As the red sunset faded and the sky became dark as if a black curtain had been drawn, Karina and David arrived near the Marquis of Milliner's residence. However, the area around the mansion, which should have been quiet, was a scene of chaos with people screaming and groaning.
"I guess something is going on."
Karina sensed something ominous in David's words and quickly ran to the main entrance of the mansion. Then she witnessed a shocking situation.
“Ah!”
To everyone's surprise, the Marquis's mansion was engulfed in bright red flames.
"What is this..."
Many people were lying dead here and there as if they had been attacked by strange men. The ground was strewn with traces of horses running wild and the remains of broken carriages. The horrific sight left her speechless.
"This can't be happening."
As she watched the mansion burn down in vain, someone who had been hiding under the carriage crawled out, looking wounded.
"Karina... Miss..."
"...!?"
Karina quickly turned around to see where the voice calling her came from.
'That guy!"
He was an old butler who had been working as the Marquis' butler for a long time. He was the one who saw her being assaulted by the Marquis, but did not stop him or step forward, but only watched him closely and protected himself. He was the one who crawled to Karina and asked for help.
"What happened?"
Karina leaned over to him and asked.
"At dawn... a man wearing a black mask raided the mansion. He snuck into the bedroom... and killed the Marquis, then set fire to the mansion."
'The Marquis is dead?'
The news of her father's death was shocking, but not particularly sad. But the object of her inquiry had vanished into thin air.
'What should I do now...'
As she was thinking, the butler looked anxious.
'He might know, having worked next to the Marquis for a long time.'
Karina's eyes settled calmly. The butler, who had been informed of the attack by the suspicious men, soon spoke with an apologetic expression.
"I'm sorry for everything. I was so scared that I couldn't do anything while the Marquis was abusing you. I'm truly sorry. But please be generous and spare me."
"..."
Karina's expression was expressionless, without a trace of warmth, at his belated apology. His apology did not reach her at all, but she still decided to give him a chance.
"If you answer my questions truthfully, I'll help you."
At her words, the butler nodded his head quickly as if relieved that he was alive and ready to tell her everything he knew.
"Tell me everything about the dirty things my father has been doing behind my back. I already know everything, so don't try to hide it."
"Ah..."
The butler, who had been hesitating for a moment, told Karina the truth he had not been able to tell her before.
"The Marquis considered it essential to gain the Emperor's trust to revive his family. He judged that using Lady Karina would be an effective way to gain the Emperor's favor."
The butler's words, which began like that, were a series of shocks. From the fact that the Marquis extremely hated the former Grand Duke and his wife, who were highly trusted by the people of the empire, to the fact that he had thoroughly planned to kill the former Grand Duke and his wife by disguising it as an accident using dirty back alley forces, to the fact that he had maliciously harassed Jeremiah, who had become the Grand Duke at a young age, and had acted cruelly and viciously while working with the Emperor to pressure the North.
"At first, I was shocked by the fact that he would send his daughter as the Grand Duke's wife even after killing the former Grand Duke and his wife."
"..."
"But he pushed ahead with the wedding of the two of you, saying that if the young lady became the Grand Duchess, it would be easier to take over the Grand Duchess of Colesberg and eliminate the Grand Duke. He said that if you could just get the Grand Duke's child, things would be easier from then on..."
'That was the reason you made me marry him in the first place.'
It was only then that Karina learned everything about why her relationship with Jeremiah had been a mess.
'We shouldn't have met in the first place.'
It was a relationship entangled in bad fate.
'Isn't it a good thing Jeremiah didn't kill me as soon as we got married?'
Karina raised one corner of her mouth and smiled vainly. The Marquis's evil deeds became more vicious after Karina married Jeremiah. He used the underworld to spread rumors to sway public opinion against the Grand Duke's family, hired assassins to send to the Grand Duke's family, and did not hesitate to secretly poison nobles who supported the North and the Grand Duke's family and treated him favorably. As the butler's story continued, Karina's expression became as cold as ice.
"Things were a bit messed up for now, but he was determined to get back on his feet if he could lure the Grand Duke out with Lady Karina as bait. He boasted that if he could just succeed this time, he could make up for all his previous mistakes, but he never thought he would be ambushed and sent back like this..."
The butler trailed off with a regretful expression. However, to Karina, it seemed like she had just been given a deserved punishment. From the beginning, the Marquis had treated her as a tool. Therefore, it was only important to use her as bait to lure Jeremiah, just like throwing away a useless tool. Her safety and life had been of no value to the Marquis from the beginning.
"My nanny?"
"Yes?"
"It was also my father's doing to kill my nanny, wasn't it?"
The butler finally answered in response to Karina's face, which seemed to know everything.
"Yes... He accidentally made contact with someone from the Grand Duke of Colesberg and aroused the Marquis's suspicions..."
"I see."
Karina swallowed a deep sigh. In the end, everything was true. And the fact that she had not been accepted as a member of the Grand Duke's family in the past, and the one who had made her life hell, was all Marquis Millainer. After learning the truth about the Marquis's evil deeds one by one, Karina stared blankly at the burning mansion.
"He got punished in the end."
But.
'You died too easily.'
Now that she knows the whole truth, she thinks the ending of the Marquis who died in the attack was too peaceful.
"I've told you everything I know. Now, please spare me."
Karina opened her mouth at the butler's plea.
"Yes. I'll let you live. But you have to be a witness who reveals to the world every single evil deed my father has ever done. That's the price I pay for helping you."
"Yes?"
Karina was firm to the surprised butler.
Even if the Marquis was dead, she planned to make him pay for his evil deeds. Let everyone point fingers at him and let future generations remember for a long time how horrible the Marquis Millainer was. The best revenge Karina could take was to trash the honor of the Marquis Millainer family, which her father treasured as precious as his own life. However.
Cough, cough!
The butler kept coughing, probably because he had inhaled a lot of smoke. Then, he suddenly vomited blood and collapsed.
"Hey!"
Karina desperately tried to support the butler, but David stopped her.
"He inhaled too much smoke. Even if you take him now, he won't survive anyway."
"But he has to take the interest and expose my father's misdeeds in front of everyone!"
David spoke with a relaxed expression to Karina, who was speaking impatiently.
"If that's the reason, then it's okay. Did you forget the gift I gave you? I gave it to you because I thought it would help in this situation."
He smiled as he looked at the sapphire earrings Karina was wearing.
"Ah.”
Karina came to her senses only then. An artifact that had the ability to record voices and save the situation in front of her as a video. It was exactly what she needed right now as if she had known this would happen.
"Did you all expect this to happen?"
Karina asked, regaining her composure.
"Just. I gave it to you as insurance just in case."
"I see, that's what happened."
As her expression hardened, David said with a slightly troubled expression.
"Don't misunderstand. I didn't just mean it that way. My heart is truly in my gift."
"Yes, I guess so."
David already knew that the Marquis was plotting something behind the scenes.
'I expected this.'
David spoke again to Karina, who seemed not to believe him.
"It's true. Please believe me."
"Yes. I believe you."
Karina ignored his repeated words and asked.
"Do you know who attacked the Marquis?"
"..."
David smiled meaningfully at her question.
He walked a few steps and picked up something shiny from next to the fallen body. Karina's eyes widened as she saw what he was holding in his hand.
"That!"
Although the edges were broken, it was clearly a mark worn by the royal guards protecting the imperial family. In fact, it was a mark that only the royal guards protecting the Emperor could use.
"You see. It is the Emperor's doing."
David responded with a strange tone. When the Marquis was no longer needed, the Emperor had no qualms about getting rid of him.
'The Marquis knew too much of the Emperor's weaknesses and corruption to be left alive.'
David snorted inwardly. At that moment.
"Your Highness!"
An informant came running and whispered something urgently in David's ear.
"What?"
David's face changed seriously after hearing the report.
"What's going on?"
David said to Karina, who asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"At the wedding... Something unusual seems to have happened."
"Yes?"
If you're talking about a wedding, you're probably talking about Lucia and Jeremiah's wedding.
'What could go wrong at their wedding?'
In the past, before the regression, Karina persistently interfered with the marriage between the two. That's why the wedding between the two never took place while she was alive.
'Maybe after I die, though.'
As she was thinking that, she suddenly heard David speak.
"The Saintess..."
"... Yes?"
Karina's eyes widened at the surprising news she had never expected.
***
It was a peaceful day, with warm sunlight shining down and brightening up every corner of the empire, and Lucia was praying at the temple as usual. Then, at one moment.
'Condemn!'
"...!"
Surrounded by a brilliant halo of light, Lucia heard the voice of the noble god. However, as a Saintess, she could not help but feel confused.
'Defeate the Emperor who will lead the empire into chaos and ruin!"
A Saintess with the power to heal and save people. Her mission was to kill people. And the target was even the Emperor, who stood at the top of the empire.
"What the heck is this..."
Lucia was so shocked and confused by the absurd revelation from God that she couldn't come to her senses for a while. Suddenly, the bright light disappeared, and in her hand was a dagger that was said to be a sacred relic of God. As soon as she saw it, Lucia realized.
'I must kill the Emperor with this sword.'
It was a very burdensome and dangerous task. To kill the Emperor of the empire. It was a treason. Lucia also realized that if she was to carry out her mission as a God, she had to die with the Emperor. Her heart pounded as if it would burst, and her hands and feet trembled like aspen trees. As a Saintess, she simply believed that it was her duty to serve God with all her heart, help the sick and the needy, and live her entire life.
"Please...! Please change your mind."
Although she prayed earnestly, the oracle was not accepted. Instead, Lucia had to suffer from nightmares every night. Countless people died, and the land and forests became desolate. Even the sky and air were polluted blackly, and the world became horribly cursed. She realized that this was the future of the empire that would soon come if the emperor lived.
Nevertheless, her wandering did not end easily. Even if it was to follow the will of the Gods, it was to condemn and kill the Emperor. If she failed, she would naturally be sentenced to death for treason, and even if she succeeded, she would likely not be safe because she had killed the Emperor of the empire. She did not want to die. It was not like she had no regrets about life. She was afraid of death.
However, the longer she refused, the more strange phenomena occurred in the temple. The sacred relics dripped black blood, and the stone statues in the hallway shed tears of blood. The people in the temple became sick for no reason, and her divine power gradually diminished. In the end, Lucia had no choice but to accept it. As a Saintess who served the Gods, she could not turn away from the will of the Gods that she had already heard. Lucia could not tell anyone about the revelation she had received from God. She did not want to drag others into such a dangerous undertaking and have them die along with her.
'Sacrifices should be kept to a minimum.'
Therefore, the knowledge of her divine appointment was limited to the minimum number of people necessary to carry out the task: the cardinal in charge of the temple, and the high priest Emil, who had been praying with Lucia when she heard the voice of God.
"If you want to kill the Emperor, you must wait until no guard is protecting him."
And there were few moments when the Emperor's guard was far from the Emperor. But it was not that there were none at all. An example of this was the wedding of the Grand Duke of Colesberg a few months ago. A marriage of a high-ranking nobleman with noble imperial blood.
"By the way, I heard that the Grand Duchess recently requested a divorce."
They say they are taking a brief period of consideration to avoid divorce, but she once heard that the Grand Duke did not marry the Grand Duchess because he loved her.
"Then, if the Grand Duke divorces and remarries, there will be a situation where the Emperor will be without the escort of the guards at the wedding."
Lucia decided to wait for that moment. So she intentionally responded to the Emperor's call, returned to the capital, and approached Jeremiah as if she was interested in him. However, she was embarrassed because the relationship between Grand Duchess Karina and Jeremiah was different from what she had heard. They were not a simple relationship where they were just a couple on the outside without any interest in each other.
Lucia felt sorry for the two of them and felt embarrassed because she thought she had misunderstood them. However, she couldn't give up her plan. She had to follow the will of God. So she had no choice but to forcefully push for their divorce and persuade the temple and the Emperor to hold the wedding.
"I hope that the big trouble will pass and the two of you will be together again."
She didn't want the Grand Duke couple who wanted each other to be separated because of her. However, there was nothing she could do about what would happen after her death. All she could do was offer a sincere apology and earnest prayers. That's how it came to this day.
A wedding that everyone looked up to with envious eyes. Unlike the pitch-black darkness outside, the inside where the wedding was taking place was bright as day. Lucia slowly closed her eyes and opened them to look at the Emperor. She could see malice overflowing in his sparkling eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Lucia, who had quietly apologized to Jeremiah, took out the dagger she had hidden in her bosom. It was the sacred relic of God that she had received on the day she had heard the revelation from God.
Sling.
She drew the sword from its scabbard and preached the true will of God.
"Emperor blinded by greed! By the will of God, I will execute you on this spot!"
Lucia, who held the dagger handle tightly, ran to the Emperor with a sense of duty burning inside her. The nobles who had gathered as guests covered their mouths and groaned in shock. At that tense moment, Lucia stabbed the dagger into the Emperor's body with all her might. With a thud, the Emperor grabbed Lucia's hand holding the dagger.
“...?!”
"Oh, oh, oh. The Saintess who is supposed to save people is trying to kill the Emperor of the empire. What on earth is going on?"
The Emperor clicked his tongue with a regretful expression. There was no sign of bewilderment on his face as if he had already known she would do this. Lucia was momentarily shaken but quickly came to her senses, gritted her teeth, and picked up her sword again.
"For the safety and peace of the empire, disappear! God is with me!"
Lucia tried to kill the Emperor with a curse... But it was no use. While she failed in her first attack, the Emperor's armed guards suddenly rushed in and blocked the Saintess's path. Jeremiah, who was beside her, was also captured.
"No!"
The Emperor spoke to Lucia, who was subdued and had a resentful look on her face.
"Didn't you just say that God's will was with you?"
The Emperor continued speaking, laughing at Lucia as if he found it amusing.
"Then, if you failed and I survived, isn't this God's will and destiny?"
Lucia asked, unable to contain her excitement.
"How on earth do you know?"
Through the Emperor's clothes, cut by a dagger, a thin armor made of mithril steel was visible. Unless he had known about it In advance and prepared for it, it would have been impossible for him to wear mithril armor to a wedding, and especially to wear it hidden inside his clothes. At that time.
"I tell His Majesty."
Emil, with a stern expression, slowly walked out next to the sullen Emperor.
"Emil...?"
Lucia's eyes trembled when she saw him.
"Why?"
She thought that if there was anyone in this world who could understand her, it would be Emil. Then, his betrayal. Lucia's face turned into despair as she realized that Emil, whom she trusted, had betrayed her.
"Do you understand now? In the end, God is also on my side. Hahaha!"
Lucia lowered her head helplessly as she heard the Emperor's loud laughter.
"Oh my God."
The Saintess's strong heart and will were broken and crumbled.
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That's the plot twist! How interesting! Thank you very much.
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