Chapter 47
I turned around instinctively to the voice I had heard, flinching because I recognized who it was.
“Lennox?”
His eyes looking down at the floor were so sharp and cold.
Why did he look like that?
It was at that moment that embarrassment flooded in.
Lennox raised his head. “If you’re done, shall we go now?”
Before I knew it, he was back with his usual expression. The frost of the past moment was suddenly nowhere to be found.
In a low, soft voice, he asked again, “Or is there any place you want to go?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Actually, I wanted to stay a little longer, but I lied. For some reason, I felt like I had to.
Leaving the temple with him, I was lost in thought.
Why did he make such a cold face?
I’d never seen Lennox’s face like that before. A cynical, heart-wrenching look.
I couldn’t do this.
I tried to pretend I didn’t know, but I couldn’t let it go.
The soft sound of his steps on the marble floor stopped.
“Lennox.” I walked toward him, and he started walking beside me. “What happened to the angel who was expelled? I looked at his expression as soon as I asked the question, in order not to miss any small changes.
“He committed a great sin.” But he only answered calmly with such a peaceful face. “He broke the taboo and did something he shouldn’t have done as a warrior of God.”
When I looked at him in shock, Lennox stared at me and slowly opened his mouth, “He had intervened in the affairs of the human world. To stop the disaster.”
Disaster, the moment I heard the word, my heart sank for some reason.
“A black magician created a calamity to win the war.”
It was the story of the black magician who reappeared.
“Was it during the time of the founding of the Vargan Empire?”
“You got it right.”
The contents of a history book dealing with the founding process of the empire came to mind. Worshipping demons, practicing all kinds of terrible magic… It was said that there started a war that killed many people.
To rule the world, for a single goal.
But there was no disaster-related content in the history books.
“What kind of disaster was it?”
For a moment his eyes flashed.
“They brought demons to this land.”
“Demons?” I covered my open mouth with my palm. “You’re saying this world has demons in it?”‘
It was unexpected to hear this about history. The original story always baffled me, but hearing what happened was also quite shocking. It was a completely different matter to fear such creatures from my imagination and to hear that they very nearly were in my reality.
“The whole human world was captured and fell into the hands of the demons.”
I swallowed painfully. “But there was no such thing as a disaster in the history books.”
His voice trembled, perhaps because he was nervous. “It’s only because the record was written that way.”
“And it had something to do with the angel?”
“The new emperor of Vargan, who feared there would be great chaos if the invasion was known, covered up the whole truth.”
“But there must have been more than one person who saw the demons, right?”
Lenox’s mouth was filled with laughter. “People who encounter unrealistic situations often look for other reasons.
It wasn’t hard for the emperor to make a reasonable reason because there was a public enemy called a black magician.”
After that, Vargan searched for all the hidden black magicians and charged them with death. The punishment was swift and cruel.
In just a few years, the last sorcerer was executed, and the lines of magic were cut off.
“I’m sure you think it’s over now.”
When I remembered Karine, I sighed. “Anyway, you’re saying that an angel prevented the demons from invading the human world, right? He did a good deed, so why is it a sin?”
“Because his whole clan used divine power in human warfare.”
“The demons came to the human world because of an invitation from the black magicians, so the conditions are quite different. Unlike the heavenly race, they were not constrained.”
“The races of each world said that they could not harm the lives of other worlds without being summoned.”
“But how do you even know this? I hear it’s a lost history.”
For a moment Lennox paused. But soon he replied nonchalantly, “At that time, Vargan was able to protect the kingdom from the demons with the help of Kravant. No emperor can touch this record.”
“I see.” I nodded in agreement.
Kravant, the founding family of the Empire. In a way, he was superior to the royal family.
I didn’t think he was lying, but… Strangely, it occurred to me that he wasn’t telling me everything.
Just before leaving the temple, I paused and looked back.
The pure white altar with its surrounding statues were still in place.
And the last place where my eyes touched was the empty space of the now-missing statue.
“The angel,” I muttered to myself. “What happened after you were expelled?”
Lennox turned his head obliquely and looked down at me. “What do you think?”
“What?”
In the calm, subdued gaze, I could not read the emotion in his red eyes. But somehow they felt lonely.
“Well… I don’t know.”
Rather, I was lost in thought when I got the question back.
A heavenly being who was deprived of the noble status of supporting God and exiled forever to be banished from heaven. The unspeakable misery and despair were beyond me.
“I’m certain it’s very painful and hard…” I pursed my lips, deep in a slow thought.
The more I thought about that angel, the more anxious I became.
“…It must have been painful.”
Was it because I was a human? I did not understand why a good creature who wanted to save humans from destruction could become a sinner. Was doing the taboo for that one reason really so bad that it warranted being banished and having everything taken away?
“But I don’t think what the angel did was a sin.”
Lennox’s eyes grew slightly as if he had heard unexpected words.
“Just because you shouldn’t be involved in the rest of the world doesn’t mean it’s easy to just let it fall to ruins around you. I don’t know if it’s right, but…” As I watched the calm red eyes fluttering softly, I continued, “So I want him to be happy no matter what he’s done, wherever he is.”
It was then that Lennox’s well-behaved face was disturbed for an instant.
A strange expression, neither smiling nor crying. Still, he quickly returned to his usual face.
“Yes,” he murmured absent-mindedly. “It’s time to go.” He looked at me and spoke in a low voice.
In the scarlet eyes that became darker, I felt a strong emotion that I couldn’t read. It was that strange heat that seemed to hold and bind my whole body, and I held my breath without realizing it.
Lennox gently loosened my hand that had been clasped around his arm. Then, without hesitation, he linked our fingers together.
“…!”
The sensation of his fingers gently squeezing mine was overly stimulating.
I couldn’t say a word and held my breath. My whole body throbbed with an undercurrent of want.
“Olivia,” he whispered my name and slowly stretched out his other hand towards my head, gently smoothing the tips of my hairpiece. “Luck is coming to us, Olivia.”
A warm breath touched my ear. I was painfully aware of the proximity of our faces to each other.
“…It seems to me that I’ve already found it.” His gaze was slow and intent. “And the angel will be saved as well.” Lennox smiled with crinkled eyes. “Because that’s what you wanted.”
It was a sweet but dangerous smile. I felt as if I had been caught in a trap that I could never get out of.
The old temple had a narrow road and a carriage could not access it, so we had to walk toward the main building as we had when we came in.
We were the only ones on the trail surrounded by big trees, and walking side by side felt surprisingly elegant. The occasional wind shook the lush leaves and made a soft sound.
As I walked while enjoying the peaceful scenery and atmosphere, I saw a fork in the road.
Lennox pulled my arm slightly. “It’s on the left.”
I nodded reflexively. “I know. If you turn right, it’s a cliff road.
Then he stopped and looked back at me. His expression was strange. “How do you know that?”
Huh? I blinked.
I thought back to the brochures I’d read. There was no such thing in them. I was certain of that because I had pored over them over and over until I memorized their contents.
If it weren’t for Lennox’s proposal, I wouldn’t even have known about this old temple.
Was it the original Olivia’s memory? It seemed implausible, but there was no other reason that came to mind.
I decided to lie. “Ash told me.”
There was nothing else I could have done. Telling the truth would have involved revealing that I was from another world and inherited someone else’s body and memories.
“Your pet bird knows everything.”
“You said it yourself that it was smart.”
“Yes, to the point where it gossips about your husband at every opportunity.”
Something felt off with my theory, but what other explanation did I have for my knowledge of the terrain?
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