DOTD Chapter 12

Where was the great wizard who would take something from him by force?

 

“I suppose I was sensitive back then because I felt compelled to find the Master.”

 

Any little thing could be a clue. An excuse followed in a small voice.

 

“You should have believed me a long time ago.”

 

“…”

 

Yzmel closed his mouth again.

 

…The little brat who only kept his mouth shut when it was to his disadvantage.

 

“Okay, then don’t mention it.”

 

“I’m not going to apologize.”

 

“Yeah, and don’t apologize either.”

 

“I did what I had to do.”

 

At my nonchalant reply that none of that matters, Yzmel frowned slightly.

 

What mattered to me now was not the apology I hadn’t expected.

 

Looking around, I reached down and checked myself. There were clean bandages all over my body, including my wrists and sides.

 

Some small cuts and bruises weren’t covered.

 

“We’ve taken care of most of the big wounds, but you’ve lost a lot of blood, so you’ll need to rest for a while.”

 

As if to prove his point, I closed my eyes, blocking my vision with my palms against the extreme dizziness I felt.

 

“Like I said, you’re in pretty good shape after what that monster did to you. I don’t know if you realize this, but wounds from monsters slowly fester if left alone. They’re very difficult to treat, to the point where even a small wound can be life-threatening.”

 

Without being asked, Yzmel continued to elaborate. He talks too much. He said I was supposed to rest.

 

“By the way, did you have to break your wrists to get the restraints off? I’ve never seen anyone use such a clueless method before. I didn’t even know it was possible in the first place…”

 

Feeling a little bone-rattled, I threw up my hands in the air.

 

“…Why, do you have something to say?”

 

“So, you’re the one who found me first and healed me?”

 

Yzmel’s face stiffened ever so subtly.

 

“I was the one who brought you here and healed you, yes.”

 

“And?”

 

“There was an explosion, and when I went over there, you were lying on the ground, and then…”

 

Yzmel looked as if he wasn’t sure if he should say this or not.

 

I sat up, waiting for him to finish organizing his thoughts.

 

As the silence seemed to drag on, I couldn’t help but think of another face from earlier, one that was still haunting me.

 

Eventually, I spoke first, “You… you saw him?”

 

‘I wasn’t mistaken, was I?’

 

“Him?”

 

Yzmel’s eyes sparkled. He didn’t look his age.

 

“If so…”

 

It was only when he trailed off, as if lost in thought again, that I realized something.

 

‘Would he recognize Louis if he saw him?’

 

As my mind raced to that point, I hastily added for clarification.

 

“I think I saw someone before I passed out.”

 

“…”

 

“So you mean, was I the only one there?”

 

“You were the only one there.”

 

“Oh.”

 

A sigh of disappointment escaped my lips.

 

‘Pity for what? That it wasn’t Louis? Did I expect that?’

 

I bit my lip. He wasn’t the Louis I knew anymore. I shouldn’t have expectations.

 

As if observing me, Yzmel slowly looked at me, and then spoke, “Well, there was someone here, but he was gone in a flash before I could get close.”

 

“What? Really?”

 

“Yeah. It sounded like he was saying something to you. Didn’t you hear?”

 

He said, ‘I’m sorry.’

 

The bitter, pleading voice rang in my ears again.

 

It sounded so much like the warm voice of the old Louis, so different from the cold voice of the demonized Louis.

 

Maybe that’s why I thought I was hallucinating when I saw him.

 

But it wasn’t an illusion, it was the real Louis.

 

‘Why? Why is he there, looking like he’s been hurt so badly?’

 

No one on this continent could have hurt him like that, except some of his friends.

 

The realization that it was indeed Louis that I had seen left me with a trail of unanswered questions.

 

Waiting for an answer, I shook my head, not telling Yzmel the truth.

 

“So who is he?”

 

“…”

 

“He’s… Louis, yes?”

 

“Huh?”

 

The question pierced through my mind, and Yzmel’s voice came out loud and clear, startling me.

 

Even though I was startled by the sound of my voice, he continued, “Is he the one who you call out to every time you wake up?”

 

I didn’t have an easy answer to his impatient question.

 

That might have been a question for him, but it didn’t seem to be a simple curiosity.

 

It was more like he was trying to get one more piece of information.

 

“I’ve noticed before, that there’s nothing considerate about your question.”

 

Instead of giving him an answer, I pointed out his rudeness.

 

It made me miss Evan a little, who never asked me anything despite my suspicious words and behavior.

 

Seeing Yzmel’s piercing gaze, so different from his, made me sigh.

 

I should point out here that I don’t know if he realizes that the ‘Louis’ that came out of my mouth was Louis Usher, Emperor of the Usher Empire.

 

Well, there are plenty of people with the same name in the world, and besides, he disappeared before I could get a good look at him.

 

There shouldn’t have been any way for him to realize they were the same person.

 

“So, you’re not going to answer.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Well, that’s a little awkward.”

 

What’s wrong with this guy? I’m in more trouble than he ever was.

 

“Haven’t you ever heard of being obsessed?”

 

Meeting my trembling gaze, Yzmel raises an eyebrow.

 

“I don’t fully trust you yet, and I tend to put the safety of our Master above all else.”

 

Which meant I was very suspicious.

 

“Haven’t you ever been told that you’re suspicious?”

 

Yzmel said, the corners of his mouth twitching upward as he met my doubly nervous gaze.

 

“You know what? The Empire and the Tower don’t get along very well.”

 

Of course, they don’t have the best of relations, they’re at war.

 

But it was clear that he wasn’t referring to a superficial relationship.

 

Besides, why mention the Empire out of the blue?

 

Before I could continue my thought, I saw Yzmel take a step back and move his hand slightly.

 

It seemed like slow motion as mana gathered at his fingertips.

 

Sensing danger in that small gesture, I reflexively gathered my mana as well.

 

It was a split second. 

 

One of the restraints that hung on the wall like a decoration flew up and bound my wrists, and the attack that shot out of my hand was only a fraction of a second away from reaching Yzmel.

 

“Ouch.”

 

Staggering backward for a moment, Yzmel groaned, clutching his cheek. Crimson blood trickled down his palm.

 

“What the…!”

 

I screamed, pinned to the bed by handcuff-like restraints.

 

The sharp clinking of metal echoed through the room with every movement.

 

“This magic…”

 

There was a brief flicker of surprise on Yzmel’s face as he saw the wound, but none of that mattered.

 

‘How long had it been since I was free of my restraints? How long I’ve been struggling to get out of these?’

 

As my frustration intensified, Yzmel warned me calmly.

 

“You’d better be careful, you’re not completely healed yet.”

 

I chuckled in exasperation.

 

Yzmel takes out a cloth and rubs his palm against his cheek to wipe away the blood.

 

Up close, the wound wasn’t very deep, but he could see that some of his long hair had been cut off.

 

“I should have aimed for the neck.”

 

He continued, unperturbed by my coldly spat words.

 

“What’s wrong with giving you back what you should have kept?”

 

“What?”

 

“The Master of the Tower gave orders to capture an unaffiliated mage, so here you are, on your way to the tower. I only treated you because you were sick, no exceptions.”

 

There were other reasons, of course, but the words that followed were probably the ones that bound me.

 

Maybe he’s assuming I’m some kind of Imperial spy, and that’s troubling.

 

“You’re not the only one who’s suspicious.”

 

Knock, knock—

 

There was a knock on the door, cutting off Yzmel’s words, who was sure to recite a list of suspicious things if I left him alone.

 

Knock, knock—

 

The voice came again, staggered, as if in urgency.

 

“Yes. Come in.”

 

The door was hastily opened and a wizard in robes similar to Yzmel’s entered.

 

“There you are! I’ve called an emergency meeting! Monsters are swarming the tower!”

 

Sensing the urgency of the situation, I locked eyes with Yzmel, who nodded with a look that said, ‘Here it comes.’

 

He sighed slightly, as if he didn’t like the idea of leaving me behind.

 

“Don’t move, I’m going to send you to the Master when this is over.”

 

With those words, which I couldn’t tell if they were a threat or a request, Yzmel hurried out of the room.

 

Behind the tightly closed door, there was a sudden silence in the room.

 

“A monster?”

 

An ominous premonition swept through him.

 

— ‘Children with my power, instinctively seeking you out.’ 

 

Louis’s voice from my dream returns, overlapping with the monster that keeps heading my way and the many monsters surrounding the carriage.

 

‘We need to run.’

 

A red siren blares in my head.