Chapter 23. Unknown Truth

“I’m sorry. Because of the weapon next to you, I misunderstood…”

“Oh, no. It’s understandable.”

“Thank you for saving my child. I don’t know how I can repay this kindness…”

Fortunately, the smart child quickly explained the situation, so the misunderstanding was soon cleared up. Iella responded to the woman, who was now apologizing and expressing her gratitude, while looking around. They were still in the midst of chaos.

“I think we should get out of here first.”

“Oh, right. I’m sorry. Let’s go quickly. Will you take my hand?”

“What?”

Why was she offering her hand when they should be running out immediately…? Iella looked puzzled, and the woman quickly added an explanation.

“I set up a device to move us immediately before coming in to find my child. It’s set to take us to a place near the building where we won’t be noticed, so it should be fine.”

“Oh, I see.”

Iella thought that it should be safe, especially since the child was with them. She took the woman’s outstretched hand. In an instant, her view changed, and the cold air tickled her cheeks.

When she opened her eyes, a dark forest spread out before her. As she looked around, she saw the light drawn like a pattern on the ground slowly fading away.

“This way leads to the forest, and the other way leads to the building. If you go straight that way, you’ll soon come out…”

“Is this sorcery?”

All Iella knew about sorcery was theoretical content written in ancient books. Therefore, she shouldn’t have been able to recognize that the device the woman activated was sorcery.

Even if she knew the principles, sorcery had different implementation methods, making it hard to recognize unless seen firsthand. Moreover, in the empire, magical tools were widely used in daily life. Naturally, Iella should have thought of magic rather than sorcery.

However, she had already seen sorcery. On the night she sneaked out of the secondary palace, the patterns drawn by Vanessa’s hand were similar to this.

She knew it was sorcery thanks to the time she found a book about sorcery in the most secluded corner of Ailexia’s library before going out with Aster. She had thought the device Vanessa activated was magic and had been looking for a way to use it herself.

‘Magical devices use the magic infused in them, so they can be used without a magic circle if you have the tool.’

Otherwise, when using magic without a tool, a magic circle would be drawn, but for that, one had to be registered as a mage affiliated with the imperial palace. If magic was used without registration, the coordinates would be marked, and the person would be captured by the palace mages.

‘I don’t see any tools. No mages are coming to capture us.’

In other words, this was indeed sorcery, not magic.

“I’ve seen something similar before. I don’t think sorcery is bad, and I have no intention of telling anyone, so you don’t have to be so wary.”

The woman, who had hastily placed the child behind her, showed sharp wariness. Understanding their natural reaction, Iella raised her hands to prove she was harmless.

Even so, the woman did not lower her guard for a while. It was only after the child tugged at her clothes that her demeanor softened.

“…Yes.”

“Then, can you perhaps use that sorcery to unlock the doors?”

Iella quickly asked as soon as the woman responded. Something had been bothering her ever since she saved the child.

“There are probably many people trapped inside, like this child. Whether they are humans or other creatures, they are all living beings. It might be too late for many, but if there are still those who can be saved, I hope they are rescued. Is it possible?”

“…It’s possible.”

The woman hesitated for a moment before nodding. Iella let out a sigh of relief.

“Then, I’ll consider the favor you wanted to repay me with as this.”

Adding a request to her words, Iella watched the woman nod again after a long look. The woman then closed her eyes briefly and drew some patterns in the air.

The patterns, completed by her fingertips, emitted a faint light and then disappeared as she muttered something softly. The woman opened her eyes again.

“I’ve unlocked them all. Rest assured, the threat you were worried about won’t affect them. I have no intention of harming innocent lives.”

“…That sounds like you’re saying you started the fire.”

“The fire will soon be extinguished.”

The woman, who gave a different answer, showed a serene smile, as though she was asking not to be questioned further.

Iella decided not to press further. If the woman used sorcery, Iella had no means to counter it immediately. She had no choice but to believe the woman’s words that no one was harmed.

Iella nodded and turned away.

“Wait.”

But the woman called out to Iella, who was about to head towards the building.

After hesitating a few times, glancing at the child, she finally spoke up, making up her mind.

“Sorcery cannot be cast on oneself. Did you know that?”

Iella, who tilted her head at the sudden words, shook her head in denial, seeing the expectant look in the woman’s eyes. The woman’s pupils trembled once before she lowered her voice as if whispering a secret.

“Someone has cast sorcery on your body. Not just one, but several very complex spells.”

“What do you mean?”

For a moment, Iella doubted her ears. She couldn’t believe it. Trying to make sense of it, she wondered if the woman was talking about the soul exchange, but there were multiple spells, not just one.

That meant there were other spells besides the soul exchange.

“I’d like to tell you what kind of spells they are if possible, but unfortunately, my abilities aren’t advanced enough. It seems to be the work of a quite high-level sorcerer.”

“Then, can you at least tell me how many spells there are?”

“That’s…”

Iella, desperately trying to hold on to her sanity, grabbed the woman and asked. Just as the woman was about to speak, shaking her head, a voice called out.

“Ailexia!”

A voice calling her name echoed from outside the forest. Turning her head, she saw Aster searching for her among the dense trees.

While Iella briefly checked on him, a thin whistle sounded in the woman’s ear. It was a call, saying it was time for the one who helped find the child to leave.

“I’m sorry. We must go now.”

“What? W-wait a moment.”

Iella turned back to the woman and pleaded, but the woman couldn’t delay any longer. Instead, she briefly shared what she had realized.

Pointing precisely to her deep pink eyes and heart with her fingers.

“All I can tell you for sure is that there are three high-level spells cast on these two places.”

Is this what it feels like to be overwhelmed? Iella, feeling like she might collapse, clutched her throbbing head with a pale face.

Not only the locations but the number of spells was more than she expected. Moreover, this might not even be all of them.

Her shock seemed so pitiful that even the child, who had been clinging to her mother’s leg like a leech since their escape, came forward. The child patted her with small, clumsy hands.

The warmth and gratitude made her smile faintly, and the child’s face lit up with a bright smile. The woman’s face also softened at the sight of her child’s clear face after a long time.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help after you saved my child.”

The woman, holding the child in her arms, bowed deeply in a final gesture of thanks. Iella wanted to ask her more, but seeing the woman’s demeanor indicating there was nothing more to say, she had no choice but to give up.

The woman, before turning away, added some final advice.

“Sorcerers tend to be very secretive, but if you ever get the chance to meet another sorcerer, make sure to ask. The sorceries cast on your body could harm you.”

“Yes. I will definitely do that.”

Seeing the concern in her tone, Iella eventually nodded. Then, struck by a sudden thought, she hurriedly grabbed the mother and daughter who were turning away and asked urgently.

“Are the sorceries on my eyes and heart specific to this body?”

Since Iella’s soul was currently in Ailexia’s body, she needed to know this precisely. If it was only the body, she wouldn’t need to worry once she returned to her original body.

But the answer she received was unexpected.

“Only the one on the heart.”

***

After the mother and daughter left, Iella stood alone in place for a long time.

‘I need to go back.’ That thought circled in her mind, but she couldn’t move her body. The woman’s words kept echoing in her ears.

Then, the phrase from the book on sorcery she saw in Ailexia’s library came to mind.

{ When casting sorcery on a living being, you must decide whether to cast it on the physical body in front of you or on the non-physical soul. }

If only one sorcery on the heart was cast on Ailexia’s body, then the others…

‘They are cast on my soul. And there are two of them.’

She could at least guess one of them. The soul exchange that created the current situation. But what was the other one? She had no idea.

‘…My head hurts.’

A throbbing headache engulfed her. The cold wind, which felt eerily sharp, seemed to double the pain as it struck her body. She suddenly felt a surge of emotion, as if she were left alone in the world.

‘Why, why is this happening to me? What did I do wrong?’

The emotions she had been suppressing finally burst forth. Warmth welled up around her eyes. Her vision slowly blurred as tears began to fill them.

Iella tried to hold back her emotions that were about to explode, but it was no use. It felt like the dam she had built by pretending to be brighter had completely collapsed. She wanted to sit down and cry her heart out.

At that moment, a strong hand grabbed her arm and turned her around. Her body, which had not been using any strength, was pulled helplessly.