WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B
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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈
Chapter 136: Serin (5)
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Serena clearly remembered Serin’s last words.
“The Watcher of Narak is a vicious monster. He knows everything, and he moves between humans and demons...”
Just as Serin was about to continue, a pitch-black hand of Mapheltan appeared and dragged her away.
At the time, Serena had been too shocked to do anything.
She could only stare blankly as her older sister vanished.
There was nothing she could do.
Serena could not enter the mirror.
She needed another way to retrieve her sister.
The first step was meeting the Watcher of Narak.
As soon as the sun rose, Serena headed for the Myatro Baron’s manor.
She had even brought troops in case of trouble.
Suppressing her unease, Serena stared at Ilea.
“The Watcher of Narak and Lady Staviana. What exactly are you two?”
Ilea gave a faint sneer.
She spoke in a cold voice.
“Who we are? Please make your question clearer.”
Serena glanced around.
There were far too many eyes watching and ears listening.
What she intended to say was far too sensitive for a place like this.
“Let us move somewhere else. If I speak here, Lady Staviana may find herself in an awkward position as well.”
Ilea answered with a cold smile.
“I don’t mind. Please, say whatever you want.”
Serena bit down on her lip.
She felt deeply insulted.
“...How rude. Lady Staviana, what right do you have to keep Lord Johan’s guest standing outside the door like this?”
Ilea smiled with her eyes.
“I merely conveyed Johan’s wishes to you. Johan doesn’t wish to see you right now.”
Johan was currently trapped inside the mirror.
He was in no position to meet Serena alone.
Serena’s anger rose to its peak.
She needed to learn her missing sister’s whereabouts as soon as possible, but there were too many people obstructing her.
She was anxious and afraid.
She wanted to shout at them immediately.
But she did not act on that impulse.
Serena was someone guided more by reason than emotion.
Losing her temper would only harm herself.
After taking a deep breath, she spoke.
“...Fine, Lady Staviana. I will say everything here. If this conversation tarnishes the honor of House Marcano, House Myatro, or House Staviana, even a little, Lady Ilea will pay the price.”
Ilea simply smiled as if she did not care.
“That was quite a long introduction. Go on, then.”
Serena opened her mouth with an expressionless face.
The moment she began to speak, someone shouted.
“Please wait!”
It was Johan’s butler, Haman.
He looked anxiously between the two young ladies.
Serena murmured,
“You are...”
“H, Haman, ma’am.”
He bowed to Serena, then leaned close to Ilea and whispered.
“Lady Staviana, my master strongly dislikes drawing attention. Please resolve this situation properly. I beg you.”
After whispering, Haman bent at the waist in a ninety-degree bow.
Ilea watched him silently, then let out a deep sigh.
“I have unintentionally put you in an awkward position, Haman. I sincerely apologize.”
Flustered, Haman waved his hands.
“N, not at all! I only spoke because I was worried that the two young ladies and my master might be inconvenienced!”
Ilea nodded and looked at Serena.
“Lady Marcano, would you visit again around noon? It truly is impossible to see Lord Johan right now.”
Ilea was the first to call for a truce.
Serena had no choice but to accept.
If they took things too far, everyone would bleed.
The Marcano bloodline did not accept such pointless losses.
Serena’s rigid expression softened.
“...It cannot be helped. I will return this afternoon.”
She turned and walked away.
The knights who had come with her followed.
Watching their retreating backs, Ilea murmured,
“Serena Marcano. If she truly intended to mention Serin here, I have to acknowledge her nerve.”
The surrounding air turned cold.
Unsettled by the eerie atmosphere, Haman swallowed dryly.
“L, Lady Staviana, you should go inside as well. It is cold out.”
Ilea and Haman soon returned to the manor.
Ilea still had work to do.
* * *
Ilea and Lumina had found a way to bring Johan out of the mirror.
The solution was simpler than expected.
Rather than directly touching the Ominous Book, which only an Apostle could contact, they only needed to magically connect another mirror to it.
Large and small glass fragments clung around the black rift in the center of the mirror-shaped Ominous Book.
Each piece of glass was a product of Magic Engineering.
They were interconnected, forming a single Magic Formation.
After checking the spell formula again, Lumina spoke.
“It seems roughly ready. Shall we begin?”
Ilea nodded.
“I’ll activate it with my Mana.”
She poured Mana into the spell formula.
At the same time, the glass fragments began to burn blue.
The void at the center of the Ominous Book trembled.
An anxious expression crossed Lumina’s face.
“Please...”
Before she could finish, Ilea shouted.
“It worked!”
A pale white hand reached out from the void.
Before long, Johan emerged.
For some reason, his face was rigid with tension.
“Damn it!”
Johan was flung out with a curse.
His body slammed into the workshop wall.
A dull thud rang out.
Fortunately, he was not injured.
Ilea’s magic quickly softened the impact.
With a sigh of relief, she asked,
“Johan, are you all right?”
Johan slid down the wall.
“...I almost died.”
Lumina snickered.
“It did look a little dangerous. It still needs improvement.”
The transfer process was seriously dangerous.
Just moments ago, Johan had truly thought he might die.
All kinds of backlash had struck him as he crossed into the Material Realm.
Ilea spoke.
“Still, it was a success. Lady Lumina, I learned a lot this time.”
Lumina replied with a somewhat arrogant expression.
“You learn quite quickly too. A witch is a witch, after all.”
Johan dusted off his clothes.
“Put proper safety measures in place. If Serin had come with me, she would have died.”
Serin could now cross into the Material Realm through that rift as well.
Ilea looked puzzled.
“Surely you do not intend to bring Serin into the Material Realm?”
“Someday. Not now, of course.”
Serin was bearing the side effects of the Mind-Piercing Eye in Serena’s place.
Time moved slowly in the world within the mirror, so Serin could endure the side effects without losing her life.
If she entered the Material Realm, things would change.
Either Serena or Serin would inevitably have a shortened life.
Johan did not want that outcome.
For the time being, Serin had to live in the world within the mirror.
She could not gain her freedom until Johan found a way to overcome the side effects of the Mind-Piercing Eye.
Of course, Johan would find that solution.
He had already made a promise to Serin.
Someday, Serin would live as an ordinary human being too.
“I’ll prepare for it. But there is something more important right now.”
“What is it?”
“Serena came to see you.”
That was only natural.
Serin had been talking about Johan when a pitch-black hand of Mapheltan suddenly abducted her.
Serena had witnessed it with her own eyes.
She could not help suspecting Johan was behind everything.
“Is she at the manor now?”
“No. I told her to return around noon.”
“Well done. Things will be easier than I expected.”
Ilea looked confused.
“Serena suspects you, Johan. Isn’t this a difficult situation in many ways?”
“I’ve already worked on persuading Serin. What you’re worried about will not happen.”
Apparently somewhat convinced, Ilea nodded.
“...I see. That is a relief.”
For some reason, there was a strange hint of disappointment in her voice.
Johan found it slightly odd, but did not question Ilea’s attitude.
“Let us return to the manor. We should prepare to receive Serena.”
Lumina immediately dispelled her spatial magic.
The three of them arrived at the manor in an instant.
* * *
Serena stared blankly at the enormous full-length mirror standing on one side of her room.
The mirror was a magical artifact.
If she knocked on it twice, Serin would answer.
Recently, things had been different.
No matter how often Serena knocked, Serin did not appear.
“...Sister.”
Where had Serin been taken?
Serena was nearly going mad with worry.
She had barely slept at all lately.
With tears in her eyes, she approached the mirror.
She placed a trembling hand against the glass.
There would be no response, but out of habit, she knocked on the mirror.
Once, twice.
There was no answer.
Serena lowered her head.
Just as she suffered in silence, a familiar voice called out.
“Serena!”
Serena immediately looked at the mirror.
Serin’s figure had appeared on the glass.
“S, Sister!”
Serena’s eyes widened.
Her voice trembled like an aspen leaf.
Serin smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry. You worried a lot, didn’t you?”
Serena frantically stroked the mirror.
“W, what happened? Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”
From the other side of the mirror, Serin placed her hand over Serena’s.
“Serena, don’t cry. I’m really all right.”
The tears gathered in Serena’s eyes fell.
She sniffled, then began sobbing loudly.
“I really thought you had disappeared, that something had happened to you... I was so worried...”
Serena wept for a long while.
Only after quite some time did she manage to calm down a little.
Serin spoke.
“That’s enough now. A grown lady should not cry like a child.”
Wiping her tears, Serena said,
“...Sister, that monster. The evil being you mentioned.”
Serin’s expression grew serious.
“I was going to tell you about that.”
“No, you don’t have to. You mean the Watcher of Narak, right?”
Serin was slightly flustered. An inexplicable discomfort and guilt passed over her face.
“It was all my misunderstanding.”
“...What? What do you mean?”
After considering it briefly, Serin spoke calmly.
“Lord Johan, the Watcher of Narak, is not a monster. He is actually an incredibly good person.”
Serena could not understand what Serin was saying at all.
Frowning, she stared at her sister.
“Sister, what are you saying...?”
A gentle smile spread across Serin’s face.
“Trust me, Serena. He is someone you can trust.”
Serena’s expression stiffened.
She could not help being overwhelmed by a strange sense that something was wrong.
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