Chapter 130: Red Eyes (3)
Even though her eyes were completely blind, Yuran moved with flawless skill.
She began laying out various tools in the small room attached to the office, including a bottle filled with blood and a wine glass.
Lian moved beside her as if assisting, but since he was a complete novice in such matters, it was essentially Yuran who had completed all the preparations on her own.
“Phew….”
At last, Yuran let out a soft sigh after finishing the preparations for the ritual.
Watching her closely from the side, Lian cautiously asked her,
“Is there anything more I can help with?”
At his question, Yuran shook her head.
“No. You've already helped greatly.”
After taking a few deep breaths, she added in a trembling voice,
“…Forget what I said. Please wait in the large room next door. Don’t let anyone come in.”
The small room attached to the office was a space where no one was likely to approach.
Realistically, there wasn’t even a need to block entry or stand watch.
Realizing how flimsy her request sounded, Yuran lowered her head with a small thud.
Then, in a voice even more subdued than before, she said,
“Truthfully… I’m a bit anxious. Could you wait for me? …It won’t take long.”
“…Should I wait in the office next door, then?”
Yuran silently nodded.
Then she slumped and covered her face with both hands.
Overwhelmed with shame, embarrassment, and a renewed sense of guilt, she couldn’t bear to meet his gaze.
Even though she knew well that he would never look at her with disdain or contempt.
“Please wait just a little.”
She spoke quietly.
Her voice still trembled, but there was a certain resolve to it.
“It won’t take long.”
“Good luck, Yuran.”
“…Thank you.”
With that, Yuran stepped into the small room and locked the door.
Not long after, a strange and indescribable energy began to seep out subtly through the gap under the door.
Should I set up a barrier?
As Lian considered it, he recalled Yuran’s request that no matter what happened, he must not interfere.
“Phew.”
In the end, he turned away without doing anything.
He slumped into a chair and let out a soft breath.
‘Ah.’
I nearly forgot.
Murmuring to himself, he pulled out the necklace from his pocket and placed it visibly on the table.
It was the same necklace Yuran had earlier sent off with the snake conjured by sorcery.
“…….”
So… now what?
That’s what Lian thought.
Since it was someone else’s office, and that of a professor at that, he couldn’t act carelessly.
Even the spider that always clung to him was nowhere to be seen at times like this.
In the end, he simply sat back in the chair, praying that whatever Yuran was doing inside would go well.
How much time had passed?
“…□□□!!!”
A faint cry of joy came from the room.
It was in Garusol.
Moments later, the door opened quietly, and Yuran stepped out.
Her blindfold was gone, and her eyes sparkled black like stars in the night sky, just as always.
“It worked! It worked!”
Yuran burst from the room with a bright smile, and Lian slowly got to his feet.
…Doesn’t look like anything’s changed.
Swallowing that comment, he first offered his congratulations.
“I’m glad it seems things went well.”
“Ah, Lian Gwendil!”
Yuran’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
Before he could react, she rushed over and hugged him tightly.
Startled, Lian froze for a moment.
“…Ugh.”
“It’s all thanks to you! I truly thank you, Lian Gwendil!”
Yuran almost shouted in a voice full of energy.
Her arms wrapped around him more tightly.
At first intending to calm her down and gently pull away, Lian noticed her hands trembling faintly.
She was murmuring something in a low voice.
It was Garusol.
But this time, he could understand it.
She kept repeating thank you, truly, thank you.
“…It’s all thanks to you.”
Yuran muttered.
This time, in Imperial tongue.
“Because of you… I really survived. Truly. Thank you. I sincerely thank you….”
Her words gradually grew wet with tears.
“…….”
At the sound of her sobbing, Lian quietly stayed in her embrace.
A tangled web of emotions stirred in one corner of his heart.
Her hands trembled with both desperation and fear.
In the end, he decided to remain in her embrace.
At least for now.
A moment later, Yuran released him from her hug and quickly wiped her eyes.
“Ahem, I’ve racked up too much debt to you.”
She murmured with an awkward smile.
“I don’t even know how to repay it all.”
“You’ve already repaid me several times over.”
Lian also smiled faintly as he replied.
“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve died several times already in the Forest of Secrets.”
“If you put it that way, haven’t we both saved each other?”
She gave a bitter smile.
“I don’t think it’s something we can calculate.”
Lian gave a bitter smile in return.
Looking at her, he said,
“Anyway, I’m really glad things worked out.”
He added,
“I mean it.”
“…As I said before, it’s thanks to you.”
Lian suddenly noticed the weariness settled heavily in Yuran’s eyes.
In truth, it wasn’t just her.
“You look very tired. I’ll be heading off for today.”
“Oh, already…?”
Yuran murmured in surprise.
“To send you off like this is very… Right, tea. Wouldn’t you like to have a cup of tea before you go?”
“I’ll have tea another time.”
Lian shook his head.
“I think resting is better for both of us right now.”
“Mm… Mm-hmm….”
At his additional words that she didn’t need to see him off, Yuran could only nod in understanding.
Even after Lian had left, Yuran stood there for a while.
“…….”
She stared blankly at the mirror.
As if mocking all her earlier worries, her eyes sparkled unmistakably in deep black.
‘…Thank goodness.’
Yuran murmured quietly.
‘If Master had seen me then….’
Just what would’ve happened?
Probably something she didn’t even want to imagine.
Yuran was genuinely relieved that such a thing hadn’t happened.
“……”
She recalled him, who had helped her without a word despite the sudden request.
Lian Gwendil.
Come to think of it, wasn’t their first meeting quite similar to this?
‘What if….’
What if he had seen her red eyes?
If he had seen that symbol of the devil, would he have still helped her back then?
While trailing off into needless speculation and retracing her thoughts, Yuran suddenly recalled an event from a few days ago.
The Forest of Secrets.
The many duplicates of people she had seen then.
And at that time, surely….
‘Surely….’
There had been a duplicate of herself with red eyes.
That meant, among the versions of herself remembered by someone, there had been one with red eyes.
“……”
A shiver ran down her spine, and Yuran froze in place, even forgetting to breathe.
‘No way….’
Could it be… he already knew?
That thought bloomed and began to grow, one thought linking to another, gradually gaining mass.
Perhaps it was because she had once been mentally cornered.
Just as her spiraling imagination began to turn wholly negative, she suddenly smacked herself across the cheek with a loud slap.
“…What a fool.”
What sort of rudeness was that toward her savior?
She realized anew just how very, very tired she truly was.
And with a sigh, she blamed her own narrow-minded thinking on her lack of training.
‘For now, let’s rest like he said.’
The reason her eyes had turned red.
And the details behind it—those were matters to uncover later.
Having somewhat collected her thoughts, Yuran reached for the necklace and the blindfold placed on the table.
No—she tried to.
“Eek!?”
A vivid flash of red gleamed in the eyes reflected on the tabletop.
Her heart sank in an instant.
A chill ran down her spine, and she stumbled several steps backward.
An indescribable, primal fear gripped her by the nape of the neck.
“Ah, aaah….”
Startled, she collapsed to the floor and frantically grabbed the mirror.
But her eyes were still black.
She checked multiple times.
They were black.
The mirror slipped from her suddenly limp hands and fell with a clatter.
The impact caused a crack, but she didn’t have the presence of mind to care about that now.
“Haa….”
She really was exhausted.
She muttered in self-reproach.
“Get a grip, already.”
Yes, it had been an illusion.
…It had to be an illusion.
She sighed and got to her feet.
But why, then?
“……”
Her forehead itched for some reason.
She scratched it absentmindedly a couple of times.
Even so, the sense of discomfort didn’t fade.
As if something was….
Yes.
As if a horn were about to break through her skin—that was the inexplicable sense of wrongness she felt.
“Hmm?”
At that moment, Windy May turned her head, sensing a strange discomfort.
The Academy—more precisely, the direction of the Professors’ Wing.
“What is it, Sister?”
“Ah….”
At Yeriel’s question, Windy May tilted her head in puzzlement.
“What was that?”
It had felt like a presence she had sensed somewhere before.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember where or when.
With a strange feeling of dissonance, Windy May kept tilting her head as she stared toward the Professors’ Wing.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, Professor Shagas.”
Shagas, approaching with a cane, looked at Windy May and Yeriel and said,
“It’s about time we got moving. Did something suddenly come up?”
“Hmm……”
Windy May lightly shook her head.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Then let’s be off.”
Tap. He struck the ground with his cane as he spoke.
“They’re probably already waiting for us over there.”
“Already? How diligent of them.”
“If we’re being honest, we’re the ones running late, so it’s not really their diligence we should be noting.”
“Ah, I see.”
Windy May responded offhandedly, while Shagas remained dead serious.
Though they were polar opposites in every way, surprisingly, they seemed to work well together despite all concerns.
Seeing that, Yeriel let out a small sigh of relief.
“Let’s get ready now, Sister.”
He said as he straightened his outfit.
“They’re people just dying for a chance to bite into us. No need to give them any openings.”
“Yes, yes. I heard you.”
Windy May replied indifferently, but she was still watching the Academy.
‘…Hmm, it should be fine.’
Her duplicate was present, so if something happened, she’d know right away.
More importantly, just as Yeriel had said, the meeting that awaited them shortly was a far greater concern.
The Imperial family.
The Holy Sun Church.
And even the demons.
Windy May shook her head, picturing the faces they’d soon be meeting.
“Sigh.”
Her head already felt like it was starting to ache.