Chapter 929 – #202_Mia(3)
#923
1.
In an already tangled situation, Lydia was a truly sudden guest.
The fact that she had pinpointed their hideout in this vast apartment complex meant she knew everything. It also meant that turning her away or pretending not to know her would be useless.
Therefore, without lowering his guard, he let her inside.
“My dear, it’s been a while?”
Her dark blonde hair was neatly cut into a bob.
Her eyes shone like golden coins.
She wore white gloves and a dress that reached just below her elbows.
She looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen her.
Lydia, calmly accepting the three pairs of suspicious gazes, headed straight for the living room.
“When a guest arrives, shouldn’t you offer them a drink?”
Lynne glared at her with a menacing look.
Eloa stared with a bewildered but clear hostility.
Even in front of Siwoo, who was half-dazed with disbelief, Lydia was full of composure.
Uttering a pointless joke, Lydia laid a handkerchief on the sofa and sat down. She opened a subspace and took out four elegant glasses and a bottle of champagne that looked expensive at first glance.
“If you don’t have any, well, consider it a housewarming gift from your guest.”
Although she was an unexpected guest, if he were to ask, ‘Is she really someone who would never come here?’ the answer would be no.
After all, wasn’t Lydia the one who commissioned them to prevent the gate from falling into the hands of the hardliners in the first place?
Of course, regardless of that, he couldn’t help but be amazed by Lydia’s audacity.
She was a public enemy and a kidnapper who had taken Dorothy hostage.
It was common sense to hide thoroughly until the deal was done.
Even if she was acting as a necessary evil, she, a leader of public society, had shown herself in front of Eloa, Lynne, and Siwoo.
Before any other questions, Siwoo asked,
“Where is Dorothy?”
“She’s unconscious, but she’s doing well. Didn’t I say? I keep my promises. She’ll return safely once you get the gate. Judging by the situation, it doesn’t look easy, though.”
“…I’ve felt this before, but you have a terrible personality.”
“I hear that a lot. This is expensive champagne, aren’t you going to drink it?”
Lydia, who was nonchalantly sipping her champagne, paused.
“Did you think I would fall for your childish trick?”
Lynne’s greatsword, which she had no idea when she had drawn, was now under Lydia’s slender neck.
Lydia scoffed as if her mood had been ruined.
“Have you been well? You look healthy. How’s the injury you suffered before?”
“If it weren’t for my husband, you would have died back then.”
Even as a drop of blood rolled down the sharp blade that had slightly pierced her skin, Lydia didn’t even blink.
“Lynne, wait. We can’t fight here anyway.”
“Subdue Magnus and take back the hostage. Then we’ll have no business in this city. We don’t care about the gate or the flood.”
“Sure. Go ahead and try. Even if your lineup is impressive, can you quietly subdue me?”
The golden light that began to drip and the dark aura that flickered in the air were in sharp contrast.
However, outside the window, the Angel search team was searching for witches with their eyes blazing.
The moment a spark flew from the table full of gunpowder, the only ending would be a group explosion.
From the start, Lydia must have come for a housewarming party, relying on the self-destruct switch rather than the hostage’s usefulness.
“If you understand, you should put it away, right? You’re ruining the taste of the drink.”
“……”
Lydia pushed the blade away with her glass.
When she ran her gloved finger over the wound, the injury that should have required several stitches disappeared completely.
However, the ominous atmosphere was not restored.
A sharp atmosphere, where they couldn’t share a drink together, flowed over the table.
“We should hear why you’re here first.”
“What’s there to say? I’m trapped too.”
Lydia explained that she was also inside this pocket dimension.
While exploring the city, Urshula attacked the location rod.
A locationroid with unexpected power began to operate, and she was stuck here.
But it couldn’t be that simple.
Lydia had only taken the title of a moderate for her own needs. She was still a public enemy.
Perhaps she had planned to attack Siwoo’s group in collaboration with Urshula and Priscilla, or perhaps she had another scheme.
“I expected that. Why did you follow us into the pocket dimension?”
“To be honest… I was trying to take the most advantageous route depending on the situation.”
Lydia spoke candidly about the suspicion directed at her.
“I also wanted to see if the client was going to carry out the request properly. Frankly, the best thing for me would have been for you to get the gate while you were dealing with Urshula and Priscilla.”
In short, she was trying to take advantage of the situation.
If Lydia’s plan had succeeded, Dorothy would not have been returned, and she would still have a valid card in her hand.
“I’ll tell you in advance, rest assured. It’s not a lie that Dorothy is safe. Even I can’t ignore the Duke’s threats.”
From the start, he hadn’t naively believed it was a fair deal.
“I knew you were an untrustworthy opponent, but you’re too transparent.”
“That’s why I’m in the perfect position to be trusted. After all, both you and I are in a big mess, right? It’s hard for either of us to have ulterior motives.”
Even after revealing her true intentions, Lydia was confident.
It was ironic that her attitude paradoxically gave her credibility.
Eloa, who had been silent, spoke.
“That’s not enough to convince me. As you know, there’s another person who provided information about the gate.”
“The Whispering Witch?”
“That’s right. Can you prove that you are not Lilith?”
Putting everything else aside, this was a serious matter.
Looking at how things had gone wrong, they couldn’t help but think of Lilith.
Lilith could disguise herself as any other witch, and beyond simple acting, she could even use that person’s minor habits and even their self-magic.
Right now, Lilith was disguised as the ‘Cowardly Witch’ and was commanding the King of Beasts, but there was no guarantee that she hadn’t disguised herself as Lydia and come here.
“That’s impossible. It’s like proving a devil’s existence. Instead, as a token of our temporary alliance, I’ll give you information I gathered while investigating that bitch.”
“Information about Lilith?”
Lilith was a witch even more shrouded in mystery than Keter.
Eloa had been tracking her for a while, but she hadn’t even been able to find a single clue.
“Lilith’s self-magic is related to ‘history.’ For example, she can take over the body of a dead witch or even use their self-magic. Conversely, it means she can’t imitate a witch who is still alive.”
“…That’s something I didn’t know. But it’s not a clear explanation. What if the real Golden Witch is already dead, and the Lydia Magnus here is just Lilith imitating her?”
“That’s why it’s like proving a devil’s existence. I can’t fully assert my innocence. But…”
Lydia took a sip of her drink.
“If I had wanted to, I could have joined the hardliners or brought the Angels to this hideout and put you in trouble.”
“……”
“If you force me out of this unholy city, I’ll have no choice but to make things more troublesome for the Duke’s people. I’m not making threats or intimidation. I’m just telling you in advance that I’ll have no choice but to do that, without any malice. I have to survive in my own way.”
To summarize Lydia’s words:
It was true that she had secretly entered the pocket dimension with the intention of betraying them if necessary.
However, as the situation became complicated, she was in trouble, and she chose Siwoo’s group as allies to overcome the crisis together.
She understood that it was uncomfortable to be on the same boat, but if they pushed her out, she didn’t know what she would do to survive.
So, let’s form an alliance.
“You’re incredibly shameless…”
Even Siwoo, who had lived a rather shameless life, was speechless at her brazen proposal for an alliance.
“Capitalists are always shameless, didn’t you know?”
“……”
Eloa did not believe that the enemy of an enemy was a friend.
She didn’t expect Lydia to cooperate without any ulterior motives just because a crisis had come.
“You had other options. So why are you taking the risk of siding with us?”
This was the final key point.
Lydia answered as if it were nothing.
“Because the expected value of siding with you is much higher. And because your camp is the one that can sell my value for the highest price.”
“You’ve already taken a hostage, said different things, proposed cooperation for survival, and now you’re asking for a price again?”
“Depending on the situation. But you know, Duke, the price doesn’t always mean something material, right? I think building goodwill with your camp is also a very good expected value.”
“That will never happen.”
“We’ll see. There are no absolutes in this world.”
The conversation ended with Eloa’s firm words and Lydia’s nonchalant reply.
After that, the three discussed whether to bring Lydia on board.
Siwoo hated Lydia, who had taken Dorothy hostage, nonchalantly bought and sold witches, and killed humans.
Lynne warned that Lydia might have another scheme in mind.
Eloa also didn’t trust Lydia in the slightest.
Lydia added a word to the series of negative evaluations.
“Also, I’m very capable. How else would I have found your hiding place so quickly? You won’t regret taking me as an ally.”
The result was somewhat anticlimactic.
Unlike their emotional preferences, rejecting Lydia now was too risky.
The final conclusion was that it was safest to keep her in sight and monitor her, and use her as a joker when the situation was not favorable.
“Okay, then, since today was tough, let’s watch the situation for a bit and start moving in earnest from tomorrow.”
Was it because she had always been above others in life?
Lydia naturally gave instructions as if she were the leader of the group.
However, there was no disagreement that they needed rest, so they naturally went about their own business in the living room.
And at that moment when the tense string loosened.
“…Hmm.”
Siwoo felt troubled.
It must have been because he had inhaled too much of her scent.
His erection wouldn’t go down.
However, the trouble Lynne felt was even greater than Siwoo’s.
She had been tormented for a long time, and she had been interrupted at the very moment she was about to feel good.
“……”
For a witch who had just escaped the curse of deprivation, Lynne’s self-control was very good.
However, once ignited, her burning desire was something that even such self-control could not handle.
The two’s strange gazes kept glancing at each other.
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