DSFL | Chapter 106

~Chapter 106~ 

As soon as Ricardo left the meeting room, it became chaotic.

In the middle of all the noise, Count Rowein slammed the table, refusing to back down from his opinion.

Bang!

“If Duke Hessen doesn’t join the war, the situation will become much worse!”

“Why worry about something that hasn’t happened yet?” one noble scoffed. “We still have the Tower Master. Even without the duke’s forces, we have a chance.”

“Can you guarantee the Tower Master will help us? He clearly said he wouldn’t get involved in politics.”

“If he thinks he might lose everything, he’ll come running. That’s how cowards usually behave.”

At that, Count Rowein’s face filled with despair.

Then, someone spoke up from another side of the room, saying Ricardo should be punished.

“Isn’t refusing His Majesty’s order an act of rebellion? How could he behave like that in front of the Emperor?”

Even as the voices grew sharper, I stood frozen, staring at the door Ricardo had walked out of.

My feelings and thoughts were tangled together, like I was lost in fog.

Ricardo… What are you thinking?

The meeting room, once familiar, now felt strange.

“…Does the Rowein family also intend to follow Duke Hessen?” the Emperor asked coldly. “There will be no mercy for those who defy me.”

Count Rowein visibly flinched at the Emperor’s words.

I instinctively took a step toward the door, but Ailins stood in my path.

“…!”

Suddenly, the meeting room disappeared, and darkness surrounded us.

The shouting voices vanished, leaving only the sound of my pounding heart in my ears.

Then, I saw Ailins, whose expression looked almost like mine.

…Was she also surprised by Ricardo’s actions?

I tightly closed my eyes and tried to gather my thoughts. Then, I asked the question I’d wanted to ask from the start.

“…Has nothing really changed?”

Her eyes started to tremble.

“Do you still want me to do nothing?”

Ailins didn’t answer.

The silence stretched… and then her face suddenly turned pale.

“I… I don’t even know what I want anymore.”

For the first time, this powerful being looked human.

“I thought maybe I could just quietly go along with everything. Then I thought, maybe it’d be better to destroy everything…”

Ailins spoke hesitantly, touching her face.

“And then I realized… everything was ruined because of my choices.”

The dark space around us started changing color based on her emotions. The space shifted so often that it felt like it could attack me at any moment.

Soon, all that was left was anger.

…This doesn’t feel good.

The space around us started shrinking. The blackness slowly turned into a giant hand, reaching for me.

A strange fear rushed through me. I tried to step back, but Ailins was already close, her hand grabbing my shoulder.

“You know, don’t you?”

“…”

“You already knew the answer. That’s why you tried to change me, right?”

Her grip on my shoulder tightened. She shook me slightly, her voice growing harsher.

“You asked if our promise was real, remember?”

“…”

“Yeah, it was. You thought I was wrong, that’s why you made that stupid promise!”

“I-I never thought you were wrong!”

My voice cracked from fear, but that didn’t matter.

Because her hands suddenly stopped moving.

I tried not to look at her face, focusing hard on anything else.

“I never once thought you were wrong. Not when I first met you, and not now.”

“…”

“If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t have made that promise.”

I was terrified—but I had to say it.

My hands trembled as I quickly hid them behind my back. At least the space around us was getting wider again.

“You speak well, considering you don’t even have your memories.”

“This has nothing to do with memory…”

I added quietly.

Ailins narrowed her eyes, staring at me like a hawk.

I couldn’t tell if she was angry or just trying to see if I was being sincere.

Her face shifted in small ways, making it feel like she was uncomfortable with my presence. She kept biting her lips before finally scowling.

“I’m just as cruel as the Emperor.”

“That’s not really—”

I tried to argue, but she glared at me again.

I shut my mouth immediately, and she spoke with a cold tone.

“I’ll even kill your beloved Bluea. I’ll take revenge for every innocent life.”

“…”

“I’ll crush everything until I feel better. That’s my final decision.”

I listened quietly to her words.

“Even Carpea itself is pushing me down that path. So why should I resist it?”

Hearing her say that made it sound like everything was already prepared for destruction…

Since I stayed silent, Ailins began speaking faster, her expression sour.

“I’m way more cruel than you think. Much more ruthless than you can imagine…”

“Th-that’s enough. I get it.”

Ailins finally fell silent.

But then, she muttered one more thing.

“So behave yourself.”

“…”

“Before I throw away our promise, too.”

At that moment, the world tilted.

Crash!

The dark space around me shattered with a loud noise. A strong wind blew through, and I finally realized I was back in the real world.

Because I’d been trapped in that space, my mind felt dizzy. It was like my head was spinning, so I grabbed my forehead to steady myself.

“…”

That’s when I saw Ailins, leaning against the World Tree.

Her lips were slightly curled, like she was smiling…

…Was I imagining that?

Before I could think more, I suddenly remembered something and quickly moved my feet.

“Lady Roygin?”

Yulian, who had been painting the World Tree, stopped her brush.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No, it’s not that…”

I had to go see Ricardo. I needed to.

But I didn’t know how to explain it to Onyx and Yulian, who had business in Dremokan.

Besides, to return to the capital, I needed to travel with the others who had the teleportation device. If I went by carriage, it would take too long to reach Ricardo.

‘…I should’ve brought a device with me.’

I couldn’t bring myself to ask for one now, saying I wanted to go ahead alone.

“Yulian, how’s the painting for His Highness going?”

Just then, Onyx approached Yulian.

“Stop rushing me! If you keep talking, I’ll mess it up.”

“That’s just an excuse. I told you to practice—”

As Onyx and Yulian started their usual bickering, a sudden gust of wind blew in.

“Ahh!”

The wind was so strong that it scattered the brushes and paper near Yulian.

“Oh no! As if Onyx wasn’t enough trouble—now the weather too?!”

Grumbling, Yulian quickly chased after her rolling brushes.

“…”

I didn’t even bother brushing the hair from my face. I just stared in the direction the wind had come from.

It was where Ailins stood.

When the wind finally died down, I suddenly felt something warm in my pocket.

Surprised, I reached inside and felt something crinkly.

I carefully pulled it out and opened my eyes wide in shock.

“…!”

It was a device with unfamiliar coordinates written on it.