‘Wait. This isn’t the time for this—I need to get out of here…’
Swoosh—.
By the time the thought crossed my mind, it was already too late. The flames closed in from all sides, as if ready to devour my body.
“Ugh…”
A headache struck. Then, for a brief moment, I felt a searing pain.
‘Damn it. This is just not right.’
Honestly, I didn’t want to go through this kind of pain again. With the memories of my past life weighing on me, it felt like I might completely lose my mind.
“Please, get rid of these.”
I pleaded with Krius, my eyes closed.
“…You must be in a lot of pain?”
“It wasn’t my fault.”
When I said that, the curtain of flames blocking my view lowered slightly.
‘I need to fly now.’
I steadied my breathing and flew up toward the star-filled sky.
“You’re a rather pathetic sight to be called an evil spirit, Lady Montrose….”
Just as I took to the air, Krius aimed his sword at me once again.
‘This is different from Basileon. I’ve never even heard of a technique like that.’
Fwoosh—
Before long, a massive blaze appeared before my eyes, opening its maw as if ready to devour me.
“Oh my. Watching you get devoured by fire should be quite the sight.”
Through the blaze, I could faintly see Krius grinning like a demon. After that was the last thing I saw before my eyes closed.
* * *
“You’ll surely grow up to be an incredible beauty, Young Lady.”
“…You are truly, truly beautiful.”
Some maids were gathered together, watching me. Their appearances were clearly human, not ghosts.
“Amama!”
My mouth moved automatically, and I blurted out.
“Oh my, Young Lady has called for the Madam!”
“Yes. Baby, this is your mother.”
The silver-haired lady gave me an elegant smile.
‘She’s definitely holding me in her arms.’
“And Evien Montrose. This is your name….”
‘….!’
Before I could even feel surprised, the scene changed. Everyone around me moved as if on fast-forward and then froze at a certain moment. It didn’t take long before I realized I was traveling through time—Specifically, through the past of Evien Montrose. After going back in time, I had somehow become a child.
“The Young Lady has already become a little miss…”
They were the same maids I had seen earlier. Did they think I couldn’t hear them? Their whispers came through vividly.
“She’s a bit unusual for a little miss. She seems rather mature, too.”
“More than just unusual… how should I put it… a little strange, perhaps….”
“It’s a little strange.”
‘Strange?’
My head turned, and I stared into the mirror. In the reflection was a cute yet pretty silver-haired girl, who looked to be about eleven years old. The girl smiled brightly, admiring her own smile. But before long, her expression stiffened.
‘What is this…?’
Her eyes held a look I could barely understand.
Kiiiek—
At that moment, someone entered the room.
“Oh, Evien. Were you playing with your doll?”
“Madam.”
The maids greeted the person who had entered. A silver-haired lady—likely Evien’s mother, I presumed.
“Evien. Come outside with me. The weather is nice.”
“….”
My mouth remained silent despite my mother’s suggestion.
“Why, don’t you want to?”
“Mother, before that, please tell me what this means!”
I pointed at the maids.
“Kinna and Sera said I looked like a foolish, inferior commoner!”
“What?”
“Kinna and Sera are good maids. They wouldn’t say anything bad to me, so perhaps it’s a form of praise in a way I don’t understand?”
I felt the corners of my mouth curl up.
“…Kinna, Sera.”
“Madam! We never said anything like that!”
“We only said that the young lady is mature, and a little unique!”
The maids trembled nervously in front of the Madam.
“So you’re saying Evien lied?”
“T, that’s…”
I hid behind my mother’s skirt, peeking out just slightly. Then, with a wicked grin, I sneered at the maids. My mother had no idea. The maids wore expressions as if they had sensed their fate—and that fate became reality. They were immediately fired from their positions and expelled from the Montrose household. With that scene, the time travel came to an end.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, the flames that had trapped me were blazing high into the sky.
‘…I’m back.’
In the distance, I could see Krius.
“I didn’t expect you to lose consciousness so quickly… Seeing this now, I’ve realized that even an evil spirit isn’t all that impressive.”
I couldn’t hear Krius’s words. I just didn’t want to see the roaring flames any longer.
“Stop.”
“Hmm. You think I’d stop when I don’t even know where my companions are?”
“I told you I didn’t know!”
Frustrated, I shouted at Krius, my voice trembling like a cry.
“There’s no way you wouldn’t know.”
Krius showed no sign of stopping. He was simply waiting for the moment I would be thrown into the inferno and be erased.
Fsssh—
Then, I heard the sound of something flying toward us.
‘What now?’
And in the next moment, the flames had completely stopped.
“Hey, Sir Krius.”
The voice belonged to Adolf. He floated translucent weapons in the air, threatening Krius. The weapons Adolf wielded were the arrows and swords used by the ghost knights of the Crimson Order. Since they were translucent, they could even harm Krius, who was a ghost.
“W, what are you doing!”
Whoosh—!
Adolf stopped the weapons right in front of Krius’s face.
“Stop, stop!”
“See this? Feels like you might die now that it’s your turn, doesn’t it?”
“Adolf. Why are you doing this to me!”
“Hmm… Sir Krius. Do you have any evidence that the evil spirit is the one behind the disappearance of the ghosts and monsters?”
Krius’s face turned red as he glared at me.
“Isn’t the very existence of that evil spirit proof enough?!”
Thud—
Adolf lunged at Krius as if to strike him with his body. But in reality, it was a translucent hammer that hit him.
“Ugh! What the heck! It hurts!”
“Don’t act up if you don’t have clear evidence that the evil spirit did it. Do you even realize, as the vice commander, that you’re tarnishing the honor of the knights right now?”
‘Are you defending me?’
I never expected Adolf to come to my rescue. I thought he was just a stubborn old fool with no heart.
“Adolf. Let’s see how long you can rely on that ability of yours!”
Krius flew away at incredible speed. And within seconds, he had completely vanished from our sight.
“…Adolf.”
“I just happened to see it while passing by. The vice commander’s behavior was so irritating that I interfered, and don’t think for a second that I came to save you.”
Before I could even say thank you, Adolf muttered his words defensively, as if explaining himself.
‘He acts cold, but surprisingly, he’s a warm old man.’
I gave a weak smile and offered my thanks.
“It doesn’t matter what. I just wanted to say thank you to you.”
“Ahem…”
Adolf just cleared his throat awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
* * *
I recovered from the aftereffects of encountering the flames. Meanwhile, Adolf puffed along, wandering around the lakeside by himself.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Lake of Darkness.”
After saying that, Adolf fell silent when I didn’t respond. He didn’t say a word until I opened my eyes, having regained some composure.
“How are you feeling?”
“…Thanks for helping, but we’re no longer friends, and it’s really none of your concern.”
“So you’ve been holding onto what I said back then…”
“Because the old man unilaterally ended our friendship!”
“Old man…?”
I laughed heartily.
“Haha. Just kidding, Adolf.”
“Let me say it again—I was just passing by by chance…”
“Yeah. You must’ve seen me by chance while passing by. Still, thank you for using your ability for me.”
“…You do have some shame.”
After regaining my composure from the conversation with Adolf, what had happened earlier came back to mind.
“By the way, ghosts and monsters disappearing…”
“That matter… I know it has nothing to do with you, evil spirit. It’s not something that could be done with your abilities.”
“Why do you think so?”
“If someone made them disappear, it would most likely be someone they trust. So it couldn’t be you, could it? If anything, you’re more hated than trusted.”
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