"Mm... ha..."
A lazy and slightly sleepy voice drifted through the room.
Along with that voice, a woman who had just awakened from a sweet dream slowly opened her eyes.
She stretched her fair, slender arms, her soft waist bending slightly, her elegant legs straightening as she stretched away the laziness from her body.
"Hoo~"
Liya felt a comfort she had never experienced before. She lay on the soft mattress and gently rubbed her eyes.
She could feel a faint soreness throughout her body, especially in her limbs and meridians.
Liya reluctantly sat up, gently rolling her shoulders and rubbing her spine.
As if this could drive away the stiffness in her body.
This sleep had felt so long that it seemed like she had slept for an entire century.
Only after her body had relaxed for quite some time did she gradually open her eyes and look around.
She found herself in what appeared to be a somewhat crude little house.
The walls seemed to be made of sand and clay. They had not even been plastered, leaving the original earthy brown color exposed.
There were even some dried weeds mixed into the walls.
And beneath her, there wasn't even a bed. There was only a soft mattress stuffed with cotton.
Compared with the walls around it, this mattress could be considered quite luxurious.
Liya looked around the room in confusion and noticed a small iron stove giving off a warm firelight.
The charcoal at the bottom of the stove had burned bright red, occasionally giving off the faint scent of firewood burning.
The crimson light illuminated the surrounding walls, making the whole room seem especially warm and cozy.
On the wooden four-legged table, there was also hot water, along with bread and jam.
Liya's first impression of this room was "crude." It was completely different from the noble residences she was familiar with.
It practically felt like... a slum.
Liya had never imagined that she would have the chance to stay in a place like this.
She had even thought that her family had suddenly gone bankrupt.
Yet now, this place gave her an inexplicable feeling of warmth.
Her gaze eventually fell on the jam and bread on the table.
As she looked at them, her stomach let out a growl.
Hearing the sound, Liya's cheeks visibly reddened.
She was hungry.
But as the mistress of the Clavenna family, a noble household, behaving so disgracefully was truly inappropriate.
Yet at this moment, her stomach really did feel empty. A strong hunger pounded against her belly, and her stomach was grumbling unhappily.
Not only that, her lips were cracked, and her tongue also felt dry.
It was as if she hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a very long time.
This left Liya somewhat confused about how long she had slept.
However, despite being terribly hungry, she did not reach for the bread and hot water on the table.
After all, she didn't even know where she was. Liya didn't dare eat anything casually.
She looked around the room, her thoughts gradually becoming hazy, and couldn't help thinking carefully.
"Strange... When did I fall asleep again?"
Liya sat where she was, covering her head. She stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the floor as she tried hard to remember something.
Then, she seemed to gradually recall something.
"Seems like..."
She still remembered that before she fell asleep, Viktor had said something.
He was going to have Cocotte take her to... a safe place?
When Liya thought of this, she froze completely.
She raised her head and looked over the earthen house again, muttering inwardly.
'This is what they call safe?'
'It would be a blessing if the house didn't collapse.'
'So, what exactly happened?'
Just as she was confused, a sound came from the doorway.
Liya's gaze followed the source of the sound, fixing tightly on the wooden door.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open. The first thing that entered her sight was a mass of white, soft-looking matter, its appearance like a ball of light cotton.
Liya narrowed her eyes, feeling that this thing looked somewhat familiar.
Immediately afterward, the cotton-like cloud shrank its body and struggled to squeeze through the narrow doorway.
"Ouch."
With that cry, the white cloud barged into the room and crashed into the earthen wall.
Liya's heart jumped at the sight.
And above the cloud was a sharp-eared elf.
She covered her head, her features twisted as she rubbed her forehead.
After squeezing through the doorway, Cocotte turned around and glared at the doorframe, pouting as she grumbled unhappily, "Seriously, even if it was built temporarily, they shouldn't have made the door this low."
'Didn't they consider elves like me who sit on clouds?', Cocotte muttered under her breath. Then she turned her head and saw that Liya had sat up.
Liya stared blankly at Cocotte before her and blinked.
Cocotte, who was looking back at her, was also surprised and blinked along with her.
"You're awake."
Liya blankly nodded.
———
Gulp!
"Ha!"
After drinking the hot water and washing down the bread stuck in her throat, Liya contentedly breathed out a warm breath.
She could clearly feel her stomach warming up, and her strength gradually returning.
Now, her mouth was finally no longer dry, and she could speak comfortably.
Earlier, because she did not trust this unfamiliar environment, she had been unwilling to casually try the food.
But after learning that the food had been arranged by the royal family, she relaxed. Even the bread she stuffed into her mouth seemed to taste better.
Cocotte told her that the royal family had negotiated with the Mage Council and transported a large amount of food through large-scale teleportation magic.
Moreover, through the combined efforts of magic and manpower, many temporary shelters had been built near the royal capital in only half a day.
This was enough for the residents who had lost their homes to get through a period of time.
After talking with Cocotte, Liya also learned the whole story of what had happened.
In short, almost the entire royal capital, except for the area where the palace was located, had been bombed into ruins.
"Including your house."
Cocotte helplessly spread her hands.
A mouthful of bread caught in Liya's throat, and she quickly coughed twice.
"Cough, cough."
She gulped down some water, washing the bread down.
She couldn't believe what Cocotte had said. She widened her eyes and stared fixedly at Cocotte.
"Ah?"
'That's such a huge sum of money!'
Liya felt her heart bleeding.
'And there are so many servants, too!'
"Oh, but you can rest assured. Although everything in your house is gone, including the garden I especially liked..."
"The maids and retainers at home were all sent back to Blyston in time."
Hearing this, Liya let out a breath and relaxed quite a bit.
At least it wasn't a total loss.
After this battle, rebuilding the royal capital would undoubtedly take a great deal of time.
Liya expected that quite a few people would choose to go to Blyston, which was not far from the royal capital, to take refuge and stay there temporarily.
If so, she herself needed to hurry back to Blyston and strengthen its management.
She had to make sure it did not fall into chaos.
Looks like she would have to find time to ask Viktor when they could go home.
Liya tore off a piece of bread and raised her head to ask Cocotte, "Where's Viktor?"
"Huh? Viktor?"
Cocotte, who had been perfectly calm, froze as if she had suddenly been startled when she heard Liya say this.
Then, she relaxed and smiled before saying, "Him... He's a mage, after all, so he needs to help with the repairs too..."
Liya swallowed the bread, took another sip of water, and then calmly glanced at Cocotte.
"Cocotte."
"Wha... what's wrong?"
Cocotte was slightly stunned. Liya's voice reached her ears.
"Has Viktor ever told you that you're not suited to lying?"
"Ah?"
Cocotte froze again.
At this moment, Liya slowly stood up. Ignoring the soreness in her body, she took her clothes from the rack and put them on.
She tied her scarf and prepared to leave.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Cocotte's curious voice came from behind her, but Liya could no longer hear it.
She stepped through the doorway and walked outside.
As the cold wind blew over her, Liya couldn't help narrowing her eyes and looking at everything outside the royal capital.
Her narrowed eyes took in everything outside the royal capital.
Night had already fallen, and the cold wind brushing across her face stung her cheeks.
All around the land, Liya saw countless earthen houses with faint, hazy light shining through their windows.
They were enclosed by four straight walls, while their roofs were solid, cone-shaped masses of earth.
From above the royal capital, thousands upon thousands of identical earthen houses stood scattered across the surrounding land.
The red glow they all gave off seemed like countless hazy red sparks scattered around the royal capital.
It was also like a newly kindled prairie fire.
Liya exhaled a cloud of white vapor, raised her head, and looked toward a place not far from the royal palace.
There stood a gigantic heavenly gate that reached straight into the clouds.
The enormous gate twisted with machinery, while blazing flames burned fiercely in the gaps.
Behind the gate were flights of steps burning with flames, stretching deep into the clouds.
Liya stared at the scene, her eyes widening in amazement.
Then Liya slowly raised her arm and looked at the Mage's Hand worn on it.
Six gems were embedded in it, each flashing with strange-colored radiance, like brilliant, differently colored stars in the night.
Liya took a deep breath and firmly stepped forward, walking toward the supreme heavenly gate one step at a time.
As her pace gradually quickened, she began to run.
She crossed the flat, dusty earth and moved through the surrounding earthen houses, heading straight for the central plaza.
Standing on the hard ground, Liya raised her head and looked at the majestic supreme heavenly gate in the sky.
She was panting heavily, and every breath turned into white mist that slowly drifted away in the cold air.
Finally, all of Liya's attention was focused on the familiar figure beneath the heavenly gate.
That familiar black trench coat swayed in the air, while the man had both hands in his pockets.
He still liked showing off as much as ever.
Liya took two deep breaths, then angrily stepped onto the stairs and walked up.
She grabbed Viktor's arm and said to him,
"Let's go. We're going home!"
However, no matter how hard she pulled, Viktor remained completely motionless, like a statue.
Liya used all her strength to pull Viktor again, but it still had no effect.
She turned her head and looked at him with anxious eyes.
"Viktor! We're going home!!!"
Her voice was full of urgency, but Viktor still did not react. He remained completely still.
Liya's gaze fell on Viktor's motionless back. The corners of her lips drooped slightly, her anxiety almost making her cry.
An ominous feeling welled up inside her, but she desperately refused to believe it.
Her voice carried a hint of tears as it slowly squeezed out of her throat, and she anxiously spoke to Viktor, "It's already so late."
"Why are you still standing here?"
In the end, Liya released the hand tightly gripping Viktor's sleeve and slowly moved closer to him.
Powerlessly, she fell forward and bumped into his back.
"Big brother..."
"Why..."
Suddenly, Liya felt it.
Viktor, whom her forehead was pressed against, seemed to move slightly.
It wasn't an illusion, because Viktor turned around.
Without anything supporting her, she nearly fell to the ground, but she still managed to steady herself, unwilling to embarrass herself in front of Viktor.
Just as Liya blankly raised her head, a broad chest appeared before her.
At the same time, a hand gently rested on the top of her head, stroking her hair.
This made it impossible for Liya to raise her head.
She couldn't look at Viktor's somewhat indifferent, expressionless face.
But that familiar and reassuring voice rang clearly in her ears, "Liya."
As soon as his words fell, a night wind carrying the chill swept in from all directions.
The wind blew Viktor's long coat, gently brushing against Liya's back.
Everything around them was silent. Only the cold wind and the howling night remained, as if playing a sad song of farewell for them.
[Judgment's Curse]
[Countdown: 00:04:59]
"From now on, you'll have to go home by yourself."