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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Worries in the Dead of Night
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In the dead of night.
Lellia sat at the desk in her bedroom, racking her brain.
Through her memories of the original story, she knew of the major events to come.
But while there were futures she could change, there were also those she was powerless to alter.
First and foremost, the most important thing was to prevent her own death.
The original story said it was an accident from a misstep, not a murder, so she just had to be careful around the pond.
Aside from her own fate, everything else was beyond her control.
The death of the current emperor and crown prince, and the coronation of a new emperor.
Her friends joining the expedition to fight the Mad Dragon.
And the injuries Calix would sustain in that battle.
These were things she could not prevent.
‘If only I had magical abilities like the original heroine or hero…’
Not that it would let me save Calix.
If there was any power in this world as great as divine power, it was the power of mana.
Mana was the energy of nature, and those with a high affinity for it could train by absorbing the mana that existed in the world.
An Aura Master, or Sword Master, was someone who used aura—a form of mana—to strengthen their body and imbue their weapons with power.
And a mage was one who used mana to create formulas and cast magic.
‘It’s forbidden, but I wish I at least knew alchemy.’
At least then I wouldn’t starve like before. I could secretly sell magic potions to earn some money.
‘Though I’d be in big trouble if I got caught…’
In this world, alchemy was tantamount to forbidden magic. Though a type of magic, it was treated as heresy.
The reason was that alchemy’s ultimate goal was the creation of the ‘Philosopher’s Stone.’
The Philosopher’s Stone was said to have properties similar to the temple’s ‘sacred relics,’ which could grant any wish, and the temple considered it a challenge to the authority of the gods.
Another problem was the Elixir, one of the alchemists’ ultimate goals.
Divine power had healing properties, but it wasn’t omnipotent. It couldn’t bring back the dead, regenerate severed limbs, or cure long-standing illnesses.
However, the Elixir that alchemists spoke of was a potion of immortality that could do all of those things.
Of course, no alchemist had yet succeeded in creating a Philosopher’s Stone or an Elixir. But the temple could not tolerate the very logic behind them.
Thus, alchemy came to be treated as heresy.
But as in any world, illegal potions made by alchemists were traded in the underworld.
Alchemists who were discovered and reported to the temple were put on trial for heresy and burned at the stake. Just like a witch hunt.
‘They could have at least given me some kind of power.’
Lellia sighed in disappointment. Gazing at the moon outside the window beyond her desk, she felt a sense of unease.
‘Still, I’m worried about Calix…’
Perhaps because the day of their return to her home country was drawing near, she was particularly worried about Calix.
The greatsword Calix would obtain in the future was enormous, as large as a man’s torso.
It was a treasured sword forged by a master artisan, blending diamond, mithril, and other legendary minerals.
And the gem embedded in the center of its hilt was one of the sacred relics the temple was searching for.
Being a special sword, it possessed immense power.
The power to destroy a dragon’s reverse scale.
In the battle against the Mad Dragon, Calix was the one to deliver the final blow. Just as his greatsword was about to pierce the Mad Dragon’s reverse scale, the dragon launched a final attack.
Calix took the full force of the attack as he pierced the reverse scale, and the Mad Dragon fell. As a result, Calix suffered burns all over his body.
After the Mad Dragon was defeated, Griffith used his divine power on Calix, healing his melting bones and flesh, but…
The one thing he couldn’t fix was his eyes.
The battle with the Mad Dragon left Calix unable to see.
‘How could I not be worried…’
If she hadn’t known, it would be one thing, but now that she did, she couldn’t help but feel for him whenever she saw him.
To pierce the Mad Dragon’s reverse scale, he had no choice but to take that attack head-on.
From what she had read in the novel, there was no way to avoid that attack.
There was a scene where Calix comforted his comrades, saying, ‘Even if I had known beforehand, it couldn’t be helped.’ He had been so composed.
‘If it weren’t for that injury, he could have taken the throne…’
At that time, the Ascad Empire was in a state of ruin due to the emperor’s tyranny.
The emperor, Calix’s uncle, was terrified that the Mad Dragon expedition would be defeated and return.
So he hired powerful sorcerers and was building a new castle to stop the Mad Dragon, forcing even young citizens into labor all day long.
But the expedition was victorious, and the people of the Ascad Empire hoped Calix would return and drive out the tyrant.
However, the symbol of the Ascad imperial family was their golden eyes—the eyes of a sovereign said to see through all things.
Despite suffering under the tyranny, when the people heard that Calix had gone blind, they were horrified by him.
Claiming he was ‘cursed by the Mad Dragon.’
That was how most people reacted. They praised him as the hero who defeated the Mad Dragon, but behind his back, they feared and shunned him, saying he was cursed.
After losing his sight, his eyes had indeed changed to a very peculiar color.
A strange mix of blue, red, gold, and gray.
Knowing that his cursed eyes made people uncomfortable, Calix began to cover them from then on.
But the original heroine, Yuriana, would look at his eyes and offer words of comfort.
“Calix, I don’t think you’re cursed. Your eyes saved everyone in this world, so how could that be a curse, right?”
From that day on, Calix too became one of the fish in Yuriana’s pond.
‘Whether he becomes one of her fish or not, I don’t care, but…’
The point is, Calix lost everything after the battle with the Mad Dragon.
Oscar, who became a semi-immortal emperor; Griffith, who gained enough power to rival the Holy Emperor; and Romeo, who established the first magic tower and became its master.
And the other main characters.
Among them, the one with the most wretched future was Calix.
Unlike the others who were hailed as heroes, Calix turned his back on everything and wandered the world once more.
As if it were only natural, as if he had never expected anything in return.
In the original story, he had even lost an arm.
‘No arm, no sight, no family, no friends, nothing… He’s basically a beggar…’
He didn’t even win the love of the original heroine.
Lellia thought about how she was worried about others when she herself might starve to death, but whenever she saw Calix laughing foolishly, she felt sorry for him.
“Ah, whatever! I should worry about myself.”
Lellia pushed aside her thoughts of Calix and decided to focus on her own future.
‘…Maybe I should just run away from the imperial castle after the rebellion breaks out?’
That wasn’t a bad idea. Of course, just as it was difficult to sneak into the imperial castle, it was also difficult to get out…
‘But maybe it’s possible if I sneak out on the day of the rebellion?’
No. That was too dangerous. The castle would be swarming with soldiers; one wrong move and she could be killed.
‘But if I just stay put, I might be used in a political marriage or be forced to marry one of the meritorious retainers…’
That was even more horrifying.
‘Or should I try clinging to Yuriana and begging her to save me? Grovel at her feet?’
Ooh… Come to think of it, that wasn’t a bad idea.
Emperor Perseus and his sons, Cedric and Damian, were completely powerless before Yuriana.
‘Besides, Yuriana is kind, so she might give me food if I tell her I’m hungry.’
But this wasn’t a safe method either.
Emperor Perseus, Cedric, and Damian held an immense hatred for her. The chances of her being assassinated before she could even approach Yuriana were higher.
‘Maybe I should go there instead…’
The imperial castle grounds were enormous and included a vast forest. Deep inside was a small cabin where a forest keeper stayed.
But it wasn’t a rest stop for the keeper; it was the secret hideout of Emperor Perseus’s late former wife.
She had been a mage, and she used to secretly create magical artifacts in that secret place Perseus had provided for her.
It was a place filled with their memories.
‘Emperor Perseus does take Yuriana there later, but…’
Emperor Perseus saw his late wife in Yuriana, who was also a mage.
So he took her there, showed her the things his wife had made, and gave her the secret place as a gift.
According to her memory, there were some pretty useful magical artifacts in that secret place.
‘There were magically preserved emergency rations too, right?’
Food was what she needed more desperately than anything.
Because the biggest problem she’d have to worry about upon her return was starving to death.
Neither the current emperor nor the future emperor, Perseus, was the least bit favorable toward Lellia.
Things would get even more precarious after Perseus became emperor.
Few maids were assigned to Lellia in the first place, and even they wouldn’t risk earning the new emperor’s disfavor by showing her any kindness.
When they barely had enough time to curry favor with the emperor, no one would be kind to a criminal who was practically his sworn enemy.
‘Besides, Cedric and Damian had made threats…’
Alright, I’ll find my own way to survive.
‘I’ll have to take over that secret cabin.’
But I’ll have to be careful not to run into Emperor Perseus while I’m stealing the food.
Lellia let out a sly chuckle and went back to her bed. She hugged the small rabbit doll that was by her pillow.
She was relieved that even if she returned to her home country and was alone again, she would feel a little less lonely with this doll.
