To You Who Will Destroy Me - Chapter 7

<Episode 7>

“Mother.”

Michael jumped up from his seat when he saw the elegant

blonde lady. It was Countess Louisa Ellorence, Irelia’s and Michael’s biological mother.

“I searched the entire lower floor looking for you guys.”

Louisa turned her head away, having turned around and reprimanded him with dignity. Her eyes were directed at none other than Irel.

“Baby.”

In contrast to her stern expression, the voice that was calling her youngest daughter was as soft as a spring breeze. It couldn’t be otherwise.

[Louisa Calbran Ellorence: Current favorability rating 99]

Her affection for Irel was genuine. The corners of her lips were already twitching as if she couldn’t help but be loving when she saw her face.

“You don’t even come down to have tea, what are you doing here? You sleepy little shrew.”

Shrew? Irel blinked at the expression she heard for the first time. Then, Louisa chuckled and looked around at her children and asked.

“Do you know what day today is?”

“Lower body workout day?”

Michael, who had been asking absentmindedly, shut his mouth after receiving a sharp glare. Even though they were a family of Counts, Louisa let out a long sigh when she saw her eldest son who only knew how to exercise. Then, she completely ignored Michael and asked Irel.

“You didn’t forget that we decided to go to the costume shop with your mother today, did you?”

“Yes? Oh, of course.”

“Summer is coming soon, so I should buy some new gloves and a dress for you. Oh, and don’t forget to get a nice hat, too. You will be able to wear it when we go down to the summer house later.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Even if she didn’t know, nodding her head naturally was Rae-yeon’s new habit. It was the only way to avoid being suspected when thrown into an unfamiliar environment.

Although she didn’t know anything, she had to adapt for now. In the first place, she had no way of knowing whether her real self was dead or alive, so that was all Rae-yeon could do. Louisa, who had no way of knowing her complicated feelings, asked Michael with a smiling face.

“You should go too.”

“No, I will decline. Please enjoy your cozy time as mother and daughter.”

Michael quickly waved his thick arms in refusal. Judging from his tired expression, it seemed that Louisa’s ‘shopping’ was not so simple.

“Huh! That guy is so shameless. Shouldn’t you find a fiancée for the next social season? You need to dress up and take care of your appearance. What good will it do to just build up your body for a hundred days?”

Michael’s expression became increasingly haggard as the barrage of nagging continued. Irel, who was listening to this, smiled without realizing it. It seems that the nagging from parents in reality and here is all similar.

Thinking about it that way, this strange game world somehow felt like a place where people lived, and it felt more familiar. At least, that was the case until Michael suddenly opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Be careful on your way there, Mother.”

“What?”

“The Kitans have been appearing more and more recently. Don’t you remember? Last time, they showed up in the slums and started eating the homeless, causing chaos. It almost led to a repeat of the massacre that happened in the red-light district twenty years ago.”

At those words, the smile disappeared from Irelia’s face. She felt like an idiot for having felt familiar with this place even for a moment.

‘There’s no way a place like this where cannibalistic monsters appear can be real in the first place.’

Yes, the game ‘Salvation’ was strictly a fantasy-based worldview. Therefore, the alien races and monsters were all real here.

The most problematic of these was the monster called ‘Kitan’ that Michael had just mentioned. This monster, created by the evil god Avihshan to destroy humans, was particularly fond of human flesh. And it was so strong that ordinary humans could not kill Kitan.

Yes, flit was only for a normal human being.

“Kitan, you little one! How dare you say such a blasphemous thing!!”

At this, Louisa frowned delicately and scolded him.

“Although we are not nobles of the royal capital, this place is also very safe. As long as the Lord Hashva watches over us, such unfortunate events will not occur.”

“That’s why I’m telling you to be careful, Mother.”

Michael, who would become a future Count, had a more serious expression on his face. He had gone to help the clean up of the aftermath of the slum massacre and had seen it with his own eyes.

That’s why he knew, why Kitan is called the great disaster of mankind.

“It seems that the places that God’s eyes can reach are very limited.”

Michael’s words were sharp as he witnessed a scene so horrific that a human being could not handle it with his mind. Because of that, an icy silence fell over the reception room.

“Well, I can’t give up our summer dress and new hat, right?”

Michael, who realized what he had done, tried to quickly calm the mood. It was not right for him, the eldest son, to frighten his mother and younger sister instead of reassuring them.

“What could happen? We have Masaka to protect us too… … .”

“Hey, Michael!”

Louisa interrupted him hastily, as if he had said something he shouldn’t have.

But what happened after that was even stranger. They stopped talking as if they had made a promise and all looked at Irel’s face. Their worried eyes were clearly examining her complexion.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

Irel was puzzled. Something was wrong somewhere she didn’t know.

In the first place, she didn’t understand why they kept the topic of Masaka from her. Masaka was a unique being that only existed in ‘Salvation’.

They were more evolved beings, humans but not the kind of human species that were so strong that they could kill Kitan, which normal humans could not kill.

If Masaka had not existed, humanity would have been eaten by the sins of Kitan and would have gone extinct. This was the most basic worldview and common sense of the game ‘Salvation’.

‘But why are you reluctant to mention it in front of me?’

Irel was bewildered by her family’s inexplicable behavior. Just then, Louisa clapped her hands loudly and shouted in a bright voice.

“Okay, enough with the useless talk.”

As expected of a noble lady with a wealth of experience, Louisa changed the atmosphere in the blink of an eye. She turned her head elegantly and gently took her daughter’s hand.

“Nothing can be accomplished by just worrying. Let’s leave quickly before it gets too late, my princess.”

“Have a nice trip. It would be better if you bring some protein supplements while coming back.”

Michael, while leaning against the door, waved his hand. Irel missed the opportunity to question them about their incomprehensible behavior and couldn’t take advantage of that situation.

I looked up at Louisa, hoping to find a way to sneak in a little further, but she didn’t even glance at me. Her dignified and stubborn profile didn’t seem to give me any answer.

‘I guess it won’t work for today…’

It seemed like it would be better to attack Michael rather than Louisa. Unlike Louisa, who was flawless, Michael was surprisingly sloppy and, above all, weak towards his younger sister. Just by looking at how he would immediately lash out at her for not saying anything, you could tell how much he cherished Irel.

Irel, who had decided to wait until the next time, was obediently led down the stairs by Louisa’s hand. However, she did not hate the idea of ​​going out with her.

No, rather, I felt a bit excited.

‘Why is it? Why do these hands feel so warm?’

When she was with Irel’s family, it was normal to feel anxious

about her identity being revealed. But she couldn’t figure out why she felt so uneasy.

‘Perhaps it’s because of the memories remaining in Irel’s body.’

But the comfort was short-lived, as soon as the carriage set off, Irel realized something was wrong. The carriage began to rock up and down, left and right, accompanied by the clacking sound of horse hooves.

It was already my second time riding a carriage, but I couldn’t get used to it. The roads here were not as well maintained as in Korea. So, if you call it a road, it was more like a bumpy country road.

Even driving a comfortable car would make me feel motion sick, so how much worse would it be if I were riding a horse-drawn carriage! I felt like my stomach would turn inside out at any moment.

‘Oh, it’s shaking so much.’

Irel tried to respond to the small talk that Louisa was making next to her. However, she couldn’t help but feel her face getting paler and paler. With her glass-like body, she had a hard time enduring even the slightest of the motion sickness.

“By the way, dear. Do you remember Joshua from the Barrel family?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, Louisa was so absorbed in the story that she didn’t notice her condition. Despite her hardships, Irel was very interested in the topic that Louisa brought up.

“Joshua? Yes, of course.”

Of course she had no way of knowing, but she answered appropriately, hoping that Louisa would not ask her any more questions about the subject.

“I happened to run into Countess Barrel a few days ago when I went to the palace. Joshua was right next to him. He was so skinny and unattractive when he was young, but he’s grown quite a bit now, which surprised me.”

“Was it so?”

“And according to Countess Barrel, Joshua is now the new Foreign Affairs Counselor! As you know, the future of a Foreign Affairs Counselor is bright. And judging from the fact that he escorted his mother to the palace, he seems to have a kind personality.”

At this point, I thought I knew what Louisa was trying to say.

When a mother with a daughter sees a good son-in-law, she first grabs a hold on him.

“… …He seemed like a good person.”

But Irel didn’t care about Joshua or whatever. It was more urgent to suppress the nausea that was rising to the level of her chin.

“I see? I asked Countess Barrel a little while ago… … .”

Ah, now it was at the limit. Irel quickly got up from her seat, opened the carriage window, stuck her upper body out, and vomited out all the things that had been surging inside her.

“Ugh… … !!”

“Oh my god, Rel! What the heck is going on!!”