CH 102

Before Evan crossed the bridge, Riett urgently extended her arm.

“Wait a moment!”

Startled by the desperate gesture, Evan quickly stopped. He let out a surprised sound and lifted his front leg high.

Riett needed to warn Evan before he crossed the bridge. She meant to inform him about the unstable condition of the bridge.

“Evan, the condition of the ropes supporting the bridge isn’t very good.”

“What…?”

Evan also seemed surprised. Since he had been crossing back and forth without any issues, it was hard to notice the problem without a closer look.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Riett spoke up.

“I think it would be better to tie the horse there and cross using only the ladder.”

They needed to reduce the weight as much as possible, and since they couldn’t leave the ladder behind, they had to lighten the load by leaving the horse behind.

Evan glanced towards the bridge for a moment and replied, 

“Alright.”

Fortunately, the ladder Evan brought was not a wooden ladder but a ladder made by connecting wooden blocks with ropes, so it didn’t appear too heavy.

He skillfully acquired it in a short amount of time.

Evan held the bundle with the ladder in his hands and crossed the bridge slowly.

The bridge shook with each of Evan’s movements.

“Evan, the center part of the bridge looks particularly weak. So, be more cautious when crossing that part.”

Evan nodded slightly in response.

Caution was evident in Evan’s careful steps that hinted at his anxiety.

Unknowingly, Riett gripped her hand tightly and watched him closely.

It’s a critical moment.

Once they pass through the central part, there shouldn’t be much trouble crossing.

However, soon an unsettling sound reached their ears.

Thud… Riett’s gaze turned toward the direction of the sound. The rope was gradually breaking.

“…Evan, it’s better to go back.”

Although they were still far from handing over the ladder, Evan might fall if they continued like this.

Evan seemed to have the same thought and began stepping back.

However, the frayed rope didn’t allow Evan time to turn back.

With a jolt, one of the ropes supporting the shaky bridge finally snapped, causing the bridge to sway.

Startled, Riett instinctively reached out her arm and shouted.

“Evan!”

Evan, who was plummeting down, barely managed to grab onto the rope.

Riett felt her heart sinking as if it were falling off a cliff.

They had avoided the catastrophe of falling into the river, but how long could Evan hang on like that?

Without hesitation, Riett assumed the posture of using her spirit magic.

With her current abilities, it would be difficult to lift Evan, but she had to try something.

She closed her eyes and imagined Evan being safely lifted by the wind and returned to the ground.

However, just like when she tried to lift the rock before, she felt as if she was being obstructed by something.

‘Damn it.’

Cancel the saying that crisis becomes an opportunity. It seemed it was a phrase that only applied to the protagonist after all.

Riett’s tightly closed eyelids twitched. However, she couldn’t give up. The person in immediate danger was none other than Evan. 

Evan had provided her with countless help so far. He acted as a conservative member, secretly clearing the way as a spy, and when she wanted to give up and abandon everything due to exile, he became her strength.

If you only looked at it like that, it might seem like a burden of gratitude she had to repay Evan. But Riett thought it was slightly different. 

It wasn’t just a sense of indebtedness; it was a more complex and warm feeling.

In the past, she would have readily responded that this emotion was simply ‘affection.’ But now, well… It felt much more intense.

She couldn’t quite grasp what was making her so desperate. That’s why Riett was determined to succeed. Although she knew her abilities were still lacking to manipulate spirit magic, now was the time to turn the impossible into possible.

Ignoring the feeling of resistance, Riett forcefully exerted her strength as if pushing against a solid wall. 

〈Master! If you forcibly exert too much power, it may strain your body…!〉

Startled, Mishan urgently warned Riett. 

As Mishan finished speaking, Riett’s whole body became uncomfortably hot, and her hands and feet trembled. But perhaps due to her desperation, her determination resonated.

When Riett tightly held onto that determination and exerted her strength, she felt as if cracks were forming in the solid barrier that had been blocking her. Gradually, with a rumbling sound, the barrier crumbled.

Riett lifted her gaze and looked at where Evan had been hanging. His body was slowly rising.

Soon, Evan settled next to Riett as if asking what had happened. 

“Evan! Are you okay?” 

Riett hurriedly gathered her strength and inspected Evan. Evan didn’t answer but silently looked at Riett.

“…What was that just now?” 

Riett stopped examining Evan’s condition as she pondered how to explain.

While wondering about it, Riett noticed the bundle in Evan’s hands. She silently admired Evan for not dropping the ladder even in such a sudden situation. It was impressive.

While marveling, Riett realized that there was something she had to do before explaining the epic tale of contracting with the spirit. 

“First, let’s rescue Lucas. Otherwise, he might freeze to death for real.”

Evan furrowed his brows for a moment but soon complied, taking out the ladder from the bundle. 

Riett slowly untied the rope ladder and lowered it to reach Lucas. 

Lucas, who seemed slightly dazed or on the verge of losing consciousness due to the cold, didn’t notice the ladder descending.

“Lucas!” 

“Huh…?” 

When Riett called Lucas loudly, he finally looked up. 

“I’ve lowered the ladder, so climb up!” 

Despite his injured shoulder, Lucas should be able to climb the ladder without any problem. After briefly glancing at the ladder that had descended beside him, Lucas stood up and smoothly ascended the ladder.

Riett placed her hand on Lucas’ pale face. 

His skin was as cold as ice. 

Lucas smiled and gently removed Riett’s hand. 

“I’m not dying.” 

Riett brushed off the snow that had accumulated on Lucas’ head and shoulders. It would pile up again anyway.

Riett glanced up at the sky for a moment. The snow was still pouring down heavily. 

“We’ll go back to the mansion together, right?”

“Yeah, we should. The bridge is broken anyway.”

Lucas calmly replied, which eased Riett’s mind.

As Riett untied the reins she had tied to go back to the mansion, she noticed a significant problem: neither Evan nor Lucas had a horse. 

Evan’s horse was on the other side of the broken bridge, and there was no sign of Lucas’ horse as if he had fled towards the cliff.

“Riett, go and fetch the carriage.” 

Evan spoke first as if he knew what Riett was worried about. However, Riett wasn’t particularly satisfied with that solution.

It would take at least two hours for a round trip to the mansion, and during that time, Evan and Lucas would have to endure the pouring snow outside. 

While there was a village on the other side of the bridge, the bridge itself was broken. 

Moreover, Lucas had been outside for a long time, and although he said he was fine, his pale face looked as if he could turn into a corpse at any moment.

While wracking her brain, an idea popped into Riett’s mind. 

‘…If I use the power of the spirit.’

Surely, it should be possible. After all, she had used the power of the spirit to lift Evan earlier.

Riett glanced discreetly at Evan and Lucas. Well, now was the time to explain, since they had reached that point…

Having made up her mind, Riett searched for a place to avoid the falling snow. Luckily, there was a large tree nearby, and beneath it, the snow seemed to be less accumulated.

“Evan, Lucas, come here.”

Riett called to them, perplexing them as she didn’t immediately set off for the mansion. Nevertheless, they silently followed her.

Riett stood under the tree and spoke to Evan and Lucas. 

“Just wait for a moment.”

She briefly disappeared and returned with a fallen branch nearby. She thought she might need something to ignite if she wanted to make a fire even with the power of the spirit. 

Although the branch was damp from the snow, she felt that with the power of the spirit, she could somehow make it work.

Riett carefully stacked the branches into a neat pile, creating the appearance of a proper stack of firewood.

One of Evan’s eyebrows raised slightly as he observed Riett, and Lucas had a similar reaction. Both of them must have been curious about what Riett was doing. However, they would soon find out.

Riett closed her eyes in front of the stack of branches she had built. A gust of wind swept by.

Riett imagined the fire. A fire that wouldn’t go out even in strong winds or damp conditions.

Soon, as Riett envisioned, the firewood burst into flames.

When Riett raised her head, she saw Evan and Lucas staring at the suddenly ignited fire as if it were a magical phenomenon.

‘But…’

Riett’s expression froze. Why aren’t these guys more surprised than she expected? 

She ended up being the one confused. If they ask what happened, she was planning to confess, ‘Actually, I can manipulate the spirit…’, but since they didn’t ask, it felt awkward to say it now.

“Riett.”

Riett was contemplating whether she should speak first, but Lucas opened his mouth before her. 

“Are you… a spirit mage?” 

Moreover, he immediately spoke the correct answer. 

Riett nodded, trying to hide her flustered emotions. 

“Yes.”

This time, Evan also spoke up. 

“The power of the spirit was what saved me earlier.” 

“That’s right.” 

Since both of them confidently gave the right answers, there was nothing more to explain.

As if reading Riett’s thoughts, Lucas remained still, gazing at the fire, and asked, 

“Since when have you been using the power of the spirit?”

“About a week ago… It’s been quite a while since the spirit has been around me, but…”

Lucas lifted his head, and although his reaction was somewhat more subdued than expected, he seemed surprised by the ticking sound in his throat. 

“I did consider that Riett might be able to manipulate spirit… and it turned out to be true.”

Riett slowly closed her eyes and opened them in response to the unexpected comment. 

“Why did you think I could manipulate spirit?”

“I remembered what the Assassin Commander said. It wasn’t magic that made you deflect the light.”

He was concerned about Gahaden’s words after all.

“And… when I looked at you, I thought if I were a spirit, I would choose someone like you, Riett, because you are a strong person.”

Riett was momentarily lost for words. It was fascinating to hear Lucas speaking in terms similar to spirit.

“When did the spirit choose Riett? How did you meet…?” 

Lucas continued with his questions.

Since Lucas had been searching for the Spirit Stone all this time, he must have had a lot of interest in spirit. However, there was no time to answer this question. They had to fetch the carriage before the sunset.

‘Hmm…’ 

Riett snapped her fingers and silently called out.

“Mishan.”

A small vortex formed next to her, revealing the appearance of a young man.

As the ethereal form of Mishan slowly opened his eyes, his sapphire-like blue irises gleamed faintly. 

“You called for me, Master?”