Chapter 116 - Letter Of Last Wishes

Liz stiffened. ''You..'' she turned on her toes, her eyes glaring daggers at Esme, ''Didn't you die already?!" she roared.

Esme stared at her nonchalantly.

There were times when she had nightmares, there was a time when she thought she was dreaming when in reality she was about to drown in the sea but she had never once felt death this closely.

She could still feel the suffocation in her chest. Right now, there was not even a drop of water on her body as if nothing happened but Esme could remember the feeling of dread as she let herself fall into the abyss.

But when she thought she was going to die, she felt a sense of déjà vu, and a scene from the past played in her mind. It was the time when Aleister had jumped in the water to save her.

He carried her out of the sea in his arms.

One of their old conversations rang in her mind.

''Do you find me strange now?'' She had once asked him after she told him about her dream where she saw weird changes happening to her body, with the appearance of fins, scales, and even a tail.

''It doesn't bother me what you are. You are Esme and that's all that matters,'' he had told her ever so gently, calming her down within a moment. 

''You were right about one thing. Fears can indeed take your life,'' Esme glanced at Liz whose eyes were crazed with fury, ''But I happen to know someone so good at scaring everyone that he can even scare away my fears, you know,'' she spoke the latter part more to herself than Liz.

''That Prince..? Did he save you? You… How did you survive?" Liz snarled as she stepped towards Esme.

Esme glanced at her. It looks like Liz had no idea about Aleister's current condition which meant she was not the one who caused him harm.

''Tell me, how did you survive?"

There was a strange thought that stayed in her mind since the day Aleister spoke to her about the existence of merfolk, the ones that were said to be existing in ancient legends.

She barely remembered reading about them when she was very young.

But there was something about the merfolk that left her intrigued.

When her body was miraculously transforming inside her dream, the strange thought that she was hiding in her mind deepened. Was she a part of them? Was she not a human?

Esme did not know. She had passed it off as she was overthinking.

Before Aleister fainted, he joked about her not being a human. She passed it off as him being sarcastic.

And now it turns out, it has become one of her fears.

When she let go of her fears, her unacceptance towards it, her body seemed to have become lighter in the water. She just had to move her hands and she found herself reaching the surface. It was like a miracle, there was a sense of relief that stayed in her heart after that he accepted.

''Why are you quiet? Speak?!" Liz coughed, spouting blood in the process.

'Thump!'

Suddenly she slumped on the floor weakly as she coughed profusely.

''I am not obliged to,'' Esme said.

She could more or less guess what was going on. Perhaps because she was able to escape this illusion created by her, her body was affected. Her body weakened every time she controlled someone's mind and when she snapped the connection in the end.

Powers worked similarly so the same should be happening to Liz no matter what she was. She was glad that it happened right now when she was trying to escape from here. 

'What is she though?' Esme thought to herself as she glanced at the woman who was rolling on the ground while holding her neck, the floor was stained with her blood.

In the end, she decided to run away from this place. After all, curiosity kills the cat.

She turned around and walked towards the mirror.

''Stop! You can't leave,'' Liz crawled towards her on all her four limbs.

Esme had goosebumps when she saw that scene. Liz was gliding on the floor like a spider as she approached her. Crimson red eyes and the blood splattered on her body gave her a gory appearance, her hair framed her face in a mess.

'Al, if I die here, you won't even find my body for burial. Don't mock me in my absence. Regain consciousness soon. Pat Leo's head more often. Don't be cocky all the time, no one is as nice as me…' Amidst her letter of last wishes, she realized that she was not dead yet.

But the pace at which Liz was approaching, it wouldn't be too late before she died.

A gasp left her mouth when Liz grabbed her leg and opened her mouth wide.

Esme's eyes widened. Without a moment's delay, she bent forward and pulled out a dagger from the straps hidden beneath her gown which were wrapped around her ankle.

''AHHHH!"

Esme stabbed her shoulder. 

Liz landed on the floor on her back. She wailed like an animal being butchered. ''You…Urgh… Do you think you can escape from here? Do you think you can find a way out? Naïve…'' Her eyes widened suddenly.

Esme pushed the mirrored wall without looking back at the woman.

Her instinct turned out to be right as the wall flipped, revealing a staircase that went to the top.

She was relieved. When she came here, she was wondering what could be the way out of this secret passage. There was not even a single window or door in this closed room.

But after she came out of the illusions, this mirrored wall caught her attention and her guess turned out to be right.

''No!!''

Ignoring the screams of the madwoman behind, Esme climbed the stairs.

As soon as she reached the highest step, the floor split open.