Perhaps due to the aftereffects of exhausting magic, Luce was dozing off but jolted awake when I yelled.
“Can you go to Linestead right now?”
“R-right now?”
Luce’s face turned pale.
“……Is it urgent?”
“Very urgent.”
Luce started sweating profusely at my resolute answer, which came without a second of hesitation.
“I haven’t fully recovered my magic yet… It would be too much.”
“……Is it that difficult?”
“It’s not just difficult, if I force it, I might faint from magic deficiency. I almost died coming from Chatteris to the residence of the Duke of Kitten…… Even if I use a potion, going to Linestead right now is impossible. I would die.”
“I see……”
‘Is it true?’
I mouthed to Zero, who nodded.
“Even Perengi mage’s magic has not yet fully recovered. The efficacy of magic potions has declined due to excessive consumption in a short period.”
‘Oh…….’
“We need to prioritize the mage’s recovery. I understand your urgency, but we need to stay alive. What were you planning to have Luce do in Linestead?”
‘Verification.’
“What verification?”
‘To verify if Kieran Worei is… alive.’
The communication line to Linestead, managed only by the palace, was completely cut off.
There were two possibilities for this.
First, the royal family had cut off the communication line to the area.
Second, the area had been completely destroyed or disappeared due to someone’s attack.
“Wh-what do you mean? Are you saying that the original villain Kieran Worei might have been killed by someone?”
Zero’s beady eyes trembled. The hamster admin looked as if he had lost his fur color and vitality due to a series of unimaginable events.
‘I don’t know. That’s why I was going to ask Luce to go and check the situation in Linestead!’
There was no way other than going there myself to confirm, as the line for the communication magic device was cut.
Gateways, accessible with ease, were swarming with zombies and were thus inaccessible.
The only remaining option was to go there and confirm with my own eyes.
‘That’s why I asked Luce if he could go……’
I knew it too. Luce hadn’t fully recovered his magic yet. Just coming to the Duke of Kitten’s residence in one day was a stretch.
Even knowing that, I still asked him to go to Linestead, reluctant to lose someone capable of fighting zombies.
Zero, sensing my thoughts, mumbled dejectedly.
“…Well. I wanted Kieran Worei as a collaborator even if I couldn’t recruit him as a party member.”
If it were Kieran, who freely wielded forbidden black magic, poison, and curses, perhaps he could definitively identify the cause of the zombies.
I had been hoping for this and was searching for him, but if he’s already dead…
‘Who could it be?’
Where did the culprit predict all the moves and attack from?
I felt disgusted, as if I was already dancing on the palm of his hand.
Seeing me merely shake my head without speaking, Ruse felt sorry.
“I, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help even though it seems important…”
“…No. You, Ruse, should rest first. It’s my fault for pushing people too hard right after arriving.”
Ruse had done enough.
But I couldn’t shake off the anxiety and felt like I was going mad.
I had to verify, I had to.
But without any clues, I was left biting my lip, when Ashton quietly raised his hand to speak.
“…? What is it, Duke Whitewood?”
“I have a question, Countess Keaton.”
“Speak.”
Feeling like the situation was becoming increasingly tangled, I answered curtly. He then spoke to me with a dry and rigid voice.
“If there is a way to forcibly connect, even for a moment, to the communication magic tool… Could it solve your dilemma?”
“!”
It was only after hearing Ashton’s words that I realized anew.
‘Ah, he might have been exiled, but he’s still royal!’
Only the royal family has access to the communication magic tools.
Though he was exiled, the blood flowing in Ashton’s veins proved he was a direct descendant of the founding emperor Caladia.
I urgently asked Zero.
‘Zero, is it really possible to connect a cut-off line and recover a deleted number?’
Could we not only hear but also see?
Zero hastily brought up a search window when I asked desperately.
“W, wait!”
At the end of his struggle with the search window, Zero shouted.
“It’s possible! There’s a magic spell only activatable by the royal family in emergencies engraved into the communication tool!”
Okay, good.
I hastily grabbed Ashton’s hand and my eyes sparkled.
“Absolutely. It is solvable.”
Picking up the northern Duke was a good move. Ah, how splendid!
What would I have done without this guy?
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
