Chapter 50

Episode 50

During the past few days when Ilian had been away unusually long, he hadn’t seen her and thought he would return to a dull but otherwise uneventful daily life and be indifferent when seeing Lydia again.

But now he suddenly realized that he, more than anyone, knew that wasn’t true.

‘What practice, seriously.’

It was a ridiculous excuse.

Calling it an uneventful daily life was being generous. It wasn’t because of the pain of the curse. If that had been the reason, it would’ve been better.

Whenever he tried to comment on how accustomed he was to having Lydia by his side, it was common to feel emptiness when noticing the empty seat next to him.

Even the knights serving him turned their heads and paused, asking if there was something wrong with their lord’s behavior.

He hadn’t realized he shared every aspect of his daily life so closely with Lydia.

Only after she had been absent for a few days did he realize, and that realization stirred all sorts of emotions.

And the moment he faced Lydia again, all the emptiness vanished like a commotion that had died down, leaving him stuck, unable to move forward or back.

“So, what’s going on? That issue you were discussing with the knight earlier.”

Lydia, who had walked a bit ahead, returned with her characteristic gentle and calm steps and looked up at him, perhaps puzzled by how Ilian just silently stared at her.

“There’s a forest next to this castle. I used to go there often. It’s not so overgrown that people can’t pass through, so we usually cut through it. But lately, people have been taking the long way around instead.”

“What’s in the forest?”

“That’s the thing—we don’t know.”

Ilian recalled the absurd stories he’d heard.

If the person who casually talked about curses stuck to his hand and other unbelievable things weren’t standing right in front of him, he would’ve dismissed them as nonsense.

The summary of what he told Lydia was this:

Those who ventured deep into the forest all came out as if they had been in a trance, ending up standing at the entrance again.

Those who only went a little in found themselves suddenly standing in thick fog, unable to even see the person next to them.

Among the few who had some recollection, some claimed to have heard a woman sobbing.

Others said they saw a woman with long hair covering her face, standing in the middle of a pond.

Rumors spread that a witch lived in the forest, or a water ghost was trying to devour people, so no one should go in.

“…I can guarantee it’s not a water ghost. Anyway, there haven’t been any casualties, right? That means it’s probably not interested in people, just brooding alone and unintentionally causing widespread disturbance.”

Lydia flipped through the mental list of magical beings in her head and pulled one out. In fact, there was only one answer. Especially if it seemed to be related to “water.”

“It’s probably a water spirit.”

“Not a fairy?”

“Different from a fairy. Fairies like to intentionally trick and tease people. Spirits usually don’t care about humans unless they’re contracted to one.”

As Ilian looked down at Lydia, who stood thinking with her hands behind her back, he already expected what she would say next.

Actually, he may have expected it even before starting the story.

“I need to go to the forest first.”

Though the rumors were somewhat exaggerated, she showed no reaction of fear, which one might expect at least a little.

At times like this, he thought it might be better if she feared the unknown to some extent.

“I was wondering why you didn’t bring that up right away.”

Ilian let out a sigh, but Lydia only gave an awkward smile without backing down.

“But we can’t talk to a spirit while sitting here. And we’re not even sure it is a spirit.”

“There’s absolutely no way to resolve this without you going?”

“Unless you’re thinking of burning down the forest?”

Dealing with Lydia was always a challenge.

Ilian had assumed that Lydia would know a solution as soon as she heard about it, but he regretted not predicting it would unfold like this.

He’d had plenty of time to get to know her personality this well.

‘It’s already been that long…’

As much time had passed as the curse that once covered his shoulders now shrunk to half of one arm.

If the same amount of time passed again, they might never see each other again.

It was truly laughable that Ilian Esteban himself had once wished for that, yet now felt the complete opposite.

“You’re not seriously going to burn the forest, right?”

As Ilian remained silent for a while, Lydia grabbed his arm and asked seriously, to which he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“No. I’ll go with you.”

“That easily?”

“What else am I supposed to do?”

Lydia had expected some kind of resistance.

Ilian was always cautious, the complete opposite of her impulsive nature.

So she thought he’d at least try to stall and suggest she come up with another plan.

“I know you this well, so I figured it’s better to just follow you from the start.”

“Good to know you expected I’d insist in the end.”

Even though they had spent quite a bit of time together, Ilian’s easy agreement still felt unfamiliar.

While Lydia was still baffled, Ilian stepped off the path and told the attendants they would circle widely around the castle, then turned to Lydia.

“Do physical attacks work?”

“It has a physical presence in this world, so yes. It should work.”

After staring at her for a moment, Ilian suddenly went into the building and soon returned, holding the sword that had been hanging on the conference hall wall earlier.

“That’s…”

“If I really have to use a sword, this one’s better.”

“Is it that great of a sword?”

“At the very least, it won’t break easily.”

She hadn’t yet seen him fight or wield a sword directly, but watching him act like a natural-born swordsman felt oddly unfamiliar.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Lydia shook her head to say it was nothing.

It was just another new side of him she was getting to know.

***

The forest, just as Ilian had said, didn’t look dark or frightening—in fact, it seemed to be full of bright energy.

When the wind blew through the green-dyed trees, the rustling leaves made it look like an ordinary place.

Though they had walked quite a bit from the castle, the place was so large that even from here, they could still see a good portion of it.

“Let’s go in.”

With a deep breath, Lydia nodded with a determined expression.

There wasn’t much reason to be this tense, but meeting an unknown being still made her nervous.

“Watch your step. Don’t trip.”

Ilian, who had been fingering the hilt of his sword the whole way here as if ready to draw it at any moment, now visibly tensed his shoulders.

“Your hand.”

“My hand?”

Rather than staying on high alert, Lydia thought it best to at least hold hands—so Ilian wouldn’t get flung out of the forest alone if something happened.

As soon as Ilian held her hand, Lydia took a step, then another.

When she looked back, thinking they hadn’t walked far, the entrance was already hidden by thick trees.

“It seems fine so fa—”

…it wasn’t.

Before Lydia could finish her sentence, she looked ahead again and saw mist creeping in from the distance.

It started billowing like smoke and soon circled them, coiling around them as it passed.

“Don’t let go of my hand.”

But such things didn’t work on Lydia.

Perhaps knowing this, the mist, as if annoyed, whipped around violently and suddenly shot up into the sky—leaving the surroundings back to normal.

But the location had already changed.

They were no longer at the forest’s entrance but standing in front of a pond.

Lydia immediately recognized it as the very place where people had claimed to see a water ghost.

‘If so, then somewhere around here…’

Having failed to drive them out once with hallucination-inducing mist, it wouldn’t try the same trick twice.

Lydia carefully released Illian’s hand and cautiously approached the pond, scanning the surroundings.

There was a stinging sensation from the magic-filled mist, meaning the one who cast it had to be nearby.

Since they’d pierced through the mist, they were probably close to the caster.

Yet the pond surface was calm, birdsong filled the air, and everything appeared peaceful.

It was in the brief moment when Lydia was distracted by movement in the distant bushes—

“Lydia!”

She was startled when Ilian suddenly pulled her close from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist, and they both staggered back.

And then, just like mist, a woman suddenly appeared in front of them—causing a second shock.