CH 100

CRACKLE—!

A huge tree collapsed right in front of Ophelia as it had been burned by the flames.

The arsonist herself, who was responsible for destroying the terrain, pulled on the horse’s reins to halt its gallop, then calmly looked behind her at the chaos amidst the green expanse.

The turquoise forest, which Ophelia had once admired for its magnificent mana, was burning.

As the forest wasn’t very often visited by people and because it was inundated by mana, it was the best material to feed to the flames of L’Haille.

Whoosh— Along with the burning flames and the heated air surrounding her, Ophelia’s red hair fluttered behind her.

Red, as it was the direct opposite of green, could be seen clearly even in the dark.

‘I didn’t mean to let the flames spread this widely.’

Tension shot down Ophelia’s spine.

The beginning of this enormous fire was but a single spark.

Back when she was with the young sirens a while ago—

The first thing she did was to give this order.

“Sillo, bring the wind here.”

“How hard?”

“Ophelia, stop—!”

“So hard that he won’t be able to come near me.”

As soon as Ophelia finished speaking, whoooosh! The sound of a sharp gust of wind passed through.

To the extent that it sounded like a crossbow had been shot.

The gust from Sillo’s wings hit Ian squarely, and all the other things adorning the temple corridor, too, were blown away.

“Keugh!”

The strong wind that hit the temporary temple was enough to topple over a tree rooted on the ground, however Ophelia was fine.

The spot she was standing on was, so to speak, the center of the storm, wholly unaffected by the ravaging winds.

As Sillo blew gusts out, Ian couldn’t even open his eyes properly and had to hold onto a column.

Thinking that it must be fun to do that, while Dillo was sucking his thumb, he tilted his head to the side and asked.

“Ophelia, what about me? What should I do?”

“Are you bored?”

Ophelia replied with a smile. She could give him as much work as he wanted, so Dillo had nothing to be worried about.

Ta-dak, ta-dak. After taking a few steps forward, Ophelia picked up the cloak that she had thrown at Ian earlier.

Often following Ophelia around, Dillo tilted his head to the side once more.

“You’re gonna wear that? Looks like you don’t have anything else to wear.”

As Dillo commented on it, it did seem too much to wear the cloak again since it was already half-scorched.

But Ophelia remained calm.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not wearing it again.”

“Then?”

In place of an answer, Ophelia held out the burned cloak to Dillo, then she pointed towards the lit-up brazier full of green flames.

“From here on out, I’m starting a fire.”

Hearing her words, Dillo’s eyes glimmered.

“How big?”

“Very big. Enough to burn this temple to the ground.”

All the people inside must have already escaped, so this was the right timing for it.

Alei and Yennit were still trapped at the dungeon, but she had already sent Asello to them so they’d be able to get out safely.

And even if Asello wasn’t there to meet them, Alei had enough strength to break those chains right away.

‘This way, they won’t be condemned anymore even if they break out.’

Ophelia’s first plan was to burn her own hands and place the blame on Verlan, but she would rather do this instead.

If the flames of L’Haille, which should be controlled by a bishop, were to spread everywhere and burn down the temporary temple completely, then Verlan would certainly not be able to escape punishment.

As she thought about it, this was much better than negotiating Verlan’s charges. Compared to just burning her hands, there would be a lot more witnesses this way.

‘If it’s like this, I think I’ll be able to try what I’ve planned…’

Roughly arranging the plan in her mind, Ophelia’s eyes closed for a moment, but they soon opened once more.

Her ruminations ended.

“Have as much fun as you want, Siren.”

* * *

As though they’d been waiting for these words as the signal, Sillo and Dillo immediately went wild.

With how adept they were to spread the fire through the cloak all around them, it seemed like this wasn’t the first time they’re doing this.

In other words, Ophelia found the right individuals for the task.

However, one problem did crop up. Since Sillo was the one incapacitating Ian earlier, when he joined in spreading the fire, Ian soon regained his standing.

And, as the arsonist was right in front of his eyes, it seemed like he had no intention at all to let her go.

“Ophelia! Wait!”

But if she was actually going to wait, then she wouldn’t have done this in the first place.

By the time Ian had come back to his senses to catch Ophelia, she already took out a horse from the stables and mounted it skillfully.

In the imperial family of Milescet, learning how to ride a horse was something considered to be just as fundamental of a skill as learning how to hold a fork correctly.

Besides that, the horseback riding that she had learned was not just where a lady would ride with both her legs at one side.

Placating the huffing horse, Ophelia quickened the pace and quickly wove through the trees.

‘I was a bit worried since it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a horse.’

Her body didn’t go through the motions smoothly at the start, but she soon settled in as the horse also hit the groove.

The heated wind whizzed sharply past her shoulders as there was no cloak to cover her now. Frowning slightly, Ophelia looked up at the sky where the sirens should be.

‘I did tell you to have as much fun as you want, but.’

She didn’t know what kind of party the sirens were having, but considering the rising heat, the fire seemed to have spread quite a lot.

She wanted to conduct the situation herself personally, but if she knew one thing, whenever it came to dealing with the sirens—who were already enjoying themselves at this point—the only method that’s there to be used was force.

And more than that, there was someone still pursuing her.

Seemingly unaffected by fatigue, Ian had also gotten on a horse and quickly narrowed the distance between them before she knew it.

When it came to horseback riding, Ophelia would surely beat Ian. But if it were to come down to a direct confrontation, then it was nothing short of a fight between a dog and a wolf.

Instead of facing him head on, she flitted through the terrain here and there.

If she saw the fire raging especially at one spot, then she would rush past underneath a tree that was about to collapse. She would also intentionally hide herself in the smoke to shake off the tail.

And just now, as she saw a razed tree that’s about to collapse, she prepared herself to rush through it again. This was also Ophelia’s last chance to do so.

‘If I go any further, I’ll reach the cliff.’

The turquoise forest was extensively wide, it’s not all that far from the temporary temple.

Ophelia had already crossed quite the distance, yet both the flames and her pursuer were catching up to her.

She hoped that once she rushed beneath the falling tree, she’d be able to get away.

But with the sound of the horse’s hooves loud at her ears, Ophelia clicked her tongue and steered the horse towards the cliff.

Eventually, after the long chase, she found herself at the edge of the cliff.

When the stones beneath the horse gave way from underneath it, the horse pulled back and stood on its hindquarters, startled as it neighed for a long time.

Ophelia pulled on the horse’s reins to calm it down, then she heard a voice behind her.

“Even the horse knows that it’ll die at that place. Are you done running away?”

“…There’s nowhere else to go, so it seems like it.”

“It’s going to end like this anyway, so why even attempt to run away… It’s dangerous over there, so come here instead.”

“I’m the one who wants to ask you. Why did you chase after me? When we talked earlier, have we not ended what’s between us already?”

At Ophelia’s question, Ian’s expression became distorted.

It was an expression that seemed to say how much he denied Ophelia’s words, as she said that there’s nothing more between them.

“Is it over the moment you’ve just said what you wanted to say? How… How could you let go so easily?”

“It wasn’t easy. If you’re trying to twist the past, then just stop and go back.”

Ophelia’s horse took one step back.

At the same time, the edge of the cliff buckled under the horse’s hoof and rolled straight down the steep slope. It barely regained its footing.

But the man in front of her took a step forward as well.

He was so blind to the fear he had of Ophelia disappearing, leaving him to go someplace far away even though she was still right there.

“Don’t be like this. Ophelia, please give me a chance to change for the better. If you’re still doubting my words, just, right now, you can believe me.”

There are no misunderstandings between us now. You don’t have to question it. It’s true that I do love you.

That’s why the same tragedy won’t happen again.

Ian begged.

“I can’t live without you anymore.”

There’s nothing else he could do except cling to her like this. In this life, his goal was Ophelia and Ophelia alone.

And yet it was but the foolishness of a man trying to hold onto the white sand with his hands as he did not wish to be trapped alone in the emptiness of the abyss.

Motionless, Ophelia stared at Ian. Then she opened her lips.

“You and I both, Ian. We have such unfortunate lives.”