Evan D. Sherden, An Encounter (2)

The city was in chaos.

Black raindrops, like ink, fell from the dark clouds that covered the sky. The aura of the atmosphere strengthened the feral beasts of the city and threw the humans into despair.

The streets were decorated by the dead, and countless Demons invaded the city. Hunting those who had survived. It was the day when Merdin was destroyed.

‘Luden, never look back and just keep running. Don’t pretend to know anyone from the moment you leave this room. Just keep running.’

‘But, mother…’

‘You must do this. Now go! Go!’

Luden struggled desperately to escape the mortified city.

She was wearing a skirt that she never wore in her life, wearing a wig, and light makeup.

After 15 years of hiding her real identity, she left the castle and ran away.

‘Prince, this way.’

‘Don’t look away. Just look ahead and run.’

‘But the people…’

‘You’re the only hope for Merdin.’

‘Back this way!’

Each blink of an eye created a new death. Even though she was covering her ears, she could hear screams from all sides.

‘Go!’

‘Don’t look back! Just go!’

‘Untie the bait! Stop the demons!’

‘Lord, you must survive!’

‘Oh, ahhhhhh……!’

She was shaking, but she couldn’t stop running. If she slowed down even a little bit, she would trip over someone else’s foot.

‘You think you can escape?’

She ignored everything.

‘You’re leaving Merdin and saving yourself.’

She ignored it all.

‘What’s the point of running away from your name and identity?’

She ignored it and kept going.

‘Hey, come on, let’s stay here.’

Then, at one moment, her body clicked and got caught.

‘Let’s die together.’

‘I don’t want to!’

The dead man’s hands pulled at her.

‘Luden, stop playing the wrong foot.’

‘No, stop it.…!’

Those ugly black palms covered her face before she raised her voice.

‘Louise; such a cute name doesn’t suit you.’

‘What do you mean, teacher, are you playing with me right now?’

‘You’re training? Are you going to get Merdin back? That’s a good joke.’

She had lost strength all over her body.

She took off her grip and twisted her body desperately, but her restraint only got stronger.

‘You’re just running away right now.’

‘You should’ve rotted here with us.’

‘Ah, Ughh….’

‘I’m out of breath. I can’t see anything.’

Only the voices in her ears were clear.

‘Luden.’

‘You shouldn’t be there.’

‘Come here.’

‘In the City of Eternal Death.’

‘To Merdin!’

“Huh!”

Louise opened her eyes with a suppressed scream. The unfamiliar ceiling welcomed her.

It was only after a few stuttering times that she could recall that she was now in the dungeon city of Sherden.

A groan escaped her.

“Oh, ahhhh.”

The collapse of Merdin was almost three years ago. She escaped from the city safely that day and eventually reached Sherden, although she suffered a lot.

‘It’s no longer dangerous. You don’t have to worry about your sleep. I can’t believe I’m having such a nightmare.’

“Oh, damn……!”

The memories of the past had stuck to her mind and bothered her every night.

This had been the case for the past three years. For the time being, or perhaps for the rest of her life, she wouldn’t let this go. The nightmare was what Louise, who abandoned Merdin and ran away alone, had to carry on for the rest of her life.

“…I should get up.”

Sunlight pouring from beyond the window was drenching the blanket. It was morning.

She didn’t have time to make a fuss about having a nightmare. Her teacher was very kind, but he was strict about time.

“Uh… but before that, shall I wash up?”

She was in a bad mood because her body was wet with cold sweat. She headed for the shower room.

‘Should I take a shower in my room or use the famous Brotherhood Bathhouse?’

No matter how hard she thought about it, it was ridiculous. There were magical engineering structures in each room that could wash you by controlling cold and hot water from time to time, so it was a luxury that even a noble couldn’t enjoy.

Money was money, but magical engineering applied to structures in the Astray headquarters was the only thing she dared not imagine.

‘Is that all? There’s a bathhouse with a ridiculous magical power just around the corner of the main building. Although it bothers me a little to show my skin in front of others, I have no choice but to go in, considering the effects….’

And the one who created them all was her same-age teacher, Evan D. Sherden. She couldn’t believe it.

‘When I first heard rumors about Sherden’s second son, I thought they were exaggerating a lot.’

Of course, it was clear that he was a great person, but she still thought that one man could not achieve superhuman achievements in all fields.

However, on the day of Merdin’s collapse, she found out that Sherden and Pellati were safe thanks to Evan, so she managed to believe some of the rumors.

When she encountered him in the Marquis’ drawing-room, she realized that his jewel-like beauty was more than she had ever heard of.

When Luden met the knights and learned about the impact that Evan made on Sherden… only then did she know that Evan was an immeasurable person.

‘I think a girl’s habit is a little bad. …no, it’s natural that you have that ability.’

Water poured from the shower, which was installed on the ceiling, and soaked Louise’s thin body. Her heart, which had been clouded by the nightmare, seemed to be washed away with sweat.

She stayed still for a long time, then suddenly raised her hand and touched her chest. The peak, which had been dim until just a few years ago, had grown noticeably and was self-asserting.

‘If he didn’t want to take me in until the end…I was thinking of showing my body at that time.’

In fact, she knew very well that she looked attractive to the opposite sex.

For three years, from Merdin to Sherden, it wasn’t just because she felt threatened because of her status. All sorts of rude people, or those who disguised themselves with kindness, all came up to her wanting her body. It would have been dangerous if it had not been for her training as a successor of Merdin.

‘But I can’t give up dressing up as a woman, so I’ve been traveling with my face covered. It was uncomfortable and was a difficult trip in many ways.’

‘I realized the value of my body.’

Therefore, she even thought about using it as a bargaining chip she could present against a man. No, she thought it was a foregone conclusion to be Evan’s concubine.

She was protected by him, and he would help to reclaim Merdin. She didn’t even want to rule Merdin herself. If Evan and her son ruled Merdin, she would be satisfied. However…

‘That’s a ridiculous idea. He accepted me from the beginning without expecting anything.’

Far from wanting her body, he even told her that it was okay if she wanted to be a man. In other words, he had no intention of forcing a woman that would refuse to sleep.

‘And I don’t have to. I like him. There are only a few women in this order right now. All of them are talented women who are more beautiful and capable than me.’

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Louise couldn’t stand the belated embarrassment and cried out.

‘The negotiation card was not you, who shouted that you would give your body to Evan because you couldn’t overcome your impatience as soon as you met him!

‘What the hell did Evan think when he saw me? No, I don’t even want to think about it!’

“Let’s get out….”

After forcing herself, Louise left the shower room, washed, and changed her clothes. It was a monochrome training suit.

It was also a comfortable training outfit, but the magic given here was not that simple, such as maintaining the condition, maintaining the temperature, the strength.

Apparently, he collaborated with a designer who could make a magic costume, which was also Evan’s work.

“Sherden is… the city of my teacher.”

At this point, she wondered why she wasn’t greedy for a permanent residence, but they were still not close enough to ask that.

It was all the more ridiculous to develop into a relationship between men and women.

Her relationship with the opposite sex was in an incomprehensible area for her, who still lacked self-consciousness as a woman.

When she faced Evan, she felt a little excited, but that made her more wary. That was why she forced herself to form a priestly relationship by calling Evan her teacher. It was not to check his approach, but to check her own impulses.

‘I can’t afford to be distracted by such personal feelings.’

She vowed to regain Merdin somehow. That was the only atonement she could make for leaving everyone behind.

For that purpose, she should not be swayed by herself, even though others might sway her. She left the room with a renewed commitment. There was a dazzlingly beautiful blonde elf in front of her.

“Gasp!”

“You’re late, Louise. The leader will already be waiting underground. Let’s go together.”

To the frightened Louise, Mirole spoke calmly. Louise sighed.

“No, it’s… Why are you always with me in my training?”

“That’s because I’m an apprentice. It’s natural to train with a colleague.”

Mirole responded calmly. But Louise had a rough guess from her experience over the past few weeks that although she was only an apprentice, her ability was comparable to that of Evan.

“You don’t need to train…”

“No, I want to. I’m an apprentice of the Knights.”

“…”

Mirole’s smile, who said so, naturally twitched Louise’s lips.

It was obvious why the elf, who already had incredible ability, was staying with Sherden’s Dungeon Knights and why she headed to the training ground every morning to lay the groundwork as an apprentice.

It was because of Evan. It was because she was in love with Evan. Everyone except Evan was already sure of this.

“I heard your teacher is busy today, so someone else is taking care of the training instead.”

“Maybe not, because the spirits are whispering that he is underground. Here we go.”

She lied to the elf, who had no sense of meanness, but it didn’t work for the elf, who had outstanding skills. Louise was forced to follow her with a long sigh.

She appraised Mirole, who was taller, had a larger chest, and was more capable than herself. Louise was also determined to give up becoming the beauty of the knights.

‘Why did this happen? Everything’s different from what I thought on my way to Sherden.… and especially the part where an elf, who is superior to me in every way, gets involved in everything!’

There was nothing she could do about it. She had to grow up with Evan and persevere until the day she would get Merdin back on her own!

The deficit of Merdin, who survived alone in the ruined city, quickly adapted to such a new environment.