Chapter 47
***
‘You’re the only one who can make me smile like this.’
That’s our sneaky Loti.
Such a flirt, always falling for handsome guys.
But still, I don’t like the idea of her being in danger.
“Just go back to the castle and stay safe.”
“B-but…”
“Loti, you trust me, right?”
Loti bit her lip at my words, then slowly nodded.
“Miss… you’ll come back safely, right?”
“Of course. You know who I am. And look who I’m going with.”
A small look of trust bloomed in Loti’s eyes.
“Then… I’ll stay here.”
So quick.
So annoying.
I glared at her playfully, then turned to Winter.
“Shall we go?”
“Let’s.”
Soon, I was riding the dragon again.
I felt a little sick as we took off into the sky.
“Missss!”
Loti’s voice came from far below.
I didn’t dare look down, but I listened.
“Thank youuu!”
“…”
“You’re the bestttt!”
I tried hard not to smile.
“Miss, you are my—!”
Her voice faded.
I gave a small smile and leaned gently against Winter’s scaly back.
‘So this is why people save others.’
Seeing how happy she was made me feel happy too.
Even my fear of heights suddenly felt silly.
***
“Seriously, Loti Hesward, you’re getting crazier every day.”
Rena watched Loti stare up into the sky, hands cupped around her mouth.
Loti didn’t care. She just kept staring at where Izana disappeared.
“Don’t talk to Loti like that!”
“Shut up, you idiot!”
Alfred tried to defend his girlfriend but got kicked by Rena and fell down.
After knocking Alfred out easily, Rena walked up to Loti.
“Loti Hesward, you know what’s going on, don’t you? Why did she suddenly act so smart? And why is the scary Grand Duke Winter Orsheus here all of a sudden? He says he’s here for Lord Yubel, but that doesn’t make any sense. And why did he leave with her?”
Rena bit her lip, unsure how to explain everything she’d seen.
Why was the famously insane Winter from the [Igrio] family suddenly in Rohia, following around Izana?
Why were they going to Elahi?
‘Are they going to kill all the sick people?’
The thought gave Rena chills.
But Loti just smiled beautifully.
She wiped her tears and answered calmly.
“Didn’t you hear the Grand Duke? He said he came to find [Materia].”
“Come on, that’s nonsense! And if that’s true, why is he taking Izana with him?”
“Rena, just trust her.”
Rena snapped.
“Why do you even trust her so much?!”
Loti winked at her.
“That’s a secret.”
The truth that Izana was [Materia] was a secret between her and Loti.
Loti wasn’t great at keeping secrets—but this one, she’d take to her grave.
After all, Izana had saved her worthless life. She was her tiny prophet, her only hope.
“Let’s go back to the castle. Alfred, you need to rest.”
“Go back?! What about the fire?!”
“Izana said not to put it out. So don’t. We’ll just prepare food for when she comes back.”
“You’re crazy! Alfred, why are you listening to her?!”
“If Loti says it’s fine, then it’s fine. Hurry up, sis!”
“You brainless fool!”
Ignoring Rena’s screams, Loti skipped happily back to the castle.
Izana loved orange juice and fresh cream bread the most.
She once cried while eating it, saying it tasted just like something called “Yeon○ cream bread,” whatever that meant.
Fancy food was available now, but Izana never really liked it.
So Loti decided she’d try to make cream bread.
Even though she had no idea how.
Her heart was just full of wanting to do something for Izana.
So she forgot all about the recipe and hummed a little tune.
***
But just as they were about to enter the castle, the three servants stopped at the sound of rough male voices nearby.
“Red hair and freckles. That must be the girl.”
“Do we kill the woman?”
“Kill her. And set fire to the mansion. Make sure the lobby painting and the 5th-floor safe are destroyed.”
“There are two women and a man… and why is that place already on fire?”
“Doesn’t matter. We still do our job. Langdon and I will take care of this group. You two go inside and find the green-haired girl. Get rid of her.”
They were strangers—clearly dangerous.
“Weren’t we supposed to sell the girl off?”
“Idiot. We get to take whatever we want from the mansion. If we keep a girl alive, we lose space for loot. Kill her here and bury her.”
The men were wearing black clothes and black masks, holding shiny swords openly.
But Loti wasn’t scared.
‘Izana told me to stay at the castle…’
And Loti believed in her.
***
“Little one, can you repeat what you just said?”
Elsie Karn, commander of the Rohia Knights, had to look down to see the tiny girl.
She looked underfed, but her clothes were neat.
Pink eyes and hands resting proudly on her hips—she looked cute.
But her words were not cute.
“The Rohia castle is on fire. There’s no one to put it out. You need to go back.”
Where? What fire?
Elsie frowned and asked, “And who are you, little girl?”
“My name is Izana Rohia.”
“There’s no Rohia in Rohia I don’t know.”
One of the soldiers whispered to him.
“Commander… she’s the one. The illegitimate child of Lady Yudis…”
“Oh. Her…”
An illegitimate child?
Elsie’s suspicions grew.
He had never seen this rumored child before.
In fact, no knight had.
After all—
“She’s supposed to be sick and mute, right?”
He scoffed.
“But remember the commotion when the Marchioness came? And when His Majesty visited, some servants said they saw her in the garden.”
“That girl couldn’t even walk. How would she come all the way here? Isn’t she already in the capital with the Duke and his sons?”
Calling her “Lady” felt weird.
He’d nearly forgotten she existed.
Most of the Duke’s servants never even mentioned her.
She was as good as dead.
“But… she really looks like Lady Yudis.”
“Just because her hair and eye color match? Then I guess my ear looks like Lady Yudis’s too.”
Even as he scolded his soldier, Elsie glanced back at the girl.
He couldn’t deny it—the girl’s eyes looked just like Lady Yudis’s.
“Even her nose kind of looks the same…”
“I told you, there’s no way that girl is in Rohia! Are you saying the Duchess left her daughter behind?! Even if she’s illegitimate, she carries the family name!”
Frustrated, Elsie snapped and turned back to the girl.
“Pretending to be from the Rohia family is a serious crime. Do you even know why we’re guarding this place?”
The girl looked up at him with calm, fearless eyes.
He stared at her for a moment—then suddenly drew his sword.
“…Suden, tie this girl up.”
“What?!”
The soldier named Suden looked shocked.
“Idiot! We were sent here under the Duke’s orders. Now some unknown kid is telling us to go back to the castle. Can’t you see something’s wrong?”
“You think this girl is tricking us?”
“Just tie her up, Suden!”
Scared, Suden grabbed the girl’s arms.
Finally, the girl spoke again.
“Please bring Lord Peres of Hordel.”
“Peres? The one His Majesty sent?”
The girl nodded.
“He knows me. He can confirm my identity.”
Suden looked at Elsie.
“Commander, what do we do?”
Elsie’s face tightened.
Peres was a royal from a side branch of the imperial family. You couldn’t just ignore his name.
“Please hurry. If we wait too long, the Rohia estate will burn to the ground.”
Her voice was strangely calm.
The air around them even felt cooler.
“Commander, this is really odd. We should check.”
Elsie nodded, his expression serious.
“…Suden, let her go and bring Lord Peres.”
“Yes, sir!”
Suden snapped to action.
Something felt very wrong.
Ever since the girl appeared, a strange pressure filled the area.
Other soldiers felt it too.
Without orders, they began checking their weapons and tightening formation.
Everyone looked in one direction.
The forest beyond where the girl had appeared.
Their instincts screamed—something unknown and terrifying was out there.