"You were used."
At Teo’s words, the grand master flinched. Her eyes flickered briefly, then she spoke in a choked voice, as if a sore wound had been reopened.
"You... who the hell are you? How do you know that?"
It was a truth she’d long known but desperately tried to ignore. That was why she blamed him for ruining everything by involving the Council.
She had hoped that if this mission ended successfully and she returned, Filione Delberg would recognize her, allowing her to confidently act as a grand master in one of the major cities of the central and southern regions — not stuck in such a desolate place. That was why she had come so far.
But reality was cruel. The executives had fled, and now she was hiding, trapped ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) after the Council stormed in while she was illegally trading monsters.
Even if she escaped, her name and description as grand master would spread everywhere, forcing her to run endlessly.
And Filione Delberg had used her, pretending to offer a chance while fully aware of the risks. Delberg would never protect her once she became a fugitive. As the man before her said, even if she succeeded and returned, Delberg would sever ties like cutting off a tail.
Earlier, when he said she might not have lived even if she had succeeded and come back, memories of other grand masters who disappeared—whom she’d long suspected—flashed in her mind.
She had survived with more tenacity than anyone else, but in grasping what she thought was her chance, she hadn’t realized the true price of being involved in this mission.
Now that she did, the situation was driving her insane.
Teo silently observed her confused emotional shifts and held out his hand again. She stared at it for a long moment.
If she was to die anyway, there was nowhere left to run.
Thinking of what had brought her here, she firmly gripped his outstretched hand and emerged from the underground storage. Perhaps because she’d been in a cold, dark place for so long, his hand felt especially warm.
"There’s no time. Let’s move quickly. You don’t want to get caught, do you?"
She nodded. At that, Teo smiled — the warmest smile she’d ever seen. She thought she had no choice but to follow him now. This man was the only one who promised to save her, abandoned by the merchant group.
Tergio crushed the location tracking sensor he’d held in one hand, then grabbed her hand and vanished without a trace.
****
"As soon as you gave the order, we dispatched teams and searched the entire area, but found no one. We discovered an underground storage at the coordinates you provided and are currently investigating inside."
Listening through a communication magic tool, Flynn frowned at the mention of searching inside the storage.
"Wait a moment—haven’t we already finished searching all the Delberg Merchant Group’s storage facilities?"
"Pardon? Yes, that’s correct."
"Then hasn’t this storage been searched too? It should be part of Delberg’s holdings, right?"
"This place? No, it wasn’t marked on the map listing Delberg-owned storage. We judged it to be privately owned and didn’t search it, but..."
Flynn’s unease grew.
'An unmarked storage? Not owned by Delberg?'
If it wasn’t Delberg’s, then what were the items he and Teo had carried out of there?
He briefly considered it might be a secret merchant group storage, but the entrance was too carelessly hidden for that. It seemed more plausible it wasn’t theirs at all.
"Weren’t there boxes stacked inside? What was in them?"
"Hmm... miscellaneous things: blankets, feed sacks, bundles of straw..."
"There should be a location tracking sensor I threw around there. Did you find it?"
"We found a Council-used tracking sensor, but it’s broken and not functioning properly."
The box contents were ordinary, not requiring cool storage, and easily obtained nearby—things the merchant group wouldn’t bother managing. Flynn’s suspicions deepened.
Only two merchant group personnel were missing: the grand master and Tergio. The storage Tergio took him to wasn’t actually Delberg’s, and the sensor he’d thrown in front of it was broken.
That place was rarely accessed due to its remoteness. If the sensor was broken, someone who knew the place’s existence likely damaged it on purpose.
Flynn wanted to deny these suspicious facts pointing toward Teo, but he couldn’t ignore them.
Because Teo had taken him there once, he naturally assumed the storage belonged to Delberg and didn’t order a separate investigation. The team had already searched all mapped Delberg storage facilities without his mention.
Of course, even private storage not owned by the merchant group was being investigated later with residents’ consent, in case of collusion.
But since Flynn assumed this place was Delberg’s, it slipped through the investigation during the day.
As these thoughts settled, a chill ran down Flynn’s arm. Trying to stay composed, he spoke calmly to the tracking team over the communication channel.
"Alright... understood for now. But continue the investigation."
"Yes, understood."
The connection cut off. Flynn stared blankly at his hand, questions swirling in his mind.
"..."
Did Tergio have another purpose in taking him there?
He’d felt Teo’s hand gripping his tightly after they left the storage was truly warm, even if briefly. Was it all really a lie?
****
The place where Tergio and the grand master arrived was the coast.
It was a long journey east from the Frost residential area, and before them stretched the endless black sea, waves crashing relentlessly.
Teo had deliberately broken the sensor there to mislead the tracking team but scanned the area nervously for remaining Council members. Grabbing her hand, he hurried onward. She asked urgently as she was dragged along.
"Where are we going now?"
"The border zone."
"What?"
Startled, she stopped and forcefully shook off his hand. Teo also stopped and turned to face her.
Breathing heavily, her heart pounding, she shook her head in disbelief.
"Are you telling me to defect now? Are you crazy? I can’t. I’d rather be arrested and imprisoned by the Council than that!"
She shouted fiercely, resisting. The crashing waves seemed to clear her daze. Teo looked at her silently again, and when her agitation settled, he spoke.
"If you’re imprisoned by the Council, how long do you think you’ll last?"
"..."
"Monster trafficking is a felony. The amount you and the Count embezzled must be huge. Ten years? Twenty? If you rot in prison that long and come out, will Filione Delberg leave you alone? No. Before that, will she even let you leave alive?"
She couldn’t answer. The Filione Delberg she knew would never tolerate even a small threat. Delberg would cut off anything that might cause problems at the root.
With her ambition and wealth, Delberg could easily poison her meals secretly while imprisoned.
She still couldn’t decide whether to resent or rely on the man before her. But the harsh truths in his words rang close to reality.
More certain was that the executives who had accompanied her under the guise of assistance were not on her side. She’d thought Delberg recognized her, but they saw her as a mere pawn, used and discarded at will.
Delberg only took the money she risked her life for, pretending to give recognition.
"...Ha."
At that thought, laughter escaped her lips.
She laughed because her current state was absurd.
They say when someone is near death, their life flashes before their eyes like a revolving lantern. Judging by the memories flickering through her mind, she truly was at death’s door.
She sighed, briefly reviewing her life.
Ah, what a pitiful existence.
Her vision blurred, hot tears streamed down her cheeks. The cold sea breeze slapped her flushed face, urging her to wake up.
Teo looked at her silently, then grasped her hand again and moved forward. She followed quietly.
After a while, a small boat tied to the shore came into view. Teo led her there and said,
"Get on. The boat has magic cast on it—it’ll automatically sail north without rowing. If you go nonstop for a day, it will dock on the coast. From there, find someone who can help you."
As if he’d prepared for everything, she asked with a tear-streaked, distorted face.
"...Why are you helping me escape?"
Teo untied the rope securing the boat and replied,
"Is that important?"
"Of course. I was taught no one helps without a reason."
Teo chuckled. Thinking it was what someone once told him about her, he handed the rope to her. Then, tapping his neck, he said,
"You—are you from Bermuda?"
Startled, she touched the back of her neck. Then her eyes caught the black choker-like object around Teo’s neck, hidden beneath his collar.
Slowly lowering her hand, her voice trembling with emotion she couldn’t fully express, she asked,
"...You too?"
Teo calmly nodded.
"Yeah. That’s all. I roughly know the kind of life you’ve lived."
"..."
"So go. Live a new life. Don’t live tied down."
She looked at the rope in her hand.
It felt like the end of the tether that had bound her life had finally come into her grasp. It was a simple act, nothing special, but the rope gave her a strange sense of liberation, like a ritual.
She glanced toward the land behind him, then quietly boarded the boat. Defection had never crossed her mind before. She didn’t know she’d be pushed onto a boat like this, nor that she’d get on willingly.
Teo slowly pushed the boat afloat. The rushing seawater soaked his shoes and pants, but he didn’t mind.
Feeling the boat sway on the water, she quickly grabbed his arm.
"What about you? Won’t you get caught like this?"
Teo shook his head.
"I told you. I’m just a low-ranking member. Ordinary members get investigated and released soon. Unlike you—your face is known."
He insisted he was a low-ranking member to the end. She let out a hollow, dumbfounded laugh.
"Don’t be ridiculous. A mere low-ranking member helping a guilty grand master escape? As if you predicted all this in advance."
He didn’t answer. He seemed unwilling to share details. As the boat drifted into deeper water, she tried again.
"My name is Brianna Dixie. I have a personality that refuses to live with debt. So I will repay you. Both you and Filione Delberg who used me."
"Alright."
Teo nodded at her bold words. Impatient at his brief reply and the boat’s sway, she grabbed his arm tighter.
"If something’s given, something must be returned. That’s the merchant group’s law. You even used teleportation—you seem a strong mage. What’s your name?"
That name had been whispered in secret, mainly among monster extermination teams or those whose lives he’d protected. In the merchant group, stories about him occasionally reached her ears.
Brianna had always wished the ‘real’ him would come to her, but luck never smiled. Yet at this empire’s edge—between life and death—she felt fortune finally found her.
Teo looked at her clinging to his arm and smiled faintly. For a moment, under the bright moonlight, his brown eyes seemed golden.
Soon, he released her hand. The moment his hand touched hers again, Brianna felt its warmth wasn’t an illusion.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he didn’t listen and pushed the boat away.
As the boat drifted apart, he spoke his name in a low but clear voice she could hear.
"Leonardo Blaine."
