Episode 105
Meanwhile, outside the Third Sanctuary,
Caroline, startled by the fire, hid behind a large tree, observing the situation.
Several unfamiliar clerics, a few familiar professors, and Professor Julietta were arguing amongst themselves.
“The apostle is still inside!”
“Calm down! The fire is still raging! We’ll all die if we go in now!”
“Don’t you understand?! If the apostle dies, our paradise, our salvation, will vanish!”
“Sister Julietta, don’t be hasty. You saw the apostle consumed by the flames!”
Caroline, overhearing their conversation, examined the Theology Department building.
The smell of smoke confirmed the fire, but a pillar of fire? That had to be Elonia’s doing.
She hadn’t mentioned setting a fire in her plan, so it must have been an accident. But she must have fueled the flames to buy herself more time with the apostle.
And she hadn’t come out yet.
‘Should I wait a little longer?’
Just as Caroline was pondering her options, the fire vanished.
But Elonia still hadn’t emerged. And she hadn’t reignited the flames either.
Something was wrong.
‘She probably doesn’t want to risk collapsing the building. But she wouldn’t want the clerics to barge in either.’
As expected, Julietta’s face lit up as soon as the fire disappeared.
“The fire is out! The apostle is still alive! We have to save him!”
Caroline clicked her tongue.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
She waved her staff, and flames engulfed the building once more.
The clerics, who had been about to rush into the sanctuary, retreated in fear.
‘These youngsters are so easily scared.’
It was an illusion.
She couldn’t risk a real fire, the building already looking unstable, so she had created an illusion of fire as a temporary deterrent.
It was still hot, of course, but these youngsters lacked resilience.
‘I didn’t expect her to destroy another building.’
First, the small storage shed in the Magic Department, then the Rossi estate, and now the Theology Department building.
If it had been a Magic Department building, she would have been annoyed at the thought of repairing it, but she didn’t care about the Theology Department.
Just as she was calmly observing the situation, she heard someone calling her name.
“Professor Caroline?”
“Oh, it’s Olivia and Simon.”
Caroline greeted them cheerfully.
Both Olivia and Simon immediately realized who had set the fire.
Simon froze, his mouth agape, while Olivia approached Caroline, her voice sharp and demanding,
“Where’s Elonia?”
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned about Lucius?”
“I don’t care about that bastard! Is Elonia safe?!”
She had the same fiery temper as her sister.
Caroline, suppressing a chuckle, replied nonchalantly,
“Of course she is.”
Olivia’s anger subsided slightly.
Caroline whispered to her,
“Olivia, I have to hide until Elonia contacts me. Please make sure Simon doesn’t say anything.”
“What?”
“Thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Wait…!”
Caroline, before Olivia could stop her, tapped her staff on the ground and disappeared.
She had used an invisibility spell.
And her judgment had been accurate.
“Everyone, stay back! I’ll bring someone to extinguish the fire… Olivia? Simon?”
Julietta, her voice sharp, approached them and spotted the Heilan siblings.
Olivia, realizing the situation, decided to take the initiative before Simon could say anything.
“What’s going on here? I haven’t seen Lucius all day. Is he inside?”
“W-well…”
Julietta glanced at Simon.
Simon knew what was going on, but it was a secret from Olivia.
She hoped Simon would take Olivia and leave, but the timid prince, as usual, was too busy cowering before his sister to do anything.
Julietta tried to excuse herself.
“I’ll explain later, Olivia. I have to find someone to put out the fire.”
“I asked about Lucius! Answer me!”
“There’s no time!”
“I’m not letting you go until you answer! Lucius is inside, isn’t he? You bastards, you think you can do whatever you want to us just because we’re hostages? You locked him inside and set the building on fire?!”
“That’s not true!”
“Sister, please calm down…!”
“Stay out of this, Simon!”
Caroline, perched on a tree branch, chuckled, observing the scene.
Olivia’s acting was impressive.
No mage could extinguish her illusionary flames. And it was better for Olivia to distract Julietta than for Julietta to discover the truth.
Caroline, to further deter the panicking clerics, occasionally flicked small sparks at them.
Meanwhile, inside the sanctuary,
Lucius felt like he was back in that box, reliving the trauma of his childhood.
He could almost hear his parents’ screams, the cold, metallic clang of the lock as they closed him inside.
He covered his ears, his body trembling.
‘I want to get out.’
It was dark, just like back then.
He couldn’t move.
He felt trapped, confined, just like in that box, and he curled up into a ball.
He would rather jump into the fire.
He didn’t want to be trapped in that cold, dark box again.
No one would find him if he was trapped inside.
“Lucius, snap out of it!”
[Lucius!]
He could hear voices calling his name.
But they couldn’t reach him.
Just like his cries for help hadn’t reached anyone back then, they would be lost, unheard, now.
He would scream until his voice was hoarse, but no one would find him.
He couldn’t breathe. His mind was fading, his grip on consciousness loosening.
“Lucius!”
“…!”
Someone grabbed his shoulders firmly.
He could almost hear the click of the lock as the box opened, the light flooding in.
“Lucius, can you hear me?”
‘Lady Chelon…?’
He felt like a child again. Chelon had opened the box. Had she found him? A flicker of hope, along with his pounding heart, filled his chest.
But what if it wasn’t Chelon? She was the only one who had ever tried to save him from that box. If it wasn’t her, then this person was here to harm him.
It was a simple, almost childish, black-and-white logic he wouldn’t normally apply.
“Gasp…!”
His breathing became ragged and uneven, his chest tightening painfully.
Elonia, her hands firmly gripping his shoulders, said,
“Lucius, you’re out of the box now. Remember?”
“I-I…”
“You’re in Ravanta. Not in that small box in the Connet Kingdom, but in Ravanta. You escaped a long time ago.”
Out of the box?
Then why was it still so dark?
Why couldn’t he move?
Elonia cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze.
“Look at me. And breathe.”
“…!”
The veil slipped from his head, revealing his red eyes, glistening with tears.
Elonia had been conflicted just moments ago, wondering if she should let him go, or interrogate him and then kill him.
It had been a pointless dilemma.
She knew how agonizing it was to relive past trauma. She hadn’t intentionally set the fire, but she had fueled the flames.
She had to take responsibility and comfort him.
The candles were useless now. She didn’t have anything to light a fire with.
And she couldn’t use magic. She could only create large-scale flames, which would bury them both under the rubble.
“I can only destroy things, but you’re different. You have the power to create light.”
“C-create…”
“That small, dark box can’t trap you forever. You already had the power back then. The darkness scares you because you have the power to banish it.”
Elonia watched him anxiously.
He was in no condition to use magic. He had exhausted his Holy Power bestowing blessings, and he had almost suffocated from his panic attack.
But Lucius, his trembling hands clasped together, slowly conjured a small orb of light.
The sanctuary brightened slightly.
“Ah…”
A sigh of relief escaped his lips. His complexion improved slightly.
He had escaped that box a long time ago.
The memory still haunted him, but he could create light now.
He was no longer that helpless baby, trapped and dependent on others for survival.
He was alive, saved by Him.
‘…Wait a minute.’
His relief was short-lived. A question surfaced, consuming his thoughts.
Everyone knew he had been kidnapped by the Connet Kingdom.
But only one person knew about the box, the small, dark box where he had been imprisoned.
Lucius looked up sharply.
And at that moment, the large chandelier hanging from the ceiling came crashing down.
“Look out…!”
Elonia quickly created a barrier.
A deafening crash echoed through the sanctuary as the ceiling collapsed.
They had narrowly avoided being buried alive.
But the space was even more confined now. Elonia turned to check on Lucius, whose gaze was fixed on her.
The small orb of light he had conjured illuminated his eyes, revealing the suspicion in their depths.
“Your Highness.”
“…”
Elonia waited, her heart pounding.
“…You said I escaped from the box a long time ago.”
“Yes, I did.”
Lucius’s eyes widened, his gaze unwavering. He hadn’t misheard her.
He remembered asking her about Chelon.
Her strange understanding of Chelon Heilan, despite being the Ravanta princess.
And her swordsmanship, rivaling Chelon’s.
He had the final piece of the puzzle.
“Only the late Princess Chelon knew about that. How do you know, Your Highness?”
Elonia, her lavender eyes meeting his questioning red gaze, knew it was time to face the truth. She remained silent, her lips pressed into a thin line.