A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 11

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

11.
“You don’t need to know.”
I had weathered every conceivable storm after altering the original narrative.
Yet after killing Knox Glaston, I had grown accustomed to a completely peaceful existence—to find myself in such a predicament again was truly catastrophic.
When I moistened my parched lips with saliva, he slowly emerged from the shadows.
Beneath the dim light of the Underground Dungeon, Leonard Blake appeared far more terrifying than any villain I had encountered before.
To think he had been concealing his true nature—I wanted to curse him thoroughly, but I was merely a fragile Princess with only one life to lose.
Moreover, having been a directionally-challenged, short-tempered fool until moments ago, suddenly radiating such a drastically transformed aura would only make me appear more frightening.
I quickly shifted to a passive stance, adopting a submissive approach.
“Your Highness, please calm yourself. If you keep me bound like this, it will surely create diplomatic complications. Couldn’t we resolve this through conversation?”
“Conversation, you say.”
That man—Leonard Blake—approached me slowly.
Thud, thud. The sound of his heels echoed ominously through the empty space.
Soon he bent down, seized my chin, and drew his face close to mine.
“Princess, how did you decipher my cipher?”
“A cipher, you say?”
“The information written on this paper was composed in cipher. Yet you recited it with perfect accuracy. Does Sincester possess some sacred relic capable of decoding any cipher?”
“That’s not it at all!”
“Then tell me how you knew.”
Leonard gripped my chin with brutal force, pulling me closer.
His strength was such that tears welled at the corners of my eyes, though he seemed the type to show no mercy for such weakness.
He gazed down at me with an ice-cold expression, then reached toward his waist.
A dagger.
“If you don’t speak, I have no choice. Your neck.”
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything! I’ll speak!”
For the record, I was someone who valued my life dearly, and my tongue was a hundred times looser than a feather.
“Of course I know the cipher!”
“How could you possibly know?”
“Well…”
I glanced around nervously, my voice dropping to a whisper.
“It’s not a cipher you created… it’s the magnificent script created by King Sejong!”
Hangul itself.
At my words, he froze, and I exhaled a long breath.
‘Perhaps I should have feigned ignorance.’
But since he clearly knew that I had deciphered the secret letter, denial would be pointless.
As for claiming I used a sacred relic—I was incapable of wielding holy power, and even the formidable Mage Sara had barely managed to break through the defensive magic that had been placed there.
Honesty seemed the wiser course for my survival.
Above all, I was desperately curious about this man’s true identity.
“I’ve answered your question, so now it’s your turn. Leonard Blake, how is it that you can use this language?”
“…”
Leonard fell silent for a long while. Yet beneath the dim firelight, his face was unmistakably rigid and tense.
According to the setting, anyone who knew Hangul was considered special, whether they were a transmigrator or not.
I waited anxiously to hear what would come from his lips….
“King Sejong, you say? I don’t know who that is. This cipher was created by my adjutant.”
The scholars of Jiphyeonjeon would leap from their graves at those words. I couldn’t let this slide.
“Did your adjutant perhaps work at Jiphyeonjeon? Did he also happen to borrow the Sixth Prince’s cloak while napping?”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Any Korean would know! It’s a mandatory subject in Korean history during first year of high school!”
It had been roughly ten years since my transmigration. The thought crossed my mind that the curriculum might have changed by now, but in any case, I kept my eyes fixed on the suspicious man before me.
Yet he remained silent.
‘What, is he really not?’
But the original work definitely had no Sixth Prince. And now someone who knew Hangul had appeared.
Moreover, the cipher wasn’t created using symbols or characters, nor was it something simple like Morse code—he claimed to have invented an entirely new script?
From what I knew, language wasn’t something created in a short span of time. And it certainly wasn’t something one could learn and use fluently in such a brief period!
“Don’t lie to me! Even if you’ve transmigrated, how could you claim someone else’s script as your own creation? King Sejong and the scholars would be weeping tears of blood in their graves—”
“I understand, so please be quiet.”
My lips were sealed shut once more.
Unlike before, the force wasn’t as strong, so I nearly bit my own hand in frustration.
Startled by my ferocity, Leonard took a step backward.
“Are you a dog? Please, compose yourself.”
“If someone could stay composed in this situation, they wouldn’t be human—they’d be a robot.”
“What triggered you? Was it that my adjutant created Hangul? Or that I sealed your mouth?”
“Both.”
Finally giving up, Leonard let out a sigh. He raised his upper body and retreated slightly.
“Fine. You’re right. I’m also a transmigrator.”
…!”
At last, the answer I’d been waiting for came.
Meeting another transmigrator from a different world should have been cause for joy, but given what I’d witnessed earlier, my heart wasn’t in it.
And worse still was the fact that I was currently bound. Come to think of it, I was in no position to be shouting.
I glanced around cautiously and shook my bound hands behind my back.
“…Say, you’re not planning to keep me tied up, are you? We’re both transmigrators.”
“There are three problems.”
Leonard, unmoved by my plight, slowly held up three fingers like a scoundrel.
“First, I’ve committed the crime of kidnapping you.”
“Well, at least you’re aware of it.”
“Second, I truly need Aurora, the Saint.”
“Why not just give up on that?”
“And third, there’s the possibility that if I release you, you’ll attack and kill me.”
I nearly cried out in that moment.
I was, without question, a pacifist. My very appearance suggested I couldn’t harm a single ant, and I was naturally indolent…or rather, frail.
Of course, I defeated the villain to protect the original world’s justice and peace, but I only commanded from the rear—my subordinates carried out the actual operations.
Truth be told, even if I’d wanted to use force, my abilities simply wouldn’t have allowed it.
But the conclusion remained the same: I had neither the intention nor the capability to strike the man before me!
“I’m not that violent! Besides, I don’t have any magical items right now….”
“…You killed Knox Glaston?”
“!!”
How did he know that?
The moment I heard those words, my mouth snapped shut.
“As you know, Knox Glaston wielded influence over the Underworld not just in Sincester, but across the entire Elysium Continent. Since he died earlier than I expected, I investigated what had happened and discovered that you were the one who killed him.”
With each word he spoke, a chill ran down my spine.
Those facts had been kept in the strictest confidence.
Yet Leonard was disclosing these secrets as casually as if he were announcing a sale at a market.
“In conclusion, these three factors make it difficult for me to simply release you.”
“So… what are you going to do with me then? You’re not actually going to kill me, are you?”
I forced down a small, creeping anxiety and asked the question, but Leonard crossed his arms and leaned back with a slight smirk.
“What makes you think I couldn’t kill you?”
“Then… are you really planning to kill me?”
As a chill ran through me, I began to plead desperately.
“Think about it carefully. You said you wanted to become Emperor, didn’t you?”
“….”
“If I die, my brother—the Pope—will pursue the culprit relentlessly. To become the leader of a nation on the Elysium Continent, you need recognition from my brother, the Pope. If it’s revealed that you killed me, you’ll never become Emperor, will you? And on top of that, there would be war between Sincester and Blake!”
Only then did Leonard finally close his mouth, seeming to consider the matter.
At this point, I found myself grateful that this possession victim harbored such grand ambitions.
How could someone develop such a desire to become Emperor in a place like this? Had he been a congressman in his previous life?
“Very well.”
He turned behind me and grasped the shackles binding my wrists.
I heard the sound of force being applied, and shattered fragments of metal scraped across my skin before falling to the floor. I’ll admit, the sharp sensation genuinely frightened me.
But showing fear would make me look pathetic, so I rose from the chair and composed my expression into one of calm indifference.
As I rubbed my aching wrists, a voice sharp as a blade cut through the air.
“Still, don’t even think about escaping. This prison is constructed entirely of barrier stones that prevent the use of both magic and holy power. And if you attempt anything foolish, even for a moment.”
Leonard grasped the short sword at his waist once more.
“I’m sorry, but I will kill you. After all, I’ve had plenty of experience disposing of people and covering it up, so I’m confident it won’t be discovered.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————