Ch.162162. But I Endured

When I had previously come to the Imperial Palace. Of the three tasks that could be resolved at the palace, I had completed two, but I had passed over the remaining one without resolving it.

It was about the dark knowledge accumulated by the Rubetia ancestors… At that time, I didn’t have enough time as I needed to return to the academy, and since this was an event that required following a predetermined route rather than being random, I hadn’t paid much attention to it.

I thought I could control it well anyway since Celia, the most important person for that event, was right beside me.

However, at present, I failed to control it properly.

Control? Rather, I ended up creating the situation myself. Damn it.

‘By any means, Celia will read the book containing the darkness of the Imperial Palace.’

Though it wasn’t the predetermined route, I had ultimately fulfilled the condition for the event to begin.

There are three books containing the darkness of the Imperial Palace.

One is lost, so I can only gather information about it but can’t actually find it, and another spawns in the Imperial Palace library when certain conditions are met.

Usually, the event starts with the book that spawns in the library.

So where is the remaining book? Right here.

Given the conditions, reading this book would also trigger the event… but there were so many items in this place that I couldn’t quite remember it.

Though I finally recalled it belatedly… it was already too late.

Because Celia had already read the book.

‘This is really bad.’

There are various outcomes for this route, but they all result in indiscriminate damage to the surroundings.

Should I be grateful that we’re in this space? At least whatever magic is unleashed won’t affect the outside.

Even though Celia’s mana has been reduced by 70% due to the debuff, I know her ability doesn’t depend on high mana quantity.

So I remained vigilant, thinking of how to subdue her somehow…

“Ludion.”

She called my name.

I won’t be fooled. She must be in some altered state due to the book’s influence.

So I took out a shield in preparation for the magic that would soon fly…

“Ludion. Stop staring and come here quickly. I’m reaching my limit.”

…Something was strange.

After reading the book, she should immediately emit mana indiscriminately and continue destructive actions everywhere.

But she only appeared to be holding something back, and apart from that, she was speaking normally.

Could she be resisting? The state of mental confusion?

With such thoughts, I approached cautiously, and she suddenly grabbed my body and embraced me.

Then, slowly climbing up, she clung to my neck.

Wait a minute. Did I let my guard down too much?

If Celia uses magic now, I won’t be able to properly dodge or parry.

That thought sent a chill down my spine, but fortunately, Celia didn’t cast any magic.

She only spoke while exhaling breaths that were excessively hot.

“I’m sorry. I can’t calm down. So at least like this…”

And with that, she stole my lips.

“Mmph?! Mmm!”

It was extremely bewildering, but I couldn’t push her away.

[You are engulfed in destructive impulses.]

[Understanding is unnecessary. It is a necessary sacrifice.]

[You are experiencing extreme pain.]

There was something different mixed into her thoughts that I checked belatedly.

It was clearly the influence of the book she had just read.

The dark knowledge… it was the ability to control human minds and the power to eliminate emotions.

It was natural that it would have such an effect.

[To prevent war, you need to move hearts. Don’t think too hard about it. The human heart is so weak.]

[You wondered if you could move your heart too, but quickly dismissed the thought.]

Unlike the relatively peaceful present, in the past, wars for supremacy never ceased.

To gain an advantage in such situations, this was the ability that the Rubetia ancestors discovered.

In a way, it might have contributed to the existence of the current Rubetia Empire.

Those contents were filling Celia’s mind.

It couldn’t help but be confusing.

But she…

[You focus on your warmth.]

[You focus on the feel of your lips.]

[You want him to embrace you tightly.]

She was trying to push away those forcibly intruding memories and fill herself with her own thoughts.

I didn’t need to question if this was possible. She was already doing it in real-time.

Suddenly, I recalled the worst direction I had seen in the game.

Celia, barely breathing, slumped like a lifeless doll.

The thought made my breath catch.

And the idea that I should help Celia, who was trying to resist somehow, surged within me.

So… I strongly embraced Celia, who was stealing my lips. Because that’s what she wanted.

She seemed momentarily surprised by the pressure, but as if pleased by it, she began to cling more stickily.

[Your…]

[Your…]

[Your…]

[Your…]

[Your…]

Phrases about what Celia was thinking about me poured out, but I couldn’t read them properly.

After that, only sounds that were… hard to describe echoed.

For quite a while.

It was really fortunate that there was no one else here.

///

In the end, everything turned out well.

In the end, that is.

The process was a mess. Since it was an incident caused by my mistake in the first place, there was nothing to excuse.

“Ugh, this is the worst.”

“Sorry.”

I sincerely apologized for involving her in unnecessary trouble, and Celia shook her head.

“No. That… thing with Ludion was good. It was just much earlier than planned.”

“…What?”

There was a plan? This is the first I’m hearing of it.

“I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. But well. This was dramatic in its own way, so it was good. Right?”

Celia said with a bright smile.

But despite such brazen and absurd words, I couldn’t argue with her.

Because her voice was trembling slightly as she spoke.

Though she was pretending to be fine, the aftereffects still remained.

[You don’t want to show your weak side to him.]

[You’re happy that he’s worried about you.]

I checked just in case, and fortunately, there wasn’t anything strange mixed into her thoughts like before.

But she still seemed to have anxiety symptoms… which made me feel like an idiot for creating this situation again.

It was truly fortunate that she seemed okay, which was reassuring, but just looking at the result and moving on felt too critical given my mistake.

How should I apologize? No, before that, I should make sure she recovers properly. There might be aftereffects from this incident.

“Ludion.”

Should she eat well and rest? Should I give her some medicinal tonic?

“Ludion!”

“Oh, yes.”

Perhaps due to my jumbled thoughts, I was completely distracted.

Celia took my hand, assuring me that she was really okay.

It was an outright lie. Otherwise, there was no way to explain this trembling.

…Wait. Now that I look, it wasn’t Celia who was trembling… it was me.

“Pfft, why are you trembling so much? I’m really fine, I tell you.”

Celia laughed as she noticed my state.

Oh my. I must have developed a dependency on Celia without realizing it. Seeing how troubled I was at the thought of something happening to her.

I didn’t dislike it. I knew about the affection she poured onto me. It was only natural to be moved by it.

So I just pulled her hand and embraced her.

“Oh. Suddenly.”

“I’m really glad nothing serious happened.”

If she had become incapacitated like in the game, I would have honestly been heartbroken.

That’s how important and precious Celia’s existence had become to me.

In fact, I had been thinking that way for a while, but experiencing the situation directly made it hit differently.

To the point where I felt sorry for my attitude until now.

“When we get out of here, let’s first pay our respects to the Emperor.”

We had already greeted him last time, and I had received some permission to meet with Celia, but.

At that time, to be honest, I was passively accepting the situation.

This time, I would express my intentions more actively.

That was the thought behind my words, but…

“Ludion. Um… I’m really happy, but.”

Celia showed a strange reaction, as if she couldn’t be purely happy with my words.

Why? It’s not like her favorability suddenly dropped at this point.

“It seems like you’re forgetting the purpose of why we came here… aren’t you?”

Ah.

Right. I forgot.

“Of course not.”

“You’re really bad at lying.”

“Then should we pay our respects after we finish our task?”

“…No. Let’s go greet him as soon as we leave. That would be best.”

If she was going to do that anyway, why did she bother pointing it out?

A woman’s heart is truly difficult to understand.