novelraw Chapter 136 : Chapter 136
Chapter 136 : Chapter 136
Chapter 136. Serin (5)
Serena remembered Serin’s final words with absolute clarity.
———The Watcher of the Abyss is a vicious monster. He knows everything and moves freely between humans and demons……,
At the very moment the story was about to continue, pitch-black demonic hands appeared and dragged Serin away.
At the time, Serena was so shocked that she could not react at all.
She could only stare blankly as her sister disappeared.
There was nothing she could do.
Serena was not a being who could enter the mirror.
If she wanted to get her sister back, she needed another method.
And the first step was meeting the Watcher of the Abyss.
As soon as the sun rose, Serena headed for Baron Miyatro’s estate.
She had even brought troops with her, just in case.
Suppressing the pressure weighing on her chest, Serena stared at Ilea.
“ The Watcher of the Abyss, and the young lady of Staviana. Just what are you, really? ”
Ilea curved her lips into a faint sneer.
She spoke in a cold voice.
“ Our identity, you say. Please ask what you actually want to know, more clearly. ”
Serena glanced around.
There were far too many watching eyes and listening ears.
What she was about to say was far too sensitive for a place like this.
Serena opened her mouth.
“ Let us change locations. If you speak here, even you, Lady Staviana, may find yourself in an awkward position. ”
Ilea replied with a cold smile.
“ I do not mind. Say whatever you wish, as freely as you like. ”
Serena bit down on her lower lip.
She felt deeply insulted.
“ ……How rude. Lady Staviana, by what right do you leave Lord Yohan’s guest standing outside like this? ”
Ilea smiled with her eyes.
“ I merely conveyed Lord Yohan’s intentions on his behalf. Lord Yohan does not wish to see you right now. ”
Yohan was currently trapped inside the mirror.
He was in no condition to meet Serena privately.
From Serena’s perspective, her anger surged to its limit.
She needed to learn her sister’s whereabouts as soon as possible, yet there were far too many obstacles in her way.
She was anxious and uneasy.
She wanted to shout at the top of her lungs.
But she did not act on it.
Serena was a person whose reason always preceded her emotions.
Losing her temper would only bring her loss.
After steadying her breathing, she spoke.
“ ……Very well, Lady Staviana. I will say everything here. If, through this conversation, the honor of the Marcano Family, the Miyatro Family, or even the Staviana Family is tarnished in the slightest, Lady Ilea, you will have to pay the price. ”
As if she did not care in the least, Ilea simply smiled.
“ Your preamble is rather long. Please, go on. ”
Just as Serena opened her mouth with a blank expression.
“ Please wait a moment! ”
It was Yohan’s butler, Haman.
Fidgeting nervously, he looked back and forth between the two young ladies.
Serena murmured.
“ You are……, ”
“ H, Haman, sir. ”
He bowed his head politely toward Serena, then leaned close to Ilea’s ear and whispered.
‘ Lady Staviana, my master greatly dislikes drawing attention. I beg you to please resolve the current situation appropriately. I humbly ask this of you. ’
After whispering, Haman bent his waist to a full ninety degrees.
Ilea stared at him silently, then let out a deep sigh.
“ Unintentionally, Haman, I have put you in a difficult position. I sincerely apologize. ”
Haman flustered and waved his hands.
“ N, not at all! I merely spoke out of concern that harm might come to both young ladies and my master! ”
Ilea nodded, then turned to Serena.
“ Lady Marcano, could you visit again around lunchtime? At present, it is truly impossible for you to meet Lord Yohan. ”
Ilea was the first to call for a truce.
Serena had no choice but to accept the proposal.
If matters went any further, blood would be shed.
The bloodline of Marcano did not suffer such meaningless losses.
Serena relaxed her stiff expression.
“ ……Very well. I will return during the day. ”
She turned around and left.
The knights who had come with her followed after her and disappeared.
Watching their retreating figures, Ilea murmured quietly.
“ Serena Marcano. If she truly intended to mention even Serin here, I suppose I must at least acknowledge her nerve. ”
The surrounding air sank coldly.
At the ominous atmosphere, Haman swallowed dryly.
“ M, my lady, perhaps you should go inside as well. It is cold outside. ”
Ilea and Haman soon returned to the estate.
For Ilea, there was still work left to be done.
***
Ilea and Lumina found a way to pull Yohan out of the mirror.
The solution was simpler than expected.
Instead of directly contacting the Cursed Scripture, which only Apostles could touch, they would magically link another mirror to it.
Around the gaping black crack at the very center of the mirror-shaped Cursed Scripture, countless large and small shards of glass were tightly attached.
Each shard was a product of magitech.
All of them were interconnected, forming a single magic array.
After recalculating the ritual, Lumina spoke.
“ It looks about right. Shall we start? ”
Ilea nodded.
“ I will activate it with my mana. ”
She poured her mana into the ritual.
At the same time, the glass shards began to burn with a blue glow.
The void at the center of the Cursed Scripture trembled violently.
Anxiety surfaced on Lumina’s face.
“ Please……, ”
Before she could finish, Ilea shouted.
“ It worked! ”
A pale white hand reached out from the void.
Moments later, Yohan emerged.
For some reason, his expression was stiff with tension.
“ Damn it! ”
Yohan cursed as he was flung outward.
His body slammed into the wall of the workshop.
A dull impact rang out.
Fortunately, there were no injuries.
Ilea’s magic swiftly softened the shock.
Letting out a sigh of relief, she asked.
“ Yohan, are you all right? ”
Sliding down along the wall, Yohan replied.
“ ……I almost died. ”
Lumina let out a short laugh.
“ It did look rather dangerous. It still needs some improvements. ”
The transfer process was extremely dangerous.
Just moments ago, Yohan truly thought he might die.
As he crossed into the material world, countless recoil forces had assaulted him.
Ilea spoke.
“ Still, it was a success. Lady Lumina, I learned a great deal this time. ”
Lumina replied with a slightly arrogant expression.
“ You learn quickly enough. As expected, a witch is still a witch. ”
Brushing the dust from his clothes, Yohan said.
“ Make sure you prepare proper safety measures. If Serin had come along, she would have died. ”
Now, Serin could also cross into the material world through that crack.
With a puzzled expression, Ilea asked.
“ Are you planning to bring Serin into the material world? ”
“ Someday. But not now. ”
Serin was bearing the side effects of using the Heart-Piercing Eyes in Serena’s place.
Because time flowed slowly within the mirror world, Serin did not lose her life despite enduring those side effects.
If she were to come into the material world, things would change.
Either Serena or Serin would inevitably die young.
Yohan did not want such an outcome.
For the time being, Serin had to live within the mirror world.
Until Yohan discovered a way to overcome the side effects of the Heart-Piercing Eyes, she could not obtain her freedom.
Of course, Yohan would find that solution.
He had already promised Serin as much.
Someday, Serin would live as an ordinary human.
“ I will prepare for it. For now, there is something more important. ”
“ What is it? ”
“ Serena came to visit. ”
It was only natural.
While Serin was talking about Yohan, she had suddenly been abducted by pitch-black demonic hands.
Serena had witnessed that scene with her own eyes.
From her perspective, it was impossible not to suspect Yohan as the one behind everything.
Yohan spoke.
“ Is she at the estate right now? ”
“ No. I told her to visit again around lunchtime. ”
“ Well done. This may turn out more smoothly than expected. ”
Ilea tilted her head in confusion.
“ Serena suspects you, Yohan. Is this not an awkward situation in many ways? ”
“ I gave Serin a bit of a suggestion. What you are worried about will not happen. ”
Seemingly satisfied with the explanation, Ilea nodded.
“ ……I see. That is a relief. ”
For some reason, there was a faint trace of regret mixed into her tone.
Yohan found it slightly odd, but he did not bother questioning her attitude.
“ Let us return to the estate for now. We need to prepare to receive Serena. ”
Lumina immediately released the spatial magic.
In the next moment, the three of them were already back at the estate.
***
Serena stared blankly at the enormous full-length mirror standing in one corner of her room.
This mirror was a magical artifact.
If she knocked on it twice, Serin would respond.
Lately, things have been different.
No matter how much Serena knocked, Serin did not appear.
“ ……Sister. ”
Where in the world had Serin been taken?
Serena was so worried that she felt as though she might go mad.
She had barely slept at all in recent days.
Tearfully, she approached the mirror.
With trembling hands, she placed her palm against the glass.
Though she knew there would be no response, she knocked on the mirror out of habit.
Once, twice.
No reply came.
Serena lowered her head.
At the moment her anguish peaked, a familiar voice rang out.
“ Serena! ”
Serena immediately looked at the mirror.
Serin’s figure appeared upon the surface of the glass.
“ S, Sister! ”
Serena’s eyes widened.
Her voice trembled like a quaking aspen.
Serin smiled awkwardly and said.
“ Sorry. You were really worried, weren’t you? ”
Serena urgently caressed the mirror.
“ W, what on earth happened? Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere? ”
From the other side of the mirror, Serin overlapped her hand with Serena’s.
“ Serena, do not cry. I am really fine. ”
The tears pooling in Serena’s eyes spilled over.
She sniffled, then broke down into loud sobs.
“ I really thought you were gone, that something terrible had happened to you…… I was so worried……, ”
Serena cried for quite some time.
Only after a long while did she manage to calm herself, even slightly.
Serin spoke.
“ All right now. A grown young lady should not cry like a child. ”
Wiping away her tears, Serena said.
“ ……Sister, that monster. The evil being you talked about. ”
Serin’s expression grew serious.
She spoke to Serena.
“ I was going to tell you anyway. ”
“ No, you do not have to. I already know. You are talking about the Watcher of the Abyss, right?”
Serin was slightly startled. A trace of discomfort and guilt crossed her face.
“ It was all my misunderstanding. ”
“ ……What? What do you mean by that? ”
After a brief hesitation, Serin opened her mouth with a calm expression.
“ Lord Yohan, the Watcher of the Abyss is not a monster. If anything, he is an incredibly good person. ”
Serena could not understand what Serin was saying at all.
Frowning, she looked at her sister.
“ Sister, what are you talking about right now……, ”
A gentle smile spread across Serin’s face.
“ Trust me, Serena. He is someone you can trust. ”
Serena’s expression stiffened.
She could not help but feel an inexplicable sense of unease.