âIt seems Sir Hestia climbed to the end of the mountain range. He will need more time to come down.â
He called in someone to bring back his prey and said he would come down the mountain before night fell.
Luke was among the remaining candidates, but he was worried about Seira and went to the road forest with the servants.
âDidnât she say that Luke Card is infatuated with Baron Hestia? Wasnât Medea mistaken? â
Although Medea had told him that Luke was in love with Baron Hestia, initially, Lyle was convinced that there was some misunderstanding.
âDuke Card may interfere ⌠.â
If rumors leaked, the Duke of Cardâs honor, as well as the dignity of the Imperial family, would be in jeopardy. Luke Card was also the Emperorâs brother-in-law.
âMedea said she would support them. ⌠but if the Duke finds out, the situation may spiral out of control. ⌠. â
âOhâ Oh my gods!â
Screams rang out of a servantâs mouth that spotted a cart being dragged to the square. The first thing that moved was the knights close by.
Accidents were not uncommon; sometimes, demons thought to be dead, woke up. It was a mishap that first-time participants sometimes made.
But in this case, it wasnât just one or two monsters. Instead, the bodies of the monsters gathered in the square stirred and began to move.
âYour Majesty!â
âProtect His Majesty!â
The Emperorâs escorts shouted and tried to encircle Lyle, but he was already running somewhere.
He was rushing toward the tent of the Imperial family.
âYour Majesty!â
The knight shouted after the Emperor, but Lyle did not look back.
If the aim was to kill him, surely the person responsible for trying to reanimate these dead demons knew that they would not be his match.
So it was bait.
To distract the Emperorâs attention.
So what do you really want⌠⌠.
âMedea⌠⌠!â
From the beginning, he was anxious about being apart. So why did he put her down when she was in his arms? Precious things should not have left his embrace.
Lyle was running and scanned between the tents with a terrible speed and spotted a square carrying a knightâs sword. He was so fast the youth didnât recognize him and was so startled that he forgot to bow. Also, those with low status never saw the Emperor up close
âIâll borrow this.â
Lyle passed by the boyâs side and snatched away the blade he was holding.
As he rushed near the tent, where there should have been many peopleâlike the Empress and her maids, his senses picked up on only two moving in the tent.
As if they were fighting.
***
Medea suddenly grabbed the manâs collar with both hands and headbutted him in the head. There was no trick or technique; both of them held their heads and rolled around in pain.
Ughh ⌠.
Medeaâs head was also in tremendous pain as she squeezed out all her remaining power and struck him with her head. It hurt so much that she was in tears.
âUgh⌠⌠. You ignorantâ!â
The sorcerer glared at her in anger. Likewise, Medea was holding her forehead and spitting out anger at the man.
âWhat wizardâs head is so hard! Youâre not a wizard, are you?â
âWhat are you talking about!â
Grinding his teeth, the wizard got up, stumbling. Medea also grabbed the tent and got up; she was still dizzy.
âWhat mage has such a solid head! The Dark Tower is doomedâ Uh!â
âDid you guess that far?â
She hurriedly covered her mouth, but the sorcerer had already heard her. The mage stared at Medea, vexed.
âItâs no coincidence that you recognized the magic tools for opening the gate. What else do you know?â
Medea avoided his eyes as if she didnât want to speak, but the mageâs terrifying glare struck fear in her heart. Finally, she reluctantly opened her mouth, trying to buy time.
âDo you happen to beâAre you the Archmage of the Dark Tower ⌠?â
âAre you trying to figure me out?â
I guess Iâm right, this punk!
Why is this big giant appearing in front of me? Even in the original, the Lord of the Dark Tower did not appear! Heâs just mentioned in a few lines!
âOr not. Iâd prefer if youâre not,â
she said meekly and slowly, avoiding his eyes, but the sorcerer laughed like he was very amused. Then he bowed in an elegant attitude as if nothing had happened before.
âI am Dion, the owner of the Dark Tower. Empress of Istasia, Medea⌠⌠. No, whatâs your real name?â
What is your real name?
Dion asked, and her mouth went dry. Her name had been pushed out of her memory for many months now. Itâs a name that no one could call her by anymore.
âI was wondering how you recognized my magic tools. ⌠Youâre lucky you are a wandering soul. I happen to be very interested in other worlds.â
Dion reached out as he took a step towards her.
âCome with me. I will return you to your world.â