EWGEW 33

Chapter 33

Although it was midday, the surroundings were dark because of the trees densely filling the forest.

At that moment, the air suddenly rippled, and three figures emerged from it. Among them, a woman with brown hair trembled before collapsing onto the ground.

“Ha-, haa…. Haa…. Hk!”

She was none other than Cielo Elkasist.

Cielo vomited blood once again. After bleeding several times already, the blood around her mouth had dried into dark stains.

The rippling shadow surrounding Cielo trembled uneasily. It shook as if it might disappear at any moment, then cracked and crumbled apart.

“As expected, defective goods can’t be helped. To think you would become this damaged just from moving through shadows a few times.”

A woman spoke while shrugging her shoulders. Her face could not be seen because she had pulled her robe deeply over her head, but her tone was playful.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Yuslia stared sharply at Cielo, who was trembling and vomiting blood.

If their escape from the underground prison was discovered, it would surely be difficult to escape the Imperial Palace’s search.

The reason they had abandoned Herain was partly to buy themselves some time to escape. If Herain died there, it would actually be better for Yuslia.

“How useless.”

I even forcibly awakened her ability for this.

Thinking about that seemed to make Yuslia even angrier. She kicked the collapsed Cielo.

“Haa-, haaagh!”

The shadow surrounding Cielo trembled. It tried to protect its master from the attack, but it was extremely weak. Not only that, there was very little shadow surrounding her.

“U-, ugh!”

Cielo curled up, tightly closing her eyes as she had no choice but to endure Yuslia’s violence.

“The distance you can move is getting shorter! Can’t you do it properly? We have to move quickly!”

Yuslia raised her voice and shrieked. Cielo’s face had already gone completely pale, as if she had used up all her strength.

“Nothing can be done about it.”

At that moment, the hooded woman gently placed a hand on Yuslia’s shoulder. Yuslia’s body stiffened at the touch.

“An ability forcibly awakened really is… nothing special, Cielo.”

She spoke softly as she walked over to Cielo and stood before her. Then she lifted Cielo’s chin.

The woman slowly examined Cielo’s face. Anyone could tell that Cielo was in terrible condition. There was not a trace of color in her face, and blood was flowing from her eyes.

Hmm. The side effects are still quite severe.

The woman slowly looked at Cielo and curled her lips upward. After all, she had forcibly awakened the ability of a half-blood who had not inherited a strong noble bloodline. There was no way the result could be normal.

Cielo’s blood was so weak that, if they had not needed to use her so suddenly like this, the woman would never have awakened her ability in the first place.

“Ah… it hurts…. It hurts so… much….”

A groan escaped Cielo’s mouth like air leaking out. It felt as though her body was breaking apart. Whenever she used the ability that woman had suddenly awakened in her, the pain became even worse.

“I really… I think I’m going to… die.”

“It’s okay.”

The woman spoke softly again. Then she gently stroked Cielo’s cheek. Cielo’s bloody tears spread across her face, making her cheek turn red.

“I won’t let you die.”

The woman’s exposed lips curled upward. At that sight, Cielo’s mind went blank.

Her heart sank.

Had she ever been this afraid in her life? Even if she died, that woman would probably raise her corpse and make her continue working if she failed to fulfill her duty.

Tears streamed down.

Cielo had not cried since she became old enough to understand things, but she felt as though she was about to burst into tears.

“Shouldn’t we… move quickly?”

Yuslia said while fidgeting with her fingers.

At that moment, the woman’s lips suddenly hardened into a vicious expression.

“We’re already too late.”

Something descended rapidly from the sky and landed safely on the ground.

It was the Grand Duke, with Camilla held tightly in his arms.

“You-, you…!”

Yuslia’s eyes widened. Then she pointed at Camilla and shouted angrily. Her cute face twisted viciously.

Yuslia instinctively took several steps backward.

In contrast, Camilla lightly walked forward on both feet. Her movements were relaxed.

Black shadows rose ominously from beneath her feet, lifting their heads threateningly. The amount of shadow and its fierce presence were incomparable to Cielo’s.

“See you again. Right?”

Camilla stood before Yuslia with a smile, her eyes curving softly.

By then, Camilla’s shadow had already stretched out and was rippling beneath Yuslia’s feet. It sharpened itself as though it would devour and tear Yuslia apart at any moment.

Seeing it, Yuslia panicked and screamed in a shrill voice.

“G-Get this away! A half-breed like you-, someone like you-!”

“Yuslia, you stupid thing.”

Camilla lifted Yuslia’s chin.

Who are you to look down on me?!

Yuslia bit down hard on her lips.

Camilla was looking down at her.

To Yuslia, having someone look down on her was a humiliation she had thought she would never have to experience again.

“Stupid? You’re the stupid one. Just because you awakened an ability, what has actually changed about you? You just have to stay quiet and marry your fiancé, understand?”

Because I’m the one who will become the Elkasist Countess.

While that girl was sleeping, the one who had desperately worked hard was herself—Yuslia Elkasist.

Even if you are recognized, what do you think will change?!

With those feelings, Yuslia desperately screamed.

“It’s not common for a noble to escape from prison, Yuslia.”

Camilla said while tightening her grip on Yuslia’s chin. She looked down at Yuslia and smiled coldly, as though Yuslia’s desperate struggle was amusing.

“I won’t die for it!”

“No, Yuslia. It’s because even if you die, you don’t want your noble status to be taken away.”

The honor that flowed through one’s bloodline.

No matter what crime a noble committed, they were given one choice in order to preserve that honor. It was almost forced upon them.

They could die as criminals while keeping their noble surname.

Or they could violate imperial law, have their noble status taken away, and be reduced to commoners.

Abilities came from dragons, and dragons were the ancestors of the Imperial Family. Therefore, a noble’s honor could only be maintained with the Imperial Family’s permission.

Yuslia’s escape meant exactly that.

Even in death, she would no longer be able to retain the honor of a noble.

Understanding Camilla’s words, Yuslia’s face turned pale. Looking at her, Camilla crooked her lips into a smile.

“Congratulations on falling to the status of a commoner—the very thing you thought was so worthless, Yuslia.”

Yuslia’s eyes widened.

With a confused expression, she looked at Camilla’s face as if she could not believe what she had heard. The confusion that slowly settled on her face gradually changed into pain.

“Ah-, aah-, aaaaaaaaaah!”

Yuslia grabbed her head and screamed.

Everything she had built until now had collapsed.

And it had happened entirely because of her own choice.

Yuslia struggled against an emotion she had thought she would never experience in her lifetime. Tears filled her round eyes, and she cried like a beast.

Camilla looked at her and spoke softly.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t the end.”

The desperate despair in Yuslia’s heart instantly changed into anger toward Camilla standing before her.

“You ruined everything-!”

“You ruined it yourself. Don’t blame someone else.”

Camilla’s voice was cold as she lifted the corner of her lips.

Yuslia’s reason for losing was simple.

She had underestimated her opponent.

Who can you blame when you fell because you let your guard down?

“Loser.”

In a calm voice, Camilla declared it to Yuslia.

Her victory.

And Yuslia’s defeat.

At those words, Yuslia’s chin trembled.

…That stupid Camilla—looking straight at me…. How can she say something like that…?

A cold chill seemed to creep up her fingers.

Camilla—the foolish Camilla she had known—seemed like a completely different person. The outside was the same, but the person inside was entirely different.

Camilla firmly held Yuslia with her shadow. Then she turned her head toward the mysterious woman wearing the hood.

“You. The only people I need are this girl and Cielo, so why don’t you leave quietly?”

“Oh my.”

The hooded woman covered her mouth with her hand and acted exaggeratedly.

“You’re going to let me go?”

The hooded woman giggled.

“Child. I suppose you underestimated me.”

She shrugged her shoulders. Then she quickly slipped her fingers into the shadow cast beneath her hood.

The woman’s long, white fingers pulled something out of her own shadow.

It was another black, rippling shadow.

“You planted this and thought you could let me go? Did I really look so easy to deal with that you couldn’t even realize that?”

“What?”

Camilla’s expression instantly twisted.

Of course, what she had said a moment ago had been a lie.

Why would she let that woman go when she had no reason to trust her?

Just as she had done with Yuslia, Camilla had tried to mix a very small amount of shadow into the woman’s shadow. It was so little that no one should have noticed.

Even Cielo Elkasist, who shared the same bloodline, had not noticed it.

So how?

How did she notice?

A chill suddenly ran down Camilla’s spine.

“Excuse me.”

At that moment, Camilla was pulled slightly backward.

The Grand Duke had pulled her toward himself.

And immediately—

The woman had moved to the exact spot where Camilla had been standing.

“What a shame.”

Her voice was filled with deep disappointment.

The ground where Camilla had been standing was deeply gouged out. Some of the stones around it had also been crushed into tiny pieces.

Seeing that, a chill ran down Camilla’s back.

W-What was that?

No matter how the woman had done it, it was obvious that Camilla would have died if she had still been standing there.

If the Grand Duke had not pulled her away.

She could feel the Grand Duke’s warm presence behind her. That warmth helped her steady herself a little, but she could not relax her guard.

As if that were not all, the woman suddenly lifted her hood slightly.

Her pale wrist appeared through the opening.

The moment the woman touched Camilla’s shadow, Camilla thought she saw a small light coming from something hanging around the woman’s wrist, something resembling a chain.

What is that…?

Even though there was no actual light.

Camilla frowned at the strange feeling.

The woman tore apart the shadow surrounding Yuslia.

Crackling—

Camilla’s shadow broke apart helplessly under the woman’s hand and disappeared.

Just like—

Jemus?

Just like when she had faced the blond-haired man, Jemus.

Camilla’s face became slightly pale.

Soon, a clear voice rang out.

“How pathetic. To be defeated by something like this.”

The woman tilted her head slightly.

“You were defeated by something so trivial?”

At that voice, Yuslia, who was being held by Camilla’s shadow, trembled slightly.

The woman’s voice was casual.

Yet Yuslia’s expression turned deathly pale after hearing it. The fierce expression she had shown while looking at Camilla disappeared, replaced by a pitiful and miserable look.

Looking at them, Camilla clenched her fist.

As she did, the shadow inside her fist twisted and rippled.

If the woman made any suspicious movement, Camilla planned to sharpen the shadow in her hand and attack immediately.

The best defense was an attack.

“Who are you?”