IBRIP l CH 100

Chapter 100 

I stood on the grassy hill and looked up at a small slope.

“Why did you do it… Why?!”

Oscar was still crying loudly.

The timing was perfect. Count Bluebell was holding Oscar tightly, stopping him from running toward Joseph (who still had Boris’s face).

[Master!]

I heard Raglia calling out to me.

Oscar’s proud ego wanted to accept my confession. But his unconscious mind rejected it strongly and tried to kick me out even harder.

Because of that, even more knights had risen from the ground—enough to form a whole army.

Even though Raglia was fast, there were too many knights now. Even when she defeated dozens at once, hundreds more appeared.

“Oscar!”

I turned my head away from the chaos and ran with all my strength.

The feeling of pushing through tall grass up to my waist was so real—it felt strange.

Oscar didn’t respond to my shout. Even when I grabbed his face with both hands, he was still angrily yelling at Boris.

“Oscar, can you hear me?”

Habits are scary things.

Even though I was inside someone’s mind and shouldn’t be out of breath, I was gasping just from a bit of running.

Maybe I didn’t even need to breathe here, but I still felt out of breath.

“Oscar, look at my face and remember it clearly!”

The moment I entered Oscar’s line of sight, the space around us started to distort.

It was like an old, glitchy video tape. Everything broke apart and rebuilt again in flashes.

“…What is this?”

Oscar’s expression changed.

“What… what is all this?”

He looked confused and shook his head.

Memories are like short plays with assigned roles.

And Oscar, in this memory, had the role of being angry at the person who hurt Love.

But now I was shaking him, trying to wake him up from that role.

I held Oscar’s face firmly and said,

“Look at my face and listen carefully. Oscar, your memory has been changed. The memory of Love getting hurt—it’s fake!”

I imagined two full-length mirrors in my mind. Right away, two mirrors rose—one near my feet and one behind Oscar.

I moved to the side so Oscar could clearly see himself in the mirror and shouted,

“Look! See who’s stuck to the back of your head!”

In the mirror, Joseph’s face (the one stuck to the back of Oscar’s head) was now visible to Oscar.

“I’m changing your memory a little right now too—but someone else changed it long before I did. You need to know that!”

Just then, Raglia flew toward me and wrapped around my neck like a collar.

[You can’t keep going!]

She grabbed my neck and lifted me off the ground.

Even while being dragged into the air, I shouted to Oscar,

“Think about why Joseph’s face is on the back of your head!”

As soon as I was lifted, the ground I had been standing on began to shake.

Oscar stood still, surrounded by the now-distorted memory—just like I had planned.

I tapped Raglia and said,

“Hey, I’m actually okay, you know?”

Wait a second… Does this mean I’m talented at magic too, not just swordsmanship?

[That’s not the point! If we don’t get out of here now—!]

Hearing her urgent voice, I looked down to find a way out.

At my feet, I saw a black hole—it must be the entrance I had used to come in, now turned into a swampy pit.

Without hesitation, Raglia dragged me through the hole.

Right as we passed through, I felt a cold chill and shivered.

‘It suddenly feels cold.’

Sure enough, on the other side of the hole, a white snowstorm was blowing.

It felt like time slowed down. I could see every snowflake floating in the air, clear and detailed.

[Master, run!]

Raglia’s urgent voice snapped me out of it.

I quickly stood up and ran without thinking.

But the more I ran toward the hallway’s entrance, the stronger the snowstorm blew in my face.

[Hurry! The sun is rising outside!]

What?!

Raglia’s warning echoed in my ears:

“If it takes too long, we’ll assume you’ve lost your way.”

[Run faster!]

Raglia’s shout overlapped with that warning voice.

I remembered something—this hallway leads to an infinite space.

And now, from that endless space, icy blue shards were rushing toward us.

I saw the shards gathering together and forming the shape of a giant creature with scales.

Then, a powerful chill wrapped around my whole body like I was buried in snow.

“Winter, no—!”

I screamed louder than I ever thought I could.

At that moment, a huge arm came out from the creature’s form.

I reached out and grabbed it tightly—and everything went black.

***

“Cough!”

As soon as I opened my eyes, I coughed hard.

The sharp taste of blood filled my mouth.

I looked around, dazed. I was being carried in someone’s cold arms through the air.

“O… Oscar… What happened to him? Cough!”

“…Congratulations, Izana.”

I looked up and saw Winter’s serious face. He was staring straight ahead and spoke in a stiff voice.

“You have no sword talent. Not even the basic sense to handle a blade. Even if you had ten knives, you couldn’t peel an apple properly.”

What?

“…That’s not… cough!”

“But as a magician, you’re quite good. You’ve inherited the magical talent of the Bluebell family, like Joseph Rohia.”

My chest was wet with blood.

I kept wiping my lips, but the coughing wouldn’t stop, so I gave up and let my head fall back.

The sky was beginning to lighten—it was dawn.

The sky turned a soft purple, and it looked beautiful and peaceful.

Even though I was coughing blood like a tragic heroine, I strangely felt fine. I had a weird confidence that I’d be okay.

“And you also share one more trait with him—you know how to get on my nerves. That’s a rare talent. You’re quite skilled.”

“…Cough.”

Trying to keep my coughs quiet, I held my soaked clothes with both hands.

Not that it mattered—Winter wasn’t even looking at me.

“…A-Are you mad? Cough!”

“Did you rely on your regression?”

“……”

Winter gave a cold smile.

“Impressive. Just like you told me before—you really are becoming a proper hero.”

“I wasn’t ignoring your warning. But I thought it was the only way.”

“You would’ve found another way. If it were truly impossible, you wouldn’t have even suggested it. I didn’t expect you to make me feel so helpless.”

He’s definitely mad.

I lowered my head, unable to say a word.

Still, my vision was blurry, as if I had a fever. I had no choice but to lean against Winter.

Before I knew it, we arrived back at the palace. Winter gently landed on the balcony of my room.

“Young Lady, you’re back—ahhh!”

“Miss!”

“!”

Inside the room, three people had fallen asleep while taking care of (ex)Sweet Potato in my place.

When they heard us, they looked up with sleepy eyes—but as soon as they saw me, they screamed and knocked over their chairs.

I weakly raised a finger to my lips.

“Shhh… Don’t let His Majesty find out.”

The three froze in place, like they were playing freeze tag.

“Prepare clean clothes and a warm bath,” Winter said as he laid me on the bed.

“And I need one geranium root and some catnip leaves.”

Rena was the first to move. Her face pale, she shook Loti awake.

“…Loti, let’s go get herbs. Alfred, you carry the spirit and get some water.”

Alfred quickly picked up (ex)Sweet Potato and ran out.

But Loti just held my bloodstained hand, frowning deeply. She didn’t move at all.