Chapter 26

Meanwhile, at Lake Odessa.

Lucy was arguing with Mark, the owner of the cabin, to receive the magic-powered boat Sybil had left for her.

Having received money from Sybil, Mark seemed to have changed his mind after seeing Lucy’s impatience.

“Ah, so! Just pay a little extra for storage and my trouble! How’s a lady like you supposed to drive such an expensive boat alone? Or should I go with you?”

Mark grinned slyly. Disgusted by his advances, Lucy scowled.

She had no time to waste. Aicel would have returned home by now. She had to disappear before he realized she had run away.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Lucy steeled herself and switched to a more accommodating attitude to tempt Mark.

“Fine. Just give me my bag first. There should be emergency money in there.”

Mark happily handed over a bag. Lucy took out a small key and unlocked the padlock on the dust bag.

As she rummaged through it, Lucy muttered,

“People forget something when blinded by immediate profit. What do you think that is?”

Mark’s bushy eyebrows twitched.

“What are you talking about?”

“It’s that a person… is just a corpse without a life. And I… am just a corpse without justice!”

What she pulled out was a giant model d*ldo, over 60 cm long and 10 cm in diameter.

The dust bag Cassia left contained not emergency money, but all sorts of dildos. Some were just decorative, but the one Lucy grabbed was perfect as a weapon.

“Hrah-yap!”

With a swift swing, Lucy struck with the rubber d*ldo—firm yet flexible, perfect as a weapon. The huge d*ldo became a holy sword of justice, landing squarely on her target’s head.

“Ugh!”

Thwack, thwack.

“Ow! Stop! Ow!”

It felt very satisfying. Lucy kept whacking Mark’s head with the d*ldo. He couldn’t fight back or even react, just getting beaten senseless.

“Stop! Please, stop!”

Mark covered his head with both arms and staggered out of the cabin. Lucy chased him out, swinging her ‘sword of justice’ to the end, and gave a bitter smile.

Resolving conflict with violence reminded her of the Young Master.

‘But this is righteous violence, necessary for change!’

A short while later, Lucy looked down at the lightly unconscious Mark. Still holding the giant d*ldo in one hand, her expression was as reverent as if she were holding a holy sword.

Lucy packed the ‘holy sword’ with her luggage from the cabin. There were two magic-powered boats at the dock. Both were so old that she doubted if they would work.

She tossed her luggage onto the better-looking boat. Then she looked around. The deserted lakeshore was quiet and lonely.

Her gaze turned far away, toward the other side of the lake. Someone sent by the Lord of Tupi would be waiting there for her, ready to meet the runaway Lucy.

‘It should take about thirty minutes to get there.’

Lucy, keeping track of the time, untied the rope fixed to the shore and got into the boat. She quickly settled herself, startled by the rocking waves.

Calmly, she sat in the driver’s seat and tried to operate it as she’d learned before, but since the boat was old, the magic engine wouldn’t start.

“Ugh.”

Growing anxious, Lucy wiped cold sweat from her brow and glanced at the only entrance to the lake. It felt as if Aicel Penden could burst through any moment.

“Please, just work!”

Lucy hit the boat in frustration. With a thud, the engine finally responded.

Chug-chug-chug-chug. Making a less-than-reassuring sound, the boat began to move slowly. Now was the time to look only ahead, but she kept wanting to look back.

When Lucy was about 300 meters away from the dock—

Neigh! The sound of a horse echoed like a signal flare announcing the enemy’s attack.

“Lucy Noctus—!”

A familiar shout rang out. Lucy looked back and was horrified.

“H-how did you find me here!”

Aicel, disheveled, had gotten off his horse and was staring at Lucy heading out across the lake. Standing there, he called her name again. It was a desperate, sorrowful cry.

“Ugh…”

Lucy bit her lower lip. Pain spread through her chest again. Aicel seemed to say something more, but the distance made it impossible to hear.

“Go back! Please, don’t ever look for me again!”

Crying out with tears in her eyes, Lucy turned back and pounded her fist on the damned, slow-moving boat.

“D*mn it, why is this thing so slow!”

Even as she cursed, Lucy kept glancing back. Aicel, wandering the dock, refused to give up. He untied the last remaining boat and got on.

Lucy let out a regretful sigh.

“Ha, Young Master. That one’s even worse than the one I’m on…”

Vroom!

But contrary to her expectations, the boat Aicel chose sped through the water with the roar of a magic engine.

“D*mn it! I should have picked that one!”

Lucy smacked her forehead in frustration. Too late for regrets.

Vroom!

Regardless, Aicel’s boat easily closed the distance. If he caught her now, she’d be in real trouble. During their first meeting, hadn’t he threatened to catch and tear apart anyone who tried to run?

Not wanting to be the lone guest at Aicel’s grotesque strongman show, Lucy panicked.

“Eek!”

In desperation, Lucy mimed rowing with her palm, but it was a pointless effort.

Finally, Aicel’s boat came up alongside Lucy’s, just a little apart.

Aicel turned off his engine. Up close, his face was terribly pale, as if he might cry at any moment. It was enough to make anyone at a loss for words.

Aicel spoke in a sunken voice.

“Get off.”

“How am I supposed to get off here?”

“Come over. This way.”

“No.”

“There’s something I want to say to you.”

Lucy ignored Aicel’s outstretched hand. He didn’t get angry or disappointed. Instead, he seemed to come up with another idea.

“I remember everything now. Every damned memory that mage erased.”

He began a confession that didn’t fit the situation.

“Born out of wedlock, I lived hiding my name and status until I was nine. It took nine years to persuade the previous Duchess’s family to accept me as one of Penden’s.”

Aicel let go of the controls and put his foot up on the boat’s low railing. It was a dangerous move. Lucy flinched in surprise.

“Young Master! That’s dangerous!”

Aicel’s boat tilted sharply to one side, but he wasn’t afraid at all.

“I lived in Asric until then. That’s where I met you as a child…”

“You met me?”

Lucy didn’t want to react, but what he said was shocking.

“You were my whipping girl during my noble lessons. Only you would hold me, make me realize courage and love. Just like now.”

His amber eyes were tinged with a faint madness. Lucy’s eyes wavered. Her lips parted slowly.

“Asric. The little boy…”

A vision of a black-haired boy grinning brightly flickered before her eyes. A hazy mist clouded her mind, and a dull headache crept in.

‘That… was Aicel? Impossible.’

Aicel watched Lucy’s confusion and continued his confession.

“One day, someone discovered my secret identity. They wanted to kidnap me and demand money from my father. We were kidnapped.”

Lucy’s eyebrows twitched sharply.

‘And I was taken too?’

It made no sense. Lucy had no such memories. Neither her parents, nor the Mage Tower wizard, nor Sybil had ever mentioned this. Aicel must be lying to confuse her.

At that moment—

A sudden gust of wind shook Aicel’s already-tilted boat. Like sinking into a swamp, his body plunged into the lake in an instant.

“Uh…?”

Splash. Droplets from the surface splattered Lucy’s pale face.

“Aicel?”

Quickly leaning over, Lucy grabbed the boat’s railing and scanned the lake. Soon, a strong hand grabbed the back of her hand.

“Ha…!”

As the soaking wet Aicel surfaced, Lucy felt a wave of relief. He roughly brushed back his silvery hair, limp as seaweed. The lake water wasn’t that cold, but Aicel’s lips were terribly pale.

“Lucy…”

Aicel, most of his body submerged, called her name plaintively. Lucy, whose heart was about to soften, forced herself to stay cold.

“If you marry the young lady from the Atrey Family, you’ll be recognized as a member of the Penden family. You say you hate attention, but you actually like being praised. From now on, fix your violent ways and live properly. And your personal issues… make sure you get treatment from a doctor before you marry.”

Lucy offered her final farewell.

“Take care. I’ll be even better off.”

Aicel seemed to want to say something, but could only breathe heavily, at a loss for words. He looked a bit strange, but Lucy ignored it.

“No.”

With eyes completely wild, Aicel grabbed Lucy’s hand tightly. There was no other choice. Lucy, feeling as if she were cutting off her own hand, reached with her free hand for the bag next to her.

“…!”

Lucy struck Aicel’s head with the same d*ldo she’d used to punish Mark. Her heart had softened, so she couldn’t hit as hard as before. Instead, each strike made a cute, light sound.