TSMD 07

Chapter 7

“Ah, well, it was something I already knew to some extent.”

I already knew that intruders who deliberately entered the Black Forest, a place said to be possessed by demons and cursed, never survived.

‘That’s why it came to be called the Cursed Forest in the first place, and it was also why Leo was abandoned here—to be killed.’

Even though Tanto was merely telling me something I already knew, his words felt unusually sharp, like thorns.

Was Tanto deliberately trying to frighten me while giving me one last chance? Telling me that if I had any ulterior motives, I should run away while I still could?

‘But could everything really have been the work of the bandits?’

At the moment, I couldn’t tell whether everything he said was true.

As far as I knew, the Shadow Bandits were righteous outlaws.

‘And people who take in unfortunate people and protect them can’t possibly be completely bad, right?’

I wished I could confidently say that I had no ulterior motives whatsoever.

But there was one problem.

I was currently deceiving them.

‘Unlike Leo, I have a goal that I absolutely have to accomplish. I can’t say that I have no intentions or ulterior motives for joining the bandits. I’m even acting because of it.’

In the end, I had come to join the bandits because of my own circumstances. From their perspective, that could certainly make my intentions seem suspicious.

In other words?

‘If they find out, I’m dead!’

The thought that I had to deceive them somehow made my heart pound so loudly that I could hear it in my ears.

Pretending that I knew absolutely nothing, I innocently clapped my hands together with a loud clap! to lighten the atmosphere.

“Wow! Then it must be safe to stay here, right? So that pretty Crow turns out to be a knight after all.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

This time, I pointed directly at Hedius with my finger.

“I think I might fall in love with that pretty one. Actually, I fell for him at first sight!”

It was a completely shameless lie with not a single grain of sincerity behind it.

How could I possibly like someone who had tried to kill me?

I wasn’t actually crazy!

But as soon as I dropped that bombshell, Tanto’s face gradually turned deathly pale before becoming filled with utter shock.

“Whaaaat?!”

He looked as though he had just heard something he absolutely wasn’t supposed to hear, but I shyly brushed my hair behind my ear and blushed.

“Since I look especially pretty today, almost like a bride, I want to have a wedding with my pretty one, too.”

I had only wanted to tease Tanto, but apparently my words had shocked him so badly that he stopped trying to probe me.

Instead, he desperately begged me to forget everything he had said.

Thanks to that, I managed to get through the crisis safely.

Not long afterward, the sun was already beginning to sink.

“Oh my, it’s already getting dark.”

Tanto quickly moved a torch toward the front.

The darkness surrounding us immediately brightened.

The towering sequoia trees that stretched high into the sky looked like the legs of enormous giants, their tops seemingly impossibly high.

Yet, as they always did, the bandits skillfully pushed aside branches and made a path through the forest as though they were completely accustomed to it.

After some time had passed—

Two enormous sequoia trees appeared ahead, their trunks as massive as pillars in a temple.

They were more magnificent than any trees I had seen so far.

Hedius, who was leading the group, passed between the trunks of the two trees, and the bandits followed him inside.

“Hyah!”

Not wanting to fall behind, Tanto snapped the reins.

After passing through the narrow path between the trees, an enormous rock wall that filled my entire field of vision appeared before us.

And within it, I could see an opening resembling a cave.

Beyond that opening, the outline of a village slowly began to emerge.

“We’ve finally arrived. Welcome to Shadow Village, Angel.”

At the same time, I was so shocked that my already round eyes widened even further.

A broad, circular lake and stretch of land surrounded by enormous, towering mountain ranges.

Wooden cabins clustered together across the fields.

A fairly sturdy-looking bridge extending all the way toward the forest on the opposite side.

And above it all, a full moon shining brightly over the landscape, beneath a deep-blue night sky where the Milky Way flowed like a river.

“Wow! It’s beautiful!”

I let out a genuine cry of admiration at the breathtaking sight I was seeing for the first time.

For someone who had spent her entire life seeing nothing but dusty skies and ruined buildings scattered across a wasteland, this looked like an unreachable dream.

“My goodness, what kind of luxury is this?!”

I threw myself onto a soft bed stuffed completely full of goose down.

‘They gave someone they’re escorting to this kind of room? Maybe Hedius really is the actual Angel?’

What was even more surprising was that the place I was staying was on the top floor of the mansion where Hedius himself lived.

Sure, it seemed like they had given me an attic because it would make it difficult for me to escape while keeping watch over me.

But who cared?

The bed was warm, and I could see the densely scattered stars across the night sky through the window.

There was no way I wouldn’t like this room!

I grinned from ear to ear.

“There isn’t much here, but compared to the one-pyeong trash room I used to live in, this is basically a palace.”

Perhaps that was why.

Since I was practically a hostage, Tanto had repeatedly warned me not to leave the room unless I was specifically given permission.

But that warning?

I didn’t care about it at all!

“Yaaawn~! How long has it been since I got to rest like this?”

My entire body felt pleasantly relaxed, and my eyelids were becoming heavy.

I was just about to fall into a deep sleep when—

Knock, knock.

The sound of someone knocking made me sit upright.

“Angel, it’s me.”

“Leo?”

I recognized Leo’s voice immediately.

I went straight to the door and tried turning the handle, but it was useless.

“There’s a sturdy lock on this door. Even an elephant couldn’t break it without a key.”

“An elephant? What kind of creature is that?”

“Hmm, I’ve never actually seen one either. I heard about them from Granny Etubebe. Apparently, they’re enormous animals that live in hot countries. And they’re very strong.”

“I see. Leo really does know everything.”

I let out a small laugh.

For some reason, a memory of talking with my younger sibling when I was little suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘They really were so quirky and cute.’

As I retraced those old memories in my mind, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.

“That’s it! Leo, how about we do this? We can sit with our backs against opposite sides of the door and talk. That way, we’ll at least be able to feel a little bit of each other’s warmth.”

“Yes! I like that idea. I’m sitting down now. What about you, Angel?”

“Me too.”

Of course, the door wasn’t made of thin wooden boards, and there was no way we could actually feel each other’s warmth through the thick wood.

Still, it was a good way to feel as though we were connected.

When I was young and my parents scolded us, my younger sibling and I would sometimes talk to each other like this.

And as I thought about that peaceful past that I could never return to, my heart began to ache.

“…Um, Angel.”

Leo finally spoke hesitantly.

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for today. And I’m sorry for making people misunderstand you as a kidnapper again. I didn’t mean for that to happen…”

At Leo’s words, I smiled softly.

It had been an incredibly, incredibly long time since someone had told me thank you or apologized to me.

‘He’s completely different from the future Dark Overlord I imagined—someone selfish, hot-tempered, and violent.’

I hadn’t forgotten that he would eventually become such a terrifying Dark Overlord that merely hearing his name would make people’s bodies tremble.

But that was a story about the future.

Right now, Leo was nothing more than a child.

Perhaps I really could become closer to this child from now on.

That was how pure and loyal Leo was right now.

Almost exactly like my younger sibling, who had passed away long before me.

Maybe it was because I was thinking about the peaceful conversations I’d had with my sibling when we were young.

Or perhaps it was because of the moonlight pouring through the pristine window.

Either way, the pieces of my heart that had become stiff from being constantly tense seemed to slowly crumble away, one by one.

“Mm, no. I’m actually grateful to you, Leo.”

“…Wait a moment! I can’t hear your voice very well.”

I brought my mouth closer to the door and spoke.

“I survived today because of you. Thank you so much, Leo.”

“Ah.”

Leo let out a short exclamation, perhaps embarrassed.

“And, Leo, my name is Ibi. How about calling me by my name once you feel comfortable enough?”

“…Ibi. Yes, I’ll do that, Angel.”

The child’s youthful voice coming from the other side of the door tickled my ears.

And although I thought there was no way the warmth could actually pass through the door, somehow a gentle warmth seemed to spread from the other side.

When was the last time I’d had a conversation this close to another person?

Wanting to enjoy the warmth this child gave me just a little longer, without asking for anything in return, I quietly closed my eyes where I sat.

“Leo!”

In the pitch-black early morning, Tanto discovered Leo crouching in the hallway.

The child’s cheeks had turned bright red, as though he had been sitting there for quite some time.

“You! When did you even—”

Tanto had come to check just in case, and his expression showed that his suspicions had been confirmed.

He sighed deeply before quickly approaching Leo.

“What are you doing here right now?! Didn’t you hear what the Chief said?”

“Shh. Tanto, be quiet.”

Leo paid no attention to the scolding and immediately placed his index finger against his lips.

He seemed completely unconcerned about whether Tanto had discovered him there or not.

“Because I think Angel has fallen asleep.”

“What?”

Just as Leo said, the soft sound of Ibi’s breathing could be heard from beyond the door.

It was small and faint, like a tiny puppy breathing in its sleep.

Only then did Leo slowly rise from his seat.

“I just wanted to thank her. Angel saved me today, but I didn’t even get the chance to properly thank her.”

Tanto rubbed his face with one hand.

“Even so, don’t come anywhere near here from now on. Don’t sneak in here either. If the Chief happens to notice you, your Angel might end up in a bad situation. The Chief still hasn’t stopped suspecting her, you know.”

“I know. That’s why he locked her up here.”

Leo stepped closer to Tanto and replied meaningfully.

Tanto’s face flushed slightly.

“…You.”

The ruby-like eyes within Leo’s raised eyes gleamed coldly.

“If it weren’t for Angel, I’d be the one staying in that bedroom tonight, wouldn’t I?”

“To keep me from running away.”

“Isn’t that right, Tan?”