chapter 09
I felt a bit relieved to see the same setting appear again.
This time, the knowledge from the original work might actually help.
“You’ve recognized the barrier, I see.”
“Is there anyone in the Empire who doesn’t know the Duke’s barrier? By any chance, is the one in the Rutolu Forest the same as this?”
When I looked up at Lennox with shining eyes, he let out a shallow sigh.
“I can’t say it’s exactly the same… but it’s similar.”
“I’ve only read about it in books. This is my first time seeing it in person.”
I blurted that out without thinking and quickly shut my mouth.
Fortunately, Lennox seemed to take my mention of “books” at face value.
“Go ahead and sit.”
At his gesture, a bench appeared, made of what looked like fluffy white clouds.
I hesitantly walked over and ran my hand over the soft, billowy surface of the bench, unable to suppress a small exclamation of awe.
“You can make things like this too?”
“Simple things, yes.”
Lennox conjured another bench for himself and sat across from me.
“You’re not going to ask?”
“Ask what?”
“Whether I’m a magician or not. That would be a normal question.”
Well, that’s because I already know Lennox’s power isn’t magic.
But even in the original story, it was never revealed exactly what kind of power he had or where it came from.
“I don’t know what it is, but… it just doesn’t feel like magic.”
He seemed surprised by my answer.
Lennox silently stared at me for a moment, then murmured to himself.
“Must be because you’re an Epure.”
And then he got straight to the point.
“So, what is it that you’re curious about?”
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.
“About what you said earlier… that I was the target…”
As I finally brought it up, he tilted his head slightly.
“You saw it too, didn’t you? How the evil spirits charged at you.”
“Evil spirits?”
So those things that chased me earlier and were cut down by Lennox’s sword—those were evil spirits?
I stammered in shock.
“W-why would evil spirits chase after me?”
“Because you’ve awakened as an Epure.”
He shrugged lightly.
“Evil spirits usually feed off negative human energy, but Epures are much more tempting prey.”
Oh god…
The shocking information made the back of my neck go numb.
“The pure energy of an Epure naturally draws in evil. From now on, evil spirits will constantly be watching for a chance to devour you.”
My body trembled from the shock and fear.
Wasn’t I supposed to be a purifier?! How does someone blessed by the divine get eaten by evil spirits?!
Seething with betrayal, I reached toward Ash, hidden in the hood of my cloak.
But I grabbed nothing. That sly thing had already slipped away.
Just wait until you come back. You’re going to get it.
Grinding my teeth, I tried to focus on survival for now.
“Isn’t there a way to avoid or fight the evil spirits?”
To my desperate question, Lennox answered without hesitation.
“Fully awaken your power as an Epure. You won’t be able to do anything with just the first stage of awakening.”
“…”
“Right now, you’re completely exposed to those who seek your power.”
I bit down hard on my lower lip.
How am I supposed to awaken when I don’t even know how?
There were three total stages of awakening for an Epure.
I was currently only at the first stage—barely aware of my power.
I had asked Ash if there was a way to speed up the process, but he had shaken his head.
[You have to realize it yourself. That’s the only way.]
“If you reach the second awakening, evil spirits won’t be a threat to you anymore.”
“And until then?”
Since I couldn’t use my power properly yet, I needed a way to survive dangerous situations.
To my question, Lennox stared at me.
That same intense gaze as before.
“There is none.”
“…”
“So just survive—by any means necessary.”
“…Ha.”
A laugh of disbelief escaped me.
Surviving until I reached the next awakening, while fending off evil spirits all the while…
Is that even possible?
My heart grew anxious. I chewed on the inside of my lip and gripped the handkerchief tucked in my chest.
Will I even make it there safely?
I hoped that if I reached the herbalist and asked about the mysterious leaf, I could find a clue.
But looking at the situation now, even that seemed unlikely.
What should I do?
It was already overwhelming just to deal with Karinne. And now, evil spirits too?
On top of that, Ash had vanished without a trace.
As I struggled to find a solution, Lennox’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“If you have nothing more to say, we should get going.”
“Huh? No, wait…”
He rose from his seat.
Panicked at how quickly he was leaving, I hurried to stop him.
“Your Grace, wait a moment!”
If he left now, what would I do?
I dashed toward him and grabbed his sleeve. As our hands brushed, a blue current surged between us.
The energy instantly flowed into Lennox.
“Again…”
Seeing my expression, Lennox awkwardly brushed his hair back and muttered,
“…It wasn’t intentional.”
I know. Besides, I was the one who touched him this time.
He doesn’t even seem hurt or tired.
Though I did feel something being pulled out of me again.
“It’s okay. It’s not like you took it on purpose. It’s just… Ah!”
In the middle of my sentence, I let out a small gasp.
Why didn’t I think of that earlier?
The solution had been right in front of me this whole time.
“Um, by any chance…”
I clasped my hands together toward Lennox, putting on the most sincere, pleading expression I could muster.
“Could I ask you for a favor?”
* * *
A little while later, I found myself riding in the Cravant Duke’s carriage with Lennox.
From the outside, it looked plain and unadorned, but inside, it was so luxurious it made my eyes widen.
However, while my body was comfortable, the emotional toll was intense.
“A partially awakened Epure leaving the estate without a single escort…”
“…”
“Utterly reckless. You might as well have been asking to die.”
This man had a gift for harsh words—right to someone’s face.
But everything he said was technically true.
Clearly, my request for a ride had really annoyed him.
Did he have to go this far, though?
Since I was technically in the wrong, I kept quiet—but the more time passed, the more unjust it felt.
I timidly spoke up.
“It’s not like I wanted to die. If I’d known evil spirits were going to attack me, I wouldn’t have come out unprepared.”
“Ignorance is nothing to be proud of.”
This man, a master of verbal assault, showed no mercy.
“If you don’t value your life, I seriously question your sanity.”
His biting sarcasm finally made me snap.
“Then what was I supposed to do?! I had something I had to investigate, and there was no one to help me, so I had no choice but to come myself!”
“Investigate?”
“Yes!”
I carefully pulled out the handkerchief I’d folded and tucked into my chest.
Inside were two tea leaves—still moist and neatly pressed.
“Look. The leaves are different, right? I thought something weird was mixed into the tea I was drinking, and I wanted to find out what it was.”
At the sight of the leaves, Lennox’s brow twitched.
“Where did you get a Quallum leaf?”
“…Huh?”
He pointed to the leaf on the left. His face had gone completely rigid.
“I asked where you got a Quallum leaf.”
“I—I told you. It was mixed into my tea. I didn’t even know what it was.”
Flustered by the sudden tension, I stammered out my explanation.
Lennox narrowed his eyes, as if assessing the truth, and stared at me.
“I’m not lying.”
Since I’d done nothing wrong, I didn’t avoid his piercing gaze.
“In fact, I’d like to ask you. How did you recognize it, Your Grace?”
How did Lennox know the identity of a leaf even Ash didn’t recognize?
If Lennox was working with Karinne… if he approached me on purpose…
Thump. My heart sank.
No, that can’t be. He wouldn’t.
I pushed down the doubts rising inside me and looked straight into Lennox’s eyes.
“Please tell me. What is Quallum, and how do you know about it?”
For a moment, our eyes clashed fiercely, as if trying to determine whether the other was friend or foe.
Finally, Lennox’s expression softened.
“Because Quallum only grows in the Rutolu Forest.”
“A tree… from the Rutolu Forest?”
In the vast Barkhan Empire, the strongest nation on the continent, there was one major source of trouble.
At the far southern end of the empire lay the cursed land known as the Rutolu Forest.
A forbidden zone, sealed off and abandoned.
Even now, it was said to crawl with all manner of unknown and wicked things.
To prevent those things from escaping the forest, a barrier had been erected, and the person in charge of maintaining it and protecting the empire was none other than…
“The Head of House Cravant.”
Lennox.
