Chapter 51

At the accusation that he'd hit her out of nowhere, a horrified Lyssel threw up both hands like a man swearing innocence and shook them frantically.

"Pfft."

He looked so utterly flustered that Iberin couldn't help laughing.

Lyssel seemed to take it as her teasing him; he let out a deep sigh and let his shoulders sag.

"You scared me."

She'd thought her ride-or-die would be Ether for the rest of her life… and here was the historic (?) moment where she'd briefly wavered.

"It still kind of hurts, though."

"Iberin, please don't joke around."

Lyssel said it with a face that couldn't tell whether she meant it or not.

Is this a runner-up bias?

If so, it was the scene of a fan crash on par with her absolute favorite.

His looks had been jaw-droppingly her type from the start, sure, but she'd never been hit this hard before.

He'd been more like her favorite's dad, that was all.

Then she'd learned he was a good man, and she'd wanted to make him happy.

Maybe she'd been hit for a while now and only just realized it.

She had a feeling no amount of explaining would get this across to Lyssel, so Iberin just nodded vaguely and let the moment go.

"Anyway — you said you'd let me do whatever I want."

"Yes. Once I give my word, I keep it."

The Forest of the World Tree.

She'd see exactly what kind of place it was for herself.

---

Lyssel had agreed, but everyone else mounted an uprising.

"Mommy, no-o."

"Lady Iberin, isn't it too dangerous?"

The two children pushed back the hardest.

The look of imminent tears in their eyes nearly broke her.

The favorite-character effect was no joke.

"Ether."

But Iberin had things she had to do regardless.

"Rozelia."

"Yes."

"I won't get hurt, and I won't suffer. Can't you trust me, just this once?"

"…Hng."

"Don't 'oh you don't know what you're talking about, you're just a kid' me — you wouldn't say that, would you?"

Ether just looked teary, but Rozelia's eyes went wide at Iberin's attempt to actually persuade her.

"That would just make Rozel really sad. Adult or child, the worry behind their words is the same."

"…You're right."

"Why — did people brush you off somewhere else?"

"Yes. My opinion always got dismissed."

"That must've hurt."

"It did. But it's good now."

Rozelia smiled like the world had brightened around her.

"The present's what matters."

"…I'll trust you, Lady Iberin. But if it hurts, you stop."

"Of course."

Once Rozelia gave her permission, Ether rolled his eyes around for a moment and pursed his lips.

"I didn't say yes, though…"

"Are you saying no?"

"No. But, I don't want you to get hurt, but, but Mommy lets Ether do everything Ether wants, so Ether's gonna too…"

He spat out a tangled little stream of words like he'd done a tremendous amount of soul-searching in those few seconds.

The bottom line seemed to be that he was giving his permission.

Iberin stroked his hair and let out a goofy little laugh.

"When did my Ether grow up so much."

She really was moved.

A proud look settled on his face, and he announced grandly,

"Ether's gonna get bigger than big sis Rozel."

There was a two-year gap between them, but young girls developed faster, so Rozelia was taller.

That was why Ether's recent goal was outgrowing her.

He really was eating harder to make it happen.

Lately Rozelia, refusing to lose, had been eating just as well, which was a lovely thing to see.

Sure enough, at the declaration that he'd outgrow her, Rozelia smirked at an angle.

"Hundred years to go, squirt."

---

In any case, Iberin won everyone's permission.

It felt good knowing they'd all pushed back out of worry for her.

The staff, for their part, seemed moved that Iberin had bothered to consult even them — mere servants — and treat their opinions as her own.

And so Iberin set off into the forest with Lyssel.

She'd never liked elaborate dresses to begin with, and since shoes were hidden under the hems anyway, she'd always just worn indoor slippers — so she didn't have much to prepare.

"If a monster shows up, stay right next to me. Right next to me."

"Got it. That's the tenth time you've said it."

"I worry…"

"Turns out you're a nag."

"…Take my hand."

Lyssel cleared his throat awkwardly, redirecting, and held out his hand.

Iberin took it quietly, then jerked her head up.

"Why's your hand so cold?"

"Demonic energy tends to run cold."

"…Huh? Ether's not this cold."

"Ether isn't… a full keeper of the forest yet."

"Keeper?"

"Yes. The day I step down as Grand Duke, he'll become the true keeper."

So it was probably about passing the seed on.

The Seed of Evil that Lyssel currently kept managed in one corner of his body.

Generation after generation, whoever inherited the title of Grand Duke Lecashe carried the seed.

She didn't know how the transfer actually worked, but Ether had received his at an unusually young age.

Thinking about it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Was there really no way to break this cursed cycle other than blooming through death?

If the god knew, that was another reason to look for him — and the urge in her to do so only grew.

"Iberin, you're warm."

Lyssel said it without daring to put any real strength into his grip, like he was holding something precious.

"Yeah? If you like it, should we hold hands more often?"

The truth was, Iberin's body ran cold too, probably thanks to the demonic taint.

Cold compared to most people, anyway.

But she didn't compare to Lyssel.

"That wasn't what I meant…"

"Why not? I like it."

"You like it?"

"Yes. Love it. Come summer I might be glued to you like a barnacle. Are Lecashe summers hot?"

"Not really. It's the place with the most concentrated demonic energy. The temperature stays cool year-round."

"Really?"

Summer was poison to Iberin.

Though she hadn't experienced one in this world yet.

How long had they walked, trading idle conversation —

Lyssel stopped abruptly.

Grrrrrr—

A sound like a beast's snarl came from some distance off.

The killing intent slammed into her without warning and Iberin flinched, hunching into herself.

A black shape padded out of the dark with slow, deliberate steps.

She'd only heard the word monster and read about them in novels — she'd never seen one in person.

Pinned by the sheer killing intent, she couldn't move.

"Nngh."

A small sound of pain slipped out before she could catch it, and she swayed.

She nearly went down on the spot — Lyssel caught her and pulled her into his arms.

He patted her like he was settling a small animal, soothing her.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

She had been afraid — really afraid — but somehow, looking into his eyes as he said it, something in her eased.

In the meantime, the monster snarling its threats finally stepped fully out of the dark and lunged with a thunderous roar.

It made it right up to them — and Lyssel's sword cut it down in a single stroke.

She was reminded, all over again, just how strong Lecashe was.

The monster, split in two, slammed into the ground.

Crash—

Given its size, the impact was bone-rattling.

She'd squeezed her eyes shut without meaning to, then turned her gaze toward the dead monster.

She'd done it instinctively because it was so close — but before she could actually look, Lyssel covered her eyes with his hand.

"It's not pretty. Let's just go."

"…Okay."

She hadn't really wanted to see a corpse anyway, so she nodded.

Somewhere along the way, she'd ended up moving along in Lyssel's arms.

When she registered it, she squirmed and asked to be put down, but Lyssel didn't loosen his grip.

"Just stay like this. You took the killing intent head-on — you'd struggle to walk properly."

"……Oh."

So that was why the strength had drained out of her earlier.

Even if Lyssel set her down, she doubted she could stand on her own.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's fine — lean on me."

She hesitated for a second, then quietly let her weight settle and looped her arms snugly around his neck.

"Thank you."

"…I'm going to start walking."

Lyssel's body stiffened a fraction, but she didn't think much of it and leaned in a little more.

"By the way — do monsters usually show up this close to the entrance?"

The question popped into her head.

If one had appeared right by the entrance, surely there'd be more deeper in.

There was a thread of worry in the question.

"It happens sometimes, but they're usually the weaker ones. They come out because they're short on food."

"Oh…"

That was a weak one?

She had a feeling weak was strictly Lyssel's standard.

"Starvation makes them especially vicious. But I can handle that level on my own."

So Lyssel really was as strong as advertised…

She tightened her arms around him a little.

A bit deeper in, the dense canopy made the air darker and damper.

Less a lush, green forest, more — how to put it — a rotting smell.

"It's tainted ground, but the trees still grow?"

The stench of rot was overwhelming, but something was clearly growing.

Curious, she asked. Lyssel answered.

"It's only tainted from the empire's perspective."

"Ah."

"It's not so tainted that plants can't grow. They grow. Twisted ones."

"……Oh."

Looking around, she could see that the trees here really did differ from ordinary ones.

Bent in grotesque shapes, or unnaturally tall, or unnaturally low.

The colors were mostly pitch-black or shot through with purple.

Not exactly easy on the eyes.

Come to think of it, even near the estate, undergrowth with astonishing growth ability sprouted thick everywhere.

If Iberin had majored in agriculture back in Korea, she probably would've wanted to research that growth ability.

"There aren't as many monsters as I thought, though."

One had popped out right at the entrance, which had her bracing for more, but they'd walked a good distance and nothing else had appeared.

"Monsters don't attack anything stronger than them on a whim."

"Oh? Ah, that earlier one was a starving one, so…"

"That's right."

"Then how do you find ones to hunt every day?"

The question came out as she was thinking out loud. Because of the Seed of Evil, Lyssel had to kill something or be consumed by demonic energy.

Meaning he went searching for monsters specifically to commit killing.