It was clear that if I had pulled my foot back even a little later, I would have been caught immediately.
“……”
My heart was pounding so wildly that I was afraid the sound might leak out from under the cloak.
After groping the air a few more times, he withdrew his hand and looked around.
Through the translucent cloak, Delphine held her breath within arm’s reach of Ioan.
“Lord Pryde!”
Just then, a shout calling for Ioan came from behind.
“We’ve captured all the people in the area where we set up the barrier!”
By now, the human carriages were packed full of people.
Cries of despair and lamentations flowed from the people crammed inside.
The troops halted their ‘hunt’ and awaited Ioan’s orders.
A breathless silence followed for a moment.
Looking down at his empty hands, Ioan snorted, as if he had just had a ridiculous thought.
“…Alright. Let’s depart now.”
He elegantly mounted his warhorse and took the lead of the knights.
The carriage full of people followed behind.
Delphine could spot the child’s mother inside.
She, who had probably been watching only her child, was now frantically looking around where the child had suddenly disappeared.
The guard and the carriage grew smaller and farther away like dots.
Lin blew a breath onto her palm.
A butterfly emitting transparent light fluttered away and stuck firmly to the back of the soldier standing at the end of the procession.
Lin whispered softly.
“Let’s follow them.”
[This is the timeline separator]They followed the group at a suitable distance to avoid detection.
Because the knights were moving quickly on horseback, they had to appropriately mix concealment magic and teleportation.
Midway through, Belly joined them with two knights after receiving Lin’s radio call.
He made an expression of disbelief upon seeing the child clinging tightly to Delphine’s side, but given the situation, he didn’t say anything.
“Lin. Even you…… No, let’s talk while following them first.”
They shared their strategy during a brief rest as they tried to keep their distance from the group.
Delphine, her face still pale and bloodless, asked.
“Do you think the place where they’re taking these people is the ‘factory’ the man mentioned?”
“Yes. Of course, it’s still just a guess, but……”
Belly immediately nodded.
“We expected a human hunt to occur around today. Of course, the Marquis Pryde coming out in person was unexpected, but……”
“Right. What exactly happened? We almost got Delphine caught by that man!”
Lin questioned Belly in a somewhat agitated tone.
Belly frowned with a troubled expression and said.
“The place where we deliberately incited the rebellion was the eastern part of District 3. Clearly, until this morning, Marquis Pryde, he was there……”
“Damn it. I’m telling you, that man must be using the black crystal too.”
Lin insisted, still in an agitated voice.
“How else could he move so unpredictably?”
At those words, Belly glanced at Delphine, checking her reaction.
“Well…… If we follow them, we’ll be able to find out today.”
However, even quietly following them soon became difficult.
At some point, fog started to set in, and the appearance of the troops vanished without a trace.
“…I can’t feel the tracking magic anymore either.”
At Lin’s words, Belly muttered with a serious expression.
“Right. There’s no way they would allow intrusion so easily. Of course, they must have set up a barrier.”
Looking at Belly muttering with a grave face, Delphine anxiously asked.
“Then what should we do now?”
“What’s there to worry about? The goddess of luck is on our side.”
Belly quickly put aside his serious face and smiled angelically.
“Let’s break through the barrier as is. Can you do it, Lin?”
Lin, who had been gazing beyond the fog as if measuring something, nodded.
Then, with a displeased expression, she muttered.
“…But this is the first time I’ve used so much magic. Is she really alright, Belly?”
He added with a serious face.
“Energy doesn’t come out indefinitely without any cost, you know.”
“That’s……”
“I’m fine.”
Delphine cut in with a resolute face.
Of course, the fact that an unknown energy was draining from her was frightening.
But having come this far, she couldn’t give up before facing the truth.
“I’m fine, so please make it possible for us to enter the factory as we are.”
“……”
Lin extended her hand towards her with a lingering look of unease.
Once again, their hands intertwined.
Is this really the only way to recharge?
For a moment, an irrelevant thought crossed her mind.
“…I see. A barrier of this scale.”
Lin muttered, glaring at the fog-shrouded surroundings.
“Can we sneak in, Lin? A frontal assault at the enemy’s headquarters would be too risky.”
“Not all of us. …Up to three.”
They quickly made a decision.
First, they teleported the two knights and the child back to headquarters.
“We’re going in.”
Then, the moment they took a step, guided by Lin whose hand they were holding.
An enormous pressure crushed their entire bodies.
Delphine unconsciously gripped Lin’s hand tightly.
Surprisingly, the vein-bursting pressure disappeared in an instant.
She felt the soft earth under her feet.
“…Where is this?”
Delphine opened her eyes and looked around.
The surroundings were a vast flatland made entirely of black soil.
The desolate sight of such a wide plain without a single blade of grass or tree sent chills down her spine.
“Ugh……”
At the same time, what hit them was a terrible stench.
Even Belly and Lin frowned and muttered.
“…I thought I’d long gotten used to it, but this is really bad.”
The stench that permeated District 3 had intensified more than ever before.
For Delphine, who wasn’t accustomed to this, just standing for a moment made her head spin.
“Wrap this around your face. It’ll help a little.”
Lin handed her a water-soaked handkerchief.
Delphine accepted it without hesitation and immediately covered her mouth and nose.
Otherwise, she felt like she might throw up embarrassingly at any moment.
“This stench is……”
“I think it’s that.”
Belly threw a sharp gaze straight ahead.
Where his gaze was directed, there stood a massive factory with black smoke billowing up.
The sight of the factory standing alone on the black earth where not even a weed grew was the epitome of grotesqueness.
Delphine muttered, wrapping her arms around her goosebump-covered forearms.
“Somehow, it feels unpleasant……”
At that moment, she recalled the memory of witnessing the man using the black crystal at the concert hall.
It was the same feeling as then.
The feeling of encountering something that shouldn’t exist in nature……
“Let’s go inside.”
“I’ll cast an invisibility spell.”
Lin placed her hand on top of her head with a thud.
Then, a sensation like being doused with cold ice water flowed from the top of her head to her toes.
Lin said to Delphine, who shivered at the unfamiliar feeling.
“Magic can only hide appearance. No matter what happens, you must never make a sound.”
“Can’t posum hide everything?”
“Either invisibility or sound muting, only one is possible. Even magic has its limits.”
“It’s just like a story from mythology.”
Lin made a slightly puzzled expression at the unexpected remark.
“…What do you mean?”
“Old stories are always like this. You must never look back, and such.”
Delphine explained with a slight smile.
“The gods always impose taboos on humans, and humans break those taboos and receive great punishment.”
Delphine looked at the distant factory with a complex expression.
She had come all the way here, breaking the taboo Ioan had imposed on her – to never leave District 1.
Then what divine punishment would she receive for breaking the prohibition?
“…Why bring up such a story now?”
Lin raised one eyebrow with an uneasy expression.
Seeing his honest face, Delphine forgot her tension for a moment and chuckled.
Belly, who was standing next to her, exclaimed in an inappropriately cheerful tone.
“Well then. Let’s see if we can return safely without receiving punishment.”
They soon began walking towards the black factory in the distance.
[This is the timeline separator]When infiltrating, one can’t brazenly enter through the main gate.
Using Lin’s magic, they entered through a sewer hole on the side of the building.
What appeared was a huge tunnel and massive pipe ducts passing through it.
“To think such a place exists in this empire……”
They looked around with surprised eyes and sighed in astonishment.
Underground, several pipes as thick as a human body were connected somewhere.
Delphine whispered cautiously in a low voice.
“It’s strange that there’s not a single guard, even though it’s underground.”
“Probably because there’s no need. There’s a powerful barrier in place, and not many would know of this place’s existence to begin with.”
Belly replied while examining the tunnel that looked like the black maw of a snake.
“They likely chose to keep a minimal staff for secrecy.”
Lin, who was scanning the surroundings with a sharp gaze, asked him again.
“Where do you think the captured people might be, Belly?”
“Well…… Let’s follow the pipes for now.”
The massive pipes stretched endlessly, curving along the way.
How long had they walked through the dark and damp underground passage?
After a long while, an iron ladder leading upwards appeared before them.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
