Tangled By Fate

"Who could it be?"

Although Veronica voiced it out, everyone was thinking the same.

"...That would be me, I suppose."

Ironin and Sebastian didn't react much but Veronica and Catherine were startled by the voice. Please visit 𝗳𝒓e𝚎𝙬𝒆𝙗𝚗o𝙫e𝗹. 𝐜𝐨𝙢

The girls were so busy talking about the people with torches that they didn't notice that someone was approaching them secretly.

The man was tall and had a thin figure. A blue cape covered his body. His fair face was visible under the hood.

He gave them a bashful smile.

"No way! Is that you, Merlin?!" Veronica gasped.

"One and only. It's been a while. Good to see you all in an unexpected situation."

"A while? It's been years! It's good to see you again, Merlin!" Catherine politely greeted him.

'Why is she so polite to him and always fighting with me?' Sebastian thought. He was offended by her discrimination.

"Good to see you too, Lady Catherine," Merlin greeted her back.

"Were those soldiers looking for you, Master Merlin?" Sebastian asked.

"You can say that," Merlin gave them a guilty smile.

"We should move," Ironin urged them.

While they moved further away from the soldiers, Merlin opened his mouth.

"Although I went to study in Louses, my target was to gather information about their so-called 'science'."

"So, you went to spy," Veronica concluded.

Merlin said, "I learned so much in those past few years. What we learned about magic it's completely different from science.

"They don't need magic to light up a room. They use the simplest things to turn them into something you will never imagine. I wish I could stay there longer. But I was found out."

"What do you mean by you being found out?" Catherine asked.

"I went there as a normal academy student. If they knew I was a maze from the Magic Tower, they would never let me enter. Someone gave them evidence of me being the mage and I was exposed."

When Merlin told them how he was exposed to the enemy, Veronica frowned.

"Could it be the witches?" she pondered.

"Witches? How come?" Merlin was surprised. "It was from the Imperial Palace of Tybu. I'm pretty sure about it because the King of Louses summoned me and interrogated me."

"The Imperial Palace? Then, it has to be Queen Isabella and the witches. They are going around and creating havoc," Veronica stated.

"I'm sorry I don't quite follow." Merlin was confused.

"Ah... that is..." Sebastian shortly described the situation between the Magic Tower and the witches.

After finding out everything, Merlin was stunned.

He looked at Veronica and said, "I'm glad you are safe, Milady."

"Thank you, Merlin. I'm glad to see you safe too."

"Thank you. How did you manage to have contact with the elves?"

"That's a very long story. Maybe some other time."

While the two of them were having a conversation, Catherine said, "Hold on. Why are we running? Merlin is a mage. He can just teleport us to the desert."

Merlin said, "To the battlefield? Yes, I can. It's just I need a ground where I can draw the magical circle. Unfortunately, there is only grass there."

"Can't you do any magic without drawing circles?" Veronica asked.

She recalled Arthur could use magic without drawing circles.

Merlin said, "I don't have my magic ring or my staff. I didn't bring them with me when I left for Louses."

"So, you can't use magic unless you have a magical staff or ring," Catherine stated.

"Yes," Merlin nodded.

"How useless," Catherine muttered.

"..."

Catherine sighed as she walked further. She had a tiring day and then, she couldn't rest. Now, she had to run again.

Since they had to run, they reached the river by dawn. No rest the whole night.

Thankfully, the river was more like a stream due to the narrow edge. The only problem was due to rain, the current was too strong to cross it.

Veronica rested her arms on her waist. She was exhausted. "What should we do? We don't have a boat."

"Even if we have a boat, the current will take us to the south," Sebastian said.

"How about resting for now? It will be nice to take a bath too," said Catherine while wiping her sweat.

"We can't stay here," Merlin said. "Although I shook off the soldiers, they will find by now that I bluffed them. They could be heading in this direction."

"We cross the river now," Ironin decided.

"How about we let the sun rise first?" Veronica suggested. "Catherine and I are too tired to deal with the river current. If we walk..."

"We are walking?!" Catherine's jaw dropped. "I can't do this. Someone has to carry me."

"We are all too tired to carry a fully grown human," Sebastian commented.

"I agree. I'm tired too. I don't think I can cross the river especially when I can hardly see anything," Merlin confessed.

This maze only spent time on magic and reading books. He hardly exercised. After playing hide and seek with the King of Louses for three months, he was beyond exhausted.

"We can lay low for thirty minutes," Ironin finally agreed.

Thirty minutes later, they crossed the river. The river wasn't deep but they were soaked to their waist.

Everyone held their hands while crossing the road. The first person was Sebastian and then Catherine.

Catherine shuddered after sensing how cold the water is. She was worried that she would lose her footing at any moment.

She looked at Sebastian and said, "Don't let go of my hand."

Without looking back, Sebastian answered, "Never." He tightened his grip around her hand.

Catherine felt warmth spreading from their joined hands.

Behind them was Merlin. He was in between Catherine and Veronica.

He wasn't close to women. Holding both ladies' hands made him too embarrassed to talk.

Veronica trembled as her skin touched the cold water. Her body gradually lost its warmth.

She slowly looked back. "Ironin..."

Noticing that she wasn't feeling well, Ironin became alert. He could see her lips turning purple.

"A bit more," he said.

In the middle of the river, they couldn't stop and take a rest. If they stopped even for a second, the current would shove them to the south.

To reach the land, they took fifteen minutes. Due to the harsh flow of the water, they couldn't walk quickly.

The moment their feet touched the land, Veronica collapsed.

"Ver!"