“Elsia.”
I’m not sure if I missed something else, but Ixion really called my name.
“Yes?”
“I have no musical talent. Every instrument I touch breaks. Take a look at my hands.” He reached out his hand. It was a large, thick, and hard hand. “I’ve never read a poem for the new year before.”
“I expected it.”
I couldn’t figure out why he brought it up so suddenly, but I nodded for now. I could tell from the marriage proposal that it was true.
“However, I’m better than Niel.”
I shook my head for a moment, trying to make sense of the nonsense words. I thought that because Niel has so many elements that I like, he is superior to him on a human-to-human level.
“At the very least, I am the one who is fully responsible. Especially if they are my benefactors.”
‘It is right to kill her now, but because she is a benefactor, he means he will stand by her side with a sense of responsibility.’
I nodded, a glum expression on my face.
‘Elsia must have liked you a lot because you’re such a nice person.’
“Yes, but you didn’t have to propose. I really didn’t save you for that.”
I kept going with all my heart.
“I saved the Prince because I wanted you to have a long and happy life. So propose to someone you love—not out of responsibility, but because you can’t live without her.”
“Did you really love me that much— Young Lady?”
I was dazed for a moment and stared after being asked such a difficult question.
‘Because we’re in the same body, I guess I’m in the right to respond.’
It was a past-tense question, so Elsia was right to respond in the past.
‘The last wish was to save you, so true love was right, well.’
I responded with a trembling heart. “Perhaps back in the day?”
There was a brief silence.
“Elsia.” He spoke with an unusually angry expression on his face. “Is this how easily the love you claim changes?”
“What?”
“When I say “love,” I don’t mean it lightly. That person will be the only one in my life, I swear.”
“…Yes, Prince is a nice man.”
“However, why not, Young Lady?”
“What? What do you mean—”
“How can you change your mind about something you can’t live without?”
It was a ridiculous conversation. I frowned because it seemed a little arrogant.
‘No, I meant it with good intentions; why are you upset?’
With a sour expression, I responded.
“Uh—. Still, wouldn’t that be my situation? What does this have to do with the Prince?”
“How is that your own situation? What are you talking about?”
‘Oh, why are you suddenly so serious about this conversation?’
I was dumbfounded and shot with my arms crossed.
“Of course?”
“That’s—” His expression hardened as he prepared to respond right away. His eyes, which were filled with injustice and nervousness, quickly became cold and cool, and his mouth tightened with tension.
Isith, who was drinking water peacefully by the lake, started running around like crazy. I, too, was taken aback by Isith’s unexpected behavior and opened my eyes wide.
The gentle horse that was running alongside us quickly vanished from view.
“I-isith! Oh my goodness, what should we do?” I opened my mouth as I watched Isith’s run.
I jumped up and made an absurd face at Ixion, wondering if he had abandoned his owner who ordered overwork as if he was eating.
“What should I do? Isith abandoned us and decided to leave for freedom!”
It was impossible to walk to the Marquis. I stomped my feet and yelled, but Ixion appeared more cautious than flustered.
His excitement from talking to me earlier had faded, but his voice had returned to its usual apathetic tone. In a tense whisper, I responded.
“Yes?”
“Have you ever seen an evil monster?”
“No.”
Despite being at the monster subjugation site, I had never seen any monsters because I was stuck among the medical staff. It’s also true that I didn’t want to cross paths with him.
“Strange, this place is close to Ziebel’s habitat, but Ziebel doesn’t come near the water.”
Ixion approached me and slowly drew the sword from his belt.
“H-how about Isith?”
‘Did he just abandon us and run away?’
Then, in a very different sense, it must be a well-known horse who knows how to defend his life.
“Isith is said to be the smartest member of the Knights of Feltron.” He appeared to be trying to comfort me, but it was a strangely dark sound of reality. “Even if there is, it will only be a hindrance. When the monster disappears, it will come back.”
Now that I’ve realized I’m worse than Isith, I’ve made another commitment. Because I was a hindrance to my own survival there.
If I return safely this time, I should learn swordsmanship in addition to horseback riding.
‘At the very least, I can protect my body in unexpected situations—’
I sighed nervously, hoping not to be a bother.
Then, out of nowhere, something appeared in the dark forest. I couldn’t see it, but Ixion jumped high and thrust the sword into the monster’s heart.
“Ah—”
For a brief moment, I was terrified as I watched the monster who had abruptly stopped breathing. The eight legs stretched uglily in opposite directions, and thick green blood flowed to the ground.
The insect-like double eyes seemed to be looking at me. I was very upset at the thought that I could be like that. The Devil’s Children are cruel, ugly, and irrational, covering up and attacking humans.
And if I make that change, Ixion will take my breath without hesitation.
“I’m sure there’ll be a few more.”
“…..”
“Unless there’s the power of the devil, Ziebel never goes near the water. There’s an unexpected monster in this place.”
‘The Devil’s Power?’
For a brief moment, I trembled at the passing thought. I realized I hadn’t used divine magic today.
I had a strong suspicion that the “unexpected evil monster” was me.
Before I could respond, a few Ziebels that resembled spiders and dragonflies rushed back in. Ixion is leaping forward and killing one by one, but I noticed that the number was growing.
I stood still as he instructed, and I suddenly realized that the monsters were not interested in me. It was strange, no matter how much they ran around Ixion alone.
‘Are they capable of doing so? The insect’s eyes must have a very wide field of vision. Isn’t it the nature of the ecosystem to prey on the weak?’
A speculative thought came to me.
Because black magic and monsters have the same origin, their auras are similar—
‘Oh, they think I’m the same race as them.’
Because of the hypothesis I didn’t want to admit, I was almost dizzy.
‘Ah, what on earth—’
Ixion was slaughtering the monster without a single scratch. I was staring at it blankly when Ixion yelled at me.
“Avoid it at all costs! Behind the tree, there’s a Gvestin!”
‘What else is Gvestin?’
Gvestin or whatever will never attack me if my hypothesis is correct. He was staring at me as he stabbed the sword into the back of the other monster.
“Hurry! Are your feet stiff? Come on, let’s go! And avoid making eye contact!”
‘No! It’s just that I have a feeling they’re going to pass me by!’
I had a strong feeling that a large evil monster named Gvestin would pass me and rush toward Ixion.
‘Wouldn’t it be safer to remain still rather than trigger? Instead of rushing and running and making eye contact as a warning?’
But Ixion’s thoughts seemed to be different.
“No!”
He ran to me without a sword drawn down on the dead bodies of the monsters.
‘You idiot!’
“You can’t do it, you fool!”
I’m not sure what I was thinking. Do I have faith that monsters will not attack me?
I simply stood there in front of Ixion.
*******
“Are you awake?”
I jumped to my feet.
Ixion was in front of me, who was a complete mess but still gave off a chill.
“Wait, what happened?”
“It’s not a good decision, but I couldn’t help myself. This is Gvestin’s Nest.”
“What’s that?”
“Gvestin is weak, but they use black magic themselves.”
I shuddered as I looked at him.
“They will teleport us straight to the nest to feed the cubs if we make eye contact with Gvestin; I thought it would be better to be alive, so I hugged you and made eye contact with Gvestin right away, and as soon as I got to the nest, I killed all the cubs.”
“Do you have a sword?”
“I have my dagger.”
Only after the eyes had adapted to the darkness did they broaden their horizons. The bodies of the Gvestin cubs were indeed piled up in the cave’s corner.
“Huh—”
“Strangely lucky; perhaps he was surprised, but when you jumped forward, it stopped.”
‘I think it’s okay.’
Gvestin wouldn’t have attacked me, and if he’d fought on his own, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
I spoke with no energy. “I don’t think the monsters are attacking me.”
“I know.”
I looked into his blue eyes in surprise at the outspoken answer. “….Yes?”
“You think I didn’t know that Ziebel was running all over me?”
‘As expected.’
I looked down because I didn’t know what to say.
“Perhaps it’s because it’s Artise. The origins of both black magic and evil monsters are the same.”
I was worried that the interrogation would continue, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Then— Why did you come to me? You should keep your distance from me.”
“Because it’s all speculation.” Ixion spoke calmly.”I couldn’t risk causing you any harm by believing a hypothesis that might not be true.”
I had a strange hope when I looked into his blue eyes.
I thought it would be nice if he didn’t know anything about me and only guessed until “I think the monster is avoiding her because she’s from Artise.”
However, claiming that he had discovered something strange now, shouting not to go to the wizard tower, or claiming that he was more suitable for me in the end than Niel were all questionable.
Even the one who was always trying to spy on me.
‘It is, isn’t it? Did you learn anything new as a result of your surveillance?’
My suspicion grew as I wondered if this was how horseback riding was supposed to be.
“Elsia.”
I’m not sure if I missed something else, but Ixion really called my name.
“Yes?”
“I have no musical talent. Every instrument I touch breaks. Take a look at my hands.” He reached out his hand. It was a large, thick, and hard hand. “I’ve never read a poem for the new year before.”
“I expected it.”
I couldn’t figure out why he brought it up so suddenly, but I nodded for now. I could tell from the marriage proposal that it was true.
“However, I’m better than Niel.”
I shook my head for a moment, trying to make sense of the nonsense words. I thought that because Niel has so many elements that I like, he is superior to him on a human-to-human level.
“At the very least, I am the one who is fully responsible. Especially if they are my benefactors.”
‘It is right to kill her now, but because she is a benefactor, he means he will stand by her side with a sense of responsibility.’
I nodded, a glum expression on my face.
‘Elsia must have liked you a lot because you’re such a nice person.’
“Yes, but you didn’t have to propose. I really didn’t save you for that.”
I kept going with all my heart.
“I saved the Prince because I wanted you to have a long and happy life. So propose to someone you love—not out of responsibility, but because you can’t live without her.”
“Did you really love me that much— Young Lady?”
I was dazed for a moment and stared after being asked such a difficult question.
‘Because we’re in the same body, I guess I’m in the right to respond.’
It was a past-tense question, so Elsia was right to respond in the past.
‘The last wish was to save you, so true love was right, well.’
I responded with a trembling heart. “Perhaps back in the day?”
There was a brief silence.
“Elsia.” He spoke with an unusually angry expression on his face. “Is this how easily the love you claim changes?”
“What?”
“When I say “love,” I don’t mean it lightly. That person will be the only one in my life, I swear.”
“…Yes, Prince is a nice man.”
“However, why not, Young Lady?”
“What? What do you mean—”
“How can you change your mind about something you can’t live without?”
It was a ridiculous conversation. I frowned because it seemed a little arrogant.
‘No, I meant it with good intentions; why are you upset?’
With a sour expression, I responded.
“Uh—. Still, wouldn’t that be my situation? What does this have to do with the Prince?”
“How is that your own situation? What are you talking about?”
‘Oh, why are you suddenly so serious about this conversation?’
I was dumbfounded and shot with my arms crossed.
“Of course?”
“That’s—” His expression hardened as he prepared to respond right away. His eyes, which were filled with injustice and nervousness, quickly became cold and cool, and his mouth tightened with tension.
Isith, who was drinking water peacefully by the lake, started running around like crazy. I, too, was taken aback by Isith’s unexpected behavior and opened my eyes wide.
The gentle horse that was running alongside us quickly vanished from view.
“I-isith! Oh my goodness, what should we do?” I opened my mouth as I watched Isith’s run.
I jumped up and made an absurd face at Ixion, wondering if he had abandoned his owner who ordered overwork as if he was eating.
“What should I do? Isith abandoned us and decided to leave for freedom!”
It was impossible to walk to the Marquis. I stomped my feet and yelled, but Ixion appeared more cautious than flustered.
His excitement from talking to me earlier had faded, but his voice had returned to its usual apathetic tone. In a tense whisper, I responded.
“Yes?”
“Have you ever seen an evil monster?”
“No.”
Despite being at the monster subjugation site, I had never seen any monsters because I was stuck among the medical staff. It’s also true that I didn’t want to cross paths with him.
“Strange, this place is close to Ziebel’s habitat, but Ziebel doesn’t come near the water.”
Ixion approached me and slowly drew the sword from his belt.
“H-how about Isith?”
‘Did he just abandon us and run away?’
Then, in a very different sense, it must be a well-known horse who knows how to defend his life.
“Isith is said to be the smartest member of the Knights of Feltron.” He appeared to be trying to comfort me, but it was a strangely dark sound of reality. “Even if there is, it will only be a hindrance. When the monster disappears, it will come back.”
Now that I’ve realized I’m worse than Isith, I’ve made another commitment. Because I was a hindrance to my own survival there.
If I return safely this time, I should learn swordsmanship in addition to horseback riding.
‘At the very least, I can protect my body in unexpected situations—’
I sighed nervously, hoping not to be a bother.
Then, out of nowhere, something appeared in the dark forest. I couldn’t see it, but Ixion jumped high and thrust the sword into the monster’s heart.
“Ah—”
For a brief moment, I was terrified as I watched the monster who had abruptly stopped breathing. The eight legs stretched uglily in opposite directions, and thick green blood flowed to the ground.
The insect-like double eyes seemed to be looking at me. I was very upset at the thought that I could be like that. The Devil’s Children are cruel, ugly, and irrational, covering up and attacking humans.
And if I make that change, Ixion will take my breath without hesitation.
“I’m sure there’ll be a few more.”
“…..”
“Unless there’s the power of the devil, Ziebel never goes near the water. There’s an unexpected monster in this place.”
‘The Devil’s Power?’
For a brief moment, I trembled at the passing thought. I realized I hadn’t used divine magic today.
I had a strong suspicion that the “unexpected evil monster” was me.
Before I could respond, a few Ziebels that resembled spiders and dragonflies rushed back in. Ixion is leaping forward and killing one by one, but I noticed that the number was growing.
I stood still as he instructed, and I suddenly realized that the monsters were not interested in me. It was strange, no matter how much they ran around Ixion alone.
‘Are they capable of doing so? The insect’s eyes must have a very wide field of vision. Isn’t it the nature of the ecosystem to prey on the weak?’
A speculative thought came to me.
Because black magic and monsters have the same origin, their auras are similar—
‘Oh, they think I’m the same race as them.’
Because of the hypothesis I didn’t want to admit, I was almost dizzy.
‘Ah, what on earth—’
Ixion was slaughtering the monster without a single scratch. I was staring at it blankly when Ixion yelled at me.
“Avoid it at all costs! Behind the tree, there’s a Gvestin!”
‘What else is Gvestin?’
Gvestin or whatever will never attack me if my hypothesis is correct. He was staring at me as he stabbed the sword into the back of the other monster.
“Hurry! Are your feet stiff? Come on, let’s go! And avoid making eye contact!”
‘No! It’s just that I have a feeling they’re going to pass me by!’
I had a strong feeling that a large evil monster named Gvestin would pass me and rush toward Ixion.
‘Wouldn’t it be safer to remain still rather than trigger? Instead of rushing and running and making eye contact as a warning?’
But Ixion’s thoughts seemed to be different.
“No!”
He ran to me without a sword drawn down on the dead bodies of the monsters.
‘You idiot!’
“You can’t do it, you fool!”
I’m not sure what I was thinking. Do I have faith that monsters will not attack me?
I simply stood there in front of Ixion.
*******
“Are you awake?”
I jumped to my feet.
Ixion was in front of me, who was a complete mess but still gave off a chill.
“Wait, what happened?”
“It’s not a good decision, but I couldn’t help myself. This is Gvestin’s Nest.”
“What’s that?”
“Gvestin is weak, but they use black magic themselves.”
I shuddered as I looked at him.
“They will teleport us straight to the nest to feed the cubs if we make eye contact with Gvestin; I thought it would be better to be alive, so I hugged you and made eye contact with Gvestin right away, and as soon as I got to the nest, I killed all the cubs.”
“Do you have a sword?”
“I have my dagger.”
Only after the eyes had adapted to the darkness did they broaden their horizons. The bodies of the Gvestin cubs were indeed piled up in the cave’s corner.
“Huh—”
“Strangely lucky; perhaps he was surprised, but when you jumped forward, it stopped.”
‘I think it’s okay.’
Gvestin wouldn’t have attacked me, and if he’d fought on his own, he wouldn’t have made it this far.
I spoke with no energy. “I don’t think the monsters are attacking me.”
“I know.”
I looked into his blue eyes in surprise at the outspoken answer. “….Yes?”
“You think I didn’t know that Ziebel was running all over me?”
‘As expected.’
I looked down because I didn’t know what to say.
“Perhaps it’s because it’s Artise. The origins of both black magic and evil monsters are the same.”
I was worried that the interrogation would continue, but he didn’t seem to mind.
“Then— Why did you come to me? You should keep your distance from me.”
“Because it’s all speculation.” Ixion spoke calmly.”I couldn’t risk causing you any harm by believing a hypothesis that might not be true.”
I had a strange hope when I looked into his blue eyes.
I thought it would be nice if he didn’t know anything about me and only guessed until “I think the monster is avoiding her because she’s from Artise.”
However, claiming that he had discovered something strange now, shouting not to go to the wizard tower, or claiming that he was more suitable for me in the end than Niel were all questionable.
Even the one who was always trying to spy on me.
‘It is, isn’t it? Did you learn anything new as a result of your surveillance?’
My suspicion grew as I wondered if this was how horseback riding was supposed to be.
