CHAPTER~06
The Witch’s Tomb (3)
Even Kallio seemed quite surprised, but I was the one whose whole body broke out in goosebumps just from uttering two short syllables.
I wanted to run out of the tomb immediately, but I barely held myself back by gripping my collar tightly.
Kallio enjoys unexpected situations.
The only way this old man could survive was by completely catching him off guard.
“I want to pay my respects.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t want to delay any longer.
I want to properly greet Your Father and Mother.
Especially since Your Mother wanted to see her daughter-in-law soon, didn’t she?”
I blinked up at him with innocent eyes.
I placed both hands politely together in front of my lips, acting as demure as possible.
But Kallio only looked down at me with a cold gaze.
Then he grabbed both my hands tightly, putting unnecessary force into his grip.
“Hm.
Is that really necessary?”
Damn it, was this the wrong move?
I wondered if pretending we were an ordinary married couple—despite us trying to kill each other just days ago—would spark Kallio’s interest.
But he looked even more displeased than I expected.
Why?
With things turning out like this, I had no choice but to redirect his attention elsewhere.
I pretended to calmly look around the tomb of the Former Emperor and Former Empress and spoke.
“Being here made me realize something.
When I eventually pass away, I’ll be buried beside you, won’t I?
Just like Your Father and Mother are resting together here.”
“Oh?”
“Yes.
So I want to look around this place with Your Majesty.
Because this resembles the place where I’ll end up someday.”
If nothing else, Kallio would understand what I meant.
Because—
‘Wouldn’t you stay in the palace forever, even after you die?’
‘Ah, of course, even as a rotting corpse.’
You were the one who said that disgusting line to me, after all.
Since I had answered that question, he ought to give me a proper reaction.
Kallio quietly stroked his chin, then relaxed the tension between his brows.
“So this is why people get married?”
“What?”
I had no idea what Kallio was thinking.
And it wasn’t something a man who had already been married three times should be saying.
“If I interpret your words correctly, you’re saying that even after you die, you’ll remain my wife, yes?”
Then he stepped right up to me and whispered beside my ear.
“No matter where your heart wanders later, if you’re buried beside me when the time comes, it means the fact that you once loved me remains as eternal proof.”
Saying so, Kallio’s cheeks and the corners of his eyes reddened like a shy child.
“…That’s nice.
I like it quite a lot.”
I momentarily lost the ability to speak at the flood of insane remarks.
Only one thought filled my mind.
As I suppressed the urge to flip him off, he stepped back from me and neatly clasped his hands behind him.
With his usual picturesque smile, he turned toward the others.
“Everyone, fall back.”
“Your Majesty, then… what about Her Majesty the Empress’s middle name…?”
“Scribe.”
Kallio smiled brightly as he looked down at the still-bowing Scribe.
“Congratulations.
Thanks to the Empress, you just survived.”
“Your Majesty, I…”
“But you only get one chance.”
His voice toward the troubled Scribe was icy cold.
“Leave.”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty…”
Starting with the old man stepping back, the attendants who had followed behind slowly moved toward the entrance of the tomb.
The Scribe survived, and only Kallio and I remained in the tomb.
We had survived another crisis.
Realizing that, my legs nearly gave out.
But as soon as Kallio placed a hand around my shoulder, tension flooded back into me.
He whispered in a low, velvety voice.
“When I look closely, you’re unexpectedly cute.”
“What?”
“Last time, you tried to kill me with a dagger, and this time, you called me by an affectionate nickname just to save the Scribe?”
It was self-defense, you lunatic.
That was what I wanted to say, but Kallio wasn’t exactly wrong.
And I couldn’t shake the fear that if I irritated him, he’d kill me instead of the Scribe.
Sweat gathered in my palms.
Kallio’s hand slid down from my shoulder.
He rested his chin gently atop it.
Then he spoke.
“Most people act coy or resistant for their own sake.
But doing it for someone else?
You’re the first.”
Then he grabbed my wrist and turned me to face him.
Kallio stared at me for a long time with sticky, lingering eyes.
“What do you— ah!”
He bit down on my wrist.
Crunch!
I gasped at his sudden action.
When I instinctively pulled my arm away, bright red teeth marks sat stark against my pale skin.
I unknowingly trembled, clutching my bitten wrist tightly.
Kallio smiled gently.
“I won’t let you be buried alone.
If possible, it’s better we die on the same day and get buried together, right?”
I almost frowned, but forced my expression back into place.
Reacting to his provocation would only disadvantage me.
He would only enjoy seeing me fear him.
So I quickly covered my face with a smile.
“…May I go greet Your Mother now?”
Kallio finally stopped his nonsense.
If he would just leave now, things would go much more smoothly.
But how was I supposed to make him leave this place?
Just as I struggled to think of a way, Kallio stepped back surprisingly obediently.
“Ah, I suppose it’s best if I completely step aside so you’re not uncomfortable.
Time… hmm.”
He picked up one of the incense sticks on the censer.
With a sharp tap against the dark stone beside the censer, a spark ignited and quickly died away.
Smoke rose, and the incense stick began to burn down.
“Until this incense burns out.”
Like someone unconcerned about being attacked from behind, Kallio turned away without hesitation.
‘You threw a tantrum earlier, but now you’re calm?’
His unexpectedly cool demeanor left me momentarily stunned.
‘He said he was in a bad mood earlier… is that why?’
But that didn’t matter now.
Good.
Stay distracted.
That way I can escape easily.
Finally, I was alone.
Before I could savor the freedom, I hurried toward the latch next to the coffin.
Part of the wall sank inward, revealing a hidden door.
‘There it is.’
This was the secret passage inside the tomb of the Former Emperor and Former Empress.
Memories slowly resurfaced.
When I wrote my debut novel, I had been deeply into Egyptian and Persian-inspired content, borrowing heavily from those motifs.
This secret passage mechanism was one of them.
I entered the passage and pulled the inside latch downward.
The entrance sealed itself, leaving no trace of the door.
Now that I had reached my destination, all that was left was the treasure hunt.
“Let’s begin our exploration.”
A reincarnator in a romance-fantasy world should at least be capable of finding hidden items.
With a mischievous smile, I went off to find the item that would awaken me into an esper—no, a magician.
***
The secret passage I boldly entered was extremely dark.
I had expected it to be dim and brought a lantern, but even so—
Because no one ever came here, the darkness was suffocating.
But my goal was to find a stone called the “Awakening Stone” inside this tomb.
I picked up a small pebble from the ground and made markings on the wall as I walked.
At first, there was only one long, straight path.
But as time passed, more and more branching paths appeared.
If I wasn’t careful, I could easily get lost.
Just as I was marking the path diligently, I heard a presence nearby.
Huff—!
An arm shot out of the darkness and grabbed me.
“What the—who, who are you?!”
The suddenness of the situation made me drop my lantern and fall backward.
Thankfully, the lantern didn’t break.
And the arm that grabbed for me only hit the floor beside my face.
We didn’t actually collide.
But unfortunately, under the faint lantern light, I saw the face of a man.
He had the appearance of a scholar, yet a strong, well-built body with bronzed skin.
For a moment, I wondered if he was a knight who had gotten lost.
But then a rolled-up scroll fell from his pocket and rolled across the floor.
Seeing that scroll, I realized something.
‘He’s not a knight… he’s a Scribe?’
But why would a Scribe be in a secret passage like this?
Scribes in the Amir Empire were officials who recorded national events and duties.
My wariness grew.
As I quickly scanned him, the man stared blankly at me and whispered—
“An angel…?”
