novelraw Chapter 225 : Chapter 225
Chapter 225 : Chapter 225
Chapter 225: Torch (3)
"Ellen?"
Harad tilted his head.
His face showed half-belief, half-doubt.
This was how Harad was—smart and sharp.
"Why?"
However, the Elaine in the dream acted far better than Ellen.
Much better, at that.
"I told you. I won't disappear."
It was natural, if one thought about it.
In the dream, Elaine had never been caught by Harad revealing her true identity.
She had indirectly let it slip a few times, but each time Harad had been disgusted.
It was proof that Elaine's acting was just that excellent.
'She's older.'
Her experience was also much longer than Ellen's.
Ellen was still only 21, but the Elaine in the dream had even played the role of Grand Duke......
"I suppose so."
Soon Harad nodded as if convinced.
Ellen wasn't even angry.
That bitch's acting had been that perfect. Even in Ellen's eyes, it had been Ellen.
"More importantly, did you just see that?"
"See what?"
Harad tilted his head.
It seemed he hadn't seen Torch.
"There was a beggar."
"In Serzila?"
"Yes."
"That's rare."
There might be outlaws, but there were no beggars.
Serzila was that kind of land.
"I should tell the Grand Heir. Want to come along?"
If we go together, how are you going to explain it?
"I'm fine. I need to return to the Annex. Go ahead."
As if she had expected the refusal.
Elaine grinned.
* * *
'Do I look like that bitch to you?'
It was a question Ellen had asked once before.
Elaine knew that.
That was why she had added "again."
'That bitch.'
That was why she called herself "that bitch" while imitating Ellen.
'She knows I call her that.'
Just as Ellen dreamed.
The Elaine in the dream was dreaming of reality.
'Every moment?'
Ellen shook her head.
Magic. There was a limit to that vagueness.
The probability of it being mutual rather than one-way was high.
Just as Ellen only dreamed on certain days, Elaine would also only dream of reality on certain days.
"How warm."
Elaine, who had taken over Ellen's body, took a long breath.
It was the coldest day in recent memory.
'Give me my body back.'
Ellen thought with all her might.
The body did not return.
All she could do was think and experience what Elaine experienced.
Compared to last time, it was remarkable progress, but it was far from satisfactory.
Right now, Ellen's body had been stolen.
She couldn't steal it back.
The more she thought with all her might, the more Ellen realized.
It wasn't that bitch Elaine's doing.
The dream. Some vagueness related to it was pressing down on Ellen. Ellen felt a vastness she could not resist.
"You're awake. You're watching."
Then Elaine opened her mouth.
Just as a worm would be noticed if it wriggled, she had perceived Ellen's mind thinking fiercely.
"Excellent. Last time you weren't even awake."
Elaine praised Ellen's achievement and raised the corners of her mouth.
For some reason, she seemed pleased.
"But don't be satisfied. It's largely thanks to me. In the end, power is something one must seize alone."
However, that praise was mixed with sarcasm.
It was true. The more she dreamed, the more Ellen was realizing her Innate Strength.
However, to Ellen's senses, it felt more like jealousy than criticism.
'Give me my body back.'
How long is this going to last?
"Don't worry. It won't last long. I'll return soon. You'll come back to this body."
Can you hear me?
"Unfortunately, your will is not conveyed. Just as you can't speak to me in the dream."
It seems like you can hear me.
"I'll only borrow it until I kill Torch. Just be patient a little. I'm being patient too."
What are you being patient about?
"I don't want to be in this kind of body either. I don't want to stay long. It's weak...... Oh my. More wretched than I thought."
Elaine looked down at Ellen's body and shook her head.
She scoffed at the face reflected in a window along the street.
"I'm more beautiful after all."
Bullshit.
Ellen was exasperated at every moment.
"Don't be jealous. In that time, be conscious of Torch instead."
Says the one who let her get away.
"I didn't let her get away, I let her go."
Elaine acted as if she could hear.
"You must be curious why Harad doesn't remember Torch's face. Since you are me."
Ellen readily agreed.
"You saw Torch's face."
Once, she had glimpsed Harad's memory in a dream.
"That's how I came to know as well."
At that time, Elaine seemed to have seen it together.
"That viewpoint was Harad's eyes. What Harad saw, you and I saw in the dream."
A dream within a dream?
Ellen couldn't understand such vagueness.
"He saw it directly with his own two eyes. Why doesn't Harad remember that face?"
Elaine muttered as if to herself.
"Because Harad of that time was an idiot. That's why he forgot. Because he was scared."
And then she disparaged Harad.
'Bullshit.'
Ellen denied it.
That was the Harad in the dream.
The Harad of reality was the opposite.
"But not now. If I had left things as they were, there would have been chaos."
Ellen agreed.
He was just holding back, but Harad was originally fiery.
There was no way he could endure his family's enemy.
"That's why I let her go."
So Harad wouldn't be shocked.
"So Harad wouldn't be shocked—it's not that. The surroundings would have been destroyed, that's why. Why wouldn't I show him his enemy? The revenge he wanted so much while alive."
Elaine seemed to be planning to show Torch to Harad.
She had just postponed it because of the location.
"Then, you must be curious about this. Why not capture Torch, forcibly calm Harad down, then present her to be killed? I have such power."
Ellen agreed in admiration.
They just lived in different worlds, but Elaine was also Ellen. She scratched exactly where it itched.
"I don't want to. That's the answer. It's Harad's answer too."
Elaine acted like someone who knew Harad better than anyone.
Ellen found that unpleasant.
Play with the Harad in the dream. Why jump out into reality?
'......Imja.'
Elaine was the Imja of the Harad in reality.
In fact, the two were very close.
That fact, Ellen had realized in the village of Embers. Her lips had been stolen by Harad.
'Lips.'
They didn't mix tongues......
"Presenting an enemy ready to be killed. Who would like that? Revenge is not about eating, it's closer to cooking."
That's why Harad would answer no.
Even Ellen thought it was reasonable.
Harad would want to take revenge himself.
Without anyone's help.
"Of course, I will be the one to kill Torch. In the cruelest way in the world."
That was the reason Elaine said no.
'......?'
Ellen was dumbfounded for a moment.
Why does the conclusion turn out that way?
"Harad will agree too. Because I want to do it."
Elaine was arrogant just like in the dream.
'This bitch seems to be able to hear me.'
* * *
She was gradually getting used to it.
Having her body stolen was an extremely unpleasant sensation, but...... if she thought of it as a dream, it was easier.
Even in dreams, one could think but couldn't move.
Of course, this was reality, but surprisingly, her sense of alarm wasn't that great.
The Elaine who had actually stolen her body didn't seem very interested in Ellen's body.
"Then let's go now."
Where to?
Ellen, who had been thinking, went "Oh no."
Before she knew it, Elaine was secretly watching Harad entering the Inner Fortress.
"Tsk."
Elaine smacked her lips.
"Don't worry. I can't enter the Inner Fortress. My father isn't that pathetic."
Elaine spoke as if looking down on Grand Duke Aratus.
"I don't particularly want to see my father looking sad. Though the sight of him objecting is rather irritating......"
Elaine licked her lips.
Ellen felt it was a provocation.
"The Inner Fortress won't do. Outside doesn't seem bad either. I hear there are such tastes."
You crazy bitch.
"I'm joking."
Elaine spoke like a criminal.
"Let's go. To kill Torch."
How do you know where she ran to?
"Ellen. Watch Harad and learn. Don't try to rely on others."
The one living in reality is Ellen.
Elaine acted like someone who knew more than Ellen.
"Where she'll go is obvious."
Elaine started walking.
It was northward.
"She's someone who knows she must hide. She seems to know she must hide Harad too. Yet like a child, she raises her hand wanting to be recognized."
Elaine was scathing.
Because Torch was her grudge.
"A vassal with an inflated ego without permission. Torch is that kind of idiot. A moth who thinks she's something special."
How dare she.
Elaine muttered ominously.
Though her body had been stolen, Ellen felt as if all the hair on her body was standing on end.
"For the head, just watch Harad...... As for the sword, I'll show you myself. What kind of existence you and I are."
Ellen was displeased yet anticipating.
Because she felt fear.
Though she didn't want to admit it.
The Elaine in the dream, that rival, was a powerhouse who looked down on Grand Duke Aratus.
"It will be an opportunity beyond your worth. This is Heaven's teaching."
Perhaps because of that, she was incredibly arrogant.
'I shouldn't become like that.'
To Ellen's eyes, she was a crazy bitch.
"You know what? Harad's type is crazy bitches."
Not crazy bitches.
* * *
Someone was standing in front of the Annex.
"Who are you?"
It was a man he'd never seen before, and his face was horribly disfigured. Even his scalp. All burn scars.
Looking down, all the skin visible on the outside was marred with burn scars.
"Investigator Ferrard!"
The man straightened his back and shouted.
It was a voice from memory.
The investigator who had rushed at him at the Tunnel entrance once.
"Ah. You're not wearing a mask today."
Now that he looked, they were burn scars Harad had made.
"Your recovery is fast. As expected of an investigator."
At the time, he thought he would die.
What was visible now were only scars. It meant the wounds had all healed. Truly Aura-like recovery power.
"I'm sorry about that time. I wasn't in great condition."
At the time, it was Ferrard who had rushed first, but it was also a clear fact that the response had been violent.
He had briefly lost his temper because of the aftereffects.
"It's fine!"
"So, what brings you here today? Are you here to attack again?"
Rematches were frequent in the North.
Even Barrier Knights would reveal their ambitions from time to time.
If it were his previous life, maybe not, but the regressed Harad didn't particularly mind.
If he wanted, he would face him anytime. Sparring with a Mage helped the North.
"I don't mind, but now is inconvenient. My head is complicated."
It wasn't because of the aftereffects.
That had mostly healed. Instead, he had something to think about.
"No! I came to give my greetings!"
Investigator Ferrard shouted.
Now that he looked, he was standing at strict attention.
"Greetings?"
"Yes! I heard you saved my life!"
"Ah."
Intelligence Bureau Director Benus had tried to execute Ferrard.
Because Ferrard had failed to control his ego during a mission and even failed the mission.
The impulsive Benus hated impulse.
If Harad hadn't stopped her, Ferrard would certainly have died.
"Thank you!"
Ferrard bowed his head deeply.
As an investigator, he knew the Intelligence Bureau Director's personality well.
"It's fine. It wasn't a big deal."
He hadn't saved Ferrard because he liked him.
He had stopped it because it was obvious Ellen would dislike it if he was killed.
"Since my response was violent, let's call it even with that."
However, peace was peace.
Harad gently raised Ferrard up.
"Harad, sir!"
His gaze was quite burdensome.
"Right. Is the thanks all you came for?"
"Ah! I have information to report."
Ferrard stood at attention with all his might.
He looked more like a junior agent than an investigator.
"The death of Inquisitor Badelots has been confirmed at the Lohit coast. The cause of death is fire magic."
It was content he had received by letter in the morning.
However, it had become a bit more detailed.
The culprit seemed to be a Great Devil of fire.
"Did you find Seria?"
"As for Priestess Seria, we haven't found out yet. However, we estimate she is not returning to the Church."
The possibility was high she was chasing the Great Devil of fire.
"When new information arrives, I'll report immediately."
Report.
It was a burdensome choice of words.
It seemed like he would serve Harad rather than Benus from now on.
"Thanks. You can let me know by letter. Like last time."
"Pardon?"
Ferrard tilted his head.
"Weren't you the one who left a letter at the Annex?"
"Pardon? No, I just returned today."
He said he had come to give thanks as soon as he got up from his sickbed.
"Then it must have been another agent."
It seemed their routes had overlapped.
"What kind of letter was it, if I may ask?"
"A letter saying Inquisitor Badelots was dead."
"When did you receive it?"
"It was this morning, wasn't it?"
It was sunset now.
Ferrard's face hardened before that sunset.
"......The Intelligence Bureau obtained information on Badelots one hour ago."
"What?"
Harad reflexively raised his head.
A letter was wedged in the second-floor window.
Judging by how stiff it was, it seemed it hadn't been placed long ago.
"......It wasn't sent by the Intelligence Bureau."
Ferrard, who had climbed the wall to retrieve the letter, was certain.
"A Dreamer, then."
Harad was immediately certain and tore open the letter.
"Indeed."
And then he smiled broadly.
"So that's how it is."
His head cleared up.