Chapter 119

She tried harder than ever to remain calm and organize her thoughts.

If they’d poured that much strength into this ritual, then surely they had no resources left to affect the western border. It was obvious—they’d staked everything on this.

The Reconstruction Army might very well be on the brink of annihilation.

And Lee-Jae had made up her mind to destroy that gate by any means necessary.

She wouldn’t be able to stop every spirit that leapt into the mortal world in the process, but the King’s presence alone was enough to endure such fallout.

If she could shut the gate while the King and the knights located Ilias and the Prince, this battle would be over.

She was about to speak to the King and share her plan when—

People began walking out of the mansion one by one.

All in all, no more than a few dozen.

And at their center stood the prince—the one who’d once said he wouldn’t run away again.

He still exuded a scholarly, dignified aura, but Lee-Jae could now sense a firmer conviction in his face than ever before.

The King called his name.

“Edgar.”

“It’s been a while, brother.”

As the Prince stepped forward, the King and his knights instinctively moved to shield Lee-Jae.

The Prince caught sight of this and smiled faintly, as if he’d understood something.

A gentle voice followed.

“I had already suspected that Her Majesty the Queen might carry the blood of Melon.”

“………”

“It hasn’t been long since I learned the full truth either, but… it’s well known that you changed after the royal wedding, brother.”

“………”

“At first, I thought perhaps it was the awakening of the Blake family’s power. But now, I’m not so sure.”

Standing quietly behind the King, Lee-Jae listened without reacting.

Surrounded by people shielding her completely, she lowered her gaze for a moment—and smiled bitterly.

You believe only what you think you know is true.

But what if what you believe isn’t the right answer at all?

I’m not Melon. I’m not Hailey Duncan either. I’m just Kang Lee-Jae. A being as insignificant as a speck of dust.

A tiny anomaly that wasn’t part of your histories or your plans.

“But brother,” the Prince continued. “That alone is not enough. I told you—the balance of power has already collapsed. I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I chose where to stand.”

“………”

“I wish you would just let go. I don’t want to lose you—or anyone else in the Royal family.”

The King said nothing for a long time.

So long that Lee-Jae unconsciously reached out her hand.

She wanted to tug at his sleeve.

To say no. That he couldn’t stop now.

That he’d endured so many long, bitter nights alone—he couldn’t surrender to words like that.

He wasn’t someone who should come to a halt because of empty conviction.

But she let her hand fall again when she heard it—

A quiet, almost sigh-like laugh escaping from the King.

“Edgar.”

“Yes, brother.”

“If you’d done all this because you desired the throne… I think, honestly, I might’ve found that easier to accept.”

Lee-Jae looked at the King’s back with a face full of emotion.

Because in his voice, there was something deeply human.

The King had understood what the young prince had once tried to say.

That the Prince had not chosen this path out of greed, but out of a firm and unwavering belief.

Which meant he would never bend.

“Is it really so hard to sit at the negotiating table?”

“Ah. Negotiation. Such a beautiful word. A King who truly acts in the name of justice can make compromises, yield ground, do anything—”

“……….”

“But Edgar. Do you really think this miserable act is actually negotiation?”

“………”

“You didn’t negotiate. You let Cayenne be plundered. And no one will take up the sword for a King who allows something like that.”

As the pale light of dawn crept across the sky, the two brothers simply stared at each other in silence.

They must have both known—there was no longer any intersection between their paths.

The rift between them couldn’t be bridged in a single moment.

So the Prince spoke in a voice stripped of all emotion.

“I won’t speak at length. But in time, brother… you’ll understand what I meant.”

It was at that very moment—

Lee-Jae sensed something creeping out from behind the Prince.

A familiar energy.

Killing intent.

Ilias was among them.

When the Prince turned slightly, Lee-Jae gave a subtle nod toward the King.

The King signaled the commander of the First Order, and Lee-Jae gripped her talismans, beginning to chant a wide-range invocation.

The gate hadn’t fully opened yet, but she needed to empower the frontline as much as she could.

“Evil cannot overcome the righteous. Destroy the false, reveal the true—shatter wickedness and uphold the—”

But mid-incantation, a different kind of chill struck her senses.

It was like ice walls slamming into the earth from all directions—a cold, crushing atmosphere that blanketed everything.

Alarmed, she shouted out:

“Stop! Don’t go! Stay back!”

But it was too late.

Several knights at the front collapsed as if they’d struck an invisible wall—helplessly and without resistance.

Meanwhile, the Prince’s followers began slipping back into the shadows of the darkened mansion, one by one.

Watching them disappear, Lee-Jae’s eyes began to tremble slightly.

She had just realized something.

That suffocating pressure surrounding them from all sides—this enormous space, like a glass conservatory—was a barrier.

“…Schmidt* is still alive.”

[*T/N: Reminder that their family power is barriers]

The enemy’s trump card wasn’t the gate.

Just as the Royal family of Cayenne had hidden Lee-Jae as their secret weapon, the enemy had been concealing Schmidt’s existence all along.

Lee-Jae recalled the Prince’s words:

“That alone is not enough. I told you—the balance of power has already collapsed.”

Even if the Queen, born of the Duncan line, carried the power of Melon within her—

Even if the blood of the Royal house had awakened—

They believed that the tide had already turned in their favor.

Because they had both Ilias and Schmidt on their side.

Standing at the very center of the barrier, Lee-Jae slowly walked to where the King and the First Order had halted.

Her expression was strange—like someone entranced, or someone reeling from a deep shock.

And there, just before the edge of the barrier, stood Roderick, watching something closely.

He, too, had sensed something unnatural right in front of him.

Though still shaken, Lee-Jae instinctively reached out and pulled the King back behind her.

“Your Majesty, please don’t get any closer. Tell the knights to step back as well—at least twenty paces. Just to where the central forces are.”

“…What is this?”

Lee-Jae didn’t answer.

She narrowed her eyes, studying the barrier.

This, too, was the first time she’d ever seen a formation like this.

Meanwhile, the knights were helping their fallen comrades off the ground.

Hearing their pained groans, Lee-Jae turned briefly toward them—and her face twisted in anguish.

There were no visible wounds, but with her spiritual sight, she could clearly see the demonic energy clinging to them.

Had she not intervened earlier, they likely would have all died instantly.

And before long, Lee-Jae found herself letting out a deeper, heavier sigh.

Malicious spirits were freely moving in and out of this prison-like barrier.

This wasn’t a barrier in any form she had ever known.

What Lee-Jae understood of barriers was that they protected the world of the living from the dead.

But this barrier—this one confined the living inside a limited space and harmed them.

How could something like this exist in the mortal realm?

Still confused, Lee-Jae turned her gaze outside the barrier.

The spirit gate was expanding—and with it, her anxiety.

There wasn’t enough time.

Branches of complex thoughts spread rapidly through her mind.

The Prince seemed convinced that she had inherited Melon’s power.

But he didn’t seem to know she could dismantle barriers.

Naturally so—every killing intent they had launched at her had failed, but Lee-Jae had never once used her nullification power.

If I can just break this barrier…

She knew she likely wouldn’t be able to close the spirit gate.

But at least, the King and the knights might be able to capture Ilias somehow.

At the very least, His Majesty had the strength to fend off the demons.

If that happens, maybe—maybe we do stand a chance.

But it was still such a slim possibility.

Of the five powers she possessed, not a single one could rival the individual might of their enemies.

Even so, Lee-Jae could no longer hesitate.

If the gate fully opened and the demons poured into this space, they’d be trapped and forced to fight from within.

She steadied her breath and spoke firmly.

“Your Majesty, please fall back. And from that point on, do not move until I give the signal. Understood?”

“……”

“Please—answer me.”

“Lee-Jae. Start by telling me what this is.”

She hesitated inwardly for a moment, but outwardly kept her composure and spoke as if nothing were amiss.

“Your Majesty, Schmidt is alive.”

“………”

“And this… it’s like the statue I gave you as a gift. It doesn’t move like an arrow. It’s fixed in place. Just because Your Majesty is standing here doesn’t mean it will scatter or pull away.”

It sounded like wordplay—but it was the truth.

And from that point on, Lee-Jae began lying deliberately, like someone who had made up their mind.

Like when they had first met—mixing just enough truth into the deception.

“I’m going to dismantle this. Honestly, this is the thing I’m best at.”

That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Lee-Jae had rarely ever dismantled any formation other than talisman arrays, and barrier-breaking was her weakest skill.

This was a barrier formed by a rare and particular kind of energy.

But among those present, she was the only one who even had a chance of breaking it.

“If someone with powerful energy like Your Majesty stands nearby, the barrier will become unstable. And then I won’t be able to break it.”

Lee-Jae looked into the King’s blue eyes and added calmly,

“Please listen carefully, Your Majesty.”

“………”

“That right in front of the mansion gate—that’s the spirit gate. It’s a sort of passage. Others shouldn’t even go near it, but if Your Majesty approaches, you’ll definitely feel it.”

“I do. I can feel it even now.”

“After I tear through this barrier, I’m going to close the gate. But honestly, it might take a while. So please—before then, catch Ilias if you can.”

“………”

“A curse ends when the caster dies or gives up.”

With that, she turned back toward the barrier without waiting for a response.

But the King didn’t move for a long moment, standing firm in place.

Growing uneasy, Lee-Jae glanced sideways—and met his eyes. He was staring intently at her.

She knew that gaze all too well.

It was the look he wore when he was trying to determine whether or not someone was lying.

She had seen it many times before.

“Quickly. The passage is getting wider. That just means more work for me.”

As she urged him again, the King gave a short nod.

Though still visibly unconvinced, Jade followed swiftly behind him.

Lee-Jae watched their backs for a while, then turned her attention fully to the barrier once more.

She took a few steps back and fired an arrow.

But the arrow didn’t even reach the barrier. It snapped midair and fell uselessly to the ground.

She cut her palm and tried blood—still no change.

Here? No, not here. There?

Where should I pour my energy?

The formation, one she had never encountered before, was bewilderingly complex.

She wasn’t confident—but she had to keep trying.

Resolving to break the flow at a particular point, she gathered energy at her fingertips.

And then—

A familiar energy drifted to her side.

It was the presence of one who could pass freely through this barrier more than anyone else: the Boy King.

Lee-Jae ignored him and reached toward the barrier.

This time, she thought she already knew what he wanted to say.

— Kang Lee-Jae.

She didn’t answer.

But from the Boy King’s mouth came a chilling warning.

— If you touch that barrier, you really will die this time.

Lee-Jae slowly lowered her half-raised hand.

And with a face more serene than ever before, she looked up at him.

After a long silence, she asked this being—one who resembled the Absolute*:

[*T/N: A supreme being that is all-knowing and unrestrained by worldly means.]

“Do you really think.. that I didn’t know that I’d die like this?”