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[LFTAW] Chapter 289: Decision
🕑 Added 2024-10-10 01:30:53 +0000 UTCNight.
Inside his room, Riezel sat on the edge of his bed, drying his damp hair with a towel while looking at Lizbeth's animal skin, which he held in his hand.
At first, his gaze fell on the golden sword held by the queen, who led the human-like figures in front of the altar, then shifted to the cube-like block being worshiped on it.
After a long pause, he let out a deep sigh.
"Ancient magic civilization, huh..."
Clearly, the magic civilization that went extinct 11,000 years ago seemed to have left behind many mysteries and secrets. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, he had somehow formed a connection with this once-thriving ancient magical civilization.
Not only was there Lizbeth, who carried Moslow and became his attendant but there was also Divine Meloe, which he found in the royal treasury and had now become his.
Finally, there was the Dimensional Magic Cube, which led him to this world, granting him a second chance at life.
All of these were clearly tied to this ancient magic civilization in significant ways.
He felt as if an invisible hand was controlling everything from behind, gathering all the important factors related to this civilization around him.
Honestly, he didn't feel good at all.
Knock, Knock, Knock!
Just as Riezel was lost in thought, someone knocked on the door.
"Who?"
Riezel snapped back to reality and asked instinctively.
"I-It's me... Lizbeth..."
Lizbeth's notably nervous tone immediately rang out from outside the door.
"Lizbeth?"
Riezel muttered, raising his eyebrows.
In truth, he wasn't really surprised by Lizbeth's arrival, as he believed she likely felt just as conflicted as he did right now.
"Come in."
Riezel called out to Lizbeth outside the door.
"Sorry to interrupt..."
Lizbeth hesitantly pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Tonight, she wasn't holding Moslow as she usually did, and she looked especially cool and refreshing.
It seemed like she had just gotten out of the bath like Riezel, as her light gray hair, grown long enough to touch the bend of her knees, still gave off a bit of moisture, radiating a fragrance and warmth that stirred a sense of excitement within.
Regardless, the most important thing was that Lizbeth, who had just bathed and dressed so lightly, suddenly rushed into someone else's room—a man's room at that, was a problem.
In other eyes, this situation was undeniably provocative, especially considering her stunning beauty and dangerously appealing figure. Even Riezel couldn't help but steal a few glances at her chest, feeling a bit dry in the throat.
However, Lizbeth didn't seem to realize the impact her outfit could have on the opposite sex at all and instead looked concerned.
"Sorry, Master..."
Lizbeth spoke softly, looking at Riezel with her big, watery eyes.
"I can't sleep..."
Needless to say, her words were truly something that could perfectly seduce any man.
If Riezel didn't know better, if he hadn't been clear that Lizbeth was actually an innocent girl who didn't understand such things, he might have thought she was here to seduce him.
"Why don't you take a seat first?"
Riezel quickly suppressed the inappropriate thoughts bubbling up in his mind and suggested to Lizbeth.
However, he soon regretted it.
"O-Okay..."
Lizbeth fidgeted as she came over to Riezel's side and sat down next to him.
At this moment, Riezel was sitting on the edge of the bed, while Lizbeth sat right beside him. They were so close that their bodies touched, and he could even clearly smell the fragrant aroma of soap coming from her.
"..."
Riezel fell into silence.
'Is this girl... really not doing it on purpose?'
As Riezel tried to calm his mind, Lizbeth spoke up.
"Master..."
Lizbeth lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers, a bit hesitant and somewhat confused.
"Why does Master want to investigate the Hidden Land and Moslow?"
Lizbeth asked the question and the doubt that always popped into her mind.
Upon hearing her question, Riezel finally managed to suppress some of the fanciful thoughts swirling in his head and calmed down.
"What's wrong?" Riezel asked back, smiling faintly. "Do you think I'm investigating you because I don't trust you?"
"N-No! Not at all!" Lizbeth quickly shook her head. "I don't think that, and I never have, Master!"
"I know, I was just saying that casually, so calm down..." Riezel shook his head, trying to calm her down. "Actually, the reason I'm looking into this is that it's not completely unrelated to me."
Saying this, he then handed the animal skin beside him to Lizbeth.
"Look at this... this is Moslow, right?" Riezel pointed at the sword held by the queen in front of the altar.
"Um..." Lizbeth nodded gently.
She had kept this animal skin close to her, having seen it many times before, so there was no way she wouldn't recognize the golden sword depicted on it as Moslow.
However, she had never considered what it meant for Moslow to appear in the picture on the animal skin. She had always viewed the animal skin as just a somewhat special piece of art, never doubting its origins or the significance of the picture depicted on it.
Naturally, she also didn't know that this scene recorded an ancient magic civilization from 11,000 years ago.
Now that she thought about it, she realized this animal skin might also be a product of the ancient magical civilization—at the very least, it seemed to belong to the same piece of history recorded in those ancient ruins, just like the previous mural rubbing.
Moreover, her master was the second person, aside from her, who could see this piece of history.
Needless to say, this fact alone spoke volumes.
"Do you know what this is?" Riezel pointed at the cube-like object being worshiped on the altar.
"Umm... What's this?"
Lizbeth looked puzzled, clearly having never thought about the cube.
"I want to know too..." Riezel sighed resignedly. "You know... this thing is actually with me now... It's very important to me and has had a huge impact on my life."
By saying this, Riezel finally revealed the existence of the Dimensional Magic Cube to someone else.
In truth, he hadn't intended to keep it a secret forever.
Whether it was Loki or Yuri, if they asked about the secrets he held, he would be willing to trust them and be honest about it.
With this mindset, he had always thought that the first one to learn about the Dimensional Magic Cube's existence would either be Loki or Yuri, but who would have ever thought that the first one to know about it would actually be this naive little princess, sent to his side to be his attendant.
"Really?"
Lizbeth stared at the cube depicted on the animal skin, her face filled with disbelief.
Although she had no idea what the cube was, seeing it placed on an altar and worshipped by the masses made it clear that it was no ordinary object.
Yet, this thing was with her master?
No wonder her master could see what was drawn on the animal skin. It turned out he had something that seemed just as important from the ancient magic civilization, just like her.
Realizing this, Lizbeth suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of joy.
At the very least, it proved she wasn't alone and didn't have to bear the secrets she had just learned today by herself.
Seeing Lizbeth suddenly relax, Riezel smiled slightly.
"I want to investigate the Hidden Land, and your Moslow is for this reason..."
Riezel told Lizbeth the truth.
"I want to know what this cube really is, where it came from, and why it ended up with me."
"More importantly, this might relate to my entire life—my past, and also my future."
"When I saw the animal skin you brought, it undoubtedly told me where I should start looking for clues, which is why I asked Yuri to help me investigate the Hidden Land you mentioned and your sword, Moslow."
Evidently, all the clues pointed to the fact that Lizbeth's origins were probably just as complicated as Riezel's—clearly not as simple as they seemed.
Although Lizbeth appeared to be just the illegitimate daughter of a king, from birth, she strangely possessed a mysterious sword and an animal skin as mysterious as the sword, which displayed a picture visible only to her.
Even Lizbeth's grandmother, who raised her, seemed to know something about her background and gave her the animal skin to search for the place called the Hidden Land.
Needless to say, everything indicated that her origins were far from simple, especially when both Moslow and the animal skin seemed to be products of the ancient magic civilization, and the whereabouts of the Hidden Land were elusive even to the knowledgeable Yuri.
Lizbeth's background suddenly became shrouded in mystery.
Understanding this, how could Riezel not investigate when the animal skin Lizbeth carried was connected to the Dimensional Magic Cube?
"Ahh, so that's how it is…"
Lizbeth finally understood why Riezel wanted to investigate the Hidden Land and Moslow.
It wasn't because he wanted to know her background or because he didn't trust her; it was simply because this matter was truly related to him.
Knowing this made Lizbeth feel more at ease.
Given the circumstances, she naturally couldn't ignore the fact that her origins were shrouded in significant secrets.
After learning a bit about Moslow and the Hidden Land from Yuri, she had a feeling that something was off about her origin, leaving her feeling anxious and restless, unsure of what to do.
Lost.
Confused.
Afraid of the unknown.
A whirlwind of emotions assaulted her young heart, making it impossible for her to sleep.
As a result, she couldn't help but seek out Riezel, hoping for some comfort.
However, little did she know, Riezel offered her not just comfort but also a sense of shared understanding.
All of this undoubtedly gave Lizbeth a great sense of reassurance, alleviating her confusion and anxiety because she knew that this wasn't just her problem and she wasn't alone.
"So… what does Master plan to do?"
Lizbeth shyly turned her head to Riezel and asked in a curious tone.
In response, Riezel closed his eyes for a while before opening them again. He didn't answer Lizbeth right away but quietly took out a map and a mural rubbing.
Yes, these two were things that Yuri had given him after their earlier talk.
Looking at the place marked with a red 'X' on the map, Riezel finally made a decision.
