Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 79

Chapter 79

Before I could stop him, Caelius made his move. He hurled a massive fireball at the water barrier blocking me and Lewena.

Right—as Kali said, it wasn't a cute "flame" at all. A house-sized fireball pounded against the water barrier.

"Wha—what...!"

Lewena's face hardened. Kali's flames and her barrier clashed, sending scalding steam spreading in all directions.

"What kind of brute force firepower is this!!"

She had every right to be surprised. Even though Lewena had lived as a wandering mercenary with her father, she'd never faced a mage with this level of attack power.

Lewena kept generating water barriers, and Kali kept throwing fireballs. The endless exchange was giving me a headache.

"Stop it right now!!"

I raised my Goblin Club high—a massive silver magic circle instantly spread across the floor.

Their magic evaporated into the air. With her mana severed, Lewena staggered slightly and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Do you want to destroy the whole garden? Stop!!"

As the steam cleared, the garden came into view—a torn-up lawn, with Lewena standing there unsure of what to do.

"Ugh...! Fine, take this down!"

Kali, looking nauseous, spoke urgently, and I withdrew Father's magic.

"Wh-what was that? It felt like my mana flow was forcibly severed."

I looked at the bewildered Lewena with a relieved expression and said.

"Just sincerely wish for peace."

"Pardon?"

"Sincerely, wish for peace."

I barely managed to say it through gritted teeth.

"Peace... I see. So that bastard is disturbing your peace, princess?"

Kali's title had been downgraded from "that guy" to "that bastard."

"The ones disturbing my peace right now... are both of you!!"

I clasped my hands together and smiled as benevolently as I could at the two of them.

"Both of you, stand right in front of me."

Kali ran his hand through his hair in annoyance and walked toward me. Lewena approached hesitantly with a puzzled look.

"Lewena, Kali wasn't attacking me. And he definitely wasn't trying to burn my magical tool."

"He wasn't?"

Lewena still looked unconvinced. I pulled out my club and placed it in Kali's hand.

"Go, Kalimon! Flame attack!"

Kali frowned and set the club ablaze—it looked like he was holding a giant torch.

"What!"

Startled, Lewena began gathering water again, but Kali swung the club once through the air. The flames died instantly.

"Ta-da!"

I raised my hands gracefully and gestured toward the club.

"I-It's intact? How is it intact? It's wood and fire!"

"See? It doesn't burn. So drop the misunderstanding that Kali was trying to burn my club."

I was cheerfully waving the club left and right in front of Lewena when I noticed the gems had changed slightly. Looking closer, the last golden gem had turned a deep color.

So I didn't fail after all!

I finally got it—Caelius's Flame magic! Though the mana I could feel was only a tiny amount, it's better than nothing.

"Oh, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

Lewena immediately apologized to Kali, but he didn't even glance at her and pulled me away.

"We met in the bedroom earlier, but this is our first proper introduction—I'm Algenprina Hariella."

"I'm Silteng Lewena. Please call me casually, princess."

Lewena's gaze turned to Kali. I nudged him to introduce himself, but he frowned and turned away.

"I don't want to."

"Then I don't need to know. I'm not curious anyway."

Lewena's attitude toward Kali was quite cold and fierce. It can't be just about elemental compatibility—I get along with Kali just fine. Is it a personality thing?

"Then get lost and stop bothering us."

"Princess, you're the one who helped me wake up, aren't you? I came to thank you."

It was a perfectly natural dismissal.

Hey, you two. This isn't even going according to the original—why are you so icy toward each other the moment you meet?

"If it weren't for you, princess, my father would still be searching for a way to wake me."

"I did it for a price, so you don't need to be so grateful."

"But returning to the imperial knights was something my father secretly wanted. I didn't like staying in the capital, so he couldn't bring himself to accept the return."

Listening to Lewena, I thought—so things are finally progressing like the original? Sir Silteng returned to the imperial knights, so Lewena would be preparing to become a knight too, right? In the original, when Hariella first met Lewena at nineteen, she was already a knight.

"So you'll be staying in the capital now, Lewena?"

"Probably. After the Founding Festival, will you be returning to the ducal territory, princess?"

"Yeah. I don't like the capital much either."

Too many people, too many eyes. I'm more of a resort person anyway.

"That's a shame. I'd have liked to see you more often."

Seeing Lewena's dejected face, I felt a pang in my heart. It had been a while since I'd met someone so openly expressive.

"Come to the ducal castle anytime. You'd be welcome."

Absolutely welcome. Lewena should be kept as an ally—she's a piece that can wipe out dark mages by force, except for Caelius.

"I will. Thank you again, princess. If you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to find me."

Lewena's personal help—I'd definitely make good use of that.

"I won't hold back, Lewena."

Lewena said she'd take her leave, bowed, and walked away. Kali was still ignoring her.

"Annoying woman."

Kali muttered quietly, watching her retreat.

"Annoying?"

I thought she felt refreshing and cool.

"Yeah. Just being near her is unpleasant."

I smoothed out Kali's furrowed brow with my fingers, soothing his sulk.

Lewena hadn't liked Kali from the start either—becoming friends was out of the question.

I'd thought it'd be nice if they were at least friends to completely derail the original, but judging by Kali's expression, there was no hope.

I was shaking my head at Kali's sullen face when he suddenly started walking without a word.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought of a place to stop by."

Kali was heading toward the townhouse's annex. What's over there? The servants' quarters are in the left annex. That's... the prison? The dungeon!

"'Don't follow me'—you'd come anyway, right? Do what you want."

"Hey, your reactions aren't fun lately!"

Fortunately, no one was guarding the dungeon entrance. I grabbed Kali and pulled out the hat, covering us both.

To hide completely, we had to stick close together—so I linked arms with him and pressed close.

"Let's go down. The interrogation should be over by now?"

I kept my footsteps light as we descended, and soon I heard a familiar voice.

"I've told you everything I know."

"Th-there's really nothing else!"

Father answered the man's metallic voice with silence. I heard the sound of a body collapsing in defeat.

"Delivering the abductees to Roman was the end of the mission. So you don't know where they went, what happened to them, or who gave the orders?"

"Yes, yes! Just delivering them to the branch chief in Roman was the end!"

Roman is a city near Mt. Rüyer. I didn't expect him to know much, but was that really all?

"What should we do, Duke?"

"Keep him alive a little longer."

"Yes."

I heard the creak of iron bars as Father and Kaelen left the deepest cell. I quickly pulled Kali into a corner and pressed ourselves against the wall.

I even held my breath as they passed us. Watching their backs climb the stairs, I slowly exhaled—then Father's voice came.

"Kaelen, don't lock it."

"Pardon? But..."

"Just secure the door and come out."

We were caught!

Startled, I threw off the hat, but Father and Kaelen had already left. Only the heavy slam of the door echoed through the dungeon.

"Wow, that gave me chills. How did he know?"

"The Duke knows about the hat. Besides, this is a confined space—the hat only makes you invisible, it doesn't hide scent or mana traces."

I stood there, half-covered in the hat, deep in thought. If that's all they got from the interrogation, was there really nothing more?

"What are you going to do, Kali?"

"He's going to die anyway—having a little fun with him won't hurt."

"Wait. I have a good idea. Want to play a trick?"

"A trick?"

Smirking, I pulled out a magical tool from my club and waved it in front of Kali.

"A voice-changing tool."

Also known as the Conan bowtie!

...Though it doesn't look like a bowtie—it's more like a round mirror. When I infused it with mana, people of various genders and ages flickered across the surface.

Today, an old man. This one.

"Quietly move to the back."

I whispered to Kali and tiptoed to the deepest cell. Then I covered myself with the hat again and held up the tool.

"Foolish wretch! You failed even such a simple task!"

I put all my energy into a lion's roar. The response was quick—the man, groaning and gripping the bars, sobbed as he spoke.

"H-huff! C-could it be the branch chief? Is that you, branch chief?"

The branch chief must be an old man. The man, now mistaking me for the chief, began begging for his life.

"B-b-branch chief, please help me. You know how many test subjects I've provided, don't you?!"

...Test subjects?

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