The Return of Lilietta

Episode 11

The room she was currently staying in was on the third floor. But if you go down the stairs quietly, you won’t be able to find the Duchess.

Rita climbed over the windowsill and placed her index and middle fingers on her neck, letting out a whiff.

“〈I want.〉”

A strangely resonant voice burst out.

“〈The wind that will prevent the fall.〉”

I recited the order and jumped down immediately.

One of the basic magics that even she, the Musketeer, can use. The wind blew in and supported her falling body.

She landed in the garden as light as a feather and ran along the birch forest path, chasing the Duchess who had disappeared from sight.

“Gasp, gasp… … .”

I was out of breath quickly. My feet hurt even though I was wearing only bedroom slippers.

I’ve been thinking about this for the past few days, but this body is really fragile as it is. The bone structure itself is so thin that training it doesn’t seem to be very effective.

‘The odd aptitude is insane, but the body is really weak. I found it!’

The Duchess appeared between the white birches.

Rita quickly covered her mouth, which was about to call her out reflexively. The fact that she was occupying Lilietta’s body, even though she was not Lilietta, came back to her mind again.

‘Something that could cover the face… … .’

The moon was too bright.

While she was wondering what to do, the Duchess was pacing around the lakeside, looking around constantly as if searching for something, bending down to poke at the ground and bushes.

It was obvious what she was looking for. Rita watched the scene with a mixture of pity and guilt.

Soon a thin voice was heard.

“Lily, Lily… … .”

The Duchess burst into tears.

With a dry face and disheveled hair, she calls out her daughter’s name desperately, her tears falling like moonlight onto the surface of the water.

“Where are you? Lili, my daughter… … Where are you crying? Mommy will definitely find you, okay? Don’t cry… … .”

Rita bit her lip tightly. Once again, she felt sorry for not being the real Lilietta.

‘Why did I have to come into this body? If I were an orphan with no family like me, I wouldn’t feel this way.’

Suddenly the Duchess turned her head.

“Lily, are you here? Are you crying alone in this cold place? Mommy will come, wait, Mommy will save you… … .”

She stepped into the lake, muttering nonsense. In an instant, she was in the deep end. Her thin, long negligee swayed in the water like a jellyfish.

“… … !”

Rita, who was standing in the shade of the tree, was startled and ran out. It didn’t matter that she looked like Lilietta in the midst of the imminent disaster.

“ma’am!”

She jumped into the lake without hesitation. It was early spring and the middle of the night, so the water was so cold that it made her teeth chatter as it hit her whole body.

Either way, I waded into the water.

“Duchess! Stop! Stop! It’s dangerous!”

Rita swam into the deeper waters of the lake and barely managed to grab the Duchess’s shoulder.

“I told you to stop!”

“LiLi, LiLi… … .”

The Duchess didn’t even look back at her and tried to go deeper. Rita hugged her from behind and pulled her, shouting.

“What are you talking about! Your daughter isn’t there!”

“there is!”

The Duchess screamed.

“There she is! Lili is here! She’s calling for her mother so desperately! Let go—!”

She twisted her whole body as if having a seizure. Violent ripples spread across the calm surface of the lake.

“No! She’s not there! Your daughter, Lilietta—”

It wasn’t easy for the frail Lilietta to hold onto the rampaging Duchess in waist-deep water.

Rita’s foot, which was trying to drag her out somehow, stepped in the wrong place.

A point where the water depth increases rapidly and the bottom disappears.

Their feet slipped down the slope. They fell together into the water. Splash, spray.

‘town!’

Bubbles shot up like a volcano, and for a moment nothing was visible. Then, in the dark lake, a red hair was seen flowing and sinking downward.

Rita held her breath and reached out her hand urgently, moving the odd within her body at the same time.

‘I’m not good at strengthening my body because I’m a fake, but now I can somehow… …!’

He pulled up the odd and wrapped it around his entire body. A golden light spread like a mist in the black water.

Without any abilities like those of a reinforced pledge, he foolishly attacked Odd and gained strength. His arm, which was covered in a soft light, grabbed the Duchess’ arm.

In the water, the Duchess finally looks back at her. A pale face, visible through red hair floating in the current, looks at the one who is holding her.

My daughter’s face, revealed in golden light in the dark water.

Rita realized how to save this poor mother. She moved her lips and spoke silently.

Look, your daughter is here.

The Duchess’s blue eyes widened. She opened her mouth. Bubbles burst out like tears.

Lili! Lili!

A hand as thin as a tree branch grabbed Rita’s cheeks. Rita stopped as she tried to swim to the surface while holding onto the woman who was holding her.

‘What is that?’

In the suddenly deepened place, at the bottom of the distant lake, something was glowing golden. As if responding to her aura that had leaked out to the surroundings as she forcibly strengthened her body.

‘What the… … No, first we need to save the Duchess… … .’

She immediately rose to the surface. As soon as her head emerged from the water, the Duchess coughed loudly.

“Ugh, kekeke, gulp, gulp… .”

Rita dragged the Duchess out to the lakeside. Only after she was completely out of the lake did she let go of the Duchess and lie down to catch her breath.

“Gasp, ugh, woof… … .”

My vision was spinning and I felt nauseous. It was because I was trying too hard to imitate the artificial and reinforced pledge.

“My friend, you’re such a idiot, why do you think there’s a pledge type? Huh? Do you think they’re just categorized to look cool? Do you really want to keep running this kind of odd? How many times do I have to tell you not to do everything you can do!”

“Don’t be in a hurry! If you’re in a hurry, use magic! Don’t be stupid and try to beat it with your body! That’s why I taught you quick magic!”

The nagging of her bespectacled wizard friend lingered in her ears. Rita stopped vomiting and let out a hollow laugh, then wiped what was either water or cold sweat from her face.

‘Still, this is really good. Is it because I have good aptitude?’

As I was finally able to stabilize my breathing, I heard a trembling voice next to me.

“LiLi… … ?”

When he turned his head, the Duchess was reaching out to him, soaking wet and shivering.

“Lily, Lilyni? Lilietta?”

Rita hesitated for a moment, then grabbed his hand and smiled awkwardly.

“yes.”

“Ah, my daughter! My daughter has returned, finally, ah, Lili, Lili… … .”

The Duchess hugged her tightly and sobbed. Rita accepted her for a moment and then carefully pulled her away.

“Uh… … Um, wait a minute.”

I didn’t like the feeling of deceiving someone so desperate, and I felt burdened by pretending to be Lilietta, but more than anything, I was extremely concerned about the golden light that I had glimpsed at the bottom of the lake.

‘From the moment I opened my eyes in this body, I was in that lake. Is there something in there?’

Leonhardt did report that he searched the bottom of the lake several times but found nothing.

‘If it’s reacting to pure Odd, the people of this world might not be able to find it. People here seem to have no idea what Odd is even when using magic.’

Over the past three days, I’ve been wandering around the Birch Castle and talking to the servants, and it’s not just about Lilietta that I’ve found out.

Rita had some idea of ​​how this world was similar and different from the one she had lived in.

‘The people of this world don’t know how to utilize the pure Odd before it turns into magic or aura. They just haven’t discovered it yet. So if there’s something in the lake that’s related to Odd… … .’

As Rita rose from her seat, the Duchess grabbed her in horror.

“Oh, oh, where are you going, Lily? Where are you going, leaving your mother behind… .”

“Sorry, just a moment… … .”

Rita carefully pushed her away, placing one hand on her neck.

“〈I want a wall for safety.〉”

With a strangely ringing voice, Odd moved as she wished. The dirt that rose from the ground formed a fairly high wall and surrounded the Duchess. This was also a magic that her friend had taught her.

“Lily? Lily?”

“Please wait inside for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

Rita hurried away, leaving the Duchess pounding the mud wall. She walked back into the lake, placing her finger on her neck.

“〈I want to breathe freely anywhere.〉”

The wind swept around her face. She dove into the lake like that. The magically charged air enveloped her head like a bubble, allowing her to breathe.

Rita swam deep, scattering her aura around her as before. A golden haze spread out softly around her.

Soon, something sparkled in response from the deep bottom. She immediately headed towards it. As she got closer, a glowing shape gradually emerged from the pitch-black water.