Chapter 267
Thud- Thud-
The man’s footsteps were getting closer. Neilla, filled with tension, even stopped breathing and crouched down.
Pillars that caused optical illusions were everywhere here too, and she was hiding behind one of them. She had also pulled back her head, which she had briefly stuck out to observe the situation.
Thud. At some point, the man’s feet stopped. The light from the lamp showed no movement other than flickering.
And he came straight towards where Neilla was.
‘This is probably the end. Ah, Goddess Aiha…’
She closed her eyes tightly and prayed with both hands clasped together. It couldn’t end like this. She resented that Aiha’s water wasn’t moving this time.
The sound of footsteps was even clearer. She could feel the light from the lamp getting brighter right in front of her.
And then, there was no more movement.
Neilla carefully opened her eyes, which she had tightly closed in fear. A gaunt and haggard imperial man was standing before her. It was the same person who had been continuously painting a while ago. He stared at her somewhat blankly, then turned back and walked towards his original place.
‘Huh, uh?’
Except for the mana priests, all men were scary people to Neilla, but this man she saw up close didn’t feel scary somehow. Was it because he didn’t have the appearance of a Castrelloan? Come to think of it, even the mana priests had a mix of Castrelloan and Kailum Empire citizen appearances. Maybe that was why.
Before she knew it, the man was silently engrossed in the painting he had been drawing again. Neilla carefully looked at him, then approached him. Little by little. Curiosity blossomed in her still young heart. She wanted to see the painting he was drawing in detail.
Until she arrived right behind the man, he showed no reaction. As if nothing was important except drawing the painting. Neilla began to look at his painting in detail.
* * *
The three people walked through the dark passage through the side door, filled with tension. Upon closer inspection, that place felt similar to the very passage that Roina and Ethan had come out of. A space with an outer wall like a natural cave, and where water seemed to be flowing from somewhere.
However, unlike before, that place was filled with an ominous energy.
Roina looked around and said, “Camillo, have you ever been to a place like this?”
“Hmm…”
Camillo seemed to be pondering, then shook her head. “I’m not sure. It feels somewhat familiar, but as far as I remember, this is my first time. Perhaps it’s one of my lost memories.”
“I see.”
Roina nodded in response. Ethan also gave a short answer. “Certainly, our palace in the past never had a secret space like this. It seems to be a change that occurred after the Empire occupied it.”
A change that occurred after the Empire occupied it. Roina repeated those words in her mind.
Where are Jason and Rager? She suddenly recalled what she had been worried about since earlier. This time, she even spoke it aloud. Camillo, who didn’t know the two of them, wore a puzzled expression, and Rager, with a somewhat dark expression, answered.
“I don’t know. But since they are your contractors, they won’t die easily.”
Roina glanced at Ethan and then moved her feet again. Since there were no clues to find them, they could only deal with the immediate task for now. Even if this place was a prepared trap, they needed to reach the answer quickly.
Roina felt the energy flowing quietly throughout her body. It was overflowing with more power than ever before. What on earth was Ryuhyeon’s purpose? Simply having that kind of relationship? If what he said was true, the Crown Prince, as her contractor, couldn’t actually affect her life.
It was when she was lost in such thoughts.
“Huh?”
Camillo’s voice, sounding puzzled, was heard. Looking in the direction Camillo was looking, there,
“Magic stones? Huh, people?”
Jason and Rager, trapped inside magic stones, were visible in the middle of a cluster of magic stones that had sprouted up like crystals.
“Jason, Rager!!”
Roina, her eyes wide open, shouted.
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