The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 138

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Duie smiled with his eyes curving gently.

Chillingly, he looked extremely happy and delighted.

Like a child plucking butterfly wings, someone who could be more cruel because he was faithful to his desires.

‘Several people rushed at him when they saw me captured, but…’

A few brave nobles among the guests had attacked Duie with protective magical tools and such, but it was futile.

He caught the legs of those rushing at him with invisible force and threw them against the wall, terrifying everyone else.

Even the knights and guards of the Count’s Manor were no match for him.

‘I need to think, there must be a way.’

Desperately wracking my brain, I turned my barely moving head to look at Tesagh.

‘Tesagh still can’t move…’

He couldn’t even seem to close his eyes.

Tesagh looked anguished. Not because he was in pain or suffering physically.

He seemed tormented by this situation where he had to watch me in danger helplessly and completely powerless.

‘Stay calm, Elisha.’

Like the glass shard I had stabbed into my kidnapper’s thigh, if there was just a moment’s opening…!

‘Wait, hold on.’

I thought my vision was shaking because I was dizzy from not being able to breathe properly.

But around Tesagh, I could see pitch-black light.

It was even more visible in contrast to the brilliant chandelier light.

Rather than rippling like Duie’s…

‘Overwhelming darkness.’

Pitch-black light like something scooped from the bottom of an abyss was binding him like spider webs.

‘Like the light of the Ruby Tablet.’

This wasn’t the time to wonder why the Ruby Tablet was here.

I trusted human instinct.

There must be a reason why this pitch-black darkness binding Tesagh caught my eye in this life-or-death situation.

“Stay still. If you move wrong, I might pierce your lung instead of your heart, and then it’ll hurt longer.”

Perhaps because I had struggled so much, invisible shackles were placed on my legs too.

Duie smiled and gripped the knife with his right hand.

“Then…”

“Let me ask one thing. The god you mentioned, ugh, isn’t… the World Tree, right?”

I needed to buy time.

I threw out a random question, but surprisingly Duie seemed quite pleased with it.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well…”

From Duie’s prayer-disguised confession, I could glimpse the circumstances so far.

Born as a mage in a devout World Tree Order family, he would have been ostracized.

Seeing how he detested his father, perhaps he had even been abused after being branded as the family’s shame.

But I decided not to tell that story.

‘Not out of pity. After causing all this, whatever his circumstances, there’s no room for Duie to receive sympathy.’

I judged that bringing up his father might make Duie completely lose it.

“Mages don’t really like the World Tree Order. I also have mage friends, so…”

“Is that so?”

At least my answer didn’t seem to displease him.

“So the Princess isn’t a mage discriminator. Thank you, though of course I still can’t let you live.”

I didn’t expect you to, you madman.

What I was gauging wasn’t something like the possibility of Duie letting me go peacefully.

I focused on how Duie unconsciously stroked his necklace while talking about magic.

Duie continued as if doing me a favor.

“Well… I don’t believe in gods. But there is someone I revere like a god.”

“So you’re going to offer me to that person you revere like a god? What if your god dislikes me?”

Duie laughed at that.

“That won’t happen.”

That was the end of it. His attitude suggested it was obvious, so why ask.

Anyway, it was fortunate that Duie was intoxicated with himself.

It meant he was off guard, and it gave me a chance to look around.

Rolling my eyes anxiously, I suddenly looked toward Crescenziano.

‘The other priests are helping the fallen people, but the Cardinal is…’

Crescenziano was quiet.

He wasn’t helping others like the other priests, nor was he recklessly rushing to save me.

He stood upright as if this chaos didn’t affect him at all, looking somewhere.

Then?

‘Is he carefully assessing the situation?’

That’s when it happened.

I felt like our eyes met beyond Crescenziano’s hood as he suddenly turned his head.

His lips moved quickly.

‘Mana addiction.’

Mana addiction.

I already knew Duie had mana addiction, but having someone else point it out anew gave me a sudden realization.

Right, the glass shard to catch Duie off guard was…

‘I just need to steal his mana!’

It’s already in my hands, isn’t it!

‘Like I did with Ailren!’

There were two methods I used to treat Ailren’s mana addiction.

One was removing the cause, the hourglass.

And the other was.

‘Contact!’

Sparks fly in my head.

Having made up my mind, I let my hands drop, which had been constantly trying to loosen the magic around my neck.

“You finally understand what I’m saying, Princess. Good choice.”

He must have thought I had accepted my fate of being sacrificed and given up everything.

Duie raised his sword high with both hands and muttered with a smile.

“Then… sweet dreams, Princess.”

I have one chance.

Biting my lips, I stared at Duie’s sword.

It was when the silver sword, slowly approaching as if to pierce my heart, came close enough to reflect the color of my pupils.

The sword coming close meant…

‘Now!’

Duie had also come within arm’s reach!

I reached out with my gloved hand to snatch Duie’s necklace, which must be the source of his mana, while simultaneously.

“Ugh…!”

With my other ungloved hand, I grabbed his cheek, the only part where bare skin was exposed.

Then.

“Wh-what is this!”

Duie flinched and the trajectory of his sword, which had been falling straight down, wavered greatly.

I didn’t miss the opportunity and rolled my body.

Slash—

My arm got cut because of it, but the pain actually felt refreshing.

‘It worked!’

Because it meant I was free!

“No, don’t-!”

It was when Duie, who had been flustered by the sudden pain and my release, was about to bring his sword down again.

Grab.

“Ugh, ugh, uaaaah-!”

Crescenziano, who had approached at some point, seized Duie’s arm.

Seeing him scream just from having his arm grabbed confirmed my suspicions.

‘There was a reason he specifically asked me to open the ruby tablet case.’

Because the ruby tablet is a divine-grade sacred artifact.

The characteristic of mana poisoning—suffering pain when in contact with divine power—was no exception for him either.

So Duie had entrusted the ruby tablet to me, whether consciously or unconsciously, to avoid contact with strong divine power.

Similarly, Cardinal Crescenziano’s divine power would surely be painful for him.

But there was no time to observe him further.

‘Where’s Tesagh?’

I urgently turned my head and froze for a moment.

Tesagh was still there, in the same spot.

Even more.

‘The magic tool is breaking!’

Pop—

With a bursting sound, Tesagh’s disguise magic tool exploded.

As if it wanted to expose his true appearance!

‘Duie’s magic has been broken, so why…!’

As I frantically looked around, I raised my head at the sound of an unusual noise.

Creak, creak.

The source of that noise was.

‘The chandelier!’

The chandelier’s screws were slowly turning on their own.

Wrapped in pitch-black shadows.

It was the moment I saw Tesagh’s face standing directly beneath that chandelier.

‘No.’

I ran.

Why was it?

The entire time I was running toward Tesagh, time seemed to flow slowly.

The surrounding noise and chaos faded away, and only the sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears.

All I could see was just.

‘No!’

Those vivid red eyes.

Countless emotions flickered across them.

It seemed like he was regretting something, like he wanted to stop me, like he was sad.

But what ultimately became clear, covering all of that, was.

“Tesagh-!”

My reflection.

The moment I realized that, everything began moving rapidly again.

The chandelier tilted sharply and was about to crash down on Tesagh.

I ran with all my might and threw my body to push him away.

Crash—

“…sha.”

My vision was blurry and my whole body was burning hot.

It felt like being submerged up to my head in very hot water.

‘When I… touched it… the spider web-like darkness was… being absorbed…’

My thoughts weren’t connecting well either.

They say hearing is the sense that lasts longest in humans—is that why?

Even amid the ear-splitting crash of the chandelier breaking, someone’s voice reached me faintly.

“…lisha!”

Is that Tesagh?

I struggled to lift the corners of my mouth.

‘Ah, but still…’

I succeeded, didn’t I?

‘Then that’s enough.’

My eyes are closing.

Everything around me became quiet.

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