I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 67

I don’t know how much time had passed. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the ground.

Blinking slowly, I took in the sky I hadn’t seen in a long time. The dawn, just about to break, was incredibly radiant.

Ah, outside. I’m really outside.

“It looks like you survived somehow.”

I had no memory because I lost consciousness while falling. I only vaguely remembered being swept away by water when I briefly regained consciousness.

The exit I had been searching for so desperately seemed to be below. Turning my head to the side, I saw a clear, rippling lake. Thankfully, there was a lagoon below, or else my body would have been shattered.

Briefly indulging in sentimentality over the natural element that saved my life, a fundamental question arose.

Even if the water absorbed some of the impact, how am I unscathed after falling from that height?

“Oh my…”

I made a sound like an old lady as I got up and finally found the answer.

“…A barrier?”

Upon closer inspection, I saw a thin barrier surrounding me, as if I were inside a giant glass orb. Considering how disoriented I was during the fall, it wasn’t a barrier I had created. Besides, if a person had cast it, it wouldn’t have lasted this long.

Searching my body, I finally found the answer. I discovered a familiar locket necklace in my belongings and stared at it blankly.

“Life stone…”

With a click, the locket opened to reveal an amethyst imbued with condensed magic. When did he give this to me?

No, more importantly, the fact that he gave me a life stone means…

“…What on earth are his true intentions, that man.”

After taking the relic and pushing me off the cliff, he protected me with a life stone?

[People think I’m impulsive, but actually, I don’t like the unpredictable.]

[…….]

[I don’t usually let the sprouts grow.]

“Even after saying that…”

I stared at the life stone, which wouldn’t answer in place of its owner, for a long time before closing the lid. At the same time, the softly spread barrier disappeared as if it was absorbed into the locket.

Gripping the necklace tightly, I slowly released my hold and sighed. Although I felt like throwing it into the vast lake, I restrained myself with all my patience.

By now, he must have realized what I had done. No matter how generous a man he is, he must be a bit angry. It was rather convenient since I now had a means to protect myself while also threatening him.

Moreover, judging by the fact that it protected me during the fall, it seemed the life stone had magic that protected the person carrying it. It was wise to keep wearing it until I reunited with the expedition team.

Fortunately, it wasn’t hard to determine where to go. Blue smoke was rising not far away. It was a signal flare set off by the non-combat personnel who hadn’t entered the ruins to help the expedition team find them in case of an emergency.

I also had a flare for emergencies, but considering my limbs were too intact, it wasn’t something I could use right now. Most of my injuries were bruises, so walking to the destination posed no problem.

I was struggling up the hill, dragging my body that wanted to lie down and sleep.

“Ugh…”

I stopped at the sound of a groan brushing past my ear.

“C- Cutie…”

“Your Highness?”

The person groaning under the tree was none other than Nizaz. He was alone, injured in the leg, groaning in his filthy state with grime running down his face.

“What happened? Why are you alone?”

“It suddenly started collapsing…”

Whether it was due to pain or disorientation, the prince began to explain the situation incoherently. Summarizing his words, this was the gist:

Peidos had taken the communicator from the Magic Tower’s spy and rendered her unable to fight. They finally entered the place where the relic was, only to encounter the Master of the Magic Tower.

While they were fighting the Master, the cave suddenly started collapsing. The ruins’ destruction had created multiple exits, which was a good thing, but Nizaz had an accident just before escaping.

He managed to escape somehow, but the expedition team had long scattered. Moreover, he couldn’t find his subordinates, so he was left alone in pain.

“Your Highness, don’t worry too much. It’s not a fatal injury.”

Although the swelling suggested a possible fracture, there were no signs of necrosis, so he would recover quickly with treatment. He seemed to be in better shape than me. I had gotten scratched and bled when I clung to the ledge.

“I’ll heal you enough to walk, so stay still. Understand?”

“Y-yes, I understand.”

Perhaps seeing me as a lifeline, he unusually complied with my words. Even when I pressed on his wounds without much mercy, he only let out faint groans without making a fuss, which was quite surprising.

Watching the swelling subside under the healing magic, I fell into thought.

He said the cave collapsed while Peidos and the Master were fighting.

“I wonder if that man is okay…”

“What did you say, cutie?”

Nizaz responded to my muttering. Shaking my head as if it was nothing, I sighed lightly.

Forget it. I repeated to myself as if making a resolution.

Who cares about the man who pushed me off the cliff?

* * *

Supporting Nizaz, who could barely walk, we finally arrived at the camp. Thankfully, most of the expedition members, including Peidos, who had been separated because of Keene, had already arrived.

Naturally, my colleagues were greatly surprised to confirm my survival. I explained to them that I had luckily survived because there was a lagoon below.

When we heard that the cave had collapsed, we were skeptical about how many would return safely. Surprisingly, many people returned with all their limbs intact. Most of the priests, including Peidos, had only minor injuries. Although there were some seriously injured patients, thanks to Rancho’s quick response, even they were in a good condition.

After handing over Nizaz to his Lucan subordinates, who had been anxiously searching for the prince, I received treatment for the wound on my arm from the priest Lisspri. In fact, it was just a light scratch that could be treated with ointment, but I had no choice but to receive treatment due to Peidos’s insistent demand.

Although the wound was small, the mental stress must have been significant. Ironically, I passed out on the medical bed while receiving holy power.

When I woke up from a long sleep, it was already dark outside. Startled, I hurried out of the tent and immediately locked eyes with Peidos, who was sitting by the campfire.

“Sir Peidos.”

“You’re awake.”

He greeted me and offered a folding chair for me to sit on. As I sat down on the low wooden chair, I observed him. When I first arrived at the camp, I was too distracted by the prince’s situation to hear the full story from him.

“The missing people…”

“We found all but two. We plan to send a reconnaissance team at dawn.”

Fortunately, no priests had died yet. Even Mullion, who had taken a direct hit from the Master of the Magic Tower, was not in a life-threatening condition.

Knowing his sense of responsibility, it was natural to be worried. However, as a seasoned commander, he showed no visible signs of despair.

“You must have been very scared. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“…What? Oh, no.”

Even I hadn’t expected Keene to take me hostage. Peidos, who didn’t even know he was there, couldn’t have prepared for it.

But Peidos sighed with a dark expression, as if he thought otherwise.

“I never imagined he would do something so cruel…”

“……”

There was something strange about his statement. He never imagined he would do something so cruel? Could one really have such expectations of the Master of the Magic Tower, notorious for his brutality in the Holy Kingdom?

Did he mean that he didn’t expect him to go that far, no matter how cruel he was? Well, it made sense since he witnessed him pushing me off the cliff.

“Don’t worry too much about the relic. Even His Holiness wouldn’t have expected the Master of the Magic Tower to intervene directly…”

“Oh, I was actually going to talk to you about that.”

I had something to say about the relic, so I interrupted him. Maintaining eye contact with Peidos, who looked at me curiously, I slowly reached into my inner pocket.

What emerged in my hand was a platinum bracelet decorated with a vine pattern. Peidos’s eyes widened as he looked at the holy relic, still shining elegantly despite the chaos it had been through.

“How…”

“Well, actually.”

Hesitating, I awkwardly confessed the truth.

“I tricked Ke- I mean, the Master of the Magic Tower.”