CHAPTER 14…………………………
At last, the third day.
Jenya looked at the three demonfolk. Aside from the incident on the first day, nothing particularly serious had happened.
Even yesterday, though it had nearly turned into a fight, things somehow ended peacefully.
‘Count Vine has it rough.’
Just as Jenya restrained Leraje, Vine carefully soothed Beris whenever he flared up.
With one more person who still had a sound head on their shoulders, Jenya’s workload had dropped significantly.
Still, judging by how things were going, it didn’t seem likely that even today—the final day—would end quietly.
“Are you kidding me? Can’t we just sweep everything out with magic?”
The moment she said they were done organizing the list and only needed to clean the storage room, Leraje and Beris clashed.
Despite Beris snapping in frustration, Leraje merely wore a faint smile.
“But Sir Beris, isn’t this a punishment? Cleaning with magic would be far too easy.”
“So you want us to sweep and scrub everything by hand?”
Beris looked less angry than utterly dumbfounded. As he let out a hollow laugh, Leraje shrugged languidly.
“Isn’t this place full of magical artifacts? What if someone misuses mana and causes a problem?”
It wasn’t entirely unreasonable—just a bit forced. As expected, Beris pointed that out.
“We already checked that there aren’t any dangerous items.”
He could say that because he and Vine had already set aside anything that might pose a problem.
Yet Leraje remained brazen.
“There may be something you failed to notice.”
It was obvious he simply wanted Beris to suffer more. Naturally, Beris finally unleashed the anger he’d been holding back.
“…You!”
More precisely, he unleashed his mana.
“Tsk. Do you really think threatening me with force makes you my equal?”
Leraje twisted his lips as he watched the mana rushing toward him.
“I show no mercy to those who are not beautiful.”
Beris bared his teeth.
“Good. Then it’ll be even more fun when you get smashed in that state.”
Jenya looked at Vine with a weary expression. He looked just as exhausted as she felt.
Just then, Leraje turned to Vine and smiled brightly.
“Count Vine, it would be best if you stepped back for a moment. Jenya, you as well.”
Vine stared at Leraje as if he wanted to say something, then shook his head and walked over to Jenya. He was more compliant than expected.
If this were the Vine Jenya knew, he should have complained about why he had to protect that man. It seemed even he was sick of the three-day schedule.
Perhaps because they shared the same misery, Jenya sincerely hoped Vine could hold out until the end.
“There’s no need to do it by hand. We can use items imbued with magic. I’ll bring them once the fight is over.”
“Fine.”
With that response, the chill that had begun when Beris flared up faded away. Vine was diligently protecting her.
Jenya looked up at him. After she stared for a few seconds, Vine clicked his tongue and turned to her.
“What is it?”
Seeing his sharp eyes, Jenya smiled softly.
“I thought I should thank you. I know you’ve helped me a lot.”
Vine’s expression twisted strangely.
He looked embarrassed at being thanked, yet also incredulous—and at the same time, annoyed at himself for protecting a human.
But instead of snapping as usual, he sighed.
“I didn’t do it for you. It’d be troublesome to anger the Duke any further.”
True enough. Neither Jenya nor the servants had ever seen Duke Gremory demand punishment so firmly.
Instead of thanking Vine again, Jenya turned her attention back to the noisy demonfolk.
Apparently done testing each other, the two were now charging at one another mercilessly. It didn’t look like the fight would end anytime soon.
“Shouldn’t we go outside the storage room?”
She honestly wanted to tell them to take their fight elsewhere. Jenya surveyed the increasingly wrecked storage room.
There was even more to clean now. Maybe Leraje had truly intended this…
Yet seeing that wide grin on his face, it also seemed like he simply enjoyed picking fights.
‘What a pervert.’
Whoosh—!
Jenya turned her head, following the spell that flew right past her.
She saw it strike a mirror not far away, dead on.
Gripped by unease, Jenya called out to Vine.
“…My lord. That mirror—don’t tell me it’s cracking?”
“What…?”
Focused on deflecting incoming magic with his own hands, Vine turned to look at the mirror at her words.
His face twisted viciously.
“Damn it—!”
Before he could finish, another spell flew toward the mirror.
Crack—!
Seeing the mirror visibly splinter, Jenya staggered backward. Then she heard Leraje’s startled shout.
“Get out of the way!”
Get out of the way? Did he really think she could dodge this?
Jenya squeezed her eyes shut as she watched black smoke pour out of the shattered mirror.
Jenya opened her eyes to someone shaking her. She met a pair of dark green eyes.
“My lord.”
“Wake up. You’ve been caught in magic.”
Vine didn’t seem injured. As she sat up, she saw they were surrounded by countless mirrors.
“Has the space been distorted?”
“Probably.”
At least it was fortunate she hadn’t been swept away alone.
Following closely behind Vine as he moved ahead, seemingly searching for an exit, Jenya glanced around.
With mirrors everywhere, it was hard to tell which paths were open and which were blocked.
She recalled the list Beris and Vine had given her.
Mirror of the Labyrinth.
An item created for mental torture or punishment.
True to its purpose, it was a cursed mirror that one could not escape until the magic was dispelled from the outside or the labyrinth’s exit was found.
“If we get separated, we won’t be able to get out.”
Jenya knew that well enough.
“Yes, I know.”
“Stick close.”
“Yes.”
Being told to stay close was welcome. Jenya quickly positioned herself directly behind Count Vine.
For a moment, Vine stiffened. She tensed, worried he might retract his words—but fortunately, he stepped forward again without complaint.
Looking at the mirrors reflecting them countless times over, Jenya spoke.
“It’s not just a simple maze, is it?”
“It was described as mental torture. So no, it won’t be.”
That was exactly what the instructions beside the mirror had said.
“Will it show us something?”
The moment she asked, Vine stopped short, and she nearly bumped into his back.
‘Am I talking too much?’
She tried to act normal, but being caught in magic had left her a little unsettled.
As she wondered how to keep from irritating him, he pushed her back slightly and spoke.
“We’ll find out soon. This way.”
“…Don’t tell me.”
Jenya stared at the large mirror that had appeared before them. Unlike the others that reflected them clearly, the image within this one was distorted.
“Can’t we just avoid it?”
It looked ominous enough to be the start of the torture.
If so, wouldn’t it be better to leave before it fully transformed?
But Vine’s answer was firm.
“There’s no other path. We have to go through here.”
So there was no avoiding it.
“This won’t be easy.”
No sooner had she sighed those words than the mirror flared with brilliant light.
It didn’t merely show something within—it warped the space around them.
Vine grabbed Jenya’s arm tightly.
“Magic within magic. Be careful not to get swept up.”
Jenya nodded vigorously and wrapped her arms around his. At the same time, the space around them completely changed.
A garden in full bloom, soft grass beneath her feet. The scent of flowers lingered in the air, and a cool breeze brushed past.
The wind grazing her hair felt unnervingly natural.
For a moment, she almost thought the magic had been broken. The space felt no different from reality.
Jenya looked around and asked,
“Is this really magic?”
“Yes. Even after so much time, it’s remarkably precise.”
“Is that bad?”
She thought it was a pointless question, but Vine answered kindly.
“No. This is better than unstable magic. There will be a clear way to break it.”
Whether he truly believed that or was simply reassuring her, she couldn’t tell.
Jenya glanced up at Count Vine, who neither pulled his hand away nor told her to step back.
“If that’s the case, what are we supposed to do here?”
Vine raised a hand and touched the tree beside him.
“It seems to be a space created from memories. I have no such memory, so it must be yours.”
“My memories?”
What did he mean?
As she looked around in confusion, a castle straight out of a painting came into view.
Jenya froze as if struck by lightning. This place was…
Then she heard a familiar voice—and a name she had erased completely from her memory.
[Astria.]
[Mom!]
“Ah.”
Jenya stared blankly as a small child ran straight through her and Vine as if they didn’t exist.
The child, with neatly braided black hair and violet eyes identical to Jenya’s, rushed past them.
