But what a surprise.
It seems I’ve chosen the wrong day to go out.
The carriage, which had been rolling along just fine, had gotten stuck in a muddy puddle in an ominous forest and couldn’t move an inch. The wheel was lodged so deeply that there was no way to fix it, eventually forcing the coachman to head back to the village to fetch a new carriage.
If I had known it would come to this, I would have brought Becky along, even if it was a hassle. While the original Ellinea might have done so, I, having possessed this body, hadn’t developed the habit of bringing a servant along, and so I hadn’t brought her today.
“Coachman, you’ll have to go and bring a new carriage.”
At my words, the coachman nodded and said, “I will go on horseback.”
Since the horse didn’t have a saddle, it couldn’t carry me back to the baron’s estate, so he meant he would ride it to fetch a new carriage as quickly as possible. I nodded and told him I would wait.
After the coachman disappeared on horseback, I stared at the wheel stuck in the mud.
“Is it even possible for this to happen so exquisitely?”
Honestly, it looked as if someone had intentionally identified the path our carriage would take and dug the hole exactly there. Of course, I figured that was just a useless flight of fancy. After all, the only person who hated me enough to kill me was the original Pere.
However, the current Pere is friendly toward me. If things continue this way, it is only natural for me to become her right-hand woman. Therefore, unless I betray her in the future, she has no reason to kill me.
While thinking that, I kicked the pointlessly expensive-looking wheel, when suddenly, a creepy, rustling sound came from somewhere. Instinctively, I turned my head to find a spider the size of the carriage I had been riding, glaring at me.
“What is that now…?”
One of my eyebrows twitched in annoyance as I looked at it.
‘Ah, this is definitely a monster.’
I was certain. When I first saw the black flower, I was hesitant and attached the premise of “perhaps,” but the giant spider in front of me was very similar to the monsters in the world where I used to live. In the world I came from, monsters were more common than they are here; they were beings that hid in forests or ruins, stealing the lives of humans. As a black magician, I was very accustomed to dealing with them.
‘But this one looks more hideous and creepy than the monsters from my original world.’
I clicked my tongue and quickly pulled up the black magic I had suppressed deep within my body.
In an instant, the monster spider threw several webs at me.
“……!”
Before I could even dodge, my whole body was wrapped tightly in spider silk. Even when I was a black magician, my magic was strong but my physical strength was weak, so I had heard my acquaintances nag me to train my stamina until my ears grew calluses; this body was no different. If I had known this would happen, I would have steeled my heart and started physical training the moment I possessed this body.
Still, it was fortunate that I could bring my black magic along into this new vessel. I covered the webs binding me with black smoke using the magic I had pulled up in advance. The black smoke swirled down, wrapping around the entire white web and turning it into dust in an instant.
“Skreeee-eek!”
As the web disintegrated, the monster spider let out a bizarre sound and sprayed more at me.
“Tsk.”
I once again emitted black smoke from my body to burn the webs, bit my thumb hard to draw blood, and traced a black magic formula in the air. The formula, drawn in blood, instantly emitted a bright light, shifted into the shape of a black shadow, and flew toward the monster.
The black shadow instantly enveloped the spider, creating a round sphere. I reached out toward it and clenched my fist. The shadow tightened, and with a pop, the spider burst from within.
“This is a technique I don’t like using because it’s a bit gruesome, but the incantation is the easiest, so it’s good for emergencies.”
I muttered to myself, looking at the carcass that had burst and was scattered miserably on the ground. But just then.
“Skreeee-eek.”
“Skreee-ee-ee-eek.”
“Skreeee-ee-eek.”
Grisly, bizarre noises began to erupt from all over the place. When I turned my head, over ten monster spiders—even by a rough count—were moving their hideous front legs and approaching me.
“Oh, damn it.”
I let out a sigh and bit my thumb harder to produce more blood. Wait, are spiders even social creatures? Why on earth are so many of them crawling out?
Anyway, thinking it might be dangerous if I reacted lackadaisically, I drew blood and began to trace an incantation.
However.
*Whoosh! Swish!*
Suddenly, dozens of sharp, black, boomerang-shaped objects flew from somewhere and instantly sliced through the necks and waists of the monster spiders. Over ten of them slumped to the ground with a thud as soon as the black boomerangs flashed past.
I turned my head to find the caster. A carriage was parked a short distance away, and in front of it stood a man with black hair and red eyes.
The empire’s only darkness-attribute ability user.
Theor Etherzan.
The devoted sub-male lead who gives everything to Caroline in the original novel, .
Why on earth is he here?
Since he had helped me in a time of need, I set aside my confusion and quickly bowed my head to greet him.
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“Why are you alone in such a dangerous place without any guards?”
“Ah, the carriage wheel got stuck in a puddle, so the coachman went to get a new one.”
“You mean you waited alone on a path where monsters appear?”
“Ah, I didn’t know.”
I really didn’t know. The coachman hadn’t known either, which was why he had left me behind to go on his own.
“I was on patrol after receiving reports that monsters had appeared in this vicinity. I was told there were many, so there must be a few left.”
“Ah…….”
“If you stay here, you will inevitably be attacked by other monsters drawn by the scent of blood, so let us move.”
“Ah…….”
“Where were you headed? I shall escort you.”
At Theor’s words, I opened my mouth to say I was on my way to Caroline’s house, but immediately stopped and pressed my lips together. Somehow, I didn’t want to arrange a meeting with Caroline that wasn’t even in the original work. After all, Caroline would eventually weigh her options between Lloyd, Theor, and the High Priest Graeme before choosing to be Lloyd’s lover.
Even if I possessed this body and twisted the original story slightly, the ending where those who love each other end up together shouldn’t change. So, you’d better find another girl sooner rather than later. Isn’t that beautiful face a waste?
I stared blankly at Theor’s appearance—which looked as if God had personally sculpted him—thinking to myself. Then, seeing him wearing an expression that seemed to be waiting for an answer, I shook my head.
“No, the coachman will be here soon.”
“As I mentioned earlier, there have been monster sightings in the vicinity. The monsters here hunt in packs. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the entrance to the forest is not safe either.”
“Was the spider a creature that hunts in packs?!”
“All monsters hunt in packs. Have you not studied monsterology…… Ah.”
Theor stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth with an “Ah.” I knew what he had been about to say. Since commoners don’t have attribute abilities, they don’t learn monsterology like nobles do. There was no need, because they couldn’t do anything when they encountered a monster and would just die.
Although I am currently the daughter of a viscount, I was originally a commoner, so I lacked the attribute abilities that nobles were supposed to have. Theor, realizing this belatedly, closed his mouth at his own tactless remark.
Instead of telling him it was fine, I used my black magic to heal my thumb. It was something I had done out of a competitive spirit, thinking, ‘I have power too, you know?’, but this had made things bigger.
“This is……!”
Theor’s face had turned deathly pale as he looked at the black smoke healing my hand. In an instant, realizing my mistake, I made the power vanish, but it was already too late—Theor had already seen it.
“That, just now.”
Theor asked, striding toward me. I instinctively stepped back and said,
“St-stop. Why are you acting like this? You’re scaring me.”
“That ability. Just now.”
“Ability? What ability?”
“The ability you used to heal the place where you were bleeding, my lady.”
“I was bleeding? Where?”
Sensing that I was in deep trouble, I decided to feign complete ignorance. Since Theor was the only one in the empire who could use the darkness attribute, it was inevitable that he would be suspicious of my power, which looked just like it to anyone.
“My lady.”
“Ah, my head!”
Fearing he wouldn’t easily let go of his suspicions regarding dark magic, I pretended to faint, and Theor rushed over to support me immediately.
A handsome guy who is even gentle.
I leaned my face against his chest for a moment, pretending to be dizzy, while I agonized over how to get myself out of this situation.