As soon as Caligo lowered his hand, a loud sound, like a flare, went off.
It definitely wasn’t a bomb.
It was the sound of bones falling to the ground from a black hole over Rosa's head.
[t/n: The original Korean uses ‘Rosenta’ but, as I use her name to clarify which gender she is at any point in the story, I will be using ‘Rosa’ to avoid confusion.]
There were so many that, at first glance, one couldn’t tell that they were skeletons.
"Skeletons, rise."
[t/n: bolded, italicized words indicate a command given using the Estella ability.]
A strange voice, that was hard to believe was human, rang out.
The skeletons began to assemble themselves one-by-one, creating strange sounds as they found the parts of their bodies.
There weren’t just human skeletons.
Before heading north, Rosa visited various graves in addition to meeting with friends.
And this was the result.
"Wow!”
"Eliminate that woman!”
The enemies looked baffled at first, but they quickly regained their senses.
And they charged at Rosa.
Of course, she wasn’t concerned.
Because she expected to be attacked while the skeletons were forming.
"Prohibitio."
Her shadow stretched horizontally in front of her, as if marking a boundary.
As soon as anyone tried to cross the line, a black, fiery shadow would immediately snatch the intruder away.
It was the perfect trap.
However, Rosa wasn't the only one who could use such commands.
Caligo also shouted his own.
"Release.”
The shadow that trapped people like rats disappeared in an instant.
Rosa didn't waver and immediately followed with her own command.
"Don't come near me.”
She didn't end there.
Even such ordinary words were uttered using her ability.
"When I was young, my father told me that I could infuse power into any words……. Yet, at some point, he started only teaching me basic commands and curses.”
Rosa walked forward.
No one could approach Rosa, perhaps because of her command to stay away.
When she stood in front of them, they felt like they had turned into stone and couldn’t move.
They were then overtaken by the skeletons that had finished forming.
"On top of that, the magical tools I’d been wearing had been weakening my powers. However, it’s been a long time since I took them off. I’m curious.”
Rosa stood before Caligo.
As much as he wanted to take action against Rosa, he couldn’t move.
It wasn't just Caligo.
Everyone in the space had the same thoughts about Rosa.
Leading a vast army of skeletons, the woman with swirling azure hair that seemed to swallow up the night sky...….
"How far will my commands reach?"
She looked like the god of death.
Despite the conflict, it was a scene that made one feel both reverence and terror at the same time.
***
It was easy to bring Caligo to his knees.
"Sit down."
Because, at her words, his legs immediately gave out as though they’d lost all strength.
Of course, she had no intention of hurting him, but if Caligo kept fighting, they would both get hurt.
At the moment, he was looking up at her with an uncharacteristically blank expression, but it would be different once he came to his senses.
She quickly said,
"I'm going to take away your voice.”
She didn't give vague commands, like ‘silence’ or ‘quiet’.
She used words to construct a command that went beyond the abilities and spells that Caligo had taught her and expressed the entirety of her will.
"Hmm, my guess was right.”
Usually, smoke would seep in, but this time, instead, black smoke flowed out from Caligo's neck.
It seemed to literally take away his voice.
Caligo opened his mouth wide, but not even a groan came out.
"My meeting with you, father, a few days ago made me realize a lot. I lost a lot because of it, but I also gained something like this.”
She stopped using commands.
She spoke normally since there wasn’t any further need for them.
She leaned slightly toward him, adjusting the hem of her fluttering skirt.
"There's one more thing I want to find out. I wonder if it would be possible to take away your power, just like your voice.”
As soon as she uttered that, her body suddenly grew cold, as if warning her.
‘Well, I did push myself more than usual and made a mess of things.’
But she couldn't stop.
She onto her father’s body as he began to squirm, losing his cool.
And finally, she spat out her command.
"Father, I will absorb all the power you have.”
***
How should she say it?
Compared to how long and difficult the process was, she felt like she’d captured Caligo easily.
Then again, was it really that easy?
She was so exhausted that she could barely control her body, and it was hard to walk.
"This way.”
She was being carried on Enoch's back…….
In that condition, she was on her way to a secret cabin for northerners coming and going from the territory, guided by Elef.
First of all, she decided that it was important to recover at least some of her stamina before heading to the palace.
Of course, she also had to take care of the aftermath.
"First, Duke, rest a while with your butler. I will go and clean up the rubble with my men.”
“...…please.”
The moment she fell face down on the white snow coughing up blood, the commands controlling the skeletons were released.
Those who tried to escape from the now immobile skeletons were quickly killed by mages or northerners.
The only one left was Caligo.
"And before heading to the Imperial Palace, I'll go to the village and bring two prisoner wagons.”
"Yes, sir.”
After acting as a reliable guide to the end, Elef headed back outside.
She got off Enoch's back.
Then, lying on the hard couch for a moment, she was about to take a rest.
"The bleeding stopped.”
Suddenly, a shadow hung over her face.
It was Enoch.
He examined her body, checking if she had any symptoms other than coughing up blood.
But it was not just the worry in his eyes that was directed at her.
"…Are you mad?"
"What could I be mad at? I’m just a mere butler.”
Unlike the meticulous examination of her condition, Enoch's voice sounded very cold.
She would have ignored his reaction if she had been indifferent to him like before…….
It bothered her so much now.
Especially, Enoch's gaze that wouldn’t look at her directly, which was strange.
She quickly reached up and grabbed Enoch, wondering if he would leave things like this.
"You’re not just a butler.”
Fortunately, he didn't pull away from her hand.
Enoch simply looked at her, then stopped just as he was about to cover her with a blanket.
His and her eyes were intertwined.
She saw a pair of pale green eyes that she hadn’t seen in a while and that didn’t feel very lively.
‘...…Is it because of me?’
"Enoch."
She called him once again.
Then she let go of the hand Enoch was holding and slowly extended it, this time, towards his face.
She wrapped it around Enoch's cheek.
"I need time to sort things out.”
"What the hell...….”
There stood a ferocious beast who had thrown off the facade of a good butler.
Enoch spoke in a low tone, as if he had no intention of hiding his seething emotions.
"What needs to be sorted out?"
She quietly stared at him.
Her head was already cluttered because she had a lot to deal with, so she was trying hard to suppress other thoughts.
For example, Enoch.
"What you are to me.”
Everything wasn’t resolved, but maybe it was because she felt as though she’d managed to take a step forward?
Again, thoughts of Enoch began to spring up in her mind.
It was now time to sort out the complicated feelings about Enoch that had been kept tightly hidden.
"You and I know too much about each other to be a butler and master. We have begun to create too many intersections between us.”
As she continued, Enoch bit his lower lip.
His lips, which were originally red, began to turn particularly red.
Enoch was anxious.
"So, you don't like it?"
"This isn’t a normal top-down relationship. But that doesn't mean we're friends either, does it?"
What she felt towards Enoch was not friendship.
In the first place, there is no such thing as friends taming each other.
Furthermore, there was an emotional tug-of-war between them, a mixture of strange feelings.
Just like now.
"……Yes. From the beginning, I’ve never regarded you as a friend.”
Enoch's voice and words clearly expressed his desire for her.
She touched his lips which had started bleeding without thought.
All this was strange.
***
She had recovered enough to stand.
So, she decided to continue recovering her stamina in the prisoner's wagon that Elef had brought.
[t/n: Remember that, as far as the public knows, she’s a fugitive and has to act as a prisoner alongside her father.]
She would be stuck there sitting around somewhere from now on anyway.
"Really I...….”
"Enoch, you can't follow me; it will only be me, my father, Duke Snow, and his men who heading to the Imperial Palace.”
Even the moment she climbed into the carriage, Enoch looked at her anxiously.
But she did not hesitate.
The journey to the outskirts of the capital was supposed to be completed with Enoch's help.
But that was it.
The journey with Enoch was limited to the outskirts of the capital.
"Instead, watch from the sidelines, and show up when I am in danger.”
This was the best thing for Rosa.
Her safety would be guaranteed because of her status as a noble.
But Enoch was different.
He was only a butler, not from a famous aristocratic family or background of any note.
Of course, they could reveal that he was the master of the Magic Tower, but that would only have caused the mages to suffer.
She didn't want unnecessary sacrifices.
"Okay. Then if you think you're in danger, I'll come...….”
"I believe you,"
She said, smiling brightly at Enoch as she closed the open door of the carriage, with her own hands.
It was a prisoner's carriage consisting only of a wooden frame, so she could see all around it.
Of course, she could see her father.
Within a matter of hours, Caligo felt like he had completely changed, not only his entire demeanor, but also his outward appearance.
Perhaps, because he had lost his ability, even though his voice had returned, he only murmured as if he were half-out of his mind.
If you listened carefully, it was all curses.
But nothing had changed.
"……Duke Snow, I'm fully prepared.”
"Yes, we're all set. Let's get going now."