To My Beloved, I Present My Exquisite Nightmare - Chapter 7
“Are you not tired?”
When Eustar asked, Laila stared at him intently from under the deeply pulled hood. Her pair of red eyes seemed to say, ‘Is that really what you’re asking right now?’
“Of course I’m tired.”
At Laila’s words, Eustar smiled apologetically.
“I’d like to move quickly too, but the magical device we used needs to be recharged. We’re just trying to get to where the portal is, but it’s further than I thought. It’s been so long since I’ve been here that I’ve lost my sense of direction.”
“A portal?”
As Laila asked in a puzzled voice, Eustar stared at her as if to say ‘why do you ask?’
“It’s a spatial movement device. Did you not know about this either?”
This time, it was Laila’s turn to stare blankly at Eustar. Blinking a couple of times, Eustar spoke with a momentarily flustered expression.
“Um… I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”
Laila’s shoulders moved slightly. Whether he did or not… Sensing her indifferent tone, Eustar slightly raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve heard of portals before. But I’ve never actually seen one. What does it look like? Is it like a terrifying box? Does it have teeth, making it look like ordinary people can’t even approach it?”
Eustar laughed softly.
“No, it’s not terrifying. Probably.”
“Where is this portal? And where are we going after using it? What are we going to do there?”
Faced with the barrage of questions, Eustar fell into deep thought for a moment.
Throughout the night spent near the forest and the half-day of walking without rest, Laila had barely spoken a word. She had just walked silently, wearing the hood Eustar had given her to cover her noticeable hair and eyes.
Perhaps that’s why Eustar didn’t find it bothersome when Laila poured out questions like a child. Well, no matter what or how much she poured out, he would handle it all anyway…
Fidgeting with his fingertips around his chin, Eustar looked down at Laila.
“Miss Laila, have you ever heard of ‘Tentinella’?”
Laila immediately shook her head.
“No, I’ve never heard of it. What is it?”
As if it wasn’t the answer he expected, Eustar stared at Laila with confused eyes for a moment before speaking.
“Have you really never heard of it before?”
At that moment, Laila’s steps came to a halt.
After looking around the deserted road as if to check, she suddenly took off her hood and shook her head roughly like a wet cat. Perhaps due to the warming weather, wearing the hood continuously had made her feel heated to the tips of her hair.
Laila said,
“Look, Riziqus is an isolated village. It’s not a place where news from all over flies in as swiftly as swallows. What was trendy in cities ten years ago is the latest fashion in Riziqus. It’s… an isolated place. Do you understand?”
Eustar made a short sound, “Hmm.” Laila observed his reaction for a moment before adding,
“I don’t mean geographically isolated. It’s not like that…”
“I understand what you mean. And I agree. It’s even surprising that this is the first time a sink has appeared in that village. I wouldn’t have found it strange if it had happened two or three times more. Of course, if that had been the case, there would have been nothing left to call a village by the time I arrived.”
Although his tone was calm, it was a chilling statement if you thought about the meaning for a moment. According to him, Riziqus was a village that could have been engulfed in all sorts of bizarre incidents stemming from the sink at any time, and it wouldn’t have been strange if it had become ruins.
On the other hand, the sink that appeared for the first time this time could be just the first step.
What would have happened if Eustar hadn’t appeared at the opportune moment? Laila shuddered as she imagined herself left alone in an empty village crawling with ghosts.
The two started walking again, without either of them taking the lead. It felt like they were walking into silence, one step at a time. If someone had seen them, they might have thought they were silent pilgrims who had taken a vow of silence and a wandering poet in strange attire…
Laila spoke again.
“So, are you not going to tell me where we’re… going?”
“Ah, right. Um… To be precise, we are now heading to the First Branch of Tentinella.”
“You still haven’t explained what this Tentinella is.”
A small groan escaped. Eustar was well aware that he had little talent for explanation or persuasion.
Moreover, his companion was none other than Laila Kristrad, the very person he had been searching for so desperately…
If she had even the slightest uncomfortable suspicion, or if she said she wanted to change her mind and go somewhere else, it would be no small setback for Eustar.
‘Of course, that will never happen.’
Eustar thought. Then suddenly, remembering that the witches of old had the ability to read minds even from the breath of those nearby, he cautiously observed her reaction.
But he could sense nothing from Laila. She was just waiting for him to continue explaining about ‘Tentinella’.
“Tentinella is… a knightly order. A special knightly order of His Majesty the King. While ordinary knightly orders exist to prepare for wars against foreign enemies, Tentinella fights against something more… special.”
Laila quickly grasped the nature of the ‘special things’ Eustar was talking about.
“You mean things like ghosts.”
“That’s right. I’m glad you understand quickly. There are ghosts, or even magical beasts. It’s not just ghosts that come out of sinks, you know.”
“Black holes… According to you, do these sinks occur anywhere? Suddenly? Like earthquakes or landslides?”
Slowly nodding his head, Eustar said,
“Similar. Sinks are similar to natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides, or tsunamis. The cause that could trigger it occurs first, and energy accumulates along the center point of that cause. When energy gathers until it can no longer accumulate, the earth splits, mountains collapse, or waves cover the beach. Sinks are exactly the same. The only difference is whether there are precursor symptoms that can be detected or not.”
“So sinks… are suddenly created when some energy accumulates, and no one can predict them in advance. And Tentinella exists to deal with the things that come out of these sinks… those ominous things that only I can see.”
“That’s right. His Majesty the King established Tentinella to protect his subjects from sinks and all the ominous and hideous beings and phenomena that arise from them.”
Laila, who had been listening to Eustar’s words with a careful and cautious attitude, summarized his story in one sentence.
“So, you’re saying you’re a knight belonging to this Tentinella.”
Red eyes stared at Eustar intently. They looked as innocent as a child asking ‘Am I right?’, but the special ability flickering beyond them was like a complex and vast maze.
“That’s correct.”
Eustar answered briefly with a slight smile.
The remote path, where neither wandering travelers, nor distant merchant caravans, nor even tired peddlers passed by, seemed endless no matter how far they walked.
Before setting out in earnest, they had shared the dry bread Eustar had, but it wasn’t enough. Laila suddenly felt an unbearable hunger and slightly furrowed her brow, and at that moment, Eustar said,
“Are you hungry?”
Laila turned her head sharply and asked suspiciously,
“How did you know?”
“It’s about that time. Look at the sky. The sun has already tilted to the west. We’ve run out of supplementary food, so it would be good to find a place to sleep around here tonight. We should be able to reach the portal by tomorrow, and then we won’t have to walk anymore with sore feet.”
It wasn’t particularly good news if they had to walk this much tomorrow as well.
But remembering once again that there was a destination made her legs feel a bit lighter. Laila, who had been walking with her hood fluttering down like a long cloak, suddenly asked another question as if she had just thought of it.
“Can anyone use this portal?”
Eustar said,
“Of course not, only people who have undergone special certification can use it. But you can obtain a temporary qualification, so don’t worry. I have that level of authority.”
“You’re not just an ordinary knight? Are you something like the leader of the knightly order?”
This time too, he just smiled faintly without answering. Laila was counting each of the answers Eustar had subtly avoided, but he probably didn’t know that fact.
* * *
Although they said they needed to find a place to sleep nearby, making her prepare for another night of camping, the remote forest path that seemed to stretch on forever suddenly ended, and a village bustling with people appeared.
It wasn’t particularly large in scale, but to Laila’s eyes, who had never left her home area in her life, it was no different from a dizzying metropolis.
As they entered the village, Laila instinctively pulled her hood down to cover even her eyes, and not satisfied with that, she even lowered her head to avoid making eye contact with anyone. This created another problem – she couldn’t walk properly and kept stumbling.
“You don’t need to go that far.”
Eustar tried to coax her, but Laila was unmoved.
No one in the Kingdom of Sierrow was born with black hair. The same was true for eyes as red as pomegranate seeds. Laila’s appearance was, in itself, ‘something not human’.
Laila herself knew better than anyone that she could frighten people and create an ominous and gloomy atmosphere with just her hair and eyes.
“You won’t be able to walk properly like that. If you fall and your hood comes off, it will cause an even bigger commotion… You still don’t want to? Hmm… Then there’s no help for it.”
Laila, shaking her head under the hood, looked like a stubborn child.
Eustar threw a strange glance, half pitying and half amused, before carefully wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He could feel Laila’s body flinch under the hood.
“Lean on me as you walk. At least that way, you won’t fall.”
“I’m not that… clumsy.”
A low laugh escaped from Eustar’s mouth.
“I swear, I’ve never thought of you that way. Not even once. And I never will. Now then, let’s find a room for us to stay in. There seem to be some inns gathered over there.”
He pointed somewhere with his finger. Laila cautiously raised her gaze under the hood, but when a man carrying a milk can passed by with heavy footsteps, she lowered her head again.
The only support she had was Eustar’s hand holding her shoulder.
My Arch-enemy Sealed My Memory and Said That He is My Husband
This is an incredibly captivating story that you absolutely shouldn’t miss! I’ll give a brief introduction here, and below you’ll find a detailed synopsis of the plot.
The female lead is a fierce and powerful demon king. The male lead is a once-in-a-millennium celestial lord, admired by the entire cultivation world.
They are equally matched, legendary rivals who have battled for centuries.
In the final duel, the female lead is gravely injured. The male lead saves her, seals her memories, and hides her true identity. He tells her that he is her fiancé. His entire life has been flawless—except for the one thing he never expected, never controlled, and never wanted to control: falling for his greatest enemy. She is his inner demon, his obsession.
When the female lead regains her memories, she is furious at his deception.
She makes his life a living hell.
And somehow, the male lead—possibly a total masochist—doesn’t mind at all. In fact, he’s happy she’s paying attention to him.
Yep, we’re back to my favorite trope: male lead suffering. If you love this kind of story, jump into the pit with me now!!!
Intro
Dong Xia lost her memory.
Her handsome and extremely powerful fiancé Li Qing comforted her: “It’s okay if you can’t remember. I’ll always be with you.”
Everyone thought Dong Xia’s ancestors must have burned incense to get such a perfect fiancé. He was the number one person in the immortal realm, yet he remained chaste and only loved her.
…
The day before marrying her fiancé, Dong Xia finally remembered everything.
She wasn’t suffering from memory loss at all.
Her arch-enemy had made her fake her death, destroyed her cultivation, replaced her memories, and pretended to be her deeply in love fiancé.
No wonder he said, “It’s okay if you can’t remember”!
Dong Xia laughed coldly as she pulled out her long knife: Li Qing, prepare to die 🙂
*
Li Qing, as the supreme being of the immortal realm, was the people’s shining beacon.
The only unknown stain in his life was his affection for Dong Xia, the ruler of the demon realm.
In the final battle of the war between immortals and demons, the sky collapsed and the earth shattered. The ruler of the demon realm was finally slain under the sword of the supreme being of the immortal realm, and everyone in the immortal realm applauded.
The cultivation world lost a ruler of the demon realm.
And in the back mountain of Li Qing’s cave dwelling, he secretly hid away a fiancée.
Notes:
1. The female lead is white on the outside, black on the inside, and the queen of flattery; the male lead repeatedly tests the edge of darkness, a VIP guest at the crematorium.
2. Fantasy cultivation world setting.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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