beneath their feet, and magical beasts were voraciously devouring the priests, but the two only looked at each other.
As if, even if the world went mad, even in this dog-eat-dog world, they were the only ones in each other’s world.
Angelina was the first to turn away.
“Did you catch them all? What was in that hideout that made you go this far?”
As if the previous conversation had been an illusion, she changed the subject so easily that Aesi’s expression hardened.
But their private world had already shattered. He couldn’t bring her back after she had left.
“The ‘big deal’ at today’s black market is here.”
Ante snapped his fingers. The magical beasts retreated with large strides.
Blood was splattered everywhere and torn clothes made one cringe, but Angelina deliberately ignored this and focused on where Ante was taking her.
A large space appeared after entering through a narrow entrance.
“It would be better to use this.”
Aesi pulled up Angelina’s hood.
The moment she stepped into a place filled with unpleasant air, Angelina’s heart sank.
“Sob, sob… I’m sorry…”
“Please send me home… home… sob.”
The ones in chains were children who looked less than 10 years old. They were so malnourished that their bones were visible.
The children clung to each other, glancing nervously at Aesi and Angelina who had just entered, trembling.
“Slum kidnappings…”
Angelina muttered quietly.
Aesi responded.
“The ‘supply’ in the capital has been decreasing, so they turned their eyes elsewhere. That’s probably why that Duke was here earlier.”
As it became difficult to kidnap children from the capital’s slums, they turned their attention to the Duke’s territory.
“They thought the Duke’s territory was still the same as before.”
They clearly didn’t know that Blake had paid off all debts and begun major improvements to his duchy, thinking it was still a territory struggling with poverty like before.
Noticing something strange, Blake investigated and weeded out traitors who were luring and selling children from his territory.
He followed their trail and discovered that the “deal” would take place at today’s black market, so he was staking out at their hideout to raid the transaction site.
“But it seems he didn’t know the other party was the Order.”
The raid was intended to identify the trading partner.
Unfortunately, because Angelina caused an incident at the black market and Aesi blew up the hideout, that couldn’t happen.
‘Come to think of it, I think there was a story about him going to the black market while chasing a traitor…’
Angelina felt a headache coming on as she recalled the now jumbled original work and Blake’s face from earlier.
“….”
Feeling suffocated, she pressed her chest under her hood.
With that pressure, the earrings she bought today poked through her inner pocket and gently pricked her chest.
Then, over the children, another scene began to overlap in Angelina’s vision.
“Lina, what are we going to do? Are we… trapped here forever?”
“No. We just need to wait.”
“Wait? For what?”
“Just wait. If we wait, my brother will come for us.”
“Lina’s brother? “
“Yes. My brother always comes to save me.”
Two children holding each other tightly, just like the children before her eyes.
One with hair like ripe wheat and many freckles.
Someone she could immediately recognize from the original illustrations and having seen her grown-up form… Catherine.
Young Catherine.
And beside her, a silver-haired child.
Her fair skin was red and swollen as if someone had hit her, but her crimson eyes were enchantingly pretty.
Eyes she had seen countless times in the mirror.
‘Me.’
Young Angelina Flaubert.
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