Chapter 26. Unspeakable Things

“…Aster.”

The moment Iella saw his face, she felt a surge of emotions. She managed to call out to him through her choked throat.

She thought she could endure it well, and she believed she was enduring well. But the situation kept twisting in unexpected directions, as if it was mocking her. Eventually, it dragged her into the abyss of despair called false hope.

Why is reality so cruel to her?

When she opened her eyes again in Ailexia’s body, she felt lost. She couldn’t think of where to go or what to do. She just stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling like she was wandering in darkness.

At that moment, she heard Aster’s voice.

It sounded as if he was calling her, banging on the door, trying to pull her out. It felt like he was saying it wasn’t over yet.

Perhaps that’s why. One thought filled her mind. Whether he believed her or not, she had to confess the whole truth.

Because Aster would surely help her.

With that thought, Iella clung to her consciousness, which was slipping away, and lifted her exhausted body.

“Help me.”

“……”

“I don’t know what to do right now.”

Iella desperately looked at him, who was staring down at her, and grabbed his arms tightly. As she pulled, her fingers slid down, wrinkling the fine fabric of his clothes.

“I am—!”

But just as she was about to mention her real name, an unbelievable situation occurred. No sound came out from her lips.

Her eyes widened in shock. Iella tried again.

“……!”

But nothing changed. Not even a scratchy sound came out. She just opened and closed her mouth like a fish gasping for air out of water.

The hands that were clinging to Aster hurriedly felt her throat.

“What is this…”

Other words came out as easily as breathing, but she couldn’t say her name. It was as if someone was blocking her from speaking the truth.

Iella shuddered in terror.

“Ha, that’s what I want to ask.”

At that moment, Aster, who had been quietly watching her actions, sneered. His rigid expression exuded a suffocatingly cold atmosphere. It was a look Iella had never seen before.

Unconsciously, she took a step back. He felt like a stranger, someone she was meeting for the first time. Even when she received contemptuous looks from him in Ailexia’s body, it never felt like this.

Her deep pink eyes trembled slightly. The faint anxiety and fear in them were instinctive reactions, like those of prey before a predator.

But Aster didn’t care even after confirming it. Instead, he closed the distance in an instant. The silent, raging northern wind seemed to pounce on her.

“Is this all?”

“……”

“Is this why you refused my visits so persistently?”

As Iella, overwhelmed by his force, took another step back, he grabbed the door frame with a fierce grip.

Soon, a threatening sound of something breaking echoed. It was the sound of the wooden door frame twisting under his grip. His hand was so tight that the veins on the back of his hand bulged prominently.

Seeing this, Iella lowered her gaze, clutching her skirt tightly. She saw the scattered wooden debris on the floor. For some reason, those fragments looked like the fleeting hope and joy she had briefly held.

‘…It’s really not easy.’

A smile, almost like a sob, formed on Iella’s face. Faced with the cruel reality that she couldn’t even ask for help, she felt utterly powerless.

In the end, would she have to die helplessly in someone else’s body?

‘…No. I can’t let that happen.’

Iella bit the inside of her cheek hard. She swallowed the metallic taste of blood and gathered strength in her body, which was sinking into helplessness and exhaustion. She forced light back into her darkening eyes.

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t die like this. It would be too unfair.

‘It’s okay. I’ve managed well on my own until now.’

Not just after entering Ailexia’s body. Even in her past life, she had always faced difficulties alone. She had always struggled to prove her worth to avoid losing her place.

Now, Iella had those memories. So she could rise again.

‘There’s still hope. I have the plan to go to the sorcerer’s forest.’

Iella straightened her back after taking a deep breath. She composed herself into Ailexia’s appearance as she always did.

“It was just a little prank, but you’re no fun. I had something to do.”

“Something to do, you say.”

“Yes. Do I have to tell you everything?”

Iella, who responded sharply, moved towards the drawer next to the bed. She took out the contract from inside and turned to him.

“You kept visiting here like someone had smeared honey because of the deal, so let’s get to the point. The remaining condition is my part, right?”

“……”

“I’d like it to be executed by tomorrow.”

Iella deliberately made her words, actions, and gaze firmer. She gripped the drawer behind her so hard that her palm turned white.

She hid the trembling that followed the sharp pain, convincing herself that she was okay. So that she wouldn’t give up on her will to overcome this and return to her rightful place.

So that she wouldn’t collapse.

“Ha.”

Did her firm resolve reach him? Aster suddenly let out a short breath through his lips. He stared at her determined eyes without backing down an inch, then turned away with a voice still cold as ice.

“I will send a carriage without a crest at the same time tomorrow.”

And then he walked away without hesitation. As if to say that their deal was now over. As if he didn’t want to waste any more effort on unnecessary conflicts. Iella didn’t bother to stop him.

She didn’t know that his face, as he turned away, was frowning in unknown confusion.

***

The large, dark-brown wings that had been freely sweeping across the sky stopped at a certain point. The way they circled the same spot seemed to signal that there was something below.

Soon, a sound of wind being sliced echoed, followed by a thunderous crash that shook the forest. Small birds resting on the trees took flight in fear, causing countless leaves to ripple to the ground like waves.

A moment later, a group of people on horseback appeared.

Vilt Cahel, the captain of the imperial knight order, who was at the forefront, slightly turned his horse’s head when he saw a white flag waving in the distance.

“It’s the seventh one.”

Vilt, who announced the successful hunt, scanned the front. Through the attendants, he saw the body of a boar, much larger than a grown man, lying dead without even closing its eyes. The other six game were of similar size, so the amount they had caught today alone was enormous.

“Just this?”

However, the owner of the arrow that had caught the boar didn’t seem satisfied.

His blood-red eyes glanced indifferently at the bow. He fitted a new arrow and looked up at the sky to find his next prey. At that moment, the sound of belated hoofbeats approached. It was the baron who had recently been put in charge of managing this hunting ground.

“Huff, huff. Oh my! Another hit, huff, another hit!”

The baron, who arrived as if carried by his plump body on the horse, gasped for breath and immediately started flattering upon seeing the caught game.

“As expected, you are amazing! Your prowess, which swept the battlefield even before reaching adulthood, seems unchanged! Haha!”

“……”

“By the way, how about aiming for a rare game this time? We prepared it upon hearing that Your Majesty would be coming. It will surely satisfy you.”

He rubbed his hands together, desperate to make a good impression. It seemed he wanted to make up for displeasing him.

Vilt, observing this quietly, snorted softly and turned his head.

No wonder. Right after that night, Helios had immediately left the mansion and moved to the villa, so the baron knew well enough that forcing his daughter into his bedroom had been a mistake.

“It’s a beautiful deep blue color, so Your Majesty will easily spot it…, huff!”

But contrary to his expectations, his excessive flattery, combined with the Emperor’s indifferent reaction, led him to say something he shouldn’t have.

Vilt, the only one who knew the truth among those at the hunting ground, quickly moved to stop the baron, but he was already a step too late.

The Emperor’s bowstring was aimed at the baron’s neck.

“Ugh, Your, Your Majesty…”

In the suddenly silent surroundings, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind echoed eerily.

The baron swallowed hard and then clamped his mouth shut at the stinging sensation. The sharp arrowhead had grazed his skin, sending a trickle of dark red blood flowing.

“Baron, do you know why the management of the hunting ground was handed over to you?”

If he spoke, the arrowhead would scratch and draw more blood. If he didn’t, he would be punished for not answering the Emperor’s question. The baron had no choice but to speak, trying to move his throat as little as possible.

“N-no.”

“Because I gouged out the previous manager’s eyes.”

The arrowhead slowly moved from the baron’s neck to his eyes. The baron reflexively shut his eyes tight, feeling the imminent threat.

“The blood I saw then was the same detestable black-and-white. I wonder if your blood is the same.”

The low, menacing voice pressed down on him. Was this how it feels to be a prey? The baron trembled and breathed unevenly in fear, feeling like he might soil himself any moment.

Suddenly, the cry of a hawk echoed overhead.