Chapter – 09
Ramio clutched his eyes.
He couldn’t bear the itch and searing pain caused by the pepper powder.
“Li… Lilian! You—”
At that moment, the black veil’s effect wore off.
Lilian frantically scanned her surroundings.
‘Hah, I got separated from the group.’
Even in the dark night, the silhouettes of the trees were different.
There was no doubt that Ramio had captured her with this magic and moved her some distance.
‘I don’t even know how far I’ve been dragged…!’
Lilian darted into the dark forest.
If she were caught this time, it wouldn’t just be the northern annex.
‘They won’t let me out of the mansion until I marry Karkin!’
In truth, Lilian knew.
She lacked any special ability, while her lineage was unnecessarily noble.
On the other hand, Pavillga was a family that insisted on only the best.
So they wouldn’t give up on her.
But instead…
‘Lilian. You’re the only one who’d take someone useless like you as a partner. So even if there’s an illegitimate child, you better deal with it. Why? What if the child you bear turns out weird? That’s why everyone agrees—Duke Tillard, Viscount Quern, Iris, Her Majesty the Empress… The world doesn’t need your opinion.’
The future ahead.
The nonsense she had read in the original story sounded like it was already happening.
Even without experiencing it firsthand, it made her sick.
Even while running, Lilian ground her teeth.
‘I need a place to hide. If I wander around here, the prince’s party won’t even find me…!’
But just as she spotted a bush suitable for concealment, a strong hand grabbed her right wrist.
“…!”
“Hah, Lilian, trying to run, huh?”
Ramio glared at her with his bloodshot eyes while clutching one eye.
‘I’m letting you slide because you’re family—Gah!’
Bang!
A small explosion burst, accompanied by a flash.
Ramio tumbled to the ground.
“Aaah…!”
“Whoa, so you can use a weapon?”
Panting, Lilian snapped.
It was lucky she had time to rummage through her bag while running.
‘Good thing he can’t scratch me.’
She was still a valuable commodity in the marriage market.
Unfortunately, Lilian herself had no attack power.
But she had a magical torch that could heat up to 1,400 degrees.
She could even produce a small burst of flame with it!
Clutching the torch like a pistol, Lilian ground her teeth.
“Don’t you dare climb after me, you wretched bastard.”
The barracks were in complete disarray.
It had been attacked while Evren was away.
No one was hurt, but the woman who had been left there had been kidnapped.
On top of that, with a fever that made it hard to even stand…
‘Lilian Tillard.’
There was no trace of her.
It felt as if she were dead.
They had crossed life-and-death situations countless times.
It had never felt like this.
Her heart pounded faster than ever before.
‘There’s no reason not to tell you now… since this is the last time.’
She was someone worthy of contempt.
The long-standing political rivalries, her foolish fiancé blindly chasing after her…
But a storm erupted in Lilian’s mind.
She was furious that they dared destroy something she herself had never possessed.
She had to find her, immediately!
It was confirmed that the knight who had left the barracks with Lilian was Ramio Tillard.
He had likely tried to meet up with the original party, so he couldn’t have gone far.
While frantically searching the surroundings, one knight pointed toward a dark mountain ridge.
“Your Highness! Look over there!”
From the base of the ridge, white lights flickered faintly against the night sky.
Before they could even guess what the light was, a sound rang out:
Screeeech…
Like steel being scraped by sharp claws.
A terrifying sound, nothing like an ordinary beast’s cry.
Elias turned, his face frozen.
“Your Highness, that—”
A monster had appeared.
And the scent of lilies wafted from the source of that scream.
After detonating the last artifact meant for triggering traps,
Lilian staggered away.
But her limits soon caught up with her. She dropped to her knees, clutching her waist.
“Huff… ugh…”
The heat in her body made her dizzy. The dark forest felt suffocating.
‘I deliberately used a glowing tool… so the prince’s party could find me…’
But then she laughed at herself.
‘Who says they’re even coming?’
She hadn’t seen the final pages of the original story, but it was obvious.
‘They probably lost to the original hero and heroine anyway.’
And had probably died.
She saw the tool as a means to escape beyond the border.
They had viewed Lilian as nothing more than a living puppet.
And they had seen her in much the same way.
‘The only tool that could extract information about Tillard.’
As expected.
‘At least I grabbed my bag.’
Her fake ID and preparations for settling in the Tenebrin Kingdom were all intact.
‘I hear running water nearby.’
Following it usually led to a village.
There, she could regroup.
From there… she could start again.
But her fevered body collapsed forward uncontrollably.
Screeeech, screeeech…
The sound of metal pierced her ears, making her shudder.
‘This can’t be happening…’
Lilian barely rolled her eyes to survey her surroundings.
There were no monsters near Aiterna; she had checked for danger before setting off.
‘Unless it’s the northern annex.’
That place sometimes had monsters wandering at night…
A chilling realization pressed down on her back as a wolf-like monster’s heavy paw landed.
Claws dug in, and she groaned without meaning to.
A shadow fell over her immobilized head.
“…Damn you.”
Lilian recognized who had approached.
And spat the harshest curse she could muster.
“You cockroach-like…!”
Her younger brother…!
Ramio smiled, his face bloodied.
“Hah. I tried to take you back nicely, but you wouldn’t listen.”
Lilian struggled, pinned under the monster’s paw.
Artifacts that summon monsters were forbidden.
But Ramio used it anyway.
“Long time no see, huh? This one loves his sister the most.”
“Wait, you! All this time, you’ve been the one calling it…! Ugh!”
“Stay still, sister. If you get hurt, Viscount Pavillga will really disown you.”
Lilian’s ability was worthless, but among the Tillard family—who had been renowned for beauty for generations—she had the most bearable face.
She couldn’t ruin the family’s legacy.
Ramio pulled out an artifact linked to the family knights for communication.
“Hey, I found Lilian. We’re taking her back—”
But he never finished the message.
Screeeech! Screeeech!
The wolf-like monster pinning Lilian screeched sharply.
It jumped away from her, as if its front paw had been burned.
“What the hell… why are you doing this?!”
The monster froze mid-leap in agony.
In the blink of an eye, the world was washed in white.
As if snow had fallen, sound vanished completely.
And the monster melted like snow under the sunlight.
“…!”
Ramio’s mouth gaped open as his face crashed into the nearest tree.
The moment he tried to lift it, strong force slammed his face back into the tree.
“Your manners toward your elders are impeccable.”
“Ugh…!”
“It feels just like seeing someone’s little brother—so delightful.”
