I decided to move quickly before Dad, who was at the front, noticed. Besides, I’d easily be hidden since everyone around me was tall adults.
“Inhale, exhale, like this.”
“Inhale...exhale...Ugh!”
“Hold it in! ”
“Trying! Ugh!”
“Should we just let her throw up? Oh my god. Her face is going from pale to blue. Kate! Kate!”
The carriage door opened.
Kate rushed over, her face full of surprise. Elisa explained what had happened.
Before jumping out of the carriage, I mustered my courage and hugged Elisa tightly.
“Grandma!”
“Grandma again?”
Then, I slipped a protection magic tool into her stiff handbag.
Two were placed under the carriage, and I wanted her to carry the last one on her person, just in case.
“I want you to live a long, long time, Grandma! I really, really do!”
So please, please don’t let our dad resent the world! Please don’t let him turn dark! Please!
“You…”
“I’ve thought so since the first time I met you! I mean it!”
I let out a yell and got out of the carriage.
Now, it was all about speed.
The maid Kate, who had been following, offered to take me to the mansion, but I pretended to feel like I was going to throw up and pretended to rest in a nearby park.
Then, while Kate went to buy a drink, I secretly slipped out of the park.
“Huff, huff.”
I ran like mad, picturing the capital map I'd studied. I'd memorized it so well, along with the parade route, that it was crystal clear in my mind.
Plus, I'd tagged along on the maids' errands, so I knew my way around.
Thanks to my small size, I could easily pass through small openings. I took shortcuts until I could see the building that was supposed to collapse at an angle.
‘Good.’
The procession hadn’t reached this point yet.
I went into a nearby alley and hid myself. It was dark and full of junk, easily concealing a little kid like me.
‘From here, I can see the building well, and I can activate the protection magic tool.’
Following Tree’s advice, I connected my magic power to the seed inside the protection magic tool.
It was as if the magic tool and I were connected by an invisible thread.
[You can activate this connected magic power just by willing it. Especially with your power. But only within a certain range, of course.]
‘So my magic had a remote control?’
I stared blankly for a second, then peeked around the corner.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
Kyaaaaaaah!
I heard screams in the distance. The air suddenly turned sharp, and a weird gust of wind blew up.
I heard explosions, too.
“Huuuh…”
I squeezed my eyes shut. And roughly stuffed earplugs made of crumpled tissue into my ears.
Even with the earplugs, the roaring was so loud it shook the ground. It sounded like thunder.
‘Scary…’
I was scared of loud noises.
Thunder, explosions, or the shouts of loud adult men.
My body freezes up, and I can't think straight, so if I'd stayed in the carriage, I would've totally panicked.
‘Good thing I'm far enough away.’
It’s okay. It’s okay.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus.
The parade was total chaos, and I could hear the knights' swords clashing. Someone shouted for everyone to get out. People who'd been strolling around just scattered, freaking out.
At that moment, along with a scream of “Lady Elisa! No!”, I heard the runaway carriage barreling down the street.
Elisa's carriage swerved out of the parade and came tearing towards me. It was as expected.
‘Just like I thought, it's weird that only Elisa's carriage went crazy.’
The servants would've checked everything, so who did this, and how?
Questions continued to arise, but first, saving Elisa was the most important thing right now.
I hid in the alley and watched the building, which was starting to shake like crazy. Good thing no one was in that condemned building.
Clatter, clatter!
The carriage kept coming, and the windows of the building, which were already cracking, exploded.
‘Not yet, not yet.’
The driver tried to yank the reins, but he just lost his balance and went flying. The carriage wheels spun even faster.
Not yet, not yet!
Then, I saw this surge of heavy magic power and black smoke in the distance. The ground shook violently.
The shockwave made the cracked building just crumble.
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood. It felt like Elisa's carriage was right on top of me.
“Now!”
A light green magic circle, like nothing I'd ever seen, appeared under my feet. Light flooded the dark alley, all bright and glowing.
‘Wow, this is power…!’
And I saw the same circle appear under Elisa's carriage. It was only for a split second, because of all the falling debris.
But I knew...I'd done it!
Crackling, crackling.
Something shot up through the rubble. A thick tree trunk. The seeds in the protection thingy sprouted super fast and turned into these holy trees.
The tough vines twisted together, making a solid shield that wrapped all around Elisa and the carriage.
‘I did it!’
People, their faces white as sheets, came running from all over.
I looked down at my small hands and blinked.
‘Wow, I actually did it.’
I protected Elisa. I changed the future.
That's one less thing for Dad to be sad about.
‘No time for this. Gotta get out of here!’
Before anyone sees me!
I turned and ran the other way as fast as I could.
[A price is required.]
But something was wrong. My legs felt weaker and weaker with every step.
“Huh?”
Why is this happening?
This can't be happening. I have to get back to the mansion.
“What’s the price?”
[The power you were born with. Your life force, basically.]
My eyes widened. But my vision kept blurring.
[That should make up for the lack of magic power.]
“Unique magic power? Life force?”
[Yeah. It's all through your body.]
'What the...? You didn't say anything about using the power in my legs!'
But it was too late. My body just gave out.
The ground rushed up to meet me.
That tingling at the back of my neck...it was burning up. Oh, Dad's gonna be bummed if he gets his memories back.
I liked having him around.
Then, I thought I caught a whiff of something familiar.
…Rin!
Ah, is it a dream?
I felt something wet under my nose. My head was spinning. Everything was swirling.
“Lirin!”
It’s a dream.
Dad doesn't call me that anymore, not since he lost his memories.
“…Dad is an idiot.”
Saying I was his whole world.
How can someone lose their whole world?
I gently closed my eyes.
It was total chaos.
People screamed and ran away. Horses were screaming, metal was clashing everywhere.
“Protect the people first!”
Ruska shouted roughly.
The Winterwald knights, after a moment of shock, got their act together and defended the area.
“Well, this parade is turning out to be quite the show, Ruska.”
Calex growled and drew his sword.
“Consider it a welcome-back party. Maybe the monsters wanted to celebrate your succession, Your Excellency?”
Ruska adjusted his glasses and sliced down a monster that tried to break through the lines.
“Even the monsters love you, apparently. Congrats.”
“They don't know their place.”
Calex's lips curled in a cold smile, and he jumped off his horse.
“Go and protect Mother.”
“Yes, sir.”
Calex didn't even blink at the sudden dungeon.
A black void ripped open the sky. Monsters poured out, trashing everything.
But the monsters couldn't get past Calex's sword range.
Black energy flowed along the glowing blue blade. The air turned ice-cold, and snowflakes started to fall.
His sword, crackling with destruction and death magic, cut them down without mercy.
The dungeon itself wasn't much of a threat, aside from popping up out of nowhere.
The monsters were all weaklings. Calex took care of the small fry with a few swings.
Just when things were calming down...
“Lady Elisa!”
Someone shouted from behind. He turned and saw Elisa's carriage breaking through the lines and speeding away.
“What are you waiting for? Go after her!”
Ruska yelled, and Calex stabbed his sword deep into the dungeon, shattering its core. Calex, the dungeon now closed, jumped back on his horse.
“Get out of the way. You useless bastards.”
What is it? What's going on?
A wave of dread washed over Calex. He was a veteran of countless battles. He could smell it in his gut.
The smell of unavoidable death.
He realized that was the smell hanging in the air when he saw Elisa's carriage racing away.
‘I've never felt anything like this before.’
Something's definitely wrong.
He was about to spur his horse, teeth gritted...
“...Rin! Lirin!”
A name that had no place here pierced his ears.
