Chapter 143

“The circuits are with your twin, not me,” Sameshita replied casually, his tone laced with indifference.

“Don’t tell me you’re after the power of dragons?” he continued, his voice dripping with amusement. “Gallian studied under me for over a decade—even by human reckoning. The term ‘circuit’ was just a label my disciple invented during his studies. Ignashio, wasn’t it?”

Ignashio. The Empire’s first historian and one of Sameshita’s five disciples. He had helped Gallian conceptualize magic, devising a method to prearrange spells using a ‘name’ as a trigger to cast them quickly and efficiently.

“I know,” Elise replied coolly. “Now, draw the magic circle. Make it a large-scale attack spell, if possible. I’ll provide the mana.”

“With that body? …Ah.”

Sameshita’s slitted pupils narrowed, sweeping over Elise from head to toe. A low chuckle escaped him as he detected traces of foreign mana etched clearly into her form.

“Ah, I see. It seems you won’t die after all. But if I provide the formula, what do I get in return?”

“The right to stay by my side and watch over me,” Elise said, her voice calm yet tinged with a subtle edge.

“…What?”

“I’m offering you the privilege of staying close and sharing my journey. I promise it’ll be entertaining.”

“And what, pray tell, would be entertaining about that?”

“Don’t you want to see how far someone like me can go?” Elise’s lips curved into a faint smirk, her eyes gleaming with a mix of defiance and intrigue. “Wouldn’t it be fascinating to observe me up close? Who knows—I might even be the reincarnation of the Founder, Sameshita.”

Dragons were creatures driven by pure amusement, and in his centuries of existence, only one human—Gallian—had ever managed to truly pique Sameshita’s interest.

The temptation was too much for him to resist.

Sure enough, the dragon let out a low, mocking laugh.

“Fine. Very well. Drawing a circle in exchange for such entertainment isn’t a bad deal.” His golden eyes gleamed with mischief as he leaned closer. “Let’s see what you’ve got, beautiful yet wretched Elizabeth. Let’s see what kind of chaos you can unleash.”

A chilling screech, like needles dragging across stone, sliced through the air. Eerie markings began to carve themselves into the moss-covered wall. Straight and curved lines intertwined, forming runes in an ancient script that seemed to pull one’s gaze deeper into their mysterious allure.

The glowing symbols peeled off the stone as though shedding a layer of skin and floated delicately onto Elise’s outstretched palm. It was the same type of magic circle Andrei had once sent her through his carrier pigeon—a spell fully prepared to manifest, as long as mana was supplied.

When Elise clenched her fist and looked up, the dragon’s glowing eyes, which had once hovered over the wall, had vanished. He was likely watching from somewhere nearby.

Good. Now, where would this magic have the greatest impact?

Elise mentally reviewed the number of royal knights she had glimpsed while fleeing. If they had sealed off the harbor and stationed patrols throughout the new city, there must have been at least a battalion. Instinctively, her hand pressed against her stomach.

The return of my mana means the child isn’t absorbing it for now. If it’s strength the baby doesn’t need, perhaps I can use magic once—just once.

Small-scale spells wouldn’t be enough. Elise needed a singular, massive opportunity—something powerful enough to clear her path of all obstacles, buying her the time she needed to find Banon and board the ship safely.

She had to move outside. To a broader space, as close to the harbor as possible.

But the timing wasn’t ideal. From the narrow alleyways, she heard the unmistakable clanking of armored footsteps drawing closer. Knights in silver plate were forcing their way through the tight streets.

“We’ve found her, sir! It’s definitely the princess!”

Elise spun around, darting toward the opposite direction, only to see silver armor glinting there too. She clicked her tongue in frustration. Using magic here would only block her escape.

Should I just let them capture me for now?

At that moment, a section of what she had assumed to be a solid stone wall creaked open, revealing a hidden door.

A hand reached out from the shadows, seizing Elise and pulling her inside. It was soft, devoid of calluses—a woman’s hand, unmistakably.

As soon as Elise was yanked into the darkness, the door slammed shut behind her, cutting off all light. Only seconds earlier, the alleyway had been filled with the clattering of armored knights’ footsteps.

There was no time to question who had pulled her.

Elise stumbled forward, struggling to keep up with the relentless grip of the stranger’s hand as they dashed through the pitch-black corridor. It wasn’t the interior of a building but a serpentine passage carved between two structures—so narrow that Elise’s shoulders scraped the stone on either side.

After what felt like an eternity of running, they emerged into a wider alleyway.

“This way!”

A nondescript carriage—identical to the one that had taken Elise to the harbor earlier—was parked ahead. Without hesitation, Elise squeezed into the adjacent stable, pressing her body against the stacked hay, her breath coming in frantic bursts.

The soldiers, having followed her into the hidden passage, paused momentarily in confusion before scattering in opposite directions.

As the chaos slowly faded, only the sound of two people gasping for air remained in the stable. Elise’s heart thudded so violently against her chest that she could feel it in her throat, and a wave of nausea threatened to overtake her.

“I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t last a day.”

Leaning heavily against the old wooden door, Genovia Irrien let out an exasperated sigh.

In a hushed whisper, Elise said, “You didn’t leave?”

“I was leaving. Dammit.”

Genovia, her face hidden beneath a hood pulled low, clicked her tongue in frustration.

“If the path back to the estate hadn’t been sealed off, I’d be gone by now. I figured I’d wait things out until the heat died down, then slip back through the rear routes. But no, you had to go and kill a knight, didn’t you? Now the whole damn garrison is swarming the area. The last thing I need is to get caught like this.”

“You’re the head of Norella. It wouldn’t look suspicious no matter where you were. You could make up any excuse, couldn’t you?”

“If someone helps you, the least you could do is say thank you instead of trying to pick a fight.” Genovia’s glare was sharp, her irritation clear in every word. “Unbelievable. You couldn’t even stay hidden for a single day? By now, Rezette Kyrstan will have caught wind of this chaos. God, protect Norella from ruin.”

“I didn’t ask for your help. Dropping me off at the harbor would’ve been plenty,” Elise began, but her voice trailed off as her body tensed. Her senses screamed a warning.

Something was closing in. From behind the door Genovia was leaning on, a presence radiated a chilling, lethal intent, moving fast.

Unaware of the danger, Genovia let out an exasperated sigh, continuing her tirade. “Yeah, I must be out of my mind. I should never have—”

Elise’s pupils dilated. Just then, a shadow shifted outside the stable. A knight, weapon in hand, aimed a swift strike at the door. The blade shot through a crack in the rotted wood.

“—never have trusted that look of yours—”

The sword sliced cleanly through the narrow gap, the sharp edge cutting through the air with a sickening shink. It plunged into flesh with a wet, gut-wrenching sound.

Genovia froze, her words dying in her throat. Her gaze locked with Elise’s—momentarily blank, before it slowly drifted downward.

Her eyes landed on the blade that jutted from her left chest, its tip slick with crimson.

The sword withdrew with terrifying speed, leaving Genovia’s body to crumple to the ground, lifeless, like a discarded shell.

“Ah…”

Elise’s breath caught in her throat as her gaze locked onto the lifeless form of Genovia, crumpled in the straw at her feet. Blood pooled rapidly from the wound, soaking into the hay beneath her. The once golden straw turned a grotesque red as the crimson stain widened.

Is this… real?

The door creaked open, and Elise, frozen in place, was exposed to the knights standing outside.

“So, she had an accomplice,” one of them remarked coldly, glaring down at Elise.

The shock hit her harder than the crushing realization that there was no way out. She had seen it with her own eyes, but her mind refused to accept it.

A knight of the Imperial Guard had struck down Genovia Irrien, a noblewoman of House Irrien. It wasn’t just betrayal—it was murder, carried out without hesitation.

Elise’s eyes fell to the robe Genovia had been wearing. It bore no noble crest—just a simple design. The carriage parked outside was equally devoid of any family insignia. The knights hadn’t recognized her as a noblewoman.

They had mistaken her for an ordinary person helping Elise, and without question, they had cut her down. It was a brutal message: anyone who dared to help Elise would share the same fate.

She’s… dead?

Through the folds of Genovia’s robe, Elise saw her right eye, staring lifelessly into the void.

Before Elise could fully process the horror before her, the knights shoved their way inside.

“Check her!”

“Take her!”

A knight wrenched Elise’s arm violently, pulling her to her feet. The force made her stumble, her body limp and powerless against their iron grip.

Dragged out of the stable, Elise was thrown harshly to the ground, the impact sending her rolling across the dirt road.

“Ah…!”

Instinctively, she curled her body, her arm protecting her abdomen as her cheek scraped painfully against the rough ground.

The man standing over her was tall and imposing, radiating authority. It was Riman, the deputy commander of the Emperor’s knights. He had been the one to report Elise’s escape from Rotiara directly to the Emperor.

He regarded Elise with contempt, his eyes scanning her from head to toe before giving a sharp, dismissive nod.

“Strip her.”

With a swift, brutal motion, the thick robe that covered Elise’s body was torn away.