In the pitch-black darkness where she couldn't see anything, she felt like she was floating without her feet touching the ground. She couldn't tell where was up and where was down. She felt like she was alone in a wide, quiet, empty space.
'Where is this?"
For some reason, she felt like she had felt something similar before. The moment she tried to recall when it was, she suddenly felt a ripple in a place where there was nothing, and it spread to the surroundings. Then, the place where Karina was suddenly changed to the front of a luxurious mansion.
"Uh...?"
A surprised Karina looked around. Then she realized where she was and was even more surprised.
'This is our house.'
To be exact, it was in front of the main gate of the Marquis Milliner's mansion. It was where Karina lived until just before she got married.
"What a stupid bitch!"
Karina was startled by the man's loud shout.
"I finally got you married into the Grand Duke's family! But you to act like a tyrant and got divorced and kicked out?"
The man in front of her was grumbling with an angry expression on his face. Karina was kneeling in front of the man's feet.
"You don't even know shame after getting divorced, how dare you crawl in here!"
"Ah...Father."
Karina called her father in a trembling voice.
"You've disgraced our family like this! Do you have any idea how difficult my situation has become because of your, bitch?"
The Marquis pushed Karina hard.
"Father, you know. I really tried. I did my best."
Karina said with a very frightened look on her face. But her words only made the Marquis more angry.
"Shut your mouth! What good have you done to talk back!"
The Marquis couldn't control his anger and slapped Karina's cheek several times.
"Father... Aah..!"
Crack! Crack!
The sound of flesh colliding with a groan echoed sharply. However, none of the servants watching the situation. from the surroundings stepped forward to stop the Marquis or tell him to stop.
"It seems useless! If I were going to let you get married, you should have at least had a child! A successor to the family when the Grand Duke dies!"
Karina answered in a trembling voice as she crawled closer to the Marquis's thunderous voice.
"But... he doesn't want children..."
"You call that nonsense! That was your only usefulness, and you couldn't do that one thing, and that's how things got to this point!"
The Marquis' violence continued until Karina fell to the ground and was unable to get up.
"I fed you and raised you, but you're a fucking piece of shit who doesn't even give you a fair return! Do you have any idea how much money and time I spent on you?"
The Marquis pointed his finger at Karina and reprimanded her. Karina fell to the
ground and clapped her hands together.
"Father, I was wrong. Please forgive me."
Karina's father, the Marquis Milliner, had been the object of her fear since she was young. If Karina did something he didn't like or did something wrong, he would harshly reprimand her and use violence against her. Tears flowed from Karina's eyes. Blood flowed from her split lip, and her cheeks were already swollen. However, despite Karina's pleas, the Marquis's attitude was cold.
"I don't even want to see your face, so get out!"
"Father...! Please...!"
Karina called out desperately to the Marquis, but the Marquis pretended not to hear her and went into the mansion.
"Ugh..."
Karina bit her lower lip. The tears wouldn't stop flowing from the overwhelming anger and sadness. She had finally gotten a divorce from Jeremiah and was kicked out of her parent's house, the Marquis of Milliner. Loneliness and despair were creeping in at the fact that no one would accept her.
'What did I do so wrong? What did I do so wrong that I deserve to be abandoned like this?'
The resentment burst out. Karina's heart, which had been barely holding on, finally began to crumble.
At the same time.
"You came for nothing."
On a high rock above the rugged mountains stood two men, deeply draped in robes, looking down upon the copper mines, owned by Lamberda
"There's no need to go down and take a look."
"That's right."
The mine had collapsed and no magic could be felt inside.
"That's why I told you from the beginning that you should entrust the supply of magic stones to someone more reliable."
One of the robed men grumbled.
"No. It should have just been handed over to us in the first place."
The man clicked his tongue.
"Judgment and decision are His."
The remaining one cut him off sharply.
"We just need to report the current situation as it is."
The man who had been grumbling at those words shut his mouth, which had been expressing his discontent in an embarrassed manner.
"...That's right."
"Let's go back."
"Yes."
"..."
The man turned around and said, "Let's go back," but his steps stopped.
"Why are you doing that?"
"No, something..."
The man stared somewhere. The man behind him also turned his head to look, following his gaze, but all he could see were rocky hills with trees growing here and there.
"I think it's a mistake. It's nothing."
As soon as the man finished speaking, in the blink of an eye, the two figures on the rock disappeared without a trace. As they disappeared, the shape of a corner of the rock mountain began to ripple.
'This is it.'
Max appeared slightly below where the man had been staring intently.
"Whew. I thought I got caught."
He let out a long sigh. Max was on Mikhail's orders to track down the black magicians associated with the escapees. And he had followed their trail all the way here. But this time, he was unintentionally involved with the Grand Duchess.
'Is it a coincidence? Or is there really something wrong with the Grand Duke?'
Max was suspicious. Mikhail, who had been wandering around looking for traces of the dragon, was suddenly taking up a position next to the Grand Duchess as her bodyguard.
'Ha. I need to investigate what the warlocks are up to, and while I'm at it, I need to find traces of the dragon.'
It wasn't easy. The reason for searching for dragon traces in the magic tower was simple. It was because they found out that the black magicians were planning something suspicious by collecting dragon traces. He had to find dragon traces before they did and figure out what they were trying to do. However, finding dragon traces was really not easy. In the present, dragons were creatures of fantasy and mythology whose existence was questionable.
"You damn hardworking guys."
Max scowled and cursed the warlocks. They were just a bunch of useless, well-organized guys. Even after searching for them, destroying them, and wiping them out, they gathered again, claiming it was for their own good.
'I'm sick of it, I'm sick of it.'
Because they were working so hard behind the scenes, he was also busy. As a result, he couldn't even do his personal magic research and was just spinning around doing these kinds of investigations.
"Ha."
Max let out a deep sigh.
'I want to finish quickly and go back to the rooftop.'
Still, what Mikhail had ordered had to be done. Max powered the communication port so he could report back to Mikhail about what he had found out.
***
Jeremiah returned to the Grand Duke's residence.
"Put all the guys you captured in the underground prison."
Jeremiah continued, pointing to Revals.
"I will interrogate that guy myself, so take care of him before he dies."
Ron questioned Jeremiah's order.
"Why don't you interrogate him right away?"
Seeing Revals already covered in blood and a corpse, he had a feeling he wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
"I must go see the Grand Duchess first."
"All right."
Jeremiah went straight up to Karina's room. He saw her escape from the mine with the escort wizard, so he was sure she was safe, but he was still uneasy. He thought that if he saw Karina safe with his own eyes, his anxiety would subside.
Jeremiah walked briskly with his long legs and arrived in front of Karina's room in one stride.
Knock.
Jeremiah knocked on Karina's door.
"..."
But even after waiting, there was no answer from inside telling him to come in.
Knock, knock.
Jeremiah knocked again. But this time, there was no answer from Karina. Jeremiah, who was getting impatient, finally couldn't hold it in any longer and opened the door and went in. Jeremiah looked around the room anxiously. He saw Karina lying on the bed.
"...!"
Jeremiah quickly went to Karina and checked on her condition.
"Ha."
Jeremiah let out a short sigh of relief after confirming that there were no wounds on Karina's body.
'You didn't answer because you were sleeping?'
He thought it would be understandable that she would be tired, having just experienced something similar while her body was still recovering.
'I guess I'll have to come back later.'
The moment Jeremiah covered Karina's neck with the blanket and was about to quietly leave.
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped Karina's lips. Surprised, Jeremiah turned around again and stood next to Karina.
"Karina?"
Jeremiah cautiously called Karina's name. But Karina didn't wake up easily. She tossed and turned with a frown on her face as if she was having a nightmare.
"Ugh..."
Immediately after, a sob leaked out through her teeth. Karina's eyelids fluttered and tears began to flow.
"...!"
Jeremiah felt his heart sink when he saw Karina's tears. Jeremiah, panicking, shook Karina's body.
"Karina, wake up."
Jeremiah's face was distorted. Seeing Karina suffer made him feel like he was going crazy. It felt like a burning ball of flame was firmly attached to his insides, eating away at his entire body.
"Karina!"
But even after shaking her several times, Karina couldn't open her eyes. When Karina didn't wake up, his heart started beating like crazy out of anxiety. The image of Karina being caught up in a hostage situation and barely surviving for a while when she couldn't wake up came to mind. Jeremiah lifted Karina's body up with a desperate expression and held her in his arms.
"Karina, wake up quickly. Please...!"
At some point, Karina's sobbing in Jeremiah's arms subsided. And after a while, Karina opened her eyes.
"Karina! Are you awake?"
Karina, who had woken up, raised her head and looked at Jeremiah. Karina's eyes that met his were still slightly hazy as if she was still half asleep. Karina's lips slowly parted as she took in Jeremiah's appearance.
"Jeremiah..."
"..."
Jeremiah felt a strange sense of alienation in Karina's voice calling him by his name. But he had no time to figure out what was strange. Karina's eyes began to water again. Karina's face twisted as if in pain.
"What did I... do so wrong...'
Karina said with a tearful voice, squeezing out her words.
"...!"
Jeremiah swallowed hard. Karina's face, as she asked him that, looked so worn out. It felt like it would shatter at any moment. Jeremiah's chest tightened. He couldn't breathe and an indescribable, stinging sensation enveloped his entire body. The sight of Karina shedding tears was so pitiful and heartbreaking. He had a gut feeling that he couldn't leave Karina like this.
Jeremiah held Karina tighter in his arms. Karina, who was in Jeremiah's arms, began to cry loudly in his arms. Jeremiah held her in his arms for a long time until Karina stopped crying, silently comforting her.
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