Chapter 320: The Second Round [3]
Aoife stood in shock, her mouth hanging open as she found herself staring at the book in front of her with widened eyes.
'Which one? He's changed about five times...'
'In the least common cases, loss of taste. Sweet foods become too sweet and salty foods become too blan...'
Voices of the past whispered in her mind as she stood in silence, her face continuously shifting as she tried to make sense of all the information that she had.
"It can't be possible, right...?"
And yet...
Everything pointed out this fact.
From her past research on how Julien was different than he was now, to Evelyn's words, and the words that she read from the book. As if the pieces of the puzzle slowly started to set, Aoife came to a slow and chilling realization.
"Julien..."
She took a deep breath.
"...He might not be the real one."
The thought sent her into a daze, sending her mind into a state of blankness as she swallowed her saliva and tried to make the best sense of her realization.
When...?
When did all of this start? Halfway through the Academy, or before?
Aoife sorted through her memorization. In the end, she found her answer.
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
'Before the Academy.'
With him being the son of a Barony, she didn't know much about him. The only thing she knew about him was the fact that he had suddenly become the Black Star, and later in the cooking class he added a worrying amount of salt to his food.
A lot of things started to make sense in Aoife's mind as she felt her lips quiver.
"No, it's not decided."
Aoife took a deep breath and sat down on the table. Carefully reading through the words, she pursed her lips.
'... This might not necessarily mean that Julien is possessed. His changes can be explained by how Evelyn said that his personality switched five times in the past. Whi—'
Aoife bit her lips.
What was there to say that those personality changes weren't related to his possession?
More excuses started to pour down.
'His tastebud situation could be something that he's inherently born with. If it is then it's highly likely that' I'm overthinking this.'
"Right."
Aoife slapped her fist over her palm.
"I might be jumping to conclusions. I'll ask Evelyn later."
Though Aoife acted like this, she was in reality just trying to make excuses for herself. At heart, she knew the answer that Evelyn would give her, and the thought made her scared.
If Julien was really possessed, what was she supposed to do?
Leave him be?...But as the Princess, how could she let him be? What if he harbored thoughts against their Empire? Then she would have no choice but to act.
... It was just that he had helped her in the past and she felt indebted to him.
But what if he had done that to purposely get close to her? What if he was just trying to manipulate her?
"Huuu."
Aoife took a deep breath and slapped the sides of her cheeks.
'Now is not the time to think about this.'
She had rather mixed feelings about the situation, but other things were far more pressing. Such as Kiera's situation.
That was not something that could've been delayed.
Immediately, she thought about contacting her family to have Kiera detained but found herself stopping halfway through.
"No, that's not feasible..."
Kiera's family was rather high up in the noble circle. Furthermore, they were also a member of Central, the collective of Noble Houses. Detaining Kiera would hold severe implications. That was unless she was able to provide enough evidence of the situation.
...And that, she didn't have.
The only thing that she had was the text that she had received from her before her disappearance.
That was far from enough.
"I could also have her checked for possession, but that would take time."
Finding if someone was possessed was not that difficult. A specific cleric, a person specialized
in the 'Curse' element was usually called up for this. They would usually cast several spells in order to identify if someone was possessed or not.
The only problem was that it would take at least a couple of days to arrive.
Would that be enough...?
Aoife bit her lips. Recalling the text that she had reason, she found herself wanting to shake her head. However, she still nonetheless took out her communication device and sent a message to one of her servants to tell them to call a Cleric to come.
"...Regardless, I should do it."
If they came early, it was good. If not, then it wouldn't matter since she wasn't stopping here.
As Aoife shifted her attention back to the book in front of her, she had a sudden thought as her
hand froze.
'Wait...'
Aoife frowned while looking back at her communication device.
That was when she realized something. In her haste, she had forgotten one of the most important things. And that was the fact that...
The Angel knew that she knew.
In that case,
Aoife's head flicked and looked toward her back. Her heart beat out of her throat while the
surroundings turned extremely quiet.
Seated at one of the wooden tables, surrounded by towering shelves of books and with hardly anyone in sight, Aoife suddenly felt the silence pressing in on her as if the very walls were closing in, watching her every move.
Feeling the beat of her own heart, Aoife secretly swallowed before slowly turning her head
back to face the back.
But as she did...
"!"
Two glaring red eyes met her gaze. A pale figure sat across from her, her expression unnervingly calm, a simple smile curving her lips as she watched Aoife in silence.
"Hi."
Aoife held her breath.
As she stared at the figure before her, every hair on her body stood on end, and she found
herself unable to breathe.
A suffocating sensation overtook her body.
Despite her overwhelming panic, she remained level-headed. Looking at the familiar, and yet unfamiliar figure before her, Aoife's mind raced.
'....How do I call my guards?'
As the Princess of the Empire, the moment that she reached the capital, her family designated two guards to protect her. They stood in the shadows and watched her at all times. It was for
that reason that she usually wasn't worried about her safety.
But things were different now.
Kiera was someone that her guards knew about. They weren't monitoring her closely. And...
the problem with her was the fact that she could attack without being seen.
Drip!
Her sweat dripped down on the side of the table as she closed her fists slowly.
The sight of her made the angel smile, her voice rising to an eerie, childlike pitch.
"There's no need to be so nervous, hihihi."
Her giggles, innocent and filled with joy, sent chills down Aoife's spine, intensifying the dread that gripped her as her mind raced to make sense of the situation.
All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind, but before she could do so, Aoife felt her entire
body freeze.
"....!"
Before she could understand what had happened, her head slowly turned and her gaze met
with the Angel's.
"Stop resisting. It'll all be over before you realize it."
That was when Aoife felt the world grow dark.
And her thoughts...
Disappear.
***
"What is up with your timing? Is it your intuition thing again? That nonsense?"
".....'
Leon pursed his lips, looking down at the floor that was pooled over with the liquid he spilled.
He then raised his head and shook his head.
"I was really just here to have a drink."
He pointed toward a nearby shop.
"I heard it was good so I wanted to try it. I... didn't expect to see you here."
He bit his lips, trying his best to keep his face straight. I felt my left brow twitch at the sight,
but just managed to stop myself before telling him the truth.
"It was Caius."
Only then did Leon's expression return to normal.
"Caius?"
"Yes, the same one that we're thinking about."
"What did he want?"
"He was insecure about his Emotive Abilities."
"?"
Leon made a strange face.
He struggled to understand my words. But was it really that hard to get? It was pretty
straightforward in my opinion.
"He's the same guy that took my role in the play."
"Really?"
"Yes, I'm pretty confident."
"Huh."
Leon's eyes squinted. Then, as if piecing everything together, he slowly nodded his head.
"He's insecure."
"I told you so."
It really wasn't that hard to get.
"But was that the only reason that he visited you?"
"....Maybe?"
I wasn't quite sure, to be honest. This was the first time that I had truly noticed and interacted
with him. I didn't really know what to make out of our conversation.
"Could be because I defeated two from his Empire?"
"Oh, yeah."
Leon tossed the drink in his hand. There wasn't much left and he didn't seem too keen on
finishing it.
He was just about to leave when his expression stiffened and his body shook.
"What?"
What's up with this guy again? I was just about to get annoyed when his expression turned
extremely serious.
He looked toward a certain direction and then looked back at me.
"Something happened."
"Your intuition?"
"Yes,"
Leon didn't deny it and sped forward. I stood in place for a brief moment before following
from behind.
We hurried through Grimspire, running through the cobblestone streets until we reached the Separation Point, situated at the center of a dome-shaped building. Tall, fluted columns lined the exterior, supporting a grand portico that provided entry into the building where the Mirror Crack was visible.
I was just about to enter when Leon raised his hand to stop me.
"Wait here. Something is coming."
At the same time, he pushed us into a more secluded area.
||
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Though confused, I didn't say anything and just waited as he said.
I didn't know for how long we stood for. However, with the heat, it started to feel rather
uncomfortable.
But soon, two figures appeared.
Walking out from the Separation Point, they looked extremely normal. With Aoife carrying
several books with her, and Kiera walking behind her with a frown, I turned to look at Leon.
"...!"
That was when I noticed the grim, almost terrifying expression on his face.
"What-"
"Something is wrong."
Leon quietly murmured as his expression forcefully relaxed. Then, as if he knew exactly what
to do, he turned around and took out his communication device.
"Who are you calling?"
Leon glanced at me for a brief moment before answering,
"....Someone who knows how to deal with the situation best."
Situation...?
I once again glanced in Kiera's and Aoife's direction. Though I was confused, I didn't question
his intuition and just asked,
"Who?"
Leon paused before staring at me, his eyes turning complicated.
"Evelyn."
He pursed his lips.
"....This isn't the first time she has dealt with something like this."
