IBRIP l CH 96

Chapter 96 

Loti opened her mouth to argue, but Rena shot her a sharp glare and pointed at Alfred.

“He might be inside that place too! Can you really handle that?!”

Ah…

‘No, I can’t.’

Definitely not!

Alfred didn’t even try to defend himself. He just scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.

“Hey, at least try to deny it, you idiot!”

Even while Rena grabbed him by the collar, Alfred grinned like a fool.

This is why dating in the workplace is a problem!

Loti, who had saved Alfred from Rena’s wrath, crossed her arms and said playfully,

“Rena, I think you’ve got the wrong idea.”

“What kind of wrong idea?”

“Falling in love isn’t a crime. If it were, I’d be sentenced to death already.”

Cut! CUT!

“Loti, go read something like Cat Poop. Or maybe Who Peed on My Head? That’d suit you better.”

“Miss, just sentence me to death instead!”

After pushing Roteo and Alfred far away, only Rena was left.

“Bwah! Ba! Bah!”

Well, there was one more. The (former) sweet potato baby, who still didn’t have a name.

But that baby was a complete mystery, so Winter didn’t count it as part of the group.

Rena avoided my eyes and started scrubbing the already-clean floor like crazy.

“Miss, maybe you should go inside my mind. My sister reads weird books with lots of guys in them, and she probably doesn’t want anyone to know.”

Alfred, who had been watching quietly, raised his hand again.

And right away, Rena threw her cleaning cloth straight at his face.

“If we’re doing this… Miss, can I ask for one favor?”

Rena looked pale as she spoke.

“Whatever you see… Please promise to keep it a secret.”

“Don’t worry.”

I quickly whispered into her ear with a smile,

“I’ve seen those kinds of books too.”

Rena’s eyes went wide, and her cheeks turned red as she lay down next to me on my bed.

Soon, Winter came over and sat on a chair.

He gently placed our hands together and explained,

“You’re only going in to understand the feeling and find the path. Don’t stay too long. This is a powerful spell, but there’s a reason why most mages avoid it.”

Going into someone’s mind always leaves invisible scars.

Even just seeing Huérion’s figure from far away had left a deep mark in my memory—like it had been burned into my brain.

If those scars pile up, the mind eventually breaks down.

“[Luté du Sang.]”

Suddenly, everything went black, like ink spilled over my eyes.

When I opened them again, I was in a quiet, unfamiliar hallway.

Behind me was an endless corridor, probably the way out of the spell.

The hallway ceiling wasn’t very high, and the floor was patterned like a chessboard, with black and white tiles.

“Huh? What is this?”

Then I realized—I wasn’t alone in Rena’s mind.

I felt something hard and familiar on my wrist.

[What is this place?!]

“Raglia! I’m so happy to see you!”

It was Raglia!

I didn’t know why she got dragged in with me, but I was glad I wasn’t alone. I rubbed my cheek against her.

[Ugh! You always do weird things! Peeking inside someone’s mind like this—what a shameless master you are!]

Raglia was furious.

[This goes against dragon pride! Human magic is always so creepy! So ungraceful! Ugh!]

“You say that, but you go crazy whenever you see shiny gems…”

[I have no eyes! So I don’t go crazy!]

Even while I checked out the hallway, Raglia kept grumbling loudly.

[My conscience is in pain! Ugh!]

“Why are you suddenly acting all moral here? If you keep this up, no soup for you next month.”

[…]

The hallway seemed endless. There were countless doors on the walls, each with a wooden sign on it:

• [Must Protect] 
• [Don’t Forget] 
• [Must Forget] 
• [Mustn’t Protect] 

I had only come here to get a feel for the space before the real thing.

I wasn’t here to dig into secrets or expose hidden thoughts. So I didn’t hesitate and opened the door closest to me: [Must Protect].

“Ah!”

As soon as I stepped in, I tripped and fell.

Ouch!

I landed on glass shards scattered on the floor, cutting my hands and drawing blood.

But I had no time to worry about the pain.

“Grab her!”

“Aaaah! Die! Just die!”

A rough man shouted, and a young girl screamed.

I crouched instinctively at the terrifying sounds.

I was in an old mansion. Not as big as the Rohia estate, but still large and definitely not a commoner’s home.

But everything around me was wrecked. Broken flower vases, shattered picture frames—all in ruins.

I realized I had stepped out of one of the picture frames.

—Rule #1: To escape a memory, you must remember the exact door you entered through. That’s the only way out.

Winter’s voice echoed in my head.

I clearly remembered the door’s location, so I cautiously moved toward the screams, stopping at the corner of the hallway.

There, I saw a group of men dragging a girl in a green dress.

‘That’s Rena…’

She looked younger than the Rena I know—maybe around fourteen. Still older than me, though.

—Rule #2: Don’t let the memory’s owner see you. If they do, the memory might get distorted.

Rena fought back hard, biting and kicking at the men who were probably debt collectors. But it didn’t help.

Her green dress got torn, beads flew off, and the men grabbed her hair and pulled her like she was some animal.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Then, from the hallway corner, someone came charging in with a sword.

It was Alfred—maybe three or four years younger than he is now.

The Alfred I know is a tanned hottie who smiles even when the baby pulls his hair. But this one had pale skin, a chubby face, and was shorter.

Still, his expression was full of rage, and he wore a black-and-red uniform.

‘Yikes… he looks intense.’

Two of the men went to stop young Alfred.

“Didn’t think the Serande family would fall this far, huh, little lord?”

Alfred didn’t respond. He twisted his body and fought like a wild dog, grinding his teeth and screaming.

“AHHHHH!”

The men laughed at first, but their smiles quickly vanished.

Slash—

Alfred’s sword cut one man’s neck. Blood sprayed as the others stared in shock.

The two holding Rena rushed in to stop him, but Alfred’s trained sword moves left red slashes on them too.

“AHHHH! AHHHHH!”

Even after they fell, Alfred kept swinging his sword wildly and screaming.

One man tried to fight back, but Rena picked up a club and hit him in the head, knocking him down.

Then she hugged Alfred from behind.

He shook violently, still swinging his sword in the air, but then suddenly went quiet.

His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.

‘Of all the memories to open…’

I must’ve seen something I wasn’t supposed to.

Out of all the memories, I picked this one. No wonder Rena was hesitant about this.

Then, someone entered the mansion through the open door. But I couldn’t see who it was.

Tap, tap.

Someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

I turned around—and something hit me hard.

Everything went spinning.