“Stop it. I don’t like this. Seeing black hair reminds me of an old friend.”
The unknown being, returned to the form of Sir Lucion, spoke to me.
“I am Sylphid, the Spirit King who made a pact with the founder of the Inkheart family. I guard this place according to the pact. Much time has passed since my old friend left this world. Yes, according to the promise, you, the contractor who discovered this place. What will you do with these treasures?”
“What? Spirit King? Ancestor? Don’t make me laugh! Taking life force as an offering, and you dare act so high and mighty!”
The being identifying itself as Sylphid disgusted me. Outside, Rose was dying of cold, and it dared to speak to me using the form of her brother, Lucion.
My heart felt torn.
“What are you talking about? There seems to be some misunderstanding. I did not take anything from you when I let you into this space.”
Sylphid, in the form of Lucion, blinked confusedly.
“I chanted the spell correctly, but you didn’t open the door. Only after Rose died!”
“I don’t know what’s happening outside. I can only sense this space. It’s true that Inkheart and I placed some restrictions when creating this space to prevent just anyone from inheriting our treasure. But to take a human life as an offering? That’s a thought more suited to demons.”
“A few restrictions?”
If Rose’s life wasn’t taken as an offering, then why did she die in this forest in the original story and also now?
“I was led here by green fireflies. And these fireflies were covering Rose’s dying body, like they were sucking the life out of her.”
“Those are fragments of a broken spirit. They do chase the vitality of living things, hoping to return to their original form. But to call them green fireflies. You’re certainly not a spirit master.”
Sylphid intertwined his fingers and then sat down as if there was a chair in the air.
“According to the conditions we set, you weren’t supposed to come here. You lack the qualifications, you slanderous contractor.”
But I was not outside; I was in the legendary place.
As if Sylphid had read my mind, he grumbled.
“Because you’ve been slandering us so much outside. Spreading such baseless rumors that we are ancestors not worth the offerings at the ancestral rites, or damned ghosts tricked in real estate scams, and that you would dig up our graves once you got out. Hearing this, I felt unjustly accused, so I called you here to hear and clarify things myself! I am not the miserly ghost you claim I am.”
I blushed in embarrassment. In my desperation, I didn’t even remember what I had said.
“So I finally call you here, and now you, the descendant, add the additional insult of accusing me of taking human sacrifices.”
Sylphid clicked his tongue.
“The restriction we placed was that only those with abundant divine or spirit power could find the treasure.”
‘Divine or spirit power?’
The heroine of the original story was a powerful saint.
“Blind gold only brings disaster. We believed that someone with abundant divine or spirit power would not be swayed by greed and would use the treasure for the good of the world. As you know, this treasure was prepared to prevent a calamity in the world.”
‘So, it had nothing to do with blood relations after all. No wonder the Inkheart Dukes couldn’t find the treasure all these years.’
For decades, there had been no talk of any remarkable spirit masters or divine power wielders in the North, let alone in the Inkheart Ducal family. So it was impossible for anyone but the original story’s heroine to accidentally find these treasures.
Even the people of the North who truly believed in this legend had tried to find the Northern treasure to no avail. They were just chasing a mirage, pitifully.
‘Wait, only those with abundant divine or spirit power can access the treasure?’
I am now in the treasure warehouse of Duke Inkheart.
“Turns out I’m a spirit master or a saint…!”
I can do it, like the heroine of a romance fantasy novel!
“You seemed to have overflowing spirit power, tricking me. You swindler.”
…That grand dream was short-lived. My sweet illusion shattered in less than five seconds.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
