Chapter 12
About a month had passed since Lucian gave her the name Ria.
“Ria, I’m done!”
At first, whenever he called her “Ria,” she wouldn’t realize he was talking to her. But now she had gradually grown used to hearing it as her own name.
The two of them were preparing dinner together.
Ria quietly looked at Lucian.
[What’s wrong? Aren’t you tired?]
“Huh? Me? Why would I be tired?”
[You just finished exercising.]
Just two weeks ago, after every workout, he would stagger around with trembling limbs like a newborn fawn.
Where had that child gone?
“Huh… now that you mention it, my body feels really light today.”
The little boy, once so skinny and frail that he looked younger than his age, had already begun to look like a healthy young child.
His body had also started becoming firmer.
[Looks like you’ve built some muscle. Your stamina has improved too.]
“Lately exercising doesn’t feel that hard anymore. Well, some parts are still difficult… but afterward I just feel refreshed.”
[Come to think of it, today makes exactly one month. So? Is exercising manageable now?]
“Yes! It’s fine!”
[Then we can increase the training from now on.]
“Uh…”
Lucian trailed off.
Even though he had gotten used to exercising, it seemed he still didn’t want to do more.
“Um… are we only going to keep doing physical training?”
The unexpected question made Ria answer quickly.
[Of course not. Physical training is only the foundation. Once your body is ready, we’ll move straight on to swordsmanship.]
“Can you teach me archery too?”
[Of course. You saw everything in the storage room, didn’t you? I’ll teach you how to use every weapon in there.]
Lucian’s face immediately brightened.
He eagerly nodded.
“I’ll keep training then!”
[But why the sudden change? A month ago you hated it.]
“Because it’s cool!”
[Hm?]
“The books say all heroes are incredibly strong. I’m going to become a hero!”
Ah…
So that was his hidden motive.
Honestly, it was much better for him to have his own goal than for her to explain it a hundred times.
[What about the witch? I thought she was your favorite.]
“Well… Ria is going to be the witch.”
[…Me?]
“You got your name from the witch. She was really beautiful, and they said she was amazing at magic. You’re exactly the same!”
Ria had never imagined he was thinking that.
Now it finally made sense why he had chosen the witch’s name for her.
She couldn’t help wondering if, inside Lucian’s head, “Witch = Ria.”
“I’ll become the First Emperor, and Ria and I will stay together forever!”
The sudden declaration left Ria speechless.
[Lucian… do you even know what you just said?]
“Of course I do! It means living together with Ria.”
Ria rubbed her face.
As expected.
He was still just a child.
[You’re talking about what you read in the fairy tale, right?]
“Yes.”
[Lucian, when they say they stay together in the story… it means they fall in love, get married, and spend their lives together.]
“…?”
“But we’re already married.”
Where was she even supposed to begin explaining this?
For a moment, Ria felt a headache coming on.
[Yes, we had that ceremony… but it was only pretend. Neither of us actually agreed to it, remember?]
“I guess…”
[Normally, marriage is when two adults fall in love and promise to spend the rest of their lives together. We skipped everything and just pretended to get married. That doesn’t count as a real marriage.]
They called each other “Priestess” and “little groom,” but that was just playful teasing.
Besides, there wasn’t even any official record of it.
How could that possibly be considered a marriage?
Lucian seemed to understand… at least a little.
His expression became strangely complicated.
“Then… we just have to fall in love.”
Ria closed her eyes.
Good grief…
Why did he always reach that conclusion?
[You’re not supposed to fall in love with me. You’re supposed to fall in love with someone else.]
“I don’t want to.”
“I’m going to fall in love with Ria.”
[…Why? Do you really want to stay with me that much?]
“Yes!”
“If it’s not Ria, then I don’t want anyone else!”
[That’s only because you’re still too young to understand. When you grow up and meet girls your own age, you’ll change your mind.]
“How do you know that?”
[Because I’ve lived much longer than you.]
Lucian puffed out his cheeks, clearly unhappy with her answer.
“So… it’s because you don’t like me, isn’t it?”
[…What?!]
Even after seeing Ria’s shocked expression, Lucian refused to let it go.
* * *
Ria is so stupid.
She doesn’t understand my feelings at all.
Lucian grumbled to himself as he remembered what had just happened.
[No… why did the conversation end up there…?]
“I’m right! You keep saying we can’t stay together because you don’t like me!”
[…Sigh. Lucian, calm down.]
Hearing her tired sigh only made his frustration boil over.
“Fine! Then I don’t like you anymore either! I hate you, Ria!”
And just like that, Lucian stormed off without thinking.
He had no idea where he was.
Somewhere inside the mansion, probably.
He wanted to hide somewhere Ria couldn’t find him.
But he knew he had nowhere else to go.
So…
He decided he would stay here until Ria came looking for him.
“No… why should I wait?”
“I’m just going to live here from now on.”
Hmph.
Why would I ever go back to living with Ria?
He could read fairly well now.
After exercising every day, he had built up plenty of stamina.
He had even watched Ria cook often enough that he could probably make something simple himself.
He could survive on his own now.
“…But why is it so dark here?”
He had simply wandered wherever his feet took him, but somehow this place felt unfamiliar.
It was dark.
Cold.
It reminded him of the very first night he had stayed in the mansion.
The fear he hadn’t felt since meeting Ria slowly crept back up his legs.
“C-Come on… this is still part of the mansion.”
Trying to ignore his fear, Lucian looked around.
“I definitely came this way… right?”
He retraced his steps.
Seeing the stairs leading upward, he realized he had wandered into the basement.
“This is my first time down here.”
It was too wide to be called a hallway, yet too narrow to be a proper room.
It was completely empty, making it feel even more unsettling.
“There are three doors.”
He examined the doors built into each wall.
The one directly opposite the stairs was far more ornate than the others.
Almost as if hypnotized, Lucian walked toward it.
“What’s this?”
Something was carved into the door.
Maybe a picture.
Maybe writing.
He tried reading it with the skills he had recently learned.
But…
It wasn’t Imperial language.
Then what language was it?
“And… there isn’t even a handle.”
Thinking it might slide open, he pushed and shoved with all his strength.
It didn’t move an inch.
After struggling for quite a while, he finally gave up, breathing heavily.
“It’s probably nothing important.”
He turned to the remaining two doors.
Fortunately, unlike the first one, these both had sturdy handles.
“Ugh… it’s so heavy!”
Putting all his weight into it, he pushed.
Creeeak…
At first it barely moved.
Then suddenly it swung open so quickly that he nearly fell forward.
He barely caught himself.
Then he looked up.
And froze.
Whooooo…
An eerie sound echoed through the air.
Beyond the doorway stretched an incredibly long tunnel.
Its end couldn’t even be seen.
It looked exactly like the kind of place where ghosts would appear.
“S-Scary… Ria…!”
Instinctively, he called for Ria.
But when he looked behind him…
No one was there.
Only then did he remember.
He had run away from her.
Swallowing nervously, Lucian slowly stepped backward and slammed the door shut.
Bang!
“I-I’m never coming back in there.”
He had thought living with a ghost had made him used to scary things.
Apparently not.
He turned toward the last remaining door.
He was afraid this one might be just like the previous one.
But if he really intended to live here…
He had no other choice.
Taking a deep breath, he carefully opened it.
“A room?”
Thankfully…
This one looked completely normal.
It was simply very dark.
Holding up his lantern, he cautiously looked around.
A small storage room.
Completely empty.
“Huh… there’s nothing he—”
“Ahhh!”
The moment he relaxed, his foot caught on something.
He stumbled forward.
Thankfully, he managed to save the lantern.
But because of that, his chin slammed painfully against the floor.
“Ow…!”
Grumbling, he looked at what had tripped him.
He had thought the room was empty.
Instead…
A large cloth covered almost the entire floor.
Curious, he pulled it away.
Then he shined his lantern down.
“Huh?”
“It’s the same thing that was on the first door.”
A strange symbol had been carved into the floor.
It looked almost identical to the one on the ornate door.
But…
For some reason…
The longer he looked at this one…
The colder his body became.
Feeling uneasy, he touched the floor.
Something rubbed off onto his fingers.
Holding them under the lantern…
He saw a dark stain.
Black…
Or maybe dark brown.
He couldn’t tell.
The center of the symbol was so heavily stained that the carving underneath could barely be seen.
Curious, he reached toward the middle.
This time, even more powder clung to his fingers.
“Ah!”
A sharp pain shot through his hand.
He jerked it back.
Looking closely—
“I… I cut myself.”
Something sharp had sliced his finger.
The cut was deeper than he expected.
Blood dripped steadily onto the floor.
Since his hand was covered with dirty dust, he couldn’t even suck on the wound.
He simply wiped it against his clothes.
But it still hurt.
Just as he turned to leave and wash it—
Hummm…
A strange sound filled the room.
The darkness was suddenly washed in blue light.
Lucian looked around in confusion.
The glowing symbol on the floor was shining.
Only then did he notice what he had failed to see before.
The entire floor was covered with intricate markings.
And only the center—
The black stains.
Instinctively…
He knew.
Those black stains were all dried blood.
The color drained from his face.
At the same moment…
The blue light slowly turned crimson.
The basement began to shake.
“I-I have to get out.”
His instincts screamed at him.
If he stayed here…
Something terrible would happen.
Lucian immediately rushed out of the room.
Panting, he looked back through the doorway.
Crunch…! Crunch…!
The lantern he had left behind twisted violently…
As if an invisible force were crushing it.
That wasn’t all.
The discarded cloth was dragged toward the center of the symbol.
It twisted into a grotesque shape…
Then slowly disappeared.
As though…
The symbol itself was devouring it.
After swallowing both the lantern and the cloth…
It still wasn’t satisfied.
A horrifying sound echoed from the glowing pattern.
WOOOOOOO!!
The ominous crimson light darkened into a blood-red vortex that filled the entire room.
Even outside the doorway, Lucian could feel the danger.
He slammed the door shut.
BANG!!
BOOOOM!!
Violent winds howled from inside.
Something crashed repeatedly against the walls.
It felt as though whatever was inside wanted to swallow him next.
“U-Ugh…”
“I-I’m scared… Ria…!”
His entire body shook uncontrollably.
Finally bursting into tears, Lucian cried at the top of his lungs.
“Riaaaa! Ria! Waaaah! I’m scared! Riaaaa!!”
Without the lantern, the basement was plunged into complete darkness.
For the first time…
Lucian truly felt that if no one came—
He might die there.
