And that’s all a lie! Yup, a big, fat lie! There’s no way an overprotective king like Vyce would ever send his fiancée back to a hellhole like this! Not to mention Vyce was fit as a fiddle, practically brimming with energy. He was so full of energy, in fact, that he was searching the castle up and down for any weaknesses to exploit this very moment, along with his part-time bodyguard, Livio.
In other words, it was Sophie and Lunetta’s turn to be the decoys.
Livio hadn’t been too happy about this idea and had suggested that they go with a different strategy. While Sophie couldn’t help losing herself in rapturous awe at Livio’s face, she couldn’t agree with his suggestion. There was something really nice about the face Livio made when he was serious. And that face he’d made when he was going against Vyce? Sublime. Sophie had been unable to come up with any other strategy—her happy-go-lucky brain had been too busy dabbing a tissue at its eyes as it was swept up in a standing ovation from all sides.
What had settled things was when Azuello had said, “There is nothing to worry about so long as I conceal myself and accompany thee there. I could do so in a way that the likes of humans cannot discern my presence. Such a thing is, as thou sayest, ‘a piece of cake.’” Azuello snorted, lifting his foreleg from the man—who was still bound by Lunetta’s magic—before disappearing. Azuello had completely concealed himself.
“I can’t feel your magical energy at all. I’d expect no less of a god,” Lunetta had said, sounding impressed.
Somehow, however, Sophie had been able to tell that Azuello was right next to her. She’d tilted her head to the side in confusion. “It is different for thee, master,” a low voice had told her—that same voice that it seemed no one else could hear.
“We forged a pact where I took thee as my master. Thou art an exception to my ruse.”
“That’s amazing!” Sophie had replied.
“Is it not?” Azuello’s voice had rung out, sounding proud. Sophie had imagined the fluffy little bear standing up, imposingly, on his two hind legs. That’s just too cute!
“All right, that settles it then!” Vyce had decided. “Me and the youngster’ll pretend to be on the verge of death on the main road so we can scrounge through the castle. Meanwhile, the little lady’ll watch over Lunetta to make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy. And you, Lunetta...”
“Yes?” Lunetta had replied, looking up, her face pale.
For what it was worth, however, the man they’d taken prisoner was even paler—they’d given him a terrifying magic gem that had been set to explode should it leave his possession. They’d told him to do what they said if he wanted the gem-bomb defused. Which one of us is the terrorist here again?
Unable to fight back against the god and the mighty witch’s magic, the man had eagerly made the preparations for a transfer spell. Transfer spells were a type of magic developed in Magyck that allowed for multiple individuals to move to a specified location. Magyck was still the only kingdom capable of using such spells. Sophie couldn’t help but be terribly curious about it.
“Lunetta—do what you have to do over there,” Vyce had said.
“What I have to do?”
“That’s right,” Vyce had said with a nod, placing a hand on Lunetta’s head. Sophie’s heart had begun to pound in her chest. Is it okay for me to watch this?
“It’s okay if you want to run,” Vyce had continued. “If you don’t wanna do this anymore, just tell me and I’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”
“O-Okay...”
“But if you’re going for it...give ’em the thrashin’ they’re due.”
Lunetta had blinked. “Okay.” Her mouth had tightened as she bit her lip and looked at the ground, clutching her chest. She was cute. Lunetta really was cute.
The skin beneath her eyes had been a soft red, and her black eyes had seemed to quiver just a bit. That was the look! That was the look Sophie had wanted to see! Without knowing exactly why she’d done it, Sophie had glanced up at Livio.
Livio’s gaze had met Sophie’s as he smiled and stooped toward her. He’s close! Really close! Sophie had fought back the urge to let out a girlish shriek as Livio had drawn closer and closer to her like they had been strung together. Sophie’s heart had seemed like it might burst at any moment. At this rate, she might very well have had to make a grave for her happy-go-lucky heart too.
“Talk about cute.”
“Y-You mean Lunetta?” Sophie had asked back.
Livio had blinked, his long eyelashes fluttering. “Pardon?” He had shaken his head. “I’m talking about how happy you look when you see Lady Lunetta happy. You’re really cute.”
Sophie’s heart had skipped a beat.
Cute! He said I’m cute?! He said I’m cute!!!
While Sophie continued to have her fair share of doubts about Livio’s sense of aesthetics, there was just no way she couldn’t be over the moon at Livio’s remark. Her pounding heart had walked a dangerous line, but her happy-go-lucky brain had still been fine and dandy, dancing around with a ringing bell in hand.
“Lady Sophie, do be careful not to do anything drastic,” Livio had said. “No matter what happens—or doesn’t—you can always call for me.”
If Sophie could call for Livio even if nothing had happened, then there was no way they’d ever be able to split up in the first place. I’d just wind up calling him every second! Sophie had made up her mind to only call Livio’s name in an emergency.
And that was exactly why, even there, before the king of a foreign kingdom, even bound in rope as she was, Sophie wasn’t the least bit scared. She could feel Azuello’s warm magical energy in her chest, and Vyce and Livio were there in the castle. Beside her was Lunetta, her face pale as she stared at the ground.
If they didn’t fight here, then all those days she’d endured would’ve been for nothing.
“For one from a kingdom where the spread of magic has been so woefully limited, you are more decent than your birth would suggest.”
“I am grateful for your words.” Sophie wasn’t grateful in the slightest—if anything, she felt like she might throw up. Regardless, she smiled as she dropped her head in a bow.
The king was in a fine mood after Sophie had made a roundabout show of betraying Lunetta with her repeated, clumsy interventions. Sophie felt like her face might start twitching at what a nauseatingly rotten excuse of a father he was.
In her old life, no matter what she’d been told, Sophelia had never thought anything of it or grown exasperated. “Oh, yes, you’re quite right!” she’d said, letting it all go in one ear and out the other. The whole time, she’d just kept on smiling.
And yet, the king’s voice as he mocked Lunetta and Vyce, his eyes, his face—it was all so revolting Sophie could hardly stand it. It was all Sophie could do to hold back the chilling, nauseating sensation welling up inside her.
Had it not been for the reassuringly warm magical energy in her chest, she might very well have lost herself in a string of bitter remarks. Uh-oh, gotta watch out.
“Very well then,” the king said, “in light of your actions, we shall concern ourselves with your kingdom no more. We’re not savages, after all.”
You were turning off your brain to turn to military might, so that sounds like a savage to me! At least that was Sophie’s take on the matter. There was just no telling what went on in the minds of all these high-and-mighty types.
The dung beetle of a king seemed to be in high spirits. Sophie hung her head respectfully in front of the king, then lifted it once more.
“So what is it that you might ask of us?” Sophie asked.
“Do something about that room,” the king replied.
“That room...?” Sophie repeated beneath her breath.
“That’s right,” Lunetta said, slowly lifting her head. A heavy, dark shadow hung over her jet-black eyes as she blinked. “I figured as much.”
And now, here they were.
Led by the man in the white robe—Tivius, or something like that—they followed the magician down an endlessly long flight of stairs.
They’d been untied after they’d gone through the door leading to the stairs. Perhaps they thought it would only be a headache if they fell on their descent, or perhaps they just thought there was nowhere for them to run past this point. Sophie couldn’t lower her guard quite yet, but she was glad that it was easier to walk now.
The sound of several footsteps echoed heavily around them. The echoes seemed to multiply, bouncing off each other, as if they were entirely cut off from the rest of the world. It was unsettling.
It didn’t help that the farther down the stairs they went, the stronger the dark magical energy in the air grew, weighing heavily upon them as if it were trying to strangle them.
“That room” the king had spoken of was likely at the bottom.
“How are you fine right now...?” Tivius asked Sophie, his hand clutched against his mouth as if he were fighting back the urge to vomit.
Sophie smiled back. “I have the protective spell that Lady Lunatietta cast on me.”
That part wasn’t a lie. Azuello and Lunetta had painstakingly cast a spell on her before they departed. They’d cast the spell on everyone in the group. From the sound of it, most average attacks wouldn’t even make them flinch. It was, in a way, like a suit of armor.
While the pressure of the magical energy was uncomfortably heavy, it wasn’t enough to halt their movement like it did Tivius. In the end, the only ones who were able to make it to the bottom of the stairs were Sophie and Lunetta.
What they found before them was a massive set of iron bars cutting the room in half. They were jet-black, cold, and heavy iron bars.
The iron bars had been bent out to form a massive hole in the middle. A number of torn magic circle charms lined the bars, forming a decoration that seemed like some macabre necklace. Everything about it seemed off.
It looked just like something had escaped from the cell.
Lunetta stepped through the bent iron bars. She looked around her surroundings before gazing upward.
Upon closer inspection, there was a small square opening, covered with more iron bars, far, far above the room’s walls. Was that meant to be some sort of window? No one in their right mind could’ve called it that, but Lunetta simply looked up at it—with the familiarity of habit.
“Lunetta, is this...?”
“This is...”
There, on the other side of the iron bars, was an austere bed, a desk, and a multitude of bookshelves.
Don’t say it. Tell me this isn’t... But Sophie’s hopes were cut down in an instant, sliced clean through.
“This is the room I grew up in.”