Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 113
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Deborah’s sudden disappearance sent the entire Simour household into absolute chaos.
The moment Duke Simour heard the news of her vanishing and the circumstances surrounding it, he staggered as though physically struck. He immediately summoned every retainer in the household and issued his command.
“Find Deborah at once. By any means necessary. Before dawn breaks tomorrow—without fail.”
“The Montes House has dared to threaten the direct line of Simour. We cannot overlook this.”
Rozard stepped forward, declaring he would reorganize their forces. It was a matter of principle, and the honor of Simour itself hung in the balance.
“Father, since this incident involves an ancient artifact, I shall personally lead the investigation.”
“Take whatever personnel you require.”
Beleck assembled an investigation team and returned to the scene. His expression had turned glacial. Though he and his sister were hardly close, the fact that an outsider had laid hands on her stirred something within him. Family affection had long since vanished—he’d learned before his milk teeth fell out that siblings must trample one another to survive—yet this strange sensation persisted.
‘Deborah is an exceptional artifact designer, after all. And I do admire capable people.’
“Lord Beleck. We’ve found traces of spatial distortion.”
He snapped to attention, pushing aside the peculiar feeling, and began scrutinizing his surroundings with meticulous care.
‘It appears an artifact linked to the Subspace has gone haywire.’
The more he investigated the accident site, the more he grasped the gravity of the situation. The distortion field had already sealed itself with the passage of time, and the artifact—the only key to the Subspace—was nowhere to be found.
‘How long can Deborah endure? Given that the Montes heirloom likely has connections to the Spirit Realm, the odds are high.’
At least there was one silver lining: from all appearances, Isidore Visconti had been caught up in the incident as well.
‘I’ll need to coerce Knight Isidore properly to escape this crisis.’
While Beleck worried with uncharacteristic unease, even Enrique had begun to sense the household’s grave atmosphere.
“Sister, where are you?”
His lips pressed so hard his chin wrinkled, and Enrique fought desperately to hold back his tears.
“Young master, please calm yourself. The Duke will surely resolve this….”
“Tell me!”
After pressing the servant for details and piecing together the situation, Enrique paced anxiously through the Library.
Duke Simour mobilized every resource to find Deborah while simultaneously pressuring the Montes House.
“Drag Philaf out of Montes immediately. The moment my daughter returns, he’ll be on his knees.”
Duke Simour was grimly resolved to seize Philaf and make him pay. The distinctive resonance from the damaged ancient artifact and various testimonies had swiftly exposed Philaf as the culprit behind the disappearance.
Philaf was currently imprisoned in the Underground Prison within the Montes estate. Having secretly removed the family heirloom, he’d been discovered first by Montes soldiers, and Simour had seized him by the narrowest of margins.
“Philaf. Do you comprehend what you’ve done?”
The moment Duke Montes appeared with a haggard face, Philaf, bound in restraints, shot to his feet. Shocked by the revelation that Isidore was a Demon Swordsman, he remained oblivious to how dire the situation had become outside.
“Father! Please, just hear me out first.”
“What have you accomplished that warrants such insolence? I can no longer stomach the sight of your foolish face.”
Duke Simour had issued an ultimatum: find a way out of the Subspace within half a day, or face war. Even the typically silent Visconti had begun moving in ways that boded ill.
“I merely wished to speak with Deborah. To be precise, this incident is Isidore’s fault for damaging the artifact.”
“Cease your senseless prattle! Who in their right mind carries a family heirloom to have a conversation?”
He’d permitted Philaf to approach the heirloom during his confinement to practice training, yet the fool had intended to use it for some other purpose entirely.
“I wanted to show Deborah the power of Montes after she rejected the marriage proposal….”
“Philaf. You’ve made enemies of two founding houses and lost the family’s secret technique. They say the greatest enemy lies within….”
“….”
“That ancient artifact is worth more than your very life. Do you understand?!”
“I am the sole heir—how could you say such a thing!”
Duke Montes ground his teeth with a grating sound.
That artifact was the only object capable of amplifying a spirit’s power. Spirits were born with fixed ranks—lower, middle, or upper—and their time in the human realm was strictly limited. For this reason, it was impossible to cultivate a contracted spirit’s growth.
However, the Montes bloodline possessed a family heirloom that manifested the Spirit Realm itself, allowing them to make spirits of the same rank far superior to those of other spirit contractors. This was the true reason they were called the Montes of Spirits.
‘Of all things, that object!’
Because of a single son raised without discipline, an ancient house was being shaken to its very roots.
* * *
“Try it. We’re just getting to know each other.”
“…Yes.”
Isidore gazed at me with a gentle smile, his deep jade-tinted eyes studying my face before he murmured softly.
“Somehow, that’s so like you.”
“What?”
“I find that aspect of yours even more attractive.”
“Why—why are you suddenly saying such things?”
“…You asked me to tell you.”
Suddenly, I wondered if this situation was more dangerous than being trapped in the Subspace.
“Hmm.”
“The way you often grow flustered is adorable too. At first, I thought you were angry.”
“S-stop it!”
“Very well.”
He smiled gently with his eyes, and I thought he resembled a bewitching fox.
“W-we need to leave here first. This isn’t the time for this. My father will be worried.”
My face grew hot, so I hurriedly averted my gaze elsewhere. Though when I turned my head, all I saw was water in every direction.
“…Earlier, Knight Isidore said this, didn’t he? That it’s safe to drink this water because this place manifests the Spirit Realm?”
“Yes. I’ve heard that in the past, the Montes House had a closed-door training method unique to them, and I’m convinced this place is that training ground.”
“I see.”
‘Since holy water is half spirit, if Purple emerges, wouldn’t there be some reaction in this space?’
A sudden thought struck me, and I summoned Purple, who dwelled as a tattoo marking on my arm. Purple slowly poked her head out from her shell, where she’d been hiding, and gazed up at me with moist eyes.
‘Why is she staring at me so intently, as if I were a mana stone?’
She seemed moved, somehow.
‘Ah. I understand.’
It seemed to be because I had protected Purple from the upper-rank spirit that Philaf possessed.
“You’re quite popular even with holy spirits, Deborah Simour. …I’ll need to be on guard once we leave. There are far too many troublesome ones.”
Isidore muttered something odd, and I, lost in thought, opened my mouth.
“Purple, attack that water.”
Purple nodded with resolute determination and released white energy, whereupon the Blue Stone Slab beneath suddenly gleamed, and water pillars began surging up from all directions.
“Oh no.”
So this space truly did respond to spirit power.
But my reckless experimental impulse seemed to have worsened the situation. As I felt a sense of dread, I was startled. Isidore had suddenly pulled me close.
I could feel his warm body heat and breath against my back, and I nearly shut my eyes without thinking.
‘I’m going to lose my mind.’
Isidore cast a spell in a low voice right against my ear, and the fierce column of water that had been rushing forward was deflected outward by the shield magic Isidore had conjured.
“As I thought, this stone slab is serving as the core of this space. Thanks to you, I’m now certain.”
He chuckled, tapping the glowing blue stone slab with his foot.
“Deborah, do you happen to enjoy watching plays?”
Amid the whirlpools forming all around us, he posed an oddly sudden question.
“…Why?”
Suddenly, a violent wave approached as if to swallow us whole, and I bit my lip hard as he pulled me close into his embrace, soothing my trembling form.
“I’m considering it for choosing our next date location.”
“Knight Isidore, this isn’t a date venue, and whether it’s a play or an opera, I think we should discuss it after we get out of here.”
“A play, an opera… watching both wouldn’t be so bad either.”
“…Don’t tell me you mean we can leave soon?”
“Yes. I’m certain now.”
Isidore spoke in his characteristically unhurried tone.
“That child has just completed their defensive barrier as well.”
Isidore gestured toward Purple.
Like a turtle with a shell to protect its body, Purple possessed the ability to cast shields. A hexagonal-shaped defensive barrier mirroring Purple’s shell pattern encircled the stone slab.
‘My familiar has such abundant abilities.’
As I marveled at this, Isidore spoke.
“Perhaps that child has grown stronger while being in this space. This is a peculiar place brimming with the forces of nature.”
The barrier Purple had created was holding up quite well against the water attacks pouring down from all directions. Once Isidore confirmed we were safe, he slowly released me from his embrace and drew his sword.
Crash! Crash!
Soon after, he began striking the stone slab relentlessly with his blade.
“….”
“Hmm. I need to go harder.”
As he drew upon his aura, a brilliant golden radiance surged from the longsword so dazzling it hurt to look at. The power was so immense that it created wind pressure. His golden hair like spun gold fluttered in all directions.
As Isidore’s aura grew ever larger, it felt as though I stood before a miniature sun. An awe-inspiring, boundless energy like the sun itself filled me with reverence.
‘The Golden Visconti….’
Suddenly, I felt that the epithet ‘golden’ might symbolize far more than merely abundant gold mines or wealth. The Selig Family alone possessed considerable riches, and the nobility of this world did not place such high value on commerce.
‘Then what exactly does golden symbolize?’
As I pondered this mystery, cracks slowly began to form in the stone slab where the sword was deeply embedded, and the space itself began to fracture like a shattered mirror. Then, just as when we had entered this place, a tremendous mana storm erupted.
‘I’m so dizzy.’
“Just bear with it a little longer.”
I closed my eyes tightly within Isidore’s warm, expansive embrace, desperately hoping that when I opened them again, I would see a familiar landscape.

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