CH 50

Then Eristella jumped up on Heinricion’s shoulder.

And she stared at the child.

When she heard that Rowen, who had left for the Prouthu estate, had brought a child with him, she could not believe it.

‘It can’t be him. It must be someone else.’

Then her feet led her to the child’s room.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw the child she was hoping not to see, and… Heinricion and the child engaged in a strange confrontation.

‘Why are you here?’

Eristella scolded the boy, but instead of understanding, his eyes widened when he saw the fox.

The boy’s lips slowly parted, and he reached out his hand, wanting to touch the fox.

‘Eh. Don’t be scared. Cion is a good person. No need to be nervous.’

First of all, let the child relax.

The fox lowered its head slightly towards the child’s outstretched palm.

Then the boy gently stroked the fox. The corners of his lips rose slightly as if he was in a good mood.

“Can I hug you?”

The child’s voice was excited for the first time. 

‘I have to take this opportunity…’

Heinricion looked at the fox, which was already stretching its front paws toward the child.

Perhaps thanks to that, the child’s tension was relieved, and he was comfortable enough to talk.

Heinricion cautiously opened his mouth.

“Can I hear about what happened there?”

The boy hugged the fox in his arms and spoke with a relaxed face.

“That day… Her Highness the Princess saved me.”

“Saved you?”

“Yes. I go around the mountains with my parents, looking for herbs and useful things… That day, I accidentally picked up a ball that had been thrown into the mountain.”

Although the child was nervous, he began to speak, bit by bit.

“It was so much fun that I ended up going far on my own. I shouldn’t have done that…”

The shrunken child’s voice grew quieter.

“I felt like I had gone too far, so I tried to go back… then, suddenly…”

The child’s body began to tremble. The shaking grew stronger and stronger, as if he was frightened enough to be overwhelmed by just thinking about it.

“Scary people appeared…”

The scary person the child spoke of must have been a black wizard.

Unwittingly, Heinricion’s stomach turned as the boy continued to speak.

“Still, I knew the mountains well and hid in a hurry. But after a little while, the princess came.”

Suddenly, tears welled up in the boy’s eyes. With a momentum that seemed to cry out loud at any moment, the child spluttered over and over again.

“Her Highness the Princess is not like that! Everything people are saying right now is nonsense! Her Highness… If it wasn’t for me… uhhh… ughhh…!”

In the end, the boy could not speak properly and burst into tears.

However, the child continued his words since his testimony could save the imperial princess.

The only survivor.

Heinricion couldn’t help but be surprised to hear the truth of the day from a survivor who appeared at the perfect time.

It was a reason no one could have guessed.

Why did Eristella, the greatest wizard in the empire, disappear?

*******

The space that used to be overgrown with trees and grass had suddenly turned into a wasteland.

There, Eristella scrutinized the wounds on her arm, and stared ahead

“I thought it’s going to be a little puppet here, too, but it’s more than I expected.” 

“I know right. I’m finally seeing you, Your Highness the Princess.”

The opponent still maintained a relaxed attitude despite his serious injury compared to Eristella’s.

Eristella’s face contorted.

“Who are you really?”

“I’m just a wizard.”

A shameless answer came out without a change in expression.

An insidious smile appeared on Eristella’s face. Yes, she didn’t expect that he would be docile anyway. Well…

“Once I’m done with you, I’ll know.”

The magical powers of Eristella and Declen collided.

“Although you are pretty good.”

Eristella continued to speak triumphantly.

“Still, I’m better.”

She still wore an arrogant smile. She was very relaxed.

It didn’t look like she was going to lose at all.

‘Well, it’s been a while since I’ve used a lot of energy.’

‘Still, I can win.’

It was when Eristella was trying to gather all her strength.

There was someone else here besides Eristella and Declen.

It was a child.

‘Why is he here?’

Eristella started to panic. Apparently, Declen also noticed the boy.

‘Damn it.’

‘I’ll have to send that little boy away first.’

However, Declen had similar but different thoughts while looking at the boy.

He had already noticed that Eristella cared about the boy and was planning to take advantage of it.

Eristella didn’t have enough time to think.

Both of her eyes were tightly closed.

She had no choice but to move according to her instincts.

Eristella turned around, knowing what it meant to turn her back towards Declen.

Regardless, she threw her whole body.

So that the little one wouldn’t get hurt.

‘Ha… Hah…’

‘What to do? The injury is more serious than I thought.’

Eristella was bleeding too much.

Plus, the little boy was on the verge of losing consciousness.

“Hey. Little boy. Wake up.”

The only thing she could do with the strength she had left was to move the little boy away.

‘After that, I don’t think I can even move.’

“Little boy. Heed my words.”

“Hwaah!”

“When you leave here, forget everything.”

The little boy was crushed by fear and cried uncontrollably.

But there was no time for comfort. Eristella grabbed the little boy by the shoulder, looked him straight in the eye and said resolutely.

“You can’t tell anyone what happened here.”

“Hwaa… Heuk… Keuk, uck…”

The little boy was listening to Eristella, trying to hold back his crying.

“That’s the only way to be safe. Do you understand?”

Eristella gave the child a firm warning. After which, it was time to send him away.

The little boy’s small hand pulled Eristella’s sleeve. Sniffing, he opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Hey, maybe… The princess… you…?”

“How did you know that?”

“The scary person c-called y-you… the princess…”

Eristella clicked her tongue involuntarily. And without further delay, she began to use magic to send the child away.

Just before the child disappeared, she said one last thing.

“Forget that too. The name of the princess.”

The child disappeared with tears in his eyes. Eristella had no choice but to hope that the boy would understand what she was saying.

‘By the way, what now?’

‘…It’s ruined.’

Her power was gone. There was no strength in her hands.

How could she get out of here?

‘I hope I don’t die like this. Ah, please. No way. I can’t die like this.’

But she could feel a presence approaching from afar.

His leisurely steps were like a beast about to pounce on a weak prey.

“I feel a sign here… Where are you?”

As he approached the area, she could feel him looking for a sign with sharp senses and sarcasm.

“Are you hiding miserably?”

‘If I want to live, I have to hide. It doesn’t matter if it’s lame or not.’

Eristella snorted at Declen’s provocation and hid her presence even more.

“What are you going to do if I find you?”

Declen’s mocking voice was heard.

Eristella almost lost her temper. Still, she persevered.

‘Though, it’s a relief.’

At the end of the day, she gathered the remnants of her magical power and changed her appearance.

Into that of a fox.

Fortunately, Declen did not find Eristella. Annoyance began to appear on his face, which had been initially relaxed.

“I can’t go on like this, there’s nothing else to do.”

He spoke meaningful words, pretending to be sorry.

“I have no choice but to give you one last present.”

‘He’s going to do something.’

But Eristella also found it increasingly difficult to hold onto her consciousness.

Her eyelids grew heavier and she eventually collapsed.

*******

After learning the whole story, there was only silence in the room. It was a time when only the sound of the child holding back his tears could be heard intermittently and no one else was able to speak up.

“Her Highness the Princess asked the child to do so.”

In the heavy silence, Rowen pulled out the words he had to say.

“Don’t come out for nothing. Doing so can make it even more dangerous, so please leave quietly to a safe place.”

Heinricion seemed to know how things had progressed after that.

If Eristella had said that, no one who visited afterwards would have been able to ascertain the child’s existence.

Definitely, Eristella must have cast a spell to move the child to a safe place, leaving no traces.

After using all her remaining strength, she collapsed.

“I woke up and found myself trapped in a fox’s body.”

That was the truth of that day. It was the exact opposite of an absurd claim about involvement in black magic.