A Small Twist – 6

The way back to the castle was much quieter than when they left.

I was too preoccupied with trying to figure out what that strange feeling I’d had at the end was, my head a mess of thoughts, so I had no time to speak. Inerma, on the other hand, was humming a tune, seemingly delighted by something, as she walked.

Separately, the combination of her empty eye sockets and the deeply settled darkness in the background made for a rather chilling sight.

Since I was silent and Inerma didn’t seem to have any intention of continuing the conversation, our pace naturally quickened. When I came to my senses, we had already arrived back at the castle.

Inerma bowed her head precisely in my direction.

“Thank you for indulging my stubbornness today, Rookie Knight-nim.”

“No need for thanks. I also enjoyed getting some fresh night air after a long time.”

My head was actually quite complicated with thoughts about what had happened in the forest, but I decided not to mention it. I wanted to avoid suspecting an innocent person without clear evidence.

“I’ll head inside now. I’m starting to get sleepy.”

“Alright. I should go straight to sleep once I’m inside too.”

Just as we were about to part ways to our respective rooms after exchanging polite conversation, Inerma called out to me, stopping me.

“And Knight-nim. It seems you’ll probably be going to bed a little late tonight.”

“What do you mean I’ll be going to bed late, out of nowhere, what kind of-“

“Rookie!”

What is it?

My body stiffened at the voice that echoed loudly down the corridor from behind me. Without needing to look further, it was Rije. Rije instantly approached my side, scattering ice shards everywhere.

Then she clung tightly to my right arm and growled cutely at Inerma. It wasn’t threatening at all. It was closer to the feeling of watching a cat or dog squirming.

“Hello, Rije Knight-nim. Good evening.”

But regardless, Inerma smiled faintly as usual and offered her greeting. Even though she must have discerned all of Rije’s emotions from her tone of voice, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know what expression Rije was making.

“……Where did you two go alone at this late hour?”

It was a voice full of wariness.

“I just went for a night stroll with Rookie Knight-nim.”

“A stroll? Was that really all?”

“Of course. Knight-nim, you watched everything from afar, so you know, don’t you?”

At Inerma’s words, my head snapped around. Rije’s eyes were wide, and her expression was one of extreme surprise.

“……You watched everything? Rije did?”

“Yes. From the moment we first left the castle until now.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were hiding from us and secretly following us, weren’t you? I thought perhaps you had a reason to do so.”

“…….”

Rije stood with her mouth agape, wearing a face that screamed, ‘How on earth did I get caught?’ Inerma, who had dropped a bombshell between us, left with a light step, saying, “Then, good night.”

Only a dazed, stiffened pair of a man and a woman remained in the castle corridor.

“……I thought I hid well.”

“Is that the first thing you have to say?”

That was the very first thing Rije said after standing dazed in place for a while.

I wasn’t angry that Rije had followed us. I just felt bewildered. I didn’t particularly want an apology, and Rije seemed to know that well.

Moreover, I was in an awkward position to get angry. How could I, knowing that all those actions were due to her affection for me? As long as she didn’t cross the line, I should just see it as a cute quirk and let it pass.

“So, why did you follow me?”

Of course, that’s that, and this is this. I deliberately questioned her as if cross-examining.

“No, I couldn’t help it. How could I just leave it when I saw you and that kid going out of the castle together?”

Rije answered boldly. I, dumbfounded, relaxed my expression slightly.

“You could have just let it go, thinking it was just a stroll. Why go to the trouble of tailing us?”

“Letting a man and a woman go out alone late at night? What do you think they’ll get up to outside? Are you in your right mind, Rookie?”

“In my right mind? I think that’s what I should be asking you. What kind of thoughts do you usually have that your head is filled with nothing but that?”

Even if women’s clothing boasted extreme levels of exposure due to the influence of the mod, this wasn’t a world where moral concepts were shattered like in an R-rated erotic game.

One of the women’s fashions easily found on the streets was simply a shirt and panties, yet people on the street passed by women dressed like that indifferently.

Before the mod was applied, it wouldn’t have been a naked shirt, but just ordinary cloth or leather clothing. This meant that it was absolutely not because women were overflowing with sexual desire and couldn’t control their exposure.

It was just Rije being weird on her own.

“Then it’s not?”

“Of course not.”

“Prove it.”

“Huh?”

Before I could react, Rije grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside, and just like that, under the pretext of a night stroll, the two of us wandered around the city until the morning sun rose.

Seeing Rije’s expression on the way back to the castle, I realized she had been aiming for this from the start.

The very next day after that boisterous night stroll, the girl quietly bid farewell to the Silver Dawn Knights.

Iris and Erica said she could stay as long as she wanted, but she quietly refused, as there was no reason to remain there any longer.

Since the Emperor had already given word that her objective was achieved, it was right to return immediately.

The girl left the Knights wrapped tightly in a single piece of cloth, just as she had been when she first arrived. However, since she had thoroughly washed the cloth while at the castle, her appearance was slightly better than before.

Walking and walking, the girl entered deep into a mountain, then casually shed the cloth wrapped around her body. She was completely naked, not a single thread covering her.

She infused magic into the discarded cloth. Then, the cloth floated up on its own, began to wrap around her body, and soon transformed into the leather outfit she originally wore.

A top that clung tightly to her body, revealing her slender figure, a hoodie pulled deep over her head, and extremely short leather shorts that were barely a finger’s length.

Around her neck, the artifact she used to change her clothes into cloth was hanging once again.

As she had done before, the girl listened carefully to the surrounding sounds for a moment, and after confirming that no one was around, she activated the artifact hanging around her neck.

A magic circle was drawn beneath the girl’s feet. Immediately, a pillar of light appeared, and with it, the girl’s body vanished somewhere, and the magic circle also disappeared as soon as her body did.

“Have you come?”

The girl, who had teleported to the Imperial Palace in the blink of an eye, knelt on one knee in the direction of the voice, placed both palms on the floor, and bowed deeply.

Emperor Kaikilia. The person she had to obey absolutely.

“Did you find the person you were looking for?”

But this time, there was another voice. As soon as the girl heard that voice, her body stiffened, and she stopped moving. Golden eyes stared intently down at the unmoving girl.

“Indeed. I have finally found what I desired.”

“Hmm, really? If you’re reacting like that, they must be quite a remarkable person. I’m curious who it could be.”

“Would you like to confirm? I can guarantee you will never regret it.”

“I won’t refuse. Then, let’s see.”

A voice, different from Kaikilia’s, filled with lofty and mysterious sensations, lightly snapped its fingers. The girl, who had been prostrate on the floor, sharply lifted her head.

From her two pupils, which should have been empty, mysterious ultramarine eyes, a color known as ultramarine, glowed brightly.

They were eyes of the same color as the voice beside Kaikilia.

“Oh my?”

How much time had passed? The end of her sentence rose slightly, as if she was a little surprised. Seeing that, the Emperor opened her mouth triumphantly.

“Did I not tell you? I can guarantee that you, too, will not regret it.”

“Hmm, indeed. A child who amplified their mana so much in such a short time… quite intriguing. The absolute value itself isn’t much, but that’s not what’s important.”

The ultramarine light overflowing from her eyes extinguished. The girl, whose eyes had returned to hollow black pupils, bowed her head deeply. The owner of the ultramarine eyes snapped their fingers again.

Then the girl’s body turned blue, scattered into mana, and gathered towards the voice.

The girl had been something made of magic from the very beginning, not human. Yet, she was so elaborate and human-like that no one in the Silver Dawn Knights had noticed.

The fact that the girl, despite being blind, moved around everywhere without any difficulty was also accepted without any sense of incongruity, all due to the special magic applied to her body.

Magic that subtly distorted the perception of those around her.

“To the extent of recovering the mana used, was it that much to your liking?”

“I’ve become interested. I intend to research that man along with further refining this magic. It seems I’ll have to go to the Magic Tower instead of the Grand Archives for the first time in a while.”

The woman with ultramarine eyes said that, then lightly waved her finger, drawing a magic circle on the floor. Soon, the magic circle was complete, and a pillar of light enveloped the woman’s body.

“However, there is something I must make clear.”

The woman stopped her teleportation at Kaikilia’s words. Her mysterious colored eyes turned back towards Kaikilia.

“I will not mind you taking an interest in that man. I, too, did so, and I thought it only proper that you would as well.”

Her golden eyes blazed fiercely.

“However, if you take more interest in him than I do, I will certainly not stand idly by. Remember that, Minerva-nim.”

The woman called Minerva-nim showed no fear at the Emperor’s chilling warning. With a seductive smile, she vanished into the pillar of light with one last remark.

“Don’t worry and put your jealousy aside. I have no such intentions.”

Soon, the pillar of light faded, and the magic circle also disappeared.

Kaikilia, still with her golden eyes blazing, stared at the spot where Minerva-nim had vanished for a while, then sharply turned her body.