Spoiler It's My Destiny To Be The Hero's Saviour/주인공의 구원자가 될 운명입니다

Discussion in 'Spoilers' started by your crush, Apr 12, 2022.

  1. dumplingslag

    dumplingslag Well-Known Member

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    Hiiii !! Can you give any spoilers on her red head stepmother. She just took Arya and I’m kinda worried
     
  2. nineknights

    nineknights Well-Known Member

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    The Stepmother is the real mastermind behind everything. The Duke is a ignorant but malicious vase because he himself doesn't know much about magic or alchemy or anything. He does whatever she tells him to do . Seducing all those women and having kids with them including the fl was all part of an experiment planned out by her and was executed through that b**ch duke. All her other half siblings died because of the experiments the fl was only one who survived because of her spirit powers.
     
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  3. Jo5ee

    Jo5ee Well-Known Member

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    Okay so after seeing all the comments and opinions on this site. it's safe to say that grandfather and uncle are good people? it was also heavily implied that MC mother hated her family. what was the reason?
     
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2022
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  4. Ildeira

    Ildeira Well-Known Member

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  5. Trulycloudy

    Trulycloudy Well-Known Member

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    Actually Pi is genderless, he can change gender at will but chose to have the appearance of a boy because he likes aria
     
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  6. Gerry21

    Gerry21 Member

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    I'm quite disappointed with the kidnapping process tho, even if it is necessary for her to be kidnapped, at least they can make it some effort for it. How is it, someone who have nothing to do with them run to ask for protection then they found out she suffer the same treat as the daughter and choose to protect the woman who literally from the enemy camp, like sis have a family that is like the big trees with many brain yet no one felt sus about it.. I'm disappointed
     
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  7. Magicals

    Magicals Well-Known Member

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    she wasn't really helping him. She was the one who made him and tempted him to do the experiments, because she wanted the Elixir.
     
  8. Trulycloudy

    Trulycloudy Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, she's the one who came up with the whole idea.
     
  9. Trulycloudy

    Trulycloudy Well-Known Member

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    Her family members were all talented whereas she was the only normal one. She felt left out and lonely there. Her father and brother didn't show her much affection as well. And when she decided to marry that fk*** her family was so against it. They got into a big fight, and she left home. It was a huge misunderstanding and lack of communication, she didn't hate her family, she just thought that her father didn't love her.
     
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  10. Jo5ee

    Jo5ee Well-Known Member

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    Why didn't the FL leave the husband or at least take her child to her grandfather's house once she knew her stupid husband was beating the kid. She just said " this can wait " and went to war?
     
  11. Serphinalily

    Serphinalily Well-Known Member

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    I don't think she went to war. Wasn't her death suspicious? I may be wrong but I feel there was an implication that she died in a cave or something.

    I feel that the father tricked the mother into dealing with some monster in order to free the daughter or something of that nature.
     
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  12. YahwixJooinxCain

    YahwixJooinxCain Active Member

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    Are there any spoilers about the step sister of MC? Cause I read in the manhwa that MC has another sister which stole her powers and is disguised as adopted sister. What happened to the step sister?
     
  13. ellaeri

    ellaeri Well-Known Member

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    Axel and Aria moments

    I really love the story of these two. The lovers battling time and and time-travel trope is one of my most favorite tropes. They're both so adorable with each other I just had to share it to you all lol. I compiled all the Axel and Aria moments from the mtl and tweaked it a bit to make it a little more understandable.

    The early morning mercenaries moved in harmony because they had been under Ariadne for a long time.

    They quickly split their roles and then dispersed.

    Axel watched the scene with a strange expression and opened his mouth.

    “Is there nothing I can do?”

    “You should rest. It must have been difficult to stop it by yourself.”

    “It wasn't too hard.” He chuckled

    Ariadne narrowed her eyes.

    'The fact that it wasn't hard seems to be mixed with pretentiousness, and the remaining strength seems to be the truth.'

    Her judgment was almost correct, since she had watched the whole Huang with her model (?), sensing it as a territory.

    “Then, um, are you good at cooking? Everyone has to eat dinner.” Axel paused. He had never cooked properly.

    His adoptive father was also from where he came from, so he was far from cooking, and after becoming a commodity, Adrian raised him in luxury, so there was no reason to do anything with his own hands.

    Of course, it was possible to fill a meal by grilling what they hunted while homeless.

    But, to be honest, it was at a level that couldn't be called cooking.

    When he hesitated, Ariadne grinned. "it's okay. It's not really necessary. You can eat it dry.”

    Ariadne carried a lot of food that could be stored for a long time, such as dry food.

    Not only that, there were mountains of all kinds of supplies.

    She carries something that looks like an inventory item and pretends to get it out of there, but in fact, it's not an item she's using.
    She has a fantasy library of infinite space, so what would she do with an expensive and narrow inventory?

    'Even if it is cumbersome to put in and take out, capacity is not a match.'

    Unlike the main character in her novel, Ariadne can increase the number of her subjugation squad because her spirits are also spirits, but she can use the fantasy library to carry a huge amount of supplies.

    “I’ll bring dry weight and sleeping bags.”

    She got up and tried to move to a corner surrounded by columns and walls. Inventory items are so precious and are directly related to life, so it was common not to show them how to use them. It was a lucrative custom for Ariadne. She misunderstood that when she hid in moderation and brought her stuff out, everyone would think she had a very expensive and good inventory item .

    Her Axel called her up.

    “Adrian.”

    “Even though I’m crazy, how long are you going to call me Adrian?”

    “… Aria. I will cook.”

    “I was just asking just in case. Do not overdo it.”

    "No. I can." Axel, speaking with clenched teeth, looked more desperate than when he climbed the crater alone.

    Ariadne couldn't stop him.

    'You're too harsh to say you can't.'

    “… … Do you have any ingredients or cooking utensils? If not… …

    "there is."

    Axel also had inventory items he obtained while he was a prop, so he simply carried seasonings and cooking utensils.

    “Um, then I’ll ask.”

    Ariadne, feeling a little uneasy, left him to cook, then went to her corner and entered the fantasy library.

    With Pi's help, she took out sleeping bags, quilts or leather, tents, dry goods, and so on.

    Then he called the members to cover the holes in the chapel with tents, and covered the people with blankets one by one.

    Then Bell Barrett arrived, and she also briefly explained what had happened to her.

    Until then, Axel's cooking was not over.

    He pulled out some of his boots from the corner, put a pot on it, and looked intently at it.

    'That amount is too small.'

    Perhaps it was Ariadne who had asked to cook, and she was making only her own.

    It was somewhat expected.

    It would have been more surprising if Axel had made everything for everyone else.

    After Ariadne distributed dry food to the mercenaries, Ruur, and Bell Barrett and asked them to rest, she approached Axel.

    “Are you done, Axel?”

    Axel's back twitched.

    “… … It’s done.”

    “Look.”

    As Ariadne tried to look over his shoulder, he secretly covered the pot with his body.

    “Why are you trying to hide it?”

    She raised her eyebrows. Axel then retreated as if giving up.

    A strange smell wafted out. Arya Denis tried to cover her nose. Looking at the scene in the pot, it was understandable why he was trying to hide it. Half-burnt meat and uncooked meat floated nicely in the oily broth. Even the color of the broth is purple.

    'What do you put in to make it like that? Blueberries? grape?'

    You can also see the bits and pieces just before they melt and disappear. What the hell is that?

    'The probability that it will look like this and taste good is... … No.'

    I didn't even dare to eat it. She glanced at Axel.

    “Did you eat this?”

    “It’s not finished yet.”

    Axel answered, avoiding her gaze.

    “So you haven’t tried it? Basically, you match the seasoning while eating in between.”

    At her words, he accepted her ladle as if he had made up his mind. After eating a little soup, his expression hardened. He immediately picked up the pot and poured it into the tail of the dreadlocks below. The wolf's tail, which was made of flames, burned with food waste as fuel, and then went silent.

    “Axel?”

    “I will make it again. Please wait a little longer .”

    Axel clenched her teeth and said.

    Ariadne glanced at what he had pulled out. The cooking utensils were a pot, a ladle and a frying pan. No cleaver, no chopping board. Meat and other ingredients seem to have been cut with a dagger. The ingredients are salt, pepper, oil, unidentified meat, unidentified grasses and roots.

    “What kind of meat is this?”

    “It’s the meat of a wolf we hunted before.”

    “What about this grass and its roots?”

    “It is an edible herb.”

    "medicinal herbs? Herbs?”

    Upon closer inspection, I noticed a few things I knew. Herbs that are mainly used to make potions, but have some effect even if chewed raw. So, to the end, these are medicines, not ingredients. I can't even imagine what it would taste like if you put something like that. No matter how you look at it, it was the tools and ingredients of a person who had no interest in cooking and had no intention of doing it.

    'Then you said you're going to cook.'

    Ariadne took a deep breath and grabbed Axel's arm, who was washing the pot.

    “Axel, if you don’t know how to do it, say you don’t know. What if I can’t cook well?”

    “… … Ard, does Arya know how to cook?”

    “No, not at all. I didn’t feel the need to learn it.”

    She shrugged her shoulders and handed Axel the dry food.

    “The subjugation of the Great Labyrinth is going to be a pretty long journey, so you won’t be able to live on dry food all the way. But I already have someone in my subjugation squad who can cook.”

    "Who is it?"

    “Ludwig Blair.”

    It was thanks to Ludwig that I was able to enjoy high-quality and delicious dishes even in the labyrinth.

    The main character in the novel ate a thousand meals and a few meals and ate less bulky dry food day and night, but Ariadne did not need to do that, as there were few restrictions on supply.

    “He learned it as a hobby, but he's very good at it. It's like a professional chef. You will soon have a chance to try it too.”

    Axel's expression hardened subtly. Ariadne couldn't see him because she was concentrating on eating dry food.

    'This is going to be digested well.'

    Her body was weak and her digestive function was not very good, and she suffered an internal injury and was treated immediately. In such a situation, trying to eat tough jerky and hard biscuits didn't have a good feeling. However, he didn't want to boil them roughly. It's terribly tasteless.

    'If there was Ludwig, she would have made a soft stew.'
    Ariadne sighed in regret.

    And Axel thought, grinding his teeth.

    'I must learn to cook.'
    Ludwig returned to Eldier a few days later.

    He landed at the castle's patroness early in the morning. The guards identified the water dragon and the red-eyed man riding on it, and raised a salute instead of an alarm.

    After Ludvik got down on his back, he reduced his spirit and put it on his shoulder. Having lived among people with red eyes, it has become a habit to take out his spirit water and carry it around. If you don't, you'll have to see everyone you meet feel anxious or face off on it.

    He first unloaded his luggage in my room in the north tower.

    'Now this room is more like home.'

    After accepting the offer to become Ariadne's hero, Ludwig has hardly returned home. Since no estate was attached to the title received for saving the life of the Crown Prince, his house was just a mansion in the capital. He is a royal, abandoned as soon as he was born, so he had no family and no one waiting for him. He didn't want to go back to an empty house with no one around.

    Dawn spread in the sky while he was organizing his luggage. Ludwig measured the time.

    'I think I can make a simple dessert before breakfast.'

    It would have been nice to say hello that he came back with a snack. Ludwig hummed his hum and headed to the kitchen.

    In the space where people live, the place where fire protection is best prepared is the kitchen. So, before becoming an elemental knight, young Ludwig grew up in the kitchen.

    In the Duridot royal family, Ludwig was almost completely abandoned. The royal family announced that when Ludwig was four, a fire burned the prince to death. At the same time, in a fortress close to the cursed land, a four-year-old red-eyed child was orphaned and abandoned.

    Anyone could see that he was the prince.

    It is a fortress that is always at war with monsters, and he was sent to die there.

    The Viscount, who was guarding the fortress, at first took pity on Ludwig and entrusted him to his wife. But when a fire broke out in her house and burned his wife, he no longer took pity on Ludwig or treated him as the prince.

    The Viscount threw Ludwig, who had become difficult for her to deal with, in the best place for fire protection in the kitchen of the fortress.

    It was a kitchen for preparing meals for high-ranking positions such as spirit knights, priests, and wizards.
    So, until Ludwig met Yong Oreum at the age of 15, he lived in the kitchen as a cooker.

    Fortunately, the chef was generous and caring, so there was no such thing as abuse.

    Even after becoming a spirit knight, he continued to learn cooking as a hobby, but for Ludvik before that, cooking was a daily routine and the only thing he could do.

    'Shall we make a meringue cake? The Duke doesn't like anything too sweet, and the Count and Sir Veronica like the sweeter the better, so I'll make two…

    Ludwig, who was thinking about the menu, suddenly felt strange. The small kitchen attached to the north tower is always almost empty. There are only a few people staying in the tower, so there are only a few subjugation crew members, and there are many times when they are away, so they prepare meals together in the kitchen of the castle.

    When Ludwig was engaged in his hobby, he used the kitchen in the north tower so as not to disturb the busy nature of the kitchen. It means that there would be no one without him.

    'Is someone inside… ?'
    Guarded. Ludwig approached cautiously, hiding his presence.

    But it was unusual for a person to be in the kitchen, and he quickly noticed his approach.

    The door swung open and a sword flew out immediately. Ludwig reflexively drew his sword and blocked it.
    A golden electric current was flowing through the opponent's sword. In a situation where he felt a sense of déjà vu, Ludvik confirmed his opponent. Behind the blade, there were eyes that were even brighter than his.

    Ludvik uttered his name with eerie feeling.

    “Axel Valentine?”

    Axel also checked his face. He sighed and kicked his tongue, took his sword and retreated.

    “Are you back?”

    Axel looked him up and down and then turned around. Ludwig looked at him puzzled as he entered the kitchen.

    'Why is he here?'

    Ludwig followed him into the kitchen, still holding his sword. Axel didn't mind showing his back to him with the sword, but focused on what he was looking into.

    It was an oven.

    'Why is this bastard looking at the oven here?'

    Ludwig grew more and more suspicious.

    Axel seemed to have half forgotten that Ludwig was behind him. He looked into the oven and put his hand in it. Ludwig was horrified.

    "...Crazy!”

    “I think the temperature is right.”

    Axel talked to himself without looking back and took out the bowl with her bare hands.

    'Ah, that bastard had red eyes too, right.'

    Ludwig recalled the fact belatedly and calmed himself down. Meanwhile, Axel was taking a serious look inside the bowl.

    Ludwig wanted to do something here, so he lowered his sword and approached and looked into it. The bowl was full of unidentified black things.

    “What is it, charcoal?”

    Axel looked around at the reflexive words. Ludwig flinched at the light of his red eyes.

    “No, that… … Why are you here?”

    Instead of answering, a wolf's tail made of flames protruded from Axel's back. It was part of the horror.

    'Attack?'

    Ludwig fell in surprise and grabbed his sword. Axel silently brushed those black lumps into the tail of the coward. Flames surged from the wolf's tail and then subsided.

    After putting in his boots and cleaning out the empty bowl, he turned to Ludwig.

    "I-"

    After uttering a word, he wrinkled his brow and did not speak for a while. It was only then that Ludwig realized that the kitchen behind Axel's back was a mess. A pile of scrambled eggs, flour blown everywhere, melted butter, charred sugar…

    'How can you make such a mess?'

    As Ludwig was lost in the shocking mess, Axel took a deep breath and lowered his head.

    “Back then I made a mistake. Sorry."

    “What?” he asked formally, raising his head quickly.

    “What do you want as a reward?”

    “I don't know what you're talking about. Tell me why you are here. Depending on the answer, I will attack.”

    Ludwig fixed his sword and glared at him. Axel replied with a wrinkled brow.

    He said, “I received permission to participate in the subjugation of the Great Labyrinth.”

    "What?"

    Ludwig doubted his ears. What the hell happened to him while he got his third elemental spirit?

    “The Duke obviously said I was more suitable than you, so why?”

    Axel's eyes lit up at Ludwig's question. He asked with a lively tone.

    “You are more suitable than me?”

    “Isn’t it natural? There is no need for a selfish person like you in the Duke's subjugation squad. She has chosen me, not you.” Ludwig said with a laugh.

    Axel's body roared with flames. It was the power of the spirit that leaked out in response to the intense emotions. Then, Yong Oreum, who was sitting on Ludvik's shoulder, woke up with a cry like the sound of waves.

    Ludwig anticipates Axel's attack and prepares to counter it. Axel looked at him expressionlessly. There was a tight force in his chin, as if he was holding back something.

    The air was tight.

    'Even though I got the third spirit water, the pressure of that guy...'

    It was like kicking a beast on the back of the nose and waiting for a reaction. A cold sweat ran down Ludwig's back. But, despite his tension, the flames of fire from Axel were quietly captured instead of exploding.

    “…Since she has allowed it, your words are meaningless. Tell me what you want as compensation for your mistakes.” Axel muttered harsh words and went back to the kitchen table.

    Compared to Eric's turn, it was a great development, but Ludwig had no way of knowing that. He got excited and opened his mouth.

    "Compensation? Who said they want something like that? What you did... … What are you doing?"

    Ludwig, who had been pouring out words in tears, inadvertently asked. It's because I didn't quite understand what Axel was doing.

    Axel was mixing egg yolk with water and pouring the whole dough into it. Flour floated on the water.

    He responded in annoyance.

    “You can’t see it.”

    “I don’t know, so I’m asking. What are you doing now?”

    “… I'm making pound cakes.”

    “Pah, what?”

    Ludwig saw Axel stirring something that he did not know whether it was soup or dough with an absurd heart. It's embarrassing that he's baking bread here, but what was even more embarrassing for Ludwig was the state of the porridge.

    'Does that guy have common sense?'

    Axel left Ludwig alone and continued cooking. In a way that he can't even keep his eyes open.

    Ludwig could not stand it and intervened.

    “If you do that, you will perish.” (meaning, eating Axel's cake would result in death lol)

    Axel paused. He glared fiercely at Ludwig.

    “Do not meddle.”

    Ludvik snorted and headed towards the empty kitchen table.

    He originally planned that he would make meringue cakes, but he changed his plans. He quickly made the dough and baked the pound cake. A delicious smell quickly spread from the oven. On the other hand, black smoke was leaking out of the oven Axel put his dough in.

    Ludwig took out the golden pound cake and put it down.

    “This is a pound cake.”

    Axel, who was looking at it silently, threw the charcoal block he took out of the oven as firewood and murmured.

    “…Cooking doesn't mean anything. Food is enough as long as it fills your stomach.”

    "Okay? Then, why are you doing this?”

    Axel was silent. Ludwig smirked and organized the cooking utensils he used.

    Axel looked back at Ludwig's pound cake. It was as perfect and appetizing as it was painted. Over the past month or so, he himself has been failing.

    He had to admit it.

    Ludwig Blair is a good cook. Axel Valentine can't cook.

    Axel rarely valued anything other than combat. Because his life was a series of battles. He lost his adoptive father to the monster. He was weak and powerless to protect his father. Even after that, strength was what he needed most in order to survive. It was also the strength that he needed throughout his association life. Because the piece was evaluated for its combat ability and mission performance. Even on the Wu Continent, he was recognized through battle and even earned a title. People valued him for strength, and they only wanted strength from him.

    But Ariadne, the person he wanted to be recognized by, kept asking him for something else.

    Getting along with people, respecting others, cooking, etc., strange things.

    If Ariadne's standards are like that, then he must meet them. For the first time, Axel decides to recognize someone weaker than him.

    He said abruptly, “Ludwig Blair.”

    “…You remembered my name. How surprising.”

    “I want to learn to cook. What should I do?”

    "Huh?"

    “Tell me the price.”

    “You want to learn to cook? From me?" Axel nodded silently and added. “Aside from paying for my mistakes, I will also pay for your teaching. What do you want?”

    It was a bittersweet tone. Ludwig looked at him in a bewildered way. He asked the person he attacked at once without saying hello to teach him how to cook?

    'This… was he this weird?'

    I thought he was weird when I first saw him, but now he feels weird in a different way than he did then.

    “… Why do you want to learn how to cook? You don't have any interest.”

    “Because Aria needs it.”

    “Do not use the Duke’s name in vain, rude bastard.”

    “It’s a name she allowed me herself to call. I don't care what you say." Axel made an impression as if he was displeased.

    Ludwig tried to deny that it was possible, but stopped at the thought of Ariadne's advice to him several times to call him by his first name as well.

    “... Did the Duke really accept you?”

    “Didn’t I already say that? If you're in doubt, go ahead and ask yourself.”

    Ludwig was well aware that he had joined the subjugation on behalf of the man in front of him.

    'The return of the original, does that mean that my place in the subjugation squad will disappear?'

    It couldn't be. Ludwig clenched his fist tightly. Ludwig Blair wanted to be Ariadne Eldier's man. He has a crush on her, but Ludvik really covets the position as her husband. He couldn't forget the excitement he felt during her debutante. She was so strong for her beauty and status alone, but she wasn't the only one to stop.

    In Ludwig's eyes, Ariadne was born to be a hero.

    From her young age, she simply built up her shocking achievements. As if all her achievements were just steps. The stairs are ultimately the subjugation of the Great Labyrinth. She will reach the greatest achievement. The higher her name rises, the greater honor and power she will be given to the man who will stand by her.

    Ludwig wanted that spot.

    Isn't it a natural and perfect picture for a hero who returned after saving the world to marry a fellow he was with? He couldn't take that opportunity away. Her Ludvik's eyes were molded.

    He said, “Did the Duke tell you to even learn to cook?”

    His anxiety and nervousness soared as he wondered if she was going to completely replace him.

    But at his question, Axel shook her head.

    "No. She said I don't have to because you're in the subjugation squad."

    Ludwig blinked his eyes in bewilderment. The emotion that had surged in an instant faded away as if he had poured cold water on him. Doesn't that mean that even if she accepts her Axel, Ludwig's own position remains unchanged?

    Axel spoke bluntly.

    “She seemed very pleased with your dishes. So I want to learn from you, how can I do it?”

    “… The Duke says that I am enough, so why do you dare to cook?”

    “Because I want to be someone who can do everything she needs.”

    Ludwig was speechless for a moment.

    Is that guy realizing what he's talking about?

    After examining Axel's calm and simple face, he made a decision in his heart.

    'I am not aware.'

    Then there was no reason for him to wake up. Better to keep not knowing.

    Ludwig thought calmly.

    'If the Duke has already decided to accept it, and if my position is maintained, there is no advantage in fighting this guy.'

    Ariadne will most likely apologize to him for this decision.

    'Perhaps she will take care of you more.'

    Then it would be better for him to take this opportunity and show her generosity while earning her points and appealing to her more aggressively.

    Until now, Ludwig was thinking of winning Ariadne's heart in the long run. He was relaxed because she was focused on her subjugation, and he had no man in the squad to be his own competitor.

    'I can't do that anymore.'

    Ludwig glanced at the Axel gently and said with ease.

    “Okay, I’ll teach you.”

    “What’s the price?”

    “Hang it up. I will charge you later.”

    "I get it."

    Axel internally classified Ludwig as a surprisingly useful but naive fellow.

    'Once I've mastered all of his skills, Aria won't feel uncomfortable without him.'

    Ludwig classified Axel as a foolish competitor.

    'With the excuse of cooking as much as possible for the Duke, I must quickly win her heart.'




    It was a nightmare.

    Ariadne, who arrived late after hearing the news that Ludwig had returned, saw two men standing side by side making dough.

    Anticipating bloodshed, she looked at the scene and asked blankly.

    “Did you two just become friends?”

    "no."

    "no."

    Axel and Ludwig countered at the same time.

    Like it or not, Ariadne smiled with a relaxed expression on her face.

    “Anyway, you two look good. Thank god."

    For her, what worried her the most was the relationship with Ludwig and Axel. She didn't know what had happened, but seeing that they weren't wielding swords at each other, she was relieved.


    Axel, who was walking down the central staircase, met her gaze.

    In an instant, I had an illusion that my entire field of vision was filled with him.

    A white forehead that was clearly exposed under the neatly swept hair. Short and thick eyebrows. Eyes red like lava in deep eyes. A straight nose and a strong chin. A white shirt pulled taut, visible through the jacket protruding his neck. A surprisingly slim waist and stallion-like thighs compared to a thick chest covered in muscle, like a weapon. A black robe that nobly hides the missing body. Black leather gloves. A large hand with a thick skeleton pulling on that glove. Ruby cuffs at the ends of the sleeves.

    Ariadne looked unfamiliar to him for a moment.

    It wasn't Axel Valentine, the wild beast she knew, but an elegant and strange noble man standing there.

    Then, a small morning glory crest on the chest of his robe caught my attention.

    Like Veronica and Ruhr, it was the coat of arms that she gave him instead of the coat of arms of her family while fitting him in a left continental robe. Unlike Ruhr, who wears the crest of El and Veronica with the crest of a snow leopard, he only wears the crest of a trumpet flower.

    It looked as if it he had been stamped as mine.

    He was mine, not a stranger.

    'Mine. My Axel Valentine.'

    An indescribable sense of satisfaction at the thought he had inadvertently filled her heart from the depths of her heart.

    She smiled at him.

    “Come on, Axel. Does the robe fit well?”

    Axel stood tall in the middle of the stairs, silent for a moment. His red eyes held her without blinking, and then she swayed slightly. The answer came only after a period of time to choose three breaths.

    "..Yes."

    "I'm glad. Come on, let’s go.”

    She turned and walked Axel followed her mechanically, thinking.

    'How were you calm last time?'

    Ariadne was more glamorous at her coming-of-age ceremony. She was even more majestic at the inauguration of the duke. But why can't I take my eyes off of her now more than then?

    And why does he want to break her hand of her Ludwig who is escorting her?





    Ariadne ran into an unexpected problem during the banquet.

    She was having a chat with the king. As he was talking about his memories of the days when he was taught by the Archmage, he spoke out of nowhere.

    “By the way, Duke Eldier is unmarried. Do you know that the whole continent is anxious about your marriage?”

    “I’m busy right now, so I don’t think about it.”

    When Ariadne smiled and spoke firmly, the king ate his mouth.

    “I mean, you should think about it once you're not busy. Hmmm, how about our youngest?”

    “Ah, father!”

    The boy standing quietly next to her raised her voice in surprise. He is the youngest prince of Avichel, one year younger than Ariadne.

    “Hey, what suddenly… …"

    “So, you don’t like Duke Eldier?” the king asked sarcastically. The boy prince's face turned bright red as he reflexively looked back at Ariadne.

    “That, that, it can be. But, I dare..."

    The king pointed to the gibberish boy with a wide smile.

    “How is it, Duke Eldier. Isn't it cute? Not because he's my son, but objectively, he's really handsome. A good and obedient child, he will take good care of you.”

    It wasn't the king's empty words to say he was handsome. The boy prince dyed his beautiful face red as if it had jumped out of a masterpiece, glanced at Ariadne, and then bowed her head.

    “Sir, I…"

    Ariadne opened her mouth to say something, but the Crown Prince interrupted

    “No, father.”

    “Hmmm?”

    “Duke Eldier is too much of a man for Lewis to handle. And can't you see my friend with the ax eye open over there?"

    The Crown Prince pointed to Ludwig Blair, who was watching this way, surrounded by the girls from a distance. He was receiving attention enough to have his red eyes buried as he wished, but he was not able to fully enjoy the attention because he was paying attention to the side where Ariadne was.

    “Oh hey. That's right. But isn't the lord a little old?"

    “It is important that the level is right. There is no one in Eldier's age who can communicate with the ball. It’s just little kids, right?”

    “When you are young, you have a taste for being customized to your children. Well, either way would be fine.”

    The king laughed sheepishly.

    Ariadne was puzzled and tried to look around to see who was on the side the Crown Prince was pointing at, but a woman in a white cloak suddenly interrupted her view. She was the High Priest who attended on behalf of the elderly and handicapped Pope.

    “Your Majesty, you are not a priest to the patron saint.”

    It was a sudden remark, but the king understood it right away. Priests cannot marry, but since the patron saint is not a priest, it is possible to marry.

    The king asked, seemingly absurd.

    “Are there matchmaking in the temple these days?”

    The High Priest responded calmly.

    “Beside the saint is a sacred place that the patron saint will keep for the rest of his life. You cannot give permission to others. No is it?”

    "okay? Does your patron saint feel the same way?”

    “That, that…"

    The king briefly shut the high priest's mouth and looked back at Ariadne.

    “Well, in this case, the party’s opinion is the most important law. Duke Eldier, so who does the Duke have in mind?”

    Ariadne sighed.

    “Didn’t I tell you? I can't afford that right now.”

    “No, I’m not asking you to give me an answer right now, is it? You just have to tell me about the Duke’s taste and ideal type.”

    “I don’t know because I never thought of that.”

    “Then you can think about it now. Isn't that a good opportunity?"

    “Look, there are many examples here. Is there anyone you like in this banquet hall?”

    The king smiled slyly and gestured to the inside of the banquet hall. Ariadne looked around without realizing it.

    Aristocrats sitting together at a table near the wall. The Crown Prince and the Countess were also sitting there, conversing intimately. Young aristocratic men with glasses and sneaky glances at this place. The reason they can't approach Ariadne is partly because of the king she's talking to, but partly because of the great wizard glaring at her in the middle. The great wizard was dissecting each of the nobles who were targeting his granddaughter while unraveling the scourge with the wizards of a foreign country he had not seen in a long time.

    In the center of the banquet hall were dancing people. Among them were Eric and Veronica. Eric was looking at Veronica with a face that anyone could see, and Veronica was the only exception among those 'who sees', she didn't even notice her gaze on me. As she dances, she pays close attention to the floor pattern in the banquet hall, and then she asks a silly question. Eric responded rudely, but the corners of his mouth didn't come down because he seemed to be happy.

    There were exceptionally many girls in one place. The hem of the colorful dress was gathered, and it was like a flower garden. Ludwig, who was very tall, was buried in it. As soon as Ariadne looked over there, Ludvik's gaze met hers.

    Then he immediately went all over to her. She quickly shook her head.

    'I didn't call you, Ludwig. Have a good time.'

    As he gestured with such a meaning, Ludwig's face became strangely gloomy.

    In one corner, priests had gathered. Seeing the white wings sticking out among them, it seemed that Ruhr was there.

    There were quite a few nobles roaming the area, whether they were trying to put a snow stamp on the guardian saint they saw for the first time. A beautiful woman with her brown hair up elegantly, with her secretary, approached the nobles and had a conversation. It was Rebecca Garcia, Ariadne's aunt.

    'Isn't that what you really want to do in the business of goods related to patron saints?'

    Ariadne felt a little uneasy.

    Finally, her gaze reached the window leading to the balcony.

    There's a big black thing, so I thought it was Axel. By the way.

    '...huh?'

    He was with some blonde woman

    Ariadne's eyes narrowed naturally.

    'Who is it?'

    It was so far away that I couldn't see her face very well.

    Suddenly, Axel grabbed her woman's arm. He dragged her girl into her balcony and closed her door.

    The curtain, which had been shaken for a moment by the drapery, fell back and completely covered the balcony.

    'What is he doing now?'

    Ariadne almost dropped her glass she was holding.

    Originally, a man and a woman entering the balcony alone meant that they wanted to have a relationship without being disturbed.

    But Axel can't do that. It's Axel.

    “Duke Eldier?”

    Her king called her curiously. Ariadne casually set her glass down on a nearby table, without taking her gaze from her balcony.

    “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I have an urgent matter to attend to.”

    She grudgingly picked up her excuses, served them, and headed to the balcony. Because she was the most notable person in the banquet hall, many people's eyes followed her movements. There were those who stood in her way, trying to put her words to her.

    “Duke Eldier, I…"

    “Duke…"

    “Sorry, I have other business to do.”

    Ariadne ignored them and passed them by. Her steps stopped at the entrance to the balcony where Axel had entered.

    'Wait, if Axel isn't having an accident and he's using the balcony for its intended purpose... … Then, you can't go in.'

    Doing so would be very rude. It's a huge disrespect to the girl who is with him.

    'Which one?'

    Her senses had no clue what was going on beyond the balcony or what conversations were going on.

    For a while she stood crookedly in front of her curtained balcony door. She couldn't quite imagine it.

    Axel did something with her... It's like the sight of someone doing something dense.

    'There was nothing like that in the original.

    Because it was a fantasy novel , not a romance in the first place .'

    Her mind was not convinced that Axel was worthy enough because he was a young, handsome and attractive man of marriageable age.

    'Axel can't do that.'

    Her illogical and unfounded vague beliefs seemed to her like a firm truth.

    Because he said it himself.

    “I didn’t even know what desire was until I met you .”
    “Without you, I’m just a monster that can’t even be a man.”
    “You make me human, my lord.”
    “Do you believe that I can negotiate with anyone other than you? Heartily? Are you sane?

    Because you've said things like that so many times, so many times, that I get tired of it...

    Axel Valentine belongs only to Ariadne Eldier.

    'So there's something else going on.'

    Ariadne was unaware that he had been thinking of words he had never heard before and drawing conclusions from them.

    At that moment, Pi in the fantasy library felt Ariadne's channel open automatically.

    Ariadne opened the balcony door without hesitation, filled with a certainty that she could not even explain herself. As soon as I stepped into the open door, the channel that had been unconsciously opened closed. She again forgot her words that she had thought of. It was a fleeting moment.

    Pi noticed that Ariadne's channel, which had suddenly opened, was connected to somewhere in the fantasy library, and then immediately closed.

    He looked around the inside of the fantasy library curiously.

    'just now…What was it?'

    He couldn't figure out where her channel was going.

    Meanwhile, Ariadne faced an unexpected situation inside the balcony.

    "Sister!"

    As soon as the door opened and she entered, the woman with Axel ran to her, calling her sister.

    Before she could reach Ariadne, Axel grabbed her roughly, grabbed her and pressed her onto the railing of her balcony.

    “What kind of work is it?” he growled The woman cried and she protested.

    “Why are you doing this to me?”

    “If it doesn’t blow well, I will check it myself.”

    Axel grabbed her by the collar, lifted her up, and put her hand on her dress. The young woman's face turned blue. She pleaded with Ariadne.

    “Sister, help me! This man is now chasing me..."

    "Sister…? No, wait, wait. Axel, what the hell is going on with this?”

    Axel's hand, who was trying to rummage through the woman's dress, stopped and stiffened. It was because of Ariadne that he did not grab the woman by the collar right away from the banquet hall and dragged her out to the balcony to avoid the eyes of others . If he wants to be by her side, he has to pay attention to the gaze of others.

    In fact, it was the result of his own restraint to search her arms. If he had acted on his own, he would have hit her on the neck and checked her belongings.

    'He didn't know Aria was coming.'

    He pondered while subduing her woman. What should I explain?

    "Uhhh..."

    Meanwhile, the woman was weeping sadly, tying her disheveled hem. Ariadne rubbed her forehead. To be honest, judging by the sight alone, she looked like a young girl who almost had to be raped and a criminal deserving of death. If it wasn't for Axel, Ariadne would have called the guard right away.

    She commanded, pressing on her throbbing temple.

    “Axel, explain.”

    “…This woman stinks.”

    "Smell? What smell?”

    “There was an ominous and unpleasant odor, so OK… shit."

    Axel did not speak, but swept my head and spit out swear words. It wasn't a lie, but it was an absurd excuse to even listen to myself. Ariadne was angry, but there was nothing to say.

    But Ariadne was not angry.

    “Do you feel like you have to kill her right now?”

    "...Yes?"

    Axel asked with an unfamiliar face. She shouted as her captive woman became contemplative.

    "sister!"

    “Sister, I don’t remember giving you such a title. It's rude in the first place."

    After Ariadne cut her horse neatly, she looked at Axel.

    There was also a description of Axel in the original story smelling unpleasant from people. It wasn't a smell to be exact, but a foreign energy that was caught in his sensitive senses. The main character had no way to explain the sensation felt only by himself, so he expressed it as a smell.

    He said, 'When a person's body and smell like contaminated water are mixed, it is more unpleasant than just contaminated water. I feel so bad that I want to kill and throw it away.' In fact, there was a scene where it was cut right away. After the protagonist kills a man approaching me because he feels bad for some reason, it is revealed that he was preparing for a sneak attack.


    Ariadne was looking at Ariadne.

    It's a strange word, but it was literally true.

    Just blinking her eyes, she suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. She looked exactly like herself, younger than she is now.

    '14 years old? No, is she around 15? Her face looks like that, but why is she so small?'

    Her little skinny girl had her frizzy white blond hair hanging down and she was staring into the air with her dazed eyes. Her exposed forearms were covered in scars.

    'Wait, have I ever been like that?'

    At that age, he was always on Weaver, and he had never been so scarred. Ariadne suddenly realized that the room her girl was sitting in was very familiar to her.

    'Here… It's Eldier's study room.'

    An old fear soared. She bit her lip, trying to stay calm.

    'This is not my memory. I haven't been to a study room since I was seven.'

    So what is this situation? dream? fantasy?

    'Oh, it's a hallucination curse.'

    Pi said he had a hallucinogenic curse on his way uphill. It seems that the nightmare of being locked in the study room by that curse is being recreated. She tried to be relieved and then wondered again.

    'Pi said that this hallucinatory curse would show illusions unrelated to my memory?'

    Pi had said that this curse was a way of demonstrating certain hallucinations that were drawn from the outside. She won't have to worry too much because she'll see fantasies that have nothing to do with herself.

    She said, 'It's just like being in a horror movie or a disaster movie.'

    Ariadne looked around her again. A familiar study room, a little strange, but no matter how you look at it, the appearance of a girl like her childhood.

    '… … It's a place I can see, a place I know, but this is an illusion created without me?'

    In the midst of the confusion, a hypothesis came to mind.

    'This fantasy is the original... If it's a fantasy created based on the real Ariadne's memory, it's true that it has nothing to do with me.'

    It makes sense if you are seeing the nightmare of 'original Ariadne', not the nightmare that was inside her.
    Because she and that 'Ariadne' would be separate entities. Ariadne, who could not escape from Franz Eldier, must have been in the study room by the time she was 16, so it is not strange to be in this room like this.

    'However… … I exist, can Ariadne in the original exist at the same time? how?'

    Was Pi's analysis wrong?

    Is it just that this is a common hallucination curse, just showing her subconsciously frightened?

    'Pi... Pi?'

    Ariadne sang her pie and tried to move to her fantasy library.

    '… … No way.'

    There was no reaction. She stood up and looked down at the girl who was sitting there. Is this child really 'Ariadne in the original', or is she just herself in a nightmare?

    "I don't know... "

    Ariadne could not draw any conclusions and she simply observed her girl. Blurry blue eyes on her face. Her slightly gaping lips were covered in white burns.

    'Your eyes are weird. I don't even move... … . Can't you see?'

    Suddenly the window opened wide. There was a loud rattling noise, but the girl did not look back. It was as if she had not heard it at all

    'Are you deaf?'

    Confused, Ariadne was astonished to see the person entering through the open window.

    It was Axel Valentine.

    The main character, who appears to be around the age of 19 or 20, was entering through the window of Eldier's study room.

    'Why are you here!'

    Ariadne screamed without realizing it, but the sound did not come out as a voice. Her axel passed through her as if through her ghost, and she squatted in front of her seated girl.

    ' … You can only see in this fantasy. But why is he here? What the hell is this?'

    I didn't understand. Ariadne just stared at the scene unfolding before her, fading away.

    Axel Valentine looked down at her girl distastefully and murmured.

    <Glamus was not enough, so I came to look for the original…This is strange...>

    He tapped her girl with her toes. The girl was startled, as if she had just realized that someone was there. Her dry twig-like arms trailed through the air.

    <Is she blind?>

    Axel frowned at the girl's arm groping in the wrong place even as I was speaking.

    <You must be deaf. Damn, I so worked hard to adjust the timing of her return, but the original is deaf to service?>

    He grabbed her chin and lifted it up and turned it around, as if trying to get a better look at her condition. It was an attitude of appreciating things. He grabbed her hand with both hands as the girl grabbed her chin.

    <Ah.. ah.>

    From the girl's open mouth, her words were. Only a moan came out. Axel's brow wrinkled.

    <She can't even speak. I probably won't be able to use it. Damn, how much damage did you do?>
    He tried to stand up behind the girl.

    But the girl did not let him go. Skinny fingers clasped his hands as if they were lifelines and hung them.

    <iced coffee…>

    Axel, who was trying to shake the girl's hand in annoyance, stopped. The girl wept and pointed to the nape of her neck. A thick iron restraint was fastened to her slender neck. The red eyes that saw the dark patterns on the surface of the restraints at first glance narrowed.

    <This...>

    He traced the engraved pattern on the restraint sphere with his fingertips.

    <… It's magic. Maybe?>

    Axel grabbed the iron and gave it strength. A flame engulfed his hand and burned. The fire reached the nape of the girl's neck, but he didn't mind and continued to give it strength. Then, the metal gradually melted and he became brittle.

    <…>

    It must have been terribly painful as the iron was burning hot right next to her neck, and she was ripening to the point of flesh. She could neither see nor hear, and she seemed to know what he was doing. It seems that she doesn't feel the pain very well. Axel smiled bitterly as if he liked the attitude.

    <I've noticed. She doesn't seem to have a bad head either.>

    He tore the melted restraint ball like a piece of paper with his bare hands. A lump of iron fell to the floor.

    At the same time, focus returned to the girl's eyes.

    <Ah…Ah.>

    The girl gasped for my eyes, ears, and mouth, and gasped for her breath. Her tears flowed down like glass beads. As she blinked her eyes in ecstasy, she suddenly looked up at him.

    Watery blue eyes. Bite and blood-stained lips slowly opened.

    <Who you are, whatever your purpose,>
    A hoarse voice came out slowly. Slowly but distinctly, as if writing an oath.

    <You are my savior.>
    The girl smiled.

    <I will definitely repay you.>
    With those last words, the girl closed her eyes. Her skinny body crumbled to the floor.

    Axel Valentine looked down at the girl who had lost her mind for a moment, silently

    <…Maybe she'll be of some use.>

    With her soft mutter, he soon lifted her girl up like her carrier and laid it on her shoulder.

    Then he walked around the room, picked up the elixir ingredients, shoved them into his inventory, and jumped out the window.

    Ariadne didn't know what she was seeing.
    'Franz filled Ariadne in the original story with a restraint that seals her senses and kept her locked up... Did Axel change the timing of his return and come to rescue her, wondering if she'd be any better than Glamus?'

    Could the protagonist adjust the timing of the return? That kind of thing didn't appear in the novel at all.

    'Are you lying?'

    Regardless of her confusion, the scene changed in an instant.

    I saw a small hut in the woods.

    In the house where a wizard once lived, old bloodstains and traces of monsters were left everywhere, so we could guess what happened to the owner of the house.

    Axel took Ariadne there and threw her a book.

    <What is this?>

    <A tutorial on spirits. Cook until next time.>

    <… … .>

    <Do you not know how to write?>

    <I know.>

    The girl with her head shook looked up at him.

    <Do you want me to become a Elemental Master?>

    <Yes. You will become the best elementalist, and I need such elementslist.>

    <I will become the best elementalist? How do you know that?>

    Axel ignored the question.

    <This house is a place only I know. You won't be able to track it down. All you have to do is eat here.>

    He showed her girl a cellar filled with sacks full of all kinds of ingredients. Then Ariadne grabbed his collar as she was about to leave.

    <Where are you going?>

    <I have a lot of work to do.>

    <What's going on?>

    <I don't know>

    The girl, who had no body of her own, flew away like a paper doll at his light gesture and tumbled into her corner. Axel clicked her tongue briefly as if she didn't want to push her that far.

    <… Don't waste your food and eat as much as you want. You can't even enter the labyrinth with such a body.>

    He left the hut without saying that.

    Then the scene changed again.

    'Ariadne' put the stew bowl on the table by the fireplace. Axel, who was looking at the map, took a spoonful of it and spit it back out.

    <What the hell is this?>

    <What is it, it's a stew.>

    <You can't even eat dog porridge.>

    <You have a surprisingly picky taste.>

    'Ariadne' casually ate her share of the stew.

    Axel took her bowl and threw her and her bowl to Fear who was sitting by the fire. The one-horned wolf chewed and burned the wooden bowl and stew in one go, then swallowed it.

    <What... >

    <If you eat only these things, you'll get skinny and won't gain weight.>

    He went to the kitchen, grilled a large piece of meat with butter, and made a new stew.

    <Eat.>

    <…Thank you>

    'Ariadne' glanced at Axel and ate. But he never gave her a glance and only looked into her map. 'Ariadne', who emptied the bowl, asked Axel. 'Are you good at cooking? Can you teach me too?”

    Axel answered without raising his head.

    <I can't.>

    <Then what did you just do?>

    <Did it feel like a well-made dish? I don't look like a princess.>

    <Do you think I would have lived like a princess?>

    Axel raised her head and looked at 'Ariadne'. 'Ariadne' did not avoid his gaze. He suddenly asked.

    <Do you know what red eyes mean?>

    <...Did it have any meaning?>

    <…>

    <What do you mean? Is it similar to the fact that all the priests have golden eyes?”

    Axel folded the map she was looking at and sighed in annoyance.

    <…I have a lot to teach you. Have you ever learned anything properly?>

    <Until I was 7 years old, I was properly educated as a successor. Because her mother was alive.>

    <Have you been locked up like that since then?>

    <…yes. The chain was put on after he failed to escape when he was 14.>

    <How old are you now?>

    <16 years old.>

    <It's a miracle that you are alive.>

    <…Because there was.>

    'Ariadne' muttered a little.

    <What?>

    <What are you going to teach me?>

    <Things you need to become a Spirit Master>

    <You will teach yourself?>

    <Yes. The Duke is looking for you with his eyes turned over, so it is dangerous to call in the teacher separately.>

    <…Aren't you in danger?>

    Axel smirked at her question.

    <It’s not dangerous. It 's just annoying.>

    Again, the scene changed.

    Ariadne, who has grown up to be almost identical to Ariadne now, was spreading her territory. A forest covered the polluted land and advanced. Likewise, Axel, who appears to be of the same age as the current Axel, smiled satisfactorily.

    “It was not a loss, sure.”

    Just as his sword wrapped in lightning was about to collide with a giant monster, the scene changed again.

    'Ariadne' is covered in blood, Axel looked down at her and wrote her impressions.

    <Why did you stop me? I might be able to stand it, but it was an attack that you could never stand.>

    Ariadne laughed.

    <I said I would definitely repay you.>

    With those words, she finally died.

    Axel looked down at Ariadne's body with her strangely stiff face, and she soon left her seat.

    Ariadne blinked her eyes.

    It was the starting point.

    I saw the inside of her study room where 'Ariadne', with her frizzy white blonde hair hanging down, was chained to her. Ariadne reflexively looked at her window.

    The window burst open as if waiting, and Axel Valentine, who appeared to be about 20 years old, entered.
    Unlike last time, he stood tall by the window and looked at the girl for a long time like hesitating about something.

    <…There was no harm.>

    After muttering like that, he approached 'Ariadne' and immediately grabbed the restraint orb around her neck.

    This time, instead of melting it with fire, he ripped it apart with the power of his protected body.

    The girl, who had been briefly ecstatic at the sensations she had regained, looked up at him with eyes that soon became clearer.

    <Are you the one who saved me?>

    he replied expressionlessly.

    <okay.>

    <I must answer..>

    <Ariadne Eldier. I need you as a spirit warrior. So, as a reward for saving me, end it by becoming my Spirit Master.>

    <…Huh?>

    <That's enough, I'm saying that you don't have to do anything more in return than that. Do you understand?>

    Axel, who poured out her words as if to shoot her, held her lightly. And again, the scene changes quickly.
    Axel was standing in front of Ariadne's body.

    <…Obviously, I said that there was no need for any further repayment.>

    The dead were silent. He looked down at her body expressionlessly and washed her dry face.

    <I'm not your savior, so don't even think about it in vain...>

    Axel, who had blurred the tip of his tongue, clenched his teeth.

    <Stupid woman.>

    He turned and left.

    Ariadne, who was watching it, blinked her eyes, and a new sight unfolded. Likewise, Axel was in front of Ariadne's body. But it was definitely a different scene from a little while ago. It was because the clothes, the surrounding scenery, and the rise of Ariadne were different. Axel didn't even stand still. This time he was sitting on his knees near his body.

    He muttered softly.

    “You die too easily.”

    Knowing that she was dead, he checked several more times to see if she was alive.

    <She lacks stamina, her health is poor, her five senses are half broken, and her pain reception is a complete mess. The power it possesses is so great, but the vessel containing it is weaker than glass, so it breaks and breaks.>

    Check your breathing, check your body temperature, check your pulse.

    “Did you know that every time I return because of you, I turn back four more years by making the burnt offering?”

    Finally, he gave up and withdrew his hand.

    <Ariadne Eldier. I spent the most time with you. Even then, it's not enough, and it makes you waste more and more time each time. You are an ineffective being.>

    I could see the force entering the jaw of the jaw.

    <…It's extremely inefficient, but there's no substitute for something like Glamus. I will go to rescue you again. And you said that you will surely repay me...>

    As he continued to speak, he suddenly grabbed 'Ariadne' by the neck.

    <How many times have I not told you that you don't have to repay me! Are you listening to me with the back of your ear? You're the one!>

    'Ariadne's arm fell helplessly at his strength. Axel saw it and shut his mouth.

    “Damn it…>

    He put her down and stood up. Then he took off his cloak and put it over Ariadne.

    <…There will be no teachers or self-study in the future. I will train you myself from start to finish. I will make sure that such a futile death will never happen again.>

    Then a new scene unfolded.

    Inside the hut used by the wizard.

    Axel, who came out of the kitchen, put the steak on Ariadne's plate and said.

    <I will go out for a while today.>

    <Why? What's going on? Where are you going?>

    As if it was unfamiliar for Axel to leave, Ariadne was greatly surprised.

    Axel answered, taking her share of the plate and sitting across from her.

    <I'm going to pick up a wizard to guide you.>

    <Ah...>

    'Until I return, decide where to engrave the magic circle.'

    'Ariadne' rolled her eyes as if contemplating and opened her mouth.

    <…Hey, where is the guide's magic circle?>

    <Shoulders are okay.>

    <Shoulders?>

    <The chest and neck are dangerous areas for surgery, the hands and feet are prone to breakage of the magic circle, the face is too conspicuous, the back The side is uncomfortable when lying down.>

    <Axel is a spirit knight, but she knows these things very well, right?>

    Ariadne's eyes widened as if curiously. Axel chuckled.

    <Because you ask me every time.>

    <Huh? When am I?>

    <… … .>

    He stood up without answering.

    And the scene changed.

    Amidst the bizarre and disgusting swamp, a fresh meadow floated like a remote island.

    It was a territory where a vessel of fresh green was embodied. I saw a couple of strangers and familiar people.

    Axel Valentine was walking at the forefront, and Ariadne followed him with Cho Won. Next to him was Eric Weaver. Perhaps he was in a bad relationship with 'Ariadne', walking side by side and not speaking a word.

    He does not regard 'Ariadne' as his family, is indifferent to his other colleagues, and Eric, who has lost Veronica, looked as cold as ice.

    'I wonder if this is the original Erich Weaver... '

    So unfamiliar, Ariadne misses Eric, who calls her her skeleton.

    They soon reached the edge of the swamp. A distantly high, heterogeneous, smooth wall stood in front of them. Near the center of the wall, there was a small door through which one could barely pass. Axel, standing in front of the door, said while looking back at 'Ariadne'.

    <It’s my first time coming here. It's thanks to you.>

    'Ariadne' asked while tilting her head.

    <Have you ever been to the Great Labyrinth without me knowing? It sounds like you've tried so many times.>

    'I've come to the point of getting sick of it, and I've never crossed the swamp keeper's realm. You're finally out of this realm.>

    Ariadne was surprised as she watched the scenes unfolding in rapture.

    'Is this the Great Labyrinth? really?'

    She hurriedly looked around her.

    I read the description of the Great Labyrinth in fiction enough to memorize it, but I had never actually seen it, so I wasn't sure if this was the real Great Labyrinth or a fantasy my unconscious made up.

    As she tried to take a closer look, the scenery quickly changed again.

    <Axel!>

    'Ariadne' ran to Axel while screaming at her. He pushed her hard.

    <Don't come closer.>

    Blood gushed out of the wound that had pierced his chest at the movement . The blood was stained dark red. Ariadne couldn't get any closer and trembled in her place.

    'Why did you do that, Axel? Why?>

    <…>

    <It was like that every day. I'll never help you, so I'll take care of my life! Okay, what is this? Why did you help? Why? Even the room was completely my mistake!>

    <I saw too much>

    <What?>

    <Yes.>

    <… … what? What are you talking about?”

    <I don’t want to see you die this time.>
    He closed his eyes.

    Then, the surrounding landscape became black as if closing eyes, then brightened as soon as eyes were opened, revealing a different scene. It was a polluted chapel-like space. Bizarre flesh that looked like an animal's intestines or blood vessels wrapped around the stained glass and arches. Behind the pulpit filled with insects wriggling eggs, a strangely vibrating haze formed a wall.

    Axel said, pointing to the wall.

    <Can you occupy that place as a territory?>

    <I’ll try> Ariadne reached out.

    As the morning glory vines stretched out, the bushes and grass collided with the haze. The green light spread over the haze and then faded repeatedly.

    A cold sweat formed on Ariadne's forehead. As she stumbled, Axel grabbed her arm.

    <Stop. Don't overdo it.>

    <But...>

    <It’s a place I just passed by anyway. It's suspicious that there is a place like a chapel in the hermit's realm, so I'm going to try it, and it's okay to ignore it>

    <…I think Axel is really used to the Great Labyrinth.>

    <Did you forget that I was the only human who came back alive from the Great Labyrinth?>

    < It's like he's been there hundreds of times, not just once.>

    <… Let's rest here today and move on to the next area tomorrow.>

    Axel went to inform the rest of the party as it was.

    'Ariadne' put her hand on the wall in the haze quietly.

    <perhaps… … Maybe you can.>

    She glanced at her comrades secretly.

    After making sure everyone was crazy about her camp, she took off her leather shoulder pads and rolled up her sleeves to expose her shoulders.

    She showed a complex magic circle pattern. 'Ariadne' placed her hand on the spirit stone embedded in the center of the pattern.

    <If you discharge it, the guide will be paralyzed for a while.>

    She drew her spirit power from the Spirit Stone and scattered it over her territory. The magic stone's spirit stone quickly lost its light. After stopping the guide system, 'Ariadne' sat down in front of the wall in the haze. Soon, her whole body was dyed with a soft pink light. Her platinum-coloured hair, her bob cut, began to flutter in the windless air.

    Ariadne immediately knew what 'Ariadne' was doing.

    'Turn off the guide and summon the Great Spirit? Without pie? Reckless!'

    Even if she wanted to stop her, there was no way for her to meddle in her fantasies.

    Ariadne watched anxiously as 'Ariadne' descended the vessel of fresh green.

    A figure of a woman wearing a crown woven from branches with new leaves appeared wearing a shawl made of sunlight. Her great spirit's hair was made of many flowers, her skin was soft soil, and her clothes were grass soaked in dew. A bowl of fresh green opened her eyes. She had eyes like emeralds buried in the dirt. As soon as the Great Spirit opened her eyes, he tilted the large bowl he was holding in her arms. Flowers and leaves cascaded from a golden bowl, adorned with her moss lace.

    It overflowed and the forest grew, and a haze covered the wall. People were stunned by the sudden miracle.

    <You!>

    Only Axel did not get distracted by the Great Spirit and ran right away and caught 'Ariadne'.

    'What the hell are you doing...!>

    <Look, it's taken over.>

    'Ariadne' smiled contentedly, bleeding from her nose, ears and mouth.

    <I told you to try to occupy it.>

    <You didn't hear a word. Don't overdo it, didn't I tell you?>

    Axel lifted her up, grinding her teeth, and shoved her toward the priest.

    <Let her recover. Perfectly.>

    After seeing the terrified priest pouring divine power on 'Ariadne', he approached the hazy wall. The wall occupied by the bowl of verdure no longer functions as a wall. Axel cleared the drooping moss and vines and went inside the haze without much hindrance. Beyond the haze was a small, round room. It was a room with a dense magic circle on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

    <It’s black magic. It seems that the demons have sealed everything here.>

    Eric Weaver, who came after him, glanced at the magic circles said.

    Axel looked at the center of the room. There was a black coffin wrapped around something like the intestines of a monster .

    “It’s a coffin that the Demon King hid deep in the Great Labyrinth.”

    Axel, who muttered, drew his sword and cut the things entangled in the coffin with a single knife and opened the coffin. However, the lid of the coffin did not open as easily as it was locked. Eric pointed to the densely carved magic circles around him.

    <Hey, do you think it will just open after you look at those magic circles? After all, articles are...It will open only when you destroy it.>

    Axel raised his spirit power without saying a word. A small sun rose and colored his whole body with brilliance.

    He grabbed the lid of the coffin, wrapped in light. His arm muscles swelled like a burst, and there was a crackling sound from the coffin. The magic circles in all directions glowed, and the light faded in an instant as if the lights went out.

    Axel said, throwing away the fragments of the smashed coffin lid .

    <Supply items are also running out, so what time period will they be destroying them all? Don't be stupid, wizard.>

    <…A monstrous bastard.>

    With a shocked expression, Eric changed the torn coffin lid and the accelerator.

    Axel looked inside the coffin and frowned.

    <human…?>

    <What? Why are humans sealed in the Great Labyrinth?>

    Erich came to the coffin as if in a absurd question.

    <Are you a living human'?>

    <Looks like a corpse.>

    <Move it, check it with magic.>

    Ariadne was astonished to see the inside of the coffin that Axel had moved away from.

    'Pi?'

    Pure white and abundant hair filled the inside of the coffin like a cloud. The man lying in his sleep with his eyes closed, buried in his hair, was exactly the same as Pi's occasional female figure.

    'Why is Pi... In the Great Labyrinth?'

    What I've seen so far is shocking, but more things keep coming. Ariadne grew more and more confused. At that time, Ariadne and the priest entered the room after the treatment was over. As soon as the priest entered, he approached the coffin as if possessed and fell to his knees.

    <Ah, El! Why are you sleeping in a place like this!>

    <What? Who is it?>

    Eric jumped in surprise. The new coffin pointed to my golden eyes that were glimmering in light.

    <Isn’t the grace of God responding? If you do not recognize your master even with the eyes your master has given you, you do not have the right to become a servant. This person must be our God.>

    With a suspicious look, Axel grabbed the woman lying in the coffin by the collar and lifted it halfway up. The lifeless body drooped like a corpse.

    <Is this a god? Priest, are you serious?>

    <Insolence! Dare to touch its body!>

    The priest, frightened, clinged to his hand grabbing the woman's collar, and then he struggled to pull it off.

    <Don't you know? He is the very light-dwelling El, the Creator of Elysium, our one and only God! Prepare yourself right now!>

    <… Hey, I left the world to be this small place, and I asked where and what the author of God was doing, were you sleeping in the Great Labyrinth?>

    Eric laughed.

    <You are a very respectable and great God. That's why we're being thrown into the Demon Realm.>

    <Isn't he asleep, not dead'?>

    When Axel asked, Eric shrugged his shoulders.

    <If God is already behind, how will the priests use their divine power? It must be hidden.>

    Axel lightly tossed the attached fuse, checked El's breathing, and responded indifferently.

    <No breath, there is no pulse>

    <If that is the real body of a god, wouldn’t it be different in structure from that of a human being? Even if it looks dead, it's actually just sleeping.>

    <Wizard, does this really look like a god to you?>

    <It's a being sealed in a hidden room in the Great Labyrinth, and the priests are like that, so there's a good chance it's real.>

    Eric's eyes suddenly lit up.

    <Hmm... … Shall we take a look at it properly? Let's check to see if he's a real god or if he's alive.>

    His green eyes gleamed with curiosity close to madness. Axel put her arms around her and backed away as if to do it.

    A startled priest rolled his feet.

    <These ungodly ones! What are you trying to do?>

    Eric ignored his priest and suddenly turned to 'Ariadne'.

    “Spirit Master, come and do this for a moment…>

    Suddenly, as if someone had forcibly cut off the video that was being played, the room became dark everywhere.

    Then I saw the same chapel as before.

    However, this time around, there was a sea of blood everywhere.

    People were dying everywhere. I saw the body of Eric Weaver, who had died without even closing his eyes. Ariadne covered his mouth.

    Axel Valentine was leaning against the wall under the stained glass. His whole body was covered with wounds. The blood that flowed from him formed a bright red puddle. Ariadne was held in his dying arms.
    She was apparently uninjured, but dark red blood flowed from her mouth as if she had suffered an internal wound. She was also dying.

    She groaned, spitting blood and squeezing her voice.

    <Why?>

    <…>

    <You just managed to survive. Why did you come back?>
    Axel frowned.

    <I don't know.>

    <What?>

    <Even though I know it's stupid to die like this... Damn it.>

    <If I knew it was stupid, I shouldn't have done it!>

    'Ariadne' was angry. Her tears, which had been pooling in her eyes, overflowed.

    “You don’t even have to survive! Then, the next subjugation team was formed...!>

    Axel looked down at the tears dripping down her cheeks, and then suddenly lowered her head.

    His lips climbed up the trail of her tears and touched the tears in her eyes. As if swallowing her tears, his neck moved.

    'Ariadne' was dazed.

    <…What are you doing now?>

    <My arm doesn't move.>

    <No, that's not it... What... Clap, clap.>

    She stopped talking as she vomited her blood. Her red blood spilled from her lips and flowed down her chin. Axel then lowered her head more deeply. His lips came up, swallowing the blood that had flowed out of her chin. His lips touched her blood-soaked lips.

    'Ariadne' opened her eyes, then closed them slowly. Her lips fell off. She asked in a whisper.

    “What does this mean?”

    “You said your arms don’t move.”

    “…So, you just wiped it?>

    <Do you not like it?>

    'Ariadne' vomited her blood again.

    Then she inadvertently tried to wipe the blood from her chin with the back of her hand, but stopped.She looked up at him The hand that was about to wipe her chin rested on his neck instead of his chin. Her blue eyes closed slowly.

    <No.>

    It was a whisper-like answer. Axel bowed her head. He licked the blood dripping down her chin again and swung it to her lips

    It didn't take long for the lips to contact each other. After a while, the strength in her hand that was holding him by the neck was lost and it fell.

    His breathing quietly faded. He took her last breath.

    He licked her lips and murmured as he looked down at Ariadne.

    <As you do not die at the burnt offering, you cannot be saved next time.>

    Ariadne, who had already died, did not answer.

    <…You won't remember anyway, so you won't even wait for me.>

    He rested his forehead on the nape of her neck and closed her eyes.

    <But, I won't make you wait long.>

    The surroundings gradually became cloudy and dark, and soon nothing was visible.
    Ariadne grabbed her throbbing head .

    'What are all these illusions?'

    The protagonist who adjusts the timing of the regression. The 'Ariadne' he raised. The strange relationship between him and 'Ariadne'.

    Kiss.

    'The original Ariadne and Axel... … Did they love each other?'

    I felt very strange. She unconsciously patted her lips with her fingertips. The scene she had just seen flashed across her retina over and over again. Feeling more and more strange, Ariadne struggled to turn her thoughts in the other direction. The great labyrinth. A grotesque chapel hidden in the realm of the hermits. A 'god' in the sealed coffin, identical to the female form of Pi.

    'Sleep God. God's consciousness... Is there such a thing as a soul somewhere else? Is that Pi? If Pi is really a god, then why is he in my study in the fantasy library without remembering anything?'

    Her head was about to explode with confusion and doubt. It was hard to understand what she had seen. On the one hand, the suspicion persisted that all of this was a hoax, a lie, and a nightmare of the curse. But her hallucinations did not allow her to think calmly.

    Origin again.

    The surrounding area has been transformed into Eldier's study room.

    Axel opened the window and entered. He is now very familiar with and neatly smashed the restraints around the neck of 'Ariadne' without leaving a single scar.

    And 'Ariadne' woke up. At that moment, Ariadne realized that something had changed with her. 'Ariadne' was not lost in her sense of return. She immediately looked up at Axel Valentine.

    She laughed and whispered.

    <I was waiting, Axel.>

    Axel hadn't told her his name yet, but this should be Ariadne's first meeting with Axel, and she called his name.

    <…!>

    Axel was even more surprised than when he saw the coffin of God sealed in the Great Labyrinth.

    Ariadne, who was watching, was also shocked.

    ‘Ariadne’ said calmly.

    <I know you’re turning back time>

    <…What?>

    <I know what you did each time to turn back time to this point, how many times you saved me, how much time you spent with me, and even the hardships and deaths we went through together in the Great Labyrinth. It 's okay.>

    Axel rarely showed her feelings on her face.

    How? Since when?

    Unlike him, who had hardened, 'Ariadne' spoke without stopping.

    <So, Axel, you don’t have to repeat time alone anymore. Because we are living at the same time.>

    <…>

    <No matter how many times I fail, or how many deaths I face, I will always remember the time back, you, forever.>

    Axel seemed to have forgotten even to breathe. Ariadne tilted her head.

    <You have told me before. You are not like my savior.>

    “That’s…>

    It was said in front of the dead 'Ariadne'. So if she was to return as soon as she died like that, it was also something she couldn't remember.

    <How?>

    Axel's voice trembled as he asked. 'Ariadne' continued only the calm words.

    “That is wrong. I decide who is my savior. Not you, I.>

    She lifted her immobile arm laboriously, and then she reached out to him.

    <So I will be waiting for you here from now on.>

    Ariadne suddenly realized that 'Ariadne' was not in a calm state. Her eyes were drenched. From the tears in her reddened eyes, from the corners of her lips raised slightly, from the trembling of her outstretched fingertips, she could see the emotion that Ariadne was trying to suppress. It was a more intense sense of liberation than the liberation of the five senses, and a deeper ecstasy.

    Axel couldn't even blink her eyes or take her eyes off her. As if possessed or overwhelmed.

    Ariadne smiled brightly.

    <Axel Valentine, my savior. You, no one else... … .>

    As soon as her restraints were released, she was overbearing and fell apart, unable to finish her words. Her Axel hastily grabbed her and hugged her.

    <Ariadne.>

    He groped the face of 'Ariadne', who had lost consciousness, with trembling hands, buried his forehead on the nape of her neck, and pulled her into my arms and hugged him.

    <Ariadne>

    The soft calls continued to flow. As if to confirm, as if praying, as if thanking, earnestly and fondly.

    <…Aria.>

    The scene was buried in the light and disappeared.

    It was a familiar sorcerer's hut.

    <I don't have to go through a guided procedure anymore. I don't even need basic training in spirit art.>

    Ariadne, who was buried in an armchair by the fireplace, said.

    A cup was placed over the head of the Fear, who was sitting instead of the fireplace. Axel, who had picked up her cup, turned to look at her.

    <Is it because the channel is already open'?>

    <Yes. Besides, it remembers all the things you learned, trained, and fought.>

    <Amazing.>

    Axel took out a piece of the glacier, cooled it slightly, and handed it to her.

    Ariadne, who was watching, really wanted to know how 'Ariadne' came to remember her return.
    Of course, there were many other things she wanted to ask. She said, 'What was the god in the coffin? Can you also visit the fantasy library? The fact that there is no need for a guided procedure means that you have met a Pi?'

    But her question did not reach them, and they quickly changed the subject.

    'Ariadne' said as she took the cup.

    <So, I want you to do something else with this time.>

    <Is there anything else you would like to do?>

    <Yes, I do.>

    After taking a sip of her hot tea, she continued.

    <I’m going to become a duke and I’ll make you a firm identity.>

    “…?>

    <Axel, you've always had no identity. I've never been given a title.>

    <Because I didn't feel any need for it.>

    <Of course, once you come back alive from the Great Labyrinth, it doesn't matter what your status is. But that's four years later. Right now, there is no team to subdue the Great Labyrinth, and no one wants to go to the Great Labyrinth, and there is no one to support the subjugation of the Great Labyrinth. Is it? A miracle that no one knows about cannot become power.>

    <Do you need power?>

    <The subjugation of the Great Labyrinth requires enormous support. To get that kind of support, you have to have the power.>

    <Even without support, I can get anything you need.>

    <I know. But, Axel, it's too inefficient for you to go out and search for them.>

    'Ariadne' sighed.

    <We should focus on subjugation while leaving other people to prepare the capital, human resources, supplies, items, etc. To do that, you need power.>

    <…>

    <After all, I am the rightful heir to Eldier, and the current Duke is... Wait a minute. Haven't you killed him yet?>

    Axel wiggled his eyebrows.

    <I was going to kill him after I brought you here.>

    <Are you going to attack him again and beat him to death?>

    <I’m going to set him on fire this time. It seems that he suffers the most when he is burned to death.>

    <Don't do that. No, I'm not saying don't burn it, I'm telling you not to go and kill it.>

    <…Do you still regard him as your father even after being subjected to such a thing?”

    <No, but if you kill Franz so openly, you become a wanted bounty. You've been like that every time you saved me lately? If you are wanted, you hide here with me until you recruit the Great Labyrinth subjugation team.>

    'Ariadne' sighed again.

    <After a few years, such a wanted bounty doesn’t matter… In the meantime, you'll be chased for nothing. There's no need to train me anymore, what are you going to do in hiding for 4 years?>

    <I'll try not to get caught.>

    <It's impossible not to get caught with a bounty attached.>

    <You just have to kill that them>

    <Then, are you going to leave them alone? Those who made your body like that?>

    'Ariadne' took another sip of tea as if it were burning in her stomach.

    <I don’t mean to leave it alone. You are going to be officially put to death.>

    <… It won't be easy.>

    <I can do it.>

    She smiled and pointed to herself.

    <Because I am the legitimate heir of Eldier, and the living proof of his sins.>

    In the blink of an eye, the landscape changed. This time it was the execution ground. A huge crowd had gathered. Axel was standing in the crowd with 'Ariadne' in her hoodie. Franz Eldier was pulled out screaming. The people's booing was louder, and his shouts were barely audible. Words like elixir, extortion, monopoly, tyranny, and the devil popped up everywhere. They were screaming 'my wife, my husband, my brothers, my siblings, my parents, my children, I died because I didn't have money to buy an elixir'. 'Hit him to death, rip him to death, hang him by the neck'. As people stomped their feet in excitement, Axel naturally moved behind Ariadne. Bigger than her surroundings, he surrounded her like a wall.

    He whispers in her ear, surprised 'Ariadne' shook her head as if tickled, and covered her ear with his hand. Then he stood up and brought his mouth close to her ear. Axel bent over and listened to her. Ariadne didn't hear what they were talking about. There was a lot of noise around so I couldn't hear anything. Ariadne, who finished the whisper, smiled faintly.

    Axel, who was looking at her softly, handed her 'Ariadne' flowing hair behind her ear. 'Ariadne' rested her cheek with his hand that touched his ear.

    Again, the scene suddenly changed.

    This time it was a banquet hall. Black uniform adorned with gold thread. Red baldric belt from shoulder to waist. A golden emblem with a deer's head in a profile view. Axel Valentine, dressed in the Golden Horn Knights' conquest, was surrounded by beautifully adorned girls. He appeared to be surrounded by wine glasses.

    Axel made an impression. His hand, which had been trying to push the babbling woman away, stopped and stiffened. He lifted his head and looked to where 'Ariadne' was. She was surrounded by men like peacocks.

    Ariadne was a little surprised to find a familiar among the men.

    'It's Ludwig.'

    A friendly person to her seemed to be a stranger to 'Ariadne'. As they stared at each other with a strange feeling, Axel's atmosphere became brutal. The women who had gathered around them were terrified and slowly retreated. After being freed, he spread his life and approached 'Ariadne'. Then she and the men around her also turned pale, and she quietly retreated.

    Suddenly, the surroundings were empty.

    Axel handed one of the wine glasses she was holding to Ariadne with a casual look .She asked as she took her cup.

    <Is it worth doing?>

    <Do you think something like this is worth doing?>

    <Why are you being respectful?>

    <The etiquette teacher begged the duke to keep his manners, at least in public. Whatever the relationship personally, officially we are a knight and a master.>

    <There's no one around right now. Just do what you normally do.>

    <A lot of people see it.>

    Axel gulped down the wine like a beer. This place did not fit, and he seemed to be annoyed. 'Ariadne' laughed and led him to the terrace. He closed the glass door and pulled down the curtains, leaving him alone.

    <Are you okay now?>

    Axel responded by loosening the collar of her uniform as if she was frustrated with her question.

    <It's better.>

    <If you feel uncomfortable, go in first and rest.>

    <You?>

    <This is the first banquet you held as Duke of Eldier. I have to stay until the end.>

    <It was then. Don't wait.>

    He wrinkled his brow. 'Ariadne' smiled as he crossed his chin on the terrace railing.

    “Still, I did better than I thought. It 's also popular with young ladies.>

    <It's terrible.>

    <Why, don't you like it? I'm just doing you a favor. It seems that no one is being rude.>

    <It’s annoying. I don't even understand why.>

    <It's natural to feel the desire to be close to the person you like. Have you ever?>

    <None.>

    Axel gave her her gaze.

    <Until a while ago.>

    At the gaze that met her lips exactly, 'Ariadne' covered her lips as if thinking of something. He raised the corners of his lips slightly.

    <You seem to remember.>

    <...Of course I remember .>

    <You acted like you didn't remember all this time.>

    <You did too.>

    'Ariadne' put the wine glass she was holding down on the railing.

    <What did you mean?>

    <I don’t know.>

    She frowned. Axel continued.

    “Having seen my memories, you know me well. You must have seen my source.>

    <…>

    “I am the crystallization of sin, the monster born of the origin. I'm not a proper human being.>

    <Don't be so demeaning. You weren't born that way because you wanted it.>

    "Rain or whatever, it's clear that I'm not normal. So you decide.>

    <What?>

    <Meaning.>

    'Ariadne' was silent for a long time, looking at the garden. Then he quietly opened his mouth.

    <Axel, you said you've never felt greedy for anyone.>

    <Yes.>

    <For me?>

    Axel chuckled.

    <I didn't even know what desire was until I met you.>

    She asked, looking up at him blankly.

    <Do you still feel it?>

    <Seeing that question, it seems that I am hiding it well.>

    <…>

    <Or, you don't know more about desire than I do.>

    'Ariadne' suddenly stood up and wrapped her arms around Axel's neck and dragged him down.
    Her strong body, which was impossible to move by her own strength, was gently bent. She kissed him first. Then he grabbed her by the back of her head and her waist and pulled her towards me. Her kiss deepened.

    The hand holding her is like feathers, and the strength to hold on is steel.

    After a while, she patted him on the shoulder. Her axel just fell away from her. 'Ariadne' breathed her hard.

    <…It's too long for a human being.>

    <I'm sorry, I'm not a good person.>

    <Where did you come up with such an excuse? Are you human?”>

    Her grumbling lips were red and shiny. Axel looked at her lips and asked.

    <That's why you didn't like it?>

    'Ariadne' was silent for a moment, and then she answered in a whisper.

    <No.>

    Axel lowered her head. 'Ariadne' wrapped her arms around his neck again.

    As her lips parted, 'Ariadne barely stood, leaning her arms around my waist. Axel clicked his tongue.

    <I have memories, but my body is weak and I’m the same. I'm going to need physical training.>

    <I'm doing it.>

    <Do more.>

    <Yes, I can't match you. You have to match me.>

    As Ariadne grumbled and tried to get away from him and stand on her feet, Axel lifted her up.

    <Then, just use my body to save stamina.>

    <What and how to use it?>

    <Anything. Now I can use it as a chair.>

    Ariadne, who burst into laughter, changed her posture and rested comfortably on his chest.

    Ariadne was startled.

    Axel, who was looking at 'Ariadne', had the eyes she was seeing for the first time. Not blazing blood, not dark red, but a color like honey-dried cherry.

    'Axel's eyes like that... … You can do it.'

    The inside of her chest trembled. It also looked a little dizzy. As she was holding her forehead, her eyes suddenly met 'Ariadne'. In her hallucinations, the 'original Ariadne' was staring straight at her with her blue eyes.

    'Ariadne' opened her mouth.
    "I envy you?"

    I got goosebumps.

    The hallucinations stopped suddenly. Completely like the screen with the pause button pressed.
    In it, only 'Ariadne' and Ariadne were moving.

    'Ariadne' escaped from Axel's arms. She goes one step at a time, Ariadne took a step back without realizing it.

    'Ariadne' had darkness on her toes. The closer she gets the scenery faded away.

    All of a sudden, they were standing in the pitch black darkness. 'Ariadne' said while pointing to the distant view of the terrace.

    “That’s my story.”

    She added, turning to Ariadne.

    “It’s not your story, it’s mine.”

    “...Who are you?”

    Ariadne asked. 'Ariadne' laughed like a maniac.

    “That’s what I mean. Who are you?”
    “Who are you to take over my body, my place, and my life?”

    Ariadne was momentarily speechless. 'Ariadne' came close to her.

    "You're asking who it is," she said. "Who are you?"
    “If you're going to answer Ariadne, then stop. That's my name, not yours."

    Ariadne bit her mouth. Ariadne tilted her head at an angle.

    “You just came into my story and took my place. It’s not real, it’s fake.”

    “No, I was Ariad Ne from the beginning…"

    “Are you real? Do you really think so? lie!"

    'Ariadne' made her laugh.

    “You know the truth, don’t you? You're not real, so you were wondering what kind of person the real 'Ariadne' would be. Is not it?"

    What kind of person Ariadne was in the original work, she used to think about it from time to time.
    It felt like the blood all over his body had cooled. Ariadne took a few more steps without realizing it.

    Her 'Ariadne' asserted as she approached her like that.

    “You are not Ariadne.”

    Ariadne retreated further into the darkness of nothingness. Darkness filled her ankles.

    “You are just a fake who stole my life.”

    Ariadne reached out her hand.

    “Now give me back, my life.”

    Ariadne couldn't move any longer and was frozen. Her darkness overcame her and climbed over her. She felt a sensation of freezing from the tip of her toes.

    'Ariadne' pushed her shoulder.

    “This isn’t your place, so turn it off!”

    Darkness opened her mouth behind Ariadne as she stumbled. My eyesight went black. She fell endlessly.
    Her numerous whispers could be heard towards her as she fell.

    "Who are you?"

    “You are not Ariadne.”

    "Who are you?"

    “You are fake.”

    "Who are you? Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?"

    Ariadne thought blankly.

    If not Ariadne, who am I?

    Memories of a past life flashed through my mind.

    Am I the one who has lived in a world other than this place for 28 years?

    'But she's already dead.'

    That life had come to an end. Memories from my previous life felt like a distant past now. Even the name of the previous life was fuzzy now.

    'Then what am I?'

    It was like I was drowning in water. No, I was actually suffocating. Her darkness, swallowing her up, was as black as night. Ariadne covered her mouth and nose with his hands to avoid drinking her water.

    Then the whisper in my ear grew louder.

    "Who are you?"

    "drink."

    "Who are you?"

    “It’s easier to drink.”

    "Who are you?"

    Her eyes clouded as her breathing stopped. Getting more and more blurry Ariadne thought desperately.

    'Who am I?'

    She looked back on her life from where she was born. She was born as Ariadne and lived her life as Ariadne.

    “Take the cup.”

    "Who are you?"

    “You will find out who you are.”

    "Who are you?"

    Her childhood, her morning glory vines that woke her up in the morning. Her morning glory vines dragged her down from her study room. her mother's morning glory. She loved herself, and who was her mother whom she herself loved?

    Gloria Weaver.

    “Drink and become real, not fake.”

    "Who are you?"

    Who is Gloria Weaver's daughter? Who is Solan Garcia's granddaughter? Who is the nephew of Ernst Weaver and Rebecca Garcia? Who is Erich Weaver's sister? Who was Seliana Quizelas who gave the spirit lantern and took the chaperone for? Who is Veronica Brante's master and the one who prevented her death? Who was the accuser of Franz Eldier? Who executed him and made him Duke of Eldier? Who signed Ludwig Blair? Who is Ruhr Inamin protecting? Who is the only person Pi can meet? Who is the Master Axel Valentine called 'Adrian'?

    "drink!"

    "Who are you?"

    It was a question that had no reason to ponder in the first place. There was no need to think complicated.
    Whatever the original, whatever the past life.

    “Take a cup!”

    "Who are you?"

    The life she is living now is her own, which she has built up by herself from the beginning to the end. I don't know about Ariadne in her original work, but this life was her own life, and the current Ariadne was hers.

    "Who are you?"

    So she could be sure. Ariadne declared.

    “I am Ariadne Eldier.”

    The black water that had filled her all directions drained out like an ebb. What was revealed then was a space filled with gray fog. Only call-hop became possible. Ariadne looked around her, holding her breath, and she was startled.

    Her Axel Valentine was looking down at her with her expressionless face.

    Ariadne opened her mouth to call him.

    'Axel.'

    No voice came out. She stretched out her arm. Her fingertips crumbled like sand and flowed down.
    She couldn't do anything. She watched her body crumble and disappear. Axel just looked down at her silently, then opened she mouth and smiled. She could see something indescribable lurking in her gaping mouth.

    'Demon King!'

    At the end of that scene, her vision darkened. And the whispers came again.

    “Are you Ariadne?”

    “If you are Ariadne.”

    “What are these memories?”

    Ariadne stood still in the dark. What is it really. Scenes that are too specific and strangely plausible to be a simple hallucination or a nightmare.

    'If it's not fake, whose memory is it...?'

    Was it the life Ariadne in the original went through? But there was no such dragon in the original. If these memories are real, and the novel contains only a fraction of what actually happened.

    'If all these memories are true.'

    What if the protagonist, who can really control the timing of the regression, went back in time far more than in the novel? No one just remembers, if this life is actually a life that has already been returned.

    My neck suddenly became heavy. She patted the nape of her neck with her hand. She felt the cold iron feel. It was a restraint device connected with chains.

    'No way.'

    She turned her gaze back and forth. Nothing was visible. She couldn't hear anything. She felt only the rough texture of the carpet in her hands, groping around her. She opened her mouth. She couldn't even tell if words were coming out or not, as her ears couldn't hear.

    So long

    I didn't know how much time had passed. The passage of time did not feel well. She was terribly frustrated. seemed to go crazy

    At that moment, someone pulled the restraint ball around her neck .

    'Maybe...'

    Light poured out, killing the darkness. Her reality was a soft and subtle moonlight, but to her who had been in her darkness for a long time, it felt like her dazzling light. In her light, her standing man looked down at her with her red eyes.

    Axel Valentine.

    He leaned her back towards her and covered her cheek.

    "Sorry for being late."

    Ariadne could feel her smile. Her mouth moved in an instant.

    “It’s not late.”

    “No, it was a week later than the last time. I was hoping to come sooner...>

    Axel clenched his teeth. Arya Dene stretched her arms out to him and said,
    <It is difficult to change the time of regression, so I am very greedy to want to adjust the date so delicately>
    .
    <I hate that you wait so long .>

    <It is okay to wait. I know you're coming.>

    Her arms naturally wrapped around his neck. He murmured her as he hugged her gently.

    <I have to work harder.>

    As soon as he finished speaking, the scene ended. Darkness has risen. In the dark, Ariadne was looking at her. Her 'Ariadne' looked at her like she was terribly sad.

    Numerous whispers were heard again.

    “You think you are Ariadne?”

    “If you really are Ariadne.”

    “She has returned.”

    “She returned, but she doesn’t remember”

    “It is the power of the Demon King to turn back time”

    “If you use the power of the Demon King, it becomes the Demon Lord’s.”

    “If it’s already the Demon King’s, it’s over.”

    “The Demon King will come.”

    “It’s a bad ending.”

    “It’s like a novel.”

    “Your efforts were in vain.”

    “Because I have already returned.”

    Her 'Ariadne' came to her. She turned black as her figure shattered. 'Ariadne' turned into a large cup. Inside the black glass, water blacker than the glass was glistening.

    Whispers continued.

    “If you are not Ariadne, you are nothing.”

    “If it’s Ariadne, you’ve already failed.”

    “Either way, it’s over.”

    “Give up.”

    “Be comfortable.”

    “Now there is no hope.”

    The black cup smelled sweet. The smell was so sweet that it clouded my consciousness.

    “I will give you a new life.”

    “The real life for you.”

    “Life without failure.”

    “You can accept it.”

    “You will be happy.”

    Whispers hovered around the glass, seducing. Something beautiful was reflected on the surface of the black water contained in it. Instead of approaching and looking into it, Ariadne stared still at the glass itself.

    Black cup.

    hallucinatory curse. Alluring whispers.

    A labyrinth that appeared suddenly. Hallucinations you've had before. Her demon lord who must be watching her.

    The Demon King's masterpiece.

    'What is the purpose of these hallucinations that I see now?'

    The Demon King's intentions.

    Finally, my head became clear. Ariadne slowly opened her mouth.

    “It’s not over, is it?”

    The continuous whispering ceased.

    “Seeing you work so hard to get me to give you a black cup

    "…Do you have any reason to be like this?”

    No answer came back. She went on to say to herself to organize her thoughts.

    “If I’m making useless efforts, there’s no reason for the Demon King to give me a black cup. If I let it go, it would fail anyway.”

    There was no longer a sweet smell from the black cup.

    “Whether these memories are fake or real, I know for sure.”

    Suddenly I couldn't stop laughing. She smiled and continued.

    “That I have a path to a happy ending.”

    When it was speculated that the demon king might be behind Axel's growth. When she was sure that the demon lord was watching her. She feared that she was on a path destined for failure like a novel. Even though he was prepared that it could be only despair, he was carrying a lamp, so it was the way he was going. But I just realized that there is hope along the way.

    'The fact that the Demon King is trying to interfere means that we also have a way to win.'

    She couldn't help but laugh. She smiled and lifted her black glass.

    “Give up and get comfortable, if that were the case, I wouldn’t have even started in the first place.”

    Ariadne poured it out.

    “I will keep going.”

    Empty glasses were scattered.

    Zeng, the darkness cracked.
    Axel's face was right in front of her. His exhalation was so soft that it touched his breath. Ariadne panicked and tried to get up. Her heavy arms gently pressed her shoulders. He felt the rough touch of her palms on her bare skin.

    <Grow up>

    'Are you still hallucinating? No wait, bare skin?'

    The feel of the duvet touched her skin. Are you all naked? Startled, her head went blank. However, apart from her surprise, her body calmly yawned and opened her mouth.

    <What time is it, Axel?>

    <It is still before dawn. Get some more sleep.>

    <Then you can rest a little longer. I'm already awake.>

    She smiled at her and moved around in the blanket. Ariadne left her body moving on her own, trying to figure out the situation. She looked up and saw that she wasn't cutting her pillow, but her Axel's arm. She had a good pillow lying nearby. Her body moved as she moved closer to him. Her Axel pulled up her quilt and wrapped her around her. As she buried herself in his arms, she felt the soft, hot touch of her chest.

    She was also in her naked body.

    'This, this situation, no way, no way...?'

    Ariadne let out an inner scream. Because of her immobile body, her scream only reverberated inside.

    'Oh My God. Oh my gosh. Oh My God.'

    Ariadne realized what the situation was, and desperately tried to think differently.

    'But Axel's body temperature is very high. No, no, not this, where are you?'

    She focused on the surrounding landscape that came into view. From the ceiling hung a chandelier covered in cobwebs. There was also a large door with a ox head engraved in gold and precious stones surrounded by olive branches. The wallpaper, which looked like it had gold leaf, was torn and moldy and messed up. The canopy hanging on the bed was all over the place. In the past, it must have been a luxurious room to the point of jaw-dropping. But now it was more of an old ruin. At least the area around the bed was clean as it was removed to make a bed, and the bedding they were using was also new.
    Ariadne saw the pattern on the door and knew where it was.

    'Labyrinth, the capital of the Cretan Empire. Where the Great Labyrinth is... Is this the old imperial palace?'

    A cow's head surrounded by olive branches was the crest of the fallen Cretan Empire.

    Suddenly, her body lifted her hand up on its own, and gently stroked Axel's cheek.

    <it's okay?>

    It was a sweet voice. Axel smirked as if there was no point.

    “Who will ask the question. Are you okay?>

    <Yeah'?>

    < Mixing a body with an insane monster, isn't it disgusting?>

    <Who is a monster?>

    Ariadne grunted, pulling his cheeks instead of stroking them.

    <You, with such a face and body, if you say you’re a monster or anything else, you will be insulting by men.>

    <You must be the only one who thinks that way.>

    Axel said bluntly, leaving Ariadne with her cheeks twitching wildly.

    <Without you, I’m just a monster that can’t even become a man.>

    <Axel.>

    Ariadne grabbed his face with both hands and met his shady, red eyes.

    <How many times have I told you? You are not a monster, you are a person.>

    <Only to you.>

    <No.>

    <You also saw the gazes your colleagues cast on me after they witnessed the source. You were always the only one who didn't change your attitude toward me even after seeing it.>

    <Axel, the reason other people are doing this is because you have never opened your heart to them.>

    <...?>

    <Once they get to know you and get to know you like me, everyone will know that you are just a person, but you are just born a little odd.>

    She smiled.

    <I’m not special, I’m the only one who gave up on you.>

    <No.>

    Axel added, pressing her lips to her forehead.

    <You are special.>

    I could feel the movement of my lips on my forehead. Ariadne couldn't come to her senses. Aside from her circumstances, her body trembled calmly.

    <Because that’s not it. Give people a little bit more. Like you do to me so anyone...>

    <Is that really okay?>

    <Huh?>

    Axel smiled strangely and pulled her into her arms. She pressed her cheek to his chest.

    <I mean, can I give it to someone else ‘like this’?>
    He whispered in her ear.

    “I get upset just because you smile at others.”

    <…>

    <Are you not like that?>

    The high-temperature bass that reached his ear made his whole body tingle. It felt like a fever.
    Ariadne would rather be her third party, as before, and she would like to watch. Her irritation was excessive.

    'Isn't the hallucination curse broken? Why now... … . How long does this hallucination last?'

    Apart from her mind, her body protested casually.

    <You know I don’t mean to give up on you like that! I just want you to get along well with your colleagues...>

    'It's fortunate in many ways.'

    His chest vibrated against her cheek. Axel smiled low. Ariadne let out her sigh.

    <Don’t laugh, Axel. I'm serious.>

    <Honestly, I don't really care who sees me as a monster if it's not you. Other humans have no need or interest.>

    <…Don't do that. If you treat your colleagues like you are now, it won't help you even in conquering the Great Labyrinth.>

    Axel was silent for a moment before opening her mouth.

    <By the way, Aria.>

    <Yeah.>

    <You are so vehemently denying that I am a monster, you don't deny that I was crazy yesterday.>

    <That's true.>

    Ariadne pushed his chest to his chest. got out of his arms She sat up and looked at him and grumbled.

    <You were insane, and you had no conscience. is not it? Do you have anything to say?>

    <…I'm sorry.>

    <I heard a lot of apologies yesterday. After 'a little bit more.' It’s because the same family keeps coming together.>

    <I am so sorry. I…>

    Rising up after her, her bewildered Axel looked at her Ariadne's expression and knelt down on her one knee, placing her arm on her chest.

    Perhaps the only apology he formally learned was the attitude of a knight asking his master for an apology.

    He lowered his head and said as if pleading.

    <sorry. I will accept any punishment sweetly, so please forgive me.>

    <… … I didn't make you learn the etiquette to use it, Axel.>

    Ariadne relaxed her expression and smiled as if it was absurd.

    <done. Because I said it was okay even though you warned me.”

    She added as she sat down to him.

    <It was the day you met the source. You see it every time, but you can't get used to it. I can't even get used to it...So I was prepared.>

    Ariadne lifted his chin slightly and kissed him. It was a light bird kiss.

    <It's okay, Axel.>

    Axel cupped her cheek and kissed her a little deeper than her. Ariadne responded to him, closed her eyes, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He could feel his gaze on her closed eyelids. When she lifted her lips and opened her eyes, she saw her looking at her with her slightly turned eyes. He asked in a thirsty voice.

    <Then, are you okay now?>

    <It's not okay! It 's hard!>

    Ariadne shouted. Axel laughed softly.

    <Hearing your voice, your stamina seems to have recovered quite a bit.>

    <I need to recover more! I have to go into the Great Labyrinth!>

    <I told you to rest for two days before entering. so…>

    He tried to hug her back. She picked up the pillow lying next to her and pressed it to his face.

    “You really don’t have a conscience? Get some more sleep.>

    Axel, pushed by her pillow, stared intently at the back of his neck, which was suddenly revealed through the locks of his hair. Ariadne touched the part. She tingled. She left her mark.

    He slowly looked down at me. I felt my face heat up.

    <Ariadne.>

    Axel called her softly. When she lifted her head, she saw him, whose eyes had turned even more than before. Dawn, seeping through the broken windows, flew over his bare upper body. The light engraved deep shadows like a statue on the body that had been trained to the limit. Even the old scars looked like decorations. Her dawn, which soaked her him, soon reached her. He looked at her as if possessed by her, and called her name as if she moaned.

    “Aria, you… >

    The face of the man who was charmed was terribly beautiful. It was so provocative that Ariadne wanted to turn her eyes away. But she couldn't take her eyes off him, let her body turn her eyes away. She stretched her arms out to him. His face got closer.

    At that moment, an earnest call was heard.

    "Aria!"

    And everything disappeared like a mist.

    * * *

    Someone was gently shaking her shoulder. Ariadne struggled to open her eyes.

    Axel's face was in front of her. Her exhalation is so tight that it touches her breath.

    Terrified, Ariadne pushed him down. She had become accustomed to the hallucinations where she was not moving at will, and the force entered her hands excessively. There was a clunking sound.

    "Aria...?"

    Axel, who suddenly slapped her on the cheek, looked at her with a puzzled look. Ariadne drew her breath hard as her face flushed red.

    "you... you…"

    She couldn't speak properly, only her mouth twitched. She was so startled that she didn't seem to realize that she had just slapped him on the cheek. Axel gently rubbed the cheek that had been beaten. I think I hit it pretty hard for Ariadner, but honestly, it didn't hurt at all.

    'Wait, it was just my left hand.'

    Could it be that your wrist is broken? You may have sprains or cracks in your bones. No matter how hurt she is, she will not feel at all.

    He hurriedly grabbed

    Ariadne's left hand and confirmed.

    'Fortunately, she's fine.'

    When he relaxed and relieved his strength, Ariadne quickly withdrew his hand and stepped back behind him. It was obviously a move to distance himself from him. Axel was puzzled and tilted his head.

    “Aria? Are you okay?”

    “I was worried that you were out of your mind when you were out of the hallucinatory curse .”

    “..Axel?”

    She looked at him with her suspicious face. Axel frowned.

    “What did you see that made you so surprised? He said it was not a very dangerous hallucination.”

    “…Now, isn't this a hallucination?"

    "No."

    Ariadne blinked her eyes in the distance and looked around him.
     
  14. ZhaZha

    ZhaZha Just random wanderer ƪ(‾_‾)ʃ

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    I’m so disappointed when red-haired witch was executed by Weavers so fast without interrogated process in manhwa :facepalm:
     
    Bella94 likes this.
  15. twistingfeelings

    twistingfeelings Well-Known Member

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    Anyone knows how FL family react to ML? Any funny moments?;
     
  16. Shion Lee

    Shion Lee Well-Known Member

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    but yk i totally get her. I mean if it's a family that never showed much love or made it known that they care then suddenly declared they had a say in how you're gonna live your life and in the way you're gonna find your love I'd be furious too¯\_(ツ)_/¯
     
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  17. evil_muffins

    evil_muffins Well-Known Member

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    was hoping pi was maybe the ML, or heck, even 2nd ML who can only watch from afar, but now im more devastated knowing what happened to him :blob_teary:
     
  18. Trulycloudy

    Trulycloudy Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, and the happy ending for pi felt so forced too. Like the author made him happy for the sake of the readers.