Chapter 92

Amelie moved a little closer to the table. On the other end of the table, on the highest seat, there was a black mass. It looked like a cocoon, yet it was disgusting. She knew it was the disaster.

‘Let’s just touch the body first. If we just do it like last time, the disaster will calm down.’

Even though her legs trembled with fear. Disaster reminded her of death just by its existence. Amelie pulled herself together.

‘Let’s get it done quickly!’

But things didn’t go as she planned.

The moment she was about to jump onto the table, the previously still figures all picked up their knives and put them to their necks. Even if it was a blunt food knife, they could have been fatally injured if they stabbed their neck. All the people looked at Amelie in unison.

‘Everything is being controlled. These people are all hostages.’

It was a handful for disaster to keep herself in check. Amelie bit her lip.

One of the controlled servants brought a chair.

[Sit down, little witch. This is a place to praise your hard work, so let’s make a toast.]

“….”

Amelie sat down in the chair as he had told her to do. As long as the hostages were taken, there was nothing she could do.

“Hard work? No way. I tried to get rid of you, is that something to be praised by you?”

[No way. After faithfully following the doubts I had planted, did you not offer a body again to me?]

“What do you mean?”

Amelie responded appropriately to the words of disaster and kept thinking.

‘What should I do? It’s easy to put a disaster to sleep, but there are hostages—’

There are about a dozen hostages. An employee who did not sit at the table would also be here somewhere.

There is a time difference between contact with Amelie and the disaster going away. In the meantime, disaster could manipulate and kill people.

‘Timing is important. At the same time as using purification magic, I have to save people. I need to contact Serwin.’

It was difficult to do it alone. Amelie was grateful for Lira’s existence.

[Renia Manvers. That human child.]

Amelie frowned.

“It can’t be. Did you do that on purpose?”

[If not, why would I have hurt you in front of him?]

“You mean that you tortured and used Renia just because of that?”

[While you dig around for the truth little by little, the emperor hid the truth, such pain, while he couldn’t sleep for fear of losing you. How sweet were those times of despair!]

As the disaster laughed, the black mass shook, and a thick liquid dripped from the surface. The liquid that fell to the ground squirmed like an insect and spread in all directions.

Amelie was so angry that she couldn’t help it. Because of this thing, both Renia and Serwin suffered for a long time. Is it that fun to see other people suffer?

‘Now!’

She signaled to Lira. A white light emanated from behind the writhing cocoon. When Lira’s purification magic touched it, black smoke began to disappear into the light.

Amelie jumped onto the table and ran toward disaster.

‘As long as our body touches it, it’s over!’

The table was long, but blowing in the wind gave it enough speed. At the end of the table, Amelie flew away and hugged the black lump. Her hand dug into the black liquid and touched a firm shoulder.

[Well, you must have used your brain.]

The disaster brought back all his energy. It stretched out in all directions like an explosion.

“Ugh.”

The black liquid squirmed and stuck to Amelie’s body. As it began to engulf her it started itching, her arms turned black, and her body began to lose strength. Amelie was forced to kneel down. Her arms and legs were seized by the energy of disaster and she couldn’t move.

“Amelie!”

Lira was helplessly caught in the energy of disaster. She didn’t have enough energy to use her purification magic again. Instead, she used different magic, but it didn’t work to dispel the dark energy.

[You’re a fool, how foolish. You seem foolish enough to be subjected to the same method twice, don’t you?]

A black lump of disaster dropped to the floor, revealing Serwin. The disaster reached out to Amelie’s face. The fingertips of disaster slipped to her chin and then wrapped her cheek again.

Amelie looked at the hand with trembling eyes. Her body stiffened in fear. Her heart was beating like it was going to explode. She didn’t faint because of her sense of responsibility for the situation. In the midst of this, the touch of the hand was so familiar that tears came to her eyes.

[Aaargh.]

Amelie couldn’t understand what the groan of the disaster meant. But one thing is certain, touching her on the disaster’s side has no effect.

Disaster’s hand slipped further down and wrapped around the nape of Amelie’s neck. It was warm with soft flesh, and a fast-beating pulse was transmitted smoothly.

[If you want to see them become white bones and disappear in an instant, try resisting as much as you want.]

The disaster choked Amelie more and more strongly. Amelie couldn’t move.

[There’s nothing to be afraid of. I won’t kill you. I don’t want that. Why would I want you to die?]

“Then, why—?”

Why are you choking me?

The disaster smiled affectionately.

[I just want to see your despair]

What is he talking about? Amelie wanted to ask, but no more voice could come out. As oxygen became scarce, consciousness quickly became blurred.

‘It can’t end like this, I can’t.’

It was now the limit to endure with mental strength. Amelie gradually lost consciousness.

“Wake up! Use magic!”

Her throat was choked and there was no sound.

“Dumbass! You’re not supposed to say a spell aloud! Think of me saying two spells at the same time!”

Magic spells are spoken with vocal cords, but strictly speaking, they were a little contrary to such realistic laws. Having mastered this law, it was possible to use magic by memorizing two spells at the same time like Lira.

Amelie had so far verbalized her spells. Lira’s way of explaining was unsuccessful, no matter how many times Amelie had read and practiced her book she’d never been able to utter a silent spell. It was not because she wanted to speak out loud, but because she couldn’t understand the vague concept of making a sound while not making a sound.

‘Like Lira.’

Amelie remembered Lira in the battle she had fought a while ago, feeling excitement suddenly battle her fear her eyes hardened. With that feeling, she licked her lips.

“….”

A spell of purification flowed from her mouth. At the same time, a white light erupted from both her hands and spread out in all directions.

Kikikikiiiik.

The disaster burst into laughter.

[That’s it for today. You’re bound to fail anyway.]

The energy of disaster that had restrained her body disappeared. She overlapped Serwin’s hands with hers. Then his hand fell helplessly down. A brilliant gold light came back like the sunlight shining through the storm.

Amelie looked into his eyes and was relieved.

“Ah, it’s Your Majesty now.”

Amelie fainted in the aftermath of the magic. At the same time, Serwin, who came to his senses, immediately accepted Amelie, who fainted, but could not bear to hug her.

‘What…have I done?’

When he grabbed her neck, he felt the thin bone and strong pulse under her thin skin.

The memory of the disaster remained so vividly in him that it was no different from his own memory. It was as if his hand was strangling her, and he watched it joyfully with these same eyes.

It was so terrible he couldn’t stand it.

“Hey.”

Lira came up to Serwin. She took out the potion and drank it, and handed another to Serwin. He didn’t answer and looked at Lira. She laughed in vain at his watchful eyes.

“A little while ago, you tried to kill me. It’s a completely different person, isn’t it?”

Serwin’s face was grimly distorted.

“Don’t worry, feed it to her. It hurts because you strangled her neck. It will hurt less if you feed it to her before she wakes up.”

“You… you were trying to take Amelie.”

“Oh, you noticed it?. Amelie thought I was going to kill her. Did you pretend you didn’t know what I wanted? Wow, you’re a bad guy. If she finds out then Amelie might really hate you.”

He kept his mouth shut. He couldn’t refute it because it was true.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Are you all right?”

The emperor’s knights surrounded Area 3 and waited, and when the situation was over, they arrived to clean up. Like last time in Fidelia Forest, after becoming a hostage to a disaster and holding Amelie’s ankle, he deliberately changed his strategy to try and keep his distance.

The knights handled the situation and began to clean up quickly. The nobles who passed out were identified, and the injured were separately taken care of and moved to a stretcher.

“Let’s go back to the Imperial Palace, Your Highness. My squadron will take care of this place.”

Ethan and Chad approached Serwin.

“…Yeah.”

Serwin was still in a state of disbelief. Seeing that, Lira clicked her tongue.

“I’ll carry Amelie. Get your act together.”

“Are you a witch, too?”

asked Ethan.

“Lira Hose.”

It was Chad, not Lira, who answered. Ethan looked back at him. Chad couldn’t take his eyes off Lira.

“Right? Lira Hose of the Dilus village.”

Chad’s eyes shook.

“Sir Chad. Do you know her?”

“It’s a hometown friend.”

Lira shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know about any emperor’s dog. Where’s the carriage? Are you going to keep holding us back?”

“…Please come this way first.”

Ethan guided Lira to the carriage. Chad’s face darkened noticeably, but it wasn’t the time to care. Lira lifted Amelie’s body into the air and took her along. She was followed by Serwin.

******

While Lira carried her into a carriage, rode the carriage to the Imperial Palace, and laid her back in her bedroom, Amelie never woke up. She was in a deep sleep.

‘Ah…’

Amelie blinked her eyes. Her mouth was dry from how much she slept, and she wanted to drink water. She forced her eyelids up. Her room was dark and she was alone.

‘What happened?’

Amelie was lost in thought. She was still half asleep, and her memory slowly came back to her.

‘There was a disaster in the forest… And, oh, I beat it. Purification magic worked.’

Perhaps someone had moved her here who fainted. Amelie pulled the string to call the maid.

Without waiting long, Mrs. Enard and Milena entered the room.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Can I have some water?”

“Yes! Of course!”

Milena quickly got some water and helped Amelie. Amelie’s hands and feet were fine, but she calmly drank with Milena’s help since resisting would only be more annoying. Then Lira appeared.