Chapter 136 - Serin (5)

Serena remembered Serin’s last words clearly.

["The Watcher of the Abyss is a vicious monster. He knows everything, and he shifts between human and Demon..."]

Just as her sister was about to continue, a pitch-black demonic hand had appeared and dragged her away. Serena had been too shocked to do anything. She had simply stared blankly as her sister vanished.

There had been nothing she could do. She could not enter the mirror. To get her sister back, she needed another way. The first step was to meet the Watcher of the Abyss.

Serena had headed for Baron Miyatro’s mansion as soon as the sun rose. She had even brought troops in case anything happened.

Fighting back the oppressive pressure, Serena stared at Ilea.

"The Watcher of the Abyss and Lady Staviana. Just what are you two?"

A faint sneer touched Ilea’s lips. She spoke coldly.

"What are we? Please make your question clear."

Serena glanced around. There were far too many eyes and ears here. What she was about to discuss was much too sensitive for such a place.

"Let’s go somewhere else. If I speak here, you may find yourself in a rather awkward position too, Lady Staviana."

Ilea answered with a cold smile.

"I don’t mind. Feel free to say whatever you like."

Serena bit her lip, feeling deeply insulted.

"... How rude. Lady Staviana, what right do you have to keep Sir Yohan’s guest standing outside his door?"

Ilea’s eyes curved in a smile.

"I am merely conveying Lord Yohan’s wishes to you, my lady. He does not wish to see you right now."

Yohan was currently trapped inside the mirror. He was in no position to meet Serena privately.

Serena was seething. She needed to discover her missing sister’s whereabouts as soon as possible, yet too many people were getting in her way. Anxious and restless, she wanted to scream.

But she did not act on the urge. Serena put reason before emotion. Losing her temper would only hurt her own interests. She took a steadying breath and spoke.

"... Very well, Lady Staviana. I’ll say everything here. If this conversation damages the honor of House Marcano, House Miyatro, or even House Staviana—the honor of any of our three families, however slightly—you will have to pay the price, Lady Ilea."

Ilea smiled as though she could not care less.

"That’s quite a long preamble. Go ahead."

Serena opened her mouth, her face expressionless. Just as her voice began to emerge, someone shouted,

"One moment, please!"

It was Haman, Yohan’s butler. He looked anxiously back and forth between the two ladies.

Serena murmured, "You’re..."

"H-Haman, my lady."

He bowed his head to Serena, then spoke into Ilea’s ear.

"Lady Staviana, my master greatly dislikes attracting attention. Please settle this situation tactfully. I beg you."

Having whispered his plea, Haman bent at the waist in a ninety-degree bow. Ilea watched him silently, then sighed deeply.

"I’ve put you in an awkward position without meaning to, Haman. You have my sincere apologies."

Flustered, Haman waved his hands.

"N-No, my lady! I only spoke out of concern that this might harm you two ladies and my master!"

Ilea nodded and turned to Serena.

"Lady Marcano, would you come back around lunchtime? It really is impossible for you to see Sir Yohan right now."

Ilea had offered a truce first. Serena had no choice but to accept. If she pushed this to the bitter end, everyone would bleed. Those of Marcano blood were not the sort to incur such pointless losses.

Serena softened her rigid expression.

"... I suppose there’s no other choice. I’ll return at midday."

She turned and walked away. The knights who had accompanied her followed her out of sight.

Watching them leave, Ilea murmured,

"Serena Marcano. If she really intended to mention Serin out here, I’ll have to give her credit for her nerve."

The air around them grew cold. Something about the atmosphere was chilling, and Haman swallowed hard.

"M-My lady, you should come inside as well. It’s cold out."

Ilea and Haman promptly returned to the mansion. She still had work to do.

* * *

Ilea and Lumina had found a way to get Yohan out of the mirror. The solution was simpler than they had expected. Rather than work directly on the Book of Doom, which only Apostles could touch, they could magically connect another mirror to it.

Pieces of glass, large and small, clustered around the black rift gaping in the center of the mirror-shaped Book of Doom. Each piece was a product of magical engineering. Linked together, they formed a single magic circle.

After checking the spell array’s calculations, Lumina spoke.

"That looks about right. Shall we get started?"

Ilea nodded.

"I’ll activate it with my mana."

She channeled mana into the spell array. At once, the glass fragments began to blaze blue. The void in the center of the Book of Doom shuddered.

Anxiety crept over Lumina’s face.

"Please..."

Before she could finish, Ilea cried out,

"It worked!"

A pale hand reached out of the void. Yohan appeared soon afterward. For some reason, his face was rigid with tension.

"Damn it!"

With a curse, Yohan was flung out. His body slammed into the workshop wall with a dull thud. Fortunately, he was unhurt. Ilea’s magic had swiftly cushioned the impact.

She sighed in relief.

"Yohan, are you all right?"

Yohan slid down the wall and said,

"... I nearly died."

Lumina chuckled.

"It does look a little dangerous. It’ll need some more work."

The transfer process had been extremely dangerous. Moments ago, Yohan had truly thought he might die. All manner of backlash had assailed him as he crossed into the mortal realm.

Ilea spoke.

"Still, it was a success. I learned a great deal this time, Lady Lumina."

Lumina answered with a rather haughty expression.

"You’re quite a quick learner yourself. A witch through and through."

Yohan brushed the dust from his clothes.

"Put proper safeguards in place. If Serin had come with me, she would have died."

Serin could now cross into the mortal realm through that rift as well. Ilea looked puzzled.

"You aren’t planning to bring Serin into the mortal realm, are you?"

"Someday. Not now, of course."

Serin bore the side effects of the Mind-Piercing Eye in Serena’s place. Time flowed slowly in the world within the mirrors, allowing her to endure those effects without losing her life. If she came into the mortal realm, that would change. Either Serena or Serin would inevitably die young.

Yohan did not want that outcome. For the time being, Serin would have to keep living in the world within the mirrors. She could not have her freedom until he found a way to overcome the Mind-Piercing Eye’s side effects.

Of course, Yohan would find that solution. He had already promised Serin as much. One day, she too would live as an ordinary human.

"I’ll make the preparations. There’s something more important right now, though."

"What is it?"

"Serena came to see you."

That was only natural. Serin had been talking about Yohan when a pitch-black demonic hand suddenly abducted her. Serena had witnessed it with her own eyes. She could hardly avoid suspecting Yohan was behind everything.

Yohan asked,

"Is she at the mansion now?"

"No. I told her to come back around lunchtime."

"Well done. This should be easier than I expected."

Ilea looked puzzled.

"Serena suspects you, Yohan. Doesn’t that put us in a rather awkward position on several fronts?"

"I’ve done enough to win Serin over. What you’re worried about won’t happen."

Apparently satisfied with that explanation, Ilea nodded.

"... I see. That’s a relief."

For some reason, there was a strange note of disappointment in her voice. Yohan was a little puzzled, but he did not press her about it.

"Let’s return to the mansion first. I need to prepare for Serena’s visit."

Lumina immediately dispelled her spatial magic. In an instant, the three of them were back at the mansion.

* * *

Serena stared at the enormous full-length mirror standing to one side of her room. It was a magical artifact. Two knocks on the mirror would bring an answer from Serin.

Lately, things had been different. No matter how much Serena knocked, Serin never appeared.

"... Serin."

Where on earth had her sister been taken? Serena was almost mad with worry. She had not had a proper night’s sleep lately.

Close to tears, she approached the mirror and placed a trembling hand against the glass. Knowing there would be no response, she knocked out of habit anyway.

Once. Twice.

No answer came. Serena hung her head. As she stood there in anguish, a familiar voice reached her.

"Serena!"

Serena immediately looked up at the mirror. Serin’s image had appeared on the glass.

"S-Serin!"

Serena’s eyes widened. Her voice trembled like a leaf. Serin smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. You must have been so worried."

Serena frantically ran her hands over the mirror.

"W-What on earth happened? Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

From the other side of the mirror, Serin placed her hand over Serena’s.

"Serena, don’t cry. I really am all right."

The tears welling in Serena’s eyes spilled over. She sniffled, then began to sob loudly.

"I thought you were really gone, that something had happened to you... I was so worried..."

Serena cried for a long time. Only after quite a while did she manage to calm down a little.

Serin spoke.

"There, there. A grown lady shouldn’t cry like a little child."

Wiping away her tears, Serena said,

"... Serin, that monster. That evil being you told me about."

Serin’s expression grew quite serious.

"I was just about to tell you."

"No, you don’t have to. I know. You were talking about the Watcher of the Abyss, weren’t you?"

Serin was a little flustered. An inexplicable mix of discomfort and guilt flickered across her face.

"It was all a misunderstanding on my part."

"... What? What do you mean?"

After a moment’s thought, Serin spoke with a calm expression.

"Sir Yohan, the Watcher of the Abyss, isn’t a monster. He’s actually a very good person."

Serena could not make any sense of what her sister was saying. She frowned at Serin.

"Serin, what are you talking about...?"

A gentle smile spread across Serin’s face.

"Trust me, Serena. He’s someone you can trust."

Serena’s expression froze. She could not shake the strange feeling that something was wrong.