Chapter 2
Episode 2
A razor-thin tension like walking a tightrope, the protagonists' emotional lines where they wanted to kill each other, and the writing skill that brought it all to life.
It was a novel I enjoyed immensely.
In this novel's world, there exist beings called Transcendents.
But they had one peculiar trait.
Transcendents are those blessed by god, wielding powers that surpass human limits.
Perhaps because of that divine blessing, the blood of Transcendents is mana itself, making them completely different from ordinary people.
At first glance, Transcendents might seem enviable, but the reality was far from it.
Transcendents received god's blessing, but as the price, they were also afflicted with "cruel pain."
Their ordinary bodies couldn't withstand their extraordinary blood, suffering as if lava flowed within them.
This was the cost of god's blessing.
The gong of this novel, Rihart, was also a Transcendent.
Transcendents are engulfed in pain incomparable to their usual when using their powers.
This pain is called Mana Pain, and Transcendents took Mana Suppressants to suppress it.
But on "that day" of all days, Rihart had no Mana Suppressant.
And at that precise moment, overwhelmed by Rihart's beauty, this novel's shou, Arjen, kidnapped him—this was the novel's early plot.
Arjen, who brought Rihart, immediately realized he was a Transcendent.
Fearing he might use magic to escape, he fitted him with high-grade Mana Shackles and withheld Mana Suppressants to leave no chance of flight.
Without them, Rihart couldn't wield his true power.
As Arjen wished, Rihart could do nothing.
Thus, Rihart experienced all sorts of humiliations.
Rihart's lofty pride resisted Arjen, but Arjen sought to crush that arrogance.
Unyielding, Rihart attempted escape repeatedly, enduring all manner of ordeals upon each failure.
How did it end again?
My memory was hazy, but I think Rihart ultimately succeeded in escaping.
However, Rihart's family was a declining Count's house on the frontier, while Arjen was a Marquis wielding immense power.
Learning this, Rihart heard of an outbreak of war and headed straight to the battlefield.
There, he earned merits, returned, and brought down Arjen's family...
Forcing Arjen to suffer the same confinement as he had endured?
I think that was the ending.
Until the finale, the two never loved each other—only hatred remained.
[Author-nim, there's Boys but why no Love...?]
Such comments flooded in, but there were even more readers who loved it for its entertainment value.
"Rosie! What are you keep thinking about?"
"Huh?"
"Are you really bewitched by that monster?"
As the woman before me scolded me with angry eyes, I reflexively shook my head.
Why had that novel suddenly come to mind?
"You're acting weird right now, Rosie. You've been spaced out ever since you met that monster."
That's because I was lost in thought.
"Everyone who meets that monster ends up like that. They all act strange."
The woman shuddered as if chilled, rubbing her arms.
"...Um, who do you mean by monster?"
It seemed she was referring to the man who had begged me for medicine moments ago, but he was no monster—just a strikingly handsome man.
"That man you just met."
"...Ah."
"Everyone loses their minds the moment they see him. He's bewitching them like a monster."
Come to think of it, in Raised by Fog, everyone who saw Rihart lost their composure.
Because he was so handsome.
And Transcendents, blessed by god, were inherently alluring to ordinary people.
"You should go rest, Rosie."
The woman took my hand and led me to a room, then pushed my back toward the bed.
"Rest a bit. You'll feel better."
Caught off guard by her touch, I lay down on the bed.
I'm really fine, though.
But I didn't refuse her gesture and closed my eyes. I'd wake from this dream after sleeping.
* * *
Regrettably, I did not wake from the dream.
"Wake up, Rosie!"
A rough hand shook me awake. A gentle tap on my shoulder that didn't hurt.
This wasn't a dream.
"It's time to go to the monster."
"......"
What? For real?
"Even if you don't want to, you have to. You're on meal duty this time."
"Meal duty?"
"Yeah. We decided to rotate every 10 days because that monster gives us the creeps. No choice even if you hate it. You have to go, Rosie."
Why did everything I heard remind me of Raised by Fog?
"If you're late, the master will get mad."
"...Master?"
"Why are you like this since earlier? I mean Marquis Evantes."
Marquis Evantes... That's the same family name as the shou in Raised by Fog.
No way. No way. It can't be.
A chill of unease crept up my spine.
As I said nothing, her expression darkened. I quickly schooled my face.
"Sorry. I feel a bit sick, so my memory's fuzzy."
It was a lame excuse even to me.
Fearing she'd find it ridiculous, I glanced at her cautiously, but her face grew serious.
"...That monster must have done something to you, huh?"
Huh?
"...Rosie."
"No, it's a cold! I caught a cold so I felt off, and I just forgot for a moment after waking up."
"Really?"
"Yeah. So I have to deliver the meal?"
She still looked worried. Nodding reluctantly, she led me to the kitchen.
The Head Chef, with his fierce face, was sharply chopping food.
The knife looked extremely sharp.
"Um... I'm here for the meal."
"It's over there. Take it yourself."
The Head Chef jerked his chin lazily, pointing to a dog bowl.
"...Do you keep dogs here?"
This wasn't for delivering to Rihart—it was for feeding a dog?
"What are you talking about, Rosie? That's perfect for that monster."
A strange sneer crossed the woman—Emily's—face.
On the way down to the dining hall, I overheard the other maids call her Emily.
"Ah, I see."
Not wanting an argument, I picked up the dog bowl on the tray.
What difference would my words make anyway?
"I'll head out then."
"Rosie, hang in there!"
No doubt about it.
This place seems to be inside Raised by Fog.
The details match the novel.
First off, all the servants here treat Rihart like a monster. It was one of the humiliations Rihart faced in the original story.
The servants viewing Rihart as a monster was all part of Arjen's scheme.
Without Mana Suppressants, Rihart suffers immense pain from the mana boiling inside him, and if left too long, he loses his reason and rampages.
Like a beast driven by instinct, lashing out with his power indiscriminately—Arjen exploited this.
He deliberately showed Rihart's terrifying form before the servants to instill fear.
His appearance, sanity lost as he rampaged with mana and tried to break the restraints, was pure terror.
Magic being rare, the servants simply saw Rihart as a monster and despised him.
Before the servants, Arjen had knights restrain Rihart with the shackles and declared,
As you can see, this is a monster.
Thus isolating Rihart.
Am I really inside Raised by Fog?
It was hard to believe.
From the moment I saw Rihart, the novel kept coming to mind.
It felt eerily as if something was subtly hinting that this place was the world of that novel.
As I gradually accepted reality, a chill ran through me.
What happened to those who served Rihart's meals?
Since there was no exclusive maid for Rihart yet, it was clearly early in the original story.
From my memory, Arjen in the original observed the maids rotating every 10 days to deliver Rihart's meals, scouting for a suitable exclusive maid.
What were the criteria again...?
Having read it so long ago, the details didn't come to mind.
I need to avoid becoming the exclusive maid.
Because Rihart's exclusive maids later got their heads chopped off for failing to stop his escape attempts.
Lost in thought, I arrived before Rihart's door. The underground room resembled a prison.
The Guard standing before the door eyed me coldly.
I took a deep breath.
Alright, let's go in!
